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Women of Darkness #2
Women of Darkness II: More Original Horror and Dark Fantasy by Contemporary Women Writers
This compilation of new, original tales from some of the top female horror authors includes works by Lisa W. Cantrell, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Tanith Lee, Melanie Tem, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
280 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1990
2 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Ptacek
74 books23 followersaka Les Simons, Kathryn Atwood, Anne Mayfield, Kathleen Maxwell, Kathryn Grant
Kathryn Anne Ptacek was born on 12 September 1952 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, but was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her B. A. in Journalism, with a minor in history, from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, where she was graduated with distinction in 1974. While attending the university, she was a student of award-winning mystery writer Tony Hillerman and well-known YA writer Lois Duncan. Afterward, she worked briefly for a political party best left unnamed, was a telephone solicitor for the New Mexico Assn. of Retarded People, and spent two years as an advertising lay-out artist for a regional grocery warehouse co-op, and then worked for the University of New Mexico first as a secretary in the Dept. of Speech and Hearing, then for the University's Computing Center as their only technical writer and editor.
After the sale of her first novel, an historical romance, in July 1979, she quit to become a full-time novelist. As Les Simons, Kathryn Atwood, Anne Mayfield, Kathleen Maxwell, Kathryn Ptacek, and Kathryn Grant, she has written an historical fantasy series, numerous historical romances, and five horror novels. Her dark fantasy have won the Silver Medal and Gold Medal awards given by the West Coast Review of Books. She has also edited three anthologies, the critically acclaimed Women of Darkness and its companion Women of Darkness II (both Tor), and Women of the West (Doubleday). Editions of her books have appeared in England, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Germany. Her short stories have appeared in Greystone Bay, Doom City (Greystone Bay II), Fantasy Tales, the Post Mortem anthology, Pulphouse 5, The Horror Show, Freak Show (HWA anthology), A Confederacy of Horrors, Into The Fog, The Ultimate Witch, and Phobias. She is a member of Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the International Women Writers Guild, and the Police Writers Club. She also prepares a market report for Hellnotes, is the editor of the Horror Writers Association's monthly newsletter, and publishes a market newsletter, The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets, which goes to writers and artists around the world.
On 1982, she married to dark fantasy novelist Charles L. Grant, who died in 2006. She shares a 116-year-old Victorian clapboard house with five cats in Newton, New Jersey. Her hobbies include gardening, jewelry making, and various needlework. She also has a large collection of gila monster memorabilia, and collects unusual teapots and cat whiskers.
Kathryn Anne Ptacek was born on 12 September 1952 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, but was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her B. A. in Journalism, with a minor in history, from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, where she was graduated with distinction in 1974. While attending the university, she was a student of award-winning mystery writer Tony Hillerman and well-known YA writer Lois Duncan. Afterward, she worked briefly for a political party best left unnamed, was a telephone solicitor for the New Mexico Assn. of Retarded People, and spent two years as an advertising lay-out artist for a regional grocery warehouse co-op, and then worked for the University of New Mexico first as a secretary in the Dept. of Speech and Hearing, then for the University's Computing Center as their only technical writer and editor.
After the sale of her first novel, an historical romance, in July 1979, she quit to become a full-time novelist. As Les Simons, Kathryn Atwood, Anne Mayfield, Kathleen Maxwell, Kathryn Ptacek, and Kathryn Grant, she has written an historical fantasy series, numerous historical romances, and five horror novels. Her dark fantasy have won the Silver Medal and Gold Medal awards given by the West Coast Review of Books. She has also edited three anthologies, the critically acclaimed Women of Darkness and its companion Women of Darkness II (both Tor), and Women of the West (Doubleday). Editions of her books have appeared in England, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Germany. Her short stories have appeared in Greystone Bay, Doom City (Greystone Bay II), Fantasy Tales, the Post Mortem anthology, Pulphouse 5, The Horror Show, Freak Show (HWA anthology), A Confederacy of Horrors, Into The Fog, The Ultimate Witch, and Phobias. She is a member of Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the International Women Writers Guild, and the Police Writers Club. She also prepares a market report for Hellnotes, is the editor of the Horror Writers Association's monthly newsletter, and publishes a market newsletter, The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets, which goes to writers and artists around the world.
On 1982, she married to dark fantasy novelist Charles L. Grant, who died in 2006. She shares a 116-year-old Victorian clapboard house with five cats in Newton, New Jersey. Her hobbies include gardening, jewelry making, and various needlework. She also has a large collection of gila monster memorabilia, and collects unusual teapots and cat whiskers.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 25, 2024
Not as fun as the last one. I was surprised by how graphic this collection was, but not really in an earned feeling way. I didn’t love any story, sadly, but 3 were okay: “The Arc Light” (which, I know slightly sexist to say, felt like a Stephen King story), “The Nightmare’s Tale” (got way too long), and “Daddy’s Coming Home”—no issue there. I do enjoy how personal the author bios are, and I didn’t think any of the authors were unskilled. It was just very lackluster.
February 16, 2019
In her introduction, Kathryn Ptacek explains that the short story collection is comprised of dark tales, "sometimes unpleasant, always unsettling." She's right, I found all of these stories to be unsettling and I believe many of the dark images will remain burned in my memory for years to come. Here are the titles, authors, descriptions and the rating I would give for each story.
The Co-op by Melanie Tem - Mothers in a babysitting co-op share dark secrets. Rating: 4/5
Fruits of Love by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - A historical fiction piece about a woman who is won in a card game by a brutish man. Rating: 4/5
Sarah and the Slime Creature by Resa Nelson - A woman who was sexually abused by her stepbrother when she was young has trouble trusting men as an adult. Rating: 4/5
Just Idle Chatter by Jean Paiva - A boy eavesdrops on his strange neighbours, finding out something disturbing. Rating: 4/5
Act of Love by Kristl Volk Franklin - A young girl is disturbed by witnessing her father's abuse of her mother. Rating: 4/5
Arc Light by Lisa W. Cantrell - A welder overcomes his fear of the dark. Rating: 4/5
The Pit by Patricia Ramsey-Jones - A dog who is forced into dog fighting gets revenge on his cruel owner. Rating: 3/5
A Rainy Evening in Western Illinois by Rebecca Lyons - A man believes he witnessed a horrible car accident. Rating: 4/5
Coming Back by Ginger LaJeunesse - A mother who dies in car accident forces herself to come back to life for her son. Rating: 5/5
I Know What To Do by Yvonne Navarro - A couple moves into a new apartment to find it already occupied by a vicious cockroach that won't die. Rating: 4/5
The Drought by Lois Tilton - A group observing how elephants react to a drought, learn that dehydration makes them crazy - and dangerous. Rating: 4/5
The Nightmare's Tale by Tanith Lee - A historical fiction about revenge. Rating: 2/5
He Whistles Far and Wee by Kiel Stuart - A creepy man sells balloons to children in a tropical paradise. Rating: 4/5
Dirty Pain by Lisa Swallow - A man needs pain - from himself and others - to feel normal. Rating: 3/5
Last Echoes by Janet Lorimer - A woman who loves nursery rhymes moves to an old-fashioned town where they participate in a dark ritual from a nursery rhyme. Rating: 4/5
Daddy's Coming Home by Lynn S. Hightower - Supposedly a man's dead father has come back and he returns home to investigate. Rating: 3/5
A Touch of the Old Lilith by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - A young woman's grandmother tells her all the women in her family have some Lilith in them and will end up killing any man who becomes close to them. Rating: 3/5
Footprints in the Water by Poppy Z. Brite - A man whose twin brother is dead, asks a man who possesses special powers to bring him back to life. Rating: 2/5
I loved the story, Coming Back, it is well-written, emotional and has a very strong female main character. He Whistles Far and Wee gave me the chills while reading it alone at night; the man who sold balloons to children is very creepy. The ending of The Co-op shocked and appalled me. Usually historical fiction bores me, but Fruits of Love fascinated me and taught me something. And I Know What To Do repulsed me; I loathe cockroaches (that segment in Creepshow scarred me for life).
Although the subject matter of each story varies greatly, the quality does not. All of the stories featured in this collection are well-written, have spooky imagery, surprising twist endings and fascinating characters. If you're a fan of dark short stories, seek out this collection.
Read more of my reviews at http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com
The Co-op by Melanie Tem - Mothers in a babysitting co-op share dark secrets. Rating: 4/5
Fruits of Love by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - A historical fiction piece about a woman who is won in a card game by a brutish man. Rating: 4/5
Sarah and the Slime Creature by Resa Nelson - A woman who was sexually abused by her stepbrother when she was young has trouble trusting men as an adult. Rating: 4/5
Just Idle Chatter by Jean Paiva - A boy eavesdrops on his strange neighbours, finding out something disturbing. Rating: 4/5
Act of Love by Kristl Volk Franklin - A young girl is disturbed by witnessing her father's abuse of her mother. Rating: 4/5
Arc Light by Lisa W. Cantrell - A welder overcomes his fear of the dark. Rating: 4/5
The Pit by Patricia Ramsey-Jones - A dog who is forced into dog fighting gets revenge on his cruel owner. Rating: 3/5
A Rainy Evening in Western Illinois by Rebecca Lyons - A man believes he witnessed a horrible car accident. Rating: 4/5
Coming Back by Ginger LaJeunesse - A mother who dies in car accident forces herself to come back to life for her son. Rating: 5/5
I Know What To Do by Yvonne Navarro - A couple moves into a new apartment to find it already occupied by a vicious cockroach that won't die. Rating: 4/5
The Drought by Lois Tilton - A group observing how elephants react to a drought, learn that dehydration makes them crazy - and dangerous. Rating: 4/5
The Nightmare's Tale by Tanith Lee - A historical fiction about revenge. Rating: 2/5
He Whistles Far and Wee by Kiel Stuart - A creepy man sells balloons to children in a tropical paradise. Rating: 4/5
Dirty Pain by Lisa Swallow - A man needs pain - from himself and others - to feel normal. Rating: 3/5
Last Echoes by Janet Lorimer - A woman who loves nursery rhymes moves to an old-fashioned town where they participate in a dark ritual from a nursery rhyme. Rating: 4/5
Daddy's Coming Home by Lynn S. Hightower - Supposedly a man's dead father has come back and he returns home to investigate. Rating: 3/5
A Touch of the Old Lilith by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - A young woman's grandmother tells her all the women in her family have some Lilith in them and will end up killing any man who becomes close to them. Rating: 3/5
Footprints in the Water by Poppy Z. Brite - A man whose twin brother is dead, asks a man who possesses special powers to bring him back to life. Rating: 2/5
I loved the story, Coming Back, it is well-written, emotional and has a very strong female main character. He Whistles Far and Wee gave me the chills while reading it alone at night; the man who sold balloons to children is very creepy. The ending of The Co-op shocked and appalled me. Usually historical fiction bores me, but Fruits of Love fascinated me and taught me something. And I Know What To Do repulsed me; I loathe cockroaches (that segment in Creepshow scarred me for life).
Although the subject matter of each story varies greatly, the quality does not. All of the stories featured in this collection are well-written, have spooky imagery, surprising twist endings and fascinating characters. If you're a fan of dark short stories, seek out this collection.
Read more of my reviews at http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com
March 12, 2011
Review: Women of Darkness II
Edited by Kathryn Ptacek.
Published by Tor Horror, 1990.
The second volume of Women of Darkness continues in the same vein as the first book. The 18 stories are mostly modern (for 1990), and feature stories by Nina Hoffman, Kiel Stuart, Yvonne Navarro, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Jean Paiva, for starters. For the most part, I was not as impressed with Volume II as I was with Volume I. While I appreciated about a third of the submissions, out of the 18 stories, I really enjoyed three of them.
It must be pointed out that with Volume II of Women of Darkness, there is a theme that meanders throughout the book: motherhood. Ms. Ptacek selected quite a few stories that touch on various aspects and iterations of motherhood. There are six stories in the book that overtly address maternal instincts (or lack thereof). It is within these stories that true horror is depicted; the horror of everyday life. They address the subtle fears, dissatisfactions and quiet desperations of motherhood; usually with the visceral descriptions that only a mother or a mom-by-proxy can illustrate.
The opening story, “The Co-Op,” by Melanie Tem is a positively dreary tale of a new initiate into a group of reluctant mothers. Kristi Volk Franklin’s “Act of Love” tells of a daughter’s efforts to free her mother from her abusive father, and Ginger LaJeunesse’s “Coming Back” shows how far a mother will go to take care of her son. Of these stories, “Last Echoes” and “A Touch of the Old Lilith” were my favorites. “Last Echoes” was written by Janet Lorimer, and it is about the dark history of nursery rhymes and a mother’s greatest fear. Nina Hoffman's “A Touch of the Old Lilith” is a tale of a young woman’s reminisces about her probable dark ancestry as told to her by her eccentric grandmother and reinforced by her mother.
But out of the entire book, my absolute favorite was “I Know What to Do” by Yvonne Navarro. I have a warped sense of humor and I abhor bugs, so this tale at once made me laugh and sent a shiver down my spine. The ending is fantastic. There aren’t enough of these little gems in the book. Jean Paiva’s “Just Idle Chatter,” Lisa Cantrell’s “Arc Light,” and Lois Tilton’s “The Drought” are a few of the stories in this volume that didn’t impress me. I found myself reading these quickly to get to the next story. As I’ve said before, no one will like every single story in an anthology, and there is no reason to think that Women of Darkness II runs contrary to this concept.
However, I appreciate the effort and vision of Ms. Ptacek to produce another female horror/dark fantasy anthology. I am just of the opinion that Volume II is not as balanced as Volume I. But if you are a completest like me, you will nevertheless add it to your collection.
Edited by Kathryn Ptacek.
Published by Tor Horror, 1990.
The second volume of Women of Darkness continues in the same vein as the first book. The 18 stories are mostly modern (for 1990), and feature stories by Nina Hoffman, Kiel Stuart, Yvonne Navarro, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Jean Paiva, for starters. For the most part, I was not as impressed with Volume II as I was with Volume I. While I appreciated about a third of the submissions, out of the 18 stories, I really enjoyed three of them.
It must be pointed out that with Volume II of Women of Darkness, there is a theme that meanders throughout the book: motherhood. Ms. Ptacek selected quite a few stories that touch on various aspects and iterations of motherhood. There are six stories in the book that overtly address maternal instincts (or lack thereof). It is within these stories that true horror is depicted; the horror of everyday life. They address the subtle fears, dissatisfactions and quiet desperations of motherhood; usually with the visceral descriptions that only a mother or a mom-by-proxy can illustrate.
The opening story, “The Co-Op,” by Melanie Tem is a positively dreary tale of a new initiate into a group of reluctant mothers. Kristi Volk Franklin’s “Act of Love” tells of a daughter’s efforts to free her mother from her abusive father, and Ginger LaJeunesse’s “Coming Back” shows how far a mother will go to take care of her son. Of these stories, “Last Echoes” and “A Touch of the Old Lilith” were my favorites. “Last Echoes” was written by Janet Lorimer, and it is about the dark history of nursery rhymes and a mother’s greatest fear. Nina Hoffman's “A Touch of the Old Lilith” is a tale of a young woman’s reminisces about her probable dark ancestry as told to her by her eccentric grandmother and reinforced by her mother.
But out of the entire book, my absolute favorite was “I Know What to Do” by Yvonne Navarro. I have a warped sense of humor and I abhor bugs, so this tale at once made me laugh and sent a shiver down my spine. The ending is fantastic. There aren’t enough of these little gems in the book. Jean Paiva’s “Just Idle Chatter,” Lisa Cantrell’s “Arc Light,” and Lois Tilton’s “The Drought” are a few of the stories in this volume that didn’t impress me. I found myself reading these quickly to get to the next story. As I’ve said before, no one will like every single story in an anthology, and there is no reason to think that Women of Darkness II runs contrary to this concept.
However, I appreciate the effort and vision of Ms. Ptacek to produce another female horror/dark fantasy anthology. I am just of the opinion that Volume II is not as balanced as Volume I. But if you are a completest like me, you will nevertheless add it to your collection.
June 6, 2009
A collection of horror stories by women writers. I haven't seen the first volume of these but the second volume was pretty good.
January 1, 2020
What an amazing collection. Dont hesitate to get this if you can.
December 10, 2015
Not as good as the first one.
July 19, 2011
not as good as the first anthology
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews