The Complete Stories, Vol. 2: Bitter Ends by Robert Bloch

The Complete Stories, Vol. 2: Bitter Ends by Robert Bloch

Original Title: The Complete Stories, Vol. 2 ISBN: 0806512016 ISBN13: 9780806512013 Autor: Robert Bloch Rating: 4.3 of 5 stars (1928) counts Original Format: Paperback, 386 pages Download Format: PDF, TXT, ePub, iBook. Published: August 28th 1990 / by Carol Publishing Corporation / (first published 1987) Language: English Genre(s): Horror- 9 users Short Stories- 5 users Science Fiction- 3 users Anthologies- 2 users

Description: Contents:

Water's Edge The Real Bad Friend Man With a Hobby Welcome, Stranger Terror Over Hollywood Luck Is No Lady Crime in Rhyme The Cure Sock Finish Broomstick Ride Daybroke Betsy Blake Will Live Forever Terror in Cut-Throat Cove Word of Honor That Old Black Magic The Deadliest Art The Screaming People The Hungry Eye Show Biz The Gloating Place The Man Who Knew Women The Big Kick Night School Sabbatical The Funnel of God 'Til Death Do Us Part The Show Must Go On A Matter of Life Pin-Up Girl The Baldheaded Mirage The Masterpiece

About Author:

Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer. He was the son of Raphael "Ray" Bloch (1884, Chicago-1952, Chicago), a bank cashier, and his wife Stella Loeb (1880, Attica, Indiana-1944, Milwaukee, WI), a social worker, both of German-Jewish descent. Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction, and, perhaps most influentially, horror fiction (Psycho). He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle; Lovecraft was Bloch's mentor and one of the first to seriously encourage his talent. He was a contributor to pulp magazines such as Weird Tales in his early career, and was also a prolific screenwriter. He was the recipient of the Hugo Award (for his story "That Hell-Bound Train"), the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America. Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures. He also worked for a time in local vaudeville, and tried to break into writing for nationally-known performers. He was a good friend of the science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. In the 1960's, he wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.

Other Editions:

- Bitter Ends (The Selected Stories of Robert Bloch)

Books By Author:

- Psycho

- Psycho II

- Mysteries of the Worm: Twenty Cthulhu Mythos Tales by Robert Bloch (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

- Robert Bloch's Psychos

- Night of the Ripper

Books In The Series: Related Books On Our Site:

Rewiews:

Sep 03, 2010 Linda Rated it: liked it Shelves: science-fiction, anthology, horror, short-stories, monsters As always, Bloch is a skilled writer. However, too many stories in this anthology hit too similar a note... setup and then a twist! Haha! The technique gets old by the end of the book, and thus this collection is best read one story at a time, over time, as opposed to all in one sitting. Doled out in smaller portions, like vitamins, the stories are a lot more enjoyable. A lot of the plots will seem a little too "familiar" and predictable to horror fans, but to give Bloch credit where it's due, th As always, Bloch is a skilled writer. However, too many stories in this anthology hit too similar a note... setup and then a twist! Haha! The technique gets old by the end of the book, and thus this collection is best read one story at a time, over time, as opposed to all in one sitting. Doled out in smaller portions, like vitamins, the stories are a lot more enjoyable. A lot of the plots will seem a little too "familiar" and predictable to horror fans, but to give Bloch credit where it's due, they were a lot more original at the time he wrote them.

As Bloch was a member of the Miskatonic Round Table, as it were, any collection of his writing must contain at least two stories of a Lovecraftian bent for fans of that genre. This collection is no exception, but the inclusions are more in flavor than in a dictionary of the Cthulhu mythos, and in face are subtle enough to name no names other than an offhand reference to R'lyeh. Favorites of mine: * Betsy Blake Will Live Forever: I really liked this one's ending. You could see the plot twist coming a mile away, but the last few lines really made the story work for me. * The Baldheaded Mirage: A simple science-fiction horror story, but the stark images it evokes stayed with me long past the end. * A Matter of Life: If this wasn't a Twilight Zone episode, it really should have been.