Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Slay Ride

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor)

That world-renowned explorer of the ultimate in evil, Alfred Hitchcock, invites you on a guided tour of his very favourite fiendish fun spots. For the rare horrors he's unearthed for you, the price is rather modest. Your nerves. Your sleep. Perhaps a bit of your sanity. Oh yes, one other piece of travel information before you depart. Alfie's tickets to terror are always one way...

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Woody Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it a low rating because of an editorial misstep. I am immersed in reading the Alfred Hitchcock Presents paperback anthologies at work since I can usually get through a story during a 15-minute break. If not, it is easy to remember the plot & pick back up during my next break or when my 30-minute lunch rolls around. I reserve my reading of novels for when I am at home as I can chew up much bigger chunks during my free time. Imagine my surprise & disgust when fully the second half of the book was taken up with the reprinting of John Wyndham's full-length novel "Out of the Deeps" AKA "The Kraken Awakes"! I quickly packed the book up & brought it home to read, replacing it with a much more palatable collection filled with bite-sized chunks of reading matter.

[Scott Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 stories and 1 novel add up to a lot just OK. The star of this book is John Wyndham’s novel The Kraken Wakes, published under the title Out of the Deeps. Basically an updating of War of the Worlds where the aliens land and live in the oceans. It’s an intriguing idea and it has one genuinely suspenseful scene, but Wyndham seems to be more interested in the political and media responses than to the crisis itself. As for the stories, only 2 stand out. Gerald Kersh’s Men Without Bones is extremely well written and creepy but it has an unnecessary twist ending that detracts from the overall effect. Fritz Leiber’s X Marks the Pedwalk stands out because it is so different from the others.

[Ransom · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 short stories of varying degrees of quality and a single novel that comprises over half the size of the book. I found myself engaged with the short stories and found myself glad to keep thinking of some of them. The novel by John Wyndham is the real shining star of these stories though. A great start for checking out short story collections that has me excited to seek out more.