August 6 - "Duel"

“Duel”
by by Richard Matheson
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1994)

* * * * (Great) Suspense

When Mann passes a truck only to find it come roaring past him moments later he realizes that he may be driving for his very life.

Matheson did a wonderful job creating suspense in this story of road rage. Nearly every sentence builds on the last, heightening the suspense, pulling you along for the crazy ride. I’ve actually been in a similar situation with an RV. Granted, the RV wasn’t trying to kill me (or maybe it was?), but we were racing each other down the road, cutting each other off – basically just pissing each other off, completely on purpose. At the time I was lost in the battle, but looking back – it was stupid. But it was fun.

August 3 - "The Distributor"

“The Distributor”
by Richard Matheson
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1994)

* * * * * (Excellent) Suspense

Theodore Gordon moves into a new neighborhood and proceeds to pit neighbor against neighbor until the entire street erupts in chaos.

I feel as though I know this story from somewhere…I just can’t place it. I did, however, enjoy it tremendously. I think it’s fascinating that one man can prey on the fears and feelings of others to the point in which, with a simple nudge, neighbors attack each other. It shouldn’t be so easy to convince people of the worst, but with the negativity and pessimism we’ve developed as a culture, it really isn’t such a surprise that Gordon’s plan works so well. Now, I just wish I could remember where I’ve heard this story from before.

[This story was read on August 3. The review was not posted until later due to laziness on my part.]

May 9 - "Dying Room Only"

“Dying Room Only”
by Richard Matheson
Button, Button: Uncanny Stories (2008)

* * * (Good) Suspense

A husband and wife stop at a diner before crossing an empty desert. The woman returns from the washroom to find her husband has disappeared, and the last couple of people to see him are anything but helpful.

I expected something more gruesome from the ending. The building suspense over the missing husband’s whereabouts led me to believe something terrible – or more terrible – had happened to him. I suppose in the 56 years since the story was first published, things and thoughts have grown darker, happy endings harder to come by. The story was entertaining in the way that some episodes of old television shows have nifty ideas hidden behind the hooky trappings of the past.

April 21 - "Bob"

“Bob”
by Bentley Little
The Collection (2002)

* * * (Good) Suspense

Brandon is overwhelmed by seven elderly women who mistake him for Bob, a man who can help their friend Libby escape from her abusive husband.

You can get quite a lot of mileage out of a story of mistaken identity. These stories can go in many different directions – most ending poorly for at least one of the involved characters. But, they are, more often than not, fun. This story, and more than a handful of others like it, ends up being a brilliant little kernel of what might be a fascinating longer tale. For example, Dean Koontz takes this very same conceit – a man mistaken for a hitman – and turns it into a novel, The Good Guy (a novel in which I’m already a few chapters deep). It always amazes me how connected things can be. I have to say, though, the idea of seven elderly women barging into my home would almost terrify me to the point of accepting whatever sad story and/or deal they were peddling.

April 17 - "Soap"

“Soap”
by Deb Olin Unferth
Minor Robberies (2007)

* * * * (Great) Suspense

A woman and her husband living on the left side of a house find their soap disappearing day after day. The culprit – the creature – is adept at avoiding detection, while the couple tries everything, including poisons, to stop this thief of soap.

Points for eeriness. You wouldn’t imagine a story about a soap-stealing creature to elicit such – fear. The story has a wonderful dichotomy of humor and horror. It’s a combination that works so well in horror stories, be they movies or prose. What’s different here is that the humor comes out of the playfulness of the prose, not the jokes and antics that usually compose this side of the dynamic. I’m sure this isn’t anything new, but it is the first time I’ve noticed the combination, and I was impressed. This was a frightening surprise wrapped in a pretty package.

April 12 - "In the Deathroom"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“In the Deathroom”
by Stephen King
Everything’s Eventual (2002)

* * * * (Great) Suspense

Fletcher is dragged into a deathroom and placed in a chair facing three individuals wishing to have a conversation – interrogation – about the mysterious and rebellious El Condor. His only hope for survival is escape.

A little bit of torture in the deathroom. You see and read so much about torture and its impact becomes something less than horrific. Yes, it is still often cringe-worthy, but no longer so much in idea, but in the various new methods people invent. I enjoyed that King put us in the mind of Fletcher so that we could better experience the thrill of fighting back, of escape. I think it not unusual for people to place themselves in situations such as this (or time in prison, or being shot, or fighting for your life) in an attempt to test the limits of their own courage or fortitude. That we have stories such as this allows us that experience. It is well done and you come away feeling – hoping – you are half as strong as Fletcher. Not all stories have happy endings, but sometimes a little hope isn’t such a bad thing.

March 5 - "Johnny Cash Is Dead"

“Johnny Cash Is Dead”
by Jordan Harper
Hardcore Hardboiled

* * * * (Great) Suspense

John Mashburn is not the young man he once was. As he climbs the three flights of stairs seeking revenge against the man who harmed his granddaughter, he worries about the knee he injured years ago in prison, and what impact this climb of stairs and injury will have on his cold plan of punishment.

Now this is the type of story I bought the collection hoping to find. It is well paced, brutal, and contains that hard-edged dialogue you expect to find in a collection with the words “hardcore” and “hardboiled” in the title. It is a revenge story, which is nothing new, but what elevates it above the common tale is the language – you feel as though you are with that old man climbing the long stairs in search of revenge for the crimes committed against his granddaughter. There is also a nice twist near the end of the story, along with an unexpected, but fitting end.

“He knew he had to answer for what he did, so he didn’t hold it against us for doing what we had to do. And my whole life I’ve thought more of that hanged son of a bitch than a lot of people who never did wrong, but never did right either.”

Revenge colored with responsibility – what sounds more noble than that?

February 4 - "The Phonebook Man"

“The Phonebook Man”
by Bentley Little
The Collection (2002)

* * (Okay) Suspense

Nina answers the door early in the morning to find a phonebook salesman peddling on her front step. The smallest kindness – the use of the bathroom – lands Nina a guest she can’t shake loose.

There are some unexplained occurrences - namely what happens when the phonebook man emerges from the bathroom - that ground this story to a halt. They are not explained, and the glaringly “huh?” moments should never be left unaccounted for. The idea of a guest overstaying his welcome is not new, but Little does manage a fine job of constructing fear and suspense that feels true to Nina. However, there were simply too many unanswered questions and puzzling moments for this story to shine for me.

January 25 - "Dolan's Cadillac"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“Dolan’s Cadillac”
by Stephen King
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

* * * * (Great) Suspense

Dolan killed Robinson’s wife with eight sticks of dynamite wired to her car to keep her from testifying against him. In the years since her death, there has been only one voice demanding, one thought heavy on his mind: revenge. The plan – patient and perfect – forms after trailing Dolan in his Cadillac on one of his routine trips between California and Las Vegas. Robinson will take care of Dolan - Cadillac and all - once and for all, even if it kills him trying.

I enjoy stories in which characters undergo transformations. Robinson transforms himself from a lumpy, soft schoolteacher into a cold, hard angel of revenge. The meticulousness of his plot doesn’t bog down the story; the writing drives along at a quick pace. As with most of King’s characters, you understand the pain and motives that drive Robinson to the deeds done, and you sympathize with him. Brutal as revenge can be, you are right there with Robinson, willingly and eagerly carrying out the plan against the untouchable Dolan.

January 11 - "The Gingerbread Girl"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“The Gingerbread Girl”
by Stephen King
Just After Sunset (2008)

* * * * * (Excellent) Suspense

Emily began running to escape the sadness of the death of her baby daughter. At first she ran from the pain, then from her marriage, before finally finding some small measure of peace while running the beach and two-mile stretch of road on the summer-deserted Vermillion Key in Florida. And then one day, with one quick peek past the open gate of the Pickering place – one glance at something not supposed to be seen - Emily finds herself running for her very life.

This is yet another amazing story by King. If you didn’t know the author and simply started this story, you wouldn’t even imagine where the tale eventually ends up. I know stories by Stephen King, and even I was surprised halfway through when things took a horrific turn. King is a master at creating truly evil characters that, while quite crazy, still seem real and possibly waiting right down the street. He also manages to create believable “regular” folk – with all their problems, feelings, emotions, and weakness. While Emily is a victim, you never feel she is without reason or strength (a common trait in female victims in horror stories). Crafted so well is this story that I can’t help believe it won’t be picked up and filmed some day like so many of King’s works.