F/SF

Pretty good old school horror anthology. The only stories I didn’t like much were the [a:David Morell|3871294|David Morell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] story Orange is for Anguish, Blue is for Insanity and the King offering. The Morrell is highly derivative and then totally ruined by a hackneyed explanation at the end, eliminating whatever eeriness there was. The [a:Clive Barker|10366|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430330407p2/10366.jpg] story showed, once again, that he used to be able to write something really interesting and actually horrifying. The [a:Peter Straub|6941|Peter Straub|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200468903p2/6941.jpg] story had nary a supernatural scent but was horrifying nonetheless. A hint of Bradbury there too. Tessier, Grant, Ligotti, all solid. The weakest story is Night Flier by [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]. Docked another point by me for being self-referential.

Why did anthologist always slaver over the King story and put it first? Oh wait, I know, money. ( )

Contains:
The night flier / Stephen King --
Having a woman at lunch / Paul Hazel --
The blood kiss / Dennis Etchison --
Coming to grief / Clive Barker --
Food / Thomas Tessier --
The great god Pan / M. John Harrison --
Orange is for anguish, blue for insanity / David Morrell --
The juniper tree / Peter Straub --
Spinning tales with the dead / Charles L. Grant --
Alice's last adventure / Thomas Ligotti --
Next time you'll know me / Ramsey Campbell --
The pool / Whitley Streiber --
By reason of darkness / Jack Cady.

I picked this up to read "The Night Flier" by Stephen King, which was really pretty good! A bloody vampire story that gets pretty crazy! And as a treat for King fans, the story has a little tie-in with both "Salem's Lot" and "The Dead Zone"! Small, but fun!

The rest of this book is not my cup of tea. Only "Spinning Tales With the Dead" by Charles L. Grant, was decent. The other 11 were, in my opinion, not worth reading. And, in fact, Peter Straub's "The Juniper Tree" should not be read at all! The detailed description of a child's molestation made me sick. Disgust, not fear. Ugh.

So, I'd just read "The Night Flier" and move along! ( )

A big collection of mostly so-so tales by major horror authors of the late twentieth century. Maybe it's just the frame of mind I was in when I read the book, but these stories registered as little more than faint blurs at the time, and my opinion hasn't changed. Paul Hazel's "Having a Woman at Lunch" is just silly, and Peter Straub's "The Juniper Tree"--while certain of its ingredients are pivotal to the brilliant novels Straub has written during the latter phase of his career--is a weakish story on its own terms. Things get a little better with Stephen King's contribution, "The Night Flier": it's not top-drawer King, but is at least lively and readable. The best stories here are Charles L. Grant's "Spinning Tales with the Dead," an uncomfortably spooky mood piece, and Jack Cady's novella "By Reason of Darkness." Carefully layered, telling the reader enough to profoundly unsettle him (or her) but always holding something back, Cady's tale is both immediately jolting and--like all good horror stories--disturbing upon later reflection.

Three stars for the inclusion of the Grant and Cady pieces; without them, Prime Evil would have been a real bust. ( )