Havoc Swims Jaded
-
- $5.99
-
- $5.99
Publisher Description
Havoc Swims Jaded? What the hell kind of title is that? What does it mean? It sounds vaguely…threatening, doesn't it? Havoc reigns, as a Hallowe'en Horror Night goes horribly wrong, and its featured creatures turn out to be the real thing. Meanwhile, a slimy Lovecraftian monstrosity deals with its daily routine of punching a clock to raise, well, havoc. Havoc ensues, as a time-displaced trio of friends find themselves lost in a trackless desert zone where there are no signposts up ahead at twilight. As your friendly TV remote control displays disturbing new functions. As changing your body image becomes as simple as donning a zip-up human suit. These and other dark tales of modern disturbance await the pleasure of your discomfiture. You will find, as Peter Straub said, that "Here, all of Schow's glittering weapons are sharper than ever before."
Stories included in this collection:
THE ABSOLUTE LAST OF THE ULTRA-SPOOKY, SUPER-SCARY HALLOWE’EN HORROR NIGHTS
EXPANDING YOUR CAPABILITIES USING FRAME/SHIFT™ MODE
THE FIVE SISTERS: A FABLE
PLOT TWIST
SIZE NOTHING
THE THING TOO HIDEOUS TO DESCRIBE
WAKE-UP CALL
DISMANTLING FORTRESS ARCHITECTURE 56 28 1 34 7
SCOOP VS. LEADMAN
WHAT HAPPENED WITH MARGARET
THE PYRE AND OTHERS
OBSEQUY
WHAT SCARES YOU
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Like "The Narrative of Dr. Shackle and Mr. Lye," an invented tale of horror described in one of this book's 13 stories, the contents of Schow's latest collection (after Zombie Jam) seesaw between "elbow-jabbing one-liners and almost clinically detached slaughter and corpse disposal." Most unfold events that are grim and ghastly, but never so bad that Schow can't tease a thread of graveyard humor out of their horrors. In "The Absolute Last of the Ultra-Spooky, Super-Scary Hallowe'en Horror Nights," marauding gangs crash an amusement park's Halloween theme night and get their comeuppance when real monsters pop up among the actors and props. "Expanding Your Capabilities Using Frame/Shift Mode" mixes chills and chuckles in its portrait of a voyeuristic video-hound undone by a DVD remote with supernatural circuitry. The darkly funny "Obsequy" suggests that having lived a dead-end life is good preparation for returning from the grave as a zombie. In all, this is a solid and imaginatively varied outing from one of horror's most dependable writers.
