The Dark Descent edited by David Hartwell

[bschulte]

I've just started reading this 1000+ page Horror anthology edited by David Hartwell, and I've got to say it's either the best or second-best anthology I've ever read. The only book that can even hold a candle to it is Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. That book was first released in 1944 however, so The Dark Descent has the added benefit of over 40 years of newer tales (it was released in the 1980's originally). I'm only about 15 stories into this massive book and I've already read some classics. Just a few that come to mind include Stephen King's "The Reach", "The Ash-Tree" by M. R. James, "Mr. Justice Harbottle" by Joseph Le Fanu, "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and "The Call of Cthulhu" by Lovecraft. But possibly the very best story I've read so far is Michael Shea's Sci-Fi/Horror masterpiece "The Autopsy". WOW. I normally reserve judgement until the end of a book to recommend it, but considering I haven't even read any stories by the likes of Ambrose Bierce, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Machen, Edgar Allan Poe, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, Robert Bloch, or Joyce Carol Oates (with many other superb authors not even mentioned!), I feel safe in saying that this book should be on every horror fans' shelf. Considering its length, this book is very affordable. You can get either version for under $20 at Amazon.com, and you could get an even better deal at Ebay or Abebooks if you're patient. In any event, get this book. You will not regret it. I'll have my usual rankings and comments of this one when I finish it.



The Dark Descent - Paperback

The Dark Descent - Hardcover