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Enter At Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms
A collection of seventeen tales that explore the passions, lusts and longings that ignite the fires that inflame and consume us, leaving behind phantoms to rise from their ashes. In Firbolg Publishing’s latest ghostly, gay-themed addition to the Enter at you Own Risk series, a diverse range of acclaimed authors tell haunting tales of scorned lovers with malevolent secrets and vengeful surprises; of fateful obsessions, unleashed impulses, doomed affairs and desire stronger than death; of love that remains ruinously unrequited and love that triumphs over bloodcurdling odds. With an outstanding introduction from Robert Dunbar, Phantoms and Fires sets free gothic visions that manipulate our emotions and penetrate the deepest, most forbidden corners of our psyches—Enter… at your own Risk.
- GenresHorrorAnthologies
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 3, 2014
“Fires and Phantoms” is yet another stellar collection in Firbolg’s “Enter at Your Own Risk” series. The pieces, both classic and contemporary, are well-matched, and successfully unite the voices and styles of many with one captivating theme.
Robert Dunbar’s introduction is a worthy tribute to the “haunting and impassioned, edgy and erotic” tales here, most of which could be mentioned as special for one reason or another, as each pay homage to the theme with beautiful writing and unique stories. The range of talent is broad and strong, but I did find myself repeating lines from Joshua Skye’s “The Neglected Ones” (“If melancholy had a home it was here.”) and B. E. Scully’s “Time for One More Show”(“long-vanished dancers click-clacking their heels in an undead cabaret.”)
As Dunbar says in the introduction, “Within these pages lurk all the darker hues of the rainbow. Revel in them.”
Robert Dunbar’s introduction is a worthy tribute to the “haunting and impassioned, edgy and erotic” tales here, most of which could be mentioned as special for one reason or another, as each pay homage to the theme with beautiful writing and unique stories. The range of talent is broad and strong, but I did find myself repeating lines from Joshua Skye’s “The Neglected Ones” (“If melancholy had a home it was here.”) and B. E. Scully’s “Time for One More Show”(“long-vanished dancers click-clacking their heels in an undead cabaret.”)
As Dunbar says in the introduction, “Within these pages lurk all the darker hues of the rainbow. Revel in them.”
November 10, 2014
3.5 stars
Most anthologies comprise an assortment of titles which may differ widely in style and quality. Enter at Your Own Risk is no exception. Under the label of terror we can find a variety of stories but all of them share the gay subtopic in common. Some of them are classical ones I already knew: Alone by Edgar Allan Poe, He by H.P. Lovecraft, In Kropfsberg Keep by Ralph Adams Crams or The Eyes by Edith Wharton. Of the new ones, some deal with ghosts and some other with murder and obsession. I’ll try to briefly review them:
When You are Right, by R.T. Anderson tells us about a young cop whose disgusting partner receives what he deserves in a most unexpected way… I enjoyed this one, short and clever, with a surprising revelation at the end.
Time for One More Show mixes ghosts, murders and obsession. A club dancer gets obsessed with the image of a mysterious red-haired woman who dances with her in the mirror, till the point of slowly turning herself into the dead woman. It’s ok.
The Neglected Ones is a ghost story full of melancholy. In the small village of Crepuscule’s Cradle, the rite of passage for high school seniors involves spending the night in an abandoned graveyard, next to the tomb of “the neglected one”. When George Russo attempts it, he finds much more than an empty tomb … This is a sweet and sad story. I really enjoyed it.
In the End, He Dreamed is the story of Richard and Anthony, who shared their life for twenty years, till the death of Anthony broke them apart. Richard cannot continue living in the house he shared with his lover because he is not there anymore or… Is he? A very typical ghost story. It’s ok.
Country People, a ghost story about a teacher giving a seminar on gay literature to a weird assortment of students… Who turn out to be weirder than anybody could expect. I enjoyed this one, although I had guessed the truth long before Michael found out himself.
Prickle the Ivories, another ghost story of a man longing for his long dead lover, while being haunted by his lover’s evil mother. Quite good.
In Sing for me, Baby, two lovers decide to spend a romantic weekend in Gabbie’s dead granny cottage, thus defying the spirit of the old woman who would have never approve of their relationship. The consequences are terrible. Another revengeful ghost story. Not bad
A Decent Cup of Tea, two lovers reunite after death. Nice and sweet. I liked it.
Promises in the Dark, Whispers at Dawn. A typical murder story, Dennis is chased by the sins of his past. Unable to face them anymore, he finds a solution to keep his family safe… A quite entertaining story, this one. But not memorable.
Murder by Any Other Name. Claudia was running away from her past when she met Donna and fell in love with her. But there are things you cannot escape from, and Claudia feels her sanity beginning to crumble… This is quite clever, it seems a love story but it is really a murder one. Entertaining
Stage Whisper, where Joe gets a glimpse of a long lost lover while at the opera… This is a really sweet ghost story. I liked it very much.
Inheritance is another ghost story, but this is a positive one. When Andrew meets the ghost haunting his family, he finds much more than what he expected… A nice story, with a hopeful ending. I liked it.
A New heart That Tells a Tale a sort of remake the Tell Tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe. It is full of despair and a little gory as well. Not bad.
Last Dance in the Rain tells the story of Joe and Jimmy, who desert the army to be together, but soon afterwards Joe deserts Jimmy in pursue of a deceitful dream lover… This is a ghost story, a really sad one, the one I enjoyed most in the book. Excellent.
Most anthologies comprise an assortment of titles which may differ widely in style and quality. Enter at Your Own Risk is no exception. Under the label of terror we can find a variety of stories but all of them share the gay subtopic in common. Some of them are classical ones I already knew: Alone by Edgar Allan Poe, He by H.P. Lovecraft, In Kropfsberg Keep by Ralph Adams Crams or The Eyes by Edith Wharton. Of the new ones, some deal with ghosts and some other with murder and obsession. I’ll try to briefly review them:
When You are Right, by R.T. Anderson tells us about a young cop whose disgusting partner receives what he deserves in a most unexpected way… I enjoyed this one, short and clever, with a surprising revelation at the end.
Time for One More Show mixes ghosts, murders and obsession. A club dancer gets obsessed with the image of a mysterious red-haired woman who dances with her in the mirror, till the point of slowly turning herself into the dead woman. It’s ok.
The Neglected Ones is a ghost story full of melancholy. In the small village of Crepuscule’s Cradle, the rite of passage for high school seniors involves spending the night in an abandoned graveyard, next to the tomb of “the neglected one”. When George Russo attempts it, he finds much more than an empty tomb … This is a sweet and sad story. I really enjoyed it.
In the End, He Dreamed is the story of Richard and Anthony, who shared their life for twenty years, till the death of Anthony broke them apart. Richard cannot continue living in the house he shared with his lover because he is not there anymore or… Is he? A very typical ghost story. It’s ok.
Country People, a ghost story about a teacher giving a seminar on gay literature to a weird assortment of students… Who turn out to be weirder than anybody could expect. I enjoyed this one, although I had guessed the truth long before Michael found out himself.
Prickle the Ivories, another ghost story of a man longing for his long dead lover, while being haunted by his lover’s evil mother. Quite good.
In Sing for me, Baby, two lovers decide to spend a romantic weekend in Gabbie’s dead granny cottage, thus defying the spirit of the old woman who would have never approve of their relationship. The consequences are terrible. Another revengeful ghost story. Not bad
A Decent Cup of Tea, two lovers reunite after death. Nice and sweet. I liked it.
Promises in the Dark, Whispers at Dawn. A typical murder story, Dennis is chased by the sins of his past. Unable to face them anymore, he finds a solution to keep his family safe… A quite entertaining story, this one. But not memorable.
Murder by Any Other Name. Claudia was running away from her past when she met Donna and fell in love with her. But there are things you cannot escape from, and Claudia feels her sanity beginning to crumble… This is quite clever, it seems a love story but it is really a murder one. Entertaining
Stage Whisper, where Joe gets a glimpse of a long lost lover while at the opera… This is a really sweet ghost story. I liked it very much.
Inheritance is another ghost story, but this is a positive one. When Andrew meets the ghost haunting his family, he finds much more than what he expected… A nice story, with a hopeful ending. I liked it.
A New heart That Tells a Tale a sort of remake the Tell Tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe. It is full of despair and a little gory as well. Not bad.
Last Dance in the Rain tells the story of Joe and Jimmy, who desert the army to be together, but soon afterwards Joe deserts Jimmy in pursue of a deceitful dream lover… This is a ghost story, a really sad one, the one I enjoyed most in the book. Excellent.
Read
November 3, 2012The following review may contain spoilers and is based on the PDF edition of Enter at Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms from a librarything.com giveaway.
--
Enter at Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms is an anthology of supernatural, semi-horror stories with both explicit (in the newer stories) and implicit (in the classical stories such as Edith Wharton's "The Eyes") LGBT elements. The stories are of varied lengths, written in a variety of styles, and (as to be expected from an anthology of stories written by different authors) contain varied levels of quality.
I didn't find that any of the stories were particularly scary or surprising, though a few of them do have "twists" that might come as a surprise to some readers. Most of the stories fit perfectly into the anthology, and it was really interesting to see how the LGBT elements were incorporated into each one. Sometimes they were necessary for the plot; other times they were just there to add flavor, but it was a nice change from all of the literature out there (especially within the horror/supernatural genre) that doesn't include LGBT characters or themes.
My favorite stories of the collection were "Country People," for its interesting, well-paced plot; "The Neglected Ones," for its lovely written style; and "A New Heart That Tells a Tale," for its clever and convincing take on an old horror favorite.
Overall, I found the book to be satisfactorily entertaining. It isn't an absolute page-turner or a literary work of art, but it is a good read for a gloomy day.
--
On a side note, one quotation that really stood out for me (from "The Neglected Ones") is as follows:
"The school didn't have a football team; he wore a letter jacket anyway. It once belonged to his dead father. You could still see the blood stain from the bullet."
I really wish the author had done more with this. It's got such fantastically creepy potential!
--
Enter at Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms is an anthology of supernatural, semi-horror stories with both explicit (in the newer stories) and implicit (in the classical stories such as Edith Wharton's "The Eyes") LGBT elements. The stories are of varied lengths, written in a variety of styles, and (as to be expected from an anthology of stories written by different authors) contain varied levels of quality.
I didn't find that any of the stories were particularly scary or surprising, though a few of them do have "twists" that might come as a surprise to some readers. Most of the stories fit perfectly into the anthology, and it was really interesting to see how the LGBT elements were incorporated into each one. Sometimes they were necessary for the plot; other times they were just there to add flavor, but it was a nice change from all of the literature out there (especially within the horror/supernatural genre) that doesn't include LGBT characters or themes.
My favorite stories of the collection were "Country People," for its interesting, well-paced plot; "The Neglected Ones," for its lovely written style; and "A New Heart That Tells a Tale," for its clever and convincing take on an old horror favorite.
Overall, I found the book to be satisfactorily entertaining. It isn't an absolute page-turner or a literary work of art, but it is a good read for a gloomy day.
--
On a side note, one quotation that really stood out for me (from "The Neglected Ones") is as follows:
"The school didn't have a football team; he wore a letter jacket anyway. It once belonged to his dead father. You could still see the blood stain from the bullet."
I really wish the author had done more with this. It's got such fantastically creepy potential!
March 9, 2013
As a subgenre, gay horror is a challenge for readers. There is not a single “style” of writing and that can become difficult. Some writers cross over into erotica while others avoid the sexual elements, but include gay themes or subtexts. Even the erotic writers diverge considerably with some including very explicit sex and others focusing on more sensual/ romance elements. The anthology Enter at Your Own Risk: Fires and Phantoms adds another facet to the growing hydra of gay literature. This anthology is a collection of Gothic style ghost tales. It not only includes a host of modern writers, but there are also two stories from the 1800s as well.
All of the stories in this collection are gay-themed ghost tales. Sadly, lesbians are underrepresented with only a handful of stories, but the scope of the tales is broad enough to satisfy any taste. Dead strippers, dead lovers, murdered lovers, tortured souls, religious fervor turned deadly, haunted brothels, deadly castles with monstrous parties, ghostly students in a gay literature class, and more provide enough creepiness to make the skin crawl for hours. The older stories create a sense of continuity; a reminder that the gay community did not suddenly spring forth from nowhere after Stonewall. The introduction also ties all of the stories together and gives the reader a link between then, now, and the future.
While this is a collection of gay-themed stories, it is by no means just for gay readers. The themes of lost love, nightmarish relationships, traumatic lives, tragic decisions, and fear cross both gender and sexual orientation. Perhaps because of the erotica elements, mainstream horror fans often avoid gay horror, but this anthology is one that transcends the subgenre. It’s not erotica horror, just great Gothic horror. It has its weak moments as I think any anthology does, but the bulk of the stories are well-written, clever, and definitely dark.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
All of the stories in this collection are gay-themed ghost tales. Sadly, lesbians are underrepresented with only a handful of stories, but the scope of the tales is broad enough to satisfy any taste. Dead strippers, dead lovers, murdered lovers, tortured souls, religious fervor turned deadly, haunted brothels, deadly castles with monstrous parties, ghostly students in a gay literature class, and more provide enough creepiness to make the skin crawl for hours. The older stories create a sense of continuity; a reminder that the gay community did not suddenly spring forth from nowhere after Stonewall. The introduction also ties all of the stories together and gives the reader a link between then, now, and the future.
While this is a collection of gay-themed stories, it is by no means just for gay readers. The themes of lost love, nightmarish relationships, traumatic lives, tragic decisions, and fear cross both gender and sexual orientation. Perhaps because of the erotica elements, mainstream horror fans often avoid gay horror, but this anthology is one that transcends the subgenre. It’s not erotica horror, just great Gothic horror. It has its weak moments as I think any anthology does, but the bulk of the stories are well-written, clever, and definitely dark.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
December 9, 2012
This book of shorts stories was a pleasure to read. At 250 pages, there are a lot of different types of writing styles to read. Each author provides their ideal spooky layout for a scary, creepy book. While I did find a few stories to be predictable, the overall quality was great. I recommend this book for a public library in the young adult section, because I think this age group would have the most appreciation for this content.
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June 23, 2013Oh, darn. I had been taking notes as I read, but those appear to have been eaten by the Goodreads gremlins.
Here's an ultra-quick summary --
Like all anthologies there were some gems and some stories that just had me saying "Um, what?" For three bucks, this one is well worth the cost for those gems alone.
My favorite was Andrew Wolter's new twist on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. Wolter did that classic justice, and then some.
Here's an ultra-quick summary --
Like all anthologies there were some gems and some stories that just had me saying "Um, what?" For three bucks, this one is well worth the cost for those gems alone.
My favorite was Andrew Wolter's new twist on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. Wolter did that classic justice, and then some.
November 15, 2012
A collection of seventeen tales that explore passion, lust, the supernatural, fear, nightmares and the darker side of things that go bump in the night.
Gothic, dark, horror filled, erotic—well written gay-themed stories that will invade the most forbidden corners of the readers mind.
Gothic, dark, horror filled, erotic—well written gay-themed stories that will invade the most forbidden corners of the readers mind.
September 7, 2013
Some fairly good (not so scary) ghost and paranormal short stories with very slight light bents.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews