Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and 1979, his “Hollywood Years.”
The subtitle “Last Rites” just seems to mean this is the final volume in this particular collection. The book opens with “Talent”, about a young man with a gift for imitating movie characters. Like several other stories in this volume, there are some accidental deaths that in retrospect should have been investigated more closely. The closing story is “Freak Show.” A sinister-looking fellow sets up a freak show attraction in a small town and invites all the locals. But are the freaks inside the tent, or outside? The story namedrops other sinister carnivals of fiction.
Some other standouts: “The Final Performance” in which a temporarily stranded traveler meets a young woman desperate to leave her current living situation, only to seemingly change her mind at the last moment. (Uncomfortably reminiscent of real-life abusive situations.)
“Untouchable” about a racist movie star who goes out of his way to offend his Indian host and learns too late there’s more than one way a person can be untouchable. (Content notes: The N-word, rape.)
“A Toy for Juliette” which first appeared in the Dangerous Visions anthology. The title character lives in a decadent future, and her time-traveling grandfather brings her random people from the past to torture to death. Oops, her latest toy has sharp edges!
“Crook of the Month”, which is a satire of the state of literature at the time it was written. A ghost writer is coerced into producing a novel on an impossible schedule. Only his wife’s quick thinking can save him now. You can tell Mr. Bloch didn’t think kindly of bestseller culture of the 1970s; the described novels sound sick even by 21st Century standards.
Most of the stories feature dark humor; often it’s of “the biter bit” type. Several were either adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents or were inspired by scripts for that program. No-fault divorce would have solved the issue in many stories without resort to murder.
There’s period sexism and racism, usually by someone who’s about to suffer horrific consequences.
Overall, despite the strong themes running through the stories, the genres are varied enough to keep the collection from feeling too same-y.
Recommended to folks who enjoy dark humor in their gruesome stories.
