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linneym's review
5.0
This is a hugely fun anthology. It has actually become one of my Halloween decorations, sitting out on the end table every October. Aunty Elspeth's Halloween Story by Esther M. Friesner alone is worth the price of the book.
5elementknitr's review
2.0
This anthology had a lot of brilliant stories as well as some real duds.
The two-star rating I've given isn't so much to do with the duds (although, for me, there were more of them than ones I enjoyed). It's due to the fact that the entire 500+ page book never seemed to have made it to a proofreader. At all. There was an unconscionable amount of typos. The last story - an 80-page novella - even had several missing words!
I can't stand that. It completely takes me out of the story.
That novella at the end had amazing tension and pacing which was constantly interrupted by typos.
Other stories I enjoyed in this book:
The one where the kids are dropped at the old folks home to hang out with a cantankerous, witchy great-aunt. The story she told them was delightfully spooky! It was a story within a story.
The Ray Bradbury story, The October Game, was one I'd never read before. It was a gorgeous bit of perfection.
The follow-up November Game (different author) was an incredible take on the aftermath of The October Game.
There were others that were also very entertaining, but until they send this to a proofreader, I'd say skip it.
The two-star rating I've given isn't so much to do with the duds (although, for me, there were more of them than ones I enjoyed). It's due to the fact that the entire 500+ page book never seemed to have made it to a proofreader. At all. There was an unconscionable amount of typos. The last story - an 80-page novella - even had several missing words!
I can't stand that. It completely takes me out of the story.
That novella at the end had amazing tension and pacing which was constantly interrupted by typos.
Other stories I enjoyed in this book:
The one where the kids are dropped at the old folks home to hang out with a cantankerous, witchy great-aunt. The story she told them was delightfully spooky! It was a story within a story.
The Ray Bradbury story, The October Game, was one I'd never read before. It was a gorgeous bit of perfection.
The follow-up November Game (different author) was an incredible take on the aftermath of The October Game.
There were others that were also very entertaining, but until they send this to a proofreader, I'd say skip it.
bickleyhouse's review
5.0
Another short story book edited by Paula Guran, Halloween is an excellent selection of stories, dating as far back as the early 1800s (a poem by Sir Walter Scott, called "The Young Tamlane"). There are over 30 stories in this collection, and it is, indeed, delightful. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story in the book by Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King's collaborator in Faithful, their chronicle of the historical 2004 season of the Boston Red Sox. There is a poem by H.P. Lovecraft, called "Hallowe'en In A Suburb." There is a lengthy story by Peter Straub about a jazz musician, called "Pork Pie Hat." Another favorite is one by Charles de Lint, called "The Universal Soldier." Then there's "The October Game," by Ray Bradbury, one of the true masters of the genre. And it is followed by a "tribute/sequel," written by F. Paul Wilson, called "The November Game." The collection closes out with the most horrific of all, "Tessellations," by Gary Braunbeck, a tale of family traditions gone horribly wrong.
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