Andrew Schrader

Where to start...well let me start with a warning, if you don't like truly gut-turning horror, and you don't like gore, you should probably skip this one. I can't remember the last time I felt actual physical revulsion while reading something, and I loved every minute of it. I admit it, I'm a horror junkie, I love the adrenaline rush. But this was on another level. This collection gripped me in its claws quickly, and didn't let me go. If I hadn't experienced it first hand, I would've laughed at the notion that a book could evoke such a strong, visceral response from me. It was brilliant. I think the best part is the gore doesn't feel gratuitous, but *essential* to the stories when incorporated. In the preface, Schrader talks about wanting to connect to the reader's subconscious, and I'd have to say mission accomplished. Oh, and I'll absolutely be reading this again, it's too good to read only once.… (meer)

This is a really good collection of short stories. I am into the weird and twisted stories that allow your mind to go wild with the "what if". For me, I was getting Black Mirror vibes. Which if you have watched Black Mirror, each episode does not always make sense or even end with an ending. It is the unknown that makes the stories "scary".

There are a few stories that I really enjoyed...The Importance of Eating Ernest, Dogfight, Family, Lonely Ones, and In the Trees. So, if this book sounds like something you like to read, you do need to pick up a copy and check it out for yourself.… (meer)

Stories incorporating a broad mixture of the bizarre, the fantastic, the grotesque, and the ghostly. There’s a cosy feel to this collection, where the tales are spun by a man haunted by the stories relayed to him by disquieting voices he once heard behind the walls. As the book progresses he recounts every word, unveiling a selection of fantastical and incomprehensible yarns. This is a nice tactic by the author, creating a firm underpinning for the collection. The tales themselves are connected by inventiveness. The author is obviously an ideas person, demonstrated by the level of attention to crafting an individual style that suits each story. Taken together, this is very entertaining stuff, fresh enough to transcend its knowing leaning towards horror and fantastic fiction paperbacks of a nostalgic heyday. A well crafted collection that harks back to the best of supernatural and speculative fiction, and successfully pulls together its influences to be an interesting new take.… (meer)