Borderlands 4 (Borealis Imprint Logo)

Rating:
Summary: Borderlands 4 had possibilities, but fell short of them.
Review: As a contributor to Borderlands 4, (The Long Holiday) I must say that there are some good moments in the collection. For the most part, however, the selections are trite and formulaic. I wrote my piece as a novice, and was utterly surprised at its acceptance. It's clearly a first-attempt, and not improved by the editor's inexplicable decision to remove whole transition paragraphs. The volumes prior to this particular one had originality; it seems Monteleone chose more by personal taste in this one than by innovation. Instead of groundbreaking new talent and short horror fiction, we're left instead with ill-presented pulp. At least the purchasers of the paperback version won't be paying the $65 price of the slipcovered hardbound limited edition. Obviously a work indicative of waning interest and/or capability on the part of the editor.

Rating:
Summary: Pablum for the Horror-Challenged
Review: Borderlands is a series of horror/dark fantasy/suspense anthologies that attempts to push the boundaries of concept and storytelling. The first three volumes were overwhelmingly excellent, but this fourth is somewhat of a disappointment. It simply doesn't possess the power of the earlier material. It starts off with a fairly strong handful of stories, including some quiet horror from Dennis Etchison, and a wierd tale of a child prisoner by William F. Wu. Later there are some good stories by William Browning Spencer, David Herter, and James C. Dobbs. Most of the rest are okay, but not very memorable. "Monotone" is so poorly written I don't know how any editor continued reading past the first couple lines. I guessed the "twist" of "The Long Holiday" by the second page; I'm sure it's been done before. I'd like to see this series continue, but I hope the grade of material returns to its previous greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Nontraditional dark fiction.
Review: Borderlands is a series of horror/dark fantasy/suspense anthologies that attempts to push the boundaries of concept and storytelling. The first three volumes were overwhelmingly excellent, but this fourth is somewhat of a disappointment. It simply doesn't possess the power of the earlier material. It starts off with a fairly strong handful of stories, including some quiet horror from Dennis Etchison, and a wierd tale of a child prisoner by William F. Wu. Later there are some good stories by William Browning Spencer, David Herter, and James C. Dobbs. Most of the rest are okay, but not very memorable. "Monotone" is so poorly written I don't know how any editor continued reading past the first couple lines. I guessed the "twist" of "The Long Holiday" by the second page; I'm sure it's been done before. I'd like to see this series continue, but I hope the grade of material returns to its previous greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Pablum for the Horror-Challenged
Review: I read this anthology a few years ago, and even know of someone with (GAH!) the limited edition hardcopy. The best thing about that edition is the sturdy dustjacket, and the purchasers of the paperback version don't even get that. The stories seem to have been chosen with an eye toward convoluted vocabulary rather than plot or originality. They certainly *sound* as though they should be horrifying. Unfortunately, the only suspense involved is in how long the genre can support itself with potboilers like this anthology being pushed as cutting-edge. Staring at the crevices in tree bark would provide more thrills and surprises, and circumvent the whole process of creating this pulp waste.

Rating:
Summary: nontraditional dark, horror, and surreal
Review: If you revel in nontraditional writing styles, there are usually a few interesting jewels exemplified in these Borderlands compilations. The stories are at times surreal, horrific, fantastical, dark, or just plane strange. I highly recommend this to anyone who most enjoys the books that twist the common method or presentation of a story's progression or even the subject matter. See my review of Borderlands 1 for similar comments...