Close to Midnight
edited by Mark Morris
published by Flame Tree Press
publication date: October, 2022
320 pages
The anthology begins with WOLVES by Rio Youers, a decent story about a close-knit community that has been ‘guarded’ by a family for generations. But then a murder happens, which causes the protagonist to start seeing visions of giant wolves above the town. But could they be real?; Jenn Ashworth’s FLAT 19 is a sci-fi horror story about a woman who hires a company to make a dummy/clone of her so that she can take a time off while the copy of her does the heavy work for a while. But, her personality is also copied into the mannequin, and her survival instinct works tragically against her; Ramsey Campbell’s THE OPERATED is again, one story that feels familiar in its format, that is not to say that it is a bad one, but rather it’s one of those that are not much written anymore. A man with cancer goes for a secretive new treatment that will heal him completely. However, the cure has some secondary effects, and the way to get rid of it, it’s by taking advantage of others; Philip Fracassi’s AUTUMN SUGAR is about a couple whose child goes to the woods searching for his dog, however, he doesn’t come back. The couple have an argument and keep delaying searching for their son, until it’s too late; Sharon Gosling’s SOUVENIRS is about a daughter trying to get his dad to a retirement home and making him let go of all his stuff. However, some of his ‘souvenirs’ have more than sentimental value because they are part of his memory and some of those memories are not too jolly; Muriel Gray’s BEST SAFE LIFE FOR YOU is a story in a classic Stephen King fashion about a couple who buy a security system after their son was mugged, and the police did nothing even when they even had video footage. The company is a sketchy one and all you have to do is keep the checks coming, and your house will be safe. But, if you don’t pay, the consequences will be bloody; Charlie Hughes’ REMAINS is a competent story about a dead woman who haunts a train station waiting for her killer’s comeuppance while trying to scream for help to any passerby; Jonathan Janz’ ROOM FOR THE NIGHT is about a haunted man that wants proof that he’s not crazy by paying a young neighbor to sleep in his bedroom and tell him after if he saw anything. This story feels like good old classic horror; Brian Keene’s THE FLOOR IS LAVA takes the title's fun game reference to an extreme when an old man starts having panic attacks after having visions of lava instead of floor. And that phobia turns for the worse when he realizes that was only the ‘first stage’; Carole Johnstone’s THE NINE OF DIAMONDS is a smart suspense tale about a woman getting hired by a strange company that deals in ‘justly’ tormenting people. It has great Twilight Zone vibes; Stephen Laws’ THE TRUE COLOR OF BLOOD is about, well, blood-ties, but ones that come from a murderer. Will they pass on to their children?; In Alison Littlewood’s IN THE WABE a mother loses her child in a park and soon realizes that someone or something has taken her to ‘the other side’. In getting her daughter back, she will transform into somebody else; Laura Mauro’s THE SPACEMAN’S MEMORY BOX is about a child’s game in which they have to break into a house and steal a strange object. While the story has little horror or suspense, it’s also a contemplative take on growing up and letting go of fears; Seanan McGuire’s COLLAGEN is an intelligent story about environmental change, but takes the title’s word as its axis for the preservation of the future, with echos of modern pandemic times; Alison Moore’s WELCOME TO THE LODGE is about a woman who signs up to a strange clinic because she has upsetting nightmares and wants to get rid of them. Eventually, she, the patient, will become a prisoner of her mind. One of the highlights of this anthology; Adam L. G. Nevill’s RISE UP TOGETHER is another highlight suspense story of this anthology: a man goes to visit an old friend in a strange town where almost all the residents are old. He has problems adjusting to the very strict behavioral rules and turns into a bit of a rebel, but his actions will cost him dearly. An author to watch; Carl Tait’s THE FORBIDDEN SANDWICH — one of the better tales in this anthology — is about a man who discovers that a sandwich gave high intelligence to a former physicist who was very successful some years ago, but that is now ailed by dementia. The protagonist searches for the same secret ingredient that will give him an advantage in art, but the secondary effects prove to be too great a risk; Steve Rasnic Tem’s BAGS is yet another tale about a sons-and-parents relationship in which the protagonist deals with his father’s sickness. The regrets turn into a creature that haunts him even after his father is gone; Evelyn Teng’s GOING HOME is about a fantasy world in which a couple fight against an undying curse that befell on their little son without him realizing it. It’s a bloody tale, but one that makes good use of its twist; Conrad Williams’s I PROMISE is about a young man who can’t quite deal with his father passing away, and then his body begins to exude some strange smell and his skin becomes too dry. Yet, his father’s promise of always staying with him proves to be quite literal. ~
