Amazon.com
In his preface to this encyclopedic reference, Dennis Etchison is typically eloquent in defending horror literature, the power of which "derives from its predilection for addressing the fundamental questions of life and death, the drama that does not need to be melodramatized.... The problem is that this requires a greater degree of attention to style, mood and the connotative aspects of language than is found in most fiction, and that the better you do your job the more the reader is likely to expect an extraordinary payoff at the end--something larger, deeper, and truer, justifying the trust that has been extended to you. In that respect a fine horror story may well be the most difficult of writing extant, excepting poetry. Because it is about the Great Truth, it ultimately calls for nothing less than
authentic knowledge, or at least an intimation of it, the kind of understanding of one's characters and their problems that can only come from personal insight. This is something that is not easy to fake."
Etchison's remarks may pertain but indirectly to the quality of the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, & Gothic Writers as a reference, but they're worth quoting to illustrate the earnest intent behind this volume. The sense of horror being valued for what it attempts as well as for what it achieves is present on every page.
The format of this huge reference is similar to that of the other St. James Guides: each of the more than 425 entries (mostly English-language authors, with a couple dozen who write in other languages) contains a brief biography, a complete list of works (divided into horror and nonhorror titles), and a signed critical essay. The A to Z entries fill nearly 700 double-column oversized pages--a lot of useful information. Also included are three indices (name, nationality, title) and a reading list of nonfiction writing about horror, ghost, and gothic literature.
The editors intend this as a companion volume to the St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. --Fiona Webster
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-This guide offers an overview of 450 of the most prolific and outstanding authors of young adult and adult horror, ghost, and gothic tales. Each alphabetically arranged entry contains biographical information; a complete list of works current through 1997 that includes film adaptations of books, series titles, and critical studies; and a signed critical essay. There is a list for further reading and several indexes-by author, title, and nationality-and see-references for writers who use pen names. Foreign language authors are listed in a separate section following the main body. This guide focuses on adult materials, listing them first, then cites any young adult or children's titles written by the individual. There is one confusing feature-books appear alphabetically within the year of publication-but this is only distracting for authors with large bodies of work. Although this material is available through other reference tools, e.g., Master Plots (Aperture) and Something about the Author (Gale), this guide pulls the information together in one concise survey. The critical essays are particularly useful because they present perspectives about each author's singular contribution to the larger genre. This tool can be used to provide students with a starting point for reports, to introduce readers to an author's other works, or to lead fans of "creep and gore" to other writers they might enjoy.
Molly S. Kinney, Office of Public Library Services, Atlanta, GACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
