Borderlands 5: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction [Hardcover]

Elizabeth E. Monteleone (Editor), Thomas F. Monteleone (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

Original, never-before-published short stories by: Gary Braunbeck, John R. Platt, Holly Newstein, Adam Corbin Fusco, Barry Hoffman, Bill Gauthier, Whitt Pond, Jon F. Merz, Michael Canfield, John Farris, Brian Freeman, Dominick Cancilla, Whitley Strieber, Barbara Malenky, Bentley Little, John McIlveen, Darren O. Godfrey, David J. Schow, Brett Alexander Savory, Gene O'Neill, Lon Prater, Tom Piccirilli, L. Lynn Young, Bev Vincent, and Stephen King. The anthology's closing story by Stephen King, "Stationary Bike," has never been published anywhere else. From dust jacket notes: "This is a non-themed anthology which carries on the tradition and high standards established by the first four volumes in this series. It is the intention of the editors to publish new, original, short fiction which pushes the limits of what is being done in darkly imaginative fiction. Writers published in Borderlands will be part of the expedition to open the gates to new literary territory, and will help scorch a path through the jagged landscape of the imagination unbound...and all those other neat metaphors. You don't need to read a Borderlands story on a stormy, dark night, with glowing embers banked in the fireplace, and a cruel wind howling across the moors. These stories can be read under the clear light of day and pure reason, and they will still knock you around and put a new rhythm in your head. Which means: you will not find any of the traditional bug-bears and boogeymen. No ghosts or vampires need apply. No zombies, no werewolves, no mummies, succubi, or Hitchcockian spouses with plans to do in their mates."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Initiated in 1990 to "expand the envelope" of horror writing, the Borderlands anthologies have yielded an abundance of quirky and eccentric tales from writers who pushed "beyond the usual metaphors" by which contemporary horror and dark fantasy are usually defined. This fifth volume-the first in a decade-features a healthy quotient of offbeat efforts that resist simple categorization. Stephen King's "Stationary Bike," for example, is a deft blend of paranoid fantasy and social satire about a successful weight watcher pursued by hypostatized versions of his metabolism who resent being put out of work. In "Father Bob and Bobby," Whitley Streiber maps the mind of his priest protagonist, whose thoughts are an unsettling mix of Christian imagery and pederastic fantasy. David Schow, in "The Thing Too Hideous to Describe," stands the horror B-movie on its head in its amusing account of a bug-eyed monster struggling to understand its symbolic role in human affairs. As in previous volumes, experimentation misfires in several stories that traffic in the grotesque and outrageous, among them Bentley Little's "The Planting," about a man growing a new life form from a neighbor's undergarments. The majority of the 25 selections are brief, virtually plotless exercises that are triumphs of mood or narrative trickery over storytelling. Still, the range of themes that propel these uncommon tales-personal alienation, religious intolerance, the quest for transcendence, the torture of hope-expand the horror story's reach, and the wealth of relatively new writers featured is encouraging.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Eventually sweet stories flank quite a creepshow in the nine-years-gestating new number of the Monteleones' irregular anthology series showcasing dark fantasy. Relief from the chills comes just twice, in Adam Corbin Fusco's satiric research report "N0072-JK1" early on and later in David J. Schow's lampoon of the monster-versus-the-villagers horror-flicker convention, "The Thing Too Hideous to Describe." Since the Monteleones emphasize newer talent, sometimes a story's shivers are clumsily achieved, but tales of metamorphosis by Bev Vincent ("One of Those Weeks") and Bill Gautier ("The Growth of Alan Ashley") and Dominick Cancilla's study in psychopathology ("Smooth Operator") are shockingly polished. It would be nice to say that the few well known contributors are overshadowed by the unknowns, but 'tain't so. Gary Braunbeck's collection-opener, John Farris' revenant yarn, and especially Whitley Strieber's angry anticlerical piece are excellent, and Stephen King's cautionary volume-closer about heart-healthiness, "Stationary Bike," is as artful as anything he has ever written--every sentence seems ideally weighted, every word well chosen, every flight of fantasy inevitable. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Borderlands Pr (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880325373
• ISBN-13: 978-1880325377
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,960,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Platt is an award-winning journalist, copywriter, fantasy & horror writer, poet and cartoonist. His short stories have appeared in more than two dozen anthologies around the world. John lives on the coast of Maine, where he writes for Scientific American and other magazines.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Fiction!, January 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Borderlands 5: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction (Hardcover)

The Borderlands tradition continues with incredible fiction from the best writers working today! Holly Newstein's "Faith Will Make You Free" is a stirring look at war and the horrors it can unleash - she writes with the type of skill many veteran writers haven't yet been able to muster. Gary Braunbeck's "Rami Temporalis" shows the ingenuity and smooth prose he's become known for along with a fantastically original idea. Jon F. Merz's "Prisoner 392" is an unsettling and masterfully written look at how evil begets itself. "Answering the Call" by Brian Freeman will make you think twice about doing the same. And every other story in this tome is simply amazing. Elizabeth and Thomas Monteleone don't include writers in this anthology unless they are at the top of their game and this book is evidence of their commitment to excellence. Grab yourself a copy of this and settle down for a nice bit of reading. Editors at the publishing houses of New York City should use this book as a guide to harvesting the brightest talents working anywhere in the field today - get these people more contracts!!!!!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book and a BRAND NEW STEPHEN KING story!, December 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Borderlands 5: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction (Hardcover)

This is fifth volume of this series I have read and it is hands down the best example of new stories being written in the horror, suspense, dark fantasy genres. No cliches here! Very original and great writing. I don't know how they did it, but the editors got a great new novella from Stephen King!

Get this book ASAP!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gods of Horror Fiction, April 16, 2006

By 

S. Sommerville "Author of A Russian Prostitut... (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Borderlands 5: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction (Hardcover)

The Monteleone clan not only know how to spot original tales that raise the standard for horror fiction, but actually have me posting 5 stars for a book that has a couple endings cut off.

I bought this at the Horrorfind convention in Baltimore almost a year ago, and as soon as I got back to good 'ol Raleigh, I opened this puppy up and scratched my head as a little sheet fell out that contained the last few lines from two of the stories. I thought, "Oh, geez..."

My fears were put to rest. Or rather, they were replaced with new fears conjured up from some downright terrfic sories.

Barry Hoffman's TIME FOR ME was my fave of the bunch- a very poignant, psychological ditty that had me nodding.

Braunbeck was brilliant as usual, and I was impressed with Bev Vincet and Holly Newstein as well.

Anytime I hear some literary guru bash horror fiction, I just point him to the Borderlands series. Not only are these tales sure to keep you entertained, but they should leave you with plenty to ponder.

A must-read in the realm of horror!