Shivers V
Shivers V Trade Paperback: $20 About the Book: Shivers V contains over twenty short stories from today's most popular authors, including Stewart O'Nan, Graham Masterton, Mick Garris, Chet Williamson, Simon Clark, R. Patrick Gates, Ronald Kelly, John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow, Al Sarrantonio, Rick Hautala, Kealan Patrick Burke, Robin Furth, Nick Mamatas, Scott Nicholson, Del James, and many others. Featuring original
dark fiction with a handful of rare reprints, Shivers V is available
only as a beautiful perfect-bound trade paperback from Cemetery Dance Publications. Table of Contents: "Chizmar's fifth Shivers compilation, the best to date, features 24 stories and poems notable for their thematic breadth. In Steve Vernon's lyrical "The Forever Long Snake of Olan Walker," a superbly creepy period gothic, an imprisoned conjure man gets his nasty revenge
against an Alabama chain-gang
work farm boss. Dark suspense offerings
range from Sarah Langan's gritty and
gruesome "The Burn Victim" to Scott
Nicholson's wryly macabre "Good Fences."
Other standouts include a fractured
fairy tale from Al Sarrantonio ("The
Cookie Man"), a dark riff on Dickens
from Chet Williamson ("Marley's Cat")
and a disturbing look into a murderously
unhinged mind by Stewart O'Nan
("Summer of '77"). The variety of the
contents ensures that there is something
for every horror lover, and for the most
part these tales deliver the shivers they
promise." "As the editor of horror fiction’s flagship periodical, Cemetery Dance, Chizmar has developed such a keen eye for talent that each new Shivers anthology is an event worth celebrating. As in previous editions, Chizmar avoids a single-theme approach in favor of casting the widest possible net over the genre’s many thematic and stylistic offerings. The best of the bunch here take common fantasy and horror motifs and morph them into fascinating new variations. For David Lynch-style horror, there’s Norman Prentiss’ “The Albright Sextuplets,” recounting a deliveryman’s discovery of a monstrously deformed baby hidden from the limelight in a celebrity sextuplet family. For edge-of-the-seat suspense, there’s Robert Morrish’s “Each Step I Take Is in Darkness,” about a spelunker’s encounter with the malevolent creatures inhabiting a Mexican cave. Scott Nicholson’s darkly humorous “Good Fences” puts two neighbors’ feud over fences into the category of subtle murder mystery. The volume’s 24 entries also include poetry, fractured fairy tales, and a serial killer’s reminiscences. Once again, Shivers serves as a showcase for the horror genre’s best craftsmen." "Boasting stories from a wide range of big names (Stewart O'Nan, among others), rising stars (Stoker-winner Sarah Langan, Nick Mamatas) and old favorites (Rick Hautala, John Skipp, and more), and edited by Cemetery Dance head honcho Richard Chizmar, one would expect great things from the collection... On the whole, the book is a worthwhile read, and there's more than enough in here to keep horror fans of various tastes satisfied... For an anthology with this diverse a base and author list, that's a real win." "Shivers, edited by Richard Chizmar, now at its fifth installment, is a fortunate, consistently good series offering, at (ir)regular intervals, a tour of what the current horror scene produces, in terms of short stories, from both sides of the ocean. " "The book runs the gamut from subtle horror that sneaks up on the reader to stories that have all the subtlety of a swift kick in the nuts. In my humble opinion, this is why the Shivers series has enjoyed so much success over the years — there's something for everyone... Shivers V is another winner — a book that every horror fan should own. It easily earns an 8 out of 10 for its combination of great authors, powerful stories, and cheap price tag."
Published as: Artwork ![]() |