Black Pockets and Other Dark Thoughts

by George Zebrowski, Howard Waldrop (Introduction)

This collection of 19 horror stories, culled from the career of a writer best known for his literary science fiction, explores horror as a product of the human mind by allowing personal, political, and metaphysical obsessions to unleash terrors that beset these characters and by refusing to rely on genre-typical terrors such as serial killers and ancient curses. The original novella "Black Pockets" depicts a hate so all-consuming that a man makes a bargain to carry out the revenge plot of a dying enemy in order to gain the power to pursue his own victims. In unusual zombie tale, "I Walked with Fidel," Fidel Castro's ideals are slowly betrayed by both Cold War superpowers. And a Kafka-like uneasiness pervades "A Piano Full of Dead Spiders," in which a composer's music actually is the result of spiders walking on piano strings. Posing as philosophical puzzles, the stories gain emotional power from an attention to character development and the insightful investigation of both private and collective nightmares.

Genres: Horror

310 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2006

About the author

George Zebrowski was an American science fiction writer and editor who wrote and edited a number of books, and was a former editor of The Bulletin of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He lived with author Pamela Sargent, with whom he co-wrote a number of novels, including Star Trek novels.
Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits. Three of his short stories, "Heathen God," "The Eichmann Variations," and "Wound the Wind," were nominated for the Nebula Award, and "The Idea Trap" was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.

Reviews

[Becky Beaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I finished reading the book (front to back), I reflected on what the author wrote in his afterword. "Read the stories first," he said. But he had included in his afterword what HE saw in his stories, and I found things I wanted to have seen on my first time through. But I did not -- except in one story, "The Coming of Christ the Joker."

I found many of these stories tedious, which I believe speaks more about me than about the stories -- I was seeking light entertainment, and the author offered a different feast. I lacked the political knowledge that would have brought more of these stories to life in the reading. I suspect I'm not "old enough" for these stories -- perhaps, more accurately, not worldly enough -- but I will return to this volume. When I'm older (or I think I am).

[Apostol Apostolov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Show read with many mediocre stories

An overall disappointment, with few notable exceptions.

Most of the stories are nothing special or engaging, and many of them are very slow and difficult to read, they don't engage the imagination as much as they get involved in heavy and long protracted commentary leaving the reader begging when it will stop and move on. Only few stories are actually surprisingly fresh and original and you may have to endure to get to them sooner or later.

[L. Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

George and I wrote this book together. Obviously I'm biased -- it's a great read.

[Chrystal Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories in the book feel...young. Not bad, but I get the feeling the author dug through things he wrote in high school or college, when a base idea spun itself into a quick tale without much craft. The base ideas are thought-provoking, and someone between 13 and 18 may really enjoy them.

That said, there are a couple of outstanding stories in here, as well.

"My First World", which is more of a novella, is a good read. While some of these are fantasy, and some are more "Twilight Zone, this one is firmly science fiction.

"Interpose" and "The Coming of Christ the Joker" are both an examination of Christianity, and both will give one different ways of looking at things, which one may not share, but which are interesting to consider, whether one is a Christian or not.

The title story starts out with a good feel, has a great premise, moves along, but, in my opinion, goes on far too long. I liked it enough to think it could even make a good short film...but then, in the end, it wore me out.

The cover art on this is a lot like old pulp sci-fi cover art: it has little or nothing to do with any of the stories, so don't let it put you off. A plain black cover might have been better.

[Steven Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]