The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell

By Brian Evenson

Book Overview

"Here is how monstrous humans are."

A sentient, murderous prosthetic leg; shadowy creatures lurking behind a shimmering wall; brutal barrow men-of all the terrors that populate The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell, perhaps the most alarming are the beings who decimated the habitable Earth: humans. In this new short story collection, Brian Evenson envisions a chilling future beyond the Anthropocene that forces excruciating decisions about survival and self-sacrifice in the face of toxic air and a natural world torn between revenge and regeneration. Combining psychological and ecological horror, each tale thrums with Evenson's award-winning literary craftsmanship, dark humor, and thrilling suspense.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566896118
• ISBN13: 9781566896115
• Release Date: August 2021
• Publisher: Coffee House Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Delightful Mix of Quirky, Thought-Provoking, Strange, and Obscene

Whether you're in the mood for horror, sci fi, or fantasy, "The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell" hits the spot. This book spans the gamut for me: it feels like a collection made up of visceral horror stories with fascinating otherworldly elements; sci fi short stories with an undercurrent of horror; and spooky, murky, myth-like fantasy tales. I'm a huge fan of horror and speculative fiction of all kinds, and of the many stories I've had the chance to read, only some have concepts and imagery so rich and vivid that they still spring randomly to mind years after reading - and my favorite stories from this collection have made that subconsciously-curated list. This book is both thought-provoking and a great deal of fun - highly recommended.

does not live up to the hype

Horror is not my “schtick” . However, a line in the opening of the book (yes, I read advanced praises, endnotes and the like) from Publishers’ Weekly that said…”carefully calibrated exercises in ambiguity…” that made me try to read it. The first story: “Leg” was fascinatingly macabre , and from then, it really felt like a hardship to read random stories throughout the book. And the last story “The Glassy Burning Floor of Hell” harkened back to the first, However, it left me very “unsatisfied” It certainly isn’t aimed at a 65 year old. It gets 2 out of five because the good parts are great [ I received thisd book from an outside source and voluntarily read and reviewed it]