EULOGIES: A HORRORWORLD YEARBOOK 2005
Edited by Nanci Kalanta

(2005 Nyx Publications for Horror World)

This is a collection of stories, articles, and interviews from the Horror World website.  Featuring 13 stories and 6 interviews with some of the best authors in horror, this is a collection that promises a great treat--and delivers. I need to spend more time at Horror World. 

The high quality of short stories and interviews is amazing. 

I have to start off with a story called Peekers by Kealan Patrick Burke.  I haven’t been this disturbed and creeped out by a story in a long time.  I literally had to stop reading for a couple of minutes before I dove back in.  Kealan has easily become my favorite short story writer.

I also really enjoyed Matthew Warner’s tale, With the Eyes of God, an unflinching, original tale with a shocking end.  Warner also has a few articles in the book and one of the best is about how this story came to be and how it made it’s way to Horror World.

The book opens with a beautiful and bloody piece by Tom Piccirilli entitled The Skin of the Soul Worn Away. Michael Laimo’s piece, George, is a nasty story about a salesman who gets lost.  The Secret Backs of Things by Christopher Golden is a wonderful story with an ending that hits hard.  Gary Braunbeck teaches a man Patience in one of his more violent tales.

There’s also an odd story by the great Jack Ketchum, a fun story about Traffic School by Simon Wood, a Halloween story by Randy Chandler, a war story by Harry Shannon, a ghost story from Elizabeth Massie, a story about Heaven and Hell from Steven Savile, and a “Little Brothers” story from one of my personal favorite writers, Rick Hautala.  Not all the stories were great for me but none were misses either.

Matthew Warner offers some interesting articles about writing and the horror genre.  Then we get 6 very well done interviews with some big names in the field with Douglas Clegg, Tom Piccirilli, F. Paul Wilson, John Skipp, Christopher Golden, and David Morrell.  All are really interesting looks at the authors and their work.

When I opened the book up and looked at the contents I had some pretty high hopes. This book has too many good authors to fail.  It went way past my expectations and I can’t wait to see what Horror World offers us in 2006.

-Stephen Alba

Reprinted by permission - The Horror Fiction Review (Novello Publishers)