Foundations of Fear (Tor Horror) [Hardcover]

David Hartwell (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Tor Horror | Publication Date: September 1992

A collection of tales of horror features the work of Clive Barker, Daphne du Maurier, Gerald Durrell, Carlos Fuentes, Robert Heinlein, Richard Matheson, and Peter Straub.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This companion volume to The Dark Descent (also edited by Hartwell) collects 29 horror stories by such genre trailblazers as Daphne Du Maurier, Richard Matheson and Clive Barker. The fact that movies have been made from several of these tales testifies to their appeal. Du Maurier's Don't Look Now, in which a couple vacationing in Venice after the death of their daughter discover that the husband's dormant psychic powers have been activated by their bereavement, inspired the film of the same title. Matheson's Duel portrays a motorist menaced by an unseen truck driver; the movie version launched Steven Spielberg's career. Barker, who has made a name for himself as both a writer and a filmmaker, is represented here by In The Hills, The Cities, in which the populations of twin Yugoslavian towns bind themselves to each other to create giant warriors who engage in ritual combat every decade. The bloody story has an eerie, timely relevance. Stories by Octavia Butler, H. P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, Thomas Hardy, Gertrude Atherton, Philip K. Dick and others explore such themes as sexual and social enslavement, insanity, vampirism and the religious and philosophical meanings of sex and violence.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 660 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312850743
• ISBN-13: 978-0312850746
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,853,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These great stories..., June 11, 2002

By 

P. C. Brown "pcbrown" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foundations of Fear (Tor Horror) (Hardcover)

...convinced me that horror fiction wasn't just a "slum" genre, that it was in fact home to some of the best writing ever set to paper. Elisabeth Engstrom's "When Darkness Loves Us" changed my perception of the short story. In just a few pages she makes a more profound impact on the emotions of the reader than most 500-page novels. This book is a startling demonstration of craft and fine storytelling.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Torturing Mr. Amberwell by Thomas Disch, May 27, 2010

By 

Mitchell Glodek (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foundations of Fear (Tor Horror) (Hardcover)

Foundations of Fear is a huge anthology of horror stories by good writers, and certainly worth the trouble of obtaining. It includes Thomas Disch's "Torturing Mr. Amberwell," which I believe is hard to find, but deserves to be read widely by horror and crime fans. (There is no supernatural or SF stuff, everything is believable.)

"Torturing Mr. Amberwell" is a sort of wish-fulfillment fantasy for ruthless environmentalists and leftists; a smug intellectual tortures a businessman accused of polluting the environment. Or maybe it is a dark satire of such a wish fulfillment fantasy. Disch is a very skilled writer, and the story is worth reading for his style alone, but perhaps the most interesting feature of the story is how successful it is as a horror story on a number of levels, and to different kinds of readers. Unlike so many "horror" stories, which are really just adventure stories, "Torturing Mr. Amberwell" is actually horrifying. Disch's three characters are all easy to identify with but also easy to deplore, which makes what they do and what fates befall them all the more disturbing and satisfying.