Cold Glass Pain features 23 stories from various authors, and I'm afraid I think it has gone for quantity rather than quality. Proceeds from the book go to charity, so perhaps you'd better skip straight to the end of this review and the links to where it can be bought.

The anthology marks the editorial debut of Christopher J. Hall, and I think a certain immaturity of editorial style is found in the choice of stories.

As with most anthologies, there are good and bad stories, and I dare say a lot depends on your own personal taste. But I'm afraid I wasn't very impressed with this collection. There were only four or five stories I enjoyed, with about the same amount again that showed considerable potential. And then there were some really very poor stories whose inclusion mystifies me.

At best, the stories are well written and enjoyable, at worst they're badly told, predictable and pointless. The majority are somewhere in the middle. I can't help feeling that the editor really should have known better. Actually, because there are two authors who each have two stories in this anthology, I wonder if the response to the call for submissions was particularly slow, thereby limiting the choice...

For me, the best of the bunch are Michael Stone's Sacred Skin, a tale of rural exorcism; The Tomb by Leila Eadie, a story centred around an archeological dig; Kurt Newton's The Scarecrow, telling of one man and his silent friend; and The Calling by Kevin Anderson, dissecting a religious experience. These stories aren't startling, but are enjoyable and solidly written.

I'm not going to comment on the less impressive stories; you'll certainly be able to spot them within a few paragraphs in most cases, and I'd advise you to skip over them to the good stuff. It's for charity, so let's look on the positive side, eh?

Cold Glass Pain is available now as an e-book and paperback. Proceeds are donated to Katie's Concerts charity.