The Devil’s Coattails, edited by Jason V Brock and William F. Nolan is weird, fantastic fiction at it’s best. This book comes after the acclaimed anthology The Bleeding Edge, and in my opinion is even better than it’s predecessor. The theme of The Devil’s Coattail’s doesn’t seem to be horror, science fiction or fantasy but a blending of all three into something called good storytelling. The full name of this anthology is The Devil’s Coattails, More Dispatches from the Dark Frontier.

Time after time I’m reminded of my first trek into the wilderness of The World Horror Convention, sitting at a table with author John Farris who paraphrased the famous Douglas Winter quote for me. He said something like: There is no such thing as genre. There’s good writing and there’s bad writing.

“Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries or bookstores. Horror is an emotion.” ~Douglas E Winter, Prime Evil

S. T Joshi says in the Forward:

What The Devil’s Coattails also establishes is something that I have long contended: that weird fiction is not a genre in any concrete or meaningful sense, but a mode of writing to which authors of many different sorts can resort when they find that actual genres (science fiction, fantasy, romance, the Western) or mainstream fiction cannot easily accommodate the ideas, moods, or imagery they are seeking to convey.

Good writing is important, but good storytelling is paramount; this anthology has both. And with the list of authors included in this anthology, there’s no wonder it’s so good.

Ramsey Campbell, need I say more? Okay, I probably don’t need to say more, but I will because this is supposed to be a review. Campbell’s piece The Moons is a coming of age story, about a kid who doesn’t fit in. It’s set in a spooky fairytale-esque woods, and there is definitely something otherworldly going on. It’s just the kind of read you’d expect from Campbell. I loved it.

Object Lesson by Jason V Brock takes us through the maze of life and death, questioning our own mortality, morality and choices. This piece, written with both literary flow and story telling skill, surprised me at the end.

Dan O Bannon’s piece called Invocation was supernaturally delicious. It seems bittersweet to include this story because of the way it was found. I know Dan is missed and loved so dearly by his wife, Diane and the Brocks; the three found this story in a box of Dan’s old things from college after his passing. It’s a precious tribute to include in this anthology and a tip of the hat to Lovecraft.

Melanie Tem’s Best friends was an amazing read. I don’t usually read very fast-I’m just not that kind of reader-but this story made me want to. It was a comfortable urging and I wasn’t disappointed by the ride. Mrs. Tem has a way with the art of story. It’s a delicate balance of showing, telling, dialogue and the senses. I felt like I waltzed through this story and their friendship; it reminded me of my own experiences. I was not surprised to learn that she’s won numerous awards.

If you’ve ever dreamed of meeting a writer from Star Trek-The Next Generation or banged your head on the desk wondering why Forever Knight got canceled, you’d have to talk with Marc Scott Zicree. The man has worked on so many television shows and scripts, it’d be hard to name them all. He’s also been nominated for about a bazillion awards and he’s now working with Guillermo del Torro on a project.

But way back when there was this little script for the new The Twilight Zone called Knife Through the Veil that never saw the light of day, because Hollywood said it was too violent. This was long after Rod Serling’s death and so Serling had no say in the matter. It was CBS who made the decision to cut the story; this kind of unfortunate event happens often in Hollywood, but it’s a wonderful teleplay.

There’s a biography of Zicree and a full background story that goes with the Knife Through the Veil. I think including him in this anthology was just a fantastic idea, especially considering his relationship to the fantastic and The Twilight Zone. Zicree is the man behind The Twilight Zone Companion, a book that is truly the definitive read. Personally I hope to shake Mr. Zicree’s hand someday.

Nancy Kilpatrick wrote an awesome little piece called Invisible. There was great imagery and the pacing was wonderful; I could feel it starting to give the answers but it held back ever so slightly. I kept trying to read faster saying tell me already! This is good storytelling.

And of course there is William F. Nolan who writes the epic poem of awesome proportions called Dread Voyage. Homer and Virgil would be proud.

While writing them has proved to be a challenge for me, I personally love to read short stories. Anthologies like this one are a great way to experience the best within a genre. And this is an anthology from some of the best in the good storytelling genre.

An example of this is: Earl Hamner, Jr.  There’s also John Shirley, Richard Christian Matheson, and a piece by Norman Corwin, who sadly passed away this year. There is also a wonderful story by Sunni K Brock as well as authors James Robert Smith, Richard Selzer, Steve Rasnic Tem, Paul J. Salamoff, Gary A. Braunbeck, Jerry E. Airth, Jenny Brundage, Wilum H. Pugmire & Maryanne K. Snyder, and Paul G. Bens, Jr.

The art in this anthology includes pieces by William Blake, prints from the middle ages, and a cover designed by the incredibly talented Vincent Chong.

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