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Horror Library, Volume 2
This anthology features thirty powerful stories, collectively representing the array of themes that one would expect to find in a library dedicated to horror. Each story was written by a unique up and coming author. This book has received praise in a number of reviews and has been recommended for an HWA Bram Stoker Award, and winning one is the highest honor one can achieve in the Horror Genre. The authors and editors are waiting patiently for the results.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 13, 2021
And moving onward, although backward, in my review of all HORROR LIBRARY anthologies, as I realize I’d somehow skipped over Volume #2 I really enjoy these books, and I’m a big fan of anthologies in general, but especially indie horror. Stories in these books take chances. Some fail, some succeed, but it’s exciting to read new ideas and voices. Publisher Dark Moon Books has taken over the HORROR LIBRARY series and re-released the older volumes that were put together by former publishers and editors (Cutting Block Books and Mr. Cavender). All of these were original stories of their time, written exclusively for this volume. My review comes from an ARC of the new re-released 2021 edition from Dark Moon Books.
Quick star rating on each story included in Volume #2 (29 stories total), just as my personal preference:
“A Season of Sleep” by John Rector = 3-1/2 stars. A gritty zombie story with heart.
“A Chainsaw Execution” by Stephen R. George = 5 stars. A favorite in this book. Gangland violence set to the story’s title.
“I Am Meat, I Am in Daycare” by Cameron Pierce = 3-1/2 stars. Bizarro fiction. Came across as a bit goofy.
“Trapped Light Medium” by Sunil Sadanand = 5 stars. Another favorite in this book. Dark, fantastic tale of a tabloid photographer “knowing” when the next shocking event will occur.
“Apple” by Marc Paoletti = 5 stars. A hitman relives his past—and his future—while trying to kill a target.
“Next Stop, Babylon” by John Mantooth = 4 stars. Weird sci fi, but nice dark little story about an auto-bus.
“Opening the Eye” by Michael W. Lucas = 3 stars. A drill, a spider, and a descent into madness.
“Phaedra’s Baby” by Matthew Fryer = 2-1/2 stars. Hated this although it was well written. Just too bleak, too horrifying!
“Immortal Remains” by Tom Pendergrass = 5 stars. One of the best stories in the Horror Library series. A soldier is trapped by cannibal witches.
“The Garbage Collectors” by Ron McGillvray = 5 stars. Another story of witches, but these set in a suburban neighborhood that requires the sacrifice of children.
“Free to Good Home” by Lon Prater = 5 stars. Funny, funny story about wish fulfillment from a computer that also requires tasks to be done.
“Bound” by Alan Smale = 4 stars. Weird, quick read. Emphasis on weird! But good, too.
“Alien Fajitas” by Boyd E. Harris = 2-1/2 stars. About a restaurant that serves alien meat. Just not my cup of tea.
“The Trauma Statement” by Stephen Bacon = 5 stars. This story is bleak! Multi-layered and really a dark, thoughtful piece about making choices.
“Charlotte’s Frequency” by Ian Rogers = 3 stars. Didn’t quite get this one…
“High Tide Coming” by Ken Goldman = 4 stars. Melancholy tale of an agoraphobic woman who also fear a ghostly rising tide.
“Preacher Mike and the Black Cross Revelation” by Kevin L. Donihe = 4 stars. A religious congregation with doubters meets zombies.
“Reins in the Night Season (Death of a Pistolero)” by Lorne Dixon = 5 stars. Loved this story. So well written! Old West bandits ride south into Mexico to fulfill a dying comrade’s wish.
“Filth Eater” by Glen R. Krisch = 4 stars. Another one that was bleak, just traumatizing about a man who fills himself with others’ sins.
“Crushed Neem” by Kim Despins = 5 stars. Another agoraphobia story, this one of a man with a winning lottery ticket, who must get past the ghost that lives outside his door.
“Drawn” by Daniel L. Naden = 4-1/2 stars. This one had a lot of twists to it, about a baby girl who “attracts” things.
“Meat-Boy” by Peter Hynes = 2 stars. I just didn’t get this one at all. Kind of a cockney Clockwork Orange vibe.
“You’re a Good Girl, Delilah” by Petra Miller = 4 stars. Quiet sad tale of suicide and sacrifice in the family.
“The Losers vs Beelphegor” by Mark Justice = 5 stars. Funny story. Wayne’s World meets a demon!
“We Fall On Each Other” by Paul Walther = 4 stars. Nice depth of characters, two cousins who spend the holiday after each suffering trauma, only their ghosts have followed them.
“H19N1” by M. Louis Dixon = 4 stars. Well written, but trigger warning, about a dying child who was purposefully sickened.
“The Show Must Live On” by Matt Hults = 4 stars. Weird, grimacing horror about a special “sideshow” at an abandoned carnival.
“White Balloon” by Matt Samet = 5 stars. Beautifully written about a floating, ominous balloon.
“The Horror in the Bookstore” by Clinton Green = Cthulhu Mythos tale set in a bookstore.
In closing, these volumes have all been good! Great ideas and great writing from a number of authors!
Quick star rating on each story included in Volume #2 (29 stories total), just as my personal preference:
“A Season of Sleep” by John Rector = 3-1/2 stars. A gritty zombie story with heart.
“A Chainsaw Execution” by Stephen R. George = 5 stars. A favorite in this book. Gangland violence set to the story’s title.
“I Am Meat, I Am in Daycare” by Cameron Pierce = 3-1/2 stars. Bizarro fiction. Came across as a bit goofy.
“Trapped Light Medium” by Sunil Sadanand = 5 stars. Another favorite in this book. Dark, fantastic tale of a tabloid photographer “knowing” when the next shocking event will occur.
“Apple” by Marc Paoletti = 5 stars. A hitman relives his past—and his future—while trying to kill a target.
“Next Stop, Babylon” by John Mantooth = 4 stars. Weird sci fi, but nice dark little story about an auto-bus.
“Opening the Eye” by Michael W. Lucas = 3 stars. A drill, a spider, and a descent into madness.
“Phaedra’s Baby” by Matthew Fryer = 2-1/2 stars. Hated this although it was well written. Just too bleak, too horrifying!
“Immortal Remains” by Tom Pendergrass = 5 stars. One of the best stories in the Horror Library series. A soldier is trapped by cannibal witches.
“The Garbage Collectors” by Ron McGillvray = 5 stars. Another story of witches, but these set in a suburban neighborhood that requires the sacrifice of children.
“Free to Good Home” by Lon Prater = 5 stars. Funny, funny story about wish fulfillment from a computer that also requires tasks to be done.
“Bound” by Alan Smale = 4 stars. Weird, quick read. Emphasis on weird! But good, too.
“Alien Fajitas” by Boyd E. Harris = 2-1/2 stars. About a restaurant that serves alien meat. Just not my cup of tea.
“The Trauma Statement” by Stephen Bacon = 5 stars. This story is bleak! Multi-layered and really a dark, thoughtful piece about making choices.
“Charlotte’s Frequency” by Ian Rogers = 3 stars. Didn’t quite get this one…
“High Tide Coming” by Ken Goldman = 4 stars. Melancholy tale of an agoraphobic woman who also fear a ghostly rising tide.
“Preacher Mike and the Black Cross Revelation” by Kevin L. Donihe = 4 stars. A religious congregation with doubters meets zombies.
“Reins in the Night Season (Death of a Pistolero)” by Lorne Dixon = 5 stars. Loved this story. So well written! Old West bandits ride south into Mexico to fulfill a dying comrade’s wish.
“Filth Eater” by Glen R. Krisch = 4 stars. Another one that was bleak, just traumatizing about a man who fills himself with others’ sins.
“Crushed Neem” by Kim Despins = 5 stars. Another agoraphobia story, this one of a man with a winning lottery ticket, who must get past the ghost that lives outside his door.
“Drawn” by Daniel L. Naden = 4-1/2 stars. This one had a lot of twists to it, about a baby girl who “attracts” things.
“Meat-Boy” by Peter Hynes = 2 stars. I just didn’t get this one at all. Kind of a cockney Clockwork Orange vibe.
“You’re a Good Girl, Delilah” by Petra Miller = 4 stars. Quiet sad tale of suicide and sacrifice in the family.
“The Losers vs Beelphegor” by Mark Justice = 5 stars. Funny story. Wayne’s World meets a demon!
“We Fall On Each Other” by Paul Walther = 4 stars. Nice depth of characters, two cousins who spend the holiday after each suffering trauma, only their ghosts have followed them.
“H19N1” by M. Louis Dixon = 4 stars. Well written, but trigger warning, about a dying child who was purposefully sickened.
“The Show Must Live On” by Matt Hults = 4 stars. Weird, grimacing horror about a special “sideshow” at an abandoned carnival.
“White Balloon” by Matt Samet = 5 stars. Beautifully written about a floating, ominous balloon.
“The Horror in the Bookstore” by Clinton Green = Cthulhu Mythos tale set in a bookstore.
In closing, these volumes have all been good! Great ideas and great writing from a number of authors!
July 19, 2021
I’ve read several of these horror anthologies and enjoyed them all. Filled with “indie” authors with a lot of original ideas. This book has a lot of gore and sexually-explicit material, triggering events, but that’s also the good thing for these types of books that they take chances. As with any anthology, it comes down to personal taste as to which stories are “best”. They were all well written in their own ways, but some of my favorites were “A Chainsaw Execution” by Stephen R. George, “Trapped Light Medium” by Sunil Sadanand, “The Losers vs Beelphegor” by Mark Justice, “The Garbage Collectors” by Ron McGillvray, and “Free to Good Home” by Lon Prater (which is funny, funny, funny!).
July 13, 2021
2nd volume in the +Horror Library+ series! More about these books here: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/horror_l...
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May 19, 2015Contents:
7 - Dedication
10 - Clara Chandler - Blood: An Introduction
14 - John Rector - "A Season of Sleep"
22 - Stephen R. George - "A Chainsaw Execution"
27 - Cameron Pierce - "I am Meat, I am in Daycare"
33 - Sunil Sadanand - "Trapped Light Medium"
45 - Marc Paoletti - "Apple"
54 - John Mantooth - "Next Stop, Babylon"
59 - Michael W. Lucas - "Opening the Eye"
65 - Matthew Fryer - "Phaedra’s Baby"
74 - Tom Pendergrass - "Immortal Remains"
85 - Ron McGillvray - "The Garbage Collectors"
96 - Lon Prater - "Free to Good Home"
105 - Alan Smale - "Bound"
112 - Boyd E. Harris - "Alien Fajitas"
124 -Stephen Bacon - "The Trauma Statement"
133 - Ian Rogers - "Charlotte’s Frequency"
144 - Ken Goldman - "High Tide Coming"
153 - Kevin L. Donihe - "Preacher Mike and the Black Cross Revelation"
162 - Lorne Dixon - "Reins in the Night Season"
169 - Glen Krisch - "Filth Eater"
176 - Kim Despins - "Crushed Neem"
183 - Daniel L. Naden - "Drawn"
194 - Peter Hynes - "Meat-Boy"
200 - Petra Miller - "You’re a Good Girl, Delilah"
208 - Mark Justice - "The Losers vs Beelphegor"
215 - Paul Walther - "We Fall on Each Other"
229 - M. Louis Dixon - "H19N1"
234 - Matt Hults - "The Show Must Live On"
241 - Matt Samet - "White Balloon"
245 - Clinton Green - "The Horror in the Bookstore"
September 22, 2021
Spooky anthology of short horror stories. A wild variety! Some stories, I did not understand. Some were so very smart and good. Some were even funny! Great chance to learn new authors, and there were a few I will definitely be reading more of in the future!
July 26, 2021
This volume holds a vast quantity of solid dark fiction plus some nice bizarro pieces. I thought volume 1 was more consistent, but volume 2 had a few stories that were better than anything I read in the first volume.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews