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Ghosts: Revenge
Everyone likes a good ghost story. You'll find this collection both entertaining and haunting. Some of the biggest names in horror have come together to offer their take on what it might be like to be a ghost, and an angry ghost, the kind of ghost not soon forgotten. Ever seen a ghost? If you've seen a ghost like one of these, well, then likely you are reading this as a ghost--and angry, with a story of your own to tell. Now, look over your shoulder. Go ahead. Be frightened by what you see. You may, in fact, already be haunting these pages. Beware the Ghost in the Machine!
- GenresHorror
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 12, 2015
32 people want to read
About the author
James Ward Kirk
118 books25 followersI am the publisher and editor of the annual anthologies Indiana Horror, Indiana Science Fiction and Indiana Crime.
During 2013 I expanded my business, jwkfiction.com, to include many other works, ranging from poetry anthologies to regular anthologies by multiple authors, to single author anthologies and complete novels.
My own fiction has been published in various magazines and anthologies and when not busy running JWKfiction, I try to expand on that. I have a Master's in English from Indiana University at Indianapolis, where I also happen to live.
During 2013 I expanded my business, jwkfiction.com, to include many other works, ranging from poetry anthologies to regular anthologies by multiple authors, to single author anthologies and complete novels.
My own fiction has been published in various magazines and anthologies and when not busy running JWKfiction, I try to expand on that. I have a Master's in English from Indiana University at Indianapolis, where I also happen to live.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 10, 2015
OK, you've got me, I've a story in this so I'm a touch biased. Having said that, there are some great stories in this collection. Admittedly some are stronger than others, and personal taste will dictate each readers particular favourites, but that's the case with almost all anthologies.
There are so many stories here that so long as you have an interest in the topic and general genre there should be something of interest.
Due to the theme I did find that this was a book to be read over a longer period with a couple of stories to be read at a time, otherwise there was a danger that familiarity lessened the impact of each story. As such I wouldn't advocate reading it in a couple of sittings, but more dipping in and out so as to appreciate each story on its own.
There are so many stories here that so long as you have an interest in the topic and general genre there should be something of interest.
Due to the theme I did find that this was a book to be read over a longer period with a couple of stories to be read at a time, otherwise there was a danger that familiarity lessened the impact of each story. As such I wouldn't advocate reading it in a couple of sittings, but more dipping in and out so as to appreciate each story on its own.
January 13, 2017
Hella lotta good ghost stories inside! Check it out ...
May 24, 2016
For fans of the ghost story sub-genre, GHOSTS: REVENGE is likely to prove a real treat.
This anthology of forty-plus ghost stories run the gamut in subject matter from traditional haunted houses to modern riffs on ghostly possession. By design, I suspect, each tale is fairly brief, with none of them exceeding seven or eight pages, and many of them wrapping up in less than that. Interspersed here and there, the editor (James Ward Kirk) has included original short poems and verses.
There is a lot of creativity on display between these pages as some of the stories are quite clever. If they lack at all in terms of subject matter, it is merely because there is a tendency for many of them to rely on the "twist" ending -- a technique which, though I do not care for, is a matter of personal taste. As for the poems, as I am not a fan of poetry in general, I found that mercifully few of them were of the sing-song rhyme or scattered stream-of-consciousness" variety.
Surprisingly, very few of the authors whose work appears in this volume were familiar to me. I had heard of perhaps three or four; and there was only one whose work I'd previously read. Perhaps arrogantly, I did not expect much when I first picked up the book. Then, of course, I was pleasantly surprised.
That being said, there is a clear aura of the amateur pervading this anthology which manifests with glaring continuity errors in some stories and with some spectacularly bad writing in others. Moreover, though Kirk has an keen eye when it comes to choosing interesting pieces insofar as story is concerned, his editing -- specifically his copy editing -- fails his authors times. This is most manifest by those few clunkers written by people who seem to be trying very hard to show off their literary acumen. Kirk's lack of a red pencil only exacerbates the problems. In general, the whole volume could have used one more editorial pass to make sure that stray clauses and extra words were removed.
As for those one or two stories whose existence seems to have no purpose but for their creators to bask in their literary pretense, if Kirk was committed to including them, perhaps he should have gently explained to some of his writers that it is not essential to vary nouns simply for the sake of doing so. One of the groaners, for me at least, that immediately springs to mind was when a writer wrote, "He turned the key and the portal yielded" instead of relating that a character simply opened a door.
But there are far too many proverbial diamonds in the rough contained in GHOSTS: REVENGE to quibble about the few bad ones. Some of these stories are on a par with the work of more established authors; few of them would be out of place if they were included in an anthology containing "names."
If you are a fan of ghost stories, especially unusual ones, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you did not seek out this book. Aficionados of the sub-genre will find it an interesting and worthwhile addition to their libraries. As for those of us who enjoy a ghostly tale of revenge from beyond the grave only now and then, this volume provides quite a nice selection.
This anthology of forty-plus ghost stories run the gamut in subject matter from traditional haunted houses to modern riffs on ghostly possession. By design, I suspect, each tale is fairly brief, with none of them exceeding seven or eight pages, and many of them wrapping up in less than that. Interspersed here and there, the editor (James Ward Kirk) has included original short poems and verses.
There is a lot of creativity on display between these pages as some of the stories are quite clever. If they lack at all in terms of subject matter, it is merely because there is a tendency for many of them to rely on the "twist" ending -- a technique which, though I do not care for, is a matter of personal taste. As for the poems, as I am not a fan of poetry in general, I found that mercifully few of them were of the sing-song rhyme or scattered stream-of-consciousness" variety.
Surprisingly, very few of the authors whose work appears in this volume were familiar to me. I had heard of perhaps three or four; and there was only one whose work I'd previously read. Perhaps arrogantly, I did not expect much when I first picked up the book. Then, of course, I was pleasantly surprised.
That being said, there is a clear aura of the amateur pervading this anthology which manifests with glaring continuity errors in some stories and with some spectacularly bad writing in others. Moreover, though Kirk has an keen eye when it comes to choosing interesting pieces insofar as story is concerned, his editing -- specifically his copy editing -- fails his authors times. This is most manifest by those few clunkers written by people who seem to be trying very hard to show off their literary acumen. Kirk's lack of a red pencil only exacerbates the problems. In general, the whole volume could have used one more editorial pass to make sure that stray clauses and extra words were removed.
As for those one or two stories whose existence seems to have no purpose but for their creators to bask in their literary pretense, if Kirk was committed to including them, perhaps he should have gently explained to some of his writers that it is not essential to vary nouns simply for the sake of doing so. One of the groaners, for me at least, that immediately springs to mind was when a writer wrote, "He turned the key and the portal yielded" instead of relating that a character simply opened a door.
But there are far too many proverbial diamonds in the rough contained in GHOSTS: REVENGE to quibble about the few bad ones. Some of these stories are on a par with the work of more established authors; few of them would be out of place if they were included in an anthology containing "names."
If you are a fan of ghost stories, especially unusual ones, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you did not seek out this book. Aficionados of the sub-genre will find it an interesting and worthwhile addition to their libraries. As for those of us who enjoy a ghostly tale of revenge from beyond the grave only now and then, this volume provides quite a nice selection.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews