Short Stories

I was wondering if anyone here has read any good short story anthologies. Personally, I like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and detective stories. Some anthologies I've read, in no particular order, include:

Dark Detectives, edited by Stephen Jones -- This book is one of my favourite reads, there are quite a few good adventure stories here, with more than a few hints of the supernatural.
Casting the Runes and other ghost stories, by M.R. James -- One of the best collections of James's work, although I prefer having the complete ghost stories.
Nameless Cults, edited by Robert Price -- A posthumous collection of Robert E. Howard's stories, set in, and/or adopted into the Cthulhu Mythos. While Howard is the sole author of most of the stories in the collection, it includes works finished by other authors in the fantasy field, and The Challenge from Beyond, a special work in which he was one contributor.
The Hastur Cycle, edited by Robert Price -- An interesting collection of stories connected with or inspired by Bierce and Chambers' Carcosa/Hastur/King in Yellow mythology. Of particular interest are 'An Inhabitant of Carcosa', 'The Repairer of Reputations', 'The Novel of the Black Seal', 'The Whisperer in Darkness', and 'The River of Night's Dreaming'.
The Yellow Sign and other stories, by Robert W. Chambers -- Collects all of Chambers's weird tales, minus the odd one or two. This is not the 'best' of Chambers's work, I would describe it as the 'definitive' Chambers. Everything of literary interest is here, including some silly, dated, and sentimental work. All-in-all, though, it was an enjoyable read.
The Best of H.P. Lovecraft, Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre -- A very good collection of H.P. Lovecraft's weird fiction, my favourite stories here are 'The Silver Key' and 'The Colour out of Space'
The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft, Dreams of Terror and Death -- 'The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath' and 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'. Two very fine works of weird literature, I think.
The Complete John Silence, by Algernon Blackwood -- A short anthology of novellas around the psychic doctor/investigator John Silence, created by Mr. Blackwood. 'Ancient Sorceries' and 'A Psychical Invasion' stand out in this anthology to me. The second has a slow start but rewards richly later on, but all the stories in this volume are quite enjoyable works of fantasy or horror.
The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- Text photocopied from 'The Strand' originals. 'Nuff said.
Tales of Terror and Mystery, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- A very good case of how mystery and horror converge. 'The Horror from the Heights', 'The Black Doctor', 'The New Catacomb', and 'The Beetle-Hunter' are my favourites.
The Three Impostors and other stories, by Arthur Machen -- An anthology of Machen's beginnings as a fantasy/horror fiction author. 'The Great God Pan', 'The Inmost Light', 'The Shining Pyramid', 'The Novel of the White Powder', and the complete text of 'The Three Impostors' are my favourites here.

 

Amen to that, Emma. I have a weakness for good stories myself. I'm presently reading The Cape Breton Book of the Night, Collected Ghost Stories of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Flowers from the Moon and other Lunacies, The Count of Monte Cristo, Ghosts and Grisly Things, and Everything's Eventual. I've recently adopted Stephen King and Ramsey Campbell as anthology authors. I don't have much patience for novels any more, if an author doesn't manage to hook me by the first or second introductory chapter, he/she will lose me.

Weird and detective fiction are by no means the only stories I like, they're just what has me hooked now.

Alex

 

I just found a book from my childhood to share with my own boys- The Lion and the Carpenter, and Other Tales From the Arabian Nights by Jean Shepard. I found one copy that was covered in tape (Just like the one I had as a kid), that was going for $45 from an antique book seller, and one that was a retired library book in beautiful shape for $4 on ebay. I'll give you two guesses as to which one I bought

 

Try " The John Varley Reader" for some excellent science fiction short stories.

 

I can't remember the name of the story, but it was in a collection of spooky stuff. Some guy was canoeing down a river and setup camp on a small island. He started hearing noises and seeing glimpses of moving shadows. There was no blood, monsters, chainsaws, or any violence. The author got you spooked really badly though. I still get the creeps at night in a remote woodsy spot.
Time to throw another BIG log on the fire.

 

My favourite short story-writer is Edgar Allan Poe. He's absolutely great! Lovecraft also sends chills down my spine from time to time

 

Agreed. I have a book with his complete fiction and poetry. There might be a poem or two missing, but all his finished stories appear to be there. I have heard of a nonextant work, The Lighthouse, which is unfinished, although I have yet to see it in any printed edition of his stories.

I loved The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym and The Murders at Rue Morgue. Eventually I want to have read all of his fiction and poetry from cover to cover. If you like H.P. Lovecraft, try The Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood, one of the master's favourite stories, The Willows, is included and is definitely worth the price of admission. Another good anthology for Lovecraft fans is Arthur Machen's Tales of Horror and the Supernatural. Of course, the budget answers are the three volumes of The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen. The White People, which is the title story of volume two, is praised by Lovecraft as second only to The Willows in the best of weird literature. The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce is also of interest to a Poe fan, and, I might add, relatively inexpensive compared to other collections of his works.

 

It sounds like it's a very good weird tale. I am not fond of slasher fiction, for the most part, and this story sounds like it avoids that horror cliche. I should point out that a very good alternative to the slasher story exists in the model of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, better known today as And Then There Were None. By far this is the best weird whodunit I have ever read, and certainly better even than any of the stories in Dark Detectives, all of which were great fun, I might add. As I said before, I don't have much patience for novels, but Agatha Christie enjoys an unusual status on my "to read" list. The Dame was one of the greats, and certainly not a writer of 'padded short stories' that Ambrose Bierce accused many novelists of propagating. She was a very imaginative, engaging, and captivating author, and evidently could be so in any form she set her mind to. At least she was a very respectable playwright, from what I've read.

Stephen King and Ramsey Campbell are two more novelists I've taken an interest in of late, as is Alexandre Dumas. Right now, though, I'm mainly reading the short stories, as the form is far more appealing to me these days. I've found it isn't so much of an investment if one happens to read a bad short story as a disappointing novel, and the stock of good short stories is quite deep and easily mined, if you're willing to investigate the magazines and anthologies.

 

Stephen King and Robert R McGammon have both done books with short stories in them (both Horror/weird) King has about 3 books out all with short stories. Also (its old now) Richard Baccman (who is in fact King) has a The Baccman Books. Only about 4 or 5 Stories in it but worth a read. One of them you might have heard of The Running Man (a movie was made)(mind you very different from the story).

 

Everything's Eventual, Salem's Lot, and Danse Macabre are the three King books I own right now. The first is a recent anthology of short stories, Salem's Lot is King's version of Dracula, and Danse Macabre is a nonfiction overview of the horror genre he wrote around the 70s or 80s era. It's very good, I might add.

 

Dont think it is his real name, just another name he writes under.

 

For short stories

Ray Bradbury is the classic macabre science fiction/fantasy writer

Vonda McIntyre more recent

Christopher Fowler most recent



It's good to see someone prepared to read these days. Keep it up.

:major:major:major

 

here is a link for the short story addicts it has a long list that you can choose from and they are free.

http://www.bnl.com/shorts/

i hope GORAN is not offended by this.

 

For those Geeks who want a topical Internet Ghost story try

'The Beacon' by Christopher Fowler.

 

More short stories on the Lovecraftian fantasy track:

The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith (There will be five in all)
Volume One: The End of the Story (Most of these stories are from before the Smith and Lovecraft mythologies began to overlap. The title story is one of the best.)
Volume Two: The Door to Saturn (I haven't read this one yet, though from the title, I think most of these stories cross over with Lovecraft.)

A Rendezvous in Averoigne (Not a Collected Fantasies work, this is an older edition of the best of Clark Ashton Smith. My favourite stories here are The Charnel God, A Rendezvous in Averoigne, The Coming of the White Worm, and The Last Incantation.)
The Return of the Sorcerer (The modern collection of Smith's best works, with a new selection of stories. I have not read this yet.)

The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard (There will be ten in all)
Volume One: Shadow Kingdoms (The Shadow Kingdom was adopted into the Mythos by Lovecraft himself, but the stories here are generally Howard's own mythologies.)
Volume Two: Moon of Skulls (Skull-Face is in here, and while I do not condone the racist connotations contained within, it is relevant as it was retroactively added to the Mythos by Howard.)
Volume Three: People of the Dark (Contains Howard's earliest intentional Mythos work, including tales linking the Picts/Little People cycle to the Mythos)
Volumes 4-7: I have not read these yet.

Bran Mak Morn: The Last King (All of the stories and poems relevant to the Picts and the hero Bran Mak Morn are collected here. Given that Bran is one of the Great Old Ones, it is effectively a Mythos volume. Men of the Shadows, The Dark Man, and The Lost Race are excellent.)
Nameless Cults (All of the Howard stories that directly link to the Mythos are present here. Although it is arguable that more stories could have been introduced here, it is an excellent selection for its purpose. My favourite stories are The Black Stone, Skull-Face, and Dig Me No Grave.)

The Complete Pegana, by Lord Dunsany
Not a Lovecraftian work but one highly influential to him and his colleagues. I particularly enjoyed The Gods of Pegana, which is complete in this volume.

Cold Print, by Ramsey Campbell
A collection of Campbell's early works, which were tributes to Lovecraft and his dark fantasy setting. My favourite stories are The Moon-Lens, The Tugging, and The Inhabitant of the Lake.

Mysteries of the Worm, by Robert Bloch
Supposedly, this one's due soon for a reprint. I sure hope so, because I've read a few of the stories anthologized here. The best I've seen so far is Notebook Found in a Deserted House.

 

I enjoy Jeffrey Archer books, especially his Collection of Short Stories (2000) and Twelve Red Herrings (1984).
All stories have a sharp twist at the end