Shadows of Fear

Foundations of Fear #Part 1

by David G. Hartwell (editor), Robert A. Heinlein, Peter Straub

Contains Daphne Du Maurier's "Don't Look Now," Robert A. Heinlein's "They," Madeline Yale Wynne's "At the Mountains of Madness," Peter Straub's "The Blue Rose," and other horror novellas, featuring the contributions of women to the genre, and an introduction. Reprint.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

David Geddes Hartwell was an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Signet (1971-1973), Berkley Putnam (1973-1978), Pocket (where he founded the Timescape imprint, 1978-1983, and created the Pocket Books Star Trek publishing line), and Tor (where he spearheaded Tor's Canadian publishing initiative, and was also influential in bringing many Australian writers to the US market, 1984-date), and has published numerous anthologies. He chaired the board of directors of the World Fantasy Convention and, with Gordon Van Gelder, was the administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award. He held a Ph.D. in comparative medieval literature.

He lived in Pleasantville, New York with his wife Kathryn Cramer and their two children.

Reviews

[Amber Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too much to say about this one. Honestly, I was expecting to like these stories much more than I actually did. My favorites were Blue Rose by Peter Straub and Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier. I struggled to get through At The Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (and ultimately didn't finish it) for the same reason I've struggled with other stories of his: his writing is very dense. It's like wading through quicksand...you keep going, but you never really get anywhere. The other stories were marginally interesting and worth a read, but they probably won't stick with me.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection. The best stories (in my humble opinion) were "A Shadowy Street", "At the Mountains of Madness", and "The Little Room."

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1996. Horror anthology containings stories from Heinlein, Lovecraft and Straub.

[Alex Budris · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the reading I've done in the genre, I am ashamed - and incredulous - to admit that in this anthology, this week, is the first place I've ever read both At the Mountains of Madness and The Great God Pan. I've also had yet to be introduced to author Jean Ray, which is a bit more forgivable, but no less a deficiency. Dave Hartwell and his anthologies should be required reading for anyone interested in the field of horror literature. The stories he includes are not only near masterpieces (or at least top quality examples) on a literary level, but also hugely entertaining. Page turners, all. And as a bonus they make you think. These stories are going to stick with me, a heady feat considering the hundreds of examples of short fiction I ingest (maybe not always digest) in a year. This is the second of a set of three paperbacks that were first published as one hardcover volume.