Michael Bray does it again!
This was my second Michael Bray short story collection. I gave the first one I listened to (Dark Corners) 4 stars and really considered it 4.5 stars, only lacking that last half star due to a few minor inconsistencies in a few of the stories. But I still thought it was very good. I went 5 full stars with Funhouse. There's really nothing lacking in these stories. Mr. Bray tells a variety of angles from the straight forward, in-your-face horror to the angular type story that brings you in one way and then turns you another way right at the end. I'm highly impressed with Mr. Bray's stories and his control of the narrative. I highly recommend both books.
Some highlights for me:
In Dark Corners Mr. Bray gives a unique spin on zombie stories, letting us see the perspective of a man turning into a zombie. I don't like zombies or zombie stories, but I liked that story quite a lot. In Funhouse, he gives us a future in which vampirism can be cured, and is in a man who is then immediately put on trial for all of the atrocities he committed while "infected". Hearing the former vampire's defense of his past in the court trial was interesting and somewhat interesting in a philosophical way. Again, I'm not a big fan of vampires or vampire stories, but Mr. Bray brought me a story that made me interested and kept me interested.
Cabin Fever is another standout story in which a young boy, reluctant on moving to a rural area with his family, soon finds adventure AND horror awaiting in the woods across the river. Am I bad for thinking of the "3 words" before he said them? He he he...
99.9 AM is another of my favorites. Maybe I knew the ending that was coming toward the end, but the story was still very engrossing.
Tilly - Can anything ever good come out of a story in which dolls are involved? No.
The man in the Alley was a superb twist on what I thought for sure was going to be the norm, a creepy homeless man abducting kids and you know. Great spin on that, Mr. Bray!
Kudos, on another fantastic collection of short horror stories!
-Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings
