Dark Terrors 2: The Gollancz Book of Horror

Dark Terrors #2

by Stephen Jones (Editor), David A. Sutton (Editor)

A showcase anthology of the very best in horror and dark fantasy writing by modern masters of the macabre. Here is a hair-raising collection comprising some of the very finest in horror and dark fantasy. Drawing from both sides of the Atlantic, each volume features the work of some of the genres' biggest-selling names as well as their rising stars. Dark Terrors II features stories from, among others, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Thomas Tessier, Nicholas Royle, Dennis Etchison, and James Miller. These two anthologies will take you to the furthest reaches of your imagination...and beyond!

Contents:

* About The Editors
* Introduction by Stephen Jones and David Sutton
* The Comfort of Strangers by Nicholas Royle
* A Really Game Boy by Brian Lumley
* Something for Free by Conrad Williams
* (Melodrama) by David J. Schow
* Absolute Zero by James Miller
* Negative Equity by Paul J. McAuley
* To This Water (Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1889) by Caitlín R. Kiernan
* Out of the Woods by Ramsey Campbell
* The Rains by Steve Rasnic Tem
* Underbed by Graham Masterton
* Animal Life by Clive Barker
* Lily's Whisper by Jay Russell
* Hell Hath Enlarged Herself by Michael Marshall Smith
* Ghost Music: A Memoir by George Beaune by Thomas Tessier
* The Dead Cop by Dennis Etchison
* Where the Bodies Are Buried 2020 by Kim Newman
* The Museum on Cyclops Avenue by Harlan Ellison
* Hunger, an Introduction by Peter Straub

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies

379 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Stephen Jones is an eighteen-time winner of the British Fantasy Award.

Reviews

[ItzSmashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
Horror anthologies for me are usually hit and miss. I finish one remembering a few of the best but feeling the overall experience dampened by the ones I dislike. Happy to say this wasn't the case for this book.
There's close to 30 stories here, so there are some weaker than others but I was very impressed by the overall quality. Some big names in horror took the opportunity to write unconvential stories out of their wheelhouse and it was great to see. The stories from Graham Masterson and Brian lumley are standout to me and I still think about the imagery they conjured for me now. This is a series so looking at buying the rest and seeing what they deliver.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one I do remember, at least a handful of stories. Nice bit of nostalgia.

[Bill Borre]

TOC

‘Animal Life’ by Clive Barker
‘Out of the Woods’ by Ramsey Campbell
‘The Museum on Cyclops Avenue’ by Harlan Ellison
‘The Dead Cop’ by Dennis Etchison
‘To This Water (Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1889)’ by Caitlín R. Kiernan
‘A Really Game Boy’ by Brian Lumley
‘Underbed’ by Graham Masterton
‘Negative Equity’ by Paul J. McAuley
‘Absolute Zero’ by James Miller
‘Where the Bodies Are Buried 2020’ by Kim Newman
‘The Comfort of Stranglers’ by Nicholas Royle
‘Lily’s Whisper’ by Jay Russell
‘(Melodrama)’ by David J. Schow
‘Hell Hath Enlarged Herself’ by Michael Marshall Smith
‘Hunger: An Introduction’ by Peter Straub
‘The Rains’ by Steve Rasnic Tem
‘Ghost Music: A Memoir by George Beaune by Thomas Tessier
‘Something For Free’ by Conrad Williams

‘A Really Game Boy’ by Brian Lumley - The narrator's friend is a boy who puts worms in his mouth to scare girls. After the kid accidentally hangs himself flies lay eggs in his orifices. When the larvae wriggle from his mouth the narrator, who isn't very bright, just assumes that he's doing his trick again.

"Lily's Whisper" by Jay Russell - wc

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of fine horror stories - of course there are variations in terms of quality but I can't say any are really bad and my preferences for one story over another reflect taste rather then judgements of quality so I have no difficulty in highly recommending this anthology particularly if, like me, your taste for horror find satisfaction by preference in the short story format.

One quibble I would like to mention here is the extravagant praise for Harlan Ellison though the praise that '...It is long past time for him to be awarded the title 20th century Lewis Carroll...' arises not from the editors but the LA Times but they don't seem to disagree. I am afraid my limited reading of Mr. Ellison's oeuvre does not lend me to regard him as a great or even a significant writer.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent collection from Jones & Sutton, this gathers together the usual suspects but each provides a top-notch story. Stand-outs for me are the tales from Conrad Williams and Michael Marshall Smith. If you like short horror fiction, this is as good as place to delve as any!