Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Universe, April 9, 2004
This book is like finding buried treasure. Where has this guy been all my life? All the stories are good to very good. There may not be that "one excellent story", but this is one of the most solid short story collections you will find. The subjects are as diverse as a "dark universe". There is a ghost story, a serial killer story, a contract killer story, some sci-fi etc....Great work!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A dark, terrifying collection of horror/sci-fi's best!, April 4, 2004
William F. Nolan has been declared a living legend. Okay, I can buy that. Truly, he has a unique grasp on the horror genre; and he's been strenghtening that grasp for half a century. Living legend? It fits."Dark Universe" is a thrilling collection. The stories in it aren't all unique ("And Miles to Go..." brings back memories of Bradbury's best, for example), but they're all good. "The Underdweller" is a sci-fi tale of survival in an appopolyptic world. "Lonely Train's A'Comin" tells of a brother's lust for revenge, and the macabre ride it takes him on. "The Cure" is the journal of a man who lives a perfect life, except for the fact that he strangles people. "The Giant Man," aside from an extremely weird and entertaining story, is a metaphor for the restraining life of big cities. "Stoner" is just plain weird, as is "Heart's Blood." "Ceremony" finds a hired killer in a small town, on Halloween, about to discover something that he really didn't want to know. "Boyfren," probably one of the strangest and most disturbing stories I've ever read, tells of how easily a young girl is led into a life of torture and cruelty...but doesn't know it. Yep, William F. Nolan knows how to write. That's a given. This collection--complete with an interesting introduction about the author's influence on the horror genre--is a must have for horror fans. I doubt you can seriously consider yourself a protoge of the genre without taking a look at the writings of William F. Nolan. It's like learning to swim without ever jumping into the lake...especially if the lake is haunted...
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Masterfully Diverse Stories, December 23, 2006
After doing some research on author William F. Nolan, I was embarrassed that I had not read any of his work. What a discovery! This living legend is a true chameleon when it comes to writing styles. Each story is so very different from the next -- the style, plot, characters, descriptions, etc. I had a wonderful time with this short story collection and I recommend it to fans both in and out of the horror genre. It has something for everyone. My two favorites are the utterly terrifying LONELY TRAIN A'COMIN and the very touching (yes, I had a tear in my eye) AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP. Even the weakest of the 19 stories is better than most others. This collection is strongly recommended.
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