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

Riding the Nightmare by Lisa Tuttle

  Title: Riding the Nightmare Author: Lisa Tuttle Genre: Horror Short Story Collection Published: 8/22/23 by Valancourt Books I received a copy for review through NetGalley.  This new collection from a Lisa Tuttle collects stories previously published between 1986 and 2017 with a new expanded version of 'The Dragon's Bride'. The stories seem to fit together in that they all explore unconventional types of relationships from the female prospective. The plots themselves are varied. Some worked better for me than others. This is a great release from Valancourt Books from this great author of Nest of Nightmares and Familiar Spirit. Ride the Nightmare:   Being second to a man in an open marriage isn't easy. For Tess it brings on a prophetic nightmare.The nightmare imagery is great. 4 stars Bits and Pieces: A woman realizes the men that leave her life leave parts of themselves behind. In the pursuit of creating a perfect man she goes to great lengths to get what she wants. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

  Title: Boys in the Valley Author: Philip Fracassi Genre: Religious Horror/ Coming of Age Published: July 11, 2023 by TOR Nightfire  I received a copy for review through NetGalley. It is not easy growing up in a turn of the century group home for boys run by priests like the orphans in this religious horror story. Peter is a 16 year old orphan trying to choose between becoming a priest and being with the girl he loves. The toughest things the boys have to deal with are punishments from overzealous staff and small food rations until one night the sheriff rolls in with someone he believes to be possessed. That is when all hell breaks loose. This was a super scary thrill ride of a novel. The characters were all developed so well. There are characters to love and some to hate, but none are one sided. Well, except the demon who is all evil. The boys have had to deal with so much in their lives and I did not want anything to happen to them. If you cannot handle reading harm coming to ch
Post a Comment
Read more

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman

Title: Spin a Black Yarn Author: Josh Malerman Genre: Horror/Speculative Fiction Published: August 15, 2023 by Random House I received a copy for review through NetGalley.   Spin a Black Yarn is a collection of 5 novellas that have memorable new spins on common genre norms. Malerman takes on a haunted house, a serial killer, space travel, dangers of AI, and revenge. These are very familiar yet his stories are wholly unique and surprising as these themes are turned on their head. These are novellas I will not soon forget. Half the House is Haunted explores a brother and sister's relationship growing up in a house that was half haunted. What does that mean? Which half? 4 stars Argyle follows a dying man's confessions of dark twisted desires that he never acted on. This was really disturbing and effective story despite his lack of actual murder. 5 stars Jupiter Drop is about a man dealing with a tragic accident that decides to take a vacation to Jupiter where he will be able to
Post a Comment
Read more