Shivers

edited by Richard Chizmar
Cemetery Dance
$20

Very few could argue the fact that Richard Chizmar's "Cemetery Dance" magazine consistently showcases the best our field has to offer, whether you consider name authors, voice/style, or theme most important. And who can argue the advantages of non-themed anthologies, which allow for a variety of approaches? While themed anthologies have their place, and most do allow for a variety of approaches within their stated guidelines, the unthemed anthology will naturally foster a more creative environment merely by requiring strong, vivid stories. Many in this field, your current reporter included, insist that "good stories well told" form the backbone of our literary legacy, and that in the long run all we should care about is the stories, not the book. The voices, not the tropes. The characters, not the by-line. If these form some sort of anthology test, then Shivers passes it with ease.

The excellently on-target cover sets the tone, and the table of contents reads like a well-balanced representation of the best our field has to offer, with a strong showing from newer voices. Starting with Brian Keene and Tim Lebbon's subtle anti-war statement in "Fodder," in which WWI British soldiers learn about another kind of death in the trenches, and ending with the grim anchor of Graham Masterton's "The Sympathy Society," where "sympathy" means something other than what you or I would assume, the anthology soars much more often than it dips. Other touchstones include Doug Clegg's "256 and Heaven," a well disguised treatise on the meaning of heaven and hell, and "The Hand of Glory," in which Simon Clark transforms a familiar prop into quite a different instrument, as well as Jack Ketchum's "The Holding Cell," a surreal trip to one of those places we all want to leave—or do we? Robert Morrish turns in an ode to our best and brightest authors by making their work part of the carnie background of "Always Travelling, Never Arriving," and in "That Extra Mile" David Niall Wilson and Brian A. Hopkins find a new way to jump space and time. Jay Bonansinga's old-fashioned chiller "The Box" and Thomas F. Monteleone's "The Wager" seem at home in the Crypt-Keeper's library, while Peter Crowther and Simon Conway's "White-Out" screams Night Gallery. Al Sarrantonio, Edward Lee, Ray Garton, David G. Barnett, Bentley Little, and Tom Piccirilli turn in some of the most surreal gut-level tales, and the rest of this talented cast includes John Pelan, Geoff Cooper, Brian Freeman, and David B. Silva, among others.

This solid grouping of 22 stories showcases not only "Cemetery Dance" the magazine, but also the variety to be found among the many contemporary voices who tell us tales about the voices they hear. While there are no huge shockers or gore baths—even Ed Lee's story could rate a PG-13!—the collection really does induce shivers, and that's exactly what even slightly-jaded readers (such as this reporter) demand.