Customer Reviews

Soft and Others: 16 Stories of Wonder and Dread

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4 star:		(2)
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Haunting, chilling, and riveting are just a few words to describe the horror fiction of F. Paul Wilson. I have read many anthologies he has contributed to, yet it is only when you see so many of his stories placed in one volume that you can truly appreciate his wicked brilliance. As an avid reader and collector of short horror/fantasy/sci-fi fiction, a piece has to be truly remarkable to stand out in my collection, yet this does, and I would not hesitate to re-read it at any time. Both Soft and Cuts were so delicious that they alone were worth the price of the book! The poorest story in here still blows away everything else on the current market.

A complete list of the stories is-
***The Cleaning Machine *** Ratman ***Lipidleggin' *** To fill the Sea and Air *** Green Winter *** Be Fruitful and Multiply *** Soft *** The Last "One Mo'Once Golden Oldies Revival" *** The Years the Music Died *** Dat-Tay-Vao *** Doc Johnson *** Buckets *** Traps *** Muscles *** Menage a Trois *** Cuts

This work turned me into an F. Paul Wilson fan and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the short story form or horror fiction. Treat yourself to this and you will not be disappointed.

This was my first book of F. Paul Wilson and now I am a huge fan. Every story is tight, concise, and eminently readable. Look out especially for "Soft," "Dat-Tay-Vao" (which figures into later novels like The Touch), and "Buckets."

F. Paul Wilson is an amazing writer, and these stories serve to highlight that fact. Soft is a good story, and the one about the plant-men was chilling...

I WOULD recommend this to other FPW fans.

This is an excellent compilation of the author's short stories, which were written between 1969 and 1987. The author, who has since gone on to fame and fortune, having written a number of best sellers, among them "The Tomb", "The Touch", and "The Keep", writes a brief, yet interesting, introduction to each of the sixteen stories, telling the reader the genesis and history of each one.

The stories range from the macabre to the odd, with unexpected twists and turns. These can be categorized as being of the horror genre of fiction. The book also features some stories that fall squarely into the science fiction genre. No matter the genre, they are all edgy, clever, and clearly a labor of love by the author. For those unfamiliar with the work of the author, this is an excellent introduction, as these brief, well written stories will give the reader a thirst for more.

The stories in this collection are diverse. Some of the stories make one think and consider the future especially as regards healthcare legislation and population control (Lipidleggin', Be Fruitful and Multiply). Others are imaginative, supernatural tales of revenge (Cuts, The Last "Oldies Revival", "One Mo' Once Golden Oldies Revival", Doc Johnson). There are three SF stories, 'The Ratman' which deals with rat problems and shows how well trained a rat can be, 'Dat-Tay-Vao' is about a remarkable gift for healing, and 'To Fill the Sea and Air' is a fishing story. Conspiracy theory and the music business are dealt with in 'The Years the Music Died'. 'Muscles', 'The Cleaning Machine', 'Green Winter', 'Ménage A Trois', and 'Traps' are straight horror stories. One story, 'Buckets', deals with the controversial subject of abortion. The title story, 'Soft', touches on a broad range of fears: disease, slowly dying, paralysis, losing loved ones, death, etc., for me this was the scariest story.

If you do read and enjoy this collection, you may also be interested in 'The Barrens and Others', which features a horror story ('Pelts') that is even more disturbing than 'Cuts', and another story ('Pelts') which like 'Buckets' is very graphic and deals with a controversial issue (killing animals for their fur).

My dad read me a bunch of these stories when I was a kid, and I've never forgotten them. The title story is the stuff nightmares are made off.

Most of the stories in this book are fairly old now, but they do not suffer much from that. This is not Mr. Wilson's best short story collection, but is a worthwhile addition to the others. Well worth having.