Customer Reviews

The Skin Trade (Night Visions 5)

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

 

 

3 stories by Stephen King: "The Reploids", "Sneakers" and "Dedication".

3 stories by Dan Simmons: "Metastasis", "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" and "Iverson's Pits".

1 story by George R. R. Martin: "The Skin Trade".

While the stories by King and Simmons are more or less short, the story by Martin is long, taking up almost half of the volume.

The only (almost) original story is "Metastasis" by Simmons, where a medical experiment lets a man see strange violet creatures (usually invisible) feeding on human beings like vampire slugs, causing cancer.

"Sneakers" is a ghost story, while "Dedication" is about urban witchcraft and "The Skin Trade" is a story about werewolves and investigation.

I bought this solely for the rare Stephen King story "The Replicants", which is good but feels more like a first chapter in a book that a short story (unresolved ending). The other two King stories are okay ("Sneakers" being the better of the two, but both are published in Nightmares and Dreamscapes. The real treat here is Dan Simmons. I am more familiar with his sci-fi and mystery works, and was happily surprised by these stories which are more in the horror vein. "Metastasis" is an excellent story about what cancer really is a result of (with several revolting scenarios), while "Iverson's Pits" is an atmospheric piece that involves the corrupt legacy of an inept and cruel Civil War officer. If you like the period piece horror of "The Terror", you'll enjoy this long story. I didn't read the Martin novella.

This was originally published as Night Visions 5, a horror anthology series. It's got some neat stories. It's interesting to see people so critical of a work that was never meant to compete with Hemingway. These stories are clever and fun and, as they are supposed to, entertain.

I recommend the book as an interesting diversion...unless you're looking for Hemingway!

Book was in pretty rough shape...very loved, I suppose. It did come quickly and I am happy to add it to my collection though.

A couple ok stories, but just too soft and gentle. ALright if you get it really cheap, but not worth much of your effort. Not very interesting or startling stories.