Shivers V
Chizmar's fifth Shivers compilation, the best to date, features 24 stories and poems notable for their thematic breadth. In Steve Vernon's lyrical œThe Forever Long Snake of Olan Walker, a superbly creepy period gothic, an imprisoned conjure man gets his nasty revenge against an Alabama chain-gang work farm boss. Dark suspense offerings range from Sarah Langan's gritty and gruesome œThe Burn Victim to Scott Nicholson's wryly macabre œGood Fences. Other standouts include a fractured fairy tale from Al Sarrantonio (œThe Cookie Man), a dark riff on Dickens from Chet Williamson (œMarley's Cat) and a disturbing look into a murderously unhinged mind by Stewart O'Nan (œSummer of '77). The variety of the contents ensures that there is something for every horror lover, and for the most part these tales deliver the shivers they promise.(June)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.