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Post by dem on Feb 10, 2011 19:58:39 GMT
Robert Bloch - The Skeleton in the Closet: the Reader's Bloch, volume 2ed. Stefan R. Dziemianowicz (Subterranean Press; 2008)  Gahan Wilson
The Last Plea
The Strange Island of Dr. Nork
Skeleton in the Closet
The Bat is My Brother
The Hound of Pedro
Iron Mask
The Red Swimmer
Curse of the House
Pink Elephants
Unheavenly Twin
Tooth or Consequences
The Tchen Lam's Vengeance
Satan's Servants
Fairy Tale
The Mad Scientist
The Funny Farm
The Tempterintrigued by Lord P.'s comments, i had to check up on this The Skeleton in the Closet, and purely on the strength of the nine i'm familiar with, it looks to be one of his better collections - no surprise, really, with the demonic Mr. Dziemianowicz at the helm. will maybe add some comment on Satan's Servants, Skeleton in the Closet, Iron Mask and The Tchen Lam's Vengeance at a later date, but after that i'm knackered. The Hound Of Pedro: Pedro Dominguez and his men ride into Sonora and hitch up outside the mission house. The terrifying Pedro humbly requests of the padre that he immediately pronounce the prayer for the dead. 'Who for?', wonders the good father. Ask a stupid question .... After the ensuing butchery, Pedro, his huge black devil dog, and trusted sidekick Abouri, a Moorish wizard, commandeer the convent. Those of the local Yakuis tribe who survived the conflict are set to mining gold, while their women become his to abuse. The young maidens he 'invites' to join him at the mission house are never seen again. When ten young braves dare remonstrate with him, they are buried to their necks in the sand for he and his men to bowl at with huge wooden balls .... Meanwhile, Don Manuel Digron and his troops arrive at the canyon. The Holy Inquisition have shown a great interest in Pedro ever since he fled their clutches and escaped to Mexico. Learning from the Yakuis that this night Pedro and Abouri have repaired to their subterranean temple where they intend to sacrifice a virgin to the Devil, Digron prepares a surprise attack .... Devil Worship, lycanthrope, demonology, a severed head or two (it's a Robert Bloch story, after all) and some no-nonsense, Ripper-style tearing apart of a human body - all present and correct in this unashamedly gung-ho pulp romp. And the ending reads like a Spaghetti Hammer Horror. The Funny Farm: Joseph Satterlee, a retired accountant, lives as a recluse, his only companions the comic strips he's amassed these past fifty years, having spent a small fortune on old newspapers that ran them during his youth. Mandrake the Magician, Prince Valiant, Happy Hooligan and Little Orphan Annie & Co., are his friends of fifty years. Lenny Morgan, a burglar with a very nasty streak, gets wind of old Joe's collection and dollar signs flash before his eyes .... Two vampire stories; for this reader, one of Bloch's best and one of his dead irritating, unfunny worst. The Bat Is My Brother: Recently resuscitated Graham Keene is the plaything of an unnamed Prussian undead who regards the human race as "cattle" and will stop at nothing to achieve global domination. Keene seems to be going along with him, but sentiments like "let him suffer until the maggots at last reach his corrupt brain and eat away his evil consciousness" suggest there are still some bridges to be built in their relationship. Tooth Or Consequences: Young dentist Henry Spencer is working lates when he receives his first visit from Vonier whose cavities require urgent attention. Spencer can't but think those massive incisors are too big for his patients mouth and loses it completely when he discovers Vonier casts no reflection. Dr. King prescribes garlic pills to cure his dizzy spells, and that seems to do the trick as, next time Henry gets to work on Vonier the patient looks a whole lot healthier and even shows up in mirrors. Now it's Dr. King who has a problem: some jerk has been raiding the plasma supplies ...
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Post by andydecker on Feb 10, 2011 20:52:43 GMT
These plots sound fairly complex for short stories.
This sure looks like a nice edition. And a Gahan Wilson cover is a bonus.
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