Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (Hardcover)

by Ellen Datlow (Editor)
Key Phrases: snake lake, Matt Janus, Buzz Cut, Scarsdale Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Datlow (The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror) makes a solid claim to being the premiere horror editor of her generation with this state-of-the-art anthology of 20 new stories by some of horror fiction's best and brightest. Several outstanding selections feature imperiled children and explore the horrific potential of childhood fears, among them Glen Hirshberg's The Janus Tree, which gives a creepy supernatural spin to a poignant memoir of adolescent angst and alienation, and Stephen Gallagher's Misadventure, in which a young man's near-death experience as a child endows him as an adult with consoling insight into the afterlife. The compilation's variety of approaches and moods is exemplary, ranging from the natural supernaturalism of Laird Barron's cosmic horror tale The Forest, to the unsettling psychological horror of Lucius Shepard's The Ease with Which We Freed the Beast; the metaphysical terrors of Conrad Williams's Perhaps the Last; and the slapstick grotesquerie of K.W. Jeter's black comedy Riding Bitch. If this book can be taken as a gauge of the vitality of imagination in contemporary horror fiction, then the genre is very healthy indeed. (Dec.)
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Review

"Datlow makes a solid claim to being the premiere horror editor of her generation." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Inferno 

“One good ghost story, one truly effective tale, is usually sufficient to scare the bejesus out of a person. The Dark contains sixteen tales, enough to keep fans tossing and turning and peeking under the bed for a fortnight and then some. Watch your hackles when you read this book; Ms. Datlow and her horrormongers are out to raise them.” --Dallas Morning News

 

“Sure to provide a yardstick by which future ghost fiction will be measured.” --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Dark

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (December 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765315580
• ISBN-13: 978-0765315588
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,376 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publishers Weekly starred review, January 18, 2008

By	Ellen Datlow (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the entire starred Publishers Weekly review:

Inferno Edited by Ellen Datlow. Tor, $25.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1558-8
Datlow (The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror) makes a solid claim to being the premiere horror editor of her generation with this state-of-the-art anthology of 20 new stories by some of horror fiction's best and brightest. Several outstanding selections feature imperiled children and explore the horrific potential of childhood fears, among them Glen Hirshberg's "The Janus Tree," which gives a creepy supernatural spin to a poignant memoir of adolescent angst and alienation, and Stephen Gallagher's "Misadventure," in which a young man's near-death experience as a child endows him as an adult with consoling insight into the afterlife. The compilation's variety of approaches and moods is exemplary, ranging from the natural supernaturalism of Laird Barron's cosmic horror tale "The Forest," to the unsettling psychological horror of Lucius Shepard's "The Ease with Which We Freed the Beast"; the metaphysical terrors of Conrad Williams's "Perhaps the Last"; and the slapstick grotesquerie of K.W. Jeter's black comedy "Riding Bitch." If this book can be taken as a gauge of the vitality of imagination in contemporary horror fiction, then the genre is very healthy indeed.
(Dec.)
And chosen by PW as one of the best sf/f titles of the year.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent assortment of dark tales guaranteed to make the reader shudder, January 21, 2008

By	Jody Rose (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently finished reading INFERNO, edited by Ellen Datlow, and must remark that this 2007 original horror anthology is one of the best to come down the pike in a long time. Comprising an assortment of dark themes, INFERNO offers readers an outstanding variety of twenty tales ranging from psychological and ghostly to monstrous and downright weird, if whimsical, the latter in reference to Jeffrey Ford's "The Bedroom Light," a conundrum of creepy and whimsical that left me chuckling while goose flesh crept up and down my arms. Clever.

The following is a list of my favorite stories, in order of the toc:

"The Forest" by Laird Barron: old acquaintances are revisited while the Old Ones feed.
"The Monsters of Heaven" by Nathan Ballingrud: a disturbing tale of loss, grief, and sacrifice. (This one was hard for me to shake off, haunted me for days.)
""Lives" by John Grant: the-cat-with-nine-lives meets a nasty demise, with uncomfortable implications.
"Ghorla" by Mark Samuels: repulsive retribution for the careless.
"An Apiary of White Bees" by Lee Thomas: oh, just let me say that the visceral-rating is high in this tale of bizarre horror.
"Stilled Life" by Pat Cadigan: a disturbing riff on the Pygmalion theme in reverse.

Finishing out this excellent anthology are "Riding Bitch" by K. W. Jeter--a tale of ghostly disaffection in Las Vegas; "Misadventure" by Stephen Gallagher--an engrossing tale of "haunts"; "Inelastic Collisions" by Elizabeth Bear--beware of the singles-bar in this one; "The Uninvited" by Christopher Fowler--a tale of unsavory reminiscence that made my spine creep with recollection; "13 O'Clock" by Mike O'Driscoll--a tragic and inescapable haunting; "Face" by Joyce Carol Oates--an ambiguous curse with psychological underpinnings; "The Keeper" by P. D. Cacek--a disturbing reminder that we must never forget; "Bethany's Wood" by Paul Finch--a tale about the very last person on earth who should go mad; "The Ease with Which We Freed the Beast" by Lucius Shepard--fantastic and gruesome delusions therein, this tale is a "must read" for the horror story die-hard; "Hushabye" by Simon Bestwick--on the track of someone or something feeding on innocence; "Perhaps the Last" by Conrad Williams--while a killer stalks the city, a mall guard obsesses about an unavailable woman; "The Janus Tree" by Glen Hirshberg--a disturbing coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of a decaying Montana mining town; "The Bedroom Light" by Jeffrey Ford--ghosts and a strange birthing that for some reason had me thinking of the cult film classic "Eraserhead" (I shiver); and last but not least, "The Suits at Auderlene" by Terry Dowling--a tale about arcane armor and generational revenge.

Ellen Datlow dedicated this book to the late and great Charles L. Grant.

Need I say more?

Highly recommended reading!


JLR

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader, July 5, 2009

By	Blue Tyson "- http://freesf.blogspot.com" - See all my reviews

A rather good original anthology, having a 3.58 average. Not surprising to get an award, then.

The standout is easily Laird Barron's 'The Forest'. The opposite being Jeffrey Ford, who has never really struck me as a horror writer, and goes a bit Arthur C. Clarke here, even.

Other good stories from Ballingrud, Grant, Finch, Bestwick, Cadigan, with Hirshberg's the second best of all.

The introduction specifically says there are no 'werewolves, vampires, witches, zombies, etc.'

Inferno : Riding Bitch - K.W. Jeter
Inferno : Misadventure - Stephen Gallagher
Inferno : The Forest - Laird Barron
Inferno : The Monsters of Heaven - Nathan Ballingrud
Inferno : Inelastic Collisions - Elizabeth Bear
Inferno : The Uninvited - Christopher Fowler
Inferno : 13 O'clock - Mike ODriscoll
Inferno : Lives - John Grant
Inferno : Ghorla - Mark Samuels
Inferno : Face - Joyce Carol Oates
Inferno : An Apiary of White Bees - Lee Thomas
Inferno : The Keeper - P. D. Cacek
Inferno : Bethany's Wood - Paul Finch
Inferno : The Ease With Which We Freed The Beast - Lucius Shepard
Inferno : Hushabye - Simon Bestwick
Inferno : Perhaps the Last - Conrad Williams
Inferno : Stilled Life - Pat Cadigan
Inferno : The Janus Tree - Glen Hirshberg
Inferno : The Bedroom Light - Jeffrey Ford
Inferno : The Suits at Auderlene - Terry Dowling


Dead girlfriend handcuffed nitrobike dirtnap.

3.5 out of 5


Ghost kid pool alert.

3 out of 5


Dying of cancer won't bug me, at least until the sun goes out, anyway.

4.5 out of 5


Limp angel bloody love.

4 out of 5


Poolroom angel meatpuppet dinner frogman revelation.

3.5 out of 5


Serial killer gatecrash gang.

3.5 out of 5


Bad dreams, dad.

3.5 out of 5


Might have to go a bit Rasputin to end the son's.

4 out of 5


Brother sister freaky third eye transfer.

3 out of 5


Growing parasite.

3 out of 5


Fancy booze stash, sex, revenge.

3.5 out of 5


What's all the dead burned kid stuff, then?

3 out of 5


Insane pagan murder mobile statue mum.Insane pagan murder mobile statue mum.

4 out of 5


Insane pagan murder mobile statue mum.Insane pagan murder mobile statue mum.

3.5 out of 5


Shoot and toast the serial killer, hopefully will work.

4 out of 5


Guard too late.

3.5 out of 5


Busted friendsihp's rocky end.

4 out of 5


Not falling fall from the old Family (or friends.

4.5 out of 5


Not so scary cat.

2.5 out of 5


Singing armour meteor maiden trap.

3.5 out of 5