13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delves deep into the muck and mire of the human condition..., March 31, 2005
This review is from: Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers (Paperback)
I guess it depends on your definition of horror, or whatever form of it is your favorite, that determines if a book meets and/or exceeds your expectations prior to reading it. In the case of Dark Dreams, the "horror" is often of the sexually explicit, shocking, gruesome kind.
One of the standout stories for me is "Danger Word" by husband and wife writers Stephen Barnes and Tananarive Due, about a world in which disease has zombie-fied most of the world, and how an elderly man struggles to keep his own grandson from harm after his parents fall victim to the same disease. It's gory in parts, but it also has emotional depth as it explores the love between grandfather and grandson. The other standout is "The Track" by L.R. Giles, in which an entire town falls victim to the mysterious powers of a race track. It's not only suspenseful, but a fun read as well.
The story that will leave the greatest impact on all its readers is "Plaything" by Terence Taylor. From the very first page this story caused a knot of discomfort in the pit of my stomach, the effects of which lasted for a while after I had finished the tale. It's a story of sex, children, rape, pedophilia, and questions where the moral line is drawn when we can create non-human, yet frighteningly realistic, substitutes on which to act out our most perverse fantasies. "Plaything" isn't for the faint of heart or the easily offended, and it just may leave you feeling a bit dirty afterwards. But the sometimes life is in fact dirty, and although some issues may have to be force-fed to us, like a sick child who must be held down to give him or her badly needed medicines, these are issues that are real and nasty, and yet shouldn't be ignored.
Massey is a refreshing new voice in the Horror field, and though for my usual tastes, many of these stories were just too explicit in its descriptions of sex and violence, the book is overall still a strong read. If you are a true lover of Horror, or any form of literature that pushes boundaries and digs deep into the muck and mire of the dark sides of the human condition to expose it to a broader world, then this book is a must read.
- Gregory Bernard Banks, author of "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life"
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, scary, August 9, 2004
This review is from: Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers (Paperback)
I was impressed. I thought it was going to be more Tales From the Hood because the trend for African Americans is the ghetto fiction. I saw the erotic writer Zane's name on the cover and it worried me, until I looked at her story. It wasn't great but wasn't bad. Tananarive Due, LABanks, S. Barnes and Christopher Chambers never disappointed me before, and they don't here! The stories are solid as anything I've seen in mainstream horror from Clive Barker and S. King.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Dreams delivers, October 4, 2004
This review is from: Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers (Paperback)
Attention fans of horror and suspense! Brandon Massey has compiled an engaging collection of horror and suspense stories written by some of the best African American writers around. These tales are sure to tingle your spine and make you reconsider ignoring those things that go bump in the night.
Stand outs include Massey's own story, Granddad's Garage, The Track by L.R. Giles, If the Walls Could Talk by L.A. Banks and Danger Word by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.
The most disturbing story, by far, has to be Plaything by Terence Taylor. I can't say I enjoyed the story exactly, but it gave me the chills and left me wondering and that's what a well written tale should do.
Grab a copy of Dark Dreams for your collection and while you're at it, pick up Brandon Massey's Thunderland and Dark Corner, too. :-)
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