Move Aside, Indiana Jones

Craig Sheehan is known by many names, but his profession is universally reviled: he's an antiquities plunderer, one who pawns his finds off to the highest bidder. After receiving a tip on the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, he embarks on an expedition into Africa from which he never returns. His mysterious disappearance has left the world wondering: where did you go, Craig Sheehan?

WHERE DID YOU GO, CRAIG SHEEHAN? by Antonio Simon Jr. is a theological story told through multiple interviews and video. The story is full of suspense, although predictable in some places, full of shocking surprises in others. I found the video quite disturbing, and I wonder what in the hell Sheehan was thinking on approach. The ending is the perfect touch.

If this were made into a movie, I'd watch it.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Fridge Must Be Lovecraft Model

WATER, ICE, AND VICE by Antonio Simon Jr. is one of the most horrifying short stories I've ever read. What happens to Jeremy is beyond tragic, and the guy just can't seem to catch a break. His roommate, Scott, is a huge POS and deserved far worse. Cthulhu must own stock in Jovian Electro-domestics.

As always,
AstraDaemon

By The Numbers

RED AIRWAVES by Antonio Simon Jr. is a short story about a man who is convinced the Soviets are going to bomb the U.S. during the Cold War. He builds a bunker and monitors the airwaves for coded messages. While chasing his conspiracy, his life falls apart.

The ending is a bit of a surprised. Not the author's best story, but not his worst either.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Procrastination Is A Killer

HOT WIRES TO HEAVEN: A LIGHT SOCKET LOVE STORY by Antonio Simon Jr. is a flash fiction piece centered on a man harassed by an empty light socket. I love unreliable narration, always creates a shock. (Pun absolutely intended.) The ending is gruesome, but not as graphic as I expected.

Not a bad short, but the author has written much better stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Worse Than Potholes

Every road has its price; every choice has its consequences: a professional kidnapper gets more than he bargained for when his latest abduction leads to terrifying supernatural encounters on the Florida Turnpike.

TOLL ROAD by Antonio Simon Jr. is a short story about a kidnapper battling supernatural creatures after his latest job goes horribly wrong. There is a lot of action and the ending surprised me in more ways than one, but there's also a lot of unnecessary details. If the author removed the filler and cut it down to flash fiction, the horror scenes might have more of an impact.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Waste

Late one night, a stranger wanders into a diner off the interstate highway. He orders coffee, takes a refill, and steps back out into a downpour. The waiter knows there’s something off about his visitor, but he has no way of knowing just how otherworldly this stranger is until the authorities call him in for a recorded statement the next day. Just who – or what – is the mysterious Company Man?

COMPANY MAN SIGHTING #1 by Antonio Simon Jr. is a flash fiction piece in the style of a transcript, and it is the worst thing I've ever read by this author. I don't see a point to this story, at all.

To be fair, this was written years before the other Simon stories I've read, so at least I know his writing style has greatly improved.

As always,
AstraDaemon

There's Something Wrong Up Here

Built at the turn of the century, Stratosphere Heights Amusement Park had seen more than its share of grisly—bordering on supernatural—events before being torn down to make way for the highway interchange. But when the person who knows the place best can't be trusted to keep his story straight, who can separate fact from fiction? A dark fantasy from the anthology: Postcards From The Void.

STRATOSPHERE HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY by Antonio Simon Jr. is a clever piece of flash fiction. This story provides the perfect example of an unreliable narrator. I love how the story variations overlapped slightly, hinting at a bit of truth here and there, with a plausible explanation of the narrator's mental state.

If you enjoyed the author's short story, NO THANKS, you'll enjoy this one as well. Both stories emphasize a questionable state of mind.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Hyena, Take Your Role

A man fights to survive on an island inhabited by a monstrous female with an insatiable appetite for lust. Reader discretion is advised.

DOGFACED EVE by Antonio Simon Jr. has a mind-blowing hook for the first sentence:

"The moment he perfected the angles he was falling headlong through the sigil he'd drawn."

I never guessed the island would exist in another dimension, but that and the she-creature gave the story an instant cosmic horror theme. There are other Lovecraftian elements as well: misanthropy, isolation, and, most of all, helplessness. The author uses those elements to create a nightmare which leaves the character broken, literally and physically, and drags readers into one man's personal hell.

I've never been a fan of using rape as plot device, whether the victim is male or female, but Simon does not use the violence as a means to an end. Rather, the author uses it as the beginning of the end, for both the man and the hybrid.

As always,
AstraDaemon