Dark Visions: A Collection of Modern Horror - Volume One (Dark Visions: A Collection of Modern Horror - Volume Two Book 1)

Dark Visions: A Collection of Modern Horror, Volume One, is a publication of Grey Matter Press, a small publisher of all genres of horror. The anthology has no theme — something of a rarity these days, when most anthologies are restricted to a particular type of monster (zombie, werewolf, vampire; you know the drill). Few of the writers who contributed stories to this anthology are known to me, though there are a few big names. It’s a solid collection of stories, edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson to fine effect.The anthology opens with one of the strongest stories. “Mister Pockets” by Jonathan Maberry is set is his PINE DEEP universe, several years after the events of the trilogy that launched Maberry’s career (Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man’s Song and Bad Moon Rising; it’s a good trilogy, and I recommend it). Lefty Horrigan is so named because his father wants him to be a baseball player, and he somehow thinks that naming his kid “Lefty” will do the trick. But Lefty hates baseball, and he hates his stupid name. He’s twelve and fat, but isn’t bullied about it; in farm county, which is where Pine Deep is, being fat is no barrier to doing a hard day’s work on a tractor or in a milking shed. One thing Lefty has is a big heart. One day he gives a candy bar to the hobo called Mr. Pockets, who reacts rather oddly to the gift. It frightens Lefty, though he’s not really sure why. But Lefty has just made the smartest move of his short life, as he finds in an afternoon that he will never forget.The tale that will probably stay with me the longest is “The Weight of Paradise” by Jeff Hemenway. Sophie is a brilliant scientist who has discovered a cure for — well, for death, really. It seems like the treatment she’s come up with will treat anything, will make disease irrelevant. There’s a lot of testing to be done yet, but Sophie can’t wait, because her lover, Alfie, is dying of leukemia. Rather than wait, because waiting will simply mean that Alfie dies before her new drug is available, Sophie injects Alfie. And it works. It’s not that he’s cured, exactly, but his metabolism has slowed down so dramatically that the disease is no longer killing him, and never will. In fact, he’ll never die. And neither will she, because she’s given herself a hefty shot, too. It’s only six months later that the drawback to the drug becomes apparent, an unbearable agony, pain akin to withdrawal but much worse. The only way one to stop it is to make a new convert, and then inject their blood immediately after the conversion into oneself. The consequences are obvious if one does a little arithmetic. But it gets worse. What does an absence of death really mean? Think about being in an accident and breaking everything but being unable to die. Hemenway has thought about it, at length, and the result is a chilling story that makes me surprisingly glad that immortality is not yet an option.There are plenty of good stories here to keep you awake at night. In “Second Opinion,” Ray Garton tells a story of writer’s block that outdoes anything I’ve ever read on the theme. The first sentence gives you an idea of the horrors that await: “Do you know what it’s like to cut up your best friend with a hacksaw?” “Scrap” by David A. Riley is a long story about a haunted subdivision in an English town. Jonathan Balog’s adolescent hero bargains with a troll for some help with a bully in “The Troll,” but finds that the price for revenge is higher than the troll described. Charles Austin Muir tells a dark tale about “Thanatos Park,” an abandoned housing project that is now home to a fungus one would rather not breathe. And while those are the highlights, there really isn’t a clunker in this anthology; each story will turn your blood to ice.4 stars rounded up from 3.5. Originally published at Fantasy Literature website.

Horror anthologies have been a favorite of mine since the early 80's, the heyday of horror writing - and horror movies - in my opinion. For me, that era was a deep, dark mine of thrills and chills where monsters lurked around every corner and the blood flowed like rivers of gold. Superb, genre-defining stories by authors like Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale and Robert R. McCammon (to name just a few) could be found within the pages of many a horror anthology back then.Grey Matter Press has recaptured that darkly magical time with this thrilling collection, featuring all new tales of horror from unknown authors as well as a new generation of established veterans of the genre, such as Jonathan Maberry and Ray Garton. The stories here run the gamut from blood-soaked and beastly to bump-in-the-night jumpers.Some stories I liked more than others, but there was not one story in this anthology that caused me to skip through it - or worse - put the book down entirely, a rare feat these days! The veterans like Maberry, Garton and Taff really deliver the goods, and as for the "unknown" authors here? Let's just say I'll be tracking down more of their work!In short, if you're a horror fan - and a fan of quality storytelling within that genre - you're in for a treat here. The stories are tightly written and well plotted. The editing is superb. The collection of work was nicely balanced and kept the pages turning without ever being weighted down without too many similar tales stacked on top of one another. My e-book version was professionally formatted and typo-free - a welcome find in digital print media from the small press world.If "Dark Visions 1" is a sign of things to come from Grey Matter Press, then that deep dark gold mine that I feared had been boarded up for good - just struck a brand new vein!

I found my love of fantastic stories reading large tomes with titles like '50 Great Horror Tales', and this collection recaptures some of the feeling of those books.Although far more modern, the variety of authors writing with a range of styles, locations and moods keeps the experience fresh and creates doubts about where each story will go next. The darkly impish tales 'The Troll' by Johnathon Balog, and 'Mr Pockets' by Johathon Maberry, provide a fine contrast to the unremmitingly bleak 'What Do You need?' by Milo James Fowler and 'Thanatos Park' by Charles Austin Muir. Similarly, the haunting 'Scrap' by David A Riley sits interetingly next to 'The Weight of Paradise' by Jeff Hemenway, which would be at home in a dark science fiction collection.The publisher has created a collection leaning more toward supernatural or fantastic horror (with a couple of creepy, psychological exceptions,) so while it has it's fair share of violence and unfortunate fates for various characters, it's not based on extremely sadistic or offensive material which would upset more squeamish readers.This is an intelligent, well edited collection, which is worth the time and money of any horror aficionado.

I picked up this collection because I was familiar with one of the authors and really enjoy his work. I was rewarded by discovering a bunch of new great authors whose work I will now be picking up. This was a well put together collection. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, all of the stories were worth reading. All 13 stories portrayed unique dark visions, yet they all worked together well. The collection was well balanced, nothing felt out of place. This is exactly why I pick up these collections and why more authors should be involved in them. Not only did I enjoy this reading experience, but I will now be reading work by 3 or 4 other authors whom I would have never discovered otherwise. This collection is definitely worth reading. Well done.

Pleasantly surprised by this. For me, it's not so much an anthology of horror but more a collection of skilfully woven dark tales. And they are skilfully woven, with Ray Garton's offering being a classic example (and a personal favourite). Don't let that put you off though. There's variety in the stories and the narratives, along with literal and figurative monsters. The stories hold weight and provide a satisfying read from cover to cover.

This Is an awesome mix of horror and dark comedy. I can't wait to read all the rest of the series