"A very readable examination of modern horror (up to 1980) by Mr. King. Novels, movies, television are all examined by King. He also gives us some insight into his own writing history - most notably The Stand. Thirty-seven years after it's publication the book still shows up in bibliographies and endnotes. That's pretty impressive for a book which was really no more than a labor of love containing a hodgepodge of previously published material (Playboy) and original work.


Some people feel that the book is obsolete, but I don't know what that means. The essays were written in the late seventies, but the observations and analysis are still current (television has improved which Mr. King did not foresee, but he isn't a psychic). Exactly how can ideas be obsolete? The answer is they aren't. I find the writing in "Danse Macabre" to still be fresh and enjoyable. As a lifelong geek I always enjoy reading scholarly examinations of movies, comic-books and so on and this book is a good one. I have no problems giving it four stars. "