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Title: Black Evening : Tales of Dark Suspense by David Morrell ISBN: 0-446-60864-5 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.82 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Finally in one volume
Comment: There have been several times that I have bought an anthology like "Prime Evil" so that I could read an otherwise unreleased Stephen King or Clive Barker story, and ended up being blown away by the stories of David Morrell. Finally, K-Tel-like, everyone can enjoy these powerful, imaginative stories without having to buy a dozen other books.
While this collection does not contain all of Morrell's short fiction, it does contain all that I had read in other anthologies, most notably the powerhouse novella "Orance is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity," one of my all-time pieces of fiction, short or otherwise. I am a fan of author notes in collections, and Morrell doesn't disappoint. While he doesn't expound the way that, say, Harlan Ellison does, there are short notes before each store in addition to a Foreword and Afterword, and these add a texture to the book that I think makes your first read more enjoyable and increases the re-readability. Plus if you've already read a couple of these in anthologies it is nice to see the author's perspective instead of the anthology editor's perspective before the stories.
I read this during a particularly hot summer week and found it to be perfect for this setting...the stories are engrossing enough that I forgot about the heat, and a few times I caught a genuine bit of a chill! Anyone who enjoys dark stories or speculative fiction should give this great book a read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Horror Fiction Lifted to the Level of Fine Art
Comment: Ordinarily I am not a huge fan of horror stories, but I can honestly say that Black Evening is frightfully fantastic. This spine-tingling collection of sixteen tales explores the dark side of greed, power, and madness. Morrell is able to pack a lot of punches and twists into his short (but not so sweet) stories. Moreover, his writing expresses his compassion and intelligence like that of an accomplished literary great.
An added bonus to this book is the foreward at the beginning of each story. Morrell discusses his development as a writer and shares with the reader his personal tales of triumph and tragedy: from his meeting with his idol, writer Stirling Silliphant, to the death of his teenage son to bone cancer. Each story seems to be weaved around an event that touched Morrell's life. This authenticity makes for a more eerie read. For example, "But at My Back I always Hear," is about a professor who is stalked by a female student infatuated with him. Morrell himself faced this dilemma while teaching at the University of Iowa. Other scary topics covered include an art historian who follows his subjects' break with reality and ultimate demise; an amateur writer who becomes a best-selling novelist with the help of a ghostly typewriter; and a high school football team that is victorious because the coach is dabbling in witchcraft and produces an evil good luck mascot.
Two of the stories in Black Evening won Best Novella, Horror Writers of America Award. One story was a nominee for this same award and one other story was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Morrell stated that the first piece of advice he received as a young writer was to write about what he feared most. Obviously he took that advice to heart and left us with some chilling entertainment.
Rating: 5
Summary: Morrell is a master of the horror novella.
Comment: Although his novels often include horrific elements, David Morrell rarely deals with the supernatural and macabre in his longer works. Rather, he explores those topics in his shorter work, such as those gathered in his 1999 collection BLACK EVENING. These well-crafted tales, written between 1971 and 1992, are ample credentials for recognizing Morrell's status among the modern masters of horror.
The stories selected for inclusion are presented in order of composition. In Morrell's words, they "wear their age well." "Tales of dark suspense," he continues, "their approach is different from that of my international thrillers. You won't find spies and round-the-globe intrigue here. What you will find are the stark emotions behind that intrigue: fear and trembling."
Fear does indeed lurk at the heart of these stories, and in many
permutations. This may be fear for the safety of your loved ones ("The Dripping"), fear of being exposed as a fraud ("The Typewriter"), or the fear of being caught up in someone else's delusions ("But at My Back I Always Hear You"). Each successive story peers deeper into the dark, revealing just how close at hand it really is. Whether he is writing about an apocalyptic thunderstorm, a high school football team that owes its
success to an idol, or a town paralyzed with fear over the presence of a serial killer, Morrell writes with an edge of the seat immediacy, an urgency that communicates his characters' fears directly to his readers.
How good are these stories? Consider this: the majority found homes in the premier anthologies of the eighties and nineties, including WHISPERS, SHADOWS, NIGHT VISIONS, PRIME EVIL, and DARK AT HEART. If you question the judgment of experienced editors like Charles Grant and Douglas Winter, you can always find assurance in the fact that two of the stories "The Beautiful Uncut Hair of Graves" and "Orange is for Anguish, Blue is for
Insanity," won Stokers for Best Novella. Enhanced by Morrell's revealing Foreword, individual story notes, and Afterword, BLACK EVENING makes for rewarding reading, the kind that keeps you up late into the night. Just don't turn off the lights.
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Title: Extreme Denial by David Morrell ISBN: 0446603961 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Desperate Measures by David Morrell ISBN: 0446602396 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Testament by David Morrell ISBN: 0446364487 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1993 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Totem by David Morrell ISBN: 0446364460 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Long Lost by David Morrell ISBN: 0446611948 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 31 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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