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Darker Passions
A trio of dark tales, all in the name of passion. With an introduction by Dan Simmons. Because of Ed's financial needs, almost all the profits from this book go directly to Ed. Donations to help with Ed's medical and other financial needs are also most appreciated via www.FriendsOfEd.org. Thank you! About the Author Edward Bryant is the multi-Nebula Award winning author of over a hundred short stories, over a thousand essays and reviews, and one novel with Harlan Ellison, PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES.
74 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2014
16 people want to read
About the author
Edward Bryant
228 books32 followersEdward Winslow Bryant, Jr. was born August 27, 1945 in White Plains NY and was raised on a cattle ranch in Wyoming. He attended the University of Wyoming, where he earned a Master’s in English in 1968 and ’69. He went to the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 1968. In 1972 he moved to Denver CO, where he founded the Northern Colorado Writers Workshop. He helped found and run many other workshops and classes as well, including the Colorado Springs Writers Workshop.
Bryant was an accomplished science-fiction writer, mostly of short stories. He began publishing SF work with “They Come Only in Dreams” and “Sending the Very Best”, both in January 1970. For the next two decades he was a frequent contributor to magazines and anthologies, and though his fictional output slowed in the ’90s, he was still active as a critic. He was a familiar figure at conventions, especially in Colorado fandom. He was a frequent guest at the World Horror Convention, and chaired the 2000 convention in Denver.
With Harlan Ellison he wrote Phoenix without Ashes (1978), and solo short novel Fetish appeared in 1991. He also edited 2076: The American Tricentennial (1977), and was an editor for Wormhole Books. He wrote screenplays and occasionally appeared in films.
--excerpted from Locus Publications
Bryant was an accomplished science-fiction writer, mostly of short stories. He began publishing SF work with “They Come Only in Dreams” and “Sending the Very Best”, both in January 1970. For the next two decades he was a frequent contributor to magazines and anthologies, and though his fictional output slowed in the ’90s, he was still active as a critic. He was a familiar figure at conventions, especially in Colorado fandom. He was a frequent guest at the World Horror Convention, and chaired the 2000 convention in Denver.
With Harlan Ellison he wrote Phoenix without Ashes (1978), and solo short novel Fetish appeared in 1991. He also edited 2076: The American Tricentennial (1977), and was an editor for Wormhole Books. He wrote screenplays and occasionally appeared in films.
--excerpted from Locus Publications
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April 6, 2022
April Review #3: Darker Passions by Edward Bryant
Three disturbing tales of human horror, as told by a master of the genre.
1. Doing Colfax
Jeffie wants burgers; Kin wants to "do someone." They come across a short-haired teenage girl looking for a ride, so they let her in their Chevy. The girl says she has a part-time job at Burger King. Now, she made both of them hungrier.
Thomas Hobbes once said that life is "nasty, brutish, and short." This statement perfectly describes this shocker, too.
Appears in: Night Visions 4, edited by Paul J. Mikol
2. The Loneliest Number
Unnamed Narrator and his wife Marianne are in a world of pain: they have found out that their missing son, Timmy, has been killed. Unable to find peace--or the perpetrators--, the couple moves to Denver to attempt to start a new life. After some time, Marianne is pregnant again, and it seems that they can finally settle and have a family. But the Unnamed Narrator soon receives a mysterious letter, one that threatens to shatter their newfound peace once more. Could the killer of their son be back, and why now?
No hyperbole: this is one of the most devastating stories I have read, probably on par with David Morrell's "Nothing will hurt you." Bryant delivers the right amounts of tension, suspense, horror, and human drama that all coalesce into a thing of pure agony. It won't matter if you saw the twist coming, as the reveal, I would argue, makes the story stronger and more resonant.
For true-crime buffs reading, does the set-up eerily remind you of another similar incident in Colorado? Bryant's story was published years before, so life imitated art.
This story almost won a Bram Stoker Award (Superior Achievement in Short Fiction) in 1990. (It lost to another classic, David Silva's The Calling, from the first Borderlands anthology)
Appears in: Pulphouse The Hardback Magazine Issue 7, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
3. Human Remains
A group of women is meeting at the West Denver Inn. Although they don't know each other, they share once a common and ghastly link: they were all victims of a recently executed serial killer. As they talk, the topics they indulge in get darker, leading to the narrating of their fateful encounters. But one woman in the group has a dark secret she conceals from the rest. That secret will soon follow her there.
There are victims, and there are predators. In this story, Bryant reveals a third and more insidious class, one that preys on experiences for the pleasure of it. It almost doesn't matter that the serial killer is dead; there are plenty more monsters out there in the open world. This message is what I think Bryant was trying to convey in this disturbing tale about empathy. For a touch of verisimilitude, Bryant mentions the date of execution of the serial killer: January 24, 1989. Can you guess which famous serial killer bit the dust on that date?
Appears in: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixth Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
And
Best New Horror 5, edited by Stephen Jones
Three disturbing tales of human horror, as told by a master of the genre.
1. Doing Colfax
Jeffie wants burgers; Kin wants to "do someone." They come across a short-haired teenage girl looking for a ride, so they let her in their Chevy. The girl says she has a part-time job at Burger King. Now, she made both of them hungrier.
Thomas Hobbes once said that life is "nasty, brutish, and short." This statement perfectly describes this shocker, too.
Appears in: Night Visions 4, edited by Paul J. Mikol
2. The Loneliest Number
Unnamed Narrator and his wife Marianne are in a world of pain: they have found out that their missing son, Timmy, has been killed. Unable to find peace--or the perpetrators--, the couple moves to Denver to attempt to start a new life. After some time, Marianne is pregnant again, and it seems that they can finally settle and have a family. But the Unnamed Narrator soon receives a mysterious letter, one that threatens to shatter their newfound peace once more. Could the killer of their son be back, and why now?
No hyperbole: this is one of the most devastating stories I have read, probably on par with David Morrell's "Nothing will hurt you." Bryant delivers the right amounts of tension, suspense, horror, and human drama that all coalesce into a thing of pure agony. It won't matter if you saw the twist coming, as the reveal, I would argue, makes the story stronger and more resonant.
For true-crime buffs reading, does the set-up eerily remind you of another similar incident in Colorado? Bryant's story was published years before, so life imitated art.
This story almost won a Bram Stoker Award (Superior Achievement in Short Fiction) in 1990. (It lost to another classic, David Silva's The Calling, from the first Borderlands anthology)
Appears in: Pulphouse The Hardback Magazine Issue 7, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
3. Human Remains
A group of women is meeting at the West Denver Inn. Although they don't know each other, they share once a common and ghastly link: they were all victims of a recently executed serial killer. As they talk, the topics they indulge in get darker, leading to the narrating of their fateful encounters. But one woman in the group has a dark secret she conceals from the rest. That secret will soon follow her there.
There are victims, and there are predators. In this story, Bryant reveals a third and more insidious class, one that preys on experiences for the pleasure of it. It almost doesn't matter that the serial killer is dead; there are plenty more monsters out there in the open world. This message is what I think Bryant was trying to convey in this disturbing tale about empathy. For a touch of verisimilitude, Bryant mentions the date of execution of the serial killer: January 24, 1989. Can you guess which famous serial killer bit the dust on that date?
Appears in: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixth Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
And
Best New Horror 5, edited by Stephen Jones
Displaying 1 of 1 review