Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77395 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 448 pages

Customer Reviews

For your nightmares...
I'm not one to judge the "Borderlands" series. After all, as stated in the introduction by editors Elizabeth and Thomas Monteleone, when the last "Borderlands" collection was published I was getting my kicks by reading "Goosebumps." That being said, I AM able to judge this collection: and I say it's one hell of a read!

The great thing about this collection is its uniqueness and diversity. Gone are the vampire/werewolf/ghost stories; in place are tales, some supernatural, some horror (and a couple that aren't), about the tricks the human mind can play. Some of these tricks stay within the mind itself; some of them manifest in the physical world, in the way we interpret our surroundings. These stories are psychological horror stories; in my opinion, the best kind.

Diversity. There are some big name people in here: Stephen King takes a horrific look at exercise in his novella "Stationary Bike;" in "Father Bob and Bobby," Whitley Strieber tells of a priest who is having a horrific controntation with his reality. You'll never read a bedtime story again after looking through John Farris's "Story Time with the Bluefield Stranger." David J. Schow's "The Thing too Hideous to Describe" is a comedic, yet tragic, look at the life of our world's hidden monsters. Bentley Little's "The Planting" is just as macabre, outrageous, and hideously enjoyable as the author's novels; while Tom Piccirilli's "Around it Still the Sumac Grows" details a man returning to his old high school, and reliving the horrors he once experienced.

There are some new names, however. Lon Prater's "Head Music," a poetic story about a man who becomes kin with a strange sea creature, is the author's first professional sale. Adam Fusco's story is a terrifying glimpse into the future of scientific research, while John Mertz's "Prisoner 392" is a great mixture of "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Silence of the Lambs." A man faces the alternative realities he's created for himself in Bill Gauthier's tale; Bev Vincent weaves a tale of irony and tragedy; a man confronts his past and his daughter in John McIlveen's "Infliction"; and a woman has the perfect family--three real beautiful daughters, and her favorite, the imaginary one--in L. Lynn Young's story.

You think listing those names you don't know was a waste of time. I tell you: those are some highlites of this collection, and future stars of the literary world. "From the Borderlands" is a great, unique, thought-provoking, and at times downright terrifying collection of short stories by some of dark fiction's superstars, and others who are bound to become one. This is one you must add to your fiction collection.

A Series Like No Other
The full title of the book is From The Borderlands: Stories Of Terror And Madness. But in truth, that title is misleading, for it is neither terror nor madness that make a story a Borderlands story. Even the title of the original version, Borderlands 5: An Anthology Of Imaginative Fiction, hints only at the imaginative aspect of what makes a Borderlands story.

To me, the thing that truly makes a story a Borderlands story is a pulling back of the edges of our perceptions of what is real and what is safe. A Borderlands story takes you to boundaries you never knew existed, then pulls back the curtain and lets you glimpse what lies beyond. Sometimes it can leave you with a sense of wonder, more often with a sense of unsettling dread. But it never leaves you the same as you were before you started.

My personal favorites in this anthology, in which I consider myself fortunate to be included, are:

"Rami Temporalis" by Gary Braunbeck. Ever think you have "one of those faces"? Maybe you do. But Braunbeck's concept of why this might be so is supremely unique and leaves one awed by the sheer scale of the idea.

"All Hands" by John Platt. If you're like most people, you take your hands for granted. You shouldn't. You really shouldn't.

"The Food Processor" by Michael Canfield. Who says all fables must be set in a non-technological past with magic and talking animals? This could've been written by Aesop... if the ancient Greeks had had industrial food processors.

"Answering The Call" by Brian Freeman. Think your job is bad? The worst ones are the ones we never see. Freeman will show you one you'll wish you didn't even know existed.

"Smooth Operator" by Dominick Cancilla. Think that losing your wallet means having to worry about identity theft? There are worse things, things you never imagine. Cancilla shows you the absolute worst. This one still has me checking for my wallet.

"A Thing" by Barbara Malenky. There are pains and suffering of people's lives so great we block them out. But sometimes there are things for those pains and suffering. Malenky takes us deep inside one person's suffering... and then shows us a thing.

"The Planting" by Bentley Little. If you know Little, you know he's going to take you to one of those boundaries I spoke of, open the door, and then shove you through. This story is no exception.

"Magic Numbers" by Gene O'Neill. Lots of people obsess over numbers, letting their compulsions and superstitions determine their actions. But like the old Indian said, "Sometimes the magic works..."

"Head Music" by Lon Prater. We think we're human, but sometimes we discover connections to things that aren't. And some of us don't turn away.

"One Of Those Weeks" by Bev Klein. There are rhythms, circles and patterns in life we don't know about. And are probably better off not knowing about. Reminded me a lot of T.E.D Klein's "Ladder", another classic Borderlands story that has stayed with me over the years.

"Stationary Bike" by Stephen King. You'd be surprised how far you can go on one of those things. And where. And who you'll meet along the way. You may even get a souvenier.

The other stories will no doubt find readers for whom they will be the favorites. There is something in this anthology for everyone. And now all I can do is wait for the next one in the series, because the Borderlands anthologies are the only place I can be sure of finding them.

Whitt Pond

lacking a certain something
I love short stories, and love the idea of having this collection that strays from the mainstream into new dark waters. But I think the idea ended up being better than the execution here ... the collection sits a bit lacking.

I think the problem is in the editors' lack of understanding the difference between "terror" and "shock value." A lot of these stories are shocking, but few really get into your head. And the most tiresome "shock du jour" appears to be child molestation. The story "Father Bob And Bobby" is a nice example of this -- he traded in genuine horror for a cheap shock and gross-out factor. At least four other stories try and weave in child abuse into their tales.

Even the Stephen King plot was flat, although I always enjoy his writing style and cadance so it was still an enjoyable read. I also think "Smooth Operator" (Dominick Cancilla), "Rami Temporalis" (Gary Braunbeck) and "All Hands" (John Platt) were quite excellent. But there are 10-15 stories in here that I think don't work for various reasons. A handful of 5-star efforts sprinkled among the 2-star fodder makes it a 3-star book overall.