Rating: 
Summary: A Feast for the Senses
Review: I polished it off in about 3 days. Each story fulfilled the promise of editor Sarrantonio; You got introspective, you got edgy, then you simply got Scared. King's THE ROAD VIRUS HEADS NORTH, while brief, offers enough mental fodder to keep the skin tingling. F. Paul Wilson's GOOD FRIDAY preaches the meat of that old saying; There's nothing like a Jersey Girl (even if she is a nun). Morrel's RIO GRANDE GOTHIC, while not inherently supernatural, offers enough of the "normal" world of psychoses to keep you on the edge of your seat word by heartpounding word. By far one of the most well rounded collection of stories I have read in years. It will hold a prominent place on my bookshelf and merits reading again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: An unexceptional horror anthology
Review: In his introduction to this book, editor/contributor Al Sarrantonio makes clear his high hopes that 999 will prove a worthy successor to such landmark horror anthologies as DARK FORCES and GREAT TALES OF TERROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL. The dust jacket even goes so far as to declare of 999: “Not only is this the largest anthology of original horror/suspense fiction of all time…but it is also the finest.” As it turns out, however, neither the editor’s high hopes nor the dust jacket’s hyperbole are justified. 999 is in fact a very average collection of horror tales, with stories that range from pretty awful at worst to quite good, though not exactly excellent, at best, and the bulk of material falling somewhere between those points.Frankly, there are few high points in this collection. Furthermore, the high points of 999 are not particularly striking as far as horror tales go, and are only distinguishable as the points of greatest contrast to the indifferent and unmemorable horror storytelling that comprises most of 999’s entries. Still some readers might enjoy Tim Power’s haunting & unusual ghost story “Itinerary,” my favorite story here, which manages to be witty, fantastic (in the truest sense of the word), and melancholy without straining for effect. Kim Newman’s lead-off story, set in a U.S.S.R. under siege from walking dead American tourists, is a great, well-written combination of creepy horror and understated black humor, and makes a strong start for the book. Thomas M. Disch’s “The Owl and the Pussycat” delivers a deep bite in the gentle tones of an innocent children’s story. Ramsey Campbell’s “The Entertainment” lacks the potency of much of his stunning short fiction and bears a little too much resemblance to Robert Aickman’s classic chiller “The Hospice,” but is nonetheless a thoroughly sinister piece of work suggesting the unnatural horrors that can hide behind seemingly harmless grins. But then there’s no avoiding the negatives. Bentley Little’s “The Theater” starts off as a dully written reprise of Ramsey Campbell’s infinitely more frightening “The Show Goes On,” and quickly segues into a goofy psychodrama driven by the zero-personality main character’s unhealthy obsession with vegetables. Stephen King cruises through with a by-the-numbers tale of a demonic painting that could make for a passable episode of NIGHT GALLERY—one could be forgiven for thinking the editor was satisfied enough just having King’s name to plaster on the cover, so minor is his contribution. Peter Schneider’s “Les Saucisses, Sans Doute” might be well-intended in its mockery of the pretensions and cheesy glamor rife in “extreme” splatter-shock horror, but this short piece is too slight, the kind of thing one might scribble up to pass a lazy lunch-hour. Quite disappointingly, T.E.D. Klein’s “Growing Things,” a surprise contribution from this all-too-unprolific writer, also turns out to be a little insubstantial. The best that can be said is that there are some fine, if unremarkable stories between the covers of 999. However, the “good” stories are not good enough nor in sufficient proportion to invite comparisons with truly exceptional horror anthologies, such as the two volumes mentioned at the beginning, or THE OXFORD BOOK OF ENGLISH GHOST STORIES, THE DARK DESCENT, and the SHADOWS series, to name but a few others.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much scary about this book at all
Review: Most of the stories in this book aren't very scary and half of them I didn't understand. Stephen King turns in a wonderful short story (Which is why he is the king of horror) but most of the others tend to sound as if they are trying to write some sort of high brow kind of horror story. There is nothing wrong with blood and guts and this book could have used a lot more of it.
Rating:
Summary: Not much scary about this book at all
Review: Most of the stories in this book aren't very scary and half of them I didn't understand. Stephen King turns in a wonderful short story (Which is why he is the king of horror) but most of the others tend to sound as if they are trying to write some sort of high brow kind of horror story. There is nothing wrong with blood and guts and this book could have used a lot more of it.
Rating:
Summary: Late night creeps
Review: Talk about a wide selection modern horror, this collection ranges from the supernatural to the twisted darkness of your next door neighbor. The thought of popping stitches are forever branded in my mind from Edward Lee's ICU. MAD DOG SUMMER will leave you contemplating how well you really know those around you long into the night.
Rating:
Summary: Late night creeps
Review: Talk about a wide selection modern horror, this collection ranges from the supernatural to the twisted darkness of your next door neighbor. The thought of popping stitches are forever branded in my mind from Edward Lee's ICU. MAD DOG SUMMER will leave you contemplating how well you really know those around you long into the night.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and Depressing
Review: The editor of 999, in his introduction to the book, talks about how he hopes to compare his effort to Dark Forces--probably the most entertaining compilation of horror stories ever. I don't think he even came close. Overall the book's not bad, but most of the stories herein don't rise of above the usual worthlessness of the horror genre in general. I find most of today's horror fiction pretentious, depressing, and worst of all, boring. There are a few stories in the collection that stand out: Stephen King's, William Peter Blatty's, and Bentley Little's. The majority are just average--which isn't saying much, considering the state of today's horror field. And then there are a few that are truly awful; Neil Gaiman's story stands out as the worst example. If this is the best that the horror community has to offer, I'll soon be ignoring the field completely. I already feel alienated from the purple prose of most of these authors, and their attempts at "high brow" horror just reinforce that feeling. The vast majority of the writers here aren't exactly youngsters. So I have a feeling that the horror field's going to be kind of "dead" until a younger generation starts to usurp this current complacent generation of horror writers with stories of their own--stories by people who aren't afraid to admit that they're influence by people like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Farris. Until that takes place, thanks to books like 999, I'll go back to ignoring the status quo...and buying books of any category *except* horror.
Rating:
Summary: Best Writing
Review: The Joyce Carol Oates contribution is what's significant here, the beautifully composed novella Ruins of Contracoeur. Chilling.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the Year!
Review: There doesn't need to be a "Best of" collection this year. This is it! Contrary to what the professional reviewers (with their biases and political opinions) have been saying, the King story is pretty damn scary. And Kim Newman's piece is overrated--I had to force myself to finish. Almost everything kicks ass, though. The high point for me was Bentley Little's "The THeater," an original unclassifiable piece that creeped me out in a way nothing has done for a long time,
Rating:
Summary: A garden of pleasure
Review: This book is a collection of stories, short or long, in the vast field of horror and fantastique literature. The panorama is nearly complete and dedicated to the devil by its own title. I particularly like the final short novel « Elsewhere » by William Peter Blatty. The ending is totally surprising and very well interwoven into the whole story, with a final twist in the very last paragraph, so that we do not know any more who is a ghost and who is not. Are we all ghosts ? Some other stories are very good. No surprise with Stephen King, though his story deserves a longer treatment. Anyone interested in this literature could use this book as a compilation of pleasures. But it could also be a perfect introduction to the genre for novices and newcomers. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
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