Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghostly Horror [Hardcover]

Paul F. Olson (Author), David B. Silva (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ghost story, as the afterword by Dean R. Koontz points out, has a long and honorable history and speaks to deep psychic needs. The 17 tales in this excellent collection, edited by two men who separately publish semi-professional magazines of horror fiction, are well-written and eerie. Among the best: "Blanca" by Thomas Tessier, a terrifying account of a traveler's sojourn in a brutal, unforgiving police state; Gary Brandner's "Mark of the Loser," a haunted house story in which the naive protagonist meets an undeserved but not totally unexpected fate; "The Brush of Soft Wings" by Melissa Mia Hall, reminiscent of Truman Capote's "Miriam," but gentler--death as a capricious but good-hearted little girl who comes to live with a lonely old woman; Robert McCammon's "Haunted World," which begins as a humorous anecdote and inexorably segues into a tale of horror; and Ramsey Campbell's loving, chilling tribute to the works of the great M. R. James, "The Guide."
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 edition (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312026315
• ISBN-13: 978-0312026318
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,230,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice, solid horror anthology, June 13, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghostly Horror (Hardcover)

And that is just what Post Mortem is, a nice solid anthology. All the stories in this volume are original, so no chance of reading something , unless it's been reprinted later. For an original anthology, a large amount of horror short story masters are represented. The stories are entertaining, and some are down right chilling. The biggest stand out story for me was Haunted World by Robert McCammon. A very unusual and twisted take on the typical `dead coming back to life to destroy the living tale' it left me with goose bumps, and an uneasy feeling. After reading as many horror stories as I do, it's nice to come away scared once in a while. Eyes of the Sword maker by Linzner also was pleasantly creepy.

***Each Night, Each Year by Kathryn Ptacek
***Mark of the Loser by Gary Brandner
***Timeskip by Charles de Lint
***Resettling by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem
***The Servitor by Janet Fox
***Blanca by Thomas Tessier
***Nine Gables by James Howard Kunstler
***The Last Cowboy Song by Charles L. Grant
***The Ring of Truth by Thomas Monteleone
***Eyes of the Sword maker by Gordon Linzner
***The Guide by Ramsey Campbell
***Getting Back by P.W. Sinclair
***Walkie-Talkie by Donald R. Burleson
***Major Prevue Here Tonite by William F. Nolan
***The Brush of Soft Wings by Melissa Mia Hall
***Brothers by David B. Silva
***Haunted World by Robert McCammon

Over all this is a very good read and I recommend it for horror fans.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average collection of ghost stories., March 17, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghostly Horror (Hardcover)

There's nothing really bad about the stories in this anthology, but there's nothing exceptional or revelatory, either. One story in particular is kind of old hat (war victims haunting a U.S. soldier). All but one of the tales are contemporary. I found the more memorable works to be from the following authors: Charles deLint, Thomas Tessier, Kathryn Ptacek, Melissa Mia Hall, and David B. Silva.
Recommended only if ghost tales are your particular area of interest.