Customer Reviews

Fears Unnamed

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I picked this up, I had no idea that I would still be thinking about some of the stories in here a week after I put the book down. Usually when you pick up a book like this, you find at least one disappointing novella but Lebbon writes four frightening tales to curdle your blood. That said, the last story was one of the best I have read in a very long time. From the opening of the little boy hearing something at his window, I couldn't put this story down. Since I was little, the thought of zombies has always scared me witless and centering the story around a child made it more real to me. Each part of the story works at those little fears unnamed and their chase through a dying nightmare world stays with you long after the book is closed. The characters were well written and the story was also very touching at times.

The other stories were also nightmarish and fantastic enough to keep me glued to the book. My second favorite was the first one about an archaelogist finding a lost city of the dead. Still, the other two stories were chilling and you won't find a bad one in the bunch.

Smart, terrifying and never boring, I will wait to read more of Lebbon's work. The best!

From what I have read of Tim Lebbon (The Nature of Balance, Face), I believe his strength is writing short stories and novellas. I was quickly worried when I started reading, because "Remnants" wasn't very special. However, everything got much better after that. The last three stories (especially "White" and "Naming of Parts") were very exciting and original. I definitely recommend this book if you interested in Tim Lebbon. He shows a lot of promise. Here are my ratings of the stories (1-10).
REMNANTS (5)
WHITE (8)
THE UNFORTUNATE (7)
NAMING OF PARTS (8)

This was my first ever Lebbon, and I can safely say I'm a fan now. The four novellas in this book are extremely entertaining, well written, and imaginative. Lebbon has a handle on the horror genre that I've not seen in a while. It's a nice mix of character and atmosphere. I actaully cared about the people in these stories.

The first story starts out well, then, for me, becomes too comic bookish. The book jacket says he wrote a new story for the collection and I'm gonna say this was it. It just seemed out of place with the others. It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't up to par with the rest. It should have gone in the middle of the book, because it made me dubious about what was to follow.

But the second story, about a group of people trapped in a house amidst a wolrdwide plague of death and evil ghosts was pure classic horror. Imagine a zombie story where the undead are trying to break into a house, except replace zombies with ghosts that mutilate you. This was my favorite story in the book, and could easily be made into a film. It was great.

The third was a bit more psychological, about a man who makes a deal to be brought back to life. Once alive, he must appease his benefactors or suffer the consequences. It was very dark, and didn't submit itself to cliches. Again, a great story.

The last story was in fact a classic zombie tale, but again, it was very dark and, while using some cliches, managed to be more about the family involved rather than the undead. There were some nice stressful scenes. It was actually very touching, and ended beautifully.

I can't recommend Lebbon enough at this point. If it wasn't for the first story being a bit off kilter, I'd give this collection a 5. Great stuff.

The first bloody star goes to Style. Competent, flowing, natural, with just a touch of flair for those geeky enough to catch it, Lebbon uses language like an Iron Chef uses rice. It's a staple for the dish, but it can become the center of attention if garnished correctly. I grabbed a pen and started jotting down lines after a while:
...leaving me with my own weak, insipid, perception of things.
The living could never make friends with the dead.
Ecstasy and thoughtless agony often sounded the same.
If I remember your book after I'm done you've done your job - if I remember specific lines... well, keep writing!

The second bloody star goes out to story and pace, and in some sick way I appreciate that Lebbon doesn't give you a chance to catch your breath. Incredible stories that take you to four different levels of fear and back again. And true to the title, each of those fears really is unnamed! You have a 'ghost town'... maybe. A twist in evolution... maybe. Gods or fairies, angels or demons... yeah, thanks for clearing that up! And finally what can only be the 'z' word - but it's never used, so I won't tarnish it by using it here.

The third bloody star goes to characters. I knew them, personally. I knew their histories, their motives, their twitches, and their fears. Strong females with tender cores, heroic men with low or no self-esteem, and children that aren't afraid to grow up, even if it's only on the inside - Lebbon covered his bases well.

And the final bloody star goes to atmosphere - because nothing says leave a light on better than every day life gone amuck! Of course I have to admit, I'm a sucker for apocalyptic situations, but Lebbon does them right. It's not necessary to tell you everything going on everywhere to scare you - just let you know that your neighborhood has gone to hell and you've been invited!

Did I like the book? Hell yeah! Should you own it? Why don't you already?!

A book like "Fears Unnamed" was a real treat for me, an avid lover of apocalyptic tales. I must have read over a hundred horror novels in my lifetime and when I'm asked which were my favourites I'm always coming back to books like "Swan Song", "The Stand", "I am Legend". Whether it be sci-fi or horror, I find that end-of-the-world stories always seem to breed the most imaginative concepts from the best authors out there. Tim Lebbon in particular has a reputation as a writer of such apocalyptic tales and in "Fears Unnamed" he presents to us 4 short novels with end-of-the-world scenarios.

The first story, "Remnants" is about an archaeologist and his childhood pal who travel in an isolated part of Africa and discover an underground "City of the dead". The archaeologist is obsessed with the idea of locating his dead son but before, he must wade his way through all of the horrors that lurk in this seemingly interminable underground hell. A great opener, although I wish Lebbon had developed his idea more fully and had more of the story take place in the city of the dead. Still, I loved the philosophical paintings throughout the story about growing up without selling out your values and living life to the fullest. I give Remnants a 4/5.

In "White", six young vacationing adults find themselves trapped in their cabin due to a seemingly unending snow-storm. The nearest village is ten miles away and walking that distance in the storm seems unfathomable but staying in the cabin could be worse as there are murderous white "shapes" outside, trying to make their way onto the cabin and feast on them. Lebbon really hits his stride here delivering a story that is creepy, claustrophobic and very suspenseful. As a Canadian to whom 3 feet of snow is often a reality, this one really hit home for me. White gets a 4/5.

In "The Unfortunate", a man escapes death when he is the sole survivor of a plane crash. But soon he will discover that escaping death has a huge price as family and friends close to him start dying and getting into horrible accidents. The weakest of the 4 tales, "The Unfortunate" is written in a highly experimental and should I say it, pretentious writing style. I almost quit on it 10 pages in, but it those get better. Still, there is something eerily familiar about it (Final Destination anyone?). This story I would rate a 3/5.

The last story, "Naming of parts" is the best one. In a world gone mad, a boy and his parents set off on an adventure to locate Mandy, their teenaged girl who ran away a few weeks ago. Much of the population (including the animals) has been infested with a strange disease that is making them kill and eat the remains of everything they come in contact with. This tale was an absolute blast, a gory and fun ride. Fans of Brian Keene's "The Rising" especially will get a kick out of this. This one is a definite 5/5.

Overall a fine collection that I recommend to all horror fans. While some stories are better than others and there are a few rough patches here and there there is no doubt that Lebbon has what it takes to be a major force in horror literature for years to come.

Wow! This is a great book. I usually don't go for collections, but I enjoyed this one. White and The Naming of Parts are two of the best short stories I can remember.

Fears unnamed collects four novellas by Tim Lebbon, an author who no longer needs an introduction for anyone who has followed the small press industry. These four novellas - one new and three previously published - demonstrate the skills and talent of an author who is bound for greatness.

Lebbon loves to write post-apocalyptic tale, and this collection features one of his most popular end-of-the-world stories, Naming of the Parts. Here, a young boy and his parents try to escape a civilisation that has gone mad. The dead are walking and there is nowhere to hide.

In The Unfortunate, Lebbon gives us the very, very original tale of a man who, after being the sole survivor of a plane crash, is forever changed. But his survival isn't a mere coincidence or a stroke of good luck. Soon enough, he finds himself in the middle of a very dark game that will leave him scarred for the rest of his life. The ending will haunt your for a very long time.

Since the stories in this collection were written in the earlier parts of Lebbon's career, it's somewhat of a disappointment to realize that the newest and previously unpublished tale in this collection is also the lesser of the four. In Remnant, a man meets his archologist friend in a deserted land to uncover a forgotten civilisation that has been laying dormant for thousands of years. The story is a bit slow, and the finale anticlimactic.

But the real reason to read this collection is for the magnificent, terrifying and brilliantly written White. In this tale, the world is dying and becoming a sea of white snow. A group of people trapped inside a mansion soon realize that this new whiteness also hides something dark and violent, something that his destroying them one by one. This is one story you won't be able to put down. I read White quite a while back when it was first published and, upon numerous readings, it now stands as one of my all-time horror faves.

This is a great collection that should not be missed. Lebbon is bound to become a very important voice in genre fiction. Fears Unnamed is sure to give your lots of thrills, chills and a load of good times.

Are you willing to take a chance on British dark fantasy/horror? Tim Lebbon is a Welsh writer who writes in an unapologetically contemporary British style. If you're an Anglophile yourself, and you don't require horror stories to conform to a "Tales from the Crypt" formula, you're going to have a very good time with at least some of the novellas found in "Fears Unnamed."

I preferred the last two novellas over the first two, simply because Lebbon took concepts I am familiar with - near-death experiences and zombies - and presented them in a refreshingly original way. Both "The Unfortunate" and "Naming of Parts" are real page-turners in the very best sense. A lot of the imagery in "The Unfortunate" disturbed me long after I put the book down, just like another reviewer said, and I sympathized strongly with the little boy's plight in "Naming of Parts." How does Lebbon do it? I think part of his technique is to avoid stock characters completely, and to deliberately choose to focus on the point-of-view of an atypical character. Lebbon deserves a lot of credit for this.

I didn't care for the first two stories nearly as much. You might disagree. But anthologies tend to be uneven anyway, and the good stories are good enough to nudge this over to 4-star territory.

I surprisingly found this a moving and and varied read. I bought this on a whim and am now keen to read more of Lebbon's books. Adventure and interest with a strange consistent undercurrent of ideas that stimulated my somewhat jaded mind. Fears unnamed is an apt title in that this book manages to touch at least one of our fear's that was so hidden as to be unidentifiable.

FEARS UNNAMED is a collection of four longer stories by Tim Lebbon, one of which appears here for the first time.

In "Remnants," the new story, an archaeologist is convinced he has located a lost city of the dead beneath the Ethiopian desert. He's not simply interested in finding ruins and artifacts, however. This story ends without a satisfying resolution, and it was my least favorite of the lot.

"White," the first of two end-of-the-world stories in this volume, concerns a handful of people stranded in a remote manor on the coast of Britain. The earth has suffered a threefold apocalypse - plague is rampant, human society has all but collapsed, and it won't stop snowing. And now there's something out there in the blizzard that is picking them off one by one.

"The Unfortunate" is the sole survivor of an airplane disaster who finds that his luck is not a gift but a terrible curse. I had already read this in a different anthology, but I didn't mind reading it again. It is one of the more frightening stories that I have read anywhere.

In "Naming of Parts," a family desperately makes their way across the English countryside to be reunited with their estranged daughter after most everyone else has succumbed to a disease that has turned them into zombies.

In at least two of the stories, Lebbon turns what might be the stuff of b-movies into something much more by making it about the characters as much as (if not more than) their situation. When one of the protagonists is forced to take the only escape available to her, you really feel it. This is a worthwhile collection overall, but in my opinion only the second and third stories are exceptional. If you're able to spend a bit more, I'd suggest picking up White and Other Tales of Ruin and As the Sun Goes Down, both published by NightShade Books in hardcover, and which contain "White" and "The Unfortunate," respectively.