REVIEW: Flight or Fright, Edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent

***Review first published at New York Journal of Books***

If you’ve ever flown, then you’ll know the fear that can sometimes come with the experience; the unexpected turbulence, unforeseen weather events, the vertigo, the constant possibility that something might go wrong and send the plane plummeting to the ground.

This “fear” is exactly what editors Stephen King and Bev Vincent explore in their anthology, Flight or Fright, and the authors push every conceivable notion of aeronautical terror to their limit. In his introduction to the anthology King himself admits to not being a fan of flying, and presents one of his own experiences to set up the tone for the fiction that follows.

Flight or Fright offers up an interesting mix of classic and new stories with the majority consisting of reprints and two new stories, one by King and the other by his son, Joe Hill.

As a whole, the anthology presents a wide array of scares, ramping up the latent fears air travel can present; the claustrophobia, the sounds the plane’s mechanics makes, the sheer powerlessness that passengers feel when something does go wrong. There are tales of paranoia (Richard Matheson’s “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”), cosmic terror (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Horror of the Heights”), time travel (E.C. Tubb’s “Lucifer!”), and even a locked room murder in an airplane lavatory (Peter Tremayne’s “Murder in the Air”).

There are several real standouts, including the opening story, E. Michael Lewis’ “Cargo.” The tale offers a nightmarish insight into the aftermath of the Jonestown Massacre from inside the cargo hold of a C-141 troop carrier. The blend of history with the supernatural makes it one of the most memorable stories.

Other memorable entries include “Diablitos” by Cody Goodfellow; the author mixes native Columbian mythology with airborne disease and spins a nasty little apocalyptic tale that will definitely leave a bad taste in the mouth. The

one story that manages to not only be entertaining, but poignant, is Joe Hill’s “You Are Released.” This passenger-hopping tale about an airliner hurtling through the outbreak of World War III is pure nightmare fuel. It’s a vivid exploration of real people, flaws and all, as they contemplate catastrophe.

King’s story, “The Turbulence Expert” proposes that there are special people tasked to help planes survive the phenomenon of “clear air turbulence” using their fear alone. Like many of King’s short stories, it leaves you guessing—and wanting more. The volume ends with a long poem by James Dickey, called “Falling.” Supposedly inspired by the real-life account of a stewardess falling out of a plane, Dickey paints a beautifully haunting picture of what would no doubt be a horrifying demise.

One observation that some readers may find curious is that there are no stories by female authors in the anthology. This certainly isn’t a deal-breaker, but it would have been interesting to have had some tales from a female perspective to add some additional diversity. Having said that, it’s possible that there may have been few stories of this nature written by women for the editors to select from?

According to Bev Vincent’s Afterword, the idea for Fright or Flight was apparently conceived by King on a whim, but it’s clear that each story has been carefully selected. The pair have scoured the globe and found some of the most intriguing tales of high-flying horror, mystery and adventure. Here’s hoping King and Vincent decide to compile a second volume with some fresh content. With such a terrifying theme, the sky’s the limit.

https://www.cemeterydance.com/flight-or-fright.html

REVIEW: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

***Review first published at the New York Journal of Books***

“Baby Teeth is a very satisfying read. More psychological thriller than horror, it’s a finely crafted exploration of the breakdown of the family unit . . .”

Zoje Stage’s debut novel Baby Teeth is a deliciously creepy tale that pushes the boundaries of the dysfunctional family into very dark territory.

Set in Pittsburg, PA, the plot revolves around young mother Suzette Jensen, her husband Alex and their mute seven-year-old daughter, Hanna. Hanna’s mutism is a cause of great concern to her mother, who sees it as a sign of her bad parenting, but in reality, it’s a sign of something much darker.

As the very tightly woven tale moves along, jumping between the heads of Suzette and Hanna, Stage’s skill comes to the fore. The author forces you to feel sympathy for Suzette one moment and then judge her the next. With Hanna, you wonder at first if she is just an attention-seeking brat—until the bad things start happening.

There’s a definite creep-factor to Hanna; the girl’s malevolent mind-games becoming increasingly more sophisticated. As a reader, you are constantly second-guessing yourself. Is she acting out, or is she truly evil? There are many parallels in the tale to other novels like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, and occasionally it feels like familiar territory, but what sets Baby Teeth apart is that it goes much deeper into the trials of being a parent and childhood mental illness.

The author’s portrayal of Suzette, this fragile, Crohn’s Disease-afflicted, helpless mother, is very precise. Hanna meanwhile, with her Machiavellian schemes, is almost too clever for her own good, but you can’t help but keep turning the pages to see what she does to her mother next.

Stage pits all three in the Jensen family against each other, and it’s intricately detailed with emotion. Although it does seem to take a long time for the father, Alex to come to his senses and see that something is seriously wrong with his daughter, he acts as an anchor point for the reader, the center-point in the see-saw of doubt.

The supernatural elements are minor, with Stage introducing witches and hints of Walpurgis Night into the mix, but still these are intended to keep the reader wondering what is truly going on with Hanna.

The psychological aspects of the story are well-crafted with Stage confirming the reader’s pre-conceptions, lulling us into a false sense of security. Seeds of doubt are the strongest aspects of the author’s plotting. Her prose is also succinct, and delightfully flecked with some truly creepy aspects of Hanna’s persona:

“While it was very easy to think of ways to harm her, it was very hard—even with Marie-Anne’s help—to think of things that wouldn’t immediately give her away. Mommy would see if she pushed her down the stairs, but Hanna didn’t think the fall would do much more than annoy her. She could stab her in the heart while she slept and then carefully wipe her fingerprints off the knife . . .”

As the novel reaches its crescendo, Stage offers a glimmer of hope, with some tender moments between mother, daughter, and father. The reader can’t help but feel pity and sorrow for Hanna when a tough decision looks to split the family up for good. But this is Stage getting to the heart of the story, ramming home just how tragic family dysfunction can be and the costs it can bring to bear. Is the hope real? The ending, although true to Hanna’s devious character, leaves the prospect of up to the reader.

All in all, Baby Teeth is a very satisfying read. More psychological thriller than horror, it’s a finely crafted exploration of the breakdown of the family unit which not only pulls at the heart-strings but threatens to sever them. I look forward to seeing what dark delights Stage conjures up next.

Buy Baby Teeth here - https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Teeth-Novel-Zoje-Stage/dp/1250170753/