Customer Reviews

Havoc After Dark: Tales of Terror

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

 

 

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!

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

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.

Utter garbage. The "horror" stories were not scary in the least. It seemed that the author knew he could not make anything scary, and went for jarring instead. There were quite a few moments that were surprising and/or gross, but nothing was scary.

Besides the poor writing and the lack of scares, it was highly offensive in its assumption that all white people are extreme racists. I don't know if he began this book in the 30's and just got around to publishing it, or he is just trying to exploit the fear of racism. But either way, it is stupid, annoying and highly, highly offensive.

Ordinarily, when I visit the bookstore, be it Barnes & Noble, or Books-A-Million or Walden Books, (or simply Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, for you see, I'm not very picky about where I buy my reading) I end up picking up novels or short story collections which have been written by, for the most part, white Americans and Brits. I don't make an effort of it for it to always turn out this way, of course...it simply just happens. I don't know why. I don't ordinarily make a chore of picking up books with any thought of their author's race in mind, but this time, I did. I hadn't read any decent black writing since Ralph Ellison's last, late, great novel, which was preceded by several excellent Donald Goines books, so, after finishing the 6th Harry Potter novel for the third time, (for I freakin love these novels, Rowling is a damned genius) I decided to have an intentional go at black writers. Most of the books I came across were either too sexual(Zane), too "street"(), or although written very, very well, too feminine.(Terry MacMillan, who is, by the way, a fantastic author) As I sought out a new book to spend hours and hours upon, it crossed my mind: "Have I ever read horror by a black author before?", so, I perused the magazine and book isle at Wal-Mart until I came upon a book that caught my attention. Havoc After Dark, by Robert Fleming. I'd heard of him at one time or another, but I'd never really felt driven enough to give his work a try. I am very, very glad I did. His writing is surprisingly normal, not unlike talking to an intelligent young man who simply has a lot to say, with perhaps even a few lessons amid his many words to boot. I found the term "Horror" used excellently, as I must say...I did expect to find vampires and werewolves, among other nightly beasties and vermin, amid these pages, but I was very much surprised and pleased to see that while there were werewolves, vampires, and man-eating plants present, Fleming also used his understanding of The Human Condition to shed light on other kinds of horror, more everyday sort of terrors. Like prejudice. And inarticulate hatred. Pride, lust, greed and jealousy, all pushed by everyday yearnings and wants to excel at being horrible enough to write a few stories on that actually hit with all the force of a bomb when read. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who loves brilliantly written stories with valid points and views among them. You will not be disappointed. And I certainly will be searching out more of Mr. Fleming's work.

Cheers.

Hawksmoor...From The Bleed.

This is actually a really good book, it have like 3 or 4 short stories and the way he writes just stucks you into the story. VERY descriptive, violent, and gorey.......YES!!! Fleming more please.

Wow what a trick this author pulls. By having 85% of the white people in the book being complete racists and throwing around N-bombs, you hardly notice when he starts being racist towards whites. Filled with N bombs, cracker, honkey, and other assorted slurs this book is horrible. The double standard exposed by Fleming's painting most whites as racists is galling. Try writing the same style book as a white author calling most blacks racist, and watch Sharpton and the NAACP flip their lid.

Almost lost in all of the racism is the fact the stories do not deliver. Not horror at all just this man's excuse to paint all whites as terrible. Read only if you hate white people. Thank goodness I got this from the Library because I wouldn't want this author to make one penny from me!

I have been reading horror fiction for a long time and this book was a chore to get through! If I could give it NO STARS, I would. Superficial at best with way too much graphic sex. Mr. Fleming...some advice...get off the 'black writers get overlooked thing' and just write some better books. BAD writers get overlooked.