Troy H. Gardner et al.: "13 Tales to Give You Night Terrors"

Title: 13 Tales to Give You Night Terrors [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Troy H. Gardner et al. [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Horror, Supernatural, Afterlife
Year: 2015
Age: 16+ (it's more of an adult book, but it can be read by mature teens, though a few stories are a bit heavy on horror)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Revisits old horror tropes in a fresh way. Most stories are cunningly contrived, often with a nice twist.
Cons: Some of the tales have a surrealistic feel that may not be everybody's cup of tea.
Will appeal to: Readers who like both straight-up horror (though not of the extreme variety) and creepy atmospheres.

Blurb: Murder, mayhem, maniacs...Journey with us into the dark heart of horror as authors from around the globe reveal their deepest fears. We meet a pair of twins with a sick sense of humor, a troubled family tormented by ghosts, and a man who keeps a chupacabra as a pet. Plus a department store massacre, a terrifying costumed stalker, and much, much more. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I have already reviewed works by two of these authors (Troy H. Gardner and Erin Callahan) in the past, that they sent me for free in exchange for a honest review. Also, I've worked with both of them as a beta-reader on a few occasions, and I especially have history with Erin. Nevertheless, I guarantee I'm going to be as honest as usual in my review.

STRANGER THINGS

Um...I might have another disclaimer to make...I'm not a horror expert. I mean, I've read a good amount of books with horror in them, but not books that revolve around horror. While reading these stories, I recognised some of the classic tropes of course, and IMO, they got a great makeover, or were given an interesting twist. For the rest, I only can trust the authors' willingness to produce original content. Oh, and this is an indie book, but the quality is (un)surprisingly good (because I'm firmly convinced that only those who have indie prejudice will find it surprising). Just a handful of (genuine) typos, the same thing I recently found more than once in traditionally published books 😏. Also notable that a couple of these stories are openly queer, which apparently is far from common in horror. This been said, here are the shorties I found more outstanding, for different reasons.
Crashing Mirrors is my favourite story in here. It starts as a classic teen comedy (with a queer twist) featuring two naughty twins intent on fooling everyone with the typical sibling switch. It ends with the most unexpected (and creepy) consequence to their scam. Warning: this one features some ableist/sexist language, that clearly serves the purpose of establishing the twins' personality.
Store Macabre is a surrealistic piece about a...should I say "possessed"? department store, where all the most shocking/horrorish stuff happens - more often than not amidst the weird detachment of bystanders - while an unnamed Assistant draws a heavy and mysterious sack to the 14th floor. While the deadly store is not a new idea, the story as a whole is imaginative, matter-of-factly absurd and tragicomical. I'm not sure I understood the ending, but after a second read, I'm not sure the ending is meant to be understood either 😉.
It's Different When You Have Your Own is as short as it is unsettling. I can't say I liked it, but one thing's for sure: I'll never forget it. Which may be either a good or a bad thing 😂. Now I wish I knew how the author got the idea. Horror doesn't necessarily resides in blood and deadly creatures... [...]

Back to Black: Introducing the 2018 Halloween Backlist

Pumpkin photo: free from Pixabay. Graphics: Offbeat YA

 Hello sweeties, and happy/scary October! 😱

 

This year, I'm attempting something I've wanted to do for a long time. Every October since I started my blog, I kept seeing my fellow bloggers celebrate Halloween with their posts. Now, while I don't really observe the festivity (so to speak) IRL, I've been toying with the idea of joining the virtual fun with a series of blog posts myself, also because I DO enjoy dark things in my reading (except the brand of body horror for which Stephen King is renowned. Sorry guys, I tried). This resolution was stated in my Goals for 2018 post as well, as it was the intention of reviewing more backlist this year (well, so far, I haven't be able to squeeze many old-ish novels in my review plan for the year - but hey, still better than the ZERO of 2017...😏). So, I decided to accomplish two goals at once, and to spotlight four old and/or old-ish books from the dark side this Halloween, one every Wednesday till October 31st itself. Here's the plan, with dates, titles, authors and genres for each book...

Patrick Ness: "More Than This"

Title: More Than This [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Patrick Ness [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Dystopian? Sci-Fi? Afterlife? None of that? It depends on how you understand it...
Year: 2014
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5
Pros: Fascinating, heartfelt story that makes you care for the characters. Unapologetic, yet sweet representation of a gay relationship. Prose that manages to feel deep and rich despite its simplicity.
Cons: You peel layer after layer and you're left with virtually nothing under them, except the very message the title already conveyed.
Will appeal to: Those who like mindfucking books where getting the message is more important than actually believing in the story.

Blurb: Seth drowns, desperate and alone. But then he wakes. Naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. And where is he? The street seems familiar, but everything is abandoned, overgrown, covered in dust. He remembers dying, his skull bashed against the rocks. Has he woken up in his own personal hell? Is there more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife? (Amazon)

Review: This is one of the rare books I managed to get not long after it came out - just a few months. And all this time I have struggled with writing a proper review for it...I did a mini that I probably should leave alone, because I'm not sure I can articulate my thoughts better in a long review, even now - but writing detailed reviews is a compulsion for me 😂. So here goes...

THE BOY WHO DROWNED ON EARTH

The first section is GREAT, and while reading this book for the first time, I was sure it would be a 5-star one by the end. I understand that the aforementioned first section is not for everyone, because it's all about Seth waking up from...whatever his alleged death was, trying (unsuccessfully) to make sense of his situation, tending to his basic needs, exploring the place, asking himself questions, meeting (or not meeting) a few animals, feeling alone, dreaming painfully vivid and detailed snippets of his past. But I would have happily read a whole book about that - the whole darned 472 pages of it. The mystery was compelling and fascinating - while I loved the feeling of slowly peeling its layers along with Seth, I was also excited to live in that world for as long as it took to get real answers. Personal hell (as Seth himself believes)? Post-apocalyptic world? Coma dream? Or something else entirely? Plus, I loved his dreams/recollections/whatever they were, and not just as means to unlock the mystery. There's a solid, engrossing yet quiet YA contemporary wrapped into the mystery of Seth's awakening - and when I say "quiet" I mean "unglamorous", not "uneventful". There's a love story, and a friendship story, and a betrayal story, and a family story - and raw, real pain. There's a unapologetic, yet not graphic at all, sex scene between two boys, which is first and foremost a LOVE scene. And finally, the writing is solid, engrossing yet quiet as well. But...this was when the book shifted. [...]