Anthony Rivera

Usually I choose a couple of stories from anthologies and review those, but for the second time this year, I’ve read a collection where I loved EVERY story. 2014 has been good to the reader in me. So, because there aren’t a shit ton of stories in this book, I’m going to give you all a couple of thoughts about each one. No need to thank me.

Anyway, here goes:

MISTER WHITE by John C. Foster

I love spy stories, but this one has teeth (of the horrific variety). The writing style of this author only enhances the creep factor of “Mister White.” I’m not sure what to call said style, but it crawls beneath your skin and kind of lurks there. How’s that? Anyway, definitely leaves you with a few shivers.

DREAMING IN AND OUT by Carol Holland March

Captivating writing coupled with surreal and subtle horror. I read this one a couple of times just to experience the storytelling again. I’m weird like that.

MOONLIGHTING by Chad McKee

One of my top three favorites in this collection, I’ll probably read this story several times in the future. Imagine you could do all the things the darker corners of your brain like to dream about (don’t pretend I’m the only one, you jerks), and get away with it? This story truly grabbed me, mostly because I imagine such a world exists out there somewhere, and it’s just waiting for the right person to find it.

WORMHOLE by J. Daniel Stone

A tragic tale about love and loss, deepened by the knowledge that the darkness described hides inside all of us (if we’re honest); solid writing with a poetic flavor I enjoyed.

REMEMBER ME by David Blixt

I saw where this was going as I read the first page, but then the author made me doubt my suspicions. Crafty, that one. Another of my top three favorites, the surprise ending shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is. You all think I’m crazy now, don’t you.

THE FIRST YEARS by David Siddall

“Every society has its monsters. Some live down the street. Others wrap themselves in the cloak of government.” I think the cover blurb says it all. Fantastic writing with subtle, psychological horror (My favorite kind.). Loved this one.

THE ELEMENTALS AND I by C.M. Saunders

Another of my top three favorites, although I’ll admit to being a little biased. I’ve read this author before and he’s taking up considerable space on my “To Read” list. This tale begins simply, but drags you into a horrific supernatural world you’re glad “doesn’t” exist. Saunders has a very clean writing style that drags you into the story and pulls no punches once you’re there. I’ve always thought the pharmaceuticals industry was sketchy, and this story tapped into my suspicious nature. Honestly, I had to dump the contents of my medicine cabinet when I finished. And I’m glad I did.

RELEASE by Jane Brooks & Peter Whitley

I like The Walking Dead, but I’ve never been a fan of zombie fiction in general. This story changed that. I’d read any zombie anything written by these two. This story stays with you, because it makes you question the unquestionable and the answers aren’t comfortable at all.

WATER, SOME OF IT DEEP by David Murphy

Disturbing. The build is slow initially, but this story is worth reading through to the end, and I have to comment on the solid writing and characterization. Very well written.

ACCEPTANCE by Kenneth Whitfield

This started as an amusing story, but I kept wondering, where’s the darkness? I did NOT see it coming and then it just slapped me in the face. Awesome.

VARIATIONS OF SOULLESSNESS by A.A. Garrison

I can’t say a lot about this one without giving away spoilers. Some might be able to, but I’ve written and deleted about three paragraphs now, because I give away things you shouldn’t know. Anyway, exquisite writing and I chuckled more than a few times. Perhaps the chuckling is a sign I have no soul, I don’t know. Read this one. Seriously.

CHAPELSTON by Rhesa Sealy

Crime, Sherlock, and serial killers: These are a few of my favorite things. All of them, along with stellar storytelling, are in Chapelston. I imagine this as a bigger story, and I really wish there was more, which is a good thing, in my opinion.

LAST CALL by JC Hemphill

So, what’s your life worth? This is the question “Last Call” leaves you with, along with a few others. An action-packed story that stays with you long after you reach the end.

CITY SONG by Edward Morris & Trent Zelazny

This haunting tale is the perfect closer for this anthology. I admire the writing style of these authors. Definitely looking for more of their work.


So, in summary: Go buy this book. Don't look at me like that. Do it now. It has something for everyone, even if you’re not into horror. I promise.
… (meer)

When I first heard about Ominous Realities, I thought that it would be just another anthology. I was wrong. This title simply shocked me with its originality and unique perspective and the variety of topics it covered. This book is a collection of character-driven stories with strong narrative voices that intrigued me from the very first paragraph and made me read on.

I am shocked that this anthology has not been hailed as one of the most interesting reads of the year. Ominous Realities is a great anthology of dark stories that analyse dark alternative worlds and societies. Rather than focusing on the gory and gritty aspects of horror, its stories are centred on strong character-driven storylines that make the dark elements highlight the characters under different lights. Rather than comic-like situations where brutality is described gratuitously, the stories save those details but give enough information about the world so that the reader can make an image of the rest. Sometimes, not giving too many specifics about violence in a story makes it even more intense, and this collection of stories achieves just that.

I am extremely glad to have read this book, and it proves that an anthology can be interesting and entertaining to read, without giving a few good stories accompanied by a legion of filler. The team at Grey Matter Press has an incredible intuition when it comes to selecting quality and engaging stories. When so many good stories concur in the same place, it is not a coincidence.

Read this review at Jetpack Dragons: http://www.jetpackdragons.com/2014/04/dark-worlds-explored-in-ominous-realities/… (meer)

Dark Visions: A Collection of Modern Horror, Volume One, is a publication of Grey Matter Press, a small publisher of all genres of horror. The anthology has no theme — something of a rarity these days, when most anthologies are restricted to a particular type of monster (zombie, werewolf, vampire; you know the drill). Few of the writers who contributed stories to this anthology are known to me, though there are a few big names. It’s a solid collection of stories, edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson to fine effect.

The anthology opens with one of the strongest stories. “Mister Pockets” by Jonathan Maberry is set is his PINE DEEP universe, several years after the events of the trilogy that launched Maberry’s career (Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man’s Song and Bad Moon Rising; it’s a good trilogy, and I recommend it). Lefty Horrigan is so named because his father wants him to be a baseball player, and he somehow thinks that naming his kid “Lefty” will do the trick. But Lefty hates baseball, and he hates his stupid name. He’s twelve and fat, but isn’t bullied about it; in farm county, which is where Pine Deep is, being fat is no barrier to doing a hard day’s work on a tractor or in a milking shed. One thing Lefty has is a big heart. One day he gives a candy bar to the hobo called Mr. Pockets, who reacts rather oddly to the gift. It frightens Lefty, though he’s not really sure why. But Lefty has just made the smartest move of his short life, as he finds in an afternoon that he will never forget.

The tale that will probably stay with me the longest is “The Weight of Paradise” by Jeff Hemenway. Sophie is a brilliant scientist who has discovered a cure for — well, for death, really. It seems like the treatment she’s come up with will treat anything, will make disease irrelevant. There’s a lot of testing to be done yet, but Sophie can’t wait, because her lover, Alfie, is dying of leukemia. Rather than wait, because waiting will simply mean that Alfie dies before her new drug is available, Sophie injects Alfie. And it works. It’s not that he’s cured, exactly, but his metabolism has slowed down so dramatically that the disease is no longer killing him, and never will. In fact, he’ll never die. And neither will she, because she’s given herself a hefty shot, too. It’s only six months later that the drawback to the drug becomes apparent, an unbearable agony, pain akin to withdrawal but much worse. The only way one to stop it is to make a new convert, and then inject their blood immediately after the conversion into oneself. The consequences are obvious if one does a little arithmetic. But it gets worse. What does an absence of death really mean? Think about being in an accident and breaking everything but being unable to die. Hemenway has thought about it, at length, and the result is a chilling story that makes me surprisingly glad that immortality is not yet an option.

There are plenty of good stories here to keep you awake at night. In “Second Opinion,” Ray Garton tells a story of writer’s block that outdoes anything I’ve ever read on the theme. The first sentence gives you an idea of the horrors that await: “Do you know what it’s like to cut up your best friend with a hacksaw?” “Scrap” by David A. Riley is a long story about a haunted subdivision in an English town. Jonathan Balog’s adolescent hero bargains with a troll for some help with a bully in “The Troll,” but finds that the price for revenge is higher than the troll described. Charles Austin Muir tells a dark tale about “Thanatos Park,” an abandoned housing project that is now home to a fungus one would rather not breathe. And while those are the highlights, there really isn’t a clunker in this anthology; each story will turn your blood to ice.

Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/horrible-monday-dark-visions-volume-i/… (meer)