Dark Faith [Paperback]

Maurice Broaddus (Editor), Jerry Gordon (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2010

The destructiveness of passion, both earthly and supernatural, makes cities bleed and souls burn across worlds, through endless time. Experience the spiritual side of the zombie apocalypse in ""The Days of Flaming Motorcycles"" and transcend both hell and nirvana in ""Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnation."" Look into ""The Mad Eyes of the Heron King"" to find the beautiful brutality written in the moment of epiphany or ""Go and Tell it On the Mountain,"" where Jesus Christ awaits your last plea to enter heavenif there is a heaven to enter when all is said and done.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although the horror genre naturally lends itself to up close and personal examination of good and very nasty evil, little writing in that genre is faith inflected. This anthology addresses that gap. "Faith" is used loosely and expansively in this collection of short tales that offers something for lots of different tastes-slasher, fairy tale, end times, ghost story-as well as religion. "Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnation," by Douglas F. Warrick, is a meditation on enlightenment as cagey as any Zen master's teaching. "Different from Other Nights" by Eliyanna Kaiser offers a knife twist on the Passover celebration. Although the anthology is uneven, as collections often can be, the very best, like Gary A. Braunbeck's "For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer," resonate in the mind long afterward, with no guts or gore. And while Cathrynne M. Valente's "The Days of Flaming Motorcycles" is a wicked clever zombie tale set in Augusta, Maine, readers may wonder where zombie Jesus is when we need him.
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From Booklist

What questions would you ask Jesus if he returned on the eve of an apocalypse and granted every surviving human a personal audience? If a Zen Buddhist were consigned to Hell, would he suffer the torments of the damned or remain blissfully serene? These are some of the questions explored in this distinctive collection focusing on philosophical conundrums presented by religious faith. Thirty-one tales and poems from some of the horror genre’s most talented writers cover quite a spectrum of inquiry. Jennifer Pelland’s “Ghosts of New York” finds the World Trade Center jumpers on 9/11 endlessly reliving their terrifying plummets to earth. An autistic girl who becomes miraculously lucid in Chesya Burke’s “The Unremembered” spurns the priest who mistakes her miracle for a Christian one. A saintly boy found murdered in Ekatarina Sedia’s “You Dream” haunts a woman’s nightmares. While the overall quality is mixed, and the selections lean heavily on shock value rather than subtlety, there are enough provocative scenarios here to provide hours of faith-challenging entertainment. --Carl Hays

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Apex Publications; 1st edition (May 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982159684
• ISBN-13: 978-0982159682
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,041,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and unique collection of stories, May 22, 2010

By 

April M. Steenburgh "fireun" (Binghamton, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Faith (Paperback)

"Sometimes I think the only way you can tell if something has a soul is if they can still be sad." -'The Days of Flaming Motorcycles' by Catherynne M. Valente, from Dark Faith

That, right there, sums up the tone of Dark Faith, an anthology recently released by Apex. These are not stories to read before bed- they are insidious clusters of words that will keep you up all night.

The collection ranges from the dark and bitter to the wistful, but all the stories have one thing in common- they look at what makes us human and twist it into a flurry of weakness and strength, taking the human condition and churning out things that are so skewed, so painfully true, that it is impossible to look away.

There were some stories that were hard to read, topic matter-wise, in that hard to look in the mirror sort of way, but like with a particularly vicious traffic accident the reader is captured by a morbid sort of fascination that keeps the pages turning. It helps that each story is a gem of word smithing. There are some seriously talented writers in this anthology, and that in itself makes it worth the buy.

It is also one of the more unique anthologies I have hit in awhile. There is definitely a common theme, and in the first few stories seems a bit too pervasive to make anything stand out individually, but as you keep reading, you see that one basic theme mature and mutate off into directions I would never have expected.

It is definitely for those readers who are friendly towards the horror genre, but it was definitely enjoyable for a shameless scifi/fantasy addict such as myself. I have a deep love for the twisted and for stories that have the power to make me wince. That shows such skill on the part of the author, and this anthology definitely abounds with such talent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This isn't pretty escapism, May 20, 2010

By 

Jaym Gates - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Faith (Paperback)

The argument that 'genre-fiction is merely escapism' can be firmly put to rest with the debut of Dark Faith. It is real, present, in your face and not letting the reader go anywhere. Thirty-one stories of love and loss, faith, questions, anger, tests. This is horror as it should be: subtle one moment, punching the lights out the next. Brutal and delicate both.

It is dark, certainly. Dark Faith is not an easy read. It requires thought, processing and consideration. The stories do not preach, nor attempt to convert. Faith is examined from many angles and perceptions.

It is a star-studded table of contents. Co-edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon, the authors include Tom Piccirilli, Catherynne Valente, Jay Lake, Wrath James Wright, Brian Keene and Linda Addison, to name just a few. With such a varied group of styles and a fairly tight subject, the possibility of staleness is a reasonable suspicion. However, there is not a sign of staleness in this book.

Instead, each author brings a unique voice and outlook to the book. A cohesive whole is formed, yet all the little parts are quite capable of being seen individually. It is not only Christian faith which is explored. The actions of faith are as varied as the believers.

The highlights were hard to pick out. However, a few of the darkest gems stuck with me well after reading.

Douglas Warrick's Gordon Drach and the Art of Zen has a slow, quiet intensity. The character had depth and history, telling a past story without wandering into info dump. And the portrayal of God was unique and memorable.

The first story, Ghosts of New York, tips the reader right off of the cliff. 9/11 and a ghost girl cursed to live the moment of her death over and over again. Eternal punishment for a necessary sin? While it is not a ground-breaking plot, author Jennifer Pelland handled it with a considerable amount of empathy and emotion.

The Choir, by Lucien Soulban is equal parts Llovecraftian horror, Nazi experimentation, and the awful prejudice and persecution suffered by men who dared to be 'perverts'. It is a sympathetic portrayal of men in the most desperate circumstances, and their determination to light a torch for others to follow.

There are a few stories in here that sometimes meander and lose focus here and there, but they are the minority.

At twenty-six stories and a handful of poems, stated by Apex to total over 130,000 words, Dark Faith is a hefty read. Its contents are equally hefty. Allow yourself a few days to read and process. It is worth the time, and many of the stories are well-crafted enough to not only stand up to multiple readings, but to reveal new things with each reading.

The crew at Apex can be proud of themselves with this one, and if its quality is any indication of the majority of Apex's anthologies, I will certainly have them front and center on my reading list from here on out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One ballsy book, February 13, 2011

By 

Funky Werepig - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Faith (Paperback)

REVIEWED BY THE FUNKY WEREPIG


What can you say about an anthology that dares to tackle a subject that most would consider taboo? Well, a lot actually. DARK FAITH is the product of co-editors Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon. Probably birthed by the heavy but always fun panel debates from their annual Mo Con convention, this is a project that invited writers to submit their own views on the elusive thing we call `faith'.

The result is often controversial and consistently thought-provoking. At a whopping 375 pages (and even more if you're able to get the special bonus chapbook), the points of view are as varied as they are telling. Broaddus and Gordon masterfully make sure the anthology never gets too one-sided on any belief.

Some of the stories need to be mentioned to properly cover just how much freedom was allowed in DARK FAITH. You have to start with Wrath James White's `He Who Would Not Bow'. If you're a fan of Wrath's work you'll expect the angry hard hitting story of a man who seeks to take down the vengeful God of Old Testament. Wrath does not disappoint and definitely draws a line in the sand. Equally rebellious in its raw and downright nasty voice is Lucy A Snyder's `Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects'. Both are powerful and I would be disappointed if the editors by-passed these tales of `anti-faith.'

Others add to the mix. `Ghosts of New York' by Jennifer Pelland is not afraid to address a wound that still hasn't had time to heal. Yet with `Go Tell It On the Mountain', Kyle S Johnson brings a refreshing blast of humor to the collection. I loved the ugly twists in Alethea Kontis' `The God of Last Moments'. And Douglas F Warrick shows a cocky intelligence that almost welcomes challengers with `Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnation'.

Any of these stories are a reason to buy the book but if there is one that I think defines DARK FAITH it is Brian Keene's `I Sing a New Psalm'. I'm like every other horror reader; I'm a Keene fan and expect him to put out top rated work. But he knocked me on my ass with a brilliantly carved piece about a common man who comes to understand faith in his own way. It's a story I could read a hundred times.

My only curveball with the anthology is it appears that the definition of `faith' may have been stretched to allow a couple of the stories in. To be honest, compared to the rest of the book they don't really have much to do with the subject matter at all. But if the editors' greatest sin is to let great stories written by some proven talents slip onto the TOC, I can think of far worse critiques.

This anthology will piss off people who are cemented into a singular belief. And it will be applauded by people who understand the biggest positive part of faith is having an open mind. I didn't like every story and I certainly didn't agree with every writer. But I believe that was Broaddus and Gordon's goal- to open the floor for discussion. This is exactly the kind of book that invites intelligent debate. And any time people actually sit down to talk about faith, that's a good thing.