Shadows 10

by Charles L. Grant (Editor)

14 brand-new tales of terror and dark fantasy

Jamie's Grave - Lisa Tuttle
Apples - Nina Downey Higgins
A World Without Toys - T.M. Wright
Law of Averages - Wendy Webb
The Fence - Thomas Sullivan
Moonflower - Melissa Mia Hall
Bob Leman - Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming
The Finder-Keeper - Ken Wisman
Just a Little Souvenir - Cheryl Fuller Nelson
Like Shadows in the Dark - Stephen Gallagher
Office Hours - Dogulas E. Winter
We Have Always Lived in the Forest - Nancy Holder
Just Like Their Masters - Mona A. Clee
Pigs - Al Sarrantonion

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories

178 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Charles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.

Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a single weak story in the entire collection. I really wish there was someway to release these and other classic anthologies in ebook form. Ah, well...

It's hard to put into words while I love quiet horror so much. I don't want to fall into the trap of saying one form of horror is "superior" to another. For me, however, I prefer quietly unsettling stories which don't scream, but only whisper. That, and so many of these stories - while quietly supernatural - don't center on obvious horror tropes. They center on human frailty, weakness, and life.

Probably some folks find these stories boring. No zombies here, no monsters, no werewolves, no vampires. Just shadows that flit in the corner of your vision, gone before you even realize they were there.

[B. Buckinchere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hauntingly eerie and atmospheric. The two stories at the end are the most twisted of all, and will be sure to haunt my dreams long after the final chapter. I won't spoil the conclusion, but make sure you read "Pigs" by Al Sarrantonion until the very end, and you will find out why the polish police were after Jan in the first place. The ending is very twisted. Definitely give it a read, and I will give it a four out of five.