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Book Review: Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror edited by Samantha Kolesnik

cover art for Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror edited by Samantha Kolesnik

Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror edited by Samantha Kolesnik

Grindhouse Press, 2020

ISBN: 9781941918708

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

 

Worst Laid Plans is a collection of “vacation gone wrong” stories. It’s a lot like an actual vacation, in terms of story quality. There are some serious high points, some decent times, and some mediocre, forgettable times. The stories vary in terms of reading enjoyment, but the stories that are outstanding help offset the others.

The first three stories are undoubtedly the best in the book. S.E. Howard’s “You’ve Been Saved” is a frightening look at a road trip gone wrong, and a grim reminder that normal-looking psychopaths do occasionally haunt the American highways. Asher Ellis’s “Expertise” goes in somewhat of the same direction, using a tropical tour guide instead of highway ramblers. Both are excellent stories, with well-written, simple plots and a nice twist to surprise the reader. The true knockout is Greg Sisco’s “Summers With Annie”.  Beautifully written, it’s what might have happened if the queen of summer beach reads, Elin Hilderbrand, decided to write from a darker and supernatural perspective. Set against the backdrop of young love and mysterious disappearances, this story alone is worth the price of the book.

The other stories are generally satisfactory, although some are skippable. The writing is decent and there are some original ideas, the stories just don’t pack the same punch as the first three. Of these, Jeremy Herbert’s “Taylor Family Vacation 93”, Hailey Piper’s “Unkindly Girls”, and Patrick Lacey’s “Caught a Glimpse” are probably the best of the rest. The rest of the stories are somewhat interchangeable in terms of quality. While some good ideas are there, some of them lack of coherent finish, and others are too quick to finish after a long buildup.

Worst Laid Plans is truly a varied collection in terms of story quality, but the few outstanding ones compensate nicely for the others.

 

Contains: violence, profanity, mild gore

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Editor’s note: Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in an Anthology. 

Posted on April 22, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror

cover art for Not All Monsters edited by Sara Tantlinger

Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror edited by Sara Tantlinger

Rooster Republic Press, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781946335319

Available: Paperback (  Bookshop.org )

 

Not All Monsters, a new anthology of horror fiction edited by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Sara Tantlinger, contains twenty-one tales of terror and darkness by women authors. Tantlinger had the privilege and challenge of scouring hundreds of entries for the anthology.  Her introduction provides an overview of why she decided to embark on this project, and it is well worth the read.

I loved all the stories in this anthology, although some tales stood out more than others. In “Portrait of a Girl in Red and Yellow” by Joanna Roye, set in the Victorian era, the narrator discovers a hereditary skin condition that turns out to reveal a family secret has been passed on to her. “The Miraculous Ones” by G.G. Silverman tells the story of conjoined twins developing their own personalities and the deep desire to live different lives. In “Black Feathered Phlogiston” by K. P. Kulski, sisters tend to a flock of harpies that live in their attic. As their bodies grow, so do their appetites, and the new woman in their father’s life knows more about the creatures than the girls think she does.  “Leather”, a particularly delicious tale by S. M. Ketcham, reveals what can happen to an incel when he takes things too far. “Pretty Little Vampires” by Sam Fleming tells a dark tale about a woman who wants to attract fairies to her dwelling, but gets more than she bargains for. Joanna Koch’s “The Revenge of Madeline Usher” is wonderful, and keeps with the tone of Poe’s original “The Fall of the House of Usher.” This reimagining of the story of the Usher twins told from the perspective of Madeline gives the original story more grotesque content, a deeper story about what goes on in the House of Usher, and what happens, or could happen, when the house finally falls. Could Madeline finally be free of the house and her brother? It is a brilliant short story.

I would recommend this volume to libraries or individuals who want to expand their collections of women-led horror projects. This is a great book, and I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. Each story has its own unique feel. I look forward to reading more by the contributors! Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Editor’s note: Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in an Anthology. 

Posted on April 3, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Chew on This! edited by Robert Essig

Cover art for Chew on This edited by Robert Essig

Chew on This! edited by Robert Essig

Blood Bound Books, 2020

ISBN: 9781940250465

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition  ( Amazon.com )

 

Chew on This is a themed horror anthology dealing with…food.  Can food actually be horrifying?  Based on this book, the answer is a resounding “yes.”  It combines creativity and gut-wrenching disgust into a brew of good stories.  Fair warning: some of these stories are truly barf-inducing, and sicker than any “splat” style horror writing.   Combinations of food and body fluids (and limbs), babies roasted in ovens: it’s all on the table.  This is a fun batch of horror stories, and also the National Restaurant Association’s worst nightmare.

 

With only a few exceptions, the overall story quality varies from good to very good, and most of them aren’t disgusting, just good, smart stories.  Some of them are “cycle” stories, where the story focuses on one event and then ends, leading into another of the same event.  Chad Lutzke’s “Cherry Red” and Kristopher Trianna’s ‘The Feeding” fall into this category.  One deals with a psychotic kid and his fascination with red cereal box toys, the other with a sandwich delivery service that takes much more than the customer’s money.  Ronald Kelly’s “Grandma’s Favorite Recipe” is Kelly doing what he does best: taking a lovable southern character, in this case the “saintly granny,” and turning her into something more sinister, by way of her cooking.  Vivian Kayley’s “Roly Poly” is notable for its entertaining look at the lengths some unfortunate women will go to for weight loss. It’s also the only story in the book with a happy ending.  Shenoa Carroll-Bradd’s “Barrel Aged” may be the most intriguing story, although it might take a second read to understand, as the author squirrels away the most important details in only a few sentences.

 

If you want to avoid (or read first) the stomach churners, here they are.  They are solid pieces, just gruesome.  Tonia Brown’s “A Woman’s Work” features the aforementioned cooked human baby, and John McNee’s “With a Little Salt and Vinegar” has an eating contest, with dead fetuses on the menu.  Nikki Noir’s “Magick Brew” is a hilarious look at combining a certain reproductive body fluid with margaritas to make a drink that renders the consumer ravenous with lust…to the extreme.  The true pukefest is K. Trap Jones’s “Seeds of Filth”.  With restaurant employees combining any and all types of bodily fluids with condiments and serving them to rude customers, this story is likely to make the average reader upchuck their last meal.  It might be the most revolting story ever committed to paper.

 

Overall, Chew on This is a well-written, creative anthology, it just takes a stomach of iron at times to read the full book.  Recommended.

 

Contains:  violence, profanity, gore, body horror, cannibalism, and everything disgusting you can think of

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on March 16, 2021 by , Reply
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