Home Before Dark: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories

by Gary A. Braunbeck, Deena Warner (Illustrator)

Longer than GRAVEYARD PEOPLE (Volume 1), HOME BEFORE DARK contains 19 tales, including the long-awaited original novella "Kiss of the Mudman," two classic novellas, excerpts from the Cedar Hill Visitor's Guide, a page from the local newspaper, and much more, with a full-color wraparound dustjacket and over two dozen interior illustrations.

Genres: Horror, Collections

429 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Gary A. Braunbeck is a prolific author who writes mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream literature. He is the author of 19 books; his fiction has been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and German. Nearly 200 of his short stories have appeared in various publications.

His fiction has received several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award in 2003 for "Duty" and in 2005 for "We Now Pause for Station Identification"; his book Destinations Unknown won a Stoker in 2006. His novella "Kiss of the Mudman" received the International Horror Guild Award in 2005."

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second volume of Braunbeck's stories set in his semi-fictional town of Cedar Hill, Ohio. This one has about twenty stories along with some neat side-bar material, and overall is longer than the first volume, GRAVEYARD PEOPLE. Some really great, well-written stories are here; my favorites are "Kiss of the Mudman," "Safe," "After the Elephant Ballet," "Rami Temporalis," "Dinosaur Day," and a beautifully-written quiet piece called "Afterthoughts." I'm hoping for a third volume to appear soon!

[Richard Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether I was in a different, more receptive mood, or whether there is a more even consistency in tone to the stories, I found the second collection of Braunbeck's Cedar Hill tales a far more engaging, though no less alarming and beautiful, selection than the first. Perhaps because it builds on the work accomplished by the first volume, Graveyard People, or perhaps because the backdrop is becoming more rooted and established now, the collection left a concrete aftertaste, a feeling that I know this town. Cedar Hill, fifty thousand souls, big enough to get lost in, small enough to know. Weird Shit Happens Here. Braunbeck's trademark lyricism breaks your heart over and over again in this book. Nothing is taboo, because this is the sort of horror that makes you understand where darkness comes from, but it's written with such courage and soul that it rises far above the gutter, and somehow becomes something beautiful. An outstanding collection, and I look forward to the third volume, hopefully sometime next year.