I only finished 3 in December, with 2 DNF’s.
1. The Longest December by Richard Chizmar / A Face in the Crowd by Stewart O’Nan & Stephen King was the best read of the month. The Longest December was a taut, psychological thriller about how well do you really know your closest friends and neighbors, a theme Chizmar has touch on before. A Face in the Crowd was more of a classic ghost story about a man, who we come to find out has done some rather unsavory things in his life, that starts to see dead people from his past in the daily broadcast of the local baseball game. Both stories were winners, though I think the Chizmar story provided the stronger punch. 4.5 / 4
2. The Drive-in Multiplex ed. by Golden & Keene was a big disappointment. I’m not the biggest fan of Lansdale Drive-in stories. I thought the first one was OK, with diminishing returns as the trilogy went on. It felt like most of the authors just tried to emulate Lansdale’s style of prose & tone. The few stories that tried for an original view just came off as kind of pointless. I gave up on this anthology after not being able to finish the story by the usually reliable Chet Williamson. DNF
3. The House on the Brink by John Gordon. Originally marketed for teens in the early 70s, this short novel still felt too long & padded, and the plot line of a haunted log was just too strange an idea to get my head around. 2 / 5
4. Christmas and Other Horrors ed. by Ellen Datlow was a pretty good collection of holiday themed horror stories. Most of the stories were interesting if not memorable, with standouts by Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, Richard Kadrey, Nadia Bulkin, Jeffrey Ford, and M. Rickert. My favorite story was ‘Grave of Small Birds’ by Kaaron Warren, about a failed reality show cooking contestant that goes to work on a small English isle with an unusual holiday tradition. Had a strong Wicker Man / Midsommer vibe to it.
3.8 / 5
5. The Scarlet Boy by Arthur Calder-Marshall was about a middle age man who facilitates for a well known friend the purchase of a home were is his best friend died as a child. By the 2/3 mark this glacially paced ghost / haunted house story hadn’t gone any where.
DNF
B
1. The Longest December by Richard Chizmar / A Face in the Crowd by Stewart O’Nan & Stephen King was the best read of the month. The Longest December was a taut, psychological thriller about how well do you really know your closest friends and neighbors, a theme Chizmar has touch on before. A Face in the Crowd was more of a classic ghost story about a man, who we come to find out has done some rather unsavory things in his life, that starts to see dead people from his past in the daily broadcast of the local baseball game. Both stories were winners, though I think the Chizmar story provided the stronger punch. 4.5 / 4
2. The Drive-in Multiplex ed. by Golden & Keene was a big disappointment. I’m not the biggest fan of Lansdale Drive-in stories. I thought the first one was OK, with diminishing returns as the trilogy went on. It felt like most of the authors just tried to emulate Lansdale’s style of prose & tone. The few stories that tried for an original view just came off as kind of pointless. I gave up on this anthology after not being able to finish the story by the usually reliable Chet Williamson. DNF
3. The House on the Brink by John Gordon. Originally marketed for teens in the early 70s, this short novel still felt too long & padded, and the plot line of a haunted log was just too strange an idea to get my head around. 2 / 5
4. Christmas and Other Horrors ed. by Ellen Datlow was a pretty good collection of holiday themed horror stories. Most of the stories were interesting if not memorable, with standouts by Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, Richard Kadrey, Nadia Bulkin, Jeffrey Ford, and M. Rickert. My favorite story was ‘Grave of Small Birds’ by Kaaron Warren, about a failed reality show cooking contestant that goes to work on a small English isle with an unusual holiday tradition. Had a strong Wicker Man / Midsommer vibe to it.
3.8 / 5
5. The Scarlet Boy by Arthur Calder-Marshall was about a middle age man who facilitates for a well known friend the purchase of a home were is his best friend died as a child. By the 2/3 mark this glacially paced ghost / haunted house story hadn’t gone any where.
DNF
B
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