The New Black is a collection of short stories under the genre of New Noir. It's dark fiction. It could be called Horror. I don't exactly know because I do not typically read this genre. However, I met Richard Thomas at a conference and found him bright and engaging. So I bought his book.

I am so glad I did. I love short stories. It's a great way to visit many different places and people in one book. And I found these stories wonderful. Regardless of genre, these are great stories. They had some of the best writing I've ever read. The stories had an economy of words and yet presented great images. Word choice was at times something I had to stop and admire.

The stories were dark, but not gruesome. Magical at times and yet realistic. You do not have to be a reader of horror to enjoy these stories. ( )

I bought this book because I met Mr. Thomas at a conference. So it is not a typical book for me. However, the stories were memorable and the writing top notch. The stories worked together to create a great tone. I was simply impressed by all the authors. They drew me into each story and had vivid imagery. ( )

Many anthologies are like cheap buffets filled with all kinds of stuff that doesn’t fit well together and doesn’t seem to fit well inside your stomach either, leaving you a gurgling, dissatisfied mess. This collection is not like that. Collected together here are twenty stories that fit together like puzzle pieces. They belong together. And, it is a gourmet menu with everything on it meriting the highly-regarded five- star rating. Let’s put it more succinctly: Everything in this collection is so damn good, it’ll blow your socks off.

I am not sure anyone has managed to properly define neo noir. Maybe its ancient roots can be found in Poe and Chandler and Jim Thompson. However, it seems to also trace its genesis from Sturgeon and Harlan Ellison and the world of speculative fiction. But what’s important is that this pieces all fit together because they are of uniformly high literary quality, there is a sense of poetry and majesty in all of them, and there is something strangely offbeat about them.

This collection includes stories about babies so different that no one wants to be near them, not even their parents. It has stories about picnics on the beach and never-ending vacations. There are stories about methadone addiction and emotional distance. There are also stories about imaginary playmates and telemarketers and about twin sisters struggling through the pain of living and a boxer in a tale that takes you through the agony of each punch. There is a strangeness, an abnormality, an uncomfortableness, about every one of these stories and perhaps that is what makes them so damn good. ( )