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I picked this up to read "The Night Flier" by Stephen King, which was really pretty good! A bloody vampire story that gets pretty crazy! And as a treat for King fans, the story has a little tie-in with both "Salem's Lot" and "The Dead Zone"! Small, but fun!

The rest of this book is not my cup of tea. Only "Spinning Tales With the Dead" by Charles L. Grant, was decent. The other 11 were, in my opinion, not worth reading. And, in fact, Peter Straub's "The Juniper Tree" should not be read at all! The detailed description of a child's molestation made me sick. Disgust, not fear. Ugh.

So, I'd just read "The Night Flier" and move along! ( )

A big collection of mostly so-so tales by major horror authors of the late twentieth century. Maybe it's just the frame of mind I was in when I read the book, but these stories registered as little more than faint blurs at the time, and my opinion hasn't changed. Paul Hazel's "Having a Woman at Lunch" is just silly, and Peter Straub's "The Juniper Tree"--while certain of its ingredients are pivotal to the brilliant novels Straub has written during the latter phase of his career--is a weakish story on its own terms. Things get a little better with Stephen King's contribution, "The Night Flier"; it's not top-drawer King, but is at least lively and readable. The best stories here are Charles L. Grant's "Spinning Tales with the Dead", an uncomfortably spooky mood piece, and Jack Cady's novella "By Reason of Darkness". Carefully layered, telling the reader enough to profoundly unsettle him (or her) but always holding something back, Cady's tale is both immediately jolting and--like all good horror stories--disturbing upon later reflection.

Three stars for the inclusion of the Grant and Cady pieces; without them, Prime Evil would have been a real bust. ( )

good collection of short horror from the modern greats ( )

Anthologies like these can be a great way to discover new authors. This is a particularly strong sampling of late-80s horror writers, covering terrain from King to Ligotti. I really suspect your mileage may vary when it comes to the individual stories, but if you are a horror fan you will certainly come away enjoying some of the stories, perhaps discovering a new author. There weren't any stories I would have described as bad, but there were definitely a good share (ironically the Straub, Etchison, and Strieber pieces come immediately to mind) that really weren't particularly scary or creepy. Of particular note:

King's "The Night Flier" had some nice tension and a clever scene of horror at the end, but the protagonist Richard Dees is kind of a bore.

Clive Barker's "Falling into Grief" was a nice bit of quiet horror, perhaps a bit surprising from someone more associated with shocking violence.

Ramsey Campbell''s "Next Time You'll Know Me" is a pretty creepy and somewhat odd piece of psychological horror. A disturbed man thinks someone is stealing his stories.

M. John Harrison's "The Great God Pan" is another piece of quiet horror, this one leaning a bit towards the obtuse. Still creepy and would probably merit a re-read.

Thomas Ligotti's "Alice's Last Adventure" is a surreal look at the rather bizarre end of a children's book author.

Jack Cady's "By Reason of Darkness" plays like an odd riff of Apocalypse Now on American soil.

David Morrell's "Orange is for Anguish, Blue is for Insanity" is the story of a Van Gogh-like painter who met a horrible end. A young scholar tries to find the secret of his work, but gets a little too close. ( )

Good stories ( )