I guess it depends on your definition of horror, or whatever form of it is your favorite, that determines if a book meets and/or exceeds your expectations prior to reading it. In the case of Dark Dreams, the "horror" is often of the sexually explicit, shocking, gruesome kind.

One of the standout stories for me is "Danger Word" by husband and wife writers Stephen Barnes and Tananarive Due, about a world in which disease has zombie-fied most of the world, and how an elderly man struggles to keep his own grandson from harm after his parents fall victim to the same disease. It's gory in parts, but it also has emotional depth as it explores the love between grandfather and grandson. The other standout is "The Track" by L.R. Giles, in which an entire town falls victim to the mysterious powers of a race track. It's not only suspenseful, but a fun read as well.

The story that will leave the greatest impact on all its readers is "Plaything" by Terence Taylor. From the very first page this story caused a knot of discomfort in the pit of my stomach, the effects of which lasted for a while after I had finished the tale. It's a story of sex, children, rape, pedophilia, and questions where the moral line is drawn when we can create non-human, yet frighteningly realistic, substitutes on which to act out our most perverse fantasies. "Plaything" isn't for the faint of heart or the easily offended, and it just may leave you feeling a bit dirty afterwards. But the sometimes life is in fact dirty, and although some issues may have to be force-fed to us, like a sick child who must be held down to give him or her badly needed medicines, these are issues that are real and nasty, and yet shouldn't be ignored.

Massey is a refreshing new voice in the Horror field, and though for my usual tastes, many of these stories were just too explicit in its descriptions of sex and violence, the book is overall still a strong read. If you are a true lover of Horror, or any form of literature that pushes boundaries and digs deep into the muck and mire of the dark sides of the human condition to expose it to a broader world, then this book is a must read.

- Gregory Bernard Banks, author of "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life"

I was extremely dissappointed with this book because it was not at all what I had expected. From the title and summary it was supposed to be suspensful and scary. There were a few stories that I actually enjoyed but still these should not have been catergorized as horror. I found the stories to be more "twilight zonish". I expected an erotic read from Zane because thats all she can do but that was throughout the entire book with different authors. There is one story that is absolutely disgusting ! I mean we have reached new heights of
perverse and twisted thinking. This one story is about two men who purchase real life (new age robot) children for sexual pleasure. Straight Child [...] in writing. I don't even know how someone can think up such madness. I was so turned off I had to put the book down. I could only finish the book because I hate to start and not finish and because I love Tananarive Due and wanted to get to her story. I would not recommend this book at all. This was not Brandon Masseys best!!!!!

I was browsing around in Barnes & Noble one day and came across Dark Dreams among the new releases. I checked out the table of contents and was extremely pleased to find a story by my friend Linda Addison. Linda is a fine poet and brings the beauty of language to all her written works.

I went home and browsed for it on Amazon and found a second book to buy as a bundle with Dark Dreams called Dark Thirst that just happened to contain a novella by one Linda Addison. Of course, I immeidately bought them both.

'The Power' is a terrific story. It is beautifully written and it touched my soul.

I've been a fan of Brandon Massey since I read Thunderland and I love Tananarive Due so this was a no brainer for me once I saw their names on the cover. Although the tales are not extremely scary, you will find that they perk your ears up a little more when you're home alone.

The ones that stand out the most so far are If the Walls Could Talk by L.A. Banks, Danger Word by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due and Plaything by Terence Taylor. And I would have to agree with one of the other readers, the Plaything really gave me a bad feeling as well as made me wonder with all the technology that we currently have....is this possible? Very SCARY!!!

Definitely a book to read!

Dark Dreams was the perfect title for this book. I don't scare easily, but this book had me shaking in my boots. Some of the stories were really frightening and I learned early on, that this wasn't a book to read from right before bed. That for me, is what made it such a good read. I couldn't get with all of the stories, but I did like most of them. Enough to make me want to recommend it to other horror lovers.