Angler in Darkness

Erdelac’s first collection of 15 reprints and three previously unpublished stories runs the gamut of monster mayhem and historical weirdness, with plenty of gore to satisfy horror aficionados. “Bigfoot Walsh,” inspired by real-life Texas Ranger Bigfoot Wallace, is about a ranger of unusual parentage who seeks to vanquish the terrifying creatures slaughtering settlers and stealing women and children. In the epic “A Haunt of Jackels,” a Nazi hunter, in the clutches of the mad scientist he was sent to capture, watches as giant, rampaging abominations stampede through Jerusalem. The lean but effective “The Better to See You” is an oddly lovely story about a little girl and her grandmother. In “Crocodile,” a young woman sees escape in a very strange young man. Erdelac (Andersonville) has a gift for inspiring fascination with whatever era he chooses to write about, especially the Wild West, where he shines. This entertaining and varied collection, enhanced by the author’s story prefaces, will appeal to a wide variety of horror readers. (BookLife)