The Book Of The Dead edited by Jared Shurin, part 3
The Dedication Of Sweetheart Abbey
Body horror in this ridiculous story.
All Is Dust
Four loud brash Londoners encounter horror. Very good.
Best Lines:
“He bellows at something approaching stadium rock band volume.”
“IKEA is what happens to people in lower tax brackets.”
Bit-U-Men
A creepy tale of a mummy and candy. Good and lacking all morality and respect.
Egyptian Death And The Afterlife: Mummies (Rooms 62-3)
A tale of an immortal tomb guardian. Okay.
Akhenaten Goes To Paris
A mummy wanders around in the modern day. Okay.
The Thing Of Wraith
An Egyptian curse stalks Victorian London. Okay but feels unfinished.
Three Moments Of Death
A tale of ancient Egypt. Dull.
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Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older
The 1st in the ‘Bone Street Rumba’ series starts out well and then halfway though turns boring and repetitive. Carlos is an agent for the Council Of Death and deals with entities that like him, walk the fine line between life and death. A mad sorcerer and horrible little monsters have invaded the city but all Carlos can really think about is his galpal. This had promise but ultimately disappointed so I won’t bother with the sequel ‘Midnight Taxi Rango’.
Best Lines:
“Wherever the horrible is more horrible.”
“The utter illogic of his decision.”
“I never drank again. I sold all my coke.”
“You sold it? Most people just flush it.”
“I’m a businessman.”
“Watching a family to whom you’re only a memory.”
“Appears to be velcroed to the stretcher.”
“That meticulously build their traps and then lie in wait, for centuries if need be.”
“The ruinous dead.”