Customer Reviews

Dark Forces: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Horror

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DARK FORCES is a real tour-de-force to read. There are some incredibly imaginative stories in here. My personal favorites are "Where the Summer Ends" by Karl Edward Wagner, a story set in Knoxville, Tennessee that delivers a new and horrifying spin on an old "Japanese import"--namely, kudzu; and "Children of the Kingdom" by T.E.D. Klein, about an ancient race of half-human beings that creep stealthily through the sewers of New York City and that may have been responsible for the 1977 blackout in that city (well, not really!). Other good stories were "Dark Angel" by Edward Bryant, "Vengeance Is." by Theodore Sturgeon, "Lindsay and the Red City Blues" by Joe Haldeman (this story is very similar to "Dark Angel" in one respect but I won't spoil it for you--you'll have to read the story to see what I mean), and "The Night Before Christmas" by Robert Bloch (anything by Bloch is great!)

All in all, a must-read for the serious short horror fiction aficionado.

I first read Dark Forces in 1980. The main attraction is "The Mist" by Stephen King. It is one of his greatest accomplishments. However, the ending here is slightly different (a word or two) from the version in Skeleton Crew.

This is a landmark anthology in horror and suspense. All others should be compared to Dark Forces. This is a virtual Who's Who in horror and suspense. There are many delights included besides "The Mist." Probably my personal favorite would be "The Night Before Christmas" by Robert Bloch with his typical twist ending. It is not to be missed.

I wish Kirby McCauley would come up with a follow-up...Darkest Forces maybe? Anyway, if you can find it, but it!

Kirby McCauley's collection of 23 short stories isn't supposed to be fun to read. At least not a normal kind of fun for happy, well-adjusted people. Here you'll find the dark, nasty stuff, well-crafted and crawling with uncomfortable characters, motives and motifs. If you are the kind of person who likes this, who feeds on it, then go ahead. It's best not to speak more of it.

Here are 4 that made the inside of my skin crawl more than usual:

In Theodore Sturgeon's "Vengence Is." two local hard cases run into exactly the wrong person. Quiet inquiries are made in the aftermath.

In Edward Gorey's "The Stupid Joke" little Friedrich decides to stay in bed all day. He doesn't make it.

In Ray Bradbury's "A Touch of Petulance" a young man and an old man try to figure out the course of their life. One has the advantage of perspective.

Stephen King's novella "The Mist" is the basis for the movie The Mist. A small group of people is trapped together when the outside world is shrouded by fog and filled with monsters. The group gets smaller, of course.

These are pretty good stories, suitably horrible. Read them one or two at a time. Then go sit in the sunlight for a while. And wonder why you miss the darkness.

this wonderful book has a short novel by stephen king and the only illustrated story by edward gorey.. a collectors treasure and if found will be greatly enjoyed. Suspense and Supernatural horror with a wonderful comic twist. fun fun book