What do you think?
Rate this book
Pine Deep
Whistling Past the Graveyard
A lonely, nerdy paperboy encounters ancient evil on the shadowy back roads of his home town.
A little girl spends her nights dreaming of monsters and teaching herself the art of murder.
Sherlock Holmes journeys to America for an encounter with the ghost of a murdered woman.
A samurai sails to a forgotten island to battle the living dead.
Special ops soldiers fly the void to fight space pirates.
A heartbroken junkie seeks vengeance for his murdered friend.
Whistling Past the Graveyard is the first print collection of short fiction by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. These creepy tales of horror, suspense, adventure and mystery take readers to the troubled little town of Pine Deep, to the Feudal Japan of the Samurai, to the angry red planet of John Carter of Mars, and elsewhere. These are strange journeys through nightmare land, with a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner as your guide.
A little girl spends her nights dreaming of monsters and teaching herself the art of murder.
Sherlock Holmes journeys to America for an encounter with the ghost of a murdered woman.
A samurai sails to a forgotten island to battle the living dead.
Special ops soldiers fly the void to fight space pirates.
A heartbroken junkie seeks vengeance for his murdered friend.
Whistling Past the Graveyard is the first print collection of short fiction by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. These creepy tales of horror, suspense, adventure and mystery take readers to the troubled little town of Pine Deep, to the Feudal Japan of the Samurai, to the angry red planet of John Carter of Mars, and elsewhere. These are strange journeys through nightmare land, with a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner as your guide.
350 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2015
49 people are currently reading
1569 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Maberry
515 books7,740 followersJONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 2, 2016
Another great one from Mr. Maberry! His Pine Deep Trilogy remains on the top of my all time favorites, and this volume features four stories taking us back to Pine Deep.
There were several different genres represented here including some licensed work such as GI JOE and Sherlock Holmes, but the gems were the Pine Deep stories and one zombie story set in feudal Japan. You had both prequels and sequels in the Pine Deep selections, including the title story which carries echoes of one my favorite vampire novels, Salem's Lot.
Overall a really great collection of short stories, and a MUST read for any fans of Pine Deep. I hope Maberry returns to Pine Deep again soon!
There were several different genres represented here including some licensed work such as GI JOE and Sherlock Holmes, but the gems were the Pine Deep stories and one zombie story set in feudal Japan. You had both prequels and sequels in the Pine Deep selections, including the title story which carries echoes of one my favorite vampire novels, Salem's Lot.
Overall a really great collection of short stories, and a MUST read for any fans of Pine Deep. I hope Maberry returns to Pine Deep again soon!
October 1, 2022
Yes another quality story from Jonathan Maberry. Both creepy and funny throughout.
April 20, 2021
Read Oct. 18, 2020. This is a short story that was part of the novel Darkness on the Edge of Town, and was reviewed by that title.
May 28, 2018
I honestly have no idea how this book got on my TBR. It wasn't really my style of horror. The first short story in the collection was really spooky, and if they had all been like that I would have liked it a lot. Unfortunately most of the rest of the stories were military focus and then zombie like vampires. The same story told over and over again in different ways all about the Trouble. The writing kind of reminded me of Stephen King in places.
October 28, 2024
This one is truly a mixed bag, not a lot of rhyme or reason to it, and it's paced strangely, as well, with some solid horror, then into Maberry's solid brand of military action, then over to Pine Deep, before heading back to feudal Japan.
Still, for all of that, it's Maberry, so it's really good. My only suggestion is to dip in and read only one or two at a time, then scoot out to read something else, then come back.
Still, for all of that, it's Maberry, so it's really good. My only suggestion is to dip in and read only one or two at a time, then scoot out to read something else, then come back.
April 21, 2025
Мабери е писал разкази за редица антологии, но аз някак винаги съм го поставял в онази категория, запазена за романистите от, да го наречем, новото поколение. Онези автори, които работят след ерата на списанията и доходите им рядко зависят от кратката проза. Точно за това подходих без никакви очаквания към този сборник и останах доста приятно изненадан.
Много добро впечатление ми направи подредбата на разказите. Не за първи път казвам, че един сборник е цялостен продукт и не можеш просто да нахвърляш в него неща, които са читави. Тук имаме ударно начало, последвано от редуващи се по-силни и по-слаби разкази, за да избухне във експоненциална финална шестица (поне според моите вкусове, де).
Doctor Nine – Един от най-ранните разкази на автора и съм на 90% сигурен, че е писан преди Нсоферату-ту на Джо Хил. Образът на Доктор Девет е впечатляващ, а признанието на автора, че го е измислил като хлапе е доста притеснително, предвид сюжета
Самата история е малка и зъбата. Едно малко момиченце се учи само да бъде достойно за чудовище от собствените си кошмари.
The Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost – Сама по себе си е доста прилична призрачна история с елементи на съдебен трилър. Само малко набутано ми се стори участието на Великия детектив, сякаш методите, с които е прочут, не пасваха на историята.
Шерлок Хоумс пътува до Америка, където вече е прочут. Получава странна молба за помощ от опечален родител.
Calling Death – Най-доброто произведение в сборника или поне такова, което не участва в някоя от вселените на Мабери.
Един младеж ще се върне след години вкъщи за да вземе интервю от възрастна съседка. Нещата, които ще разбере за родния си край...
Flint and Steel: A Story of GI Joe – Не съм от Щатите и Джи Ай Джо ми е непозната вселена, но Мабери от години пише милитаристични трилъри с фантастични елементи, така че няма как да не му се получи. Все пак усетих, че историята е писана за Джо Леджър и е попроменена в последствие спрямо изисквания на антологията.
Военен тим ще се срещне с луд професор, който е издавал държавни тайни. Проблемът е, че точно тогава не по-малко лудата конкуренция ще се включи в играта.
The Death Song of Dwar Guntha – Не съм чел тази емблематична поредица за Марс от пълп поколението и не мога да преценя дали авторът се е вписал в духа на произведенията. Иначе имаме една класическа „мечове и звездолети“ история, която се развива на червената планета. Леко мелодраматична и доста героична, предполагам това е била целта.
Chokepoint – Класическа зомби история с така любимия ми трагичен край, то не може да има друг, когато светът е замлян от ходещи мъртъвци. Мабери се е доказал, че го може това.
Един взвод войници трябва да удържат мост срещу ордите на живите мъртви. Успяват с много жертви, само за да....
Clean Sweeps – Ей това е финален обрат. Ей това е правилната военна фантастика.
Група войници са изпратени да неутрализират космически пирати, завзели работна станция. Ама тези пирати приличат на обикновени работници и явно си мислят, че нашите хора са пирати. Що така?
Long Way Home – Първата, от четирите истории тук, във вселената на Пайн Дийп. Бях я чел някъде на друго място. Тази е доста меланхолична, нетипично за историите на най-обитавания град в Щатите.
Едно хлапе се завръща в родното си градче след мисия в Афганистан. А вкъщи нищо не е както преди, защото докато го е нямало там са се случили първите три романа на Мабери. Явно обаче завръщането му не е случайно и не е много естествено.
Mister Pockets – Продължаваме по линията. Откачена и много добра история ала кратките неща на Кинг. Развива се в Пайн Дийп точно след събитията описани в трилогията (то и предишния е така, както и последния от серията). Понякога дори чудовищата се трогват от добра постъпка.
Property Condemned – Мабери ни показва своята версия на обитавана къща и ако сте смятали, че няма какво още да се каже по темата ще сбъркате, също като мен. Действието се развива в детството на Кроу и Вал и историята е завладяващо зловеща.
Четири хлапета ще се предизвикат да влязат в една изоставена къща. Там всеки ще остави по нещо от себе си, и физически артефакт, и своята невинност.
Whistlin' Past the Graveyard – Не напразно сборника носи името на този разказ. Нямам търпение да прочета още за Близкия и Далечния Тони – големи сладури, до колкото могат да бъдат рекетьори с италианско потекло.
Гробарят на Пайн Дийп знае, че проблемите на градчето не са свършили с хелоуинската трагедия. И никой няма да му помогне да се оправи със собствените му паранормални неприятности. Никой, освен Семейството.
Cooked – Тази я бях чел в някаква антология и ми направи страшно добро впечатление. Интересно, че се връзва и много добре в контекста на този сборник. Да не повярваш, че градински гноми могат да бъдат плашещи.
Двама друсалници ще си изпатят след поредната наркоманска изцепка. Не е добре да ядосваш местния престъпен бос. Ама и за него не е добре да претрепва внука на хаитянски бокур.
The Death Poem of Sensei Otoro – Не за първи път тук ще го кажа – Мабери ги умее зомби историите, а когато са преплетени с една стара Япония стават чук. И, отново, няма такъв финал,чак ме сърбят пръстенцата да го издам.
Един от последните самураи и един от последните благородници от старата школа. Една шинтоистка задачка и много рязане на глави.
Ink – Много достоен завършек на книгата. Както и едноименния роман, този разказ е за Монк и неговата Огнева зона. Всеки път изтръпвам от тези истории, независимо кратки или дълги.
Една татуировка ще ни разкаже история, така както само Мабери и Монк могат да го направят.
Много добро впечатление ми направи подредбата на разказите. Не за първи път казвам, че един сборник е цялостен продукт и не можеш просто да нахвърляш в него неща, които са читави. Тук имаме ударно начало, последвано от редуващи се по-силни и по-слаби разкази, за да избухне във експоненциална финална шестица (поне според моите вкусове, де).
Doctor Nine – Един от най-ранните разкази на автора и съм на 90% сигурен, че е писан преди Нсоферату-ту на Джо Хил. Образът на Доктор Девет е впечатляващ, а признанието на автора, че го е измислил като хлапе е доста притеснително, предвид сюжета
Самата история е малка и зъбата. Едно малко момиченце се учи само да бъде достойно за чудовище от собствените си кошмари.
The Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost – Сама по себе си е доста прилична призрачна история с елементи на съдебен трилър. Само малко набутано ми се стори участието на Великия детектив, сякаш методите, с които е прочут, не пасваха на историята.
Шерлок Хоумс пътува до Америка, където вече е прочут. Получава странна молба за помощ от опечален родител.
Calling Death – Най-доброто произведение в сборника или поне такова, което не участва в някоя от вселените на Мабери.
Един младеж ще се върне след години вкъщи за да вземе интервю от възрастна съседка. Нещата, които ще разбере за родния си край...
Flint and Steel: A Story of GI Joe – Не съм от Щатите и Джи Ай Джо ми е непозната вселена, но Мабери от години пише милитаристични трилъри с фантастични елементи, така че няма как да не му се получи. Все пак усетих, че историята е писана за Джо Леджър и е попроменена в последствие спрямо изисквания на антологията.
Военен тим ще се срещне с луд професор, който е издавал държавни тайни. Проблемът е, че точно тогава не по-малко лудата конкуренция ще се включи в играта.
The Death Song of Dwar Guntha – Не съм чел тази емблематична поредица за Марс от пълп поколението и не мога да преценя дали авторът се е вписал в духа на произведенията. Иначе имаме една класическа „мечове и звездолети“ история, която се развива на червената планета. Леко мелодраматична и доста героична, предполагам това е била целта.
Chokepoint – Класическа зомби история с така любимия ми трагичен край, то не може да има друг, когато светът е замлян от ходещи мъртъвци. Мабери се е доказал, че го може това.
Един взвод войници трябва да удържат мост срещу ордите на живите мъртви. Успяват с много жертви, само за да....
Clean Sweeps – Ей това е финален обрат. Ей това е правилната военна фантастика.
Група войници са изпратени да неутрализират космически пирати, завзели работна станция. Ама тези пирати приличат на обикновени работници и явно си мислят, че нашите хора са пирати. Що така?
Long Way Home – Първата, от четирите истории тук, във вселената на Пайн Дийп. Бях я чел някъде на друго място. Тази е доста меланхолична, нетипично за историите на най-обитавания град в Щатите.
Едно хлапе се завръща в родното си градче след мисия в Афганистан. А вкъщи нищо не е както преди, защото докато го е нямало там са се случили първите три романа на Мабери. Явно обаче завръщането му не е случайно и не е много естествено.
Mister Pockets – Продължаваме по линията. Откачена и много добра история ала кратките неща на Кинг. Развива се в Пайн Дийп точно след събитията описани в трилогията (то и предишния е така, както и последния от серията). Понякога дори чудовищата се трогват от добра постъпка.
Property Condemned – Мабери ни показва своята версия на обитавана къща и ако сте смятали, че няма какво още да се каже по темата ще сбъркате, също като мен. Действието се развива в детството на Кроу и Вал и историята е завладяващо зловеща.
Четири хлапета ще се предизвикат да влязат в една изоставена къща. Там всеки ще остави по нещо от себе си, и физически артефакт, и своята невинност.
Whistlin' Past the Graveyard – Не напразно сборника носи името на този разказ. Нямам търпение да прочета още за Близкия и Далечния Тони – големи сладури, до колкото могат да бъдат рекетьори с италианско потекло.
Гробарят на Пайн Дийп знае, че проблемите на градчето не са свършили с хелоуинската трагедия. И никой няма да му помогне да се оправи със собствените му паранормални неприятности. Никой, освен Семейството.
Cooked – Тази я бях чел в някаква антология и ми направи страшно добро впечатление. Интересно, че се връзва и много добре в контекста на този сборник. Да не повярваш, че градински гноми могат да бъдат плашещи.
Двама друсалници ще си изпатят след поредната наркоманска изцепка. Не е добре да ядосваш местния престъпен бос. Ама и за него не е добре да претрепва внука на хаитянски бокур.
The Death Poem of Sensei Otoro – Не за първи път тук ще го кажа – Мабери ги умее зомби историите, а когато са преплетени с една стара Япония стават чук. И, отново, няма такъв финал,чак ме сърбят пръстенцата да го издам.
Един от последните самураи и един от последните благородници от старата школа. Една шинтоистка задачка и много рязане на глави.
Ink – Много достоен завършек на книгата. Както и едноименния роман, този разказ е за Монк и неговата Огнева зона. Всеки път изтръпвам от тези истории, независимо кратки или дълги.
Една татуировка ще ни разкаже история, така както само Мабери и Монк могат да го направят.
Read
August 2, 2017Won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Looking forward to reading it when it arrives!
DNF. Honestly liked the first few stories but could not geht into the military one. Tried to read others after and my interest had waned.
DNF. Honestly liked the first few stories but could not geht into the military one. Tried to read others after and my interest had waned.
October 16, 2016
I love a good compilation
If only all compilations were this good. I love when a great wordsmith pulls together a series of stories that are not intended to relate but still offer a glimpse into their psyche. It is exhilarating.
If only all compilations were this good. I love when a great wordsmith pulls together a series of stories that are not intended to relate but still offer a glimpse into their psyche. It is exhilarating.
June 29, 2016
A First Reads win. Can't wait to read this one. I've loved everything Jonathan Maberry has written so far and always get excited when a new book comes out.
October 9, 2016
Creepy good fun as is everything Maberry writes.
Loved having a glimpse of Pine Deep again. More please!
Loved having a glimpse of Pine Deep again. More please!
June 17, 2017
3.5 Stars
It is always difficult to rate an anthology, especially one where some stories are excellent while others are somewhat lacking. The easiest thing to do here is break it down into the individual stories.
Doctor Nine: Really nice start to the anthology. Spooky and dark with echos of Joe Hill's N054R2. I wanted it to be longer and find out where things went from there.
The Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost: A Sherlock Holmes story that fell really rather flat and nothing really happened. Neither creepy nor mysterious
Calling Death: Super creepy little story about a mining accident. Great sense of suspense and pacing.
Flint and Steel: A Story of GI Joe: I'm sure I would have loved it if I was a 14 year old American boy. As a 25 year old British girl...not so much... It also definitely went on for far too long.
The Death Song of Dwar Guntha: Felt like reading a random chapter of a book I haven't read. It just didn't feel much like a story in its own right.
Chokepoint: Excellent zombie short story. Suspenseful, brutal and super creepy.
Clean Sweeps: Another sci-fi military story. Really very meh until the twist at the end which saved the story.
Long Way Home: The first of the Pine Deep short stories. Pretty good with a bit of twist to keep it interesting. More sad than creepy really.
Mister Pockets: I actually loved this one. Very King-esque. I haven't read the original Pine Deep stories but this makes me want to pick them up.
Property Condemned: Very creepy haunted house style story. Technically a Pine Deep story but really strong as a stand-alone too.
Whistlin' Past the Graveyard: I enjoyed this one too, although it ended up being a little bit more silly than dark and creepy. Though I did like the family theme throughout the story.
Cooked: A real weird one. Only short and not very strong, I couldn't actually remember which one this was until I went back to look. It was quite sad and sweet and really rather odd.
The Death Poem of Sensei Otoro: You can tell that Jonathan Maberry had been itching to write this story for a while. It was a really cool story overall - zombies vs Samurais! The imagery was beautiful and really fit in with the story. It was quite good but not my favourite.
Ink: One last little story squeezed in at the end of the anthology. Quite an interesting premise along the same vein as the Illustrated Man. Quite dark but not necessarily creepy. Fairly forgettable overall.
As a whole, the anthology did fall a little bit flat for me though there are some real gems in here. The best stories by far for me were the four Pine Deep stories. Although for a 'horror' anthology there was very little that was actually scary in any of the stories. If you are looking for toe curling horror stories, best look elsewhere.
It is always difficult to rate an anthology, especially one where some stories are excellent while others are somewhat lacking. The easiest thing to do here is break it down into the individual stories.
Doctor Nine: Really nice start to the anthology. Spooky and dark with echos of Joe Hill's N054R2. I wanted it to be longer and find out where things went from there.
The Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost: A Sherlock Holmes story that fell really rather flat and nothing really happened. Neither creepy nor mysterious
Calling Death: Super creepy little story about a mining accident. Great sense of suspense and pacing.
Flint and Steel: A Story of GI Joe: I'm sure I would have loved it if I was a 14 year old American boy. As a 25 year old British girl...not so much... It also definitely went on for far too long.
The Death Song of Dwar Guntha: Felt like reading a random chapter of a book I haven't read. It just didn't feel much like a story in its own right.
Chokepoint: Excellent zombie short story. Suspenseful, brutal and super creepy.
Clean Sweeps: Another sci-fi military story. Really very meh until the twist at the end which saved the story.
Long Way Home: The first of the Pine Deep short stories. Pretty good with a bit of twist to keep it interesting. More sad than creepy really.
Mister Pockets: I actually loved this one. Very King-esque. I haven't read the original Pine Deep stories but this makes me want to pick them up.
Property Condemned: Very creepy haunted house style story. Technically a Pine Deep story but really strong as a stand-alone too.
Whistlin' Past the Graveyard: I enjoyed this one too, although it ended up being a little bit more silly than dark and creepy. Though I did like the family theme throughout the story.
Cooked: A real weird one. Only short and not very strong, I couldn't actually remember which one this was until I went back to look. It was quite sad and sweet and really rather odd.
The Death Poem of Sensei Otoro: You can tell that Jonathan Maberry had been itching to write this story for a while. It was a really cool story overall - zombies vs Samurais! The imagery was beautiful and really fit in with the story. It was quite good but not my favourite.
Ink: One last little story squeezed in at the end of the anthology. Quite an interesting premise along the same vein as the Illustrated Man. Quite dark but not necessarily creepy. Fairly forgettable overall.
As a whole, the anthology did fall a little bit flat for me though there are some real gems in here. The best stories by far for me were the four Pine Deep stories. Although for a 'horror' anthology there was very little that was actually scary in any of the stories. If you are looking for toe curling horror stories, best look elsewhere.
May 18, 2020
This is a book of short stories by Jonathan Maberry. There were some stories that were really great (the first and any that dealt with the Pines), and others that were just okay. The one regarding John Carter from Mars wasn't really for me. The first story really stuck with me, and it had a fantastic ending that made me think. One issue I had with this novel were the grammatical and name errors. At one point the character in a story kept being called by another characters name, then they were called Tommy, a character not in the story at all. While I loved the story there was some name switching of the characters there too. So, these were a little distracting. Of course, did this cause me to stop reading the book? Nope. Why? Because some of the stories were so freaking good that they stayed with me. In fact I loaned this book out to a coworker and I'm anxious to get it back because I enjoyed it so much.
Read this, it was good, and since the stories are short you can read as much or as little as you have time for in any moment of the day.
Read this, it was good, and since the stories are short you can read as much or as little as you have time for in any moment of the day.
August 7, 2017
I was introduced to this author's work through the Sam Hunter Case files. These stories are a great mixture of wit, fear, and poignancy; his details emotions using very few details. Several of the stories also take in Philadelphia and in Bucks County, PA, which is one County over from where I grew up.
July 23, 2018
Excellent book of short stories with (probably) something for everyone. My personal favorites were the four Pine Deep shorts and the Monk story, Ink, along with Doctor Nine and Calling Death. I really didn't care for the "war" stories (4 of them), but that's my personal preference. They all were really well written.
September 24, 2017
Awesome ... Creepy Goodness ... as expected. What more is there to say? A collection of reads that will allow you to stop and savor each one when you are done. Yes. You can do that, but you'll want to dive in for more ...
October 21, 2018
Nice collection of short stories. Doctor Nine and the samurai one were pretty good. I've never read the Pine Deep series, but the short stories taking place in that universe have put it on my tbr, seems interesting. The only story I didn't read was the John Carter one, it was too confusing for me.
April 3, 2024
Not my usual dark psychological thriller…this blew me away. As a teacher, I have told so many people 1.) this could be a secondary classroom novel and 2) The characters will steal your heart- you will never want to let Eula go ❤️❤️
September 26, 2017
3.5 stars
May 6, 2018
Mr Pockets: Best Monster Ever!!
March 29, 2019
I borrowed this book after seeing it on a list at our local bookclub. Wish I had previewed it! I don't read bloody scary books...my own brain is imaginative enough.
November 9, 2019
Fun read. Quick and creepy :D
November 11, 2019
Liked the Pine Deep stories the best.
January 17, 2020
Another unique take on the zombie craze.
May 23, 2021
Mr. Maberry writes an excellent short story. I enjoyed every single one of them in this collection, especially revisiting that crazy town, Pine Deep.
October 1, 2022
I actually really enjoyed this 🙂
December 25, 2024
Great short story's for Halloween reading.
May 9, 2025
Super fun short story!
May 13, 2016
A lonely, nerdy paperboy encounters ancient evil on the shadowy back roads of his home town. A little girl spends her nights dreaming of monsters and teaching herself the art of murder. Sherlock Holmes journeys to America for an encounter with the ghost of a murdered woman. A samurai sails to a forgotten island to battle the living dead. Special ops soldiers fly the void to fight space pirates. A heartbroken junkie seeks vengeance for his murdered friend.
Whistling Past the Graveyard is the first print collection of short fiction by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. These creepy tales of horror, suspense, adventure and mystery take readers to the troubled little town of Pine Deep, to the Feudal Japan of the Samurai, to the angry red planet of John Carter of Mars, and elsewhere. These are strange journeys through nightmare land, with a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner as your guide.
Whistling Past the Graveyard is the first print collection of short fiction by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. These creepy tales of horror, suspense, adventure and mystery take readers to the troubled little town of Pine Deep, to the Feudal Japan of the Samurai, to the angry red planet of John Carter of Mars, and elsewhere. These are strange journeys through nightmare land, with a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner as your guide.
September 26, 2016
This collection of Maberry short stories is chock full of nice creepy fiction. The book starts out very strong with the "Doctor Nine" story, which is a great setup...for a story that doesn't continue. I thought it might be an introductory thread weaving through the whole book, but it was not. Still, on its own it was a very cool story that reminded me of NOS4A2's Charlie Manx.
There are a few stories from the Pine Deep universe, both prequels and sequels. These are great introductions (for me, the first time reading anything about Pine Deep) that really whet the appetite for more.
All in all, the stories are mostly better than good. They're all of a manageable size, with a few that are a bit longer. But the storytelling is effortless with just the right amount of skin-crawliness. I've already got a bunch more of Maberry's works on my to-read list.
There are a few stories from the Pine Deep universe, both prequels and sequels. These are great introductions (for me, the first time reading anything about Pine Deep) that really whet the appetite for more.
All in all, the stories are mostly better than good. They're all of a manageable size, with a few that are a bit longer. But the storytelling is effortless with just the right amount of skin-crawliness. I've already got a bunch more of Maberry's works on my to-read list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews