Horror Story and Other Horror Stories

Boyczuk's memorable debut offers 19 horror stories that accentuate the emotional-and often horrid-upheavals men and women suffer from while searching for love. Actually an edgy variety of sci-fi, horror, and speclit, Boyczuk's stories are succinct, such as ""When Fat Men Love Thin Women,"" about a man's hunger for love, and ""The Death Artist,"" a vivid snapshot of a bizarre artist, each less than two pages long. Other stand-outs include ""Falling"", a chilling examination of a man contemplating suicide; and ""Cure for Cancer,"" a revenge tale about a demented medical genius who decides to give his ex-girlfriend cancer. Boyczuk's stories are uniformly excellent but at times oppressive, thanks to the repetitious ""love is hell"" theme; still, stories like ""Shika"" , which articulates the anger of a soldier's lost relationship, suggest mature abilities reminiscent of Lucius Shepard, one of Boyczuk's former Clarion West instructors.