The best thing about Edo's stories is that the characters are so damn likable -- even the bad ones. You feel sympathy for frail old women, as they continue to systematically murder houseguests. He's also a master at misdirection, setting things up to make you think it's going in one direction until, suddenly, a different -- yet wholly consistent -- conclusion arises.

Anyone who enjoys horror short stories will love this book.

I got to read this in manuscript, and am delighted to see it now for sale. The plot is as tight as a drum, and the pacing is as fast as an eagle. Van Belkom draws on his own Catholic heritage for this tale of an archeological dig in Northern Ontario. In lesser hands, this could have been a predictable, standard book, but van Belkom brings freshness, and genuine creepiness, to this novel. It'll be a great summer read for when you're out in the country -- just don't forget to look behind yourself from time to time.

Fascinating collection of interviews/chats/discussions with authors. Not all are really famous, I would say, but all were very interesting to read about, including such names as WP Kinsella I had not thought of as being part of these fields of SF/F prior to reading this book. Well done!

I can't believe that this author is a man. Some of the things that he has the women in his stories do to exact revenge against the men in their lives definately reads like a female author out to settle a score against men. Either that or a man that has met some very mean women.

Regardless, this book kept me laughing with lots of evil grins. Don't let the "erotic" turn you off -- I don't feel that anything in this book is extremely erotic in nature given the tone that it's written in. I've read more explicit scenes in modern day romance books.

Woman who read this can live variously though the woman in these stories who exact revenge on the men that have abused them. Men who read this might think twice before messing with the little ladies.

Regardless, these stories are a perfect read especially after a long hard day.

I'm not sure what others saw in this book. My writer friend and I both found it very unhelpful. Van Belkom seems to have a rather staunch and simplistic view of everything he discussed in this book. For example, he considers the use of the first-person point-of-view pretentious sounding, as if to say "look at me, I'm literary." What a baffling (and not to mention entirely unuseful) opinion.

What also bothered me was that despite the large dimensions of the book, the margins are huge, and there just isn't as much material as I'd hoped for--especially not in the area of the craft itself (as opposed to the marketing aspects).

I see that this book was appreciated by many other readers, so I'm not going to advise against buying it altogether. Just beware that if you're looking for in-depth analysis about the actual craft of horror writing, this may not satisfy.

I've been writing since I was 15 but I've lacked the initiative and experience to finish a story, now that I've read Writing Horror I've done the exercises and finished a few stories. I found the sections on the seven steps of plotting and the five ways to open a story immensely helpful. The exercises and advice are geared towards short story writing although there's a few helpful hints about book length fiction. Throughout the book Van Belkom stresses how hard the publishing industry is, only those who stick it out will make it in this business. Also of note, being a fellow Canadian it's refreshing to see a writing book told from the perspective of a Canadian author. Use this book to write a story and Renni Browne's Self Editing For Fiction Writers to edit it into print. I can't recommend this book enough.

Writing horror is a must for any horror fan and aspiring writer. It asnwers EVERY question one might have about the craft of writing and about the process of selling and publishing a story/novel.

Van Belkom, who has written more than 150 published short stories and some very amazing novels, takes the genre apart to teach his readers the bare bones of horror writing. Everything is touched upon; from the provenance of ideas, to the actual writing (grammar, techniques, and dos and don'ts), selling, publishing, revising, finding an agent... You get it all in this book.

This wonderful book answered all the questions I had about the process of writing horror, and I'm sure it will do the same for any aspiring writer. It is a great reference book that any writer should keep close to his/her writing desk, as you'll keep coming back to it whenever you have a question that needs answering.

Amazon lists this book as having 352 pages. All copies I have seen end at 300 and it really feels like there is something missing.

Brothers who have made a name for themselves making cheap, grade-B horror films have a new project: a reality-show where contestants have to spend the night in a haunted house.

Being a horror novel, the house is, of course, haunted by some real nasties. Jody, a farm girl looking to improve her luck, is the contestant we are rooting for.

Unfortunately, after a slow beginning (setting the stage), and a little foreshadowing, the plot and body count speed up and then the book just stops. End. Finis. Nothing more. Even if there is a publication mistake and there are fifty missing pages, it is hard to see how this one would be saved.

There are some interesting scenes and the manifestation has an interesting twist, but it just isn't really worth the time.

Okay, there is no mention of a movie being made from this book, but in my humble opinion - there should be! The book itself reads as though you're watching the story unfold on a movie screen. I enjoyed it. True, it wasn't scary enough to make me lose a night of sleep (hence the 4 star and not 5 star rating - sick, huh? *laugh) but I did have to peek over my shoulder from time to time. *laugh I have to agree with one reader that the story seemed to just - end - but then I think that was the purpose of the ending...to kind of leave the readers hanging. Hanging for what? A sequel? Who knows? All in all, this book is definitely worth getting. A few graphic but not over the top horror scenes and an interesting plot. Like I said, I'd be the first in line if the story were turned into a movie. Speaking of movies, if you liked "House on Haunted Hill", "13 Ghosts", or "Ghost Ship" - grab this book because it's pretty much based on the same theme of greed and such.

I zipped through this book in a day and had a blast. It's not particularly scary, but it moves at a rapid click and kept me wanting to turn the pages. Exactly what I hope for in a thriller. The premise is simple -- reality show contestants spend a night in a haunted house to earn money and a role in a feature film and end up getting more than they bargained for. The characters are entertaining, although not very likable. But the best part was Van Belkom slamming the door shut on the world of reality television. The filmmaking brother team in this book is priceless. They reminded me of an even sleazier version of the producer and director from the brilliant film "The Making Of...And God Spoke." EVB gets in some good laughs, some nice jabs at Hollywood, a few decent scares, and several "wet" scenes. The ending does drop off instantly but it can't be any worse than a manufactured tropical island set during a "Survivor" season finale.

A companion piece to van Belkom's previous writing how-to WRITING HORROR, this book does for erotica what WRITING HORROR did for horror fiction. He teaches you all the basics, point-of-view, dialogue, exposition, manuscript format, where and how to sell your work, and he discusses the various subgenres.

Some passages are copied verbatim from WRITING HORROR but arranged to teach you about writing erotica. There's a discussion of language (soft-core to hard-core), interviews with the genre's leading authors and editors and a nifty plotting device that'll have you writing stories in no time. All in all, a definitive guide for budding erotica writers. I recommend it as heartily as I did for WRITING HORROR.

Edo van Belkom really captures the mood of the Werewolf: The Apocalypse setting in this 1995 novel. It's the story of Father Wendel Oldman, a priest and werewolf who runs a homeless shelter in a downtrodden portion of San Francisco. When a series of murders begin striking the homeless of his area, he investigates. In the process he discovers new allies, new enemies, and helps to protect the secret of their existence. A lot is packed into this novel and it all comes together well in the end. As Belkom's first novel, it's a great sign of what he'll later accomplish.

Edo van Belkom has a reputation for writing "erotic horror." The premise sounded good, so I took a chance ...

Man, what a boring book! Not much sex, not much horror. And when it's there, the sex is non-erotic, the horror is non-scary. Instead, there's lots of dull characters talking and talking and talking ... Reads as though Van Belkon was just "going through the motions."

"Teeth" is said to have been a short story. Seems as though Van Belkon couldn't figure out how to expand his premise, as the book is mostly padding.

If you want gut-wrenching erotic horror, try the first "Hot Blood" anthology. Some good stories in that.

TEETH was a great read. It's an original novel on vengeance, based on a condition known as "vagina dentata." I had heard of this condition, although I don't know if any such thing has ever been proven, but it sure makes for an interesting weapon!

You'll have fun reading this unless you're really squeamish. If you like horror or thrillers, this one's unique and well-written. Van Belkom has a strange mind, and that's a good thing.

The previous reviewer has already told you some things about the novel, so I'm not going into much detail, because I want to leave you with a reason to read the book. It's worth the money.

Wow... Just finished this book a few minutes ago. Can't believe it. Crazy stuff. Makes me ashamed to be a male, I'll tell you that, and makes me look at other men differently. Quite frankly, I can't believe that it was written by a man.

This book is about a female serial killer. I won't go into details - as it is, I feel that too much is given away early on (although there's still enough to keep one guessing about details). Still, I'm giving this such a high rating because I think it hits the exact cord that it's supposed to - it scared the **** out of me. It works as a mystery and as a horror story. It was told in such a straightforward manner that I could imagine it really happening. *shiver*

Two flaws: It needed a better copyeditor, because there were lots of little errors. And I think it would have been better without the Prologue (which was previously published as a short story).

Given the difficulty Edo van Belkom must have had to write about one of Krynn's "unapproachable, unchangeable" characters, LORD SOTH comes off as a pretty well-written book. Having little interest in the Death Knight's personal story-because I'm just dabbing into Dragonlance right now-I read it as a straight, linear book. And it came off rather well-done. Quite literally, too, at the end when the gods bake all major characters of the book (with the gory exception of three elf maidens on the side of a certain road...). But on the serious track, the book is an interesting read for someone who doesn't try to poke through all the tidbits of Loren Soth's life. The biggest fault is not in the prose or style of van Belkom, but rather that he never really delves into Lord Soth's character. Throughout the book, Loren Soth is the doomed man, haunted by past misdeeds but also rationalizing his actions with his noble title and reputation. Yet though his madness is quite vivid in portrayal, he is only a masked character, and one is inclined to feel more sorry for say the trio of elves he cuts down on the way to (or depending on your viewpoint, back from) Istar. There are also some good parts about the pyschology of the Kingpriest of Istar. The Cataclysm isn't well portrayed in this book, not a shame, but one does wish for more depiction of the scene where the fiery mountain collides with the planet. Of course, the event has been detailed elsewhere so any extensive depiction here might come off as redundant. There is plenty of gore in the book, and it's very much domestic in nature, and to some people it may be exceedingly disturbing. The murder of a wife and child is bad enough, but when repeated... At the end, LORD SOTH is very much one of those books that is interesting to read but lacking the Dragonlance atmosphere. One can say the same thing about THE IRDA, any of the Fifth Age books, and so on (and on the badly faring side, there is THE DARK QUEEN...) Good to read, but in the end it felt like a distraction from Krynn's main road.

This book tells the tale of the events leading up to Lord Soth's mysterious change from Solamnic Knight of Paladine to Death Knight of Takhisis for those of us who have come to know him as Kitiara's creepy sidekick from the Chronicles stories. This book does not rank as one of my all time favorites in the Dragonlance series, but it is well worth reading just for the insight into Soth's character. Our favorite Death Knight can also be found in TSR's Ravenloft series in the books Knight of the Black Rose and Spectre of the Black Rose for those of you who want to know more....

Lord soth was one of the best books I have read. It tells us the tale of how lord soth. The most prominent hero there was in Krynn. In this book we see how he falls from grace and becomes a mockery of what he once stood for. When everLord soth commited another act of evil . I cringed as he went closer to the dark side