Suprisingly good sequel to HORROR OF DRACULA is set 10 years after Dracula's death: four tourists come to stay in Dracula's castle where Drac's servent, Clove kills one and gives his blood to Dracula's ashes. Then Dracula go's after the lovely Barbara Shelly. Mixes good fun with no violence at all (except a bit of blood pouring onto Dracula's ashes). Worth sinking your teeth into.

I devoured this book in about two days. The short stories are entertaining and fun to read. By far, my favorite was Dracuson's Driver by Richard Laymon. A creepy man works at a seedy motel as a desk clerk, when one evening, a hearse pulls up with a drop dead gorgeous driver. She's not alone, she has a coffin in the back, and weirdness ensues. Fun read for lovers of horror & vamp stories!

This book was headed for the discard pile even though I'm a ghost story junkie, but then I found a trio of really good stories buried within the dross of old pulp filler:

"Stillwater, 1896" by Michael Cassutt - A Great Lakes lumber town is visited by a man who can locate corpses underwater.

"One of the Dead" by William Wood - A vacant lot is purchased very cheaply in a canyon inhabited by movie stars, and haunted by its Spanish past.

"Night-Side" by Joyce Carol Oates - Two skeptics test a medium who can speak with the voices of the dead. The really chilling aspect of this story is its author's depiction of the afterlife.

There are also some decent stories that are worth a once-over:

"Drawer 14" by Talmage Powell - A morgue attendant sees a corpse in a drawer that's supposed to be empty. This story has a kicker at the end.

"Professor Kate" by Margaret St. Clair - A family of witches is hunted by a posse in Indian Country.

"School for the Unspeakable" by Manly Wade Wellman - You will soon guess what is going to happen to the new boy at the prep school, but it's still a spooky read. I'm prepared to bet money that the author originally set this story in England, but the editors changed the location to North Dakota to fit it into this collection.

"Clay-Shuttered Doors" by Helen R. Hull - A woman returns from the dead to host her husband's dinner party.

"Poor Little Saturday" by Madeleine L'Engle - An original fantasy, but more about witches than ghosts--I think. A woman in a deserted, boarded-up plantation house befriends a boy with malaria.

"Great American Ghost Stories" also features a so-so story by Harlan Ellison--"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"--I think he was feeling sorry for himself when he wrote it; and a really awful early Lovecraft: "Herbert West - Reanimator." When Lovecraft is bad, he is really, really bad and this story's got sentences like, "Not more unutterable could have been the chaos of hellish sound if the pit itself had opened to release the agony of the damned, for in one inconceivable cacophony was centered all the supernal terror and unnatural despair of animate nature."

Yes, indeed. Most of the stories in this book have never been anthologized, as far as I can determine, except for a duet by Ambrose Bierce: "The Boarded Window;" and "The Stranger." But the editors could hardly have called their book, "Great American Ghost Stories" without an entry from the man who defined 'happiness' as, "an agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another."

Herein lies a fine collection of Ghost Stories. And it's not a barrage of cheesy tales of moans and groans in the attic. I devoured this book of shorts in one sitting. It kept my toes curled all night. Highly recommended! (Mary Higgins Clark's short story sets off the book in fine style, being the first in line) Loved it!!!

This is a book for thirty year old (or more) people (like myself) : when you read these stories you think that you are watching again one of that old remakes, like "The Bubble". There is action, there is suspense, but there is a lack of novelty. It is like a cookie, it is nice, but you already know the taste.

Paulo Sunao

This book is intended to be a "period piece." It's not today's sci fi (exactly) - look at the title, look at the cover. Just great stories and great fun!

Do not take me wrong. The tales in this book are really great, but the Batman that is portrayed there does not match the acual one, in psychological profile. There is much light for a set of Dark Knight adventures and, in addition, Bruce Wayne shows himself a lot, a thing Batman does not usually do. However, there are some great stories, as Thomsen's An Unauthorized Biography, Murray's Bone and, best of all... Palmieri's Best of All. If you are a true "batmanite", you may not like this book, but if you are for a good reading and don't care about a lot of "pre-pre-pre-crisis" stories, you may enjot it.

This book simply was amazing. I usually get bored reading, but this one i couldnt put down. the stories are dark and violent, and have this creepy feeling about them you just cant get from reading the comic book. Also, the stories dont require a vast knowledge of batman continuity.

Throughout the years, lighthouses have served as backdrops for dark, gothic tales of solitary, sea-based horror. If you like a good chilling read and you like lighthouses and the sea, this collection of 17 tales was assembled just for you. Though well-read readers in the genre will have already read Ray Bradbury's The Fog Horn which inspired the movie, Beast From 50,000 Fathoms, the rest of the tales will be new to even the old connoisseur of tales of dark suspense.

The editors take us on a world-wide tour which includes St. Cecilia on the southern coast of England and its keeper slowly going mad from the flowing water that surrounds him. We visit the Isle of the Wise Virgin lighthouse in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to hear a tale about why one doesn't steal from the dead. On a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides, four men and one woman trapped in their lighthouse fight off waves of monsters straight from H.P. Lovecraft while on the coast of Guiana, lighthouse keepers struggle against giant rats. Ghosts, monsters, murder and madness ... they're all here.

Nowadays with the advent of technology, lighthouses are falling into disrepair and neglect, but these 17 tales will keep the wonder and mystery alive when the wind outside is blowing the surf up.

I found several of the short stories to be very entertaining reading. The stories revolve around the darker side of lighthouses.

This book is an excellent collection of short stories with a sinister bent. Unfortunately, some are not up to par with the rest but most are well worth your time. The story about disfigured Air Force cadets with a hatred for truckers is worth the price of the book alone as is the story "Mother Tucker".

"Stalkers" is a great collection of short stories with a very sinister streak. While some tales are not as good as others, the book overall is definitely worth reading time. In fact, the story about disfigured Air Force cadets who hate truckers and the tale, "Mother Tucker", are worth the price of the book alone.

This anthology of stories was intended to introduce the Star Drive rpg setting. While I am unfamiliar with that game universe, the caliber of the authors presented here is nearly unparalleled, being culled from the top ranks of today's current SF producers.

While several of the stories are less notable than others, all take place in a region of our galaxy known as the Verge, outside the more populace, "safe" regions. Thus can this setting be used for horror, SF, mystery, and the old favorite hack-and-slash. In my opinion, there are examples of each of these, with some incorporating multiple aspects. Overall, the stories are nicely character-oriented, as with all quality SF writings. Although I have never played any rpg in this setting, and since the setting is, I believe, now defunct, probably never will, the stories herein are well worth reading in any event.

Though Silverberg/Haber, Duane, Athans, Braunbeck, and Baker float to the top, even Stackpole can't ruin this really interesting anthology of related SF stories. The setting isn't terribly unique, but the space opera cliches come off as more comforting than old hat. I'm not sure it makes me want to wade through the Diane Duane trilogy, but I'll be checking out more Star*Drive!

There's a lot of great writing about all phases of the Vietnam war experience, so there's really no reason for editors putting together a selection of stories, chapters from books, articles, etc. to fail to assemble a fine collection. However, in my opinion, Greenberg and Norton did a mediocre job of picking writing for this book.

Rather than reading this book and getting a couple of chapters from Tim O'Brien (mixed in with some lesser quality writing), I'd recommend you read a full book by Tim O'Brien (If I Die in a combat Zone is a favorite of mine) or some other top writer.

As a former grunt in Vietnam I still remember my tour indelibly. This book brought back many, many memories--some searing, some distressing and a few pleasant. The contribution by Asa Barber is especially fine. I think this is the book I would like to give people to sample what a tour was really like.

Mostly well done; the others are noted as I come to them.

Bischoff, David: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice's Apprentice" Coarse, elderly Vincemole Whiteviper, apprentice to the dishonest adventurer Sir Harry Springraff, is narrating his memoirs to his own much-abused apprentice: how he lost what little fourteen-year-old innocence he had on a quest for a suspect wizard's treasury. The plan was for Vincey to seduce Relfalyn, the wizard's beautiful 18-year-old apprentice. Funny how things work out...The physical setting reminds me of an AD&D-based computer game.

de Lint, Charles: "Sign Here" Unusual style: entirely dialogue, without even "he/she said", 4 characters (2 appear only once), only 2 characters per scene. A stranger in a bar offered Peter enlightenment regarding the structure of the world - magic - if he'll sign over his soul. Peter's friend Robert employs unusual tactics to try to free him. The dialogue suffers from *too* much realism.

Friesner, Esther: "Homework" Parody by someone who's read the Evil Overlord checklist. Prince Gallantine is having trouble with his captor Morbidius, who's finally wised up. Then Morby's nine-year-old nephew Andy, seeking to avoid his villain apprenticeship homework, turns up. :)

Helfers, John: "Blood and Scale" A wizard's apprentice, offered only death as an alternative, agrees to become the apprentice of the dragon who wiped out the rest of his party.

Hoyt, Sarah A.: "The Muses' Darling" Shakespeare, as a young struggling playwright, is an apprentice to the meteoric brilliance of Kit Marlowe. This story takes Marlowe's treatment of Faust as having a personal application. I also recommend Neil Gaiman's quite different treatment of Marlowe and Shakespeare in _Sandman_, a subplot starting with "Men of Good Fortune" in _The Doll's House_.

Huff, Tanya: "When the Student Is Ready" Oddly enough, *this*, rather than de Lint's contribution, is an urban fantasy set in Canada (Toronto, not Ottawa, though). Sixteen-year-old Isabel has been encountering a mysterious street person a lot lately - but is it just poverty and homelessness that seems to cloak him in invisibility? (Even complete with smart-aleck talking crow.)

Levine, David D.: "Zauberschrift" is the complex, legalistic Latin in which spells are written, instructions for the immensely powerful but mindless daemons (spirits) forming the basis of a wizard's magic. (The author's note says he based this story on his first summer job; he must have been a programmer. The analogy between the magic system and programming is interesting without being heavy-handed.) The protagonist quit his wizard apprenticeship when he inherited the family dye business on the deaths of his father and older brothers, but his native village has asked for his help after his old master's death. The weather spells that have protected the village for years have been corrupted, and no affordable wizard can be brought in to fix the problem.

Lindskold, Jane: "Final Exam" Narrated by Danny Bancroft, whose Talent killed his mother to save his life at birth. When his family spoiled him as a child, he felt undeserving, because he could remember what happened. Since this manifested partly as bullying, he landed in counseling - with a Talented counselor who may ape Nero Wolfe's body language, but not the rest of his style. (After all, imagine Wolfe as a counselor.) But Danny's been coasting as an endless undergraduate, and with his dangerous abilities, if he fails the senior magicians' test, his magic will be sealed.

Patton, Fiona: "What Has to Be Done" After the events of "The Svedali Foundlings" (_Assassin Fantastic_), Coll has begun his personal crusade to rid Cerchicava of the Trade (necromancy) in earnest, "apprenticing" himself to old Mona Masaccio, despite the fact that as a retired Death Mage, she considers him a traitorous fool, while she represents everything he hates. The latest series of mutilated corpses, however, interest them both, as they carry signs of non-standard organ collection - as though someone's trying something new.

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: "Flanking Maneuver" Amazingly unrealistic story of a young conscript - a blacksmith's apprentice - in a tribal war, and what happens after he meets the captured daughter of an enemy chieftain.

Smith, Dean Wesley: "The Last Garden in Time's Window" The narrator doesn't believe that his grandparents died from a gas stove leak in their trailer. Having just returned from their funeral, he doesn't care about the danger of using his half-learned magic. *Very* rushed.

Waggoner, Tim: "Till Voices Drown Us" Braided non-linear style, following Michael back to his childhood home to learn one last lesson from the great-aunt who taught him to bear his mediumistic powers, when one spirit shows him something disturbing he's never seen before.

West, Michelle: Camille, like all apprentices to "The Augustine Painters", is a foundling - one thread of the story follows her present, in which she faces her do-or-die test of mastery, her best friend apparently having come to grief only days before; the other follows the discovery of her talent. They aren't wizards, as such; in their art, they depict possible futures that, with hard work, may never happen. Not only is this cool - for instance, while they can work more quickly in pencil, they need color to identify strange people, places, and battle standards - but deeper mysteries are revealed even as the story unfolds.

I've never really thought of myself as a fan of the 'Western' genre, but soon found that this was not required in order to thoroughly enjoy "Hell On The Draw:Best Western stories by Loren D. Estleman". While each story is indeed rooted in the West, they are by no means your run of the mill 'shoot-em-ups.' Each one is completely different in mood and style, from lighthearted humor to dark twists of fate, from romance to a touch of the supernatural. The author fills each tale with people you'll find yourself wishing that you had known or vey glad that you didn't. The vividly described settings along with fine attention to historical details of events, people, equipment and weapons, pull you inside and make you feel as if you are there. Aside from the complete enjoyment of the stories themselves, this audio version features a variety of gifted voice talents well suited to the telling of these tales of the West.