Fearful Symmetries
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4.1 • 10 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards: “Twenty insanely inventive, hauntingly atmospheric and flat out coo coo for Cocoa Puffs stories” (Hellnotes).
A World Fantasy Award nominee, “this anthology . . . is a collection of some of the most talented horror and speculative fiction authors writing today” (BuzzFeed). It includes all-new stories by Laird Barron, Pat Cadigan, Brian Evenson, Jeffrey Ford, Caítlin R. Kiernan, Garth Nix, Michael Marshall Smith, Kaaron Warren, and other masters of all things spooky and suspenseful.
In tales that crisscross the boundaries of fear and imagination—from a haunted courtyard in New Orleans to a remote Arctic research station—swamp monsters, pool-cleaning robots, and cannibalistic spirits wreak chaos and terror across the pages. You’ll be invited to a prom where a psycho hides inside a sparkly dress or rented tux; on a trip aboard a train to a destination that teems with ghosts; and into the darkest recesses of a human mind, the most fertile ground for the blossoming of true evil.
“Datlow’s ‘experimental’ crowdfunded horror anthology is nicely unthemed. . . . This is an excellent anthology for horror fans, with a nice range of tones and styles and some intriguing new voices.” —Publishers Weekly
“[Fearful Symmetries] not only goes beyond expectations, it raises the bar high above into the horror heavens. . . . A melting pot of distinct voices and styles that leave you wanting more.” —Hellnotes
“One of the best horror anthologies I’ve ever read.” —Thirteen O’Clock
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Datlow's "experimental" crowdfunded horror anthology is nicely unthemed, avoiding vampires, werewolves, and zombies while including ghosts, witches, and newly trendy wendigos. The last merges quite nicely with an Arctic setting in Siobhan Carroll's "Wendigo Nights," one of the standouts. Other highlights include always reliable, always evolving authors like Pat Cadigan, Caitl n Kiernan, and Michael Marshall Smith, whose "Power" is a rare science-fiction horror tale. Gemma Files's "A Wish from a Bone" launches the volume with an elegant update to the classic "wrath of ancient gods" plot, and Helen Marshall's "In the Year of Omens" is perfectly creepy. There are a few misses Gary McMahon's "Kaiju" feels incomplete, while Terry Dowling and John Langan both turn in surprisingly subpar tales but on balance, this is an excellent anthology for horror fans, with a nice range of tones and styles and some intriguing new voices.
