Barrowbeck

Andrew Michael Hurley. John Murray Press. (304p) ISBN: 9781399817486
Barrowbeck

Barrowbeck

I loved Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley, it was full of that low-level creepy folk horror that keeps you wondering and Barrowbeck is no different.

Set in a village in the fells on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border,which if you’ve lived near there you will know is creepy enough! Barrowbeck takes us from Celtic times to a near future in a series of short stories featuring various characters though time.

Some of these are creepier than others, some are straight out of Wicker Man, but most have that slow burn folk aesthetic where you never quite know whether or not something supernatural is involved or is it just the nature of humanity that is the scary thing.

One which is one of my favourites has a tinge of cosmic horror about it, especially the slow reveal of the paintings at the end of the tale, another has a feel of aliens about it, but neither of these stand as wrong within the collection.

A brilliant collection of vignettes in the history of a doomed village from the start. Each story seems to build on the previous to come to an end that still leaves you wondering.

Thank you John Murray Press for the review copy.


Bottom Ko-Fi

Share this:

Vampires Never Get Old

edited by Zoraida Córdova, Natalie C Parker. Titan Books. (304p) ISBN: 9781789096958
Vampires Never Get Old

Vampires Never Get Old

I’ve had this collection sitting on the shelves for quite a while now waiting for the right time to read it.

and it was well worth the wait as I shot through it in two sittings instead of in nice bite-sized sessions that short stories sometimes demand.

The really good news is that not one of the stories sucked…

Though they were all good there were two or three that really stood out for me, the main one which was ‘The House of Black Sapphires’ by Dhonielle Clayton which reimagined the lore of vampires and added in a slaving and colonial angle which put a different twist to the Antebellum, the world of the Eternals is so rich with hints of fae and voodoo all thrown in, but with a spice of forbidden love.

Another that really worked for me was ‘The Boys from Black River’ by Rebecca Roanhorse, a twist on the Bloody Mary myth, vampires will come to you when you sing their song. Embracing loss and otherness with a wish fulfilment of power this story works on so many levels.

and ‘A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire’ by Samira Ahmed was a good laugh, but again with the spectre of colonialism hanging over a well crafted tale.

A great read that takes us on a nice tour about various aspects of vampiric lore and updates it in such a good way.


Bottom Ko-Fi

Share this:

Where the Daybreak Ends

Brennan LaFaro. Brigids Gate Press. (200p) ISBN: 9781963355192
Where the Daybreak Ends

Where the Daybreak Ends

Instantly fell in love with the cover of this collection of short stories in the world of Buzzards Edge.

As soon as I started reading this collection of short stories I was hooked, especially with the way they were narrated as though campfire tales but more of a mythos especially considering the two unlikely narrators.

They built up a past/present/future history of this place set in the blazing desert and just recently been found by (revealed to?) Josiah Dennis after trekking for a while with no food or water, just a bloody hatchet for company…

The collection is woven around the story of Josiah Dennis and his bloody hatchet, each as goos as the next and nothing really letting the collection down. Full of monsters both supernatural and human, they weave a bloody tale of life and death on this frontier between night and day.

I think two of my favourites were ‘Trade Secrets’ and ‘Holes’, both dealing with lawmen and their ways, and the darkness that they hold.

Eventually going to have to find the rest of Brennan’s works that are set in Buzzard’s Edge.

I received this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Bottom Ko-Fi

Share this:

Green Frog

Gina Chung. Pan Macmillan. (240p) ISBN: 9781035019458

 

Green Frog

Green Frog

As you should all know I really like a well-crafted collection of short stories so as soon as this came up on NetGalley I jumped at it.

Gina Chung travels through many different worlds in this collection, but always with the female character central, no matter if it is Sci-Fi, mythological, or domestic situations the women often have moral dilemmas to work through and family is more than likely to be at the centre of it.

The collection plays on Korean myths and behavioural expectations and the weaving through of both these makes for very interesting reading. A spotlight onto a culture like but unlike our own, especially when these two cultures intersect.

There are lots of really strong stories in here but I feel my favourites were the sci-fi based ones, especially about traumatic memories and grief and how there could eventually be technical solutions but at what cost.

Another one I really enjoyed was a tale seen from the perspective of the kumiho who has to revenge her dead sister and her feelings on that and her life.

But I really enjoyed all of them, though the whole collection seemed to riff off a deep melancholy and was quite muted in tone this only heightened the feeling of difference and other.

I received this from NetGalley and Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

Share this:

Flowers from the Void

Gianni Washington. Serpent’s Tail. (256p) ISBN: 9781800816312
Flowers from the Void

Flowers from the Void

The description of this horror collection from Gianni Washington had me intrigued as it sounded so varied, varied but all of the descriptions were so dark.

The first story gripped me immediately and was a good indication of the quality of the rest of the collection, so Cenobite, and so well written

From cosmic horror this collection of short stories seemed to have something for all tastes, some slightly bloodier than others, some going down a very slow burn route, but no matter which story it was the pay off was always worth it.

As with all collections some where stronger than others but that is always down to personal taste and for me my three stand outs were: Prelude: The Glass Terminal, Redemption Express, and Hold Still, but there really isn’t a terrible story in this collection.

This is a great example of the short story horror form and looking forward to reading more from Gianni.

I received this from NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail in exchange for an honest review.


Bottom Ko-Fi

Share this:

A Taste of Darkness

ed. Amy McCaw, Maria Kuzniar. Scholastic. (448p) ISBN: 9780702329173
A Taste of Darkness

A Taste of Darkness

I was so pleased that a marketing person at Scholastic decided to send me this anthology of 13 horror stories aimed at young adults as I was really looking forward to it when I saw it announced.

A well considered selection of spooky short stories, each different from the others but each hitting those buttons that you need in a good horror story. Ranging from a bit of gothic horror all the way to a fun bit of cosmic horror via vampires, fae, slavic mythology, and so much more.

What was especially great was that there was not one weak story, all were great in their own way and kept me gripped all the way through, this was especially good as I was in a major reading slump and hopefully this has pulled me out of it.

Though I enjoyed every story there were a couple that I really, really liked.

I thought Louie Stowell’s first foray into writing for the young adult audience, The Party, was wonderful, twist upon twist whilst playing with the chosen one trope, very fun and very sexy. Who doesn’t like sexy vampire?

Maria Kuzniar’s twist on Slavic foke lore, The Wolf and the Witch, was paced so well with great imagery and a Baba Jaga and I have such a soft spot for this witch/ogre/being and Maria’s interpretation was wonderful. A story full of teeth.

But as I said each story is strong so it was really hard to pull a couple out to highlight them, get this and find out for yourself.

Will definitely be recommending this to everyone as it’s perfect spooky read for this time of year.


Bottom Ko-Fi

Share this:
1 2 3