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Hazmat & Other Toxic Stories
21 of the most poisonous and twisted stories from the archives of award-winning author Lawrence Watt-Evans.
266 pages, Paperback
Published May 20, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 22, 2023
Nice collection of short stories from one of my top writers. enjoyable and fun. Recommended
December 18, 2021
Hazmat is a fun collection of short stories which don't fit Lawrence Watt-Evans typical fantasy or science fiction genres. His take on horror though is just as excellent as his other works, and strong hints of his unique style come through, even with different subject matter.
Some of the stories could be better classified perhaps as dark fantasy, or humorous horror, and those are the most obviously LWE. They have either his wry wit, or his matter of fact characters taking strangeness in stride and coping or adapting to it the best they can, or some of both elements. The best of these both involve hell, Satan, or similar themes, such as "Hell for Leather" and "When Hell Froze Over" Both were a blast to read, and while they had hints of darkness, would have felt just as much at home in a collection of fantasy stories.
What was most surprising though were the straight up horror stories LWE wrote, as I've not seen that side to his writing before, even when his fantasy books get into some darker territory. The best were the ones which had little to do with magic or fantasy elements at all, whether they came across as stories of the evil that humanity can do, without any assistance from the supernatural, like "Grandpa's Head" or "Dead Babies", or tales which may not be fully grounded in reality, but would feel right at home as a disturbing episode of the Twilight Zone, such as "Parade" or "A Public Hanging". Those left a deep mark after reading them, especially for such short pieces.
Overall, it was great to get a different version of LWE in these stories, while still seeing the parts of his writing which carry through, regardless of genre. After reading this, I'd be happy to read a completely non-fantastic book of his, as his storytelling and characterization are the real treat when reading his works.
Some of the stories could be better classified perhaps as dark fantasy, or humorous horror, and those are the most obviously LWE. They have either his wry wit, or his matter of fact characters taking strangeness in stride and coping or adapting to it the best they can, or some of both elements. The best of these both involve hell, Satan, or similar themes, such as "Hell for Leather" and "When Hell Froze Over" Both were a blast to read, and while they had hints of darkness, would have felt just as much at home in a collection of fantasy stories.
What was most surprising though were the straight up horror stories LWE wrote, as I've not seen that side to his writing before, even when his fantasy books get into some darker territory. The best were the ones which had little to do with magic or fantasy elements at all, whether they came across as stories of the evil that humanity can do, without any assistance from the supernatural, like "Grandpa's Head" or "Dead Babies", or tales which may not be fully grounded in reality, but would feel right at home as a disturbing episode of the Twilight Zone, such as "Parade" or "A Public Hanging". Those left a deep mark after reading them, especially for such short pieces.
Overall, it was great to get a different version of LWE in these stories, while still seeing the parts of his writing which carry through, regardless of genre. After reading this, I'd be happy to read a completely non-fantastic book of his, as his storytelling and characterization are the real treat when reading his works.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews