Revelations

by Douglas E. Winter (Editor)

Pestilence, floods, war, social upheaval, drug crime, wicked leaders, conspiracies, corruption even visions of death-dealing aliens -- this superb collection of stories takes an unforgettable imaginative journey into terror and transcendence. Each decade of the twentieth century is assigned to one of the top fantasy/horror authors of the modern age who evokes the particular madness of that decade as it contributes to a prophecy for the next century. Decade by decade as the millennium approaches in these powerful, chilling tales, the tension builds toward a dramatic revelation that is both a prophetic warning and a visionary answer for all humankind.

A singular publishing event, Revelations is a stunning anthology-novel by modern superstars of fantasy and horror, including New York Times -- bestselling author Clive Barker, David J. Schow, and Ramsey Campbell.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic

656 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Douglas E. Winter is an American writer, critic and lawyer. A life-long interest in horror has led him to develop a parallel career as horror writer and horror critic. Winter edited horror anthologies Prime Evil (1988), and Revelations (1997) as well as the interviews collection Faces of Fear (1985, revised 1990). He has also written biographies of Stephen King and Clive Barker. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

Reviews

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the world can make fascinating fiction. The subject has been pondered since the invention of stories, sometimes fueled by new scientific developments, biblical prophecy, social changes, world wars, and of course fantastical concepts such as zombies and monsters. I jumped on getting this anthology because of that - not only short stories catered toward Revelation and the end, but also because it had strong writing talent powering it.

Each story set by different century - 1900 to 1990

Not only short stories about the end of the world, or sections of it, but the anthology follows a timeline to tell morbid scenarios based on the time periods. In the fifties we had different fears that we do currently. Authors chose their sections of the world and how they were affected, not keeping them centralized to only a certain region.

Sometimes anthologies are mixed bags, but I'm happy to see this one has made my top three list in terms of quality and diversity. Clive Barker is usually a writer that sucks me in to his stories, but I'm sorry to say I couldn't lose myself into his opening and ending stories for some reason. Still, the offering is so good I'm still keeping that 5 star rating.

Some of my favorites:

The Big Blow by Joe R. Lansdale - This story took me by surprise because I didn't know what to make of it. In a town where racism is rampant, a big-mouthed boxer has been hired and sent by the local rich goons to take down a rising champ in the boxing ring. There's a decent amount of bizarre sex, abuse, and work-ups until the big fight, which takes place during a hideous hurricane. Not scary at all, but disturbing a bit, it's mainly a tale that shows how the strong can sometimes survive the greatest odds. I like who the winners were at the end and how it was wrapped up. The story is mini old-school noir tone with writing technique. Not politically correct - at all - but well-done and enjoyable.

If I should Die before I wake - David Morrell touches on scary illness - the Spanish Influenza reborn. Stunning story told through a small-town doctor's point of view, starting with him treating a young boy he had delivered years before, watching the family fall before his eyes. Besides the tragedy of so many deaths and it spreading like wildfire, there was the sobering ending with him and his personal demons. Such a sad but well-done ending that brings the story up a level.

Aryans and Absinthe - F. Paul Wilson - Another fascinating story. Set in the time right before the world went boom with Hitler, a man sees a premonition of the starving and tortured running toward him. Is it a psychic vision after he becames enamoured by Hitler's speeches before his arrest and rise, or is a side affect of the absinthe? Well written, intriguing, and different. I still can picture that weird look on the friend's face at the end. So far, by the third short story, this anthology is really rocking it. Each story has made me reflect on different periods of history, all in different ways.

Riding the Black - Charles Grant - Well-written and beautiful prose, dark subject I'm embarrased to admit I don't fully get. I think it's tied in with one of the four famous horseman. Loved the ending, another good story after the bomb and the war, in 1945 timeline. Dark and supernatural.

Triads - Poppy Z Brite and Christa Faust - was certainly unique - it was about a cultural turned physical war in China told through two "owned" men who were feminized and in a homosexual relationship. Their bond was fascinating, it was about family, connections, growth. Hard to describe it without spoiling, so I won't.

Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo - Elizabeth Massie - This short story was tragic - told about the end of the world for two people who find themselves in a cult. Instead of a regular cult led by a leader for religious reasons, it ties into government backing with controlling hippies and freethinkers back in the sixties. It shows a desperate woman who has a limited mind and is easily deceived, blended with a genuine free-thinker man who was good in spirit and not easily led. While he may not succumb to cult thought, he does let himself be controlled by love/guilty, which can be its own kind of trap. -

The Word - Ramsey Campbell - Cerebal and a little confusing, but sobering and awesome, it's about a jaded critic who encounters someone who really holds power in his words. Is he the second coming and the real Word, or is it something else supernatural similar to in the Mouth of Madness when people became obsessed with Sutter Cane?

If you're hunting for an anthology that focuses on end of the world, interesting stories that are focused on theme, or that mix crime with a small blending of horror, this is definitely one to try.

[Angela Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most stand-out story of the lot involves the Spanish Flu, and that is seriously revolting. The guy is helping at the hospital, but his wife meanwhile gets sick and dies. He goes a little crazy and keeps looking after her as if she's alive.

There's also a crazy one with a hippie commune, and one where a Jew gets drunk on Absinthe while he's watching Hitler speak.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who can stand horror writing.

There are some great reviews of this book on Amazon here.

[Jeannie Sloan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book.Most of the stories were about how evil human beings can be to each other.If I wanted to read about that I would read more nonfiction.
The stories,for the most part,are very well written but again I don't really like the premise of 'lets see how bad psychopathic people can get and what they do to one another.I don't like this kind of horror at all.I don't want to be grossed out either or read about rape or pedophilia.'Yuck.

[JasM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this book achieved its aim to portray moments in our history that could have been interpreted as the end of the world, but it definitely is one of the best collections of short stories about the banality of human evil and suffering that I have ever read. For me, the best example of this is "Triads".
I was given this book when I was 16, and it still deeply disturbs me to this day.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent anthology. Good tandem read with 999 edited by Al Sarrantonio.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology,Science Fiction

[Amanda Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great compilation!

[Tlingit]

``The Big Blow,'' Read it before, good story. ``Aryans and Absinthe" another good story, took me back to the time but the ending could have been more satisfying. "Triads" was interesting even though I could do without the gay sex details but that's P. Z. Brite's style. "If I Should Die Before I Wake," is probably the closest to horror even if subtle of these stories. With a little reworking there coud be more horror in "The Word" but I enjoyed reading the story. "On the Black" had me feeling the atmosphere but it seemed like a lamer version of a Stephen King Western story. I didn't complete Whitley Streiber's offering: "The Open Doors". I read about 2 pages before I got annoyed and skipped it. After reading Communion I just haven't been able to read anything of his. "Fixturesof Matchstick Men and Joo-" was more fantastical than horrible but interesting. I found "Whatever" tiring. I like music and found the references and trappings weighed the story down. "Dismantling Fortress Architecture" is a story I want to read again. More of a thriller than horror it drew me in and took me away from life for a while. I didn't bother reading either "Chiliads" I hate intros and outros.
To sum the whole book up, if you want horror you won't find much between the front and back cover but there are some good stories within nonetheless.

[Missy (myweereads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A world of yearning and need was suddenly a place of surfeit; and the end of mankind began, for there was nothing left invisible, or unknowable, and therefore nothing left to hope for or desire.” - Chiliad A Meditation by Clive Barker

Douglas E Winter’s Millennium is a unique anthology which begins in the year 999 and reaches the year 2000. In these collective works are many intriguing stories which test the theory of wether the human soul has evolved.

Opening this collection is one of my favourite short works by Clive Barker Chiliad A Meditation. This is spilt in two and is featured at the beginning and the end of this collection. It tells of two similar horrific events which take place decades apart. With Barker’s unique prose this not only sets up this anthology but ends it in a beautiful way.

The stories span specific periods of time. There were many which were quite bizarre and some I won’t be forgetting soon. Featured were works by Joe R. Lansdale set in 1900 “The Big Blow”, “Triads” set in 1930 by Poppy Z Brite and Christa Faust, “Whatever” set in 1970 by Richard Matheson, “The Word” set in 1990 by Ramsay Campbell and many more.

I liked the variety of story and how ultimately they explore the human soul. This was an interesting collection to read and discover other authors.

[Simone Volponi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acquistato soprattutto per Lansdale e il suo "La grande burrasca", ovviamente il miglior racconto presente. Bellissima anche la novella in due parti di Clive Barker, e ci sono buoni numeri dalle penne di Poppy Z. Brite e David Show, un po' annacquati perché scritti a quattro mani.
Difficile, onirico, ma suggestivo il racconto di Richard Christian Matheson. Nulla di che Campbell.

[Duh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing close to what I had expected. A few of the short stories I found to be quite interesting but overall, I feel the stories missed the mark (by a wide margin) that Douglas Winter had hoped to achieve as stated in his Afterward. At the very least, it missed the mark I had set when I chose to buy and read the book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories are beautifully written, and I really loved them. Some of them were not enjoyable at all. I guess that's the risk you take with a collection from multiple authors, but ultimately I'm glad to have read this

[Kevin Gallan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories from a fantastic group of writers

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this mixed bag all roughly center around matters millennial and apocalyptic (though judging by Richard Christian Matheson’s submission, some more apocalyptic than others). Editor Douglas Winter’s tiresome diatribe at the end is missable (if for no other reason than the fact that he hauls out that annoying nerd obsession with the 2000 v. 2001 controversy, much more intelligently addressed, and with a contrary conclusion, by Stephen Jay Gould in Questioning the Millennium). I should also confess that I skipped the bulk of Whitley Strieber’s entry; I can’t bear his psychotic babble, though it warms my heart that Winter is willing to buy this nonsensical drivel from an author who must desperately need the cash, because I’m sure the treatments for whatever the hell is wrong with him are expensive. On the other hand, a couple of the stories are a bit more clever.

[M.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hesitate to put this on the apocalyptic shelf. The premise of the book sounds interesting. There was a story for each decade of the twentieth century that was to center on some sort of event that could be seen as related to an apocalypse or a sign of one. I just felt that some of the stories fell short of delivering on that.

At the end of the book the editor stated that the stories were merely to have a revelation of some sort in them. But shouldn't all stories have some sort of revelation in them?

There were a few good stories in here none the less.

[GracieKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different stories, definitely not what I was expecting. My particular favorites were the one about the doctor and his wife, and the commune that is secretly run by the government to keep the "hippies" under control.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

a mixed bag of writing skills each in their own way leaving this reader with many thought provoking points to ponder one major grip I had was the lack of flow in most of the tales had to keep pushing myself to keep reading

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be a horror book,the stories while very good, I wouldn't consider horror, I did enjoy the collection very much,though, the Landsdale and Brite stories were the best , however they might be a bit graphic for some, all the stories were well written

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these stories, especially since they all take place at different historical times and during different historical events (the 1919 influenza epidemic, the Galveston hurricane, etc.). Great stuff by some truly gifted authors (my main men F. PAUL and JOE R.).

[Brett]

Horror,Anthology