Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sometimes the lamb eats the lion, October 18, 2004
Truly a phenomenal anthology, I buzzed through Ketchum's collection like a goose through a field of June-bugs, smacking my lips at every tasty morsel.
There are thirty-two stories here in this collection, way to many to give even the briefest of synopsis for each, but trust me when I say that Ketchum runs a gamut here from realism to surrealism straight through the ethereal and on into the pits of hell itself. Yummy.
A Mother sees her ten year old son for the monster he is, a mysterious empty box that leaves death in its wake, parrots and body-painting in a haunted bar, the unbreakable melding of minds with twins, a dying author's last wish, new methods of gentlemen's justice, just to skim a few teasers.
Of special mention are the tales "Meagan's Law", a horrifying look at a real life monster that twists your views around; "The Great San Diego Sleazy Bimbo Massacre", a brutal and hilarious tale of two barflys and an unwanted husband; "The Rose", in which a tattoo artist frees a slave; and "Lines: Or Like Franco, Is Elvis Still Dead", a realistically scary tale of Fatal Attraction.
Ketchum has proven in this collection that he not only writes well, but can cross whatever genre he chooses successfully. Wild, weird, wonderful, horrific, and even inspiring, this is a must-have for you anthology collection.
Includes Introduction and Afterward by Jack Ketchum, both factually interesting enough to take note of. Enjoy!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Short Stories Are Supposed To Be Written, August 27, 2003
When one gets to know an author through his or her fiction, one comes to expect a certain sameness or familiarity in their work, a comfortable foundation on which they will build a new, but not entirely unfamiliar story. With Ketchum, one must only expect a well written story, because that is the only similarity you are going to get. He has written so broadly and so well over the years, and this collection is the highlight of a brilliant, if somewhat underappreciated, career. It collects most of his short fiction, contains a few stories exclusive to this edition, and reprints all but two stories from his earlier and long out of print collection The Exit At Toledo Blade Boulevard. If you get the Subterranean Press limited edition, you will find some artwork to two of the stories, if you get the Leisure edition, you will find a new afterword. I recommend them both. Some of these stories will make you laugh, some will make you cry, some will leave you stunned. The range of this author far outshines any other, and you can't go wrong with this book.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Woah!, August 28, 2003
By A Customer
This book is worth the price alone for the story titled MAIL ORDER, which is one of the best short horror tales I've read in years (think a more demented version of the film 8MM). Kethcum shines with this collection, and the few non-horror tales (plus a western) all keep the readers' interest. Horror fans will eat this up. The thirty-two tales fly by.
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