Dennis Etchison (1943–2019)

Normally a short story writer and it shows. The book is a mess. starts out intriguingly but there are too many loose ends that go nowhere and things that appear significant but turn out to be his soapboxes such as a continuing diatribe against commercialism and sexualisation aimed at young children, that would have been a much more successful theme for this novel than how it eventually develops. Some good characterisation of girls of different ages can't save a kludge that might have worked better as a few short stories.… (lisätietoja)

Really awful for a lot of reasons. A real disappointment from a good writer. All the signs of hack work for filthy lucre by a normally decent writer. The writing is fine, the words and sentences are well crafted as Etchison is a pretty competent writer but the plot is so derivative and so thin and the characters two dimensional that even as a short novel I had to force myself to finish it. There are two somewhat interesting protagonists and a very uninteresting antagonist but the rest of the cast are all out of the stockroom. Hence what little suspense there is is all forced.

The mess comes off as a dime store King or McCammon.

Certain to come out as an overpriced Centipede edition someday as all mmpb horror novels are destined, this one was already overpriced in its true first edition here.… (lisätietoja)

Contains:
Preface / Dennis Etchison --
The secret / Jack Vance --
The patter of tiny feet / Nigel Kneale --
The tenant / Avram Davidson --
Hallowe'en's child / James Herbert --
After the funeral / Hugh B. Cave --
But at my back I always hear / David Morrell --
The whisperer / Brian Lumley --
Doppelg̈anger / R. Chetwynd-Hayes --
The master of the hounds / Algis Budrys --
Judgment day / L. Sprague de Camp --
In the hills, the cities / Clive Barker --
Jamboree /Jack Williamson --
Family / Joyce Carol Oates --
Twilight of the dawn / Dean R. Koontz --
The woman in the room / Stephen King.… (lisätietoja)