Shock Rock II: Shock Rock II

All of the stories are scary, but the stand out in this book is "The Undeadliest Game." Deeply intense, passionate, scary, horrifying and incredibly dark are the words that first came to my mind when I read this story by Bill Mumy and Peter David (That right, the guys who brought us SPACE CASES wrote one of the scariest stories I have ever read.) On a night of thunder and rain is the best time to read this story because of the creepy vibes it gives off. It's definitely shocking with a lot of rock and roll included as well. It's a story about a mother and daughter who don't quite come to terms with anything in life. And how her mother doesn't approve of the rocker she's dating (to put it mildly) or whatever you want to call it. The dream is back with a vengeance in this story of a dark rock star and a woman who sees the reflection of her mother in the mirror which is not what she wanted at all. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested throughout the whole thing. It is a sexy, hot read! Might make your heart skip a beat or two...or three. I enjoyed the first short story that Bill and Peter wrote as well "The Black '59" in COMIC PROSE. If you like this one, you'll like it as well. Both are shockers! Now, if only Bill would read this story on audio like he does "The Black '59," life would be swell! I would love to hear the tones he would use in reading this one! Some of the shocking scenes would be unreal if heard by him reading. He puts such enthusiasm into all of his projects, and this one is a definite thriller with a lot of twist and turns to it. I would highly recommend all books by Bill Mumy and Peter David. They have a way of bringing a story to a life to a level you would never dream of...

Succinct sagas of devastating dismemberment, strangling of souls, sinking of spirits, hacking off of limbs and burying them in remote locations, etc. etc. etc. This book is a landscape of human frailties and supernatural malevolence, tales told to the haunted pulse of the doomed orphans of humankind--the rock 'n' roll rascals of the 20th century (although the stories speak so loudly to future wizards of the scene). Two furiously ill-conceived misfires: "The Red Sax" by Bill Mumy and Peter David is hackneyed (Strike 2 for the deadly dull duo; their contribution in the 1st Shock Rock compilation was equally idiotic) and "Graveyard Shift" by Jeff Gelb is just an example of amateurish writing. BUY THE BOOK!! NEGLECTING ITS MESSAGE WILL CURSE YOU TO MUZAK-INFESTED AUDIO NIGHTMARES FOR THE REMAINDER OF YOUR TENURE ON THIS REVOLVING GREEN AND BLUE SPECK!!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror stories and rock n'roll. The stories contained within it's pages combine the best of both these worlds. Anyone who has ever seen Alice Cooper's live show will agree that rock and horror go together so well that a book of this kind was meant to be. I also recommend the first book as it is what got me to buy the second! Well done to all the contributing authors of this anthology!