In the Closet Under the Bed Lee Thomas 9780981863214 Books
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A breathtaking collection of literary dark fiction that will force you to face the terror lurking in the closet, under the bed...
In this collection of fifteen tales, award-winning author Lee Thomas casts light on the shadows in our closets and explores the fear of boogeymen and beasts we sense lying in wait under our beds. Featuring eight original tales and seven acclaimed short stories gathered together in one volume for the first time anywhere, In the Closet, Under the Bed reminds us that sometimes the most terrifying aspects of the human condition come from within.
Table of Contents
Foreword by David Thomas Lord
"All the Faces Change"
"An Apiary of White Bees"
"Healer"
"Dislocation"
"They Would Say She Danced"
"Shelter"
"The Good and Gone"
"Appetite of the Cyber Tribes"
"Crack Smokin' Grandpa"
"Anthem of the Estranged"
"I Know You're There"
"Down to Sleep"
"I'm Your Violence"
"Tears to Rust"
"The Tattered Boy"
Afterword by Michael Rowe
In the Closet Under the Bed Lee Thomas 9780981863214 Books
Having grown up on a steady diet of Hitchcock (films and TV show), the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and Night Gallery, I've always had a penchant for horror and suspense, both in film and in literature. And it is perhaps because of growing up with these influences that horror seldom actually scares me. It is rare for me to read a book or see a movie and get chills down my neck or to worry what might be lurking on the other side of the door in my dark apartment as I read. I just know it all too well. I'm jaded that way. And I have to say, that Lee Thomas' extraordinary collection of short stories is no exception. None of the stories actually scared me....they did something better....they disturbed me.One of the things that I love about the horror genre is that it -- like sci-fi -- when done well is one of the most interesting and entertaining ways of examining the human condition. Thomas, who has quickly and deservedly become the writer to watch in the dark fiction genre, shows himself to be a master of this with In the Closet, Under the Bed. Each one of these stories is incredibly crafted, with tight, clean prose that evokes mood--sometime brooding, other times ominous and even comedic at times--and creates wonderfully well-rounded characters. These are characters that each of us have met at one time or another in our lives...and perhaps more intriguing is that at times these are characters we ourselves may have been.
And that is what disturbed me so much about Lee Thomas' stories...I'm in them. Not in every story, but in a fair number, I find myself there. Little aspects of who I am creep in that feel familiar, whether it is the man who hides behind his computer...or his career...or his wife and kids. Finding pieces of myself in these stories made me squirm inside as I read, and at times made me angry or uncomfortable to the point of saying "I don't want to read anymore!" But, of course, I read anyway. Because I had to know how it turned out for them and, in a small way, for me.
Now part of this connection to the characters may be that Thomas is certainly writing characters with a gay perspective. But as I read on, I found a universality to the stories. A point where I sat back and realized that a lot of my straight friends would love this book as well. Because I recognized little pieces of them in there as well. And that was creepy, too.
Now, not every story worked perfectly for me. The more experimental pieces left me feeling a bit empty, but that really is more a comment about my particular preference than Thomas' authorial skill. But even in the very few pieces I didn't love, I still walked away thinking, wrapping my head around the subtle themes that run through each story.
That is also what Thomas does so well with this collection. He entertains the hell out of you, but underneath it, he lays in a subtle commentary on the human condition, and in particular, the gay human condition. There are stories about being in the closet, about the 21st century's love for disposability in products and relationships, about growing older. But the beautiful thing is that it is done so subtly, not only do you not notice it until the story is over...what Thomas is weaving in there is wonderfully malleable, open for interpretation. After I read all the stories, I ran through the Foreword and the Afterword and the nuances of theme that David Thomas Lord and Michael Rowe discuss therein--as often as not--were very different than my own interpretation. And that...that is what makes wonderful fiction and impressive dark fiction. Each of us gets to see what they want to see.
In the end, this comes together as one of the most impressive collections of dark fiction I've read in recent years. I understand the reputation that Thomas has earned. Boy has he earned it. It's all right here in these 15 stories. Because what Thomas does so well is to remind us that late at night when we're alone, the most disturbing thing that we can find lurking in the closet or under the bed might just be ourselves.
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In the Closet Under the Bed Lee Thomas 9780981863214 Books Reviews
Lee Thomas' latest horror anthology, In the Closet, Under the Bed, contains fifteen short stories. Six had been printed before, but were new to me. As David Thomas Lord mentions in the foreward of this collection, the title plays a bit on two things... one, the "monster in the closet", or "boogeyman" as many people call it and two, the fact that many people keep certain aspects of themselves hidden in the closet. The most obvious example of this is dealing with one's sexuality, as some people are afraid to "come out of the closet" due to the fear of how they will be accepted in society, and especially by their own family and friends. Thomas provides us with numerous examples of this, as well as many other horrors that everyday people face. Several stories in this collection stood out to me- they were all extremely dark and lyrical, and deeply meaningful. "All the Faces Change" tells the tale of Tim, who runs into an old high school buddy, who he once shared a kiss with. Tim has hidden this fact and his feelings regarding it, and moved on with his life. However, after this "chance meeting" with his old friend, he now realizes that as much as he tries to hide his true self due to fear, it will always be a part of him. "The Good and Gone" provides us with a glimpse into the hospitalized Max Evans, who is not allowed to get out of bed. While lying in the hospital bored, he decides to play a childhood game his grandma taught him called 'The Good and Gone'. The game allows him to shut his eyes and while concentrating, allows him to "leave his body" and go visit other areas. In doing so, he manages to follow a Mr. Gohling back to his house and gets trapped inside only to discover the horrors going on within said house. Thomas mixes in also several stories tied to internet dating. My favorite of these titles was "Crack Smokin' Grandpa", not only for a catchy title, but also because it explores how hard it is to know whether you are actually meeting the person one says they are at the other end of the computer or if said person is actually taking on another's identity. This seems to be one of the scariest things out there in today's society. I've only mentioned a few choice stories from this collection, but all were enjoyable for one reason or another, and will truly make the reader think deeply while immersed in each story. I highly recommend this book to any library collection as it is a great addition, especially for those that are trying to expand their gay fiction as this would be included within the sub-genre, gay horror fiction.
Contents
* Foreword by David Thomas Lord
* All the Faces Change
* An Apiary of White Bees
* Healer
* Dislocation
* They Would Say She Danced
* Shelter
* The Good and Gone
* Appetite of the Cyber Tribes
* Crack Smokin' Grandpa
* Anthem of the Estranged
* I Know You're There
* Down to Sleep
* I'm Your Violence
* Tears to Rust
* The Tattered Boy
* Afterword by Michael Rowe
Contains Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Gay Themes
Review also posted at monsterlibrarian dot com
This super collection contains nine new stories and six previously published in the past decade. Each tale explores the mobsters In the Closet, Under the bed that people prefer remain hidden from family and friends especially sexuality. That hiding one's inner desires inside the closet or under the bed hits home immediately with the first tale "All the Faces Change" when Tim learns life is a fairy tale with no happy ending unless you let your loved ones share all of you even when you are ashamed or fearful of revealing all to them; failure to do so means dying alone. This theme particularly with homosexual implications is key to these powerful psychological horror tales; for instance, the well written "Healer" and the exciting sexual asphyxiation tale "Dislocation". "Shelter" takes the spin into the erotic fantasy realm while "The Good and Gone" enters the erotic science fiction arena. Even the internet has closed closet doors. Readers will enjoy Lee Thomas' powerful compilation as the message throughout is simply to avoid the boogeyman In the Closet, Under the bed by coming out of them with your loved ones at your side; as you and they deserve the best of all of you if they truly are those who love you unrequited.
Harriet Klausner
Having grown up on a steady diet of Hitchcock (films and TV show), the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and Night Gallery, I've always had a penchant for horror and suspense, both in film and in literature. And it is perhaps because of growing up with these influences that horror seldom actually scares me. It is rare for me to read a book or see a movie and get chills down my neck or to worry what might be lurking on the other side of the door in my dark apartment as I read. I just know it all too well. I'm jaded that way. And I have to say, that Lee Thomas' extraordinary collection of short stories is no exception. None of the stories actually scared me....they did something better....they disturbed me.
One of the things that I love about the horror genre is that it -- like sci-fi -- when done well is one of the most interesting and entertaining ways of examining the human condition. Thomas, who has quickly and deservedly become the writer to watch in the dark fiction genre, shows himself to be a master of this with In the Closet, Under the Bed. Each one of these stories is incredibly crafted, with tight, clean prose that evokes mood--sometime brooding, other times ominous and even comedic at times--and creates wonderfully well-rounded characters. These are characters that each of us have met at one time or another in our lives...and perhaps more intriguing is that at times these are characters we ourselves may have been.
And that is what disturbed me so much about Lee Thomas' stories...I'm in them. Not in every story, but in a fair number, I find myself there. Little aspects of who I am creep in that feel familiar, whether it is the man who hides behind his computer...or his career...or his wife and kids. Finding pieces of myself in these stories made me squirm inside as I read, and at times made me angry or uncomfortable to the point of saying "I don't want to read anymore!" But, of course, I read anyway. Because I had to know how it turned out for them and, in a small way, for me.
Now part of this connection to the characters may be that Thomas is certainly writing characters with a gay perspective. But as I read on, I found a universality to the stories. A point where I sat back and realized that a lot of my straight friends would love this book as well. Because I recognized little pieces of them in there as well. And that was creepy, too.
Now, not every story worked perfectly for me. The more experimental pieces left me feeling a bit empty, but that really is more a comment about my particular preference than Thomas' authorial skill. But even in the very few pieces I didn't love, I still walked away thinking, wrapping my head around the subtle themes that run through each story.
That is also what Thomas does so well with this collection. He entertains the hell out of you, but underneath it, he lays in a subtle commentary on the human condition, and in particular, the gay human condition. There are stories about being in the closet, about the 21st century's love for disposability in products and relationships, about growing older. But the beautiful thing is that it is done so subtly, not only do you not notice it until the story is over...what Thomas is weaving in there is wonderfully malleable, open for interpretation. After I read all the stories, I ran through the Foreword and the Afterword and the nuances of theme that David Thomas Lord and Michael Rowe discuss therein--as often as not--were very different than my own interpretation. And that...that is what makes wonderful fiction and impressive dark fiction. Each of us gets to see what they want to see.
In the end, this comes together as one of the most impressive collections of dark fiction I've read in recent years. I understand the reputation that Thomas has earned. Boy has he earned it. It's all right here in these 15 stories. Because what Thomas does so well is to remind us that late at night when we're alone, the most disturbing thing that we can find lurking in the closet or under the bed might just be ourselves.
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