Final Reckonings

by Robert Bloch

Book Overview

Best known as the author of "Psycho", Robert Bloch is world-renowned for his stories of horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. Many of the 25 stories in this first volume of "The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch" have been unavailable for decades. The stories are in his classic style of gripping suspense, science fiction and fantasy. As Bloch writes, "These stories in this collection have a common theme; they deal with monsters. Some of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00M0JQ5D0
• ISBN13: 9780806511443
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Master of the twist ending

This is the first volume of a 3 volume collection of Robert Bloch's short stories. However it is NOT complete. I have a 1960s collection of his short stories and none of them are in any of these three volumes. Still--this is probably as close as we're going to get:) These are the early Bloch stories--from 1939 to 1956. He was a very good writer. His stories are direct and to the point. He doesn't waste time on descriptions or details. He gives you just what you need to know and goes full speed ahead. Not all of the stories are that great anymore. Some are cliched but you have to realize he INVENTED the cliches! None are bad at all--just a few are familar. Still they're quick, easy reads and always had a macabre twist at the end. The twist endings are just great--some you'll see coming but others come out of left field. Also it's fun to read these stories and remember how they were used for episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and movies. ALL the stories for the 1972 film "Asylum" are in this collection! They're slightly different though. An excellent thorough enjoyable collection. Highly recommended.

Fantastic literature at its best

Most people only know Robert Bloch for 'Psycho', but his career is way beyond that. He was a prolific writer, and the youngest member of the so-called Lovecraft Circle. This collection encompasses some of his best works, some of them heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. I'd suggest this tome to anyone who is into the Mythos or any kind of fantastic literature and fiction. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I'm sure you'll do too.

A Bloch Party

Robert Bloch's first volume of complete stories is gruesome fun. Some of his most famous and chilling short stories can be found in this collection. Many of these stories were translated into either film by Amicus productions (The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum, Torture Garden, Tales from the Crypt, etc.) or made into a radio play. Among the great stories contained are "Mannikins of Horror" where an insane nueroscientist plays god and breathes life into clay; "Frozen Fear" tells of a Cajun curse that will chill you to the bone; "The Man Who Collected Poe" is a fantastic tale of a man's obsession going beyond the mortal realm; and "I Like Blondes" deals with an individual's taste in women. This collection contains 27 stories, all of which are a blast to read. If you enjoy horror short stories without all the ambiguous endings that seem to plague the current market, this is the collection for you.

Bloch's brilliant stories are required reading.

Despite being famous for a novel, Robert Bloch's greatest contributions to genre literature were arguably in the short story format. Whether writing for the pulps or the slick professional magazines, Bloch could be counted on delivering a unique and addictive blend of twisted shock and sarcastic black humor. These volumes are pretty much required in any genre fans library. Highly recommended.

Very Interesting Book

This book is very interesting. Robert Bloch is able to write a suspensful story. When you read this book, you will be in for a surprise. There are many shock endings to the stories. Most of them are horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. Sometimes he weaves two of them together. Overall, I thought that this was an excellent book.