by JOE X YOUNG
This anthology from Telos Publishing is a mix with no linking theme just a lot of quality stories, first off there’s ‘The Road to Holly Tree Farm’ by Paul Lewis, “… monstrous … blocking out the stars…”, What it is, and why it does that is something you’ll have to read this short yet punchy tale to find out. I thought it was well worth the time and can really say no more about it without giving spoilers. The second story in the anthology is ‘An Affair of the Night’ by Darren Shan, but before you get all excited I think it’s worth pointing out that I found this to be a decent enough vampire story with a casual style and all that, but hardly an engrossing read. Perhaps it’s a case that the overall quality of the stories is easily on a par with his offering and that I may have expected something outstanding given his reputation for dishing out the scares. I know I shouldn’t have a bias but amongst such a solid body of work as his I don’t think this is his strongest. The third tale is ‘Back At Six’, an intimate peek into the problem-strewn life of a man trying to give his son an excellent day out as part of ‘Operation win back Lucy’. A very inventive tale with a mean streak and unrelenting tension, it’s powerful stuff. Another highly inventive tale is the fourth offering in this book, this time it’s the turn of Justina L A Robson to bemuse and amuse us with ‘Madswitch’ which has such a quirky nature to it that I was taken in by the simplicity even when Justina is describing in depth some rather unusual experiments in Chemistry. It’s barking mad but I loved it. Story number five is ‘Don’t Bite Your Nails’ by David J Howe. Quite possibly the most asked question of authors is “Where do you get your ideas from”, in this case it seems fairly obvious, but don’t let a simple concept fool you as this is a creepy story with a lot more depth than at first appears and absolutely an ending I didn’t see coming. The sixth tale is Sam Stone’s ‘Walking the Dead’, a dip into Zombie territory with a swollen blackened tongue firmly in rotting cheek. Proving that she’s one of the more versatile writers around these days Sam has taken a break from Vampires and Steampunk to deliver a comical everyday story of what could be a likely scenario if the dead do return. Let’s face it; someone has to look after them! Number seven in the anthology is Steve Lockley’s ‘Life in a Northern Town’; this is a bit of a jolt to the senses after reading the previous bunch of contemporary tales as it is seemingly set against a backdrop of the Second Industrial Revolution and concerns the fate(s) of a bunch of street urchins trying to survive with a beast on the prowl. Rich in atmosphere and scares it’s an excellent story with a particularly vicious ending… You have been warned! Last but by no means least comes ‘Hollow’ by Simon Morden. With apologies to all before it and with such tough competition this is my favourite of the anthology. Jo is trying to get to safety from a doomed Oil Rig 300 miles West of the Orkneys in a story which rams home the tension with an all too real sense of the horror that she and the rest of the workers are facing. It’s an immaculate story and a fine point on which to end what is a worthy anthology. 
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