I’m always going to remember 18 Wheels of Horror: A Trailer Full of Trucking Terror due to equal parts thoroughly enjoying the stories contained within and it being my first audio book experience. I was always planning on reading this anthology, mostly because it was edited by my online buddy Eric Miller, author, editor, producer and screenwriter known for 2001 Maniacs, Mask Maker, Swamp Shark and previous short story anthologies Hell Comes to Hollywood and Hell Comes to Hollywood 2. When speaking with him about his latest release through Big Time Books, he seemed so excited that 18 Wheels of Horror was headed to Audible that his excitement became contagious and I decided to take the risk of listening to my first audio book.
When I first downloaded this anthology book through the Audible app on my smartphone, I hesitated before putting my imagination into drive. My main concern was that each and every story was going to be a rip off of The Hitcher or Joy Ride. Contrary to my assumptions, while some stories do contain similar elements, I was overjoyed to find that all of the shorts were completely original and, in fact, they were stories I hadn’t even seen yet in movies during my time in the horror community. I was blown away by the creativity that came out of this one startling theme: trucking. The creativity the authors must possess to write such riveting stories based on the theme – trucking – is astonishing and a tribute to their skills of penning quality work that fits a niche.
To be honest, however, I did enjoy some short stories much more than others. I find it hard to criticize anyone’s work here because all of the authors are so very talented, so instead I’ll list my top five entries in this anthology. They are “Rising Fawn,” “Down Shift and “Whistling By” along with recent Bram Stoker Award Winner “Happy Joe’s Rest Stop” and the editor’s own “Siren.” As it turns out, all of the short stories lend themselves to various sub-genres of horror, meaning 18 Wheels of Horror literally has something for every type of horror fan. You’ll ultimately have your favorites, especially the ones that are your make and model, but I think you’ll find that 18 Wheels of Horror is a cohesive collection that even in its weaker moments is still a joy ride to the senses. Whether it’s a paperback edition or a vocal recording, this is a well put together anthology of the best stories from the dark roads of America.
To address the audio recording of 18 Wheels of Horror… It was… A little hard to pay attention. Again, this was my first audio book experience and I found it hard to concentrate. I thought the beauty of it all would be to listen to the short stories as I worked out, tanned on the beach, or whatever activity I chose to do that wouldn’t have been possible with a paperback or kindle edition. Once again my assumptions were proved incorrect and I often found myself pressing the rewind button. I think the idea of an audio book would work when examining an entire novel, but I found too many distracting factors when following along with separate adventures. The two voice actors/narrators, Graydon Schlichter and Jennifer Knighton seemed so wooden in their performances, but I quickly realized that they had to sound that way. As with old school radio shows and cartoon voice overs, vocal performers need to accentuate every word to make sure the listener can hear every word with ease and accuracy. They sound how professionals should sound when recorded. Mission accomplished here!
All in all, 18 Wheels of Horror was an enjoyable ride. I would highly recommend it to horror anthology readers, especially those looking for something outside of their comfort zone. I guarantee this book will shock you, chill you and introduce you to sinister worlds you never dreamed could exist. Final Score: 8 out of 10.
18 Wheels of Horror is comprised of “A Dark Road” by Ray Garton; “Rising Fawn” by Brad C. Hodson; “Never Lost Again” by Joseph Spencer; “Big Water” by R.B. Payne; “Down Shift” By Daniel P Coughlin; “Siren” by Eric Miller; “Whistling By” by Shane Bitterling; “Lucky” by Del Howison; “Happy Joe’s Rest Stop” by John Palisano; “Pursuit” by Hal Bodner; “Beyond the Best Seasoning” by Megan Arcuri; “Take the Night” by Janet Joyce Holden; “King Shits” by Charles Austin Muir; “Cargo” by Tim Chizmar; “Crocodile” by Edward M. Erdelac; “Sleeper” by Ian Welke; “The Iron Bulldog” by Michael Pual Gonzalez; and “Road Kill” by Jeff Seeman. Paul Carlson provided the foreword and Keven Carter created the cover art.
“Psychotic killers, devious ghosts, alien monsters, howling storms, undead creatures, and other dark forces haunt the highways and the truckers who drive them in these 18 chilling tales! A ghostly voice on a trucker’s CB radio knows more about his life than it should… Two drivers find their cargo gives them inhuman appetites… A boy in a truck stop encounters a supernatural force that threatens to destroy the world… The hypnotic singing lulling a driver to sleep might not be coming from the tires… A fender-bender between a big rig and a four wheeler is not as accidental as it seems… The sinister cargo lurking in a rock and roll band’s fleet of trucks is unleashed at their final show…”
