FICTION REVIEW: End of the Line - Ed. Jonathan Oliver

Release Date: 01/11/10

BOOK BLURB:

An anthology of Underground horror. In deep tunnels something stirs, borne on a warm breath of wind, reeking of diesel and blood. The spaces between stations hold secrets too terrible for the upper world to comprehend and the steel lines sing with the songs of the dead. Jonathan Oliver has collected together some of the very best in new horror writing in an themed anthology of stories set on, and around, the Underground, the Metro and other places deep below.


REVIEW:

A title of short stories all based on the underground tube stations of one city or another written by a wealth of top Solaris talent Yet within this book there is a number of problems, first of all a lot of the stories rely on one line to make any sense so if you miss it, you’ll find that you’re left feeling confused. Add to that one or two stories that felt like they should have been part of something longer to give them a fuller appearance alongside some stores that really felt that they shouldn’t have made it into the title leaves this as a so/so title.

Whilst the odd one was very enjoyable the vast majority felt like a lot of the detail was missing that would have made them more of an acceptable tale and whilst they are bite sized which makes it an ideal travel companion it did feel that a lot of them were a bit rushed without having had the time to have the rough edges filled out. A great shame as the premise had a dark chill all of its own, especially for anyone who has ever ridden the underground late at night.