|
Post by dem bones on Oct 17, 2009 10:46:46 GMT
F. Paul Wilson (ed.) - Freak Show (Pocket, August 1992) J. K. Potter F. Paul Wilson - Winter Quarters Brad Strickland - Okefenokee Swamp, GA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway I Gregory Nicoll - Athens, GA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway II Rex Miller - Sikeston, MO F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway III Nancy Kilpatrick - Leesville, LA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway IV Scott Cupp - Bois D’Arc, TX F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway V Kathryn Ptacek - Palomita, NM F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway VI Douglas Borton - Venice, CA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway VII Morgan Fields - La Cañada, CA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway VIII Richard Lee Byers - Seattle, WA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway IX Dan Simmons - Elm Haven, IL Yvonne Navarro - Chicago, IL F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway X Steven Spruill - Battle Creek, MI Lee Moler - Drood Hollow, WV F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway XI Chet Williamson - Bird-in-Hand, PA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway XII Craig Shaw Gardner - Rochester, NY R. Patrick Gates - Quarry, MA F. Paul Wilson - Along The Midway XIII Thomas F. Monteleone - Oyster Bay, NY F. Paul Wilson - Pine Barrens, NJ
The AuthorsBlurb: PEOPLE ARE STRANGE... From the swamplands of Florida to the mean streets of Chicago, from the hollows of West Virginia to the California coastline, the Peabody Ozymandias Traveling Circus and Oddity Emporium makes its way. Expect no two-bit dwarves, giants, or bearded ladies here. These are the true freaks of nature: the unassimilable accidents who never belong, who have nowhere else to go, who are fit company for no one but each other. But their true purpose is not to entertain... it is to avenge. Soon, the tables will be turned. Soon, the world—the ticket-buying, undeformed, normal world—will become their own personal.... FREAK SHOW
From the Horror Writers of America—creators of Under the Fang—comes a fantastic spectacle of the inhuman, the superhuman, and the all-too human, guaranteed to both appal and enthral. Watch ;as the prime pens of horror unbend their imaginations to give you the scariest show on earth. And pray it doesn't come to your town....This 'Horror Writers of America' business worked to good effect with Robert McCammon's Under The Fang (Pocket, 1991) but i felt the wheels came off with Freak Show the following year which tried to be too clever for its own good. Unlike many anthologies where you can dip in and out as the mood takes you, this is supposed to be read in sequence. A glorified round robin story in other words, so you're obliged to endure authors you routinely skip in case you miss some important plot development as the Carney moves from State to State. Me, i just wound up bored and bamboozled by the whole thing. Proper titles would've helped, as now i'm at a loss as to who wrote what and which bits appealed. I realise that if you had a "did you find this review helpful" box against this post it wouldn't score so well, but you've a list of contents if nothing else, and if i'm going to re-read a collection entitled Freak Show any time soon it will be Peter Haining's. Horror in the 'nineties. Don't talk to me about horror in the 'nineties.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 18, 2015 8:56:48 GMT
Above post reads unusually harsh to me now, so thought I'd revisit The Freak Show, if only to discover what so pissed me off about it. Must say, it's been pretty engrossing so far.....
F. Paul Wilson - Winter Quarters: Okeechobee County, Florida: Ozymandias Prather, Oz to his friends, a pale, lanky, long-haired barrel-chested streak with blue eyes "as warm as a mausoleum", buys a stake in Joseph Peabody's Travelling Circus on the understanding that his own patiently assembled Oddity Emporium become a fixture of the show. Oz has an ulterior motive. With the help of his outcast army he plans to locate the wide-scattered components of The Device, a machine which will "change the way the world sees us, change the way the world sees itself." The freaks, hungry for revenge on the human race, will do everything in their power to help him achieve his ambition.
Brad Strickland - Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia: Claude Bledsoe, better known as Gator Boy, is tasked with liberating a weird fishing accessory, the Doohickey, from Slim Surratt, the treacherous redneck who murdered his dad.
Gregory Nicoll - Athens, Georgia: Rattles, Slither and Dubs - a German dwarf, a twin-headed vampire snake, and a man with two faces respectively - gatecrash a gig at the 40 Watt Club to liberate a stage prop belonging to local rock band, The Rosetta Stones. The Stones' lighting woman isn't prepared to surrender her prize possession without a fight. More fool her. Pop culture references include R.E.M., The Ramones' Pinhead, Keith Moon, and the Stones' 2000 Light Years From Home.
Rex Miller - Sikeston, Missouri: The unlikely friendship between Petergello, the Circus's bounty hunter, and obese, bedridden man-slug Gore Edmund, the worlds heaviest man, while frowned upon by Oz, proves useful thanks to the pair's shared love of hideous erotic artefacts and passionate hatred of all things other people. Petergello, who could almost pass for 'normal', pays a visit to an antique dealer who has come into possession of a strange talisman.
Nancy Kilpatrick - Leesville, Louisiana: New to the show and terrified of the freaks, odd-job girl Ronee Sue makes fatal mistake of snooping in Malaleik The Dream Catcher's trailer ....
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 23, 2015 12:16:03 GMT
Scott Cupp - Bois D’Arc, Texas: Romantic interlude. Señorita Gato, the cat woman, falls for John Bob, the crippled bull whisperer, and vice versa. A riot drives them into each others arms. Oz is reluctant to lose a pivotal member of his entourage, but, fortunately, John Bob has a unique belt buckle to trade. All is resolved amicably.
Kathryn Ptacek - Palomita, New Mexico: Human torch woman, abused in childhood by her father who just happens to be a priest, stops off at his church to retrieve a relic. The tearless reunion does not pass without casualties. Oz's Oddities are looking an unstoppable force ....
|
|