Rating: 
Summary: Nothing But The Best!
Review: The Best Of Cemetery Dance Volume 1 contains THE MOST amazing horror stories to have been printed in the last few years. This is a collection of who's who in the horror field. There is not one other collection of short fiction which will suprass this volume. It is, simply put, amazing. Anyone should buy this book for the two Jack Ketchum stories, The Box and The Rifle. Both stories are amazing, touching, terrifying and very affecting. They are Ketchum at his very best. The book also contains a very good and funny story by Stephen King, Chattery Teeth. But the real reason to get this book is to read Gary Raisor's The Right Thing, which is one of the most amazing stories I have ever read. That is one story I will not soon forget. With other contributions from great writers like Bently Little, Lucy Taylor, Ed Gorman, Douglas Clegg and many others, this book is one that any horror fan should have on their shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Best Collection Ever (Honestly)
Review: This is it, gang. BEST OF CEMETERY DANCE, when printed in hardcover, was the best anthology ever of short horror fiction, even outdoing DARK FORCES, DARK DESCENT, and even BEST OF WHISPERS and BEST OF SHADOWS. It's got everyone under the sun in horror. Unfortunately, it was such a big book that they had to split it into two volumes in paperback, of which this is the first. No matter -- both halves are absolutely essential, and nearly every story here is a winner. Reading this anthology is the best way to introduce yourself to the dozens of horror authors out there whom you're not currently reading.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful collection of horror stories
Review: This is one of those collections that when it says "best of" it means it. The stories collected here are wonderful. There were very few of them that I didn't like. They all made an impression one way or another and they definitely warranted being put in this collection. As a compilation from the Cemetery Dance magazine, there really is no central theme uniting all the stories, but I've never really thought that you had to have one. Just collect a bunch of really good stories together, call it something and release it. And that is exactly what Chizmar has done here. The only thing that I thought was weird and didn't quite fit was the last story, or more accurately interview. It's an interview of Dean Koontz from a few years back. While slightly dated (he hypes the then-unreleased movie Phantoms as well as Mr. Murder, Intensity, and Survivor), it does contain some interesting points and definitely gives a better idea of who Koontz is. It just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the stories. Although I hate to limit my favorites to just a few, I've picked some and listed them below. "Tyrannosaurus" by Norman Partridge - A woman seeks out vengeance against her child abducting ex-husband. "Desert Pickup" by Richard Laymon - The circle is completed for a hitch-hiker in the desert and the woman who picks him up. "With The Wound Still Wet" by Wayne Allen Sallee - An author and a photographer just do their jobs. "Almost Never" by Edward Lee - Two thugs try to repay the mob by kidnapping a little girl. "The Winds Within" by Ronald Kelly - A murder at an apartment building has a grisly origin. "Animal Rites" by Jay. R. Bonansinga - A clever twist to an otherwise normal killing. "Easy's Last Stand" by Nancy A. Collins - Workers at a phone sex operation prove that they are survivors.
Rating:
Summary: Top of the Heap!
Review: When it comes to horror anthologies, Dick Chizmar's "Best of Cemetery Dance" (both volumes) is right at the top of the heap. I devour these anthologies, good and bad, and this one has some of the most genuinely creepy stories out there. Douglas Clegg's story, "The Rendering Man," gave me chills that kept me wakeful for more than one night. This is definitely an anthology that the horror lover HAS to have on the bookshelf!
Rating:
Summary: Top of the Heap!
Review: When it comes to horror anthologies, Dick Chizmar's "Best of Cemetery Dance" (both volumes) is right at the top of the heap. I devour these anthologies, good and bad, and this one has some of the most genuinely creepy stories out there. Douglas Clegg's story, "The Rendering Man," gave me chills that kept me wakeful for more than one night. This is definitely an anthology that the horror lover HAS to have on the bookshelf!
| 
