This first volume of Tales from the Lake is a horror and dark fantasy reading feast that will thrill and satisfy all followers of these genres. An outing on Greywater Lake gone horribly wrong, some thoroughly scary dolls and statues, a group of violent ghosts, and a vengeful Xbox are just a few of the horrors you will encounter in this book. With water as the central theme of several of these stories; lakes, rivers and the sea play a major, if thoroughly frightening, role. For ultimate variety a...

Book ReviewTitle: Tales from the Lake Volume 1Author: Tim Waggoner et. al.Genre:Anthology/Horror/PsychologicalRating: ****Review: Tales from the lake is a compliation of water/lake themed stories, these vary in genre, although Crystal Lake Publishing is known for its horror novels and sotry compliations. I won’t normally read short stories like this as I find them to be flat and lifeless but these stories are considerably well fleshed out.Lover, Come Back to Me by Tim Waggoner for example, we ge...

Overall review:Good, Old School horror anthology that will appeal to those who especially enjoyed Eighties-era chills and thrills. Out of the sixteen stories, there were only two that I didn't like (due to personal preferences), but that's to be expected in any fiction collection with this many works.Worth owning, this.Standout stories:1.) "Don't Look at Me" - Elizabeth Massie: A living, shoplifted garden gnome (Pointy) helps a young girl (Connie) deal with her mentally abusive mother. The endin...

This is a great collection to grab. I found a lot of great, creepy stories I loved and some authors I will be looking into more. Collections are hard to review because readers will also find stories they want to give a five star and others a three or four, so all in all this collection is getting a four.If you enjoy short stories and like when you have to read while looking over your shoulder, then grab this collection that will take you on a dark journey of amazing writers and tales you won't w...

Gorgeous!I don’t know how long this book has been sitting on my TBR list, but I am so glad that I have finally opened it up to read.There are sixteen wonderful stories, some by authors that l know. Like Tim Waggoner, Joan De Le Hoya, Tim Curran and Graham Masterton. All of the stories are delightful and especially the story from Graham Masterton. Only a few of the stories are about a lake, but that hardly matters. You have so much fun reading them, that they can be about a desert. 🙃So, if you ha...

There were a few stories in here that I remember the day after I finished the book, so I'm giving it more than one star.That said, I found that a lot of the stories were choppily written, and that overall they could be summed up as "bad things happen to bad people" which--when the writing is not engaging enough for you to really care about the bad people (either to feel for them or to want to see retribution against them)--is not particularly interesting.(Okay, when you don't really care about t...

Anthologies tend to be a mixed bag - but that's because my taste in short fiction is never going to be matched by the editor who assembles the anthology. This is one of those rare cases in which I felt closely matched; these tales kept me reading past my bedtime - and then kept me awake even longer after I put them down for the night. In an era when so much content is available for free, this served me as a reminder that it's well worth a couple of bucks to have somebody else wade through the sl...

Crystal Lake Publishing have put out several anthologies and collections, but the inaugural volume of Tales from the Lake is their first non-themed anthology. It encompasses a wide array of subgenres and brings together horror veterans and newcomers alike.Ben Baldwin’s cover art is once again eye-catching and evocative. Editor Joe Mynhardt begins the collection with an introduction, writing about the book’s origins and the annual Tales from the Lake Horror Writing Competition. Current HWA presid...

I really enjoyed this volume. Dead Pull and The Fine Art of Wrecking are definite highlights. Will certainly check out more in the series and more from the publisher.

Anthologies are often a mixed bag of writing styles and subjects, but Tales from the Lake is one of the few that have a consistent and good quality throughout. Each story was a very different but very entertaining. I've been reading a number of anthologies recently and most have an overarching theme, this one does not. I'm wondering now if *not* having a theme might not be the better idea--a theme perhaps making the inconsistencies between authors more obvious? I look forward to reading Vol. 2

An excellent collection of short horror stories with just a twinge of the macabre. Not over the top in most cases, showcasing raw talent and practiced voices. I enjoyed it very much, looking forward to new anthologies.

I wanted to really like this book, but, for some reason - just didn't. Published my Crystal Lake Publishing, the book is a non-themed anthology, with several of the authors being from outside the United States. Most of the stories, while well written, did little or nothing for me....although did enjoy Elizabeth Massie's and Graham Masterton's short stories. The anthology must have been popular (originally published in 2014)...as there are 3 sequels. I won't be buying them.

This was a pretty great anthology. There are some terrific stories included.I particularly enjoyed:Don't Look At Me by Elizabeth Massie, which tells us that objects created in the shape of humans (garden gnomes, ventriloquist dummies, barbie dolls) have minds and can think. They can also speak (if they have mouths) and see (if they have eyes). I'm already a little afraid of dolls. This story did not help.Dead Pull by Taylor Grant is about Brennan, a horrible man who rules the pets in the store w...

As with all anthologies, I liked some stories more than others and your own personal likes and dislikes will be different from mine. I personally don't care for revenge stories or moralizing stories, for instance, but some people do, so my rating won't necessarily tell you if you'll like this anthology or not.I liked the image of backwards swimming fish in Tim Waggoner's story "Lover, Come Back to Me." Taylor Grant's "Dead Pull" in which a pet store employee has a showdown with a fish was anothe...

Ban men from writing 2k17

Great beginning to the series

Crystal Lake Publishing loves horror, and their passion shows through. You gotta respect that. Reading this collection is like seeing a overview of indie horror's current state. Two stand out stories for me were: Las Maquinas - a mad science twist on the zombie tale.Perrollo's Ladder - a kind of Clive Barker style story with monsters and literal ladders to heaven.So check it out if you dig indie horror and definitely support these small presses that do their best to keep literary horror alive.

Really funThis book is really fun. The stories just keep out at you. My favorite is The Lady of Lost Lake. Such awesome writing. A nice after work treat.

I take a break from some great novel reading to revisit the short story. For this, I will read my first horror/thriller anthology with multiple authors showcasing their talents for the world to see. Authors such as Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Clive Barker have made a living just on the short stories they have published.Tales from the Lake compiles a handful of gems and a couple you could probably skip over. Alternative Muses by J. Daniel Stone and Don't Look at Me are two of the strong points e

Some excellent stories in this collection! Standouts for me were Tim Waggoner's "Lover, Come Back to Me," "Dead Pull" by Taylor Grant, and "Devil's Night," but there are several others that were pretty great reads. A few didn't quite do it for me, but overall it was a really good collection of dark fiction.