Horror
World Book Reviews
July, 2007
NOBODY: AN ANTHOLOGY OF DARK FICTION
The Essex Writers' & Artists' Guild
Review by César Puch
Our world is made up of all sorts of people. There are those we come across once and never forget. Then there are the “nobodies”. Those who fade into their surroundings, blur out of existence. In some cases their condition is the outcome of their own wrong choices. In other cases it’s the lack of choices to begin with. Some come to accept this status, while others long to escape it, and there are some who aren’t even aware they are already there.
Nine members of the Essex Writers’ and Artists’ Guild approach the concept of “nobody”, and the result is this highly entertaining anthology. Eclectic in style and theme, “Nobody” is a compilation of stories that are mostly subtle, yet vivid in their imagery and powerful in their execution.
Even though there were a few stories that didn’t work that well for me, the number of effective tales surpasses the flawed ones. Among the best in the collection is Gregory Norris’ “The Box of Love and Hatred”, a suspenseful story of a woman who becomes obsessed with a box her good-for-nothing boyfriend has stored in her closet, and “Rose-Colored Glasses” by Tracy Carbone, a clever look at paranoia within an exclusive experimental community where the human potential for prejudice finds a way to surface even under the most ideal conditions.
Other commendable stories include the heartwarming “Trick or Treat” by Brenna Lyons, a haunting love story set in the night of Samhain. Originality shines in A.E. Martineau’s “Body Hunger”, a glimpse into the mind of an ancient being which needs to satiate its appetite for a young woman. “Within an Itch of Life” by Melissa Sherlin shares the excruciating plight of a quadriplegic, who longs to share the remainder of his motionless hours with a true friend.
The spectrum of styles in “Nobody” adds a lot to the quality of the collection. Coralie Hughes Jensen’s exotic characters or Scott Goudsward’s wonderful description in his story “Emmett” are worthy of mention, too.
The list of contributors may not ring any bells for most readers, but there is something in “Nobody” for every taste, be it ghosts, vampires, space travel, world-changing technology, or never-ending dreams. These are stories about people who might fade away in their individual existence, but who come to life with such strength that we, as readers, cannot help but look up and feel their presence.
A pleasant encounter.