Aberrations is an impressive collection of short horror fiction that delivers a wide variety of talent and terror, with just ten representative pieces between the covers of this brief but entertaining anthology.

At the bottom of the list are Money Well Earned (Joseph Nassise) and Bug House (Lisa Tuttle), which are both competent stories, but ultimately predictable enough to rob them of any real impact, even with the former’s inspiring Mothman tie-in.

Survivors (Joe McKinney), Beggars at Dawn (Elizabeth Massie), and Tested (Lisa Morton) delve into the more emotional and mental repercussions of horror, and strike a more contemplative and philosophical tone. War is a common thread throughout these three stories, and they accompany each other fairly well, especially if read in the order listed above.

Goat Boy by editor Jeremy C. Shipp stands out on its own as a successful and highly entertaining foray into the realm of bizarro fiction, and is not to be missed or forgotten. Nipping at Goat Boy’s heels is the equally surreal yet still grounded in reality Bus People, which Simon Wood manages to deftly control through its bizarrely grotesque imagery.

Also standing out from the rest is Kealan Patrick Burke’s fairy tale reboot, From Hamlin to Harperville. An interesting premise and handled well, it doesn’t give more than it needs to, and in the end delivers far more with far less, another memorable entry.

Out of the entire collection, my personal favorite on multiple levels is The Hounds of Love. Scott Nicholson delivers a disturbing tale about abuse and neglect that manages to remain fresh and unpredictable, and keeps the reader uncomfortable from beginning to end. ( )

This is an excellent anthology with a diverse bunch of intriguing short horror stories. All the stories here have something worth commending in them, but highlights include: "Money Well Earned" by Joseph Nassise (a hit-man is hired to rid West Virginia of its Mothman urban legend); “Bug House” by Lisa Tuttle (a strange tale of a rather nasty bug infestation); “Survivors" by Joe McKinney (a soldier makes it through the zombie apocalypse, but why is he plagued with survivors guilt?) "The Hounds of Love" by Scott Nicholson (an exploration of the concept love, through the eyes of Dexter, a little boy who tortures animals) and “From Hamlin to Harperville” by Kealan Patrick Burke (an extraordinary twist on the Pied Piper legend). Although there isn’t a cohesive theme running through the tales, it is still a very satisfying and in some places a highly thought-provoking collection that doesn’t skimp on visceral horror. ( )