Paroxysm of Fear, Book Two by Chad Miller, Hear Our Voice LLC

 

When I think back on reading Prisoner of Fear by Chad Miller, I realize two things: One, I enjoy the light horror stories set in the 19th century; Two, I found a new favorite author that I will stalk and buy every book he writes and make him sign every single one of them (as long as my wallet says it’s okay). 

Then, Chad Miller released book two, Paroxysm of Fear, and I learned another lesson. Miller is just now getting started in what I think will be a very long productive writing career. He really kicked it up a notch on this second book. 

All those feelings from book one? They are twice as dark and devastating. There is more evil and gore in this story, and I loved every single minute absorbed in it. The format of diary entries is the exact same which makes moving from book one to book two, smooth and easy to jump right back in. You form a stronger bond with the main characters in Paroxysm of Fear, the world and scenes are vivid and clear as day, so you get to feel the emotions and fears while the story progresses. The story starts off right where the first book ended, and it just keeps rolling with punches to the gut and in the end you yell to the walls…”noooooo!!!!!”. How could you Chad?? 

Put this set on your TBR list. I want to know what you all think of the ending!!

The Sweet Scent of Liver by Eli Wilde, self published

This is my first book by Eli Wilde. I was expecting a fantastic anthology of horror and it delivered! I am blown away with what I read. There are eight short stories in this little anthology covering 100 years. And that cover is amazing!! And those black and white photos!

Normally I would break down each story and share with you a short synopsis and my views on the story. This anthology would be difficult to do, and give way too many spoilers if I were to do that. 

From the year 2099 to 2199, an apocalyptic event happens across the world. An infected population, called the sharded, deem to change the world by saving the humans who are deemed worthy of their souls, and eliminate those that are not. The sharded are guided by a higher power who has selected a few humans who will be important to the evolution of cleansing the earth. This higher power is not forgiving and is hungry for control. 

First of all, your soul isn’t where you think it is, and it is quite tasty. Second, we all smell exceptionally good or horribly bad, whatever your smell is, will save you or you will meet your demise. Third, there are clones and you might be one of them throughout this entire history.

The first two short stories are the history of how the sharded came to be and where they come from. The next five stories follow an individual that has a major part to play in this apocalyptic event. The final story is unbelievably superb. 

There are many potential side stories and continuations of the future that can accompany this anthology. This is a story of a different kind of apocalypse that is both magnificent and brutal. I would love to read more of this world Wilde has created. I hope that there will be more stories to read expanding on this sci-fi historical horror anthology. Excellent writing, fantastic world building, outstanding use of descriptions for horror. I need more!

The Rose by PD Alleva

When I read and reviewed Golem by PD Alleva, I knew that I would need to read everything else he has written. Alleva has a unique and stylish way with words. He can write a beautiful horror sci-fi novel and give you all the dark feelings you crave. Just like in Golem, in The Rose, Alleva uses similes to describe emotions and scenes throughout the story. 

“Something was missing, something that didn’t connect, like a river that slammed into a dam with no means to connect to the water on the other side.”

In book one of The Rose duology, it is 48 hours after World War III has ended. Underground there is a civilization that preys on humans. These creatures are tired of living underground and are getting anxious to go above ground and be at the top of the food chain. There is no end to the evil and torture to get what they want.

Meanwhile, Phil has been given a job to find a woman who plays an important role in the fate of humanity. Soon he has found her, but not for very long. After Sandy Cox is taken to a compound, Phil begins his search to find and rescue Sandy. The Drac have something else in mind for Sandy, unaware that Phil is making his way to her. What ensues is a fast, bloody, and visceral story. 

The good guys and bad guys are relatable, I can sympathize with both sides. The world building is perfect, I can visualize the rooms, the compound and the above ground buildings. The torture scenes are so detailed that you can easily form a mental image and feel the pain and suffering.  As the book builds to a crescendo, the ending is both surprising and epic. 

I am eager to start book two, the ending of this story was so unexpected and pure genius. 

Nightmare Sky: Stories of Astronomical Horror edited by Red Lagoe; Death Knell Press

 A fantastic anthology of short stories and poems on the horrors of the night sky. 28 authors have shared common, and not so common, fears of what is in outer space that we are frightened of. Apocalypse, aliens, shadows, and the terrifying bleakness of the galaxy. Along with each story, Lagoe has added a black and white picture that resembles the story. 

*I’m breaking down all 28 stories and poems.This review will take a few minutes for you read!

The first story, Stargazer by Tiffany Michelle Brown, is a mesmerizing love story. An unrequited love between a man and woman, ends with an eye opening epiphany. This was the perfect story to start the anthology.

Infinite Focus by Dino Parenti is another elegant story about Artificial Intelligence becoming human. Fantastic writing and gripping.

The third story, Light Echoes by Pauline Barmby is about supernova light waves altering our reality. More sci-fi than horror, but still a truly wonderful story.

The Ravenous Empyrean by Zachary Rosenberg, a phenomenal story of the sky devouring Earth. The writing style is something I enjoyed immensely with this story. 

In the Absence Of by Ziggy Schutz, is a poem about space. A good use of strong words, such as, “hunger”, “mankind”, “fear”, “scars”, and “shivers”

The sixth story, By The Hand of Sorayya by Inara Enko is a story about a young girl learning to stand up for herself. There is so much more to this story, I loved every moment getting lost in this one.

Moth to a Flame by Jeremy Megargee feels like a romanticized version of finding comfort in another person. A bleak and dark story of love and devotion. Perfection.

Next, Float by Vann Orcka, a kid reflects on life and the universe, one cannot live without the other. A quick and solid story.

Her Sisters, The Stars by Patrick Barb. This is another favorite story that I will think of often for the rest of my life. The stars, they are more than just bright lights in the sky. They have purpose.

The tenth story, Horoscope of a Toxic Union by Justin Moritz is a poem about domestic abuse. This poem is definitely meaningful, but didn’t quite pull my heartstrings as much as I wanted it to. 

The One Who Rides the Comet by Matthew Condello. This story is everything. Supernatural, evil, horror, love, family, pain, sacrifice. Five glorious stars for this story.

Next, Astronomical Choices by M. Richard Eley is a fabulous devil story. The first sentence got my anxiety up real quick! It didn’t let up until the end.

Into the Great Wide Open by Madison McSweeney is a story of a family struggling with loss. The ending is quite poetic. Loved it!

There is so much I want to say about Ya-Ya Makes the Baby Mobiles Spin by Bernard McGhee, but I need to keep this one completely in the dark for you. Parents, be warned. 

The Center of Everything by Elizabeth Davis is a delight to see and read. Very cool layout for the one page story!

In The Rite of the Milk of the Stars by Lindsey Ragsdale is a story set in outer space as two women protect humanity's future. Easy to read, I devoured this story, it is so good.

The seventeenth story, The Dear Darling Things by Jacob Steven Mohr is a truly awesome twist on the story of the first people to land on the moon. This had my imagination going crazy after I finished it.

Earth 10 by Tony Logan is the repeated mistakes humans make. Bleak and sad story that is also an eye opener for everyone. 

Necronaut Retrieval Failure by Kim Z. Dale is such a cool story!!! Another one about the stars being more that a big ball of light and gas. Freaking awesome story!

On to the twentieth story, A Promise, A Surprise by AI Jiang. A poem about energy. If you haven’t read anything by Jiang, here is a chance to find another author you might like. 

Stellanova by C. R. Beideman is a quick story of a man trying desperately to reach the stars. Even though it was a quick story, I enjoyed every part of it.

The story The Child of Misery by Salvador Ayala is a haunting story! So different and very original from the typical haunted stories. Loved it!

Please Don’t Be a Serial Killer by Kata Ota has one of the best story endings in this entire anthology. I really did not expect the story to end like this, but it is definitely perfect.

Star of San Luis by Holly Rae Garcia is about following a guiding star to a place that would hopefully be splendid and divine. I enjoyed this one, but the characters were hard to connect with.

 Gazing by Avira Marariti is a quick poem of death. Another fabulous use of words and emotion.

In the Moment by Grace R. Reynolds is an excellent story of the supernatural. Such an unexpected outcome. The writing is fantastic.

Don’t Look Up by Emerson Seipel is by far, one of my favorite stories in this anthology. It is about humanity unable to look up at the night sky forevermore. I would like this in novel form, please.

The last story, Nox Invictus by Rose Stickman has got to be the best, last story of this anthology. Darkness devours all and leaves humanity in turmoil. A truly brilliant and eerie story that lingers well after reading.

After reading these stories, I can understand why this anthology is on the 2022 Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot for “Superior Achievement in an Anthology”. Red Lagoe has truly found some phenomenal authors who know how to pull you in with such few words of darkness and nightmares. 

A to Z of Horror by Kevin J. Kennedy, KJK Publishing

 

Kevin J. Kennedy gives us 26 short stories of cryptids, sex, drugs, and gore. All equally just as entertaining as the next. At the time of this review, the letters Q and Y are not in the book just yet, they will be a pleasant surprise when this is released soon.

*Another long review, as I break down the 24 stories I had the privilege to read and review. 

A is for After the Apocalypse. An awesome story of a man reflecting on his life during an apocalypse. A very well written story, I loved this one.

B is for By the Seaside. A family on vacation turns into a nightmare. This one has an awesome little twist.

C is for Crabs Vs. the A.Y.T. Freaking hilarious story of a group of kids trying a crab invasion. Lots of laughs in this one!

D is for Drabble. A drabble is a 100 word story, Kennedy shares 10 drabbles. Every single one of them is entertaining. 

E is for Elena. Elena is on a little trip with her boyfriend, lots of sex and drugs and having a fabulous time! I liked where this ended up going.

F is for Family. Family isn’t always by blood. We have our best friends that are our family, those that really relate to us and understand us. A dark and twisted story.

G is for Gills. Such an odd story, but I liked it a lot! It’s about gills, no more will be said on this one. 

H is for the Hooch and Honey. If I say anything about this story it will give away a lot of its magic. I will say this is an awesome but odd story. I really did like all the twists it takes. Definitely one of my favorites.

I is for It’s No Fairy Tale Out There. Oh gosh..is this Kennedy’s retelling of a fairy tale?? It seems so! Hilarious, dark, and evil. Perfection!

J is Jawbreaker. You are what you eat!! Hehehe. A fun and “sweet” story. 

K. is for Killer Big Ass, F***in’ Spiders. Yes, it is about big ass spiders. And yes, I did get the chills and freaked out.

L is for Last of the Selkies. There is so much more to this story than the last of the remaining selkies. It’s kinda sad in a way, but I did like this one quite a bit. One of my top stories in this anthology.

M is for My Cuddly Monster. Looks can be so deceiving and rewarding at the same time. Awesome story, totally unexpected where it went.

N is for Nightmare Farm. Another hilarious story, I literally laughed out loud due to the absurdness of this one! A guy living on a farm, and it’s a nightmare!

O is for Outback Raccoon. How do I explain this one….a man is tired of his wife and does something about her constantly doing things wrong. Weird short story, but I did like this one in the end. I wasn’t sure at first.

P is for Poems. Kennedy wrote some poetry for us! Lots of fun here.

R is for Rage. A nasty story of a man that finally finds a way to handle his internal rage. Loved it!

S is for Satan’s Apocalypse. Here is another apocalypse story but so much different than the first one. I love apocalypse stories, and this one delivers. 

T is for Time Left. A story of what would happen is we are all on borrowed time. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 Years? Check this story out to find out!

U is for Up-and-Comer. This one is about a kid growing up to be angry and mean. I kind of time lapse sort of story about his childhood moving into young adulthood. Lots of good gore and horror.

V is Vampire Fae Scotland. A short story on the drawbacks and perks of being a vampire. Groovy story, I liked it.

W is for Where Am I? A kid gets lost and tries to find his way back to his parents. Very cool story.

X is for Xana. This is a kind of supernatural cryptid type story. So fantastic, I loved this one! Definitely another favorite.

Z is for Zoning Out. This is such an odd story about a person who zones out and wakes up elsewhere not knowing what happened when he zoned out. An awesome plot twist. This is a good ending story.

As you can see, the stories in this collection vary so much. Every story is unique and well written. There are a few that could be turned into a novella that would be very enjoyable. I am looking forward to reading the two other stories that will be with the final version of the anthology. 

Keep your eyes out for this one! It’ll be worth it!!

Accidental Death by Ruth Anna Evans

 As always, Ruth Anna Evans can make a short story feel epic! I have to say, Evans just keeps on getting better and better with her writing. This story is gut wrenching, horrifying, and, believe it or not, heroic. 

Jeremiah is new to fatherhood and is feeling guilty about spending some time away from home to hang out with his buddies. The night carries on and then he gets a frantic call from his wife. He rushes to be with her and his son but fate has something else in store for Jeremiah. 

I will always recommend Evans’ stories for everyone. They are short and sweet and give you a great hour of entertainment which us horror fans need. You definitely need to go check this and all the rest of her stories on Amazon. Many of them are Kindle Unlimited, too!

The Comfy-Cozy Nihilist: A Handbook of Dark Fiction by Nathan D. Ludwig

*Another long review as I break down all the stories in this one.

So Nathan sent me this book and I had no idea what to expect. He told me “It’s definitely out there!” He wasn’t kidding, some of these stories are so odd and completely unhinged. That is not a bad thing! I laughed at a few, jaw dropping on a few, and cringed quite a lot. I certainly think I had a blast reading all of them. 

To start with, Nathan lists some films he recommends. Looking at this list, yeah, this will be a fun little book.Just to name a few he has suggested: Kill List (2011), Rubber (2010), Weekend At Bernie’s (1989). 

First story, F*** Fangsviging, an entertaining and laugh out loud story about a set of twins who decide they need to do something about their vampire family. 

Next, Welcome to the Show.  This one is hard to explain, it is definitely a WTH story. How about this…what do you get when you mix a lover's vacation and a secret sex show? Yeah..you’ll never guess this one. 

The third story, For My Next Switch, I’ll Need a Volunteer, is a crazy weird clown story. You’ll like the twist on this common sub-genre.

Fourth story, Recompense, I think this is the darkest story of them all. A kidnapping story with an evil plot twist. 

Next, It Was Probably Just the Wind, is an eerie and fun story. A couple buys a house and gets more than they wanted.

The sixth story, In Here With Us, is about a confessional booth that is possessed! I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would.

Next, Me, The Jury, was so good! Gory and bloody, and to think if jury selection was like this, I would do everything I could to get out of it.

In The Fourth Wheel, is about the fourth guy hanging around a group of close friends and they have to be careful how they treat him.

The ninth story, Is That You?, is another wicked and evil story. You get to reflect on yourself in this story.

Next, Mick Winnerson’s Awfully Big Day, is a fun little game show story but being a winner isn’t always a good thing.

Number 11, I’d Hit That. What if you found the perfect companion and all you had to do was offer a bit of yourself in the process? Hehehe

The last short story, Outro,  Nathan offers his views on how complicated humans are.

Overall, a little book that packs a lot of dark and twisted stories. It’s for people that like an alternative twist on common sub-genres and need a lot of WTH moments in their lives. I highly recommend!!