The Panda Book of Horror

With the weather growing greyer and colder here in Lancing, and a rather nasty cold knocking me for six if not seven, I decided that now would be as good a time as any to delve into The Panda Book of Horror, the second Iris Wildthyme anthology from Obverse Books. (For those not paying attention, I enjoyed the first one a lot).  The fire has crackled, the wind has howled, my nose has run, and the anthology has entertained me through and through.
     Sequels are tricky beasts.  They have a reputation for very rarely beating the originals in terms of substance, style and quality, though this is somewhat unfair.  Of course, many fail to recreate the flair of the originals, but others spread their wings and fly triumphantly, kicking stereotypes squarely between the eyes as they do so.  This is one such sequel.  Building on the success of the first anthology, the thirteen stories collected here continue to use their source material well, telling stories of time travel and speculative alternative realities, peppering stories with flashes of pop cultural characters and/or motifs, weaving elements of other works of fiction into 'reality' with a sly and knowing wink or sometimes complete indifference, and generally telling the sort of stories I wish all series were capable of telling.  The beauty of the Iris Wildthyme series lies in the fact it can be heartbreaking, hilarious, reckless and eerie all at once, which it thankfully often is.  By grounding their stories in 'our' world whilst also chucking in absurdities with no acknowledgement that they should be absurd (so, demonic puppets start an uprising on Christmas Eve and everyone shrugs it off; bus depots are haunted by sad and long dead conductors; and drag artists may be the key to saving the world from hideous danger), the stories are able to exaggerate the pains and absurdities and joys and sorrows of reality.  It makes the highs all the sweeter, the lows all the more touching and moving.
     All the stories here and winners to varying degrees.  Some tickled me more than others, but that's what you expect from any collection, and over half of them, in fact, bowled me over: 'Just The Ticket', 'The Fag Hag from Hell' and 'The Delightful Bag' on their own would form an impressive trio on their own, but then they are joined by the likes of 'Channel 666', 'The Colour Scheme' and 'The Party in Room Four'-- especially 'The Party in Room Four'-- and it elevates the collection into the realm of something truly special.
     If there was one criticism, it would be that some of the stories do not resolve with clear resolutions or conclusions, but then again this ties in with the central theme of Iris Wildthyme as a character: the journey is far more fun than the mopping up afterwards.  It's all about the intoxication, not the hangover.  Words to live by, no doubt.
     Another sublime collection from Obverse Books: long may the high quality continue.