Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology: 1 [Paperback]

OK, this is "A Charitable Anthology". All proceeds will be donated to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, which is a great cause that I would hope we all would want to support.

Now we've got that out of the way, let's forget it. For the purposes of this review, this is just another horror anthology and I'm going to judge it on that basis alone.

It's not a small collection. There are thirty-two stories in all and twenty-one of those are original to this collection. One of them is the author's first published work. The eleven reprints are pretty rare material, by popular horror writers such as Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Ray Garton, F. Paul Wilson and Jack Ketchum. You'd be challenged to acquire copies of the original appearances of these stories now.

There isn't a turkey amongst them! Trust me, I searched. Granted, there are some stories I didn't like as much as others, but the truth is (and I'm not saying this just because it's for a good cause remember) this is the highest quality collection of horror short stories I can remember reading for a very long time.

The anthology covers all sorts of horrors. There are ghosts, demons, werewolves and those vilest monsters of all- human beings. There are even zombies, but even these most overused of horrors are handled with remarkable flair and originality. There are passing nods to King, Lovecraft and Rod Serling, alongside traditional monsters and science fiction horrors.

There just isn't the room to comment on the individual stories in this review, but I've singled out a few for special mention.

Nate Southard's `Mouth', and Brad C. Hodson's `The Other Patrick' are both on my running shortlist of stories to consider when the time for award nominations for stories published in 2012 comes around. Joe McKinney's story, `Sky of Brass, Land of Steel' only misses that list due to it being one of the rare reprints in the collection, as does `Shiva, Open Your Eye', by Laird Barron. There are many others that came very close, but these were my favourites. There are, I suspect, other stories that will appear on other readers' best of 2012 list.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that I have absolutely no doubt that the book itself is going to win awards. It's simply that good!

So, from the viewpoint of quality alone, if you only buy one horror anthology this year, you should seriously consider grabbing this one. When you add to that the fact that it's for such a worthy cause, then how can you not buy it?

This review was originally written for the British Fantasy Society website [...] and is copied here with permission.

There is something for everyone in Horror For Good, from the staccato prose of Ray Garton to the poetic style of G.R. Yeates, the stories found in this collection are as varied as they are chilling. In fact, that variety extends to include all aspects of the horror genre; stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, ones that evoked the sadness of the loss of a loved one, to dark humor, to science fiction with a dark twist, everything the horror genre has to offer can be found here.
I should mention I was a slush reader for this anthology. I was honored to be able to help, along with two other wonderful women. However, I did not get to read every story in here prior to publication. Many of these were new to me, and I enjoyed getting to read them for the first time. There are also a few reprints in here that are very hard to come by, but were offered thanks to the generosity of the authors in the horror community. That same generosity is what led to the number of stories that came pouring in, and allowed the editors to pick the best of the best for this anthology. I want to highlight a few of the stories here; a mix of reprints and originals.

Dead Letters, by Ramsey Campbell was a chilling story told by a master. As the story progresses, you have some vague notion of the direction Campbell is taking you, but at the end there is still that element of surprise that makes you stop then reread the story because you have just realized all the clues had been neatly laid out, if you had just taken the time to notice them. Campbell manages to build the tension and suspense in just a few short pages; there is good reason why he is an award winning author.

Mouth, by Nate Southard was one of those stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was a very original story, where you learn things a bit at a time about the new conditions of life on the planet. There is a new organism, and it has demands that must be met. I don't want to say more than that, as what makes this story great is its slow build up to a very frightening end.

The Lift, by G.R. Yeates was another unique and very well written story. Yeates uses his signature poetic prose to evoke a nightmare world that is contained in an office building, but it all originates from the lift. This bleak story evokes what a truly hellish job with no hope of any redemption would look like. Nightmare merges with reality in the world Yeates has created.

The Apocalypse Ain't so Bad, by Jeff Strand is an example of the dark humor that can be found in a few stories in this anthology. In this humorous but gruesome story, the zombie apocalypse has occurred, but our main character is fine with that since he can do what he wants, or at least he can until a rather unfortunate incident occurs. Strand's sense of humor had me laughing out loud at this quirky, bloody story.

Solution, by Benjamin Kane Ethridge is a perfect example of how science fiction and horror marry so well together. Things are slowly revealed in this tale; the reader learns most things as the main character does, but by the end you know exactly what has happened and it is a very frighting prospect.

Returns, by Jack Ketchum was one of the sad stories of loss. This was a very moving story, that again, surprised me with the direction it ultimately took. But with that surprise came a deeper emotional response, Ketchum has an amazing ability to tell a story and also make you think about what really matters in life.

To say I enjoyed this anthology would be an understatement. This is one the finest collections of horror stories I have seen. The editing was superb, the groupings of stories flowed smoothly from one to the next, with the perfect ones at the beginning and the end. The fact that all the profits are going to a wonderful charity, amFar, is simply an added bonus. Highly recommended.

Ah, horror. The genre we all know and love. However, have you ever come across a horror tome that combines the writing prowess of a glut of top horror authors in one volume in order to support and raise awareness of a worthwhile cause? I hadn't...

Horror For Good is a charitable anthology of horror fiction with all net profits of each purchase, (estimated to be at least 10-15%) being donated to amFAR the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Horror anthology books, like their screen cousins, can often be a bit hit and miss. For every gem out there, there's a swathe of utter drivel... From the ouset, you know there is no danger of Horror For Good falling into the latter category since it is full to the gunwales with award-winning, experienced and talented horror writers such as Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, John F.D. Taff and Joe McKinney to name but a few! It's fair to say that it is a talent-heavy roster of names that provide stories spanning the horror genre from soul-eating wraiths to post-apocalyptic zombie goodness; from a horror spin on a fairy tale to inbred devil-worshippers, voodoo, werewolves and everything in between! With 32 short stories contained within, Horror For Good has something for all horror fans, regardless of taste. Here is a small selection of the highlights for me:

I always appreciate some undead post-apocalyptic horror and Jeff Strand provides the reader with a streetwise anti-hero in 'The Apocalypse Ain't So Bad'.

Established horror author Joe McKinney ramps up the action-horror and entertains with 'Sky of Brass, Land of Iron' while still developing a sense of depth and history in his tale.

In 'Returns', the soul of Jack Ketchum's main character is earthbound until he can help his loved one.

'A Question of Morality' by Shaun Hutson takes the fear of many parents and twists it into a neat little horror tale.

Jonathan Templar's 'The Meat Man' introduces the reader to the subterranean life of Charlie, a pest-control worker; and should be avoided by musophobes!

'The Monster in the Drawer' by Wrath James White feels to me like a modern fairy tale with an unconmfortably realistic horror spin.

'A Man in Shape Alone' by Lee Thomas breathes life into an oft-overlooked giant of the horror genre and injects a degree of humanity into proceedings, not unlike that found in Frankenstein.

John F.D. Taff explores the workings of the human mind in 'The Depravity of Inanimate Things' and succeeds in creating a very believable horror tale.

'June Decay' by Danica Green shows the lengths a mother will go to in order to ensure her offspring will flourish; no matter what the cost.

At that, I've not even mentioned HALF of the stories contained within Horror For Good! Some have criticised the number of reprints found within this anthology but to my mind, such a criticism lacks sight since many of the tales reprinted therein are actually hard to find in print elsewhere and with the calibre of writers involved with this project, from the old hands to the new guns in town, there ought to be no cause for concern here!

I assure you, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by parting with cash for this title. Not only will you be thoroughly entertained by the content of Horror For Good but you'll also be donating funds to a very worthwhile charity.