Review
Dark Pages 1, we assume there will be subsequent volumes, marks new boys on the block Blade Red Press' first foray into a collection of short stories. The Publisher seems to be adamant that they are going to send our way speculative fiction rather than SciFi, horror, or fantasy as separate offerings, and this proves to be something of a weakness in the collection for me. Of course others may very well find that to be a strenght, but then they should write their own reviews. I'm not saying the stories are not up to the high standard required for publication in Australia, just that anyone picking up the collection thinking they are going to dial into a Pandora’s box of horror are in for something of a rude shock. Most of the stories gathered between the covers here are hybrid in nature and this is not going to appease the dark genre hordes. The collection contains pieces from Authors on at least three separate continents and as such is likely to appeal to not only local readers but also Brits and Yanks on the look out for stories from their favourite Authors. So I guess we could say the collection is made up of a true international task force that brings differing sensibilities to the short story form dependant on cultural background. This could indeed have been a winner if the collection had of focused on a single genre rather than trying for some sort of middle ground that proves to be unsatisfactory. For local Readers the collection contains entries from Martin Livings, Marty Young, and Scarymind's favourite Felicity Dowker. Clearly if you collect works from one or more of those Authors then the collection is worthwhile to add to your bookcase. Whether or not stories from pretty much unknown OS Authors floats your boat, adding some extra goodness to the mix, is up to the individual reader. Clearly the collection isn't dark genre as we know it, hey awful big mansion with plenty of rooms, but I guess you could term the stories by and largely as dark fantasy. There's certainly a readership out their for fantasy with a darker hue to the normal works by Raymond E. Feist et al, but it's not likely to comprise great sections of this site's readership. If wondering, no we are not talking paranormal romance or talking unicorns or whatever other fluff is currently being peddled by the Publishers in the wake of Twilight's various rampages. Fantasy the stories may be, but that would be very dark fantasy with some particularly nasty overtones. You like your dragon served medium raw, and could someone fracking behead that sparkling buffoon. There are a few stories that have seeped into the collection that are out and out dark genre, making Dark Pages not so easy to discard as ebing a Goth orientated wet dream. I've just given myself a nasty mental image there! Martin Livings hits out with a particularly delightful necrophilia tale, hey since when did I say this site should be mentioned in polite conversation, in the you reap what you sow tale Heart of Ice. The Franchise by Joe L. Murr redefines personal hell. And Cargo by Aaron Polson calls to mind the best of Romero in a sort of sifting through the ashes of post apocalyptic society way. So hey enough of the whinging, there's plenty of dark meat on this particular bone. The collection wasn't really my thing, but might appeal to the reader after some fantasy ingrediants in their dark genre stew. Overall then you are going to get your dark genre bangs for your bucks, assuming you can stand fantasy leanings and SciFi futurism. Maybe one of those books you purchase and then share with your mates and the office as differing readers will enjoy differing aspects of what is on offer. I'm not entirely sure of the purpose of this book, besides an examination of what the dark genre can achieve outside premeditated channels, and whether or not it might be slightly too ambitious to try and present a ravenous horror horde with tales outside their normal feeding grounds, but then I'm your traditionalist holding the line. I certainly enjoyed a number of the stories on offer but was left slightly flat overall as nothing really grabbed me by the throat. I had the real feeling that maybe another story or two that stood out and claimed new feeding grounds might have elevated this collection in my opinion, but since those stories didn't happen this would be speculation. There's something missing from the collection but I'm not sure what, besides a slightly cynical view that maybe Fantasy is trying to dial in some of horror's huge current success. Guess end of day a real balls to the wall horror yarn would have helped.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... Putting some Fantasy on the horror menu, your call!
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.