Moonchasers and other stories

By Ed Gorman

Book Overview

When two teenage boys befriend and escaped bank robber--because the robber reminds the boys of their idol, Robert Mitchum--the boys set in motion a chilling chain of events that will teach them about trust, brutality, and courage. "Moonchaseres and Other Stories" also contains several other riveting tales of suspense by Ed Gorman including "Turn Away," which won a Shamus Award for best detective story. This outstanding collection of fiction is by an author who has been described by the "San Diego Tribune" as "one of the most distinctive voices in today's crime fiction."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312877188
• ISBN13: 9780312877187
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Short stories by a master of the form

Ed Gorman is the most underrated writer of the last 20 years. Although admired by writers like Dean Koontz, Gorman's work is leagues apart from the formula and routine of ultra commercial stuff of King's clones.He is an extraordinarily prolific romancist but his best work can be found in the short story form. Although Gorman is an american original his influences can be traced. His deceptively simple style is a highly original blend of Bradbury's poetry and nostalgia, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone humanism, King's local colour, the raw nihilistic energy of classic hardboiled writers like Dashiell Hammet and Mickey Spillaine and the "Gorman touch". His plots are tight but his real strenght resides in his masterful characterizations; Gorman's characters are common people "trying to strike a kind of weary bargain with the world", in his own words. All Gorman's collections are uniformly excellent but I think that Moonchasers and Other Stories is the most eccletic and representative of his short works.The title novella is a little masterpiece of nostalgia, not unlike Bradbury's short works of 40`s and 50`s and King's novella The Body. Ed Gorman is a master of the form and deserves a major audience. MOONCHASERS AND OTHER STORIES: Moonchasers ============================ ***** Turn Away ============================== **** Seasons of the Heart =================== ***1/2 En Famille ============================= ****1/2 Mother Darkness ======================== **** The Beast in the Woods ================= ****1/2 One of Those Days, One of Those Nights = **** Surrogate ============================== ***1/2 The Reason Why ========================= ****1/2 The Ugly File ========================== ****1/2 Friends ================================ **1/2 Bless us O Lord ======================== **** Stalker ================================ ***** The Wind from Midnight ================= ***1/2 Prisoners ============================== ****1/2 Render Unto Caesar ===================== **** Out There in the Darkness ============== *****

fantastic noir/drama

My first Ed Goman. I can't understand why he's not more popular, even considering Koontz's afterward wehre he points to one reason why. These stories are fantastic and engrossing. Moonchasers and Out in the Dark are the two that shine. All of them have at least something to do with the darkness of humanity, from pedophilia to suicide, to murder. Very moving at times as well. I highly recommend to fans of dark literature.

Superb stories, a rare collection!

All these stories are top drawer. You know the few socko stories that one finds in most anthologies? Well, each story in this anthology is top of the line. There are no mediocre or marginally acceptable tales in this book. Amazing!The stories remind me of early Bradbury and some of the best of the original twilight zone stories. Remember some stories that you just had to tell people they must read (e.g., like Joe Lansdale's "Godzilla's Twelve-Step Program"), well these stories are it! I plan on rereading these, and I've only reread 5 stories so far in my life! That's how good they are! WOW!

Unputdownable

Ed Gorman is one of the main reasons I am an insomniac. Several years ago, he and a couple of fellow thugs persuaded me to try an anthology. My meat and potatoes are novels, but I soon found a gourmet?s delight in short stories so that I spend several nights reading a tale or two from a collection. Mr. Gorman?s latest anthology exclusively includes only tales written by him. That alone guarantees that each story is top gun material. MOONCHASERS AND OTHER STORIES contains the title novella along with sixteen superior short stories, and an afterward by Koontz. Each story is well written and makes for exciting mystery reading. Especially superb are ?Moonchaser? with its teenagers and bank robber friendship theme and ?Turn Away?, which the audience will never turn away from finishing, but the other tales are also fun. The guru of short story mysteries has done it to me again by leaving me sleepless in crime fiction with another winning collection.Harriet Klausner