Edgar Award-winning editor Penzler's new anthology rolls out the red carpet for the stories that Hollywood is made of. He delivers the director's cut on these classic short stories and the films they gave rise to.
Readers already familiar with Penzler’s style will know what to expect here: this huge book is a bonanza of finds, from the well-known to the gloriously idiosyncratic ... Penzler’s charming enthusiasm, as usual, sometimes gets the better of him ... A huge banquet like this rightly ought to be the place where the boring old truism 'the book is always better than the movie' goes to die ... Fortunately, even when the comparisons are embarrassing, they’re fascinating. Penzler has once again created a great big volume perfect for beguiling a long, lazy afternoon, or a whole series of them.
Indefatigable editor Penzler’s latest 61-scoop sundae is a treasure trove of short stories that were filmed, though most readers won’t care to sample more than a fraction of its contents ... A significant fraction of the volume’s 1,200 pages are devoted to the editor’s story-by-story introductions, but these short essays, which are filled with anecdotes, breezy evaluations, information about the production histories of the movies based on these stories, and the occasional spoiler, are often more interesting than the stories they introduce ... The ideal audience: cinephiles who’ve never read any of these stories before. But everyone will find something to treasure.
Movie and mystery buffs alike will savor Penzler’s ninth Big Book anthology ... Spoiler-averse readers may want to defer delving into Penzler’s informative and insightful introductions for each entry, which give away plot developments in both the story and film adaptations. Penzler’s scholarship and expertise enable him to both expose modern audiences to now-obscure talent and to the origins of classic films. This will be a welcome addition to many libraries.
