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Do you ever read short story anthologies?

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Do you ever read short story anthologies and if, so, what genre? I read a lot of short stories online but have only recently started buying them for my kindle. I tend to read horror shorts and some romance. Has anyone got any recommendations for short stories?
Crazy old ape
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A lot, actually. I am very fond of short fiction. Even among novels, I often prefer shorter works to door stoppers (e.g. I think The Mist is better than a lot of Stephen King's monster tomes).

Genre-wise, I tend to s-f, horror, and fantasy, esp. the latter two.

If you're into fantasy and horror, try to get some Clark Ashton Smith. He mostly wrote for the pulps in the 20s through the 40s and was, IMHO, easily better than his better known friends H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. He was also a poet and artist (sculptor and painter) and it really shows in his prose.

A mighty warrior meets an unusual challenger. The Last Challenge of Jadek Prynn.

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Quote by Mendalla
A lot, actually. I am very fond of short fiction. Even among novels, I often prefer shorter works to door stoppers (e.g. I think The Mist is better than a lot of Stephen King's monster tomes).

Genre-wise, I tend to s-f, horror, and fantasy, esp. the latter two.

If you're into fantasy and horror, try to get some Clark Ashton Smith. He mostly wrote for the pulps in the 20s through the 40s and was, IMHO, easily better than his better known friends H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. He was also a poet and artist (sculptor and painter) and it really shows in his prose.


I’m going to have to read some Lovecraft, I think I’m missing out
Crazy old ape
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Quote by Welshdreamer42


I’m going to have to read some Lovecraft, I think I’m missing out


Do you want a list of the best ones to start with or a list of the ones to avoid? Horror at Red Hook is a no go for starters. Just be prepared going in for some racial ideas and attitudes that were archaic even in his time.

Best story to start, IMHO, is "The Colour Out of Space" (yes, in spite of being American, he used UK spellings). There was a movie version just a year or so ago starring Nicholas Cage and it is, in fact, one of the most filmed Lovecraft stories (four that I know of). But the original story is one of his best. Stands on its own (i.e. not part of the Cthulhu Mythos), very little of his bigotry, well written, and one of the seminal works of s-f horror.

A mighty warrior meets an unusual challenger. The Last Challenge of Jadek Prynn.