Robert Weinberg is one of the most talented authors writing in the horror fantasy genre today. Dial Your Dreams is an impressive and welcome anthology showcasing fourteen of his stories, -- some new, some vintage. Strongly recommended reading for fans of the genre, these timeless tales including Ro Erg; Endure the Night; Three Steps Back; The Midnight El; Terror by Night; The Apocalypse Quatrain; Seven Drops of Blood; The Silent Majority; Unfinished Business; Riverworld Roulette; Wolf Watch; Chant; Elevator Girls; and the title piece, Dial Your Dreams.

Mort Castle is a master of the short story. This gem of a collection visits other worlds and times and explores darker corners of the human heart with wit, flair and daring. Dark fantasy is seldom this literate, and I love pulp as much as the next guy, but Castle is the kind of author who can make you re-read a sentence just because it dazzled. Well worth your time.

MOON ON THE WATER is like a meal with a delicious first course, while the rest is bland and tasteless. The collection starts off with some very good stories: a dying robber thinks of his father during his last moments; a delusional man spends half his waking hours in a fantasy world; a child's jealousy of his newborn brother grows; a man entertains a little girl who may or may not be his own. Most of them are short, and they have a satisfying bite to them.

After these, the book takes a different track. There are a few gems buried in the remainder, but too much of it consists of confused, disconnected ramblings. Many of them, even the straightforward ones, simply left me shaking my head. In addition, a number of stories couldn't be classified as horror even under the broadest definition, though I wouldn't have minded if they'd been better. Overall, a disappointment.

One story in this collection alone is worth the price of admission. "The Running Horse, the High White Sound" is one of the best stories I've come across in years. I won't spoil it for you, so you'll have to trust me. But it really got to me. On the other hand, there are stories that simply left me scratching my head wondering why they were even included in the book. You could skip "With Father, at the Zoo, then Home" and "FDR: A Love Story" and not even feel bad for doint it. But don't you dare skip "A Someday Movie". Buy it. I don't think you'll be sorry.

These aren't really "horror stories" per se, but tales laced with dark humor and subtle psychological horror. Castle is indeed a master of the short story; this being my first time having read him. He is adept at describing real life in everytown USA.

"If you take my Hand, My son" is one of the better stories about a son thinking about his dead father in a coma and a terrifying conclusion. Kind of like G'n'R's hit song, "Coma."

"Buckeye Jim in Egypt" is another tale that is awesome. It talks of our society, racism, and the story about a wandering man with supernatural powers.

"Moon on the Water" is the title story and is an interesting read about jazz musicians who become entwined with a rich girl with an adrenaline rush-attitude. A good story.

"Altenmoor, Where the Dogs Dance" is also an interesting read about a boy and his grandfather who know about the afterlife.

A solid collection from a great writer!!!

I was very impressed with Mort Castle after reading CURSED BE THE CHILD. However, I doubt I'll be reading his other (out of print) horror novel STRANGERS.
Why? Because CHILD was so incredibly heavy. I don't know if I can read another book like it (although I don't know if STRANGERS shares it's topics and/ or subject matter).

For different reasons I will not delve into the plot too much.
I must warn you though, after reading the back blurb and viewing the cover you maybe expecting a run of the mill horrornovel about a child possesed. Believe me: CURSED BE THE CHILD is not!
There are gruwelling twists aplenty and in Mort Castle's world there is no room for a Dean Koontzlike happy ending.

I have read few horrorbooks which spent so much time developing its characters as does CURSED BE THE CHILD. And what they turn into isn't always so comforting. Like I stated above, that's what makes this book (for me anyway) almost literary in it's set up and execution. It also makes me wonder why Castle didn't become a bigger name in the horrorfield, since CURSED BE THE CHILD clearly shows his talent.
Maybe it's the subject matter....

Which brings me to the controversial aspects of this novel: the child abuse, incest etc. In his introduction Castle writes that the book doesn't get to graphic about all that stuff.
What is written about it is however really unsettling and proves what a good writer can do with merely the power of suggesting.
Parts of this book had me really disturbed, but for me these severely adult themes - like pedophilia - make CURSED BE THE CHILD almost transcent the supernatural horrorgenre and let it evolve into something that stands completely on its own.

I know Mort Castle has (still is?) been involved with the HORROR WRITERS OF AMERICA. After reading this book I can understand why, since he clearly knows his horror, and best of all, was able to write a fresh, disturbing take on a subgenre (child possession) which, even in 1990, had already been done to death.

So, after all those very kind words, why only a four star rating?
Simply because it was TOO MUCH for me! I couldn't handle it!
But then again, shouldn't all horror be as thought provoking as this is?
I'll leave the answer to you...

Recommended....for those who can stomach it!

Writing Horror, edited by Mort Castle, is a collection of dozens upon dozens of essays written by the leading voices in horror. Editors, comic book writers, short story writers, novelists... Everyone is given a say in this book. And for any writer who wants to get a start in the genre, this book does offer a lot of very good and constructive advice.

The real great piece in this book is Jack Ketchum's essay on Splatter Lit and its hero, telling us how to create a realistic hero and how to make him sound/seem real. As a matter of fact, many of the essays in this book talk about realism; how to make your story sound real, how to make the tone and mood real, how to create realistic settings... Plot, techniques, the horror market, the independent press and agents are also discussed in great lengths.

Unfortunately, this book is downplayed a little as it includes too many retrospection on works by artists that didn't really work in the writing relm of horror. I'm thinking here of Owl Goingback's piece on classical horror films, which, although good, doesn't really offer any advice to the writer wannabe.

But those few essays aside, this book is a must for anyone who is interested or who wants to break into the horror relm. It's a great collection by the masters, including Ketchum, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Elizabeth Massie and many many more.

Morte Castle pulls the top horror writers together in this volume of inspirational essays on the art of writing dark fiction. This work does not go into too much of the blood and guts of practical writing tips on horror, which would end up as another mass of opinions that conflict with one another. No, instead Writing Horror trancends that writers' Purgatory and offers enlightening viewpoints of the various approaches and understandings of how good horror fiction is crafted by these outstanding authors. One of the most valuable resource this book provides is the light the multiple authors shed on what mistakes they and other beginning writers have made that kept their works from being published before finally making it into print. But more importantly, Writing Horror provides a truck load of motivation for writers stuck in that literary lull that overtakes us all at one point or another. There has got to be a scientific formula that determines how long it takes for the reader of this book to put it down and start typing because it happens every time. Perhaps Frankenstein will let us all know what the formula is after he's done playing with those usless corpses of his, surly those experiments will lead to a DEAD end. Right?

I bought this book after Mort challenged me to write horror again, I had no idea when I bought it that he had edited it, I saw the title, thought I struck gold, and bought it right away.
The information inside has proved invaluable to me, if gives many different (sometimes opposing) viewpoints of many, many authors in the genre. I wholeheartedly recomend this book, not only for the up-and-coming horror writer, but also for the expert.
It is true that there are some portions of the book that seem to take up space, but it is nothing more than interviews from established writer's (like Stephen King) and the history of the HWA and horror itself. Although, most of these provide no writing advice, they let you know where horror has been, and how not to repeat it, so that you can sell your work to an editor, something that they, possibly, have never seen before.
If you still are not sure of whether or not you want this book after reading this review, or any of the others, log-off, get up and go to (...) whatever bookstore you go to, look for this book, and read through a few of the articles (not neccessarily in order, skip around if you want) and then decide for yourself. :)