This is ther third volume of Keene's collected Blog entries which are a one of a kind non-fiction pleasure. He gives insights on his work, his ideas and a writers day to day life. A great and fun read. Recommeded!
With all the things these guys have got going on, its a wonder they even have time to sleep. Still, they manage to have the most responsive and most responsible customer service department I have ever had contact with. Kudo's to Shane and everyone else at The Horror Mall.
Author: geoff guthrie This is an eclectic collection, as it has everything except the kitchen sink thrown it. You have vignettes, short stories and novellas all thrown together. The meat of the collection is the novellas and they are the most satisfying. Close Enough is a disturbing tale of a photographer who must take photos of the disturbing scenes he’s seeing. The Mask Play is an interesting tale set in Korea, where masks and murder follow an American who is temporally situated here waiting for his vista. It has a nice twist at the end. Monsters is from his Punktown setting, and an interesting take on a doctor with morals which apply to something as disgusting as the patient he’s working on. The Burning House is from his Hades setting and is a pretty cool story about an angel that won’t give up on his son who is condemned to Hades. The last story I wasn’t thrilled with Door 7. It moved pretty slowly, and the payoff wasn’t that great. But I really enjoyed everything else in this collection, and it was a joy to read. If you want to get acquainted with Jeffrey Thomas and his worlds that he created, this collection is the best place to start. Recommended!
Author: Josef Hernandez Jeffrey Thomas's work has always gotten mixed reactions out of me. I usually either love the story or hate it without a whole lot in between. Thirteen specimens is more of the same in that regard but I keep on buying his collections because the good is very, very good and far outweighs the bad. This collection also has the interesting distinction of having a story from each of his three most popular creations in it: Close Enough is an intersting story from the world of Boneland, Monsters gives another peek into the world of Punktown, and The Burning House is another great tale set in Hades. Other than these, the longer story (novella) The Mask Play was a very good story that kept me guessing throughout. This is the best of the Thomas collections to date and is highly recommended.
