Mathew’s Review: Read by Dawn, Volume 3
UK publishing is seeing a long overdue revival in horror anthologies at the moment. Humdrumming’s First Book of Horror Stories will hopefully be the first of many; the Black Book of Horror from Mortbury Press is already at volume three; and, of course, we shouldn’t forget the always welcome Mammoth Book of Best New Horror published by Constable and Robinson, soon to see its nineteenth incarnation, edited by Stephen Jones, our very own Ellen Datlow (except he’s British and a man…).
Bloody Books has also entered the fray with their Read by Dawn anthologies, curated by Adele Hartley (British, and a woman), also, as the title suggests, in its third year. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?
Combine these publications with a couple of UK based magazines – PS Publishing’s excellent Postscripts, (albeit with a good helping of science fiction and fantasy thrown in for good measure), and TTA Press‘ wonderfully new-born Black Static, formerly The Third Alternative, and to my mind, the best dark fiction magazine being published anywhere right now, and short story fans have a great deal to keep them occupied.
Read by Dawn comprises twenty eight short horror stories, all but one from writers unknown to me, thus demonstrating Ms. Hartley’s preparedness to showcase new and emerging talent like no other. Starting with Paul Kane, the one writer whose work I’ve previously read, his Windchimes is at first a subtle and sad ghost story of parental loss but that smacks you in the face with betrayal in the penultimate paragraph, before warming you with its final poignant words. The absolute standout story in this volume.
In Dead Frogs by Josh Reynolds, Junior Rose of the Department of Natural Resources investigates a polluted drain, clogged with those dead amphibians, and literally stumbles into an entity that’s a cross between Swamp Thing and a hypnotic Grim Reaper. Things will not go well for Junior as you might expect and possibly, the apocalypse beckons… great pulp horror with an eco-twist. More like this please!
Scott Stainton Miller’s The Last Ditch opens the book with three tense pages of spousal desperation and thinly veiled hate, before ripping out all my preconceptions and depressing the hell out of me, (and my lucky lady, whom I read it to as a bedtime treat, nice guy that I am). Of course, I slept soundly, while my lucky lady lay awake for a couple of disturbed hours mulling over the details – what a recommendation!
Vanessa H. Reid gives us the graphic and gritty Sonny Boy, a lonely and ultimately unsaveable soul lost in the ambiguity of psychological and supernatural doubt. Dawn by Morag Edward is an unsettling tale of child abuse at the hands of a subtlely threatening night visitor who may or not be supernatural in origin.
I remember when my brother would sneak downstairs to check out his presents on Christmas Eve and be caught by my father, much to my amusement. Bizarrely he’d never learn his lesson and this wonderful pattern of juvenile planning, anticipation and unfolding terror would be played put pretty much year on year until we were ten or eleven. No second chances are allowed by Fraser Lee though, as he gives us a Christmas present nobody would ever want in Tinsel. Don’t look up the chimney, oh go on then…
What Will Happen When You Are Gone? by Jeffory Jacobson is a foreboding tale of a couple finding what could be their dream home, with lots of scope for making it their own, and at a seemingly bargain price, (all estate agent talk for just needs demolishing), and an extremely weird owner to show them around. It’s just a pity her pets, (of which there are many), don’t feel the same way. Shuck by Rebecca Lloyd reworks the Black Dog legend, reminding me very much of Sarah Langan’s works of hidden deeds, decaying towns and tired folk, and the inevitability that their hopes and dreams will come to nothing in such places. I’d like to read more of her stories.
I’ve mentioned just a few of the stories, stories whose imprints faded gracefully and gradually from my mind as all good stories should do. Just occasionally, a story stays with you for a very long time – such is the case with Paul Kane’s Windchimes. There are several contributions to this anthology that portray children as helpless, and ultimately hopeless, victims, and these stories may not be to everyone’s taste. However, taken as a whole, and with very few exceptions, the latest Read by Dawn is a consistently uneasy offering from an exciting and experimental roster of emerging authors.
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7 Comments on Mathew’s Review: Read by Dawn, Volume 3
The Humdrumming Books of Horror Stories is indeed officially a series now, with the impending release of the second volume. And, it’s coming out in two forms: traditional paperback (just like Herbert used to make), and exciting signed hardback!
Head here and scroll down a bit: http://www.humdrumming.co.uk/upcoming.html
Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words about the anthology. The point is, and always has been, to showcase potential and work on the premise ‘oh if you liked that, try this…’
I hope readers find even a little treasure in there to ruin a good night’s kip and add to their mental library of the grotesque. As with any anthology, expect to love 40%, expect to hate 40% and expect to want more time with the remaining 20. Ultimately, I hope amongst the writers each reader finds something to disturb. My memories of anthologies devoured as a young reader are reduced to one or two stories that refuse to leave the dank, dark corners of my mind. It is the most I hope for that Read by Dawn gifts the same to anyone willing to give it a couple hours of their life. Incidentally, we’re looking for a new publisher. All constructive suggestions welcome!
Sweet dreams
Adele Hartley, Read by Dawn editor
Hello Mathew,
thank you for mentioning Shuck in your review. I haven’t read Sarah Langan’s work, and I look forward to that. I am, at the moment, sending to publishers a single author collection of my dark works entitled ‘All that Follows,’ but as you probably know, it’s tough in this climate to get things published, and it can sometimes be a long waiting time before you get a response. My most recent work out there is a story called The River which won first prize in the Bristol Review of Books short story anthology. It isn’t horror however, but there are things horrible embedded in it. You can find it on Amazon.
[...] Room, and Wind Chimes, (which I thought was the outstanding story in the third Bloody Books’ Read by Dawn anthology from last [...]
[...] Room, and Wind Chimes, (which I thought was the outstanding story in the third Bloody Books’ Read by Dawn anthology from last [...]
[...] Room, and Wind Chimes, (which I thought was the outstanding story in the third Bloody Books’ Read by Dawn anthology from last [...]
[...] Room, and Wind Chimes, (which I thought was the outstanding story in the third Bloody Books’ Read by Dawn anthology from last [...]
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