Most of these stories were published in the late seventies, very early eighties, when there was still a burgeoning fiction market in "men's magazines." (Instead of listing the actual magazine titles in which the stories first appeared, the book cites the names of the publishing houses ("Dungent Publishing Corporation," etc., which published Gallery Magazine, Gent--porn, basically.) I'm lucky enough to own a first edition, which features J.K. Potter's genuinely creepy photo art; these are photographic illustrations created in a pre-Photoshop world, in situ in the dark room. Pretty amazing when you think about it. But, about the fiction: Etchison is a writer whose output is not as "prodigious" as his best-selling colleagues, but his stories are of extraordinary craftsmanship and depth. Intensely psychological, they all elliptically orbit the horror of dehumanization--disassociation, alienation, and an inability to find meaning in man-made nightmares. The introduction is by Ramsey Campbell, the dedication, to Ray Bradbury, who, like Etchison, is a Californian (yes, I know Bradbury was born in Wisconsin). The title story, according to Etchison himself, was pared down from a novel-length manuscript, and it is gripping. There are one or two weak stories in the bunch, but, over all, each story, in some way, showcases a voice and vision that is unique to no one but Etchison. (By the way, the main character, Jack Martin, of "The Dark Country" reappears in his Shadowman, an equally superb work of psychological horror.) I apologize for the rambling, fawning comment, but I love this man's work and think he's seriously underrated. "The Dark Country" is my favorite story out of the lot, but I was particularly moved by "It Will Be Here Soon," a story with real pathos. Which brings me to my next point. These are more than just "horror stories." The world is becoming increasingly dehumanizing, and this is what Etchison is really writing about, and what makes a lot of these stories so special (to me). I highly recommend "The Dark Country"; but, if you've read thus far, you've already guessed as much.
At last, we have an e-book edition of one of the major American horror collections, and the stories are as troubling and as powerful as they were when I bought my copy from Scream/Press in 1982.Long before then, Dennis Etchison had been writing and making a name for himself. In the 1960s and '70s, his work had appeared in everything from the MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION and WHISPERS to NEW WRITINGS IN SF, and he was a regular in THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES from DAW. We all knew that he was one of the best, but this collection put his name in a whole new light. And now, here it is, for a new technology, for a new generation.These are stories of medical nightmare, of lonely highways and vacant places, of isolation and ordinary pain transformed by extraordinary circumstances. Written with clarity, economy, and force, they move without warning from quiet introspection to ferocity, from everyday fears to the worst of all possible worlds.Welcome to the Dark Country. Few people know it, inside and out, as well as Dennis Etchison.
What do You think about The Dark Country (2002)?
Take a walk on the dark side…An unbelievably pithy and traumatic collection of dark, stark tales, The Dark Country travels on byways the reader might not otherwise ever want to explore – into the deepest recesses of the most obscure corners of the human psyche and experience. This being the second Etchison book in which I have indulged, I thought I knew somewhat what to expect, but he caught me shockingly off-guard again and again. This man’s work is a revelation; every word, every sentence, every paragraph crafted with the precision of a machinist, every piece of each story building upon one another with an almost unbearable intensity, leading the reader down the garden path to an always unpredictable conclusion. The author describes his own work best in the opening line of “The Walking Man:”“It was one of those long, blue evenings that come to the Malibu late in the year, the water undulating up to the beach like some smooth, sleepy girl moving slowly under a satin sheet.”Each of Etchison’s tales “undulate up to the beach” innocently enough, only to draw back swiftly, powerfully to the ocean depths – in with a whisper, out with a BANG! This is particularly true in the disturbing stories “Sitting in the Corner, Whimpering Quietly” and “Today’s Special.”I will continue to read Mr. Etchison’s work; it is at once terrifying yet intellectually stimulating, irresistible and mysteriously satisfying – a must-discover for any serious lover of the written word.
—Shirley Moore
Etchison should be better known. He wrote some of the most harrowing horror tales of the 70s and 80s and I hear he is still going strong. He is sort of the god-father to splatter-punk and even if his story are sometimes psychologically introverted, he excels at the brutal ending. There is rarely any supernatural themes in his fiction but he is one of the best at psychological horror. His stories can be as straight forward as a sledgehammer yet still maintain the subtlety of a traitor's kiss.The Dark Country was his first collection of short fiction and, for my money, still his best. The 16 stories are little rude awakenings custom made to keep you looking over your shoulder. My favorite is They Only Come Out at Night an unsettling tribute to those spooky roadside rests in the California desert. But all of the tales have that certain something that horror fans crave. Highly recommended
—Marvin
