Dangers Untold

by Jennifer Brozek (Editor), Erik Scott de Bie, Nathan Crowder

"We think a monster can at least be killed; it's flesh and blood.
Therefore it can die.
If it doesn't die, it will always be there—lurking in our shadows."

Dangers Untold isn’t your normal horror anthology; not a vampire, zombie or werewolf to be found. Filled with unusual monsters and unexpected terror, Dangers Untold is a series of seventeen short stories from horror industry professionals who have a different take on what makes for good horror. From a legend come true to hidden artifacts in the ice to a child’s playmate, these tales will creep in through the cracks when you aren’t looking to linger in your mind long after you have closed the book. Keep the lights on because you’re about to read Dangers Untold.

This anthology, presented by The Horror Society and edited by award-winning editor Jennifer Brozek, Dangers Untold features stories by Gary Braunbeck, Erik Scott de Bie, Jason V Brock, Lillian Cohen-Moore, Nathan Crowder, and Ryan Macklin. Cover art by Shane Tyree.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories

350 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2012

About the author

Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of the Never Let Me Sleep, and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her BattleTech tie-in novel, The Nellus Academy Incident, won a Scribe Award. Her editing work has netted her Bram Stoker Award, British Fantasy Award, and Hugo Award nominations. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, and Predator. Jennifer is also the Creative Director of Apocalypse Ink Productions.

Jennifer has been a freelance author and editor for over ten years after leaving her high paying tech job, and she’s never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com.

Reviews

[Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as we all love zombies, werewolves, and vampires, it’s refreshing now and then to run across stories or novels that tread different ground. To me, horror can and should be an unlimited genre. What’s more creepy than a storm late at night or a creaking floorboard when you are sure you are alone? The haunting sound of footsteps out of the fog? The Dangers Untold anthology is a reminder that horror need not always come in the Universal Monsters package.

This collection deliberately set out to challenge writers beyond the usual horror suspects. Where can your imagination take you when you look beyond the usual? When can the normal become abnormal? The authors presented here step up to the plate quite nicely. We have a wide range of nightmarish scenarios laid out before us. Scientists unleash a strange energy source that turns our modern technology against us with sinister results. Evil lurking just beyond our dimension breaks through to horrific results. Ancient monsters lurk in dark Scottish lochs. Jewish ghost tales and Chinese oracles add a distinctly international flavor that was quite interesting. These are tales of our inner demons, monstrous creations, and sinister beings of which we are not aware.

Whenever authors take chances, there will of course be failure. Some of the stories in this anthology went so far down the rabbit hole of strange they became rather lost. There were those that for some reason just did not stand out from the larger collection. Weak characters or too many loose threads perhaps. Those weak stories do not however, outweigh the ambitious creativity in the outstanding gems. This anthology is a different breed of horror. While the classics never go out of style, it’s refreshing to discover new nightmares, new evils, and old things resurrected afresh.

Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not up to the standards of the authors I usually read. A lot of sloppy and amateurish writing and editing for the first three-quarters of the book, until finally a decent offering by Lillian Cohen-Moore and the two writers who followed her. Overall, quite forgettable.

[Julianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be a good Halloween read but unfortunately none of the stories were very scary. I won this book on goodreads.