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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

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