mark monday's Reviews > Even More Nasty Stories

surprisingly, this collection is superior to its predecessor Nasty Stories, which was often fun and well-written but also kinda dull. there's only so much sniggering nastiness a person can take, well at least this person. the stories in Even More display much more creativity: McNaughton jumps into so many different genres and throws so many unusual ideas around; the stories here felt like he was testing himself creatively, not just trying to build nasty little traps for his characters. there were a number of duds as well, but no need to get into them and I haven't even summarized them below.

Clark Ashton Smith receives a double homage with the baroque fantasy "Benevolent Emperor" and the amusing but ultimately deflating "Return of the Colossus" - the latter a sequel to CAS' classic "The Colossus of Ylourgne." the ideas of H.P. Lovecraft are front and center in the dizzying "Beyond the Wall of Time," plus a fun reference to wonderful character actor Jeffrey Combs of Re-Animator fame. that subset of Lovecraftian mythos featuring the Deep Ones, Dagon, and other watery horrors are the subject of the collection's strongest and nastiest piece "The Doom that Came to Innsmouth." Doom was delightful, although keep in mind I'm calling a story that features a ritualistic torture-rape-murder 'delightful' (I'm problematic). And McNaughton revisits the rules for ghouls of his own classic Throne of Bones in the typically grim but still droll "Ghoulmaster," set in and under that quaint university town that huddles on the shores of the Miskatonic River.

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"The Doom that Came to Innsmouth" - a child of Innsmouth is tricked back to his home, a town devastated by government pogrom; fortunately, the canny and murderous lad finds that supportive relatives and ancient rituals may save the day.

"Getting Around" - an invalid's quantum hand unfortunately does not save the day.

"Marticora" - a father rescues his child from a cult that believes in certain fantasies; but what exactly has he saved?

"Fragment of a Diary" - the castaways must draw lots and so choose whose bodies will provide sustenance; but what's dead does not stay dead, and may instead join in the feast.

"Malpractice" - a boy's crush on a strange neighbor is complicated by her father, a mad scientist with certain plans for them both.

"Ghoulmaster" - an uppity author of a book on ghouls battles some equally uppity ghouls.

"A Donation to the Homeless" - never give your coat to a satanist with a personal grudge: he may help himself to even more of you.

"Impatience" - the world just moves too slowly for some torture-murderers.

"The Flight of the LZD1" - an English spy finds himself aboard an German zeppelin; but does a zeppelin have eight wings, a gaping maw, and one terrible eye?

"The Benevolent Emperor" - a kindly ruler discovers an enemy; a curse of black dust has infiltrated his kingdom, killing his subjects then reviving them into beings both unkillable and entirely apathetic.

"Beyond the Wall of Time" - various personalities come together; an unusual author's origin story is recounted.

"Self-Restraint" - back from the Amazonian jungle and into the urban jungle, Timothy learns the power of the hypnotic phrase Simon sent me...

"The Return of the Colossus" - in the French province of Averoigne, English soldiers find a unique weapon to fight the enemy Germans: a giant made of corpses.