Rating: 
Summary: Not his best
Review: Stephen King summed up Peter Straub with this excellent statement, "He is the only one out there in the [horror] field writing bona fide literature." This collection of seven tales (most of which are novella length) just proves this true. However, to be honest, the short tale is not Straub's strong point. He works best in long, intricate narratives that both use and deconstruct the thriller genre, all the while saturating the story with literary and cultural references, parodies, and homages. Each of the stories collected contain some of these elements, but not all of them.Ashputtle will have you rethinking that pudgy grade school teacher you mocked, or the one you now entrust with the education of your child. Isn't It Romantic has an assassin on his last job and rethinking his first job in a new light. The Ghost Village is yet another story linked to his classic Blue Rose trilogy, as is the horrifying Bunny Is Good Bread. Which explains just what made a mysterious killer the way he was. Porkpie Hat is a classic tale, the story within the story not only a beautiful return to the ghost story form for the author, but it is also Straub at his deconstructionist finest. Revelling in how our storytelling allows us to communicate a hidden truth and overcome tragedy. Hunger, An Introduction offers yet another story within a story, trying to make us understand what makes ghosts haunt us so. It also expands on themes presented in The Ghost Village quite nicely. The closing story, Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff, is a hilarious, albeit gruesome, black comedy about the karmic nature of revenge. Those who long for a return to witty, intelligent and literate genre writing need look here. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: More intelligent horror for intelligent readers.
Review: Stephen King summed up Peter Straub with this excellent statement, "He is the only one out there in the [horror] field writing bona fide literature." This collection of seven tales (most of which are novella length) just proves this true. However, to be honest, the short tale is not Straub's strong point. He works best in long, intricate narratives that both use and deconstruct the thriller genre, all the while saturating the story with literary and cultural references, parodies, and homages. Each of the stories collected contain some of these elements, but not all of them. Ashputtle will have you rethinking that pudgy grade school teacher you mocked, or the one you now entrust with the education of your child. Isn't It Romantic has an assassin on his last job and rethinking his first job in a new light. The Ghost Village is yet another story linked to his classic Blue Rose trilogy, as is the horrifying Bunny Is Good Bread. Which explains just what made a mysterious killer the way he was. Porkpie Hat is a classic tale, the story within the story not only a beautiful return to the ghost story form for the author, but it is also Straub at his deconstructionist finest. Revelling in how our storytelling allows us to communicate a hidden truth and overcome tragedy. Hunger, An Introduction offers yet another story within a story, trying to make us understand what makes ghosts haunt us so. It also expands on themes presented in The Ghost Village quite nicely. The closing story, Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff, is a hilarious, albeit gruesome, black comedy about the karmic nature of revenge. Those who long for a return to witty, intelligent and literate genre writing need look here. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully constructed sentences that lead nowhere
Review: This book is a trail to read. The payoff for diligent reading is slight to nonexistant. Straub writes beautifully constructed sentences that sadly, lead to frustration. Could have benefited from some serious editing. Namely, it took seemingly forever to reach a climax-of a sort. Horror, no. Annoying, yes. Read Ghost Story to read the best that the author has done. This work stinks of the lamp. Very poor effort. A boggy, sodden, mess.
Rating:
Summary: UNALLOYED STRAUB AND TERROR
Review: This collection of harrowing stories is tailor made for Straub fans, as one of our foremost fantasy writers integrates brutality, heartbreak, despair, fear and awe into this assembly of short fiction. "Bunny Is Good Bread" chronicles the development of a serial killer, while "Hunger" paints a profoundly breathtaking picture of earthly life. Straub, is a magician with horror, has a good many tricks up his sleeve with this hat full of seven tales.
Rating:
Summary: MEDIOCRE, NOT MAGIC
Review: This is the first time I have ever read any short stories by Mr. Straub and I was not very impressed, his novels are much better. Several of the stories had good plots but the the story lines got lost in garble and confusion. The stories I liked best were "Ghost Town" and "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff". The latter story is reminiscent of Clive Barker in its surrealism. If you have time to spare try them out,you might enjoy them.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: When it comes to Peter Straub, I've read better. This is the first collection of his short stories that I've read, and I must say that if all his short stories are like this, I'm sticking to his novels. Not that these stories are bad. Just needlessly complex for short stories. Such complexity kills drama. "Porkpie Hat", for example, is a halloween story told by a jazz musician named "Hat" (or, for those who can read the clues, the one and only Lester Young). It's a fairly simple story that stretches on for 60 pages. Some stories, like healthy elastic, can stretch in such a manner and still remain tense and dramatic, while others sag like taffy. "Porkpie Hat" is taffy. I found myself more interested in the description of "Hat" himself and his work life than the actual story. Most of the other stories are like that: long and in the end conveyant of the feeling that one wasted one's time. Not the best.
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