Skip to main content

Peel Back and See by Mike Thorn

 

Title: Peel Back and See

Author: Mike Thorn

Genre: Horror

Published: October 29,2021 by Journalstone

Thank you to the author for providing a copy for review.

Overall

Mike Thorn's new collection of short stories is dark, melancholy, and downright depraved at times. Every story was excellent and varied. Some stories had gothic elements, and others had science fiction elements and technologies. Some of these stories will leave you wondering what is real, and what is imagined. These stories tackle anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, loss, and treatment of different classes. 

 

Individual Stories 

Havok- 4 stars- Unknown world with nightmarish creatures live feed on the internet. A great use of technology to create a obsessive dread that is very effective.

Mini McDonagh Manor- 5 stars- A grief stricken woman becomes obsessed with her childhood home. Gothic elements add a certain ambiance to this story.

Mr. Mucata's Final Requests- 5 stars- An overbearing boss leaves the strangest list of final requests for his employee in his final days. I loved the use of white and dark magic in this one.

@GORGOYAMA2013-5 stars- A musician meets his biggest online fan. This one tackles the trepidation and dangers of meeting online friends IRL. 

Dreams of Lake Drukka-5 stars- Sisters go to a lake after a dream of their mother's death. Loss and familial strain are heavy themes in this one.

Exhumation- 3 stars- This story built a good sense of grief and dread, but I was left wondering what exactly was going on. 

Vomitus Bacchanalus- 4 stars- The ultimate excess and debauchery story that takes a look at treatment of classes. This one has science fiction elements and it is really disgusting. In a good way!

The Finger Collectors-5 stars- A couple offers shelter to the desperate for a high price.

This is the World-5 stars- Nightmare educing metaphor for the nature of the world. 

Deprimer-5 stars- Dark journey to beat your demons. Deals with anxiety and depression.

Offer to the Adversary-5 stars- An art scholar becomes obsessed with a horrifying picture. 

The Furnace Room Mutant-5 stars- Coming of age tale involving high school boys and a local legend.

Virus- 5 stars- Teenage girls torrent a very trippy video.

The Voiding-5 stars- What does it cost to make it big in writing?

Entropy Major-5 stars- Another great story with science fiction elements about a prisoner in space.

Fade to White-4 stars- A man is suicidal after his marriage ends. 

I highly recommend this collection for those that like the dark side of literature. The stories were all very well written and entertaining. 

My average rating for the stories is 4.68 stars out of 5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs by Rebecca Gransden Book Review

  Title: Happy Bunny and Other Mischiefs Author: Rebecca Gransden Genre: Weird Fiction/ Horror Published: 10/30/24 by the author I received a copy for review from the author.  This collection of 14 short stories that are full of imaginative scenarios. The ideas are truly unique which helps to draw you in.  Imagine taking a friend's pigeon to the vet leads to an underground cult. Imagine a sentient turducken escaping its packaging to explore the world. These are just of a couple of the outrageously weird concepts explored in this collection. A couple of the stories are written a very fever dream kind of way that makes following the plot difficult. I don't fault the experimental writing, but I personally do not enjoy the confusion they left me feeling. The rest of the stories I enjoyed. The standout stories for me were SparrowEyes, with its creepy setting and creature, and Happy Bunny, with a person in a bunny costume getting teleported to various television and movie s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alt Vegas: Nuclear Dreams by Wren Cavanagh Book Review

   Title: Alt Vegas: Nuclear Dreams Author: Wren Cavanagh Genre: Horror Published: September 28, 2024 I received a copy for review from the author.    Kyle and Mandy have dreams making a profit by developing when they purchase land in Esperville, Oregon. Soon they find out the land is home to a portal to another dimension stuck in 1950s Las Vegas. It is a hard place with unforgiving desert and fiendish creatures. This a fantastic creature feature horror novel with an alternate dimension flair. The characters, Kyle and Mandy, did not seem sympathetic at first as foolhardy newlyweds taking on more than they can chew. However, throughout the story they become more and more endearing. They are great underdog characters to root for. The portal to Alt Vegas allows for such contrasting settings. The lush and overgrown Oregon with the desert landscape outside 1950s Vegas. The last fourth of the book could have used another round of line editing, but overall this was a fantas...
Post a Comment
Read more

Overgrowth by Mira Grant Book Review

Title: Overgrowth Author: Mira Grant Genre: Science Fiction Horror Published: May 6, 2025 by Tor Nightfire I received a copy for review through NetGalley.   Anastasia has not fit in since she walked into the forest and was turned into an alien plant. To make things worse she can't seem to help telling everyone that the alien invasion is coming. No one believes her, but they should have heeded the warning. Science fiction and horror is a genre blend that works so well. This is a very character focused story with a quirky main character and her amazing found family. It shows the alien invasion from the perspective of an alien plant that has been raised human that needs to choose sides. It is light on horror past a very disturbing plant attack of a child, but it is an epic and fun story with an interesting perspective. If you are wanting to read about an invasion of sentient blood drinking plants that does not take itself seriously then this story is for you. My Rating: 5 Out of 5 Sta...
Post a Comment
Read more