Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror [Mass Market Paperback]

Ellen Datlow (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

In an extraordinary collection of short stories, twenty-four master storytellers, including Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Clive Barker, and Gahan Wilson, take a look into the inscrutable eyes of a cat and see the frightening, the bizarre, and the fantastic.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first page of Twists of the Tale reassures the skeptical reader: Ellen Datlow dedicates it to someone "who said it shouldn't be done." In other words, despite the pun in the title, she is well aware of the potential pitfalls of a "cat horror" anthology, and is successful in avoiding cuteness, silliness, and tediously "evil" cats. Most of the stories comment, in one way or another, on the variety of relationships between cats and humans--especially those humans who are obsessed, alienated, or neglected. The 24 authors include Nicholas Royle (a gruesome piece called "Skin Deep"), Kathe Koja and Barry Malzberg (a melancholy tale about a whore and her familiar), Joyce Carol Oates (a disturbing twist on the folk belief about cats killing babies), Stephen King (a wicked crime story not reprinted in his collections so far), and William S. Burroughs (his Russian blue cat in conflict with the CIA).

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440217717
• ISBN-13: 978-0440217718
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,199,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been an editor for over thirty years, first in book publishing, but mostly editing short stories for OMNI Magazine and webzine, EVENT HORIZON, a webzine, and SCIFICTION, the fiction area of SCIFI.COM. I now edit original and reprint anthologies. Born and bred New Yorker, although I travel a lot.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Purrrfect anthology (can't resist the pun), May 7, 2000

By 

mellion108 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror (Mass Market Paperback)

24 stories. All cat related. Some charming, some humorous, all somewhat twisted. This collection has something for the cat lover and the cat phobic alike: pieces that confirm both opinions of our feline friends.

Whenever you see Ellen Datlow's name on an anthology, buy it. She pulls together phenomenal writers with samples of their best writing. In TWISTS, you'll find King, Douglas Clegg, Joyce Carol Oates, Tanith Lee, Kathe Koja, Steven Spruill, William S. Burroughs among others. Clegg's "The Five" is an absolutely disturbing tale of a little girl obsessed with the kittens trapped in the wall. "I Gatti di Roma" by Sarah Clemons tells about regret, redemption, revenge. "Marigold Outlet" by Nancy Kress is a sad, haunting portrait of child abuse. This is a horror collection with stories that gross out, that haunt, that terrify. It is a superb anthology with quick stories for the horror fan.

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition of Twists of the Tale coming in 2007, January 7, 2007

By 

Ellen Datlow (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror (Mass Market Paperback)

Wildside Press has just reissued Twists of the Tale in trade paperback and it's available here: http://www.amazon.com/Twists-Tale-Ellen-Datlow/dp/0809557959/.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Catty....too much, February 11, 2009

By 

Rachel Dean "Rachel Dean- nightbookworm" (Poway, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror (Mass Market Paperback)

Yah, no. Not a horror anthology AT ALL. A few are good stories, none freaked me out or made me jump when my cats came in the room. Dissapointed. Possibly good for a spooky geriatric reader.