D. Alexander Ward

The editors, as you might have guessed from the odd subtitle, wanted to make a collection of literary horror stories. They got stories that were always psychologically sensitive, sometimes inventive in structure, on rare occasion sentimental, on other occasions very disturbing. I skimmed through the tale that had a mother wondering why she wasn’t as close to her daughter as she used to be while said child sneaks out of the house to throw herself onto a freeway. I was so upset about the beginning of a story of animal abuse that I delayed finishing this short anthology for months. Clive Barker was represented in an excellent story and the great Ramsey Campbell gave it a brilliant ending.… (meer)

This is a fantastic collection of "beautiful horror stories". The beauty is literary, in phrasing and in the way the words paint a portrait. These are not the kind of stories that rely on graphic violence for shock, and there are no stereotypical characters. Instead, these are stories that wreck us psychologically, get under our skin and make us shudder.

Sometimes reviewing a collection of stories by various authors can be a challenge, as not every reader will like every author. I didn't have that problem with this collection. Yes, there were some stories that held me riveted more than others, but I did enjoy them all.

If you like your stories to cross over to the dark side, with some psychological torment, then this is the book for you.… (meer)

In After the Fire by D. Alexander Ward things started simple enough, two boys named Frankie and Lane at the age of 12 decide to go on a little adventure. There is a house in their town known as the witch house and they decide to explore it while the witch is out-of-town.

They break into the witch’s house and see things that they’ve never witnessed before. They hear a noise in the attic and decide to investigate and see something that makes their worst nightmares seem tame. In a rush to escape the witch’s house they knock a candle down and start a fire and Lane is killed in the blaze.

As an adult Frankie is plagued by constant nightmares of that day. Some horrors never go away and have a tendency to ruin your life. Will he come to terms with what he saw in that house, and the death of his friend or will the nightmares haunt him for the rest of his life?

After The Fire is a psychological horror story that looks at how one horrific event can affect your life forever. There is some great and disturbing imagery in this book. The way the witch’s house is described was excellent, including the pictures of post death Victorian corpses that the house contains. This is a good tale about redemption and confronting your personal demons. Its also a short read with great characters, a lot of action and enough spooky atmosphere and gore to keep horror fans happy.… (meer)