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Cemetary Dance Publications
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Topic starter
I said in another thread that I have never read a good round-robin story. So, having just read CD's SUNNY PINES and absolutely hating it, I thought "Why not try another?" So off to the shelves I went, and took out my copy of THE CRANE HOUSE: A HALLOWEEN STORY.
This round-robin novella was one of CD's "Not for sale" books, an exclusive premium for ordering a "Cemetery Dance Exclusive Collectors Set" in 2012. I have zero recollection of what that set entailed. But the lineup of authors involved was very appealing (Brian Keene, Kealan Patrick Burke, Al Sarrantonio, Rick Hautala, Bev Vincent, Brian Freeman, James A. Moore, James Newman, Ronald Kelly, Norman Prentiss, and Ray Garton), so...how bad could it be?
Turns out, about 3/4 of the way through the book, not bad at all. The downfall of round-robin stories is always that someone feels the need to completely swerve the story away from the original intent, and makes their chapter a "Ha! You thought this was a HORROR story, but now it's a time-travel/Sci-Fi story!", and then the last author decides "The narrator was in a Mental Hospital the whole time, imagining all of this!"...it just never ends well. I'm not done yet, but...so far, no one has taken the story off the rails, and it's been a fun haunted house tale.
On a side note...the signature page really made me take pause. This book was published in 2012. 14 years ago, but it feels like the blink of an eye. Only 14 years, and we've lost FOUR of the 11 authors. Sad and sobering.
Posted : July 9, 2026 4:48 am
BenStaad reacted
I think I have this somewhere in my library. I may have to dig one out. If not I surely have something similar to try out.
It is jarring regarding the folks who have passed. I have good memories of chatting with a few of them over the years and miss those talks. Rick was a very nice person to chat with and was very patient with my chattering.
Posted : July 9, 2026 9:16 pm
I vaguely remember reading The Crane House years ago.
It was decent for a round robin story, though I distinctly remember it fizzled out at the end.
B
Posted : July 9, 2026 11:11 pm
Topic starter
I vaguely remember reading The Crane House years ago.
It was decent for a round robin story, though I distinctly remember it fizzled out at the end.
B
I've got about 30 pages left, and I was hoping they'd stick the landing, lol. I'll keep my expectations in check when I sit down to finish it.
Posted : July 9, 2026 11:21 pm
Topic starter
They didn't stick the landing. The last few chapters were so bad that they ruined my enjoyment of the previous chapters. The round-robin curse strikes again!!
Posted : July 11, 2026 12:38 am