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harrietj's review
4.0
An interesting collection of short horror stories, mostly very good with only a couple that fell somewhat flat. Two were arguably much more science fiction than horror, but one of them - The Streets of Ashkelon by Harry Harrison - turned out to be one of my favourites nonetheless.
The later editions of the Pan Horror series have a bit of a reputation for gore for gore's sake, and you can see that creeping in in this volume. There are several stories in which, contrary to the more traditional 'just desserts' stories in which bad things happen to bad people, unreasonable amounts of suffering are rained down on people who definitely don't deserve it, and the final story in the collection, though well told, is simply a description of the rape, torture, and murder of a trusting young woman.
The collection still skews strongly towards the bizarre and unsettling over the brutal, with tales like the classic The Monkey's Paw and the excellent Island of Regrets.
Overall I really enjoyed this collection. It included some weaker offerings, but on the whole the stories were effectively chilling and competently told. Definitely one to recommend.
The later editions of the Pan Horror series have a bit of a reputation for gore for gore's sake, and you can see that creeping in in this volume. There are several stories in which, contrary to the more traditional 'just desserts' stories in which bad things happen to bad people, unreasonable amounts of suffering are rained down on people who definitely don't deserve it, and the final story in the collection, though well told, is simply a description of the rape, torture, and murder of a trusting young woman.
The collection still skews strongly towards the bizarre and unsettling over the brutal, with tales like the classic The Monkey's Paw and the excellent Island of Regrets.
Overall I really enjoyed this collection. It included some weaker offerings, but on the whole the stories were effectively chilling and competently told. Definitely one to recommend.
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