Dark Love

Rating:
Summary: AN HORROR ANTHOLOGY EXPLORING THE DARK SIDE OF LOVE
Review: A collection of dark fantasy exploring the relationship between sex and horror with contributions by prestigious authors renowned in the field. The quality of the stories is uneven and the volume includes a few excellent tales as well as some ordinary stuff.The book starts with a long-awaited brand new story by Stephen King ("Lunch at the Gotham Cafe'") The following tales are by Kathe Koja, who tells the life story of a sexually unsatiable ballerina and by british author Basil Copper ("Gleading blades") who provides a new, disquiteting atmosphere to the time-honored theme of the serial killer. In Ramsey Campbell's "Going under" the cellular phone becomes the instrument of modern horror while in the late Karl Edgar Wagner's "Locked away" the forbidden sexual fantasies of a long- dead woman come alive through an antique gold locket. In "The end of it all" Ed Gorman recreates the atmosphere of the "film noir" of the 40s , while Douglas Winter ("Loop") perfectly balances horror with the sad after-taste of unfullfilled love dreams.

Rating:
Summary: Two stories in this anthology deserve to become classics
Review: I remember buying this paperback at a Supermarket in Tampa, Florida during the sweltering August of 1996. I once heard that if you remember something it's important, and since I gave this book away to the library about a year ago, I can only talk about a couple of the stories that stayed with me. Probably me favorite two were "Loop" by Douglas E. Winter (I actually read that one in a dorm room in Austin, Texas) and "The End of It All" by Ed Gorman. I can't really comment on the rest.

"Loop" is crisp, concise writing--yet passionate. Winter tells the story of a lawyer who develops over the years an infatuation with an adult film actress. His intense details of American culture really bring to life this doomed "love story."

"The End of It All" reads like an NBC TV Movie of the Week--but with a more focused story and a much sharper edge; the writing is so economical I compare it to a newspaper article. Gorman's impartial and blunt matter-of-fact writing style really got me excited about the short story medium again. Reading this will shock you, and impress.

On a Saturday night this summer, or any summer, staying home and reading these two stories will be much more rewarding than even going to a movie. They are that entertaining, not to mention provocative.

Rating:
Summary: An Anthology the Way It Oughta Be Done!!
Review: I've had bad luck in the past with Horror anthologies, so I put off reading Dark Love for a few Years after purchasing it. I should have had more faith in the Editors, because this is a rock-solid book, with not a dud to be found.

The book starts off with Stephen King's "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, where a man and his soon-to-be-ex-wife find themselves confronted with a demented Maitre d'. The story is good (As most King stories are), but I found it more comedic than it seems to have been intended to be. (The way the Maitre d' keeps screaming "EEEEEEE!!!!" just struck me as funny...)
From there, the late, great Michael O'Donaghue contributes "The Psycho", a crazed Gunman on the loose story with a great twist ending.
Next is Kathe Koja's "Pas de Deux", probably the most realistic story in the book. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but it was well-written, and it had its moments.
Basil Copper's "Bright Blades Gleaming" is waaaay too long, and I saw the end coming a mile off, but again, it was a well-told tale. It could have been better if it was shorter, though.
John Lutz offers "Hanson's Radio", a tale of urban neighbors getting on each others nerves that I, a former Bronx apartment dweller, totally related to.
David J. Schow's "Refrigerator Heaven" is a chilling (Pun intended) tale of Mob torture gone HORRIBLY wrong. This story stuck with me for a long time after I finished reading it.
Ro Erg, by Robert Weinberg, starts as a bit of credit-card fraud whimsey, and goes off into totally unexpected territory.
Ramsey Campbell's "Going Under" quite frankly reeked, and I won't devote any of my time to describing it. (I guess there WAS one dud...)
Stuart Kaminsky's "Hidden" is an absolute gem; One of the best short stories I've ever read. It concerns a young boy who slaughters his family and devises an ingenious method of hiding from the law. The ending revelation is an absolute stunner.
"Prism", by Wendy Webb, is a short about Multiple-Personality Disorder that puts you in the head of the narrator. Short, but well-done.
The late Richard Laymon contributes "The Maiden", a dark tale of teenage lust, revenge, and the Supernatural. After reading this story, I've become a Laymon fan, and I'm hard at work collecting all of his books. The Maiden was THAT good....
Flaming Carrot/Mystery Men creator Bob Burden pens the hilariously demented "You've Got Your Troubles, I've Got Mine"; I felt dirty for laughing, but it was just so damned funny...Who knew Burden could write prose? Good job, Bob! More fun than a Spider in diapers!
George C. Chesbro offers "Waco", a creepy look at the inside of the Koresh Compound in it's last moments, as they're visited by a sardonic Vulture claiming to be God himself...
John Peyton Cooke's "The Penitent" is an S&M story that strong-stomached readers will find enjoyable. (I loved it.)
Kathryn Ptacek takes road-rage to a new level in "Driven"; I didn't really care for the ending, though...
John Shirley's "Barbara" is an interesting heist-gone-bad tale.
"Hymenoptera", by Michael Blumlein, features a Fashion Designer becoming obsessed aith an 8-Foot long Wasp (!). Weird and pointless, but I liked it nonetheless....
"The End of It All", by Ed Gorman, is a tale of Lust, Incest, Murder, & Revenge. Would make a GREAT movie...
"Heat", by Lucy Taylor, is forgettable, but short, so at least she makes her sick point quickly.

Nancy A. Collins' "Thin Walls" will resonate with apartment dwellers everywhere.
Karl Edward Wagner's "Locked Away" is a fun psuedo-porn fantasy that made me chuckle more than a few times.
The book closes with Douglas E. Winter's "Loop", a tale of obsession taken to a WHOLE other level.

Dark Love is probably the BEST anthology I've even read. I highly recommend it.