Dark Universe by William F. Nolan

"Nolan?s Dark Universe is a chilling reminder of what lurks in the shadows and is best read with all the lights on."

"There are those that walk in the shadows alongside our safe havens. They are easily recognized but seldom merit a second glance."

"This is the stuff of nightmares."

Lewis Stillman lives in the hundreds of miles of sewers beneath Los Angeles, creeping out only at night for food and the necessities of life. He once lived among the packs that cruise the streets and alleys before he found shelter once again in the dark, the last of his kind, an “Underdweller.”

Madness passes for normality, except when “Saturday’s Shadow” catches you unaware. A train out of a nightmare picks up a passenger bent on revenge in “Lonely Train A’Comin’.” A “Major Prevue Here Tonite” is shown for select screams just down the road from where one driver learns how dangerous it is to commit a “Violation.”

There is peace and quiet in death where pain and disappointment and loneliness never reach when a friend explains his “Dead Call.” Discover why you cannot go home again across the road from “The Yard.”

There is a fine veil between the sane world and the Dark Universe of Nolan’s creation.

William F. Nolan learned his craft from friends, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, and Charles Beaumont. Many of the stories in Dark Universe show evidence of their influence, but underneath, in the creases and shadows, there is a subtle difference that sets Nolan’s stories apart.

Nolan introduces each story and gives a history of its publication and genesis. Many of the stories appeared multiple times in “The Best of . . .” anthologies and there is no doubt they will appear again. Nolan’s Dark Universe is a chilling reminder of what lurks in the shadows and is best read with all the lights on. This is the stuff of nightmares.

Reviewer: J. M. Cornwell