The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell

Whether you're in the mood for horror, sci fi, or fantasy, "The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell" hits the spot. This book spans the gamut for me: it feels like a collection made up of visceral horror stories with fascinating otherworldly elements; sci fi short stories with an undercurrent of horror; and spooky, murky, myth-like fantasy tales. I'm a huge fan of horror and speculative fiction of all kinds, and of the many stories I've had the chance to read, only some have concepts and imagery so rich and vivid that they still spring randomly to mind years after reading - and my favorite stories from this collection have made that subconsciously-curated list. This book is both thought-provoking and a great deal of fun - highly recommended.

Horror is not my “schtick” . However, a line in the opening of the book (yes, I read advanced praises, endnotes and the like) from Publishers’ Weekly that said…”carefully calibrated exercises in ambiguity…” that made me try to read it. The first story: “Leg” was fascinatingly macabre , and from then, it really felt like a hardship to read random stories throughout the book. And the last story “The Glassy Burning Floor of Hell” harkened back to the first, However, it left me very “unsatisfied” It certainly isn’t aimed at a 65 year old. It gets 2 out of five because the good parts are great [ I received thisd book from an outside source and voluntarily read and reviewed it]