Michael Stearns (1)

A decent quick horror read, not the best but not the worst either. I really liked a few of the stories in here. Some of my favorites that stood out were What the Cat Dragged in, Wonder Never Land, The Japanese Mirror and Mrs. Pomeroy. Eye-catching dark illustrations that compliment each chapter story. It is a bit short on gore, macabre and has more to deal with family life and adolescence (with maybe the appearance of a paranormal creature). I do like that each story has some sort of lesson or moral to go a long with it- but that's generally a lot of horror anyway. I won't say this book is for the desperate horror reader, but there are better ones out there and some of the tales the art is better than the story itself.

(Also, does anyone find it peculiar that the book has the word 'Dozen' featured but there are 14 stories?)… (meer)

A collection of fantasy short stories. Patricia Wrede's "The 62 Curses of Caliph Arenschadd" has fun world-building. Charles de Lint's "Fairy Dust" is, like all his other work, filled with fascile moral conclusions and immature writing. I loved the main character in Will Shetterly's "The Princess Who Kicked Butt." Tappan King's "Come Hither" also has a very enjoyable main character (another self-sufficient girlchild).
I have always thought Bruce Coville is awesome, and he proves it yet again with the imaginative, very anti-war story "With His Head Tucked Under His Arm." Alan Smale's "The Breath of Princes" is a fantastic story in the same vein as [book: Dealing With Dragons] or [book: Dragon's Bait]. Speaking of Vande Velde's work, her short story "Lost Soul" is a creepy tale of a peasant seduced by the fey.… (meer)