Edited by Stephen Jones
Illustrated by Randy Broecker
(a) Robinson Publishing, UK • tp • £7.99
ISBN: 978-1-84529-594-3
(b) Carroll & Graf, USA • tp • $13.95
ISBN-13: 978-0-78671-976-1
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1976-1
Cover by Edward Miller
Cover design by Smith & Jones
(c) as MONSTERS
Azbooka-Klassika, Russia • hc (2009)
ISBN 978-5-91377-060-8
(d) as WIELKA KSIĘGA POTWORÓW TOM 1
Fabryka Slów, Poland • tp • 34,90 zl (2010)
ISBN 978-83-7574-204-6
Illustrated by Daniel Grzeszkiewicz
[NOTE: This edition drops the stories
by Tanith Lee, Joe R. Lansdale , Karl Edward Wagner, Robert Silverberg, Basil
Copper, Robert Holdstock, Michael Marshall Smith, Clive Barker and Kim Newman.]
Cover by Daniel Grzeszkiewicz
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A World of Monsters. Everybody knows the most memorable monsters—vampires, werewolves, zombies, mad scientists' creations—and you will find all of those classic creatures well represented in this monsterrific new anthology from multiple award-winning editor Stephen Jones. But other monstrosities are also ably represented within these pages . . . An academic goes in search of a mythological creature in Thomas Ligotti's "The Medusa", a stone gargoyle is brought to life in "Downmarket" by Sydney J. Bounds, and a reclusive islander shares his world with shape-changing selkies in Robert Holdstock's haunting tale "The Silvering". Late-night office workers are menaced by hungry horrors in Ramsey Campbell's claustrophobic "Down There", while the monsters of both Brian Lumley's "The Thin People" and Basil Copper's "The Flabby Men" share only a semblance with humanity. The King of the Monsters himself turns up in "Godzilla's Twelve Step Programme" by Joe R. Lansdale, R. Chetwynd-Hayes' "The Shadmock" and Clive Barker's "Rawhead Rex" are genuinely new monsters, and the last monster-fighter and the last classic monster confront each other in Kim Newman's "The Chill Clutch of the Unseen". If you like monsters, then there are plenty to choose from in this creature-filled collection featuring some of the biggest names in horror, fantasy and science fiction.
| INTRODUCTION: HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER |
Stephen Jones |
| VISITATION |
David J. Schow |
| DOWN THERE |
Ramsey Campbell |
| THE MAN HE HAD BEEN BEFORE |
Scott Edelman |
| CALLING ALL MONSTERS |
Dennis Etchison |
| THE SHADMOCK |
R. Chetwynd-Hayes |
| THE SPIDER KISS |
Christopher Fowler |
| CAFÉ ENDLESS: SPRING RAIN |
Nancy Holder |
| THE MEDUSA |
Thomas Ligotti |
| IN THE POOR GIRL TAKEN BY SURPRISE |
Gemma Files |
| DOWNMARKET |
Sydney J. Bounds |
| THE HORROR FROM THE MOUND |
Robert E. Howard |
| FAT MAN |
Jay Lake |
| THE THIN PEOPLE |
Brian Lumley |
| THE HILL |
Tanith Lee |
| GODZILLA'S TWELVE STEP PROGRAMME |
Joe R. Lansdale |
| .220 SWIFT |
Karl Edward Wagner |
| OUR LADY OF THE SAUROPODS |
Robert Silverberg |
| THE FLABBY MEN |
Basil Copper |
| THE SILVERING |
Robert Holdstock |
| SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM |
Michael Marshall Smith |
| RAWHEAD REX |
Clive Barker |
| THE CHILL CLUTCH OF THE UNSEEN |
Kim Newman |
Reviews
"The most recent entry in Jones's consistently excellent Mammoth horror series."
—Ellen Datlow
THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR 2008 TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL COLLECTION
"There's enough variety here to satiate monster fans of all shapes, sizes and preferences. There are good old-fashioned, atmospheric chills, as well as more contemporary and even comic horror . . . Perfect for bedside reading."
—Tom Murray
RUE MORGUE Issue 73, November 2007
"Stephen Jones is one of the best story gatherers there is, and his compendiums of horror-related releases are always worth investing in . . . of the twenty-two stories contained in this marvellous volume, none fall short of the promise from Jones that each will truly entertain you . . . this is another quality compendium from Stephen Jones, a guy who knows how to put a collection together and give the reader great value for money."
—James Whittington
THE DARK SIDE, October/November, 2007
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