Edited By Jeani Rector
BearManor Fiction
ISBN: 978-1593933562
Review Posted: 02/05/2010
Review by Robert Walter
And Now the Nightmare Begins: THE HORROR ZINE is the first anthology of some of the best contributors to the online Horror Zine edited by Jeani Rector and published by Bear Manor Media, a publisher know for their non-fiction books on early Hollywood and 1950’s to 1980’s Television Shows. The Horror Zine is an online publication for authors, artists and poets to publish and share their darker sides. Ms. Rector is not only the editor of the anthology, but is a contributor as well with two stories.
The authors of the remaining short stories are: Lawrence Barker, Jason D. Brawn, David Byron, Ramsey Campbell, Chris Castle, Simon Clark, Connor De Bruler, Trevor Denyer, Alan Draven, Terry Grimwood, Kyle Hemmings, Christina Hoag, David W. Landrum, Rick McQuiston, Bryan Medof, B.A. Sans, Brian J. Smith, Anna Taborska, E.J. Tett and Debra Young.
The Artists are: Ignacio Bernacer Alpera, Luis Diaz, Ryan Doan, Mike Kerins, Tom Mattel, Liza Phoenix, Joe Roger, Muhammad Azri Sazali, Justin Stauffer.
The poets are: Dennis Bagwell, Kate Bernadette Benedict, Gary William Crawford, Norbert Hirschhorn, Jean Jones, Joe R. Lansdale, Juan Perez, D.L. Pesavento, Stephanie Smith, Sylvia Tanaka, Scott Urban and Bruce M. Whealton.
The cover art of the front cover by Ryan Doan is disturbing which is the perfect fit for this anthology and sets the bar for the remaining artwork that appears throughout the anthology. There really are some creatively and artistically dark minds out there which complement the stories as well as the poetry.
The collection of short stories, poetry and artwork is a veritable treasure trove of dark repulsive story telling by truly creative writers and artists. Every item brings a piece of real life into the dark world of horror fiction. This “familiarity” from real life makes the horror that much more visceral to the reader. The collection literally spans the full spectrum of horror from cockroaches, rats, mineshafts and dead lovers. There is definitely something here for everyone. While some of the names are not as well known as others, I have a feeling we will be hearing them more often in the future.
Overall this first collection is well put together and comes off very well. I strongly recommend it to any horror lover out there.
