Fear is the Mind-Killer | AstraDaemon

TERRIBLE NIGHT by Alex Cross is just a few pages, but still terrifying, especially to anyone who has suffered sleep paralysis. However, the ending reveals a frightening revelation I didn't see coming. Highly recommend.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Giving Notice | AstraDaemon

WORKHORSE by Syon Das is a flash fiction blood fest about a guy snapping at work. His grievances with his co-workers are legitimately terrible, and he has zero consummations left to give. His resignation is tendered in blood. Horror fans will appreciate the creative confrontations.

This is my favorite story by this author.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Last Exit | AstraDaemon

SO MUCH MESSIER by Veronica Smith is a flash fiction piece about a guy in a crappy marriage. He keeps seeing a gun on the side of the freeway on his way home, and he finally decides to take it home with him.

He thinks someone just tossed the gun after committing a crime, but he doesn't ask himself the right question about the weapon. The ending left me with mixed feelings. Not a bad crime drama.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Odd Man Out | AstraDaemon

NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS by Stephen Graham Jones is nothing like what I expected...even after reading the description, nothing could prepare me for this psychotic tale.

Sawyer explains how his group of friends find a "giant Ken doll" discarded in some muck, and begin using it as a running joke. Eventually, the mannequin is forgotten in a garage for years, but Sawyer decides to convince his friends to use "Manny" in one final prank. Everything appears to be falling into place...until the prank walks away.

Convinced Manny is angry for being set aside and no longer included in the group, Sawyer tries to warn his friends of the supernatural danger. Strange things go missing from various houses in the neighborhood, with the theft escalating to murder.

Sawyer can't save his friends, but he might be able to spare their families. The question remains, who will save the last friend standing?

While I don't think this is Jones' best work, the ending certainly caught me off guard.

As always,

AstraDaemon

3 For 1 | AstraDaemon

SLANDER HALL by Matthew Tait has some great concepts, but I think this cult horror story would've been better as a full-length novel to allow room for more character development, more background stories, etc...the team meets up at the site of a mass suicide and five minutes later, they're getting picked off one by one, only to have the story take on a completely different theme at the very end. Entertaining, but rushed.

DOLL STEAK is a bonus short story included afterwards, which I found far more terrifying than SLANDER HALL. Definitely a must-read.

TERRICA is another bonus story, and even more horrific than the previous two.

I enjoyed these stories more than Tait's BROKEN HIGHWAY or THE DEVIL'S PLAYTHING. He seems to work better with character's fears, rather than the characters.

As always,

AstraDaemon

For Fans Only | AstraDaemon

OCTOPUS 3 by Matt Shaw is the most brutal installment of the series. "We all go mad" is a severe understatement. I'm pretty sure I maintained a full-body cringe from beginning to end...some of the action scenes took me so far out of my comfort zone, I felt physically ill. I thought, having read the first two books of the trilogy, I would be okay, but this one gave me night terrors.

The thing is, this is not just some extreme violence slopped together with gore to attract readers the sleazy way. Shaw still maintains his storytelling expertise by weaving together the threads of insane personal interactions to create the ultimate welcome banner for the Great Old One.

Reading Matt Shaw is like getting a tattoo: hurts like hell, but I'm pleased with the results, and I can't deny how good the adrenaline rush feels...and, like an addict, I keep coming back for another round. I'm just not sure how I'm going to make it through the next one.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Should've Be A Movie | AstraDaemon

The Prince of Darkness selects a young woman from the Bronx as his chief lieutenant. Content warning for mature themes and graphic violence.

THE LAMENTATION OF THEIR WOMEN by Kai Ashante Wilson is not at all what I expected from the story's description. A young woman and her sometime lover find a couple of cursed objects at the apartment of her deceased Auntie. Touching the objects enlightens the two on their evil purpose. Soon after, they begin killing people and sending them to Hell. When they become too selective of who they kill, Satan makes his displeasure known.

I don't think the violence is bad enough to necessitate a warning, and, while some might feel there are political undertones, this is more or less two people who are angry and fed up, and the Fallen One twists the situation to his convenience.

I had trouble getting into the writing style, but something about the characters makes me wish this could be made into a movie.

As always,

AstraDaemon