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The End of the Line
This collection of stories from some of horror fiction’s best authors will glue you to the page, but watch out; it may leave you too afraid to take the metro to work.
In deep tunnels something stirs, borne on a warm breath of wind, reeking of diesel and blood. The spaces between stations hold secrets too terrible for the upper world to comprehend and the steel lines sing with the songs of the dead.
Jonathan Oliver has collected together some of the very best in new horror writing in an themed anthology of stories set on, and around, the New York subway, the London underground, the Metro and other places deep below.
In deep tunnels something stirs, borne on a warm breath of wind, reeking of diesel and blood. The spaces between stations hold secrets too terrible for the upper world to comprehend and the steel lines sing with the songs of the dead.
Jonathan Oliver has collected together some of the very best in new horror writing in an themed anthology of stories set on, and around, the New York subway, the London underground, the Metro and other places deep below.
608 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 26, 2010
4 people are currently reading
647 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Oliver
42 books34 followersJonathan Oliver is the British Fantasy Award winning editor of Magic, House of Fear, End of the Line, End of the Road, World War Cthulhu, Five Stories High and Dangerous Games. He is the author of the collection The Language of Beasts, out now from Black Shuck Books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 6, 2019
This has been an interesting read if I will admit (through no fault of the book) a slow one.
The idea of a themed anthology is nothing new, however I will admit that the idea of dedicating one to the Underground and all things related (however vaguely) is an interesting one and I will admit the choice of authors an interesting one.
I guess have read more than my fair share of anthologies you start to see the same names appear again and again and in some cases even specific stories too. Now this book is different. yes there are still the familiar names but not in such a book like this. And that is where the fun starts - having never seen some of these authors produce a short story let alone one worthy enough to be part of some one else anthology makes for some pretty amazing material.
So if you fancy something different this is a strong possibility - yes its not for everyone and I guess the subject matter polarises the readers even more. However if it is for you then it will not disappear and as usual it has provide a whole raft of authors I want to now go away and investigate a whole load more.
As an update - I think now that I have had a chance both accidentally and intentionally to read more work from some of the authors I had not heard of at the first time round reading thing anthology I can now appreciate the stories a little better (I feel).
My general review still stands however some of the authors I have read a lot more about and can start to appreciate their style and nuances even to the point on how they viewed the world. Sometimes I think when you have an anthology of various authors you need to go back and check again, sometimes you get to see them differently
The idea of a themed anthology is nothing new, however I will admit that the idea of dedicating one to the Underground and all things related (however vaguely) is an interesting one and I will admit the choice of authors an interesting one.
I guess have read more than my fair share of anthologies you start to see the same names appear again and again and in some cases even specific stories too. Now this book is different. yes there are still the familiar names but not in such a book like this. And that is where the fun starts - having never seen some of these authors produce a short story let alone one worthy enough to be part of some one else anthology makes for some pretty amazing material.
So if you fancy something different this is a strong possibility - yes its not for everyone and I guess the subject matter polarises the readers even more. However if it is for you then it will not disappear and as usual it has provide a whole raft of authors I want to now go away and investigate a whole load more.
As an update - I think now that I have had a chance both accidentally and intentionally to read more work from some of the authors I had not heard of at the first time round reading thing anthology I can now appreciate the stories a little better (I feel).
My general review still stands however some of the authors I have read a lot more about and can start to appreciate their style and nuances even to the point on how they viewed the world. Sometimes I think when you have an anthology of various authors you need to go back and check again, sometimes you get to see them differently
January 27, 2016
Did you enjoy the subway horrors of Clive Barker’s “The Midnight Meat Train,” in the first volume of his Books of Blood (1984)? Perhaps the tunnels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s 1997 novel Reliquary have left you with nightmarish thrills. Or maybe you fondly remember famous Tube chase sequence in the movie An American Werewolf In London (1981). If any of these or other tales of terror set in the world of underground transportation have pushed the right buttons for you, then you need to get your hands on a copy of The End of the Line.
Edited by Jonathan Oliver, The End of the Line is one hell of a themed anthology, and easily one of the strongest horror anthologies I’ve so far read. Each and every story is exclusive to this anthology, and so you need not fear retreads when you see the names of such established authors as Pat Cadigan, Adam Nevill, Michael Marshall Smith, Christopher Fowler, and the one and only Ramsey Campbell included in its contents.
As is inevitably the case with most anthologies, there were some stories that weren’t as good as others, but I’m not going to get into them. Instead, I’m going to dish on the really, really good ones.
Make no mistake about it, this is very much a horror anthology. Many of these tales of famous subways (and less-so ones, and the occasional fictional one) might just leave you hesitant to take a descent to your means of transportation. Take, for instance, the grim cautionary tale that is James Lovegrove’s “Siding 13,” the nastiest of its kind since John Shirley’s “Squeeze” (and most definitely not one for claustrophobic readers). Al Ewing’s disorienting “The Roses That Bloom Underground” is a nice speculative piece about just how the titular English subway may stay remarkably clean and orderly. And Simon Bestwick’s suggestive-rather-than-macabre “The Sons of the City” (besides reading like a long-lost episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker) may make the lack of a subway in Manchester a very, very good thing.
Some of the stories work on a more subtle level, utilizing an atmosphere of unease and suspense to draw the reader in, in a manner that is undeniably horror. Rebecca Levine’s grim and surreal “23:45 Mordern (Via Bank)” was the equivalent of a Kafka-penned Twilight Zone episode. Michael Marshall Smith’s “Missed Connection” (almost a thematic companion piece to “23:45”) is a dread-inducing meditation on the power of denial, which can create fleeting sense of relief in the face of fear. And Adam Nevill’s brilliant “On All London Underground Lines” is almost a straightforward tale of a man simply wanting to avoid being late—or is it? Read between the lines, look a little closer, and the horror pulsates at every corner in this excellent contribution.
Speaking of subtlety, I must single out Nicholas Royle’s “The Lure.” This was a show-stopper, rich with beautifully painful sympathy for its student protagonist as he wanders through the Paris Metro (and perhaps, the interests of his philosophy professor). While its main arc serves to convey a sense of longing and pathos, the delightfully enigmatic finale is a satisfying conclusion to the deep sense of unsettlement that runs through it all. I have no doubt in my mind that I will be reading much more of Mr. Royle in the future, entirely thanks to this story.
Ah, but not all of these tales are so subtle. Take, for instance, John Llewelyn Probert’s “The Girl In the Glass,” an old-fashioned ghost story with a very modern, metropolitan setting and some neat metaphysical ideas. Stephen Volk’s “In the Colliseum,” a fantastically macabre and bleakly erotic piece that begs the question of what happens on the other side of CCTV cameras, reading like an episode of the UK show Black Mirror, as written by J.G. Ballard. And Mark Morris’s “Fallen Boys,” set not in the subway, but rather in a Cornish mine, is an unforgettably creepy tale.
Some stories were less horrific and more suspenseful, but that in no way took away from their quality. Ramsey Campbell’s “The Rounds” was quite a thriller, and as signature to his work, it is quite original and unforgettable. Jasper Bark’s scifi-informed title story (yes, there’s a story actually called “End of the Line,” and appropriately so!), while a little on the short side, is still full of some neat and trippy ideas. And Christopher Folwer’s closer, “Down,” is a beautifully heartbreaking and hauntingly morose tale that took my breath away.
And then there were a few tales that weren’t quite horror or suspense, yet were so deserving to be a part of this anthology nonetheless. The quality bar for this book was set quite high with Paul Melloy’s opening tale “Bullroarer,” which had my hand clasped over my mouth, not in horror, but in deep sympathy—and which left me quite satisfied by the end. Also worth mention in this regard is Joel Lane’s “All Dead Years,” a very Aickman-esque piece, was simultaneously enigmatic and memorable.
It’s a surefire bet that I’ll be checking out Mr. Oliver’s other themed anthologies, namely House of Fear (2011) and End of the Road (2013), in the near future. The End of the Line is a powerful and well-collected anthology.
Edited by Jonathan Oliver, The End of the Line is one hell of a themed anthology, and easily one of the strongest horror anthologies I’ve so far read. Each and every story is exclusive to this anthology, and so you need not fear retreads when you see the names of such established authors as Pat Cadigan, Adam Nevill, Michael Marshall Smith, Christopher Fowler, and the one and only Ramsey Campbell included in its contents.
As is inevitably the case with most anthologies, there were some stories that weren’t as good as others, but I’m not going to get into them. Instead, I’m going to dish on the really, really good ones.
Make no mistake about it, this is very much a horror anthology. Many of these tales of famous subways (and less-so ones, and the occasional fictional one) might just leave you hesitant to take a descent to your means of transportation. Take, for instance, the grim cautionary tale that is James Lovegrove’s “Siding 13,” the nastiest of its kind since John Shirley’s “Squeeze” (and most definitely not one for claustrophobic readers). Al Ewing’s disorienting “The Roses That Bloom Underground” is a nice speculative piece about just how the titular English subway may stay remarkably clean and orderly. And Simon Bestwick’s suggestive-rather-than-macabre “The Sons of the City” (besides reading like a long-lost episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker) may make the lack of a subway in Manchester a very, very good thing.
Some of the stories work on a more subtle level, utilizing an atmosphere of unease and suspense to draw the reader in, in a manner that is undeniably horror. Rebecca Levine’s grim and surreal “23:45 Mordern (Via Bank)” was the equivalent of a Kafka-penned Twilight Zone episode. Michael Marshall Smith’s “Missed Connection” (almost a thematic companion piece to “23:45”) is a dread-inducing meditation on the power of denial, which can create fleeting sense of relief in the face of fear. And Adam Nevill’s brilliant “On All London Underground Lines” is almost a straightforward tale of a man simply wanting to avoid being late—or is it? Read between the lines, look a little closer, and the horror pulsates at every corner in this excellent contribution.
Speaking of subtlety, I must single out Nicholas Royle’s “The Lure.” This was a show-stopper, rich with beautifully painful sympathy for its student protagonist as he wanders through the Paris Metro (and perhaps, the interests of his philosophy professor). While its main arc serves to convey a sense of longing and pathos, the delightfully enigmatic finale is a satisfying conclusion to the deep sense of unsettlement that runs through it all. I have no doubt in my mind that I will be reading much more of Mr. Royle in the future, entirely thanks to this story.
Ah, but not all of these tales are so subtle. Take, for instance, John Llewelyn Probert’s “The Girl In the Glass,” an old-fashioned ghost story with a very modern, metropolitan setting and some neat metaphysical ideas. Stephen Volk’s “In the Colliseum,” a fantastically macabre and bleakly erotic piece that begs the question of what happens on the other side of CCTV cameras, reading like an episode of the UK show Black Mirror, as written by J.G. Ballard. And Mark Morris’s “Fallen Boys,” set not in the subway, but rather in a Cornish mine, is an unforgettably creepy tale.
Some stories were less horrific and more suspenseful, but that in no way took away from their quality. Ramsey Campbell’s “The Rounds” was quite a thriller, and as signature to his work, it is quite original and unforgettable. Jasper Bark’s scifi-informed title story (yes, there’s a story actually called “End of the Line,” and appropriately so!), while a little on the short side, is still full of some neat and trippy ideas. And Christopher Folwer’s closer, “Down,” is a beautifully heartbreaking and hauntingly morose tale that took my breath away.
And then there were a few tales that weren’t quite horror or suspense, yet were so deserving to be a part of this anthology nonetheless. The quality bar for this book was set quite high with Paul Melloy’s opening tale “Bullroarer,” which had my hand clasped over my mouth, not in horror, but in deep sympathy—and which left me quite satisfied by the end. Also worth mention in this regard is Joel Lane’s “All Dead Years,” a very Aickman-esque piece, was simultaneously enigmatic and memorable.
It’s a surefire bet that I’ll be checking out Mr. Oliver’s other themed anthologies, namely House of Fear (2011) and End of the Road (2013), in the near future. The End of the Line is a powerful and well-collected anthology.
February 19, 2015
I don't usually give anthologies five stars because they inevitably vary so much in quality. It's unlikely a reader will find all of the stories to their taste. However, the quality of this collection is incredibly maintained throughout (albeit with one or two exceptions). Maybe the theme resonated with the contributors and managed to excite them to greater effort.
I loved “23:45 Morden (via Bank)” by Rebecca Levene in which the protagonists life goes rapidly down the pan for reasons he can't work out but seems somehow to stem from getting on the wrong train home one night. Also exceptional was “The Roses That Bloom Underground” by Al Ewing in which the London Underground system is radically rejuvenated by a new mayor who has somehow utilised mysterious supernatural forces and a curious reporter is intent on getting to the bottom of it.
Some stories worked by using the regular misery commuters experience on the tube and taking it to horrific extremes. "On All London Underground Lines" by Adam L. G. Nevill describes what might be a common travel experience but makes it feel like a waking nightmare by the way he tells it. And “Siding 13″ by James Lovegrove takes train overcrowding to it's logical extreme.
Not all the stories are set on the London Underground however. Ramsey Campbell's "The Rounds" is about a man stuck in a loop (in more than one sense) on Liverpool's underground system and “Fallen Boys” by Mark Morris is set in an old tin mine in Cornwall where a school trip unearths some unpleasant facts from the past. Others were set around Paris, New York and L.A.
I read only a couple of stories at a time and took a break in between which was just as well because reading them all in one go would make the theme feel a bit stale. That said, some stories stretched it about as far as possible; such as Gary McMahon’s “Diving Deep” in which scientists discover a curiously artificial tunnel in the north sea ice cap.
Like I said, a couple of stories didn't quite gel with me, such as "In the Coliseum" by Stephen Volk that was just a little too bleak for me. But overall an outstanding collection that I would recommend to any fans of horror particularly if the theme appeals.
I loved “23:45 Morden (via Bank)” by Rebecca Levene in which the protagonists life goes rapidly down the pan for reasons he can't work out but seems somehow to stem from getting on the wrong train home one night. Also exceptional was “The Roses That Bloom Underground” by Al Ewing in which the London Underground system is radically rejuvenated by a new mayor who has somehow utilised mysterious supernatural forces and a curious reporter is intent on getting to the bottom of it.
Some stories worked by using the regular misery commuters experience on the tube and taking it to horrific extremes. "On All London Underground Lines" by Adam L. G. Nevill describes what might be a common travel experience but makes it feel like a waking nightmare by the way he tells it. And “Siding 13″ by James Lovegrove takes train overcrowding to it's logical extreme.
Not all the stories are set on the London Underground however. Ramsey Campbell's "The Rounds" is about a man stuck in a loop (in more than one sense) on Liverpool's underground system and “Fallen Boys” by Mark Morris is set in an old tin mine in Cornwall where a school trip unearths some unpleasant facts from the past. Others were set around Paris, New York and L.A.
I read only a couple of stories at a time and took a break in between which was just as well because reading them all in one go would make the theme feel a bit stale. That said, some stories stretched it about as far as possible; such as Gary McMahon’s “Diving Deep” in which scientists discover a curiously artificial tunnel in the north sea ice cap.
Like I said, a couple of stories didn't quite gel with me, such as "In the Coliseum" by Stephen Volk that was just a little too bleak for me. But overall an outstanding collection that I would recommend to any fans of horror particularly if the theme appeals.
Read
July 25, 2018for me, somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3.5. More on this book soon, but for now it's your typical horror anthology, with a couple of excellent stories, some that are okay, and some that are not so hot.
I won't be keeping this one, so if anyone in the US wants it, it's yours. Gratis.
I won't be keeping this one, so if anyone in the US wants it, it's yours. Gratis.
March 19, 2014
The only worry I had in picking up The End of the Line is that its theme would prove too restrictive for its authors. This worry vanished completely sometime later in the flurry of page-turning. The stories are all powerfully written, to the point where the authors probably could have all told the same story and still had me riveted, but there's tremendous diversity of concept and execution here. Pat Cadigan's "Funny Things" and Rebecca Levene's "23:45 Morden (via Bank)" are both about people who, through errors underground, become aware of parallel realities and shifts between worlds--and imposters--but Cadigan's tale is an expansive dark fantasy with turns of phrase that build like incantations and Levene's is maybe the most horrific of the bunch, about a world that turns against you, down to your own mother blistering your mouth with caustic soda and your neighbor beating your cat to death with a hammer, every bad day and fear you've ever had exploited brilliantly. I don't think I even realized until now that they could plausibly exist in the same universe. That's how carefully Jonathan Oliver, the editor, has curated and arranged this collection.
The types of horror vary widely: if this isn't a case of the same story over and over again, it also isn't, thankfully, a case of the same tone over and over again. There's the placid unease (reminiscent of Don't Look Now) of Nicholas Royle's "The Lure"; the surrealism of Adam Nevill's "On All London Underground Lines," where the experience of running late and being hassled by the world folds in on itself like origami; the gaudy sex-and-violence of Stephen Volk's "In the Colosseum," which looks at reality TV, reality, and history through the hallucinogenic soap-bubble scene of a party that takes a dark turn; the nauseating magical realism of James Lovegrove's "Siding 13," which contains almost Boschian images, and which lingers in the mind (whether your gag reflex wants it to or not) because of how vivid it is; and the elegant, understated modernized mythology of Joel Lane's "All Dead Years."
I could--and probably should--go on. This is an anthology I read with steadily mounting appreciation, hardly able to believe all these stories were neatly contained within one volume, and that they only enhanced each other. It's a must read.
The types of horror vary widely: if this isn't a case of the same story over and over again, it also isn't, thankfully, a case of the same tone over and over again. There's the placid unease (reminiscent of Don't Look Now) of Nicholas Royle's "The Lure"; the surrealism of Adam Nevill's "On All London Underground Lines," where the experience of running late and being hassled by the world folds in on itself like origami; the gaudy sex-and-violence of Stephen Volk's "In the Colosseum," which looks at reality TV, reality, and history through the hallucinogenic soap-bubble scene of a party that takes a dark turn; the nauseating magical realism of James Lovegrove's "Siding 13," which contains almost Boschian images, and which lingers in the mind (whether your gag reflex wants it to or not) because of how vivid it is; and the elegant, understated modernized mythology of Joel Lane's "All Dead Years."
I could--and probably should--go on. This is an anthology I read with steadily mounting appreciation, hardly able to believe all these stories were neatly contained within one volume, and that they only enhanced each other. It's a must read.
June 23, 2012
A spine chilling collection of 19 short stories based in and around The London Underground, New York Subway, Paris Metro and some other lesser known metro systems. There are some horrific and memorable stories here, some will make you think twice about using an underground train in the future! Some of my favourites from the collection are the "The Girl in the glass" by John L. Probert, a story of horrific visions in the window of a London tube train. "Fallen Boys" by Mark Morris, a good old fashioned ghost story based in an abandoned tin mine in Cornwall where a school trip on the mines working railway goes horribly wrong. The hugely entertaining and slightly worrying "Sons of the City" by Simon Bestwick, a story of failed attempt to build an underground railway in the English city of Manchester with an unexpected twist! I loved this book, there are some really good short stories here by some of the best new and upcoming horror writers around.
October 12, 2012
I first became fascinated with London Underground via the incomprable Neverwhere, however wherein Neverwhere's Underground is wild and exciting, the stories in this book present it as what it ought to be...terrifying. Seriously terrifying. One after another these excellent well written and well selected claustrophobic nightmares are certain to ensure that from now one the reader should walk, bike, take buses or cabs, do whatever it takes to stay above the ground. Really liked this anthology, great cover art, nicely edited, each story has a bit of an intro, the writers bios are in the back. This was a great way to enjoy the works of more known authors and discover the lesser known ones. While most of the authors featured are either british or british born, the stories take place in different places, NY, LA, Prague, London, anywhere large enough to have a subway or metro or underground or whatever you call that frightening method of transportaion. Highly recommended.
April 9, 2019
Great collection of short stories based around (or in theme) of the London Underground system. For those who have traveled the tube, it is wonderful if not sometimes an antiquated system of tunnels that criss-cross all of the greater London Metro areas. My wife and I loved traveling there when we went for our honeymoon and getting out of the hustle and bustle of the city and into the flung countrysides of the lower isles were beautiful (I highly recommend the green line all the way to Kensal Green Cemetary for some of the most Gothic of sights)
Okay, enough off the topic of the book! :) The End of the Line has horror, dark fantasy, even darker psychological, and tales of beyond all crammed like pensioners and salarymen alike. If you fear cramped and dark "public" spaces, this is for you.
Okay, enough off the topic of the book! :) The End of the Line has horror, dark fantasy, even darker psychological, and tales of beyond all crammed like pensioners and salarymen alike. If you fear cramped and dark "public" spaces, this is for you.
February 3, 2021
For a book that I got free! It was brilliant, I enjoyed the book from cover to cover. Many of the short stories were to short and wished they were longer, and kept thinking that many of them could be made into films or a series. It brought back memories of the times on the underground and wondering what was lurking in all those dark corners while waiting for a train!!! :D
November 4, 2010
What a fun anthology-creepy Underground.The stories, for the most part, were very good and scary with well known authors and some that are up and coming.
September 2, 2022
So, horror... I love walking in the metro or subway as other English speakers say.
I had some hope on this anthology, I knew most of the names of the authors since they all publish other stuff for Solaris, Aconyte and even Black Library/Black Flame and Rebellion.. all of these companies are connected in Nottingham...
So, first of all, some of these stories don't even have anything to do with the metro...
Apart from Al Ewing story , Sptehen Volk and Mchamon and my favorite Lovegrove story all other tales are okay and some are pretty bad but the worst was one that really surprised me with Ramsey Campbell due to the political stuff which I not only don't care but don't stand...
You've got claustrophobic tales, you got sex stuff you got love, you got everything here which was nice. I can't advise to anyone unless you are counting the tales I've mentioned.
I had some hope on this anthology, I knew most of the names of the authors since they all publish other stuff for Solaris, Aconyte and even Black Library/Black Flame and Rebellion.. all of these companies are connected in Nottingham...
So, first of all, some of these stories don't even have anything to do with the metro...
Apart from Al Ewing story , Sptehen Volk and Mchamon and my favorite Lovegrove story all other tales are okay and some are pretty bad but the worst was one that really surprised me with Ramsey Campbell due to the political stuff which I not only don't care but don't stand...
You've got claustrophobic tales, you got sex stuff you got love, you got everything here which was nice. I can't advise to anyone unless you are counting the tales I've mentioned.
December 3, 2019
Some of these stories were so far out there that I couldn't figure out where they were going and then when they arrived they were DOA. Others (a minority) were very disturbing and exactly what I was hoping to read. but therein lies the problem with anthologies. It's hard to please everyone and often the really good stories just get lost up in there.
November 27, 2014
3.5 stars, as the quality of the stories differed. The writing style was professional in all the stories but some were more engaging and original than others. Overall a very diverse collection that will make me take a further look at some of the contributors.
Bullroarer - 3
The Girl in the Glass - 2
The Lure - 3.5 - liked the way the atmosphere was created, very easy to conjure in my mind
23:45 Modern (via Bank) - 3.5 - plenty of promise, dark, alienated, Kafka-esque
End of the Line - 3 - that could have been a book
The Sons of the City - 2
The Roses That Bloom Underground - 2
Exit Sounds - 2
Funny Things - 4 - this one had a lot of promise, so much has been offered and would have loved reading a whole book on this. Plus realistically sad, with truth of life in it. And the ideas and potential!
On All London Underground Lines - 3 - Adam Neville is my favourite author so this was the first story I read and it was not disappointing though he can do so much better...There were echoes of my favourite book there.
Fallen Boys - 3.5 - love mines and even more so when they are abandoned. A very neat story.
In the Colosseum - 3 - sex, sadism and sad realisation that being complicit will never go away
The Rounds - 2
Missed Connection - 4 - confusing and great - like the world behind the mirror or King's past dimensions of time waiting for the Langoliers. Dead, grey, abandoned and creepily different from the familiar dimension known as reality
Siding 13 - 3.5 - well written and making for a very uncomfortable panic attack vision. Siding 13 is about as popular a destination as any of the rooms within the Cube.
Diving Deep - 3 - Lake Vostok-ish! And another fine idea that then melted into something just passing. More stories in places like these, less ephemeral and truly artistic occurrences, please...
Crazy Train - 3.5 and the half star is for the touching help and gestures of the train crew, especially Freddie
All Dead Years - 2.5 - some great descriptions that create a brilliant setting for a potentially good story...then it disappears, probably died of overt femininity
Down - 3.5 - who cares of it has a cliche ending? It felt true, well written, it drew that subterranean world in front of my eyes. Reminded me of Artyom walking through the Metro in Russia in Metro 2034.
Bullroarer - 3
The Girl in the Glass - 2
The Lure - 3.5 - liked the way the atmosphere was created, very easy to conjure in my mind
23:45 Modern (via Bank) - 3.5 - plenty of promise, dark, alienated, Kafka-esque
End of the Line - 3 - that could have been a book
The Sons of the City - 2
The Roses That Bloom Underground - 2
Exit Sounds - 2
Funny Things - 4 - this one had a lot of promise, so much has been offered and would have loved reading a whole book on this. Plus realistically sad, with truth of life in it. And the ideas and potential!
On All London Underground Lines - 3 - Adam Neville is my favourite author so this was the first story I read and it was not disappointing though he can do so much better...There were echoes of my favourite book there.
Fallen Boys - 3.5 - love mines and even more so when they are abandoned. A very neat story.
In the Colosseum - 3 - sex, sadism and sad realisation that being complicit will never go away
The Rounds - 2
Missed Connection - 4 - confusing and great - like the world behind the mirror or King's past dimensions of time waiting for the Langoliers. Dead, grey, abandoned and creepily different from the familiar dimension known as reality
Siding 13 - 3.5 - well written and making for a very uncomfortable panic attack vision. Siding 13 is about as popular a destination as any of the rooms within the Cube.
Diving Deep - 3 - Lake Vostok-ish! And another fine idea that then melted into something just passing. More stories in places like these, less ephemeral and truly artistic occurrences, please...
Crazy Train - 3.5 and the half star is for the touching help and gestures of the train crew, especially Freddie
All Dead Years - 2.5 - some great descriptions that create a brilliant setting for a potentially good story...then it disappears, probably died of overt femininity
Down - 3.5 - who cares of it has a cliche ending? It felt true, well written, it drew that subterranean world in front of my eyes. Reminded me of Artyom walking through the Metro in Russia in Metro 2034.
November 24, 2012
The stories are generally above average, closer to 4 stars than to 3.
I'm interested in train stories, which probably has something to do with the fact that my main mode of transportation, such as coming to and from work, is by train.
Trains have provided a setting for detective fiction, romance, and thrillers. I've thought that trains and the subway system can be a interesting backdrop for horror/weird fiction, and it was with eagerness that I read this book.
While most of the stories here are horror with trains and the subway as a setting, there are, I think, two stories that are more like suspense fiction. Another story takes place in tunnels underneath the Antarctic ice.
The stories I liked are:
"The Girl in the Glass" by John Llewellyn Probert is about a man stalked by a ghost on the train, and his attempt to solve this problem.
"23:45 Morden (Via Bank)" by Rebecca Levene is a Twilight Zone-style story about a man who, after leaving a train, apparently entered a parallel universe where all those he knew, such as his co-workers, friends, and family, act out of character; they act like jerks towards him. The story has a twist ending.
"The Roses That Bloom Underground" by Al Ewing is a horror story, with some humor, about the too good to be true operation of a new train system; the trains run on time, it is always clean, and it even smells nice. But there is a hidden reason for this.
"On All London Underground Lines" by Adam L.G. Nevill is about a person's aggravating experience on the subway trying to get to work.
"Missed Connection" by Michael Marshall Smith is a bit Kafkaesque. The main character is alone at a subway station. He thought he knew this station well, but it is dark, and he is having a terrible time trying to escape.
"Diving Deep" by Gary McMahon is a Lovecraftian story about the exploration of artificially made tunnels underneath the Antarctic ice.
"Crazy Train" by Natasha Rhodes is a fun story about a musician's supernatural train trip.
I'm interested in train stories, which probably has something to do with the fact that my main mode of transportation, such as coming to and from work, is by train.
Trains have provided a setting for detective fiction, romance, and thrillers. I've thought that trains and the subway system can be a interesting backdrop for horror/weird fiction, and it was with eagerness that I read this book.
While most of the stories here are horror with trains and the subway as a setting, there are, I think, two stories that are more like suspense fiction. Another story takes place in tunnels underneath the Antarctic ice.
The stories I liked are:
"The Girl in the Glass" by John Llewellyn Probert is about a man stalked by a ghost on the train, and his attempt to solve this problem.
"23:45 Morden (Via Bank)" by Rebecca Levene is a Twilight Zone-style story about a man who, after leaving a train, apparently entered a parallel universe where all those he knew, such as his co-workers, friends, and family, act out of character; they act like jerks towards him. The story has a twist ending.
"The Roses That Bloom Underground" by Al Ewing is a horror story, with some humor, about the too good to be true operation of a new train system; the trains run on time, it is always clean, and it even smells nice. But there is a hidden reason for this.
"On All London Underground Lines" by Adam L.G. Nevill is about a person's aggravating experience on the subway trying to get to work.
"Missed Connection" by Michael Marshall Smith is a bit Kafkaesque. The main character is alone at a subway station. He thought he knew this station well, but it is dark, and he is having a terrible time trying to escape.
"Diving Deep" by Gary McMahon is a Lovecraftian story about the exploration of artificially made tunnels underneath the Antarctic ice.
"Crazy Train" by Natasha Rhodes is a fun story about a musician's supernatural train trip.
May 10, 2011
Excellent collection of stories set on various undergrounds (some real, some fictional). Favourite stories were the chilling 'The Girl in the Glass' by John Probert, '23:45 Morden (via Bank)' by Rebecca Levene, 'End of the Line' by Jasper Bark, 'On All Underground Lines' by Adam Nevill, 'The Rounds' by Ramsey Campbell (I recommened that you don't read Campbell's story while travelling on the Liverpool Underground system, which unfortunately I did) and favourite story of all, 'Crazy Train' by Natasha Rhodes.
June 6, 2025
There are some good, indeed very good, stories here but the overall effect, while immediately satisfying leaves no deeper impression. When an anthology fails to leave a memorable impression I know it is not one I will return to. But it was fun and enjoyable while it lasted.
August 28, 2017
In his introduction to this collection, Jonathan Oliver writes that that the genesis of this anthology was that the Underground was under-used for horror stories. While is a possible matter for debate, his introduction sets out the scope given to contributors. They could tackle the tube trains of London or other cities or just anywhere underground.
Inevitably in an anthology, the content will vary. I did not judge all of the stories to be satisfying. ‘Bullroarer’ by Paul Meloy works as the exploration of a character’s sad life, but winds up with an ending that uses rape in the absence of anything else, just to provide a cheap shock ending. ‘The Sons of the City’ by Simon Bestwick, has the problem that the interesting content happens out of the narrative, when not telling it in flashback and exploring the effects described, could have been more dramatic. ‘Siding 13’ by James Lovegrave, takes the relatable idea of the pressure of rush hour, but appears to go with an ending in the hope that it has shock value, not that it makes sense.
However, there also plenty of good stories. For most authors, the Undergrounds of cities are the main settings. ‘23:45 Morden (Via Bank)’ by Rebecca Levene and ‘Missed Connection’ by Micheal Marshall Smith, both manage to find new takes on the idea of getting off on the wrong stop. ‘Funny Things’ by Pat Cardigan and ‘End of the Line’ by Jasper Bark, push out into the concepts of alternate realities and time travel.
A strength that comes through from the stories is the ability to just focus on the familiar aspects of the tube and turn it into something very dark. ‘The Roses that Bloom Underground’ by Al Ewing plays with the idea of what is behind those doors marked ‘staff only.’ Ewing has an imaginative skill with description. ‘On All London Underground Lines’ by Adam L. G. Nevill has a genuine sense of decay and unease. Nevill has learned to give the sense of something more horrible waiting around, just through hints and subtle descriptions, like Ramsey Campbell. The aforementioned writer manages to outdo everybody by turning a mundane object into a sign of something worse. Campbell’s story ‘The Rounds’ also contains a literary reference as an acknowledgement to a possible influence on the narrative. ‘In the Coliseum’ by Stephen Volk, finds another way to turn a mundane part of the tube into one of the most disturbing stories in the collection. It gains some of its strength, by acknowledge that things experienced have an afterlife in the mind of the witness.
There are a few stories that move out of the underground. ‘Fallen Boys’ by Mark Morris takes place in darkness of a Cornish Mining Museum. ‘Diving Deep’ by Gary McMahon moves into the well-researched Antarctica Ice, giving a sense of what it must be like to go into the water there.
Overall, I felt that this was a largely entertaining and chilling anthology. Hopefully there will be a second volume to compliment this title.
Originally published
at SF2 Concatenation' link. http://www.concatenation.org/frev/oli...
Inevitably in an anthology, the content will vary. I did not judge all of the stories to be satisfying. ‘Bullroarer’ by Paul Meloy works as the exploration of a character’s sad life, but winds up with an ending that uses rape in the absence of anything else, just to provide a cheap shock ending. ‘The Sons of the City’ by Simon Bestwick, has the problem that the interesting content happens out of the narrative, when not telling it in flashback and exploring the effects described, could have been more dramatic. ‘Siding 13’ by James Lovegrave, takes the relatable idea of the pressure of rush hour, but appears to go with an ending in the hope that it has shock value, not that it makes sense.
However, there also plenty of good stories. For most authors, the Undergrounds of cities are the main settings. ‘23:45 Morden (Via Bank)’ by Rebecca Levene and ‘Missed Connection’ by Micheal Marshall Smith, both manage to find new takes on the idea of getting off on the wrong stop. ‘Funny Things’ by Pat Cardigan and ‘End of the Line’ by Jasper Bark, push out into the concepts of alternate realities and time travel.
A strength that comes through from the stories is the ability to just focus on the familiar aspects of the tube and turn it into something very dark. ‘The Roses that Bloom Underground’ by Al Ewing plays with the idea of what is behind those doors marked ‘staff only.’ Ewing has an imaginative skill with description. ‘On All London Underground Lines’ by Adam L. G. Nevill has a genuine sense of decay and unease. Nevill has learned to give the sense of something more horrible waiting around, just through hints and subtle descriptions, like Ramsey Campbell. The aforementioned writer manages to outdo everybody by turning a mundane object into a sign of something worse. Campbell’s story ‘The Rounds’ also contains a literary reference as an acknowledgement to a possible influence on the narrative. ‘In the Coliseum’ by Stephen Volk, finds another way to turn a mundane part of the tube into one of the most disturbing stories in the collection. It gains some of its strength, by acknowledge that things experienced have an afterlife in the mind of the witness.
There are a few stories that move out of the underground. ‘Fallen Boys’ by Mark Morris takes place in darkness of a Cornish Mining Museum. ‘Diving Deep’ by Gary McMahon moves into the well-researched Antarctica Ice, giving a sense of what it must be like to go into the water there.
Overall, I felt that this was a largely entertaining and chilling anthology. Hopefully there will be a second volume to compliment this title.
Originally published
at SF2 Concatenation' link. http://www.concatenation.org/frev/oli...
June 4, 2020
For now he knew that the void he dreamt of was not an external phenomenon; it was not out there, apart from him. It was inside: the empty and fathomless gulf that sat deep within him, at his invisible centre, into which everything of worth would eventually fall...
The End of the Line is a collection of 19 horror stories themed around the Underground, from the London tubes, the Paris Metro, to my hometown Liverpool's small underground system.
The stories include classic ghost stories, suspenseful thrillers, psychological rides; all of which will take you out of your comfort zone as you delve into the world below our feet.
The End of the Line is a collection of 19 horror stories themed around the Underground, from the London tubes, the Paris Metro, to my hometown Liverpool's small underground system.
The stories include classic ghost stories, suspenseful thrillers, psychological rides; all of which will take you out of your comfort zone as you delve into the world below our feet.
February 13, 2018
A restrictive theme, inevitably encouraging that bane of the modern horror anthology - the slightly surreal and depressing tale of modern ennui and dislocation. Individually, there's possibly some good work here; as a whole, there's only so many stories of sad and lonely people wandering into the underground and getting forever lost or emerging into a slightly different world one person can take. Not even a single vampire tale, which would have seemed impossible for an anthology of this sort only a decade or so back.
July 1, 2011
The city undergrounds of the world have always been a great canvas for horror. Everybody’s been on one, breathed the stale air, rattled through those labyrinths of long, black tunnels. Whether deserted late at night, or in the middle of a packed rush-hour, it’s possibly to feel completely alone amid all that indifference, both human and mechanical. And who doesn’t remember that truly great scene from An American Werewolf in London?
The End of the Line, an anthology from Solaris Books and edited by Jonathan Oliver, promises new horror set on and around the underground. It’s a solid slab of modern gothic that takes us to London, Paris, New York and Prague amongst many other cities, and also to some fictional transport systems. And although by the end of the book an inevitable familiarity had started to take away the edge, the potential of this theme certainly isn’t wasted.
My favourite tales included “The Girl in the Glass” by John L. Probert: a nerve-tingling story a bitter ghost trapped in limbo on the tube. It’s classic JLP - old-school horror meets contemporary - and told with true finesse and a grim pay-off.
“The Lure” by Nicholas Royle takes us on a trip around the Paris Metro, concerning a young teacher’s affair with an older woman. It has an elegant French flavour, bringing the city to life around a plot of intrigue, sexual tension and shivers.
In “23:45 Morden (via Bank)”, Rebecca Levene presents a brilliantly nightmarish reality breakdown. A drunk young man catches a strangely-empty late train home, and soons finds his world has become cruel and vitriolic. It snared me from the off, forcing me to share his powerfully real and horrible plight.
And speaking of stories that grab your lapels and won’t let go, there’s “The Roses That Bloom Underground” by Al Ewing. A mayor manages to completely refurbish the London Underground in less than 3 weeks, and the inevitable exploration of how this was achieved gives great, gruesome reward to your curiosity.
“Exit Sounds” by Conrad Williams finds a recording engineer who wants to capture the hubbub of an aging cinema, and ends up wandering into the tunnels beneath the old building. It has incredible voice, attention to detail and keeps the reader guessing.
I particularly enjoyed “Fallen Boys” by Mark Morris. This is a slightly different setting, more specifically a miniature railway, as we follow an initially boisterous school trip into an old Cornish tin mine. It’s perfectly evocative, with sharp dialogue and characterisation, and plenty of chills.
Steven Volk’s “In The Colosseum” delivers unapologetic horror: a lust-charged downward spiral of a TV editor who tags along to a late party somewhere in the London Undergroud. It’s shocking, ultimately quite depressing, but worth every second.
I also loved the ghastly “Siding 13″ by James Lovegrove, which describes an artist on route to an important meeting. His journey becomes more unpleasant on the increasingly packed tube train, and the last few lines are certainly the most horrifying and truly memorable that this book has to offer.
There weren’t any stories in this book that I disliked, although I found the dimensional nightmare of Jasper Bark’s “End of the Line” and the layered grief of Pat Cadigan’s “Funny Things” slightly confusing upon the first read. There were also several tales that didn’t quite capture the true essence of the underground, and it just seemed to be an arbitrary stage for a sequence of events which could’ve easily been set somewhere else.
And although all these stories are well written and interesting, by the end, the anthology starts to suffer from familiarity. There’s a lot of protagonists wandering about and getting lost in the subterranean dark, and many of them seemed to be ill, injured or hungover. Michael Marshall Smith’s excellent “Missed Connection” strongly reminded me of two previous stories, lessening its impact. This is no fault of the author, and it would have fared much better in another collection of tales, or if it had been placed closer to the beginning of the book. When the contents of a niche anthology are commissioned, I suppose common tropes or clashes are inevitable.
This sometimes means that the stories that wander furthest from the theme shine particularly bright. Gary McMahon’s “Diving Deep” is a good example: a spooky and subtle tale of Antarctic divers who discover a tunnel bored deep into the ice.
But despite the déjà vu, this is a strong anthology full of imagination and professional writing. There’s a nice mix of the haunting and the visceral, and the underground itself plays many roles, such as a lair for monsters, a breeding ground for madness, or a device for political atrocity.
Each story has a pleasant editorial introduction by Jonathan Oliver, so if you like claustrophobic fiction, and especially horror that emerges from the everyday mundane, then give it a try. You could always minimise the risk of over-familiarity by reading it in small doses. Such as while travelling on the underground, for example…
The End of the Line, an anthology from Solaris Books and edited by Jonathan Oliver, promises new horror set on and around the underground. It’s a solid slab of modern gothic that takes us to London, Paris, New York and Prague amongst many other cities, and also to some fictional transport systems. And although by the end of the book an inevitable familiarity had started to take away the edge, the potential of this theme certainly isn’t wasted.
My favourite tales included “The Girl in the Glass” by John L. Probert: a nerve-tingling story a bitter ghost trapped in limbo on the tube. It’s classic JLP - old-school horror meets contemporary - and told with true finesse and a grim pay-off.
“The Lure” by Nicholas Royle takes us on a trip around the Paris Metro, concerning a young teacher’s affair with an older woman. It has an elegant French flavour, bringing the city to life around a plot of intrigue, sexual tension and shivers.
In “23:45 Morden (via Bank)”, Rebecca Levene presents a brilliantly nightmarish reality breakdown. A drunk young man catches a strangely-empty late train home, and soons finds his world has become cruel and vitriolic. It snared me from the off, forcing me to share his powerfully real and horrible plight.
And speaking of stories that grab your lapels and won’t let go, there’s “The Roses That Bloom Underground” by Al Ewing. A mayor manages to completely refurbish the London Underground in less than 3 weeks, and the inevitable exploration of how this was achieved gives great, gruesome reward to your curiosity.
“Exit Sounds” by Conrad Williams finds a recording engineer who wants to capture the hubbub of an aging cinema, and ends up wandering into the tunnels beneath the old building. It has incredible voice, attention to detail and keeps the reader guessing.
I particularly enjoyed “Fallen Boys” by Mark Morris. This is a slightly different setting, more specifically a miniature railway, as we follow an initially boisterous school trip into an old Cornish tin mine. It’s perfectly evocative, with sharp dialogue and characterisation, and plenty of chills.
Steven Volk’s “In The Colosseum” delivers unapologetic horror: a lust-charged downward spiral of a TV editor who tags along to a late party somewhere in the London Undergroud. It’s shocking, ultimately quite depressing, but worth every second.
I also loved the ghastly “Siding 13″ by James Lovegrove, which describes an artist on route to an important meeting. His journey becomes more unpleasant on the increasingly packed tube train, and the last few lines are certainly the most horrifying and truly memorable that this book has to offer.
There weren’t any stories in this book that I disliked, although I found the dimensional nightmare of Jasper Bark’s “End of the Line” and the layered grief of Pat Cadigan’s “Funny Things” slightly confusing upon the first read. There were also several tales that didn’t quite capture the true essence of the underground, and it just seemed to be an arbitrary stage for a sequence of events which could’ve easily been set somewhere else.
And although all these stories are well written and interesting, by the end, the anthology starts to suffer from familiarity. There’s a lot of protagonists wandering about and getting lost in the subterranean dark, and many of them seemed to be ill, injured or hungover. Michael Marshall Smith’s excellent “Missed Connection” strongly reminded me of two previous stories, lessening its impact. This is no fault of the author, and it would have fared much better in another collection of tales, or if it had been placed closer to the beginning of the book. When the contents of a niche anthology are commissioned, I suppose common tropes or clashes are inevitable.
This sometimes means that the stories that wander furthest from the theme shine particularly bright. Gary McMahon’s “Diving Deep” is a good example: a spooky and subtle tale of Antarctic divers who discover a tunnel bored deep into the ice.
But despite the déjà vu, this is a strong anthology full of imagination and professional writing. There’s a nice mix of the haunting and the visceral, and the underground itself plays many roles, such as a lair for monsters, a breeding ground for madness, or a device for political atrocity.
Each story has a pleasant editorial introduction by Jonathan Oliver, so if you like claustrophobic fiction, and especially horror that emerges from the everyday mundane, then give it a try. You could always minimise the risk of over-familiarity by reading it in small doses. Such as while travelling on the underground, for example…
October 17, 2015
This sounded like a pretty cool concept for an anthology, and I do still think there's a lot of potential for horror stories involving the subway. However, there weren't actually many stories here that I enjoyed. Some of them barely made use of the subway setting at all - Bullroarer being one of the most egregious, since it's mostly a flashback and could have been set on a bus or any other form of public transit easily enough. Others were cliche or boring to me. In the Colosseum tried too hard to be shocking and horrific, and just wound up being boring. Siding 13 uses the idea of a subway car getting more and more crowded at first to good effect, but then it turns things up to 11 and totally breaks my suspension of disbelief and interest.
There were a few good stories. The Girl in the Glass was a ghost story with a clever and disturbing twist. 23:45 Morden (via Bank) also has a creepy and interesting twist, and nicely uses the idea of a train that's subtly wrong, something that one or two other stories attempt to lesser effect. The Sons of the City was excellent and Lovecraftian, telling a tale of the ghoulish creatures that prevent Manchester from ever having its own subway. Crazy Train was very different from the others - a bit more like much of Neil Gaiman's stuff rather than straight up horror, but it had a really cool idea and handle it well. The ending is a bit odd, but over all I loved reading about a musician slowly realizing he's dead and why. Finally. Christopher Fowler's Down is a poignant and perfectly written story about loss and the things that wait in London's Underground. He's quickly becoming a new favorite horror writer. Sadly, this handful of good stories wasn't really enough to redeem the collection for me. They show that the idea of subway-based horror has a lot of potential, and make the failures of the rest of the book even more disappointing.
There were a few good stories. The Girl in the Glass was a ghost story with a clever and disturbing twist. 23:45 Morden (via Bank) also has a creepy and interesting twist, and nicely uses the idea of a train that's subtly wrong, something that one or two other stories attempt to lesser effect. The Sons of the City was excellent and Lovecraftian, telling a tale of the ghoulish creatures that prevent Manchester from ever having its own subway. Crazy Train was very different from the others - a bit more like much of Neil Gaiman's stuff rather than straight up horror, but it had a really cool idea and handle it well. The ending is a bit odd, but over all I loved reading about a musician slowly realizing he's dead and why. Finally. Christopher Fowler's Down is a poignant and perfectly written story about loss and the things that wait in London's Underground. He's quickly becoming a new favorite horror writer. Sadly, this handful of good stories wasn't really enough to redeem the collection for me. They show that the idea of subway-based horror has a lot of potential, and make the failures of the rest of the book even more disappointing.
December 14, 2013
As is usual in most collections of stories, End of the Line features some superb and some really crummy tales. As another reviewer noted, because of the theme, it does seem repetitive, especially when reading through the stories of lesser quality. But to be fair, it is a collection of stories about subways, so by its nature it is going to be repetitive. While the worst of the stories are pretty bad (ugh, the story about the rock and roll train made me almost throw the book away; dumb idea and read like the work of a barely literate 12 year old), the majority were average to above average. Oliver seems to show a knack for editing in that he kept the stories of lesser quality till the end, allowing their predecessors to shine. I bought this book because I wanted to see what authors would do with what I believe is an essentially disturbing, if not downright scary, setting. I believe I got my money's worth.
June 10, 2012
Umm...
This book was kindly given as a gift because I had expressed interest in it. Mainly because it had the work of an author that I liked.
I think this book was practical in the sense that it introduced me to wide range of authors and demonstrated their work but the collection didn't have me feverishly wanting more.
The theme was the underground, and some authors had used some surprising, unexpected and clever angles. Others I just didn't get.
One or two stories stood out; but for the most part I was disappointed. When I buy horror, I am looking for heart-pounding and scary... but these were a bit ... "meh".
Overall, it was a bit of a slog but it was worth the read purely to discover some interesting(and talented) writers.
This book was kindly given as a gift because I had expressed interest in it. Mainly because it had the work of an author that I liked.
I think this book was practical in the sense that it introduced me to wide range of authors and demonstrated their work but the collection didn't have me feverishly wanting more.
The theme was the underground, and some authors had used some surprising, unexpected and clever angles. Others I just didn't get.
One or two stories stood out; but for the most part I was disappointed. When I buy horror, I am looking for heart-pounding and scary... but these were a bit ... "meh".
Overall, it was a bit of a slog but it was worth the read purely to discover some interesting(and talented) writers.
June 6, 2011
Overall, a really great collection of scary and suspenseful stories revolving around trains or the subway. For the most part, they are all revolving around British locations or authors. I honestly enjoyed all but one of the stories, which I couldn't even finish, but I can't even tell you which one story it was. Some had great interpretations of tunnels and the underground. A nice variety of backgrounds and complexity to the stories. I would highly recommend it for a good variety and for a good summer read!
August 31, 2012
An excellent idea for a horror anthology - all these tales are based on underground railways , & , as someone who's always incredibly frustrated by the tube in London, this was going to float my boat...
There are some excellent tales here : "Down" , by Christopher Fowler is beautiful , "Crazy Train" by Natasha Rhodes is incredibly funny , while "In the Colosseum" by Stephen Volk is incredibly dark & nasty.
As with every multi-author collection there are a couple of tales that miss the target , but this is pretty damn' good.
Worth a look.
There are some excellent tales here : "Down" , by Christopher Fowler is beautiful , "Crazy Train" by Natasha Rhodes is incredibly funny , while "In the Colosseum" by Stephen Volk is incredibly dark & nasty.
As with every multi-author collection there are a couple of tales that miss the target , but this is pretty damn' good.
Worth a look.
September 5, 2014
Not bad collection of shorts set on or around the underground, mostly London. Quite diverse for what is supposed to be a selection of horror tales, some border more on just thought provoking or plain weird.
The last tale is a hauntingly sad tale which I believe will linger in my thoughts for quite some time.
So if you fancy several tales of claustrophobic, sliding doors into darkness, out of sync bizarreness then this is right up your alley.
The last tale is a hauntingly sad tale which I believe will linger in my thoughts for quite some time.
So if you fancy several tales of claustrophobic, sliding doors into darkness, out of sync bizarreness then this is right up your alley.
August 22, 2012
There were some good stories--such as "Girl in the Glass", "The Roses that Bloom Underground", "The Sons of the City, Siding 13, and "Down"--these ones were creepy and fascinating concepts. However, some I found some (Bullroarer and In The Colosseum ) so gross that it affected my overall perception of the book. I also really wish that there had been some set in Boston's subway.
January 1, 2013
With such a specific theme for a book, it's inevitable that some of the stories are too similar, and simply tread the same tired ground. But when the authors took a different view on what it means to be 'underground', the stories were creepy and horrible and utterly wonderful. Highlights were the stories by Nicholas Royle, Simon Bestwick, Conrad Williams, and Mark Morris.
June 3, 2012
Great collection of short stories based around underground travels - either trains or otherwise. A couple of tales that did nothing for me, but the remaining stories were very good - some even forced a wry smile from me during my daily commute......
June 14, 2016
2.5*
Some of the stories are beautiful, haunting and sad, but beautiful. Some are good horror. And some have simply turned my stomach. Sadly those are the ones that got stuck in my head - unnecessarily. Put me off finishing the book for a long time.
Some of the stories are beautiful, haunting and sad, but beautiful. Some are good horror. And some have simply turned my stomach. Sadly those are the ones that got stuck in my head - unnecessarily. Put me off finishing the book for a long time.
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