Saralee Kaye (1942–2006)

Absolutely outstanding anthology of Weird Tales reprints. A door stop at nearly 600 pages. Kaye has done his homework and picked excellent (mostly) but more obscure stories, many by authors I didn’t really know. Even when he picks from the well known, he picks the lesser anthologized stories. In addition, while the bulk of the stories are from the classic era, Kaye doesn’t confine himself exclusively to this era but picks some gems from later incarnations of the magazine.

Includes short introductions to authors and stories, two appendices, and a further reading suggestion.… (mais)

One selection, Andreyev's "Lazarus" clearly lives up to the "masterpiece" accolade, seemingly distilling into a medium-length tale all of Lovecraft's cosmic horror, somewhat disconcertingly presented in lovely prose. The effect is of detachment, similar to that of his protagonist. The bleak abyss described as Platonic Form.

Orson Scott Card's "Eumenidies in the Fourth Floor Lavatory" is horrific and weird, bringing to mind the premise of Geek Love.

There are many other contributions worth reading, but as yet I've not read the book cover-to-cover. Rescued from a friend's discard bin on the strength of a pre-revision version of Tolkien's "Riddles in the Dark", it's evident there's much more here recommending this collection.… (mais)

This book is a compilation of some fine ghost tales from various times and places. Put together by Marvin Kaye, this book features stories from some of the greats like Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde, some traditional tales, and some great anonymous stories.

Kaye includes a tale of his own in the mix, but rightly puts it in the appendix instead of within the main text, not wanting to give the wrong impression. There is also a list of haunted locations, a bibliography for further reading, and a piece entitled "So You Want to Meet A Ghost." This last piece is so good, I really want to adapt it for a video.

Definitely a good edition to any library specializing in ghost stories and supernatural terror.… (mais)