These short stories take us on deep dive into the depths of strongly affected minds. They range from the real to the surreal, yet every one rings true in its own way. Some have their roots in traditional tales of witchcraft, some are completely original creations of twisted minds. The strength of the writing is […]
“Emma After” by Anthony O’Connor
I enjoyed most of this book, but you need to know up front that it’s got a problem. As it happens, at the front. You, see, I accepted the book for review on the promise that it was about a girl who dies, and what happens after that (Hence the title). The tone seemed light-hearted, […]
“Havoc: Engine’s Game Part 2” by Paityn E. Parque
This second instalment of the franchise has moved even further out of the realm of video games and into the more usual Fantasy realm of magic. As the story progresses it moves more into horror. We are no longer worried about the specific details of the powers of individual players. Now we have a few […]
“Madness” by Paityn E. Parque
All right! Finally, we have a novel of the Video Game Fantasy genre that is still, at the bottom, a novel. The key point is that the author did not concentrate on the game but on the characters. This is an author writing a book for her readers, not a gamer trying to attract the […]
“The Claiming: The Witches of Hollow Hill Book One” by Glenn Williams
This is an unusual book, simply because I don’t often find myself telling an author that the action starts too soon. Because most books that start off wrong never manage to fix it. Let me explain. When you are writing a book in the “hero’s journey” format, there are certain conventions that work. The first […]
“I Am With You Always” by Kresten Forsman
This book is a Horror novella, about 30 K words, set in modern-day Eastern Europe. The trick in a horror story is to set up a completely normal life, and then gradually slip in hints and feelings that turn the normalcy into terror. This book follows that pattern very successfully, starting out with three women […]
In the Prison of our Grief” by S E Amadis
This is a story of disturbed people doing disturbing things to each other. It is also a story of complicated plot twists, and there is a tenuous supernatural thread running through it, as well. In a search for horror and suspense, this author has pretty much thrown in the kitchen sink and everything in it. […]