Candy in the Dumpster

by Jay Bonansinga (editor), Bill Breedlove (Editor), Martin Mundt

The 1st Dark Arts Books release is Candy in the Dumpster, a compilation of 12 "new & used" horror stories by four Chicago authors: Jay Bonansinga, Bill Breedlove, John Everson & Martin Mundt. This volume features an introduction by another Chicago horror veteran, Mort Castle.
MORT CASTLE:
* Introduction: Candy in the Dumpster
MARTIN MUNDT:
* A Perfect Plan
* The Cure
* Babies Is Smart
JOHN EVERSON:
* The White House
* Swallowing the Pill
* Pumpkin Head
BILL BREEDLOVE:
* The Lost Collection
* Free to Good Home
* Drowning in the Sea of Love
JAY BONANSINGA:
* Animal Rites
* Stash
* Deal Memo

Genres: Horror

152 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2006

About the author

The national best-selling author of ten acclaimed books – both fiction and non-fiction -- Jay Bonansinga has been called “one of the most imaginative writers of thrillers” by the Chicago Tribune.

Jay is the holder of a master's degree in film from Columbia College Chicago, and currently resides in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife and two sons. He is also a visiting professor at Northwestern University in their Creative Writing for the Media program.

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

not so bad. i got this from Cathy’s Half Priced Books and i will most certainly be donating it back to her. i enjoyed my time reading these, i thought they were all well written and enjoyable. the book itself had some grammar errors /typos but who actually cares. i would suggest giving it a shot.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all anthologies, there were some stories I loved and some I didn't really care for.

Mundt's A PERFECT PLAN had me laughing like crazy every time I read the word "shit" and even though I really, really shouldn't have found the story funny, BABIES IS SMART left me in stitches! It's a HORRIBLY wrong story, but written extremely funny so I still enjoyed it. On the other hand, I just didn't get the point of his story THE CURE. I guess it just wasn't the story for me. *shrugs*

Now... Everson's stories on the other hand... I loved 'em all! No surprise there really as I have yet to read anything by him I haven't enjoyed. THE WHITE HOUSE story did start off a little slow for me just because I was trying to figure out what was actually going on, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. SWALLOWING THE PILL had me from the get-go wanting to know what was going to happen. And PUMPKIN HEAD, well... EVERYONE should read PUMPKIN HEAD! I mean, it's just a really "bad" Halloween story... LOL! (and I mean "bad" in such a good way... hee hee!!!) And if you act fast you can check out the story on John's website as he has it up right now for Halloween!!! Click below:

Pumpkin Head

Breedlove's stories... well, I wasn't really impressed with THE LOST COLLECTION, though the ending had a nice twist to it... and FREE TO A GOOD HOME was just a story. I didn't really get it I guess. However, I did really end up enjoying DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE. It was VERY different compared to his first two stories and I was pleasantly surprised when I got to that one after being disappointed by the first two reads by this author. This just goes to show that I should never give up on an author based on just a few short stories!

Lastly, Bonansinga... ANIMAL RITES... meh... another story in the anthology that I just didn't really get the gist of I guess. However, STASH I ended up enjoying. I didn't think I was going to when I first started reading it, but as the story moved along I started getting into it and it ended up being quite a good story. The last "story", DEAL MEMO, I'm hesitant to call a "story" because it didn't have the feel of an actual story I can't really say whether I enjoyed or not because I can't say I totally got it. The reason being is, I haven't seen the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. I guess had I seen it I might have been able to get this and laughed at it a bit more.

Overall though... I did enjoy this anthology and am looking forward to reading the other anthologies that Dark Arts Books has published.

[Munsi Parker-Munroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up as part of my newfound ongoing obsession with Martin Mundt, as he'd contributed three stories here, as one of four authors in this collection of short horror fiction by authors from Chicago.

Also: WOW short horror fiction from Chicago is messed up, you guys. For reals. I can't even begin. Taboos are shatters, the grotesque is never shied away from, the worst of humanity is put on a pedestal, and always, always, the worst possible thing will happen. If you have a weak stomach, shy away from this collection, but if you want something that challenges your notions about what can be forced to work in the realm of weird, quirky horror, read this immediately. Brisk, creepy and undeniably fun!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some fun and truly sick stories in this collection of horror from Twilight Tales.

[John Everson]

The first release from my Dark Arts Books press.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to Bizarro Fiction! Some of the BEST short stories EVER!