Things Week | Bite-Size | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

THINGS UNBURIED by Caitlin Fortier are three bite-size stories:

BONES centers on a young girl messing around with a ritual...I skipped over the Latin parts (I watched Evil Dead too many times to fall for that trick). Love the ending!

LAST STOP is pretty straightforward with a predictable ending...wish the author had added a bit more detail about the drop off.

UNQUIET AS THE GRAVE kept me guessing...enjoyed this one more than Last Stop, but Bones is my favorite of the three.

Not a bad way to kill a few minutes...

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Shattered God | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

THINGS UNDONE by Travis Liebert is a collection of 18 frightening tales, some of which I've read previously as short story stand-alones (but they are remain as horrifying as the first read). The author adds an extra layer of terror by adding a verse from an ancient text about the Shattered God parts.

Many of these stories make me wonder why people spend so much time carrying on about HP Lovecraft and Stephen King, when there is so much gruesome entertainment to be had with this new generation of storytellers.

If you enjoy movies such as In the Mouth of Madness or creatures found in the films of Guillermo del Toro, I urge you to add this one to your horror shelf.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Wicked Woods | Horror Book Review | AstraDaemon

THE THING THAT CALLS by J.J. Mott is a collection of a dozen short stories by the author. There is a lot of variety in the themes, and the suspense is excellent. I enjoyed most of the tales, but there are few which rambled on more than necessary.

My favorite is LITTLE ONES. I don't know why, but this story gave me nightmares. When I think of all the gore, violence and grotesque abominations in the horror I've read over the years, I'm surprised Mott's forest creatures freaked me out so much. I'm going to chalk it up to his spectacular storytelling.

I highly recommend this collection to all horror fans. I'm also adding this one to my Best Fiction list for 2021.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Unexpected Company | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

The following mss has been extracted and collated from the letters of David Marr Henderson, Chief Engineer, Imperial Lighthouse Service, written while in the employ of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service, Shanghai, 1879.

Henderson has been tasked with building a remote island lighthouse in a politically sensitive spot.

Time is of the essence but something fights his every move.

Something monstrous.

Something BELOW.

THE THING BELOW by William Meikle is a flash fiction creature feature of sorts, written in a series of letters, from Henderson to his wife. Two teams are building on an island, one installing a lighthouse, the other installing a cannon. During construction, a sinkhole opens up a terrifying discovery, and the contents suggest the island may have been home to a Kaiju.

Once the lighthouse is completed, the beam reveals the thing which has been watching and waiting...highly recommended.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Owl Thief | Short Story Review | AstraDaemon

THE THING IN THE CORNER by Mitchell Crowe is a thrilling short story, and the strange connection between Bryce and the Thing is so fascinating, I wish the author would consider giving the two characters a novella.

The additional detail of Adam hits hard...at the very least, I'd settle for a brief sequel to see the three together one more time.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Marital Woes | Short Story Review | AstraDaemon

"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos universe. It was written in August 1933, and first published in the January 1937 issue of Weird Tales.

THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP by H.P. Lovecraft begins with a man confessing to having killed his best friend. The narrator, Upton, then goes on to explain the unusual change in his friend's behavior after Derby marries a woman named Asenath. Derby eventually confesses to Upton he believes his wife has been performing a ritual on him.

I thought this would be a zombie tale, but the turn of events is so much worse than an undead transformation. After reading this short story, I still can't believe Lovecraft's name continues to carry so much weight in the horror genre, and yet his storytelling leaves something to be desired.

I recommend reading modern stories inspired by Lovecraft instead of his poorly crafted tales.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Things Week | Sleeping Things | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

"All things were full of horror and affright,
And dreadful even the silence of the night."

Virgil
Aeneid (29–19 BC) - Book II

THE THING ON THE ROOF by Robert E. Howard is a flash fiction piece of classic horror, which appears to center around an ancient mummy, but the end reveals something much worse.

There's not much in the way of dialogue or action, but the suspense is well-done.

As always,

AstraDaemon