Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 3

The striking third volume in Subterranean Press’s series of dark fantasy anthologies comprises 10 masterful, original tales. Caitlín R. Kiernan adopts a hard-hitting, neo-noir prose style in “Cherry Street Tango, Sweatbox Waltz,” about a failed assassination. Bentley Little’s eerie “Estate Sale” is a haunting story that calls a woman’s identity and memory into question. A woman witnesses the purchase and renovation of her former home in Stephen Gallagher’s brilliant ghost story “Twisted Hazel,” which is told with such finesse as to put readers in mind of haunting masters Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier. The other standout, Robert McCammon’s “Death Comes for the Rich Man,” is a powerful gothic tale of failed parenthood and fast approaching death. The slightly weaker “Final Curse” by C.J. Tudor and “Skin Magic” by P. Djèjí Clark both explore Lovecraftian horrors, while in Richard Kadrey’s punchy, horrifying “Razor Pig” an ex-cop searches for his daughter by tracking down a decrepit traveling carnival. Devotees of dark fantasy won’t want to pass up this excellent anthology. (Aug.)