06/23/2005
A cross-genre anthology assembling eighteen stories, Horrors Beyond aims to satisfy both horror and SF fans, at the risk of displeasing both types of readers. To me, for example, there's too much pure SF, as in the tales by Tony Campbell, John Sunseri, Richard A. Lupoff, CJ Henderson, Cody Goodfellow and William Jones. Being neither fond of SF nor qualified to comment upon it, I won't even try to pass judgement on those stories. Instead, I will reserve comment for those tales that are closer to the horror end of spectrum.
A few pieces (“One Way Conversation” by Brian M Sammons, “The Orion Man” by Doug Goodman, and “The Breach” by Lee Clark Zumpe) stand somewhere between SF and horror, revolving around the not-too-original theme of aliens from outer space trying to invade Earth or at least to take possession of human minds. This lack of inventiveness generally produces rather dull stories, with the exception of Michael Minnis' contribution “A Little Color In Your Cheeks.” This tale, due to the author's remarkable writing skill, does manage to intrigue and entertain. David Conyers’s “False Containment” is a brave attempt to blend SF, horror and fantastic motifs—government plans for destroying nuclear and toxic waste, monsters from other dimensions, the odd coexistence of past and future events—but unfortunately it becomes a confusing mess, leaving the reader disconcerted.
Let's move then to the real horror stories, most of which deal with cosmic menaces threatening the peaceful course of our daily existence. In the nice “The Eyes of Howard Curlix,” by Tim Curran, modern scientific experiments unearth ancient Lovecraftian horrors, while in James Dorr's bizarre "The Candle Room,” candles become the go-between to ancient evil entities trying to return to Earth. The best stories are “His Wonders In the Deep,” by William Mitchell, where an odd medical case eventually reveals a hidden world of alien horrors ( a fine example of powerful material narrated in elegant prose) and Ann K Schwader's excellent “Experiencing the Other,” about alien presences in rural America. Schwader’s compelling, allusive narrative technique enriches the plot with a dark feeling of unease scarier than the actual events taking place in the story.
More intimate horror themes can be traced in the clever “The Blind” by Gerard Houarner, a well-told story about the journey into urban horror of a black girl looking for a super-drug—and more, and there is Ron Shiflet's “The Prototype,” a predictable, yet quite enjoyable tale featuring a very peculiar TV set. In “A Form of Hospice,” Richard Gavin describes the nightmarish experience of a man suffering from cancer and seeking alternative, unorthodox therapies. The idea is brilliant, but the narrative remains hazy and unaccomplished, not up to the ability of this promising writer.
To summarize, if you're a horror fiction lover, this book will offer you some, but not too many, opportunities to rejoice. But if you're a more eclectic reader who doesn't mind some SF as a side dish, you'll find the menu more appetizing.