FROM THE BORDERLANDS

Stories of Terror and Madness

Elizabeth E. and Thomas F. Monteleone, eds

Warner Books

ISBN 0-44661035-6

September 2004

Horror/Short Fiction

The editors of the BORDERLANDS books (this is the fifth short story collection to date) have a unique take on collections of short fiction. There is no theme here, although they did impose a moratorium on the run-of-the-mill vampires, ghosts, or were-anythings. They asked for truly unique stories. And whom did they ask? A roster of the biggest names in horror? Nope. They used an open submissions process. From the hundreds of stories submitted, they picked only those stories that spoke to them; that stayed with them long after the reading.

What resulted is one of the finest collections of horror fiction I have read in years. Of course, there are many of the “big names here.” The collection starts out strong with “Rami Temporalis” by Gary Braunbeck, a writer who ought to be a big name by now. It’s the story of a guy with “one of those faces.” Stephen King contributed a new novella, “The Stationary Bike,” for fans needing a fix in between installments of the Dark Tower series. And Bentley Little has penned an amazingly disturbing story in “The Planting.” Other big names include Whitley Strieber, John Farris, and Tom Piccirilli.

The big news, however, is all the incredible new talent that the editors have discovered. There are far more unknowns than big names included here. I’m betting that these authors won’t remain unknown for long, though. “The Growth of Alan Ashley” by Bill Gauthier, is uncomfortable, yet has an almost dreamlike quality to it. One of the shortest stories in this collection, “All Hands,” by John R. Platt, is very affecting. This is one of those rare collections that really doesn’t have a weak story in the bunch. For the curious, the editors have also included short paragraphs preceding each story, explaining how it came to be included. This collection is truly a must-have for any fan of horror.