Tombs - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1565049055 ISBN 13: 9781565049055

Publisher: White Wolf Publishing, 1995

Synopsis

Twenty-three original tales of horror explore the dark worlds of tombs, catacombs, ancient temples, a crashing submarine, and a derelict space station

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Any book in which William F. Buckley Jr. cohabits with camp king Forrest J Ackerman is nothing if not diverse. Indeed, the theme of entombment takes many shapes in the 21 stories and one poem (Ackerman's goofy intro defies classification) that comprise this satisfying anthology that embraces a variety of genres and prose styles. Some of the tombs, like a jukebox containing someone's ashes in Michael Bishop's witty "Epistrophy" or the belly of a fantastic whale in Stewart von Allmen's "He on Honeydew," are literal. Others, as in Buckley's "The Temptation of Wilfred Malachey," are more metaphorical, dealing with characters trapped by fate or their own natures. Most stories have some touch of horror; although in Charles de Lint's "Heartfires" and Ian McDonald's "The Time Garden," the mythic and the frightening become delightfully homey. Some authors inject elements of science fiction (Ben Bova, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Colin Greenland); some call on the supernatural (Lisa Tuttle, Nancy A. Collins, S.P. Somtow); some conjure exotic adventure (Michael Moorcock, Storm Constantine); and some stick to realism (Larry Bond and Chris Carlson's "Burial at Sea" is an emotionally effective story about a submarine accident). This is agreeable grab bag of claustrophobic, mortifying pleasures.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An anthology of short stories by an impressive collection of some of the best authors writing today, Tombs explores forces, people and things better left forgotten. The theme is not limited to the classic definition of the word "Tomb" but rather, focuses on the metaphorical understanding of "Tomb" as something which often serves to trap the mind and restrain the soul. Tombs is definitely a different read, and features some exceptional and notable authors: Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman, Michael Bishop, Larry Bond, Ben Bova, Joe R. Lansdale, Kathe Koja, Storm Constantine, Robert Holdstock, and others. -- Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1565049055
• ISBN 13: 9781565049055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 346
• Editor: Edward E. Kramer & Peter Crowther