It turns out that he is also a dab hand at the shorter form. Gleefully Macabre Tales (Dark Regions Press, 2009, 278 pages) is a collection of his short stories, with original publishing dates ranging from 1998 to 2007. As Strand mentions in his humorous introduction, it's a "most of" collection, with the only works missing being those that are really really bad, too recent, or that "didn't fit" for whatever reason - possibly they were neither gleeful or macabre.
Originally released by Delirium as a 300-copy limited, this trade edition from Dark Regions is not only a damn sight more affordable, it also adds the novella "Disposal", previously only available as a limited from Biting Dog Press. This is the longest story by a long shot, with most of the others being under 12 pages, and there are several stories that qualify as "flash fiction". "An Admittedly Rather Pointless But Mercilessly Brief Story With Aliens In It" is barely a page long, the splattery "Quite a Mess" half that; but "Common Sense" is only two sentences long. Naturally, this makes it hard to talk about some of the stories in detail without ruining them, especially those that lead up to what is essentially a punchline.
Of the shorter works a standout for me was "Really, Really Ferocious". It's about a harmless looking dog who surely can't be a threat, right? Wrong, but not in the way you think. "High Stakes" is a nasty little comment on the extreme consequences of not being able to quit while you're ahead. "Cap'n Hank's Five Alarm Nuclear Larva Wings" has a truly shocking ending, and a reminder to be pleasant to those who serve us at eateries.
Of the longer pieces, a stand-out for me was "Werewolf Porno". It, as the title implies, features a werewolf on the set of a porn film. Sex, blood, chaos, hilarity (not necessarily in that order) ensue. Another longer stand-out was "Abby's Shriek". It's about a couple of kids and their abusive father, who may or may not be a sexual deviant and killer. It has an excellent twist.
A section titled "Gross Out!" contains his 2006 and 2007 entries in the World Horror Convention gross-out contest. And, yes, they are very gross, but apparently nowhere near as gross as the winners. Just as gross as these (at least to me) is "The Socket", which is about a man and his eye socket, and the gross things he can do with it. Ech.
And just when you think that Strand is only capable of humour, along comes "Glimpses" to kick you in the nuts. Displaying a similar style of "life glimpses" as used in Dweller, it's a story about Dennis and Patricia; how they grow up together, get married and so on... and then an accident occurs that changes everything. It turns out that one of them is hiding a sick compulsion. A truly excellent story.
Of course, not all are excellent. In fact there is one down-right stinker: "The Bad Man In The Blue House". It's written in an odd style, and I'm not certain how to describe it other than to say that it doesn't really work for me at all. "One Of Them" is a demonstration on how to suck the fun out of something, and as a consequence, is not a fun read. In Jeff's defense, he does point out some of these flaws in his notes (which, by the way, are a very entertaining read themselves), but as the word count wouldn't have suffered very much, I feel the collection would have been stronger without them.
Luckily, the aforementioned "Disposal" makes up for these in spades. Frank is a self-confessed scumbag who gets employed by Gretchen to kill her husband and dispose of the body. The only thing is, her husband won't die, no matter what violence is inflicted on his body. Dealings with the occult, dastardly deeds, double crossings, it's all there. In short, it's good.
Overall, it's a very good collection, with a title that is as apt as apt can be. I was expecting it to be very funny- and it was - but I had no idea that it would be so impressively gross at times. It's one of those books that you can pull off the shelf on occasion, open at a random story and have a little chuckle. Or a little grimace. Or both at the same time.
Or, if your friends are open minded, show a story to them at a social gathering. It's something I've been doing, and the smiles have outnumbered the frowns, though there are those occasions when they're not certain which expression to use.
It's funny, and dark. Its gleeful and macabre. It's very good.
4 out of 5 scalpels
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