A solid collection from the premier horror writers out there

books:


	• Robert Bloch's Psychos Stephen King Pocket Books, 1998 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Perfect length

I normally do NOT like short stories. This collection was, however, just great. Although I wouldn't give every individual story in the book five stars, I truly did enjoy every one.

A solid collection from the premier horror writers out there

This is a collection of 22 original stories presented by The Horror Writers Association. In the U.S., there are two editions: a paperback and the limited hardcover put out by Cemetery Dance Publications. I suggest picking up the hardcover and I'll explain why later. The big draw to this one is Stephen King's original appearance of AUTOPSY ROOM 4, a story about a guy who is not dead but the Dr.'s performing the autopsy think otherwise. This is one of the better King shorts in a long while and is a fun read. The best story is Gary Braunbeck's SAFE, a story about how a town tries to cope and understand a mass murder. It is told through the eyes of a relative of the murderer who was saved in the melee and how he is dealing with the reprucussions of the event years later. It is an emotionally wrenching piece and is still reverberating in my body still, a few days after reading it. Ed Gorman treats us to a "What If" story. What if a neighborhood watch group actually killed a thief and the thief's accomplices try to enact revenge? It's a great premise and Gorman delivers a stunning story. Clark Perry also tells a story of childhood guilt that still haunts the living. This one was written so well I actually missed an appointment because I was so engrossed in the character's lives. I wish more of Mr. Perry's stuff would see the light of a day. A very talented writer. Other standout stories are put out by Yvonne Navarro, David Niall Wilson, Del Stone Jr. Cindie Geddes and Richard Christian Matheson. There really was not a story I didn't enjoy in here. A very good collection and one not to be skipped. Now for the reason I suggest the hardcover edition. Cemetery Dance Publications has made this book look very unique. And it has nothing to do with the Eric Powell cover, even though it is great and alluring. It has to do with the inside of the book. Obviously, Richard Chizmar took great care in designing the pages, as they are decorated with little illustrations by Jason Van Hollander. At each page corner there are these creepy characters and at the end of each story a little haunted house. The end papers also have some great illustrations by Allen Koszowski that show the face of the late Robert Bloch and some of his and others' characters. A very nice looking edition that you'll appreciate for years to come. Highly recommended and highest recommendation for buying the hardcover edition.

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A few good ones one bad one.

I was given this anthology as a housewarming gift in 1998 by my ex-girlfriend when I was living in Iowa, and it is one of the few books that surived the move from Iowa back to Illinois. The story that I will say is the best hands down is by Stephen King, "Autopsy Room Four" is the story that proves that Stephen King is still the genre's reigning guy.

But the story that is hands down the worst and the author of it has a crappy personality too is David Nial Wilson. Blameless is the worst one in there and that story deserves a one star -- I think Wilson needs to quit the genre all together.

This anthology is one of the reasons I am also doing anthologies too, and one author that I think encouraged me the most is Ed Gorman and seen one of the contributors on AuthorsDen. I read that contributors story too and I will say is one of those that rocks. Ed Gorman and the guy who wrote the story mentioned are two of the most approach able writers in the anthology. Wilson had a hissy fit when he learned of Reality Check: An Anthology Of Horror -- so I will never recommend any story of his to anyone. One of my publishers hate the guy too.

All in All Bloch is a good writer and a good editor, but every editor has that story they wish they thought twice about publishing. The one that is in that catagory is Blameless one of the worst thought out stories I've read and the characters are cardboard.

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Don't let them get me, Mommy, please?

Starting off with Stephen King's `Autopsy Room Four', a story that, believe it or not, I have never read of his. An excellent view of what it is like for one man to almost become a corpse before his time, Robert Bloch's `Psychos' keeps up this pace with some stunningly unique and frightening tales of murder and mayhem.

Charles Grant's `Haunted' turns the tables of a secretive killer and the strangely heroic form of a bum.
Ed Gorman's `Out There In The Darkness' tells a tale of middle class vengeance against the dregs of society, a cult that takes care of their own.
Brent Monahan's `Doctor, Lawyer, Kansas City Chief' takes us to the limits of where an angry man will go to track down drunk drivers.
Del Stone Jr. writes `Lighting The Corpses, a tale of an ethereal madman who lights up fires of hopelessness.
Clark Perry's `Deep Down There' will keep you out of caves for the rest of your life, and Gary Jonas's "So You Want To Be A Hitman' takes you on a road-rage ride with a true psychotic.

My Favorites, along with `Autopsy Room Four', would be Lawrence Watt-Evans `Grandpa's Head', giving us a tiny glimpse of family history, Ester M. Friesner's `Loneyhearts' with lessons on how to stalk and find just the right mate for you, Edo van Belkom's `The Rug' gives sinister menace to an everyday item, and Gary A. Braunbeck's `Safe' is a chilling Columbine type tale of unexplainable madness.

There are more tales of terror by Richard Christian Matheson, Denise M. Bruchman, Dominick Cancilla, Cindi Geddes, Yvonne Navarro, David Niall Wilson, Richard Parks, Stephen M. Rainey, Jane Yolen, and Billie Sue Mosiman. Twenty-two tales in all, plus notes about the authors in the back. The introduction was done by Horror Writer's Association, for even though Robert Bloch started this editing project, he sadly died before its completion, leaving behind a legacy of some of the best horror ever written.

While some of the stories do not actually center around actual psychos, they all tend to leave that feeling of madness poised in the gray matter between your ears, threatening to sink deeper the longer you ponder these tales. `Psychos' is a true masterpiece collected by Horror Writers Association, and a definite not-to-be-missed trip into the insanity we horror aficionados crave so much. Enjoy!

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reviews: page 1, 2

The late, great Robert Bloch (author of Psycho) was a master of macabre humor: he was fond of clever, grisly one-liners, often used as twist endings. He also liked to write about psychotic and psychopathic killers. This solid anthology, put out by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and completed after Bloch's death, honors his legacy with 22 tales about murderers and crazies of various stripes. A good many of the stories, most memorably Esther Friesner's "Lonelyhearts," have Blochian twists at the end. The weakest of the bunch have no other flaw than predictability, and the strongest, such as Ed Gorman's powerful "Out There in the Darkness" are classics of traditional storytelling. You'll find excellent stories here by Denise M. Bruchman, Del Stone Jr., Edo van Belkom, Gary A. Braunbeck, and others. Stephen King contributes a little gem of a tale in which the narrator finds himself in an autopsy room: "It fits. It fits everything with a horrid prophylactic snugness. The dark. The rubbery smell.... Dear God, I'm in a body bag."

Note: the two previous HWA anthologies are Under the Fang, edited by Robert R. McCammon, and Peter Straub's Ghosts, edited by Peter Straub. --Fiona Webster

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