A review by donaldanthonyhicks
The Shapes of Midnight by Joseph Payne Brennan

3.0

Joseph Payne Brennan wrote uncomplicated tales of terror, and although some of them could only charitably be described as “stories” — more like ghoulish anecdotes — I’d be fibbing if I said I didn’t crack a smile while whipping through these. Brennan is by no means an amazing stylist or anything like that, but his writing is far more competent than almost any of the story concepts in this book deserve, and he occasionally manages to elevate the material with impressive descriptions, a striking turn of phrase, or even just an unnerving detail, here and there, to give the stories some color.

I think I might have tired of these much more quickly if I hadn’t been craving exactly this type of junk, but it actually hit the spot nicely; as always, your mileage may vary.