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Book Review: Thanatrauma by Steve Rasnic Tem

cover art for Thanatrauma by Steve Rasnic Tem

Thanatrauma by Steve Rasnic Tem

Valancourt Books, 2021

ISBN: 978-1954321052

Available : Paperback , Kindle edition (  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com  )

 

Steve Rasnic Tem is an iconic author of horror fiction who doesn’t need any introduction. Any new book written by him is an event for any lover of dark fiction.

The present collection assembles seventeen previously published stories and four original tales, most of which are imbued with a sense of dread– the curse of getting old and the feeling that death is waiting just around the corner. What else can be more horrific than that?

The  gloomy title story, “Thanatrauma”, sets the tone by portraying a widower’s gradual downfall after the death of his beloved wife. Similarly, “Saudade” is a perceptive, melancholy tale about a lonesome widower taking a cruise.

The angsty “A Stay at the Shore” is the distressing report of a long train ride to an untraceable beach by an elusive ocean , and  “August Freeze” is a veritable nightmare, depicting how a house set in the middle of nowhere becomes prey to cold and freeze, whereas all around it a glorious summer is at its peak.

In the disturbing “Forwarded”, a man returning home to celebrate his brother’s retirement finds himself overwhelmed by the memories of a long gone past.

To me the two best stories in the book are the outstanding “The Parts Man”, an insightful piece about a man making a supernatural deal to briefly bring back to life some  deceased family members (for a price), and the disquieting “ Reflections in Black”, depicting how on a Halloween night a man is allowed to fleetingly see a lost love from his past.

Although some themes tend to recur, the collection remains an upsetting but engrossing ride provided by a master storyteller.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on November 6, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Death’s Dreams by Darryl Dawson

Death’s Dreams by Darryl Dawson

Darryl Dawson Books, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-7331921-4-9

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Death’s Dreams is the wildest, most original collection of short stories to come barreling down the pike in a long, long time.  If you’re looking for stories that are seriously OUT THERE, with a decent touch of blood splashed around the pages, this book is the place to be.  Why this wasn’t nominated for a Stoker award is beyond me, as it is certainly good enough to justify a nomination.

The collection is loosely held together by the idea that ol’ Death, the Grim Reaper himself, is losing it.  All the horrors he’s seen over the years while riding his figurative pale horse have started to get to him, so he finds a shrink to talk to and unload all his stories on.  Those stories make up the basis of this collection.  Make no mistake, what he’s seen in these stories would be enough to put any rational person in a padded room.   “New Identity” is a hellish look at what happens when one bad person makes a mistake and winds up the prisoner of a person who is a lot worse.  It’s a common plot device, but this story is truly terrifying.  “Night Train” may be the most original one, as it contains an actual phantom (or not?) train running in the storm drains beneath the city, that promises possible escape to those who need it.  Simply open the door to one of the train cars, and step into another dimension.  “There Really Are No Accidents” is a viciously ironic story concerning one woman’s attempt to take a brutal revenge on her scummer of a husband, and what befalls her.  This one also showcases author Dawson’s twisted sense of humor. The end of the story might well make you laugh, despite its nastiness.  Written with only dialogue, “The Claim” concerns a camera that causes the death of everyone it takes a picture of.  The author’s choice of format for this story makes it stand out from the others, as it can be a tough format to work with, but Dawson does it with ease.  “The Champion of Suffering” is a fantastic revenge story, as the evil killer starts the story already executed through lethal injection, and in Hell.  The protagonist has to decide if he is willing to sacrifice and condemn himself to Hell, just to go after the killer and inflict more punishment.  Is the death penalty enough?  How much is vengeance  worth to him?  This is an outstanding story that also raises some good questions about the nature of retribution.

The overall quality of all the stories is extremely high; there isn’t a bad one in the collection.  Some are better than others, but they all do a good job showcasing the author’s fertile imagination and skill.  The only drawback is the lack of dialogue between Death and the psychiatrist.  The first chapter was an excellent setup between the two of them, but that thread never really got explored to its potential, as they barely show up for the rest of the book.  If the interaction between Death and the doctor had been fleshed out more, this could have been an outstanding novel, instead of an outstanding collection of short stories.  Despite that minor quibble, Death’s Dreams is a book not to be missed.  Keep an eye out for this author in the future. Highly recommended.

 

Contains: violence, gore, profanity, sex

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

 

 

Posted on March 4, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People (The Unliving Chronicles #1) by Angelina Allsop

Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People (The Unliving Chronicles #1) by Angelina Allsop

TCK Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1631610646

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Fourteen year old Peter Green wakes up on the floor of a hotel lobby wearing only pajamas and a silk tie, and discovers he is dead, has no memories of his life, and is stuck in Purgatory without them until he is 18, or family claims him. After navigating the bueracracy of Purgatory (and of course Purgatory has bueracracy) he is sent to a boarding school for other “orphans” or unclaimed children. Scoot, an action-oriented redhead who carries her head under her arm, and Charlie, a flamboyant dresser who can’t keep a secret, orient him to the school and get him to his first classes. Peter soon learns that the school isn’t just for the unliving– it’s also the home of monsters, most of whom are part of the staff. He quickly gets on the wrong side of the school bully, Shelly Grant, causing a number of mishaps, and is then invited to join BASA, a special club that trains students in the skills they need to become spies and assassins in the “community”.  As he adapts to school and throws himself into his training for BASA, he can’t let go of a feeling that he needs to help his family, and with the help of his friends, steals the file containing his memories.

The world building in this is nicely done, and I liked Peter’s friends– especially Charlie– and some of the other characters Allsop got into in depth, such as Katerina the witch. As a magical boarding school book, it’s pretty well done, and while there are some similarities to Harry Potter, it’s mostly not noticeable (the werewolf professor, the giant snake roaming the hallways, the special Halloween visit to town). Allsop also manages to make what could be a pretty grim and scary topic genuinely entertaining and even humorous at times . It’s Peter himself whose character and story are thin. Perhaps some of this is because he doesn’t have memories (and thus not much of a personality) for much of the book, but while individual adventures and incidents get exciting, the suspense of whether he’ll be able to get back to his family is just not there, until suddenly, it’s a time sensitive emergency.  I hoped that we’d see more of the school in a future book, as this appears to be the first in a series, but the ending of the book makes that unlikely.

Despite Peter’s age being set at 14, the book feels like it’s targeted at middle-grade readers rather than teenagers. Kids looking for a “magical boarding school book” should enjoy this one, and hopefully, now that Peter has his memories back, there will be further character development to make him more interesting in the next book. Recommended.

 

Posted on June 30, 2019 by , Reply
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