Booknote: Figures of Fear

Graham Masterton, Figures of Fear. Surrey, UK: Severn House, 2014. ISBN: 978-0-7278-8446-6.

Genre: fiction
Subgenre: horror, short fiction
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This book is a collection of 11 stories by Graham Masterton. The common theme is that of figures that cause fear and terror somehow. The stories often have a twist. The twists may not always be horrifying, but they do stay with you after you have read them. Some stories are more horrifying. Others I would say feel a bit like a good and unsettling episode of The Twilight Zone or a similar anthology series, and I do mean that in a good way.

In the book, the figures may bring fear, warnings, often twists, and they are always unsettling. These can also include fear of the unknown. For instance, the battered wife story has a twist ending, and it is not quite what one may commonly think. I wish I could say more, but I do not want to spoil the story for other readers.

Overall, I really liked this book. In fact, some of the stories I feel that I will need to reread in order to better appreciate them. The book makes a good selection to read for Halloween.

4 out of 5 stars.

This book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges: