Blood Bound Books is an independent publisher that has been putting out some terrifying anthologies full of diverse and well written stories. Some of their collections are meditations on a central theme, while both volumes of “Night Terrors” are open to any theme or subgenre, as long as the story is horror.

   Interestingly enough, however, several of the writers seem to be riffing with the title, since quite a few of the selections depict characters going in and out of a dream state, or just having general trouble sleeping—others describe horrors happening at night while families try to rest. A few of the stories find terror in the milieu of the medical field—hospitals, operating tables. While I noticed these common themes, no two stories were alike. The editors have done an excellent job is choosing works of varied length, style and theme.

   There is some nice fiction here in the flash to very short length category. The editors know what makes an effective flash tale. Even the shortest works are complete, not just aimless fragments common in some of the flash anthologies flooding the market of late. “A Mother’s Love” by John Peters, and “Untouchable” by Amanda C. Davis are standouts, but all the short works were effective.

   Some of the writers experimented with form also. In “Old Nick’s Game Town,” Dominic E. Lacasse uses articles and letters as well as conventional narrative to add “authenticity” to an urban legend. “Hi Ted” by David Bischoff is written in email exchanges between video game developers. While this has been done before, in this case it fits the tale perfectly.

   Some standouts in terms of plot:

   “Darkly Dreaming in Black Waters” by Jason Andrew does a nice job of evoking Lovecraft in a World War II story while keeping to its own story, not allowing the “Lovecraft-ness” to take over.

   In “Revivified,” Maria Alexander tackles apocalyptic fiction in a creepy, subtle mode that hints at horrible occurrences rather than using graphic depictions.

   The same can be said for “A Cat Named Mittens” by Bob Macumber. By limiting a horrific phenomenon that could easily be the end of mankind to the POV of a father and daughter, the horror is intensified by its intimacy.

   I have only highlighted a few tales but the whole collection is worth the read. Unlike many anthologies, I never felt bogged down by mediocre material.

   Overall, one particular strength of “Night Terrors II” is that the writers all understand the importance of atmosphere, creating a sense of dread through character, setting and language, rather than leaning on gore. There are some shocking jolts and graphic violence—the authors don’t shy away from it—but they are just that, punctuations within an already well crafted motif of terror.

   I am sure the editors were flooded with submissions and I admire their taste in the final selections.

   This anthology--and Blood Bound Books in general--gets high marks from me. Check them out!