Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 is more short story collection than anthology, with no greater agenda, in the end, than to collect together a few good short stories.

In Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy 2, there are some very different styles of story in this anthology of the weird and unnatural. There will be something for everyone and there will be a favourite among the tales that will stick in the mind for long after it has been read.

The editor has chosen stories across a broad fantasy landscape, from science fiction to contemporary to historical to secondary-world. Although there are no elves or dragons, there are werewolves and vampires. For the most part, these tales are light dark fantasy, with even a humorous tone in some cases, but they encompass both the subtle and the overwhelming. This is mostly fantasy for grownups, for readers who appreciate the varieties of narrative voice, the play of language and the unexpected twist of plot, but most of all the full range of the genre.

Subterranean Press founder Schafer follows 2008's Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy with a superb anthology of 11 twisty stories. [. . .] Each tale has an element of the unexpected, playing delightfully on themes of individuality and unsettled outcomes.