Havoc After Dark: Tales of Terror [Paperback]

Robert Fleming (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In "Arbeit Macht Frei," the best story in this first collection of short horror fiction, a revelatory moment comes when a black WWII GI compares the atrocities of racial prejudice experienced by blacks in America with those known to survivors from the Auschwitz concentration camp: "I couldn't figure which was worse: the actions of these Nazis killing people in bulk or the lynchings of these cracker white folk still fighting the Civil War." The tacit suggestion that horror is a fiction of victimization that cuts across ethnic boundaries is evident in these 14 tales, whose characters wrestle with issues of racial identity but find themselves confronting horrors that are mostly colorblind. In "The Ultimate Bad Luck," a black man cornered in a bayou by a redneck lynch mob is saved magically by a good deed done in childhood to overlooked residents of the swamp. "Punish the Young Seed of Satan" features an inner-city youth whose grim fate in the criminal justice system is less a horror story than a critique of parental irresponsibility and negligence. Fleming's enthusiasm and passion is evident in the themes and flashy details of his stories. Less obvious is the influence of "Poe, Lovecraft, Hawthorne, Bierce, and Collier," whom he cites in his introduction as his teenage reading. Several of the stories are awkward in their construction, and their turn into horror seems largely an afterthought. Many feature coarse stereotypes that thwart sympathy for their characters. Readers may find much room for improvement here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758205767
• ISBN-13: 978-0758205766
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,190,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, dark horror, December 11, 2005

By 

Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Havoc After Dark: Tales of Terror (Paperback)

Robert Fleming's collection of short horror stories is a true revelation. Sensual and horrific at the same time, these stories grab your legs and pull them out from under you. As the owner of more than 500 fantasy and horror anthologies, it takes a lot to impress me, but Robert Fleming did just that. The subject of his horror ranges from man's inhumanity to man, to the other side wrecking havoc with mortal man. His range is amazing, and his writing style is just relaxed enough to make the stories flow, and make them easy to read.

A complete list of the stories are ** Life After Bas ** The Ultimate Bad Luck ** In My Father's House ** The Inhuman Condition ** Bordering on the Divine ** Havoc After Dark ** The Blasphemer ** Arbeit Macht Frei ** Speak No Evil ** Punish the Young See of Satan ** A Lizard's Kiss ** The Garden of Evil ** The Wisdom of the Serpents

Most of the stories have eroticism, and any fan of Hot Blood will devour this anthology. If you're looking for a collection of stories that will entertain, frighten, and titillate you, this is the book to buy.

Highest recommendations!

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leave a light on, May 11, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Havoc After Dark: Tales of Terror (Paperback)

After editing notable collections like Intimacy and After Hours, Robert Fleming has assembled his own tales of terror in his latest compilation, HAVOC AFTER DARK. The tales are not typical tales of terror. They range from a man's curse brought on by his father's indiscretions to a greenhouse full of flowers that feed on humans. Some of my favorites were a story of a boy who endured religious abuse and one of a faithless bluesman who had a debt to pay.

There are none of the stale tales of vampires or werewolves with the scripted garlic and silver bullets; no chainsaw massacres or escaped mental patients. Adversely, and perhaps with more intensity, Fleming weaves believable stories that are so terrifying precisely because of their possibilities. The characters in any of the tales could have been me. With this powerful angle, HAVOC AFTER DARK scared the daylights out of me more than once. Additionally, none of the stories seemed to have been written just for terror's sake. Each made me think about the underlying message behind the words. I am tremendously impressed with this book and with this author.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clichéd, August 28, 2006

By 

Anonymous256789 "blank" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Havoc After Dark: Tales of Terror (Paperback)

Reading this book after two other anthologies, the current Borderlands and Outsiders, Havoc was a big let down. Fleming trots out the hoariest clichés (voodoo, deals with the devil, vampires, zombies, etc.) without a scare or twist to be found. Too many of the stories use familiar devices from "Tales from the Crypt" or "Tales for the Hood". One reoccurring theme in all stories is the racist "white southern cracker" and the old "white devils" cliché. *GASP!* (Is anyone else tired of this stereotype?) I'm sure this device was used to make some social commentary point, but instead of making one think, it simply becomes annoying. Mr. Fleming's overuse of the sex crazed white woman lusting after "dark meat" becomes offensive and outright racist at times.

To be fair, two stories stood out from the mess. "Speak No Evil" was a good blues tale. It was witty and sly and reminded me of a more fleshed out version of "Harold's Blues", by Glen Singer. "Bordering on the Divine" bordered on clever, with Edgar Allen Poe making an appearance. When not ranting about evil white people, the author can tell a good story.

As this book was published by Dafina, the target audience will be young African-Americans between 16 and 25. It's a quick read (I finished in less than 3 hours). The graphic, and sometimes pointless, sex scenes will appeal to the this demographic as well as the "get whitey!" subtext. However, for the true horror fan, this book is as flat as a two day old RC Cola and disappointing as a stale Moon Pie.