Countdown | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

THE WATCHER by Amanda Lawrence Auverigne is a dark humor short. The story is entertaining, just not what I expected based on the description. Well-played.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Great Assortment | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

WHEN THE CREATURES CALL by Clark Roberts is Volume 2 of Led By Beasts, a collection of short stories and essays influenced by the history of horror fiction. While the first installment featured children as the terrifying force behind the beasts, this time the beasts appear to be drawn by sacrifices: willing and unwilling.

I enjoyed reading every single story, and the essays offered some fantastic insight into Roberts creative mind. The last short, The Dog Creek Coven, is my favorite. I highly recommend this collection!

As always,

AstraDaemon

Danger in All Forms | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

What is your deepest fear? Things that exist in plain sight?

Those that hide in the darkest corners of your soul?

Our deepest fears come in many forms. The seen and the hidden. The real and the imagined. The flesh and the incorporeal. Between the covers of this book, you'll find a bit of all this. Monsters, real and imagined. The familiar and the alien. So open the book. Be prepared to confront your worst fears.

THINGS THAT DON'T BELONG IN THE LIGHT by Matt Starr is a collection of ten short stories, offering quite a variety of dark tales. While the suspense is terrifying, most of these stories come across as bizarro fiction, rather than straight-forward horror.

More importantly, the same writing style is not the same as PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD...best to simply enjoy the sick and twisted creations from the mind of Starr, without any expectations.

I recommend this one to horror fans who think they've seen it all...

As always,

AstraDaemon

Dark Humor | Novella Review | AstraDaemon

LOCH NESS by Matt Shaw is more dark humor than horror. Entertaining and full of cheeky characters, but not what I was hoping for.

The author raised the bar pretty damn high with BELOW DECK, and I haven't been fully satisfied with Shaw since then.

I still enjoy his writing, and I recommend this one to his fans, who will appreciate the details the most.

As always,

AstraDaemon

November Book Video | Recommended Reading | AstraDaemon

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” ~Charles Addams



As always,

AstraDaemon

Wait...What? | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

BOOM GOES THE LONG GUN by Julio Miranda is non-stop action written in a way...I honestly thought this would turn out to be some virtual reality game for a teen. The ending surprised me. Unfortunately, this is not as good as some of the other shorts by Miranda.

Instead, I recommend THE GIRL-THING AT THE TRAIN STATION in the Horror You Crave series.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Ugh, Another Series | Horror Review | AstraDaemon

THE FIRST ORDER by Amy Cross takes place in 1956. A young nun names June is sent to a Swiss Castle to assist another nun and a priest while they conduct secret experiments. Eventually she discovers a prisoner who begs to be set free. June finds herself torn between what she has been taught and what she has seen with her own eyes, and she begins to doubt her faith.

The nun and the priest remind me of the sick, twisted characters found in The Pillars of the Earth. June's lack of conviction in anything is annoying. I wish more background had been revealed about the prisoner. However, despite my frustrations, I remained captivated with the story.

I thought this was a stand-alone, and the ending appeared to tie everything up, but there will be a sequel in this new series, The Chronicles of Sister June. I'm not intrigued by June enough to continue with the second installment.

As always,

AstraDaemon