Title: “Darker Corners”
Author: Richard Cody
Release Date: September 10, 2010
Publisher: Lulu.com
Pages: 164
Price: $12.00 ($1 on Kindle)
ISBN: 0557598214
Genre: Horror
Review copy received from author.

Plot Synopsis: In these pages you will meet vampires, murderers, children and others who know where the shadows go. This expanded edition of Darker Corners pulls six new tales of dark wonder into the light. Read at your own risk. Some things are better left unseen.

Praise for “Darker Corners” (the following quotes refer to the first edition of the book):

“Stories like “A Night at the Games” where a girl literally chews herself into bits or “City Life”… leave you with a strange and macabre sense of awe…”
– E.S. Wynn

“The anthology format reminds me of TV shows like “Tales from the Darkside” or “Masters of Horror,” each instalment completely unique and distinct from each other, yet interconnected by their compelling use of language, imagery and sheer storytelling mastery.”
–Will “The Thrill” Viharo

Review:
This anthology collects fourteen of horror writer Richard Cody’s most macabre pieces in a showcase entitled Darker Corners. As with any other anthology, some stories are more engaging than others, but as veteran editor Ellen Datlow mused at the beginning of Inferno, horror is often better suited to the short form, and I have a tendency to agree with her on that one.

“The Homely Child” is the first story of the collection. Do folks remember that episode of Buffy when a student who feels ignored and marginalized actually feels like she’s going invisible only to discover that she’s right? In her case, it’s because the Hellmouth can actually cause weird supernatural phenomena like that to occur. In Cody’s story, Hector is a little rich boy who feels neglected and ignored by his family. He starts to play tricks on them only to notice that he is becoming invisible. He’s being erased from existence, as with Marty in Back to the Future. The story ends in a rather lacklustre way, and I was expecting a bigger finish.

The third story brings us to a small town setting with a “Great Flood” theme and lots of rain. Let’s just say that you might want to ignore Gene Kelly’s advice — don’t go singing in the rain.

“Since the First Day of our Acquaintance” starts off with a first person point of view that brings us into the mind of a murderer fresh from killing his own wife, only he starts to become her…

We go on a trip to the 1930s in “The Language of the Dead,” which starts with an ominous beginning. One character says to another, “May they [your bones] serve me, well, until of course they’re rotting in hell.” This one had a good creepy ending, which I enjoyed.

Also notable are the twin stories “Darkness Falls: The River” and “Darkness Falls: The City” which feature the same apocalyptic event, but in different timelines. Where the first story takes place in the post-2012 future where it turns out that the Mayans are right, the second one occurs at the turn of the twentieth century. Both stories present us with unique viewpoints and characters whose experiences enrich the tales and set them apart. Wonderfully creepy in both cases, especially “The River.”

In “Mary’s Place,” one of the most powerful lines is “…the smell of…magic bones of Lillith’s [sic] fallen daughters.” And although the story utilizes the second person point of view, it’s an interesting alternate to explore to the usual first and third. If you’re into horror stories that feel like one long LSD trip, mixed in with a vampire and an insane clown, you’ll likely enjoy this one.

The most interesting story for me was “The Interview,” which ended up being a bit of a disappointment but only because it ends so abruptly. It’s about a woman who is interviewing the former wife of a rock star who sold his soul to the Devil, presumably for talent and/or supremacy in the biz. “Idle Hands” is a continuation of the rock star character, John Moon, and plays with the reader’s head. Cody could easily expand Moon’s story into a novel and give “Heart-Shaped Box” author Joe Hill a run for his money

It’s a fairly decent collection, and if you enjoy Tales from the Darkside or Tales from the Cryptkeeper, you’ll appreciate this anthology.

Also, the book is currently being given away at Goodreads.com from now until January 13, 2011. Don’t miss out on your chance to win it! Also, follow Richard’s writing and publishing adventures at his Official Facebook page, Richard Cody – Poetry and Fiction.

List of Stories:
The Homely Child
A Night at the Games
Tales of Mercy
The Newlywed
Since the First Day of our Acquaintance
The Language of the Dead* (originally published in Eclectic Flash as “Devonshire 1934,” and has been selected for Eclectic Flash’s Best of 2010 anthology).
Down by the River, in the Pale Moonlight
Darkness Falls: the River
Darkness Falls: City Life
Mary’s Place
The Black Jelly
The Interview
Idle Hands
The Morning After