Customer Reviews

Somewhere in the Night: Stories of Suspense

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

 

 

Well, if it bothers you - Andrew is a gay, 20 something vampire. If it doesn't, you'll find this book a lot of fun to read - I especially enjoyed the 2 Andrew stories and have also bought the other related books. Not all of the stories are as much fun - but all were worth reading. I have purchased more than one copy and have given a few to friends.

McMahan makes a valiant attempt in this collection of gay-themed horror stories, but the results are mixed. At times he turns phrases nicely and presents us with vivid images, but his insistence on using the present tense in all but two of the stories is irritating, distracting, and unnecessary. Reading fiction written in present tense always makes me feel like I'm on a tugboat on storm-tossed waters. I get confused and a bit dizzy.

"Johnny Two-Face", about a ghoulish Halloween party, is just silly, and "This Apartment Possessed" turns out to be a mess. Still the title tale is impressive, with its moral conundrum that must always be at the heart of successful horror fiction. Here Andrew, the protagonist, a young vampire, reflects on his ability to bestow immortality on his victims. Andrew returns in "Hell is for Children", but only a dolt would not be able to figure out who the decapitator is in the first few pages. "Fantasyland" is probably the best story in the collection. Its theme, of escape from adversity through imagination, is familiar enough, but McMahan shows some skill in demarcating reality and fantasy.

I really enjoyed this book. The stories were diverse, from horrifying to lighthearted, and well thought out. One of the stories here provides the basis for his later book "Vampires Anonymous"

Eight horror tales that (more or less) deal with gay people or gay issues. I have no problem with that (I'm gay myself) but I honestly can't say I like this. McMahan is (or was) a very talented writer and knows how to depress and scare an audience...but he goes too far. Most of these tales are full of unlikable characters and the events are just downright disgusting. "Two-Faced Johnny", "This House Possessed", "Who Could Ask For Anything More" and especially "The Dark Red Day" are all well-written but the protagonists all go through unbearable agony and pain with no real closure that it becomes a chore to read. "Fantasyland" is one of the few ones that offer ANY hope at the end. The two strongest stories--"Somewhere in the Night" and "Hell Is For Children" make this whole collection worth reading. They both deal with Andrew--a vampire who passes as human but is always fighting his thirst. You see everything through his eyes and hear his thoughts--and mostly they're pretty funny. The humor in these stories are a welcome release from all the gloom and doom of everything else. Make no mistake about it--these stories are gruesome but the humor helps make them more pleasurable. So McMahan is talented but he's TOO talented at scaring people silly.

While I appreciate the attempts to entertain, these were not much more than empty story lines and characters which failed to entice me into wanting to know more about them.

I THINK THIS IS THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE.MR MCMAHAN NEEDS TO DO US ALL A FAVOR AND FIND A DAY TIME JOB.