Read by Dawn

Love good horror, and Rayne's Hall The Bridge Chamber is one of the best. I was surprised and disappointed that, the "Curator" (cute!) did not list the authors' names - at horrorworld.org, I read about Read by Dawn and agree with Mario Guslandi - authors and bios would have personalized the anthology. I feel this detail gives credibility to the story and connects the reader to the story/book. When I first opened the book, titles seemed empty as if written by ghost writers. While browsing some of the authors, I found out about Katherine Patterson's editorship of AlienSkin and NocturanlOooze, that would have been nice to know in her bio. Overall, the quality of reading was superb - I did enjoy some stories more than others but I would want to read the other books in the series. Lessons by Katherine Patterson - love the plot, so simple, and then the ending! Frankie by Matt Wedge - the PoV of the boy was so engaging and then same thing, the ending! The Sutherland King by David Hutchinson - I wanted to know the recipe too, love the ending. Evangline by Andrew Wilson - love and hate this because of the premise of the story which, hating it, is oh so true, yes, love this one too. The Bridge Chamber by Rayne Hall - my favorite, SCARY, like the other reviewer, I want to know what is in the chamber, and yet, afraid, fantastic story building. The bio of the author would have helped but I searched and found her story, "Pancakes", in Flashquake 2005-2006, another must read. Then I found out this story received a Honourable Mention in the 'The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2007' compiled by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant. I am now searching for books written by Rayne Hall.

Saw a friend reading this and I read a couple of pages. Got my own copy and I am glad I did. Fantastic stories. The selection contains all kinds of horror. Superb imagery - and horror has to be conjured in the reader's mind to build up the mood, and most of the stories did that to me. I have a few favorites already and I'm not done reading - Lessons by Katherine Patterson, The Bridge Chamber by Rayne Hall. So far, my favorite has to be The Bridge Chamber - the build up and the ending were superb, I wanted to get out too, and I also wanted to know about the Chamber! - actually re-read that story, writing was so well-crafted. I'm searching for other short stories or books written by Rayne Hall.

This anthology is full of variety. Most every tale is dark in tone and packs a visceral punch, but the inspiration behind each story is different and it makes for a great package. Never mind that I'm in it; I was laid up in the hospital when I got my copy, and READ BY DAWN II made the time fly. Not a dull moment!