#BookReview ‘New Fears 2’ edited by Mark Morris

About the book…

The horror genre’s greatest living practitioners drag our darkest fears kicking and screaming into the light in this second collection of brand-new tales of terror. Numinous, surreal and gut wrenching, New Fears II is a vibrant collection showcasing the very best fiction modern horror has to offer.

Stories by authors including Paul Tremblay,Tim Lebbon, Catriona Ward, Aliya Whitely, Stephen Volk and many , many more contribute original tales to ‘New Fears 2’, published by Titan Books in 2018, in paperback and ebook formats!

It follows the 2017 publication of ‘New Fears’, and, whilst editor Mark Morris states there is no specific them that the writers were asked to write about, there seems to this reader to be a thread running through the tales that speak to a very modern fear of not being seen.

Visibility, being seen and believed are motifs that run through tales which range from experimental story telling (Paul Tremblay) to body horror (Kit Power), elegant, literary horror from Laura Mauro, and psychological chills from Catriona Ward.

Every single one of these stories are brand new, not published before tales and therefore represent a unique tasting board of current horror sweetmeats, some of which may delectable and others you immediately want to spit out. It is a great opportunity for those dipping toes into new horror, to flex their reading muscles and see what takes their fancy.

Contents include-

‘Maw’ by Priya Sharma

Tradition, myth and fragile masculinity blend in this tale of isolation and family ties

‘The Airport Gorilla’ by Stephen Volk 

You’ll wish you only had a straw donkey or novelty tee shirt rather than this holiday souvenir..

‘Thumbsucker’ by Robert Shearman

DEEPLY disturbing, this takes a childish habit and turns it up to gross out

‘Bulb’ by Gemma Files

Absolutely bone chilling podcast transcript from a  woman who has become an icon for those who want to live off grid…permanently

‘Fish Hooks’ by Kit Power

This gave me Clive Barker vibes, it’s existential horror breaking new boundaries.

‘Emergence’ by Tim Lebbon

Off the beaten path tale of a morning run which goes completely awry.

‘On Cutler Street’ by Benjamin Percy

A Norman Rockwell-esque portrait of a suburban neighbourhood viewed through a Munch-esque viewfinder.

‘Letters From Elodie’ by Laura Mauro

Literary hauntings of unrequited love, an exquisite feeling of shivering goosebumps lingers after finsihing this one…

‘Steel Bodies’ by Ray Cluley

Another one which reminded me of ‘‘In The City,The Hills’, Clive Barker’s wonderful and monstrous tale from ‘The Book Of Blood’. Absolutely loved this story, I have not read anything by Ray Cluly before and am currently examining all my reading choices to date, where have I been ?!

‘The Migrants’ by Tim Lucas

Lovecraftian horror with a twist, this takes a relatively ‘normal’ request from friendly neighbours into another dimension.

‘Rut Seasons’ by Brian Hodge

The horrifying and desperately sad tale of a mother and daughter which lingers and comes back to haunt you.

‘Sentinel’ by Catriona Ward

Mother love takes on a whole new meaning…

‘Almost Aureate’ by V.H Leslie

Otherworldly creepiness which haunts a holiday-ing father , a tale of unease and parental responsibility gone awry.

‘The Typewriter’ by Rio Youers

Bargain Hunt will never be the same again, Rio takes a second hand ‘fixer-upper’ to a whole new level.

‘Leaking Out’ by Brian Evenson

A haunted house tale with a difference, a man looking for a place to shelter regrets his decision before morning.

‘Thanatrauma’ by Steve Rasnic Tem

Grief and loss of a life long companion are writ large upon the remaining days of a lost husband, his wife’s passing having had unexpected consequences.

‘Pack Your Coat’ by Aliya Whitely

Urban legend or twisted playground tale, whichever way this story is looked at, it will chill, scare and encourage you to read more by Aliya !

‘Haark’ by John Langan

A lesson on myth, in which Mr Haringa takes a history lesson and spills a tale of wretchedness, loss at sea, piracy and stolen things. Superb.

‘The Dead Thing’ by Paul Tremblay

In which a small boy brings home something in a box which first annoys, secondly grosses out and thirdly scares the bejesus out of his elder sister. And also this reader.

‘The Sketch’ by Alison Moore

Trauma, postnatal weariness and isolation all combine to haunt the woman at the center of this story as her husband tries to make space in their flat by getting rid of most of her belongings. Ailsa becomes haunted by smudges of pencil and charcoal as Peter attempts to erase her creativity from their lives as ‘irrelevant’. Haunting, lyrical and unsettling.

‘Pigs Don’t Squeal In Tigertown’ by Bracken MacLeod

A noir-esque crime story which goes to some dark places and boy does it deliver!

Do you enjoy short stories? Have you read anything by these authors? Drop me a line and let me know!

About the editor…

Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, ‘Toady’. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are ‘Stitch’, ‘The Immaculate’, ‘The Secret Of Anatomy’, ‘Fiddleback’, ‘The Deluge’

He has written tie-in novels for popular movies as well as orginal stories for ‘Doctor Who and ‘Torchwood’

His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.

His most recently published or forthcoming work includes Obsidian Heart trilogy and editing short story collections New Fears 1 and 2  for Titan Books.

Twitter @TitanBooks @MarkMorris10