Building on the success of Women of Darkness (Tor, 1988), Ptacek's second point-of-view collection includes short horror and fantasy fiction by both established and new women authors. The subject matter ranges from the psychosexual to the darkly humorous. Tanith Lee's distinctive centerpiece tale of zombies and the French Revolution has the pace and flavor of a story read aloud on a dark night next to a campfire. This gender-oriented work is definitely not the product of a sheltered writer's workshop, nor is it a series of feminist tracts; rather, it is a well above average horror anthology and a genuine contribution to a genre that has tended to be male dominated. ~--Elliott Swanson

Continuing the high standards set by Women of Darkness , and rendered with effective imagery and craftsmanship, these 18 tales of horror and dark fantasy by contemporary women writers depict the evil caused by human hatred, fear and anger. Supernatural forces figure, too: obsessed with vengeance, the young man in Tanith Lee's ``The Nightmare's Tale'' savages the voodoo-resurrected body of his parents' executioner, only to endure the return of his victim's soul in the body of the woman he loves. Some protagonists, members of the abused underclass, vent their frustration with barbaric consequences. In Melanie Tem's ``The Co-op,'' a new mother beset by poverty and squalor comes to understand why the other members of the group have resorted to cannibalism. Children fare much worse at the hands of humans and the supernatural. The heinousness of child abuse is conveyed by Kiel Stuart in ``He Whistles Far and Wee,'' when the charming (but cloven-hooved) balloon seller imprisons the souls of children in his wares. Underlying the horror in these tales are the cries for help that go unanswered. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved