The Architecture of Fear

Setting is important in fiction, and perhaps never more so than in the horror genre. This anthology of 14 original stories proves the case. The quality of the selections varies, but there are some wonderful tales here. Particularly impressive are Gene Wolfe's play on fairy-tale themes, ""In the House of Gingerbread''; Ramsey Campbell's sad and sinister ``Where the Heart Is,'' about a widower who cannot bring himself to leave his home and memories; ``Visitors'' by Jack Dann, in which a boy becomes conscious of the dead souls inhabiting the hospital in which he lies dying; and Michael Bishop's sweet, surreal ``In the Memory Room,'' where a corpse wistfully reminisces as she is being made up by a funeral parlor cosmetician. Also particularly good are the stories by Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Aickman and Scott Baker. (October 22)