Review
It was inevitable that the narrowing portals of the publishing industry - in this case, the horror side - would yield a bevy of small presses geared at bringing new fear fiction to readers increasingly starved for quality. While books from such outfits can be a bit of a gamble, there is much to praise in
Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet, a sharp, new gay-themed anthology. The 24 entries comprise a sophisticated collection of topnotch tales of terror, most of which could appear in any fright anthology without qualification, and suggest the maturing of gay horror into a viable and solid genre indeed. --Fangoria (Issue 283, May 2009)
Unspeakable Horror is a truly delightful tour of horrifying possibilities involving characters attracted to the same sex. Closeted homosexuality may appear, at first glance, to be a redundant theme for such a sizeable anthology, but most of the twenty-four stories are gripping, unexpected, and universally appealing - authored by fine writers who no doubt represent the full spectrum of sexual orientations. Editors and horror aficionados Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder have done a stellar job choosing some wonderfully unexpected quality yarns. --Horror Bound Magazine
In reflecting on this book, I m reminded of how much fine work is being produced by the indie press. Liaguno and Helder, to their credit, took their time in producing the finest anthology possible, and the finished product doesn t disappoint. On the whole,
Unspeakable Horror is a highly recommended read for all horror fans, as it offers something for everyone. Lovers of the dark, the literary, the gruesome, and even the disgusting, will find something to treasure. --Fear Zone
About the Author
Editor
Vince Liaguno's debut novel, 2006's
The Literary Six, was a tribute to the slasher films of the 80's and won an Independent Publisher Award (IPPY) for Horror and was named a finalist in ForeWord Magazine s Book of the Year Awards in the Gay/Lesbian Fiction category. He is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the virtual
Dark Scribe Magazine and is a former contributing editor at
Autograph Magazine, a national specialty-niche publication for enthusiasts of the titular hobby. His work has also appeared in the anthology
My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them (University of Wisconsin Press, 2009),
Malpractice: An Anthology of Bedside Terror (Stygian Press, 2009),
Death in Common: Poems From Unlikely Victims (Bandersnatch Books, 2010), and Doorways Magazine. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC). He is currently at work on his second novel.
Editor Chad Helder started blogging about queer horror at the popular Unspeakable Horror website he launched in 2006. He created and wrote Bartholomew of the Scissors, a comic book series launched in September of 2008. He is also the lead writer for Vincent Price Presents, a monthly series of horror comic books from Bluewater Productions. His first collection of poetry is The Pop-Up Book of Death (all of the pop-ups are entirely metaphorical), and online versions of his poems can be found at his author website. Helder teaches Literature, Composition, and Creative Writing at Whatcom Community College. He lives with his partner in Bellingham, Washington.
