Coins of Chaos

Seventeen tales of horror and ruin are unified by the common thread of cursed coins. Created by the malevolent sorcerer known as the Carver, the coins doom all who are unlucky enough to come into possession of them, much to their creator’s glee. Most unhappy owners find their own thematically appropriate, often unjust ends; charity provokes murder, a father learns the limits of forgiveness, a businesswoman seeks salvation but finds only wartime savagery, and so forth in a cavalcade of misery and unhappiness. Very rarely someone may exploit an unforeseen loophole or some greater power may take possession of a coin for their own equally dark purposes, but very few are lucky enough to escape the smug and repellent Carver. Brozek draws on the talents of a wide range of authors, some famous and others not yet well known. All demonstrate laudable skill but are hampered to a degree by the constraints of the framing elements and the overbearing theme of evil triumphant. Best appreciated in small doses, the stories will be enjoyed by horror fans. (May)