Holly Rae Garcia includes such a variety of stories within this collection that there’s no doubt any discerning reader will find something to enjoy–many somethings, more than likely. From short poems and flash fiction to novelette-length tales, Flesh Communion and Other Stories is suitable for any attention span. Regardless of length or subject matter, the author will captivate you and dare you to turn away…knowing there’s no chance you’ll do any such thing.
The collection contains truly fascinating tales of revenge, relationships, and reminiscence…sometimes on their own and sometimes blurred together. There are cryptids of various kinds–including one I’m sure you’d never conceived of in your wildest fever dreams–lurking within these pages. The titular “Flesh Communion” delves into a dark and horrific conception of what was happening in Waco, TX during the Branch Davidian stand-off, and who are we to question the veracity of this fictional survivor’s account? One story that resonated with me more than the others focuses on a particularly sympathetic photographer pushed beyond her limits by an altogether too plausible family demanding portraits.
You’re making a mistake if you don’t give this collection your attention. It’s one hell of a ride, but one you will no doubt consider more than worth the price of admission.
Brutality, poetry, sex, and wry humor are swirled together in a dizzying cacophony of horror in a way that could only come from Wrath James White. As much fun as it is to run a marathon, by delving into his longer-form fiction, there’s something truly delightful about accompanying the man on a sprint–or a series of sprints, as is the case in The Ecstasy of Agony.
I’d previously had the pleasure of reading a couple of the stories in the anthologies where they’d first been published, and the even greater pleasure of hearing him recite a couple of the poems that he’s included in this collection, but there was so much more in store. From a fitness routine adopted to survive a zombie apocalypse, to a violent video game that feels all-too-real, to the tale of a man who uses his penis as a weapon, this collection has a little bit of everything. If you’re familiar with White’s work, you really should have some idea what to expect.
It’s not all violence and gore, though. There are strangely touching and somber tones within the cacophony, including a sad reflection on how “dead or in prison” can turn out and how a monster can experience a change of heart. That isn’t to say there’s any shortage of violence, gore, sex, and body horror all throughout…because it just wouldn’t be Wrath James White without it.
A masterful collection by a masterful writer, but trigger warnings are in order–this is not for the overly sensitive reader.
Caitlin Marceau’s This Is Where We Talk Things Out is haunting. That’s the best word I can think of…haunting.
We know where it’s going as we read along. We predict the next twist or turn ahead of Miller as the narrative progresses, but that predictability of outcome does nothing to extract the thrill and terror from the story unfolding before us. We silently scream at the deaf page as we beg Miller to do something differently…anything differently. All that’s left for us to guess at is the final act, how it will all turn out…and we dread that it will go poorly for Miller, we hope for a happy ending.
The relationship between Sylvie and her daughter isn’t an uncommon one, but that sad reality only makes the story feel more real and serves to hammer home the impact of each new horror awaiting us.
When Miller joins her estranged mother for a weekend of reconnection and patching things up, it’s against the advisement of her partner–and against the wishes of the reader, helpless to do anything but bear silent witness. Miller, like so many children of abusive parents, feels like she’s somehow responsible for everything that’s gone wrong, and as if it’s up to her to suffer through the ordeal and give her mother a fair chance. The sheer number of red flags Miller disregards along the way is staggering–but also far too true-to-life–as her mother gaslights her and plays the victim in their every exchange.
You will see where this is going, but you will continue reading all the way to the end…willingly traumatizing yourself every step of the way. Caitlin Marceau is a voice in indie horror to look out for because she’s got a voice that will bring you pain.
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I’ll start by saying the same thing I did for my blurb when I read an advance copy of this anthology: “The only thing disastrous about Dark Disasters is the impact it will have on readers. In these pages, you will find devastation of all kinds, but it’s the emotional or psychological devastation that will have the most lasting effects. There were no drills in school to prepare me for what I experienced in these pages. Nola has done it again…lightning strikes thrice, which is fitting, considering the subject matter.”
This is the third of the Dark Dozen anthologies edited by Candace Nola and released under her imprint of Uncomfortably Dark Horror. I had the privilege of reading advance copies of all three, the first and third to supply a blurb, the second because I was one of the contributing authors…and it has been a pleasure all three times.
This anthology is focused, as you might expect, on horror taking place during–or because of–natural disasters. We have rainstorms, landslides, wildfires, blizzards, and so much more…and those are often only the beginning of the horrors facing the characters populating these tales. There are vampires, something akin to cymothoa exigua (the god-awful parasites that replace the tongues of certain fish), ghosts, sentient mud, and all sorts of other nightmarish things awaiting the reader brave enough to thumb through these pages. There’s no conceivable way someone could read this anthology and feel a sense of disappointment, not if they’re looking for horror or hoping to feel their skin crawling.
Be careful, though…there might be a storm coming.
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What you’ll find in the pages of You Will Be Consumed is a cosmic horror, splatterpunk extravaganza that blends unsettling set pieces with dark humor. The novella was released on May 15th of 2021 through Madness Heart Press. It’s meant to introduce readers to the world of The Hungering Void, a connected sequence of novels, novellas, and short stories showcasing my fictional portrayal of our world going to hell in a very real sense. This novella serves as the first glimpse for many into the nature of gods and demons in what will be a larger fictional environment.
While investigating a series of peculiar and unsettling deaths in Denver, two deeply flawed detectives learn there might be no salvation for any of us.
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If you’re familiar with horror, chances are you’re familiar with a certain infamous “haunted house” that claims to offer a large cash prize for anyone who can survive the experience without breaking certain rules. You’re also familiar, I suspect, with the reality that this is not a haunted house by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a torture porn extravaganza during which the participants are beaten, battered, bruised, and otherwise abused.
This is precisely the sort of environment at the core of Max Booth III’s THE LAST HAUNT.
A young boy, fixated on horror and the discomfort of others, grows into a man who takes that obsession and runs with it, transforming his own property into a grueling boot camp designed for the purpose of torturing and horrifying anyone foolish enough to sign the daunting contract required for admission.
When everything goes wrong one Halloween night, that barrage of cruelty leads to the death of a participant…an event that ultimately leads to far more death and a revenge that’s either supernatural or the product of a severely damaged psyche and a feverish imagination—that’s up to you to decide.
Related in a pseudo-epistolary method, the story is revealed through interviews with people close to the events that took place.
Readers are likely to recognize some familiar names throughout the novella, particularly those who are fans of indie horror.
Duncan Ralston’s Ghostland seamlessly blends elements of 13 Ghosts (or the more high-tech remake, Thirteen Ghosts), Jurassic Park, and The Matrix into a thrill ride of a story. Thankfully, it’s marginally less exciting than the Ghostland attraction itself. Otherwise, Ralston would be responsible for a lot of carnage. Something Ben Laramie catches a glimpse of when he witnesses his favorite author’s house inexplicably transported through town is enough to stop the young boy’s heart. It can’t possibly be Rex Garrote standing in the window and seemingly staring back at him because Rex Garrote has been dead longer than Ben’s been alive. But as the world will learn over the following years, death isn’t quite the conclusion most people believe. On the opening day of the Ghostland theme park, Ben manages to recruit his former best friend Lillian and her therapist to join him as he enters the park on a mission they know nothing of. Since his heart attack, Ben has set his sights on one objective, and it’s one he’s willing to sacrifice himself to accomplish. What starts as a coming-of-age reflection on mortality rapidly transforms into a harrowing and violent struggle for survival amid the exploration of the most haunted places in the world all in one place. Ralston paces everything perfectly, never wasting a beat as he drags us along with Ben and Lillian through a gauntlet that only the luckiest can hope to escape. As he leads us to a conclusion that is both satisfying and open-ended for the sequels, the author displays keen storytelling instincts that should impress anyone daring enough to enter Ghostland. Joe Hempel is always a thoroughly competent and capable narrator, and his performance for the Ghostland audiobook is no exception.
When I first heard about Beyond Reform, and the authors involved in the book, I knew it was something I had to read. This need became more pronounced when Brian Keene announced the nominees for the Splatterpunk Awards at KillerCon Austin 2022. As a nominee myself, in the same category, I felt a compulsion to dive into the nominated works from my competitors/colleagues/friends. They’re not mutually exclusive categorizations. Upon reading Beyond Reform, I felt confident that it would be the title that blew the rest of us out of the water. As it turns out, I was correct, and I was waiting to post this review until after I’d confirmed my assessment. Beauregard, Athan, and Bark capture the theme of Beyond Reform in essentially every conceivable sense. The stories are grim, fatalistic, captivating, sometimes amusing, and often horrifying in their portrayal of the worst aspects of human nature. Aron Beauregard kicks it all off with the title story, Beyond Reform. Hoping to score some quick cash and have some fun along the way, Marcus finds himself the focus of a couple’s revenge. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, Marcus has made enemies of more than just the two of them, and even the best-laid plans fall apart sometimes. Beauregard pulls no punches and dares the reader to flinch as he ups the ante with each new roll of the dice. Midnight Glory by Jasper Bark introduces us to a dysfunctional couple with a seemingly unlimited capacity to hurt one another and a similar capacity to sustain the damage. The source of this seemingly supernatural horror is rooted in a gift that turned out to be a bit more than bargained for and a punishment a long time coming. Bark’s grotesque and graphic sexual imagery was almost gag-inducing, and that’s something to be proud of. Jon Athan hits us next with Tortured Until Proven Innocent, a tale of a vile sexual predator who appears to be getting his comeuppance at the hands of distraught parents. In Athan’s work, as in real life, the stories don’t always have a happy ending, and he doesn’t shy away from hammering that point home with painful clarity. The Martini Club is Beauregard’s second addition to the collection, and its focus on desperate, lonely women obsessed with rehabilitation and sexual fantasies oriented around a convicted serial killer is a thriller, for sure. As it turns out, not all of the women in The Martini Club have the same sort of fantasies in mind when they finally have the object of their obsessions at hand. Athan’s Dead But Alive introduces us to a funeral director with a dark and perverse secret that knows no limits, just as the man knows no shame. The disgusting, depraved, and uncompromising delivery from Athan only makes the conclusion to the tale all the more satisfying. And finally, Jasper Bark concludes the volume with A Most Chemical Wedding, the most unique of the tales included in Beyond Reform. While it is indeed a tale of revenge like much of what came before it, it’s one with numerous twists and wry humor in the mix. Spirituality, alchemy, and a voice that breaks the fourth wall with obvious pleasure make Bark’s second inclusion a fun and fascinating way to wrap everything up. As you can probably tell, I’m quite a fan of this title. I’ve heard it said there’s no shame in losing to the best, and the three authors involved in this project showcased why they are some of the best at what they do.
Kristopher Triana conceives of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he takes it to an extreme most of us would never imagine possible. A Fine Evening In Hell is a tense, character-driven thriller that explores the lengths we’ll go to survive when life has taken a detour down a dark road into real-life terror. Heather and Evan couldn’t have dreamt just how awful their night would be when they snuck away to the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse for sex. Not only was the sex itself disappointing, but they soon find themselves caught in the middle of a dispute between criminals and the dirty cops hunting them down. Their attempt to find a secluded place for intimacy will lead them down a path with disastrous and deadly consequences. Triana does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life, fleshing each out, and making them feel as human as anyone. There are no two-dimensional throwaway characters and no bland ciphers onto whom the reader can project themselves. We’re meant to know these people, to love and hate them as the story dictates, and to feel an empathetic connection with them–even when we may not want to. Kristopher Triana displays a versatility of style that is astounding, bringing his understanding of horror and visceral human terror to the all-too-real conditions of this story, and forcing us to feel the chill of that Northeastern climate as we’re transported along with Heather.
The Beasts of Vissaria County is not what you expect. It doesn’t matter what your expectations might be as you approach this narrative; I can guarantee that you’ll probably find yourself shocked and surprised. The nature of Douglas Ford’s book is as ephemeral and challenging to nail down as the narrative itself, but you’ll find yourself propelled along as if you were in a dream, with Ford as the feverish and abstract architect. Maggie McKenzie escapes the nightmare of her marriage and, along with her son, seeks a transient sort of safety and solace with her disagreeable father in the backwoods of Florida. She’s a damaged woman–bitter and unhappy–but stronger than she knows. Cursed with an unquenchable curiosity, she’ll soon find herself at the heart of a mystery that becomes more convoluted the deeper she digs. Any sense of normalcy gets disrupted when she encounters her elusive and peculiar neighbor, WD. The lines that separate reality from fiction, dreams from waking, and myth from fact become increasingly blurred as the story continues from there. While I wasn’t a big fan of Jack Williamson’s Darker Than You Think, I can’t help but feel that Ford has crafted a sort of spiritual successor to that 1940s novel. The Beasts of Vissaria County takes that same dreamlike, blurry quality and improves upon it in almost every way. In its strange and surreal storytelling, we capture hints and fleeting glimpses of beasts that may or may not be there–or may not be fully there. The narration provided by Jenn Lee fully brought Maggie to life, embodying her indomitable spirit and the blend of skepticism and curiosity that drives her along the meandering paths she follows.
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Domus Necrophagous 