Edited Brian Barnett and William Pauley III
Published by New Flesh Books
ISBN: 9780557135035
Review by Robert Walter
Review Posted: 10/28/2009
Toe Tags is an anthology containing 21 stories written by 17 authors. The hook for this anthology is that the authors are known for flash and short stories, but agreed to do something longer for this anthology. Many of the authors’ names will be familiar to those of us that have been reading contemporary horror for awhile. Authors like L.B. Goddard and Lori Titus jump out of this list along with the new authors such as Stephanie Barnett and Chad Chase. Add to this the artwork for each story by Joshua Day, Melanie Pauley and William Pauley III and you have an attractive well rounded anthology.
The stories of this anthology run the full range, and beyond, of the horror genre: a run- down carnival, a succubus, beyond lifelike tattoos, hunting explosive zombies with your insane uncle, vampires vs. zombies vs. humans and an anatomically-correct doll are some examples. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun by going into too much detail on the stories, but this is one of the better anthologies I have read lately. The accompanying artwork really does complement and add a feel to the book that would otherwise not be there.
If you enjoy your horror fresh and new this is a book for you.
Complete list of authors contained in the anthology: Brian Barnett, Stephanie Barnett, Jimmy Calabrese, Chad Case, Joshua Day, Robert C. Eccles, L.B. Goddard, Oonah V Joslin, Michael A. Kechula, T.J. McIntyre, William Pauley III, Graeme Reynolds, Nathan Rosen, Brett Saunders, Joshua Scribner, Lori Titus and Angel Zapata.
