Review: Rage Against the Night, short stories by Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub and more

rageFolks, it pays to troll the Daily Deals and links on Amazon’s Kindle pages. That’s where I picked up Rage Against the Night, edited by Shane Jiraiya Cummings, with stories by all your favorites — Stephen King, Ramsey Cambell, Peter Straub, and more. The book is a fund-raiser for Rocky Wood, author, president of the Horror Writers Association and an expert on the work of Stephen King. Rocky has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and all proceeds from the sale of Rage Against the Night will go to Rocky.  When you can buy a great book at a low price and have the money go to a terrific cause, how can you pass that up?

“In this anthology, you will find stories of brave men and women standing up to the darkness, staring it right in the eye, and giving it the finger. These are stories of triumph, but triumph doesn’t necessarily come without cost. “

It’s truly a great tribute. There are terrific stories here! One of my favorites is “Afterward, There Will Be a Hallway” by Gary A. Braunbeck. It’s the story of Neal, a man who takes care of the things that people leave behind, their personal effects. It has a profound effect on him and it connects him to the dead and their world. In the theme of this collection, it is a sad story, but one that is also full of hope.

“Blue Heeler” by Weston Ochse is another great story, about a young boy’s unusual and (mostly) unseen friend. Unraveling the mystery behind his friend’s strange imprisonment will expose secrets that will break his family apart. “Like Part of the Family” by Jonathan Mayberry is a fun take on the classic detective story. Even though I could see the twist coming, I loved getting there.

I could go on and on, telling you about every story in the book, but you’ll have more fun discovering them for yourself.  My copy of Rage Against the Night came from my personal library.

 

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