The Black Book Of Horror is the first in a series of horror anthologies published by Mortbury Press. As soon as I saw the gorgeous covers I knew that I wanted the entire set even though I am not familiar with the authors. I did notice some nominations for the British Fantasy Award but winning or losing would not have swayed my desire to get my hands on these books. I don't have a lot of experience with British horror other than having enjoyed the Hammer House of Horror series when I was a kid. Since I have found in my limited experience that British horror tends to be a bit more subtle than what I am used to on this side of the pond, I expected this would be more atmospheric than blood soaked. Well subtle I can take, but vague I can not. Some of these stories were so vague that they seemed more like a wisp of idea for an outline than an actual finished product. For example I could sum up "Spare Rib" as once upon a time a man's wife died but then she came back and he left for work. The End. Seriously that's a story in here. In another story a Nazi skin head and his pals desecrate a grave and then take off their pants and boots. The End.
Not to say they were all bad, there were some 3 and 4 star stories among the duds. The only 5 star mentions go to "Size Matters" more for it's dark humor than for anything frightening. Yes it is a story about a penis enlargement gone wrong, and Lock-In by David A Riley which actually was a scary story about a handful of men trapped in a pub by a creeping black void of nothingness that awaits them outside. 4 stars to Last Christmas (I gave you my life) Family Fishing, and Subtle Invasion.
I'm hoping the rest of the series has more 5 star stories than this did. ( )