Shivers III

This eighteen story horror collection features tales that first appear in this book though some will have probably reappeared elsewhere since. As were the cases of the previous two collections, SHIVERS III runs the gamut of horror from the supernatural to the psychological to the suspense. Douglas Clegg makes his third appearance with several newcomers to the series like Wrath James White provide entries. None of the contributions are sub par. Especially extraordinary are Meggan C and F Paul Wilson's "Itsy Bitsy Spider", Thomas Monteleone's "Horn of Plenty" (Satchmo - enough said) and the haunting "This, That's the End of It" by Tom Piccirilli. This is a fascinating anthology especially for readers who appreciate diverse shorts. Harriet Klausner

This is the best collection of horror short stories I've read to date, whether magazine, ezine or anthology. Usually, in a good collection, you have to read four or five bad stories to get to one good one. A truely scary story is rare. Most of the stories in this collection are entertaining at worst. Some of the better stories include Underneath, Becoming Men, Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Questions of Doves, The Lingering scent of Brimstone, Please Let me Out, What they left Behind, and This House is Not My Home. The Itsy Bitsy Spider was scary enough to make my stomach hurt. Chizmar clearly knows how to put a collection of horrific stories together.