5 Best Short Story Collections or Anthologies I’ve Read so Far

Some of the best authors I have ever read I read first in anthologies. They were the underrated or the up and comers I never would have heard of otherwise. Some, in this shortlist, are big names that were and are at the top of their game.

There is a certain art to being able to write a short story. Stephen King said, “A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.”  I believe every one of my picks on this list is ready to give you a big fat smooch.

Let’s begin.

5) Stories: All-New Tales, Edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio

If you want a little bit of everything, this book has it for you, from the scary to the touching. Two of my favorites in this anthology, were Weights and Measures, by Jodi Picoult and Goblin Lake, by Michael Swanwick.

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4) Selected Stories Philip K Dick, by Philip K Dick, Jonathan Lethem Introduction

If you are new to PKD this is a good place to start. From the man who inspired a whole new genre of SciFi and fantasy, this is PKD at his finest. Are you ready to find yourself in the mind of this original and thought-provoking author?

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3) Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, edited by Daniel Arthur Smith

Not only did my writing appear in this series five times, but I am also an uber fan of every installment that Daniel Smith puts out. There is no better place to find your next favorite indie author than the Tales from the Canyons of the Damned series.

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2) Skeleton Crew, by Stephen King

Master of writing the longest novels you have ever seen. Master of writing short stories. There really isn’t anything the man can’t write. My favorite and one that inspired me to write is The Jaunt. It is one that disturbed me and stuck with me to this day.

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1) Machine Learning, by Hugh Howey

If Stephen King inspired me to write, Hugh Howey inspired me to do it independently. One of the most successful indie writers in the world writes some of the best short fiction I have ever read.

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Honorable Mentions

Anything by Ray Bradbury

Any of Samuel Peralta’s anthologies

And of course my Night Portals series 🙂

Ernie Howard’s 5 picks for Horror Fiction

The other day I was reading a blog post that had the title, Top 10 Horror books of all time, and it made me a little mad. You can’t say that a group of books are the best that genre ever had to offer or ever will have to offer. Not to mention, I didn’t agree with much of the person’s picks.

So, because I am the kind of reader who likes to tell everyone good books to read. Here are my picks right now, for best horror written. These picks could change with the coming years.

5) The Hunger, by Alma Katsu

We have all heard of The Donner Party and the lovely buffet that they rolled out at their party. This is the author supernatural take on that ill-fated trip. This book is everything you’d expect from it. Cannibalism is always scary business. This is what Stephen King said about the book, “Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark.”–Stephen King

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4) Communion: A True Story, by Whitey Strieber

I remember when I was a kid, my mom came home from the video store (when they still had those places), with this video called communion. My parents didn’t censor much from me and my sisters, so they let me watch it with them. Well, I ended up under a blanket on the living room floor for much of the movie. I read the book later in life and I think it scared me even more. If you believe that aliens have visited us or if you are still skeptical you will love this book.

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3) Song of Kali, Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is known for his SciFi books the most, at least that is what genre I first read him in. But some of his best fiction is horror. Song of Kali is a disturbing book, that will stick in your mind for a very long time. The ending is one of those that makes you take a hard intake of air that you forget you’re holding only realizing after you get dizzy that you were holding your breath. This book is not for the faint of heart.

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2) House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski

If there was ever a book that when someone said, just give it a chance, this is it. This book starts out normal then gets weird. Before you know it you are immersed in the madness and the house has you. Yes, I said house. This isn’t a book. It is an experience.

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1) IT, by Stephen King

You knew I was going to pick this. I know everyone says that this is the scariest book. Picture this. It’s the summer of 1994. I’m seventeen years old, everyone in my house is asleep except me. I have decided to read IT. I am scared, I’m listening to every sound in the house and thinking the worse, and I am completely hooked. I read this book in two sittings. No, not one, it’s over a thousand pages! This probably one of the only books that I can read over and over and it still scares the crap out of me.

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There are my picks. Read all of these with the lights on. If you would like to check out my books, find me HERE. Happy Reading my friends!