Suspended in Dusk
Edited by Simon Dewar
Books of the Dead
September 11th, 2014
Reviewed by Sheri White
With a foreword by Jack Ketchum and 19 fantastic stories by some great up-and-coming writers (including one from a master of the genre, Ramsey Campbell), Suspended in Dusk is one of the best anthologies I read in 2014.
I enjoyed Ketchum’s foreword as much as I enjoyed the stories; his writing is flawless whether fiction or non-fiction, and reading the foreword was like listening to him tell a story while sitting with him at a bar during a horror convention.
There are some truly creepy stories, one of my favorites was A Keeper of Secrets by Benjamin Knox, in which a little girl explores her recently deceased grandmother’s attic and makes a friend. As the little girl shares secrets with her new friend, the friend becomes increasingly strong and menacing. Great story.
Shane McKenzie has never disappointed, and his story Fit Camp rings true in our current world where people want quick gratification without putting in any effort.
Like a lot of people, I get claustrophobic in small spaces, and Ramsey Campbell’s Digging Deep touches that visceral part of us that wonders what would happen if we were buried alive somehow. Main character Alan Coe’s predicament is a nightmare that will mess with your head.
From an apocalypse in paradise to an unhinged astronaut, the stories here are very different, yet share the common theme of darkness, whether in tone or setting.
This is a perfect anthology, and I look forward to more by the editor.
