Book Review: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Book: 20th Century Ghosts
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural... Other

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This book of short stories is a fantastic piece of work by Joe Hill. And...(at least in the audio book) there's a secret story in the back. :)

I'd say my favorite short that is in this compilation is Best New Horror, a story of a man who edits the volume Best New Horror each year. He gets a submission that quickens his blood, one that he simply must have. However, finding the author of the story proves to be difficult... and what the editor finds is unexpected and horrifying. I love it because of the ending, which I will not spoil, but it's truly a must read.

My next favorite is an ultra short called Dead-Wood about ghost trees. It's hard to explain, you'll just have to read it... you can go to audible.com and hear that one for free - it's the one that got me excited about buying this book.

Another great story is the last one - the one that is hidden much like a "secret song" that one used to find on CD's. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but let's just say it's about a father and his typewriter.

The last story I will mention here is the one the book is named for, called 20th Century Ghost. About a girl who haunts a classic old theatre called the Rosebud. She was beautiful in life and makes for a lovely, shocking sight to all that see her.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories. As Christopher Golden says in his introduction, they are not all horror stories, but gems from an author who represents promise fulfilled.

Book Review: Writers of the Future Vol XX presented by L. Ron Hubbard

Book: Writers of the Future, Vol. 20
Author: A collaboration of talented authors

Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments:

I'm not always always enamored with these collaboration pieces, however this particular Writers of the Future volume really stood out for me. The majority of the stories were fantastic, and there's little nuggets of gold in there from acclaimed writers and editors like Robert Heinlein, Algis Budrys and L. Ron Hubbard. So, these books really have something for everyone.

I really love the Writers of the Future contest because it gives such a wonderful opportunity to aspiring writers. The winning writers get their work published in one of the Writers of the Future volumes and some get cash prizes. The judges of the contest are writers and editors themselves, so they generally pick excellent material for the books.

Just as a note, my favorite stories in the book are:
Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats by Kenneth Brady
Shipwoman by Roxanne Hutton
The Key by Blair MacGregor

Book Review: Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

The Book: Fragile Things
The Author: Neil Gaiman

The Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy (mostly Fantasy)

Julia Rating: 10 (out of a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

My Comments:
A fabulous compilation of short stories and poetry by a modern master.
I loved reading this compilation of Fantasy, Sci Fi and Supernatural stories by Neil Gaiman - he is one of my personal favorites.

A fun feature of this book is that with each story comes author commentary, which is great for writers and readers alike.
Writers constantly get asked the question, "Where do your ideas come from?". This book is not only a great compilation of stories and poetry, but also delves into the answer to that question - at least as far as Neil Gaiman is concerned. Neil Gaiman's commentary gives you a peak into his interesting, dark and somewhat twisted mind.