Welcome to Big, Fat Book Week! I’ve been reading 500+ page books lately so it seemed the right time to dedicate a whole week to them. Let’s start with a new, massive (795 pages!) short story anthology. I’m not a big ghost story fan, but Ellen Datlow’s new anthology casts a wide net over the entire genre. There are mostly new stories and a few older stories include between these covers.
My favorite story is Alice Hoffman’s “The Other Woman.” Hoffman introduces us to someone familiar with ghosts and someone who explains how ghosts operate. Sadly, many of the stories in Echo are very sketchy about ghosts and that vagueness does not enhance their work. I also liked Seanan McGuire’s chilling “Must Be This Tall to Ride” about a carnival ride with ghostly aspects. Aliette de Bodard’s story of a sister trying to save her sister’s unborn child from ghosts is very gripping. And Jeffrey Ford’s “The Jeweled Wren,” a story about a retired couple who decide to explore a haunted house, shows the consequences of their grave mistake. Of the older short stories, I liked F. Marion Crawford’s spooky tale, “The Upper Berth,” from 1886. If you’re in the mood for a ghostly Smörgåsbord of stories, Echo is the book for you. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction Ellen Datlow xii
“Ice Cold Lemonade 25ȼ Haunted House Tour: 1 Per Person,” by Paul Tremblay 1
“Linger Longer,” by Vincent J. Masterson 29
“Whimper Beg,” by Lee Thomas 53
“The July Girls,” by Alison Littlewood 85
“About the O’Dells,” by Pat Cadigan 107
“A Hinterlands Haunting,” by Richard Kadrey 141
“The Number of Things You Remember,” by M. L. Siemienowicz 155
“Must Be This Tall to Ride,” by Seanan McGuire 181
“The Surviving Child,” by Joyce Carol Oates 191
“The Medium’s End,” by Ford Madox Ford 247
“A Shade of Dusk,” by Indrapramit Das 256
“Icarus Rising,” by Richard Bowes 286
“The Puppet Motel,” by Gemma Files 300
“Air Valve Semilunar Astern,” by Nick Mamatas 340
“The Unwrapping,” by Terry Dowling 348
“The Upper Berth,” by F. Marion Crawford 376
“A Burning Sword for Her Cradle,” by Aliette de Bodard 403
“Precipice,” by Dale Bailey 428
“The Shooter,” by M. Rickert 457
“The Tree of Self-Knowledge,” by Stephen Graham Jones 468
“The Other Woman,” by Alice Hoffman 500
“The Loneliness of Not Being Haunted,” by Bracken MacLeod 505
“Mee-Ow,” by Garth Nix 525
“Jasper Dodd’s Handbook of Spirits and Manifestations,” by Nathan Ballingrud 542
“His Haunting,” by Brian Evenson 570
“The Jeweled Wren,” by Jeffrey Ford 588
“The Air, the Ocean, the Earth, the Deep,” by Siobhan Carroll 608
“The Ghost Sequences,” by A. C. Wise 627
“Deep, Fast, Green,” by Carole Johnstone 653
“Natalia, Queen of the Hungry Dogs,” by John Langan 691
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 783
I like Casper!
Bob, I used to read CASPER comic books when I was a kid.
I don’t like reading e-books and find books of this size too big, heavy, and cumbersome to read comfortably. But I do like ghost stories and know from much previous experience that Datlow is a terrific editor. About a third of the authors here are somewhat familiar but I haven’t read any of the stories. I do have a collection of ghost stories by Henry James near the top of my TBR stack.
Michael, I’ve read the Henry James ghost stories. “Turn of the Screw” is a classic. I, too, struggle with big, heavy, cumbersome books.
I read Casper too, because my Mom wouldn’t let me buy the violent DC or Marvel titles. Later, I gorged on them, specifically Batman and Fantastic Four.
Rick, my parents didn’t put any reading restrictions on me so I could read Casper and Batman and the Fantastic Four all together.
I have read about half the stories in Echoes and so far my favorites are the Jeffrey Ford and John Langan
Steve, I liked Jeffrey Ford’s story, “The Jeweled Wren,” a lot!
By coincidence, I noticed this in the library here last week. Won’t be reading it, though. I do like Jeffrey Ford and have read a couple of his collections.
M. R. James is my favorite in this category.
Jeff, I’ve read several M.R. James stories and enjoyed them. I need to read more Jeffrey Ford.
Sounds good, but if I put this on Mount TBR right now there will be a tragic avalanche! Going to have to wait a while for this one.
Jerry, you can’t go wrong with an Ellen Datlow anthology! But ECHOES is massive!
Glad to see you reading short stories for Short Story February! Ghost stories aren’t my thing, but I’m glad you enjoyed this anthology.
Rick, ghost stories aren’t my thing, either, but I pick up Ellen Datlow’s anthologies because of the consistent quality of the stories.
I was just notified that Michael Sullivan’s AGE OF DEATH, book 5 of his Legends of the First Empire series, which I have liked very, very much, will be here tomorrow, and that the final volume will be published in May. To read right away, or wait until May and read the final two back to back?
Rick, I have purchased Michael Sullivan’s LEGIONS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE series based on your earlier reviews. I’m haven’t read them yet. I’m waiting for all five books to be in my hands before I binge!
Six books. Number 5 arrives today, Number 6 in May.
Rick, you’re right. But, I’m waiting for all the books to arrive before I start reading the series.
George, I like ghost stories, more as comic-books than books; maybe owing to the visual elements, which is the reason I occasionally read EC Comics online. I think I still have a couple of Casper comics somewhere, part of a bunch of Harvey Comics I owned as a kid.
Prashant, I wish I still had my CASPER comic books. I loved them as a kid. I also enjoyed the cartoon CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST series.