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Book Review: From the Depths: Terrifying Tales by Richard Saxon

cover art for From the Depths by Richard Saxon

From the Depths: Terrifying Tales by Richard Saxon

Velox Books, 2021

ISBN 979-8745999574

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

 

It’s always a pleasure to discover a new author of dark fiction, especially when his debut collection is innovative, interesting and extremely entertaining.

 

This is the case with Richard Saxon, whose short story collection is characterized, first of all, by the unusual, long titles of each tale, which give you a hint of what is waiting for you in the following pages.

 

Here are some examples of the more accomplished stories.

 

“The Ocean is Much Deeper Than We Thought” is a tense, riveting piece blending SF and horror, about some mysterious, dangerous creatures living in the deepest part of the ocean, while “I Woke Up During Surgery. They Weren’t Trying to Save Me” is a very disquieting tale of medical horror where a man cured from cancer develops a scary kind of power.

 

The tell-tale title “My Job is to Watch People Die” perfectly describes the content of that unusual, well crafted story, but in  “We Have Been Guarding an Empty Room for the Past Five Years. Today We Found Something Inside”, a slightly surrealistic piece, the horrific nature of the story becomes apparent only at the end.

 

In the excellent “Every Year on My Birthday, I Have to Die”, a man keeps dying and then coming back to life when someone else takes on his death, while in “A Man Knocked at My Door at Midnight, He Gave Me A Horrible Choice”, an insightful tale with a Twilight Zone feel, the meaning (or the lack of it) of our existence on Earth is cleverly addressed.

 

“Arbor Vitae” effectively describes the story of a woman who makes an unusual, terrible bargain to protect her son.

 

The best story in the volume to me is “ My Favorite Twitch Streamer Just Died. He’ s Still Online”, an outstanding piece investigating the apparently tragic mystery of after-life.

 

I strongly recommend this superb collection to every lover of dark, speculative fiction.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on June 3, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Grotesque: Monster Stories by Lee Murray

cover art for Grotesque: Monster Stories by Lee Murray

Grotesque: Monster Stories by Lee Murray

Things in the Well, 2020

ISBN-13 : 979-8611527153

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

 

In Grotesque: Monster Stories Lee Murray has written tales in a wide variety of styles and subgenres in the horror genre. The combination of her imaginative twists on familiar tropes and the New Zealand setting and atmosphere creates some great creepy, dread-inducing, and horrifying tales.

 

Interestingly, three of Murray’s stories include mindless, killer creatures. In addition to her zombie story, “The New Breed”, which raises the question of who really is the monster in the story, two very different stories provide unique versions of the golem. “Grotesque” is a horror story about the uncovering of an underground passage between two French chateaux, framing events of 1560 when the sixteen-year-old king of France had to be smuggled out, sealing the passage behind him to contain… something.  “Into the Clouded Sky” revisits a character Murray has written about previously, Taine McKenna. This is a nonstop adventure with supernatural visitors, terrifying sand golems, and natural catastrophe, set in New Zealand, and moves at a breakneck pace. These two stories were original for this collection.

 

Other strong stories include “Edward’s Journal”, a Lovecraftian tale told in epistolary manner, paints a lush, wet, and terrifying portrait of an English soldier with the mission of burning the Maori people’s crops to force them to move of their land, lost and starving in the New Zealand forests in an increasingly surreal and sanity-breaking situation; “Selfie”, a post-apocalyptic story with a disturbing amount of creative and vividly described body horror; and “Dead End Town”, an incredibly grim and difficult story to read even before the supernatural gets involved, as it involves repeated violence towards and sexual abuse of a child.

 

I was excited to see a kaiju story, “Maui’s Hook”. I think these must be difficult to write, especially from the point of view of a person experiencing it,  because it’s hard to appreciate giant monster violence when it’s aimed at an individual human instead of another giant monster. Murray did a great job creating a terrifying, unkillable monster and chronicling its violence in a setting and context that I haven’t seen in kaiju films.

 

I haven’t touched on every story in this review but I found them all compelling. Grotesque: Monster Stories should have something to interest almost everyone. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Editor’s Note: Grotesque: Monster Stories is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection.

Posted on May 22, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: The Return by Rachel Harrison

cover art for The Return by Rachel Harrison

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Berkeley, 2020

ISBN-13 : 978-0593098677

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com ) 

 

Rachel Harrison is now on the radar as one of the most interesting new voices in horror/suspense. The Return was one of 2020’s few surprise stories. Others published quality debuts, yet Harrison’s rose to the top for this reviewer. It’s not flashy, bloody, or full of unique devices. It’s simply a great story told very well– and that’s good enough for most horror fans.

 

Julie disappeared from her front porch two years ago and only two people believe she’s still alive: her close friend Elise and her husband Tristan.

 

Two years later, Julie abruptly reappears in the same spot, with no recollection of what happened.

 

Elise and Julie and two additional close friends celebrate Julie’s return some time later, with an escape to a themed getaway. Once there, the quartet of friends attempt to reclaim their tight bonds from before the disappearance. Something is very off about the place, which Harrison handles well, alluding to without ever becoming heavy handed in the description. Julie seems “off” as well. Something has changed within her, something that happened while she was gone.

 

Harrison’s storytelling carries the show in The Return. The dialogue, wit, and character interaction flow with ease, and the suspense and darkness deepen. Harrison displays the skills of a veteran with writing that is neither showy nor cliche.

 

Full of twists and well-developed characters, The Return is one of the Stoker nominees most recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Editor’s note: The Return is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a First Novel. 

Posted on May 19, 2021 by , Reply
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