Comments | bosstweed: Darkly Delicate Fictions

bosstweed

Darkly Delicate Fictions

Apr 27, 2006 11:42

This week I started Dark Delicacies, a recent horror anthology with contributions from many of today's most well known horror and dark fantasy writers. I'm not done yet but I've read several of the stories, with reactions ranging from "wow" to "why is this supposed to scare me?" Of those I've read, I particularly enjoyed Clive Barker's story " ( Read more... )

Comments 4

trailofstars April 27 2006, 12:48:44 UTC

This was a great post. I've had some thoughts along the same lines. I'll have to read the Barker story. I've been terribly disappointed in his recent work, so I'd love to read something that showed he still had the touch. I had all but given up on him, frankly. Galilee is one of the worst books I've read in the last decade.

bosstweed April 27 2006, 12:58:21 UTC

Glad you liked! Galilee did a number on me too. I may one day try the Abarat books, but wow, that book did not work for me. I read on and on and on, hoping it would come to life, and I finally gave up about 4/5 of the way through, unable to read another word.

bosstweed April 27 2006, 13:00:05 UTC

Oh, and he does still have the touch, if he chooses to write in that format. It's really a great little story. Imagine one of his early stories, but tempered by his life experiences, and not quite so over the top. In certain ways, I think it's also much more "clever" or "writerly" than much of his early fiction. Not that I'm a huge fan of clever, as I think it can go too far, but here it works.

trailofstars April 27 2006, 13:18:21 UTC

I read the first Arabat book, it didn't do much for me. Neither did Sacrament--it was ok, but just ok. Then I slogged through Galilee convinced that it was going somewhere...and I just have to say, good for you that you quit when you did. THE WORST ENDING EVER. I mean, it didn't really end. It's like he hit a page quota and said, "That's it, I'm done." I was mad that I had spent all that time reading it.

Last year I re-read In the Hills, the Cities for the first time in years. I was amazed at how great a story it still was. I like the way you describe the new one above, I will have to check it out.