Tag Archives: 2020s

October 5, 2023 · 1:00 am

A Review of Only the Living Feel Remorse

Book cover for Only the Living Feel Remorse by Ash Deza. Image on cover is a grainy photograph of someone wearing a grey hoodie and walking down an incredibly foggy and dark path. You can see a few possibly leafy tree branches at the top of the cover, but everything else is well obscured by fog.Title: Only the Living Feel Remorse – A Ghost Story

Author: Ash Deza

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 1, 2023

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 136 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Some mistakes will haunt you to the end.

Imagine being haunted by a ghost. In life, he was your best friend. Now he wants you dead.

Who would you turn to for help? How far would you go to escape? How much would you be willing to sacrifice?

This is the gripping story of a flawed man who finds himself in a deep well of misery, haunted by his past, desperate for a way out. Will he be able to save himself? Or will the price prove to be too high?

“Only the Living Feel Remorse” is a suspenseful yet fast-paced horror novella. It tells the story of a friendship gone bad, a vengeful ghost and neo-pagan blood rituals which end up costing you much more than you bargained for.

Review:

Content Warning:Violence, death, (attempted) rape, classism, sexism, suicide attempts, blood, self-harm, alcohol abuse/alcoholism, trauma, and toxic masculinity. I will not discuss any of these topics in my review.

Life isn’t fair…and neither is death.

The main character was a violent, dangerous, and deeply flawed man who I nonetheless still found fascinating due to his creativity and resourcefulness. While many people are able to rise above difficult childhoods, he’d never had the time, money, or social support as an adult to seek the professional help he needed to do the same. This is in no way an excuse of his actions, but it did help to explain why he had such a short temper and often assumed the worst of others. It’s definitely not easy to strike a balance between writing an unlikeable character and giving the audience something about that individual that makes us want to get to know them better , so I tip my cap to Mr. Deza for pulling it off so nicely.

It would have been helpful to develop the supernatural elements of the storyline more thoroughly. I’m specifically thinking here of Father Perry’s reaction when the protagonist went to him for an exorcism and what the priest had to say about his church’s modern approach to the subjects of hauntings and demonic possessions. There was a room there for expansion, and I would have gone for a full five-star rating if all of that had been explained more clearly.

This novella had excellent world building that did not show up immediately. Most stories begin working on it from the opening scene, so it was a pleasant surprise to be about halfway through the plot and suddenly realize just how much I had left to learn about this world. I admire authors who take risks like these, especially when they work so well with what has already unfolded in the storyline. Would I have loved to dive even more deeply into how neo-pagan blood rituals work in this universe? Absolutely, but there was more than enough information provided here for me to understand what was going on and why the main character was tasked with such bloody objectives. Leaving a reader yearning for more is a good thing!

Only the Living Feel Remorse is a great choice for horror fans who are looking for something sobering and well written.

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September 28, 2023 · 1:00 am

In Pursuit of Knowledge: A Review of Know Not

Book cover for Know Not by Joshua Scribner. Image on cover shows the numbers 1 and 0 written in binary code in a green font on a black screen. The numbers are fuzzy as if they’re being shaken up. Title: Know Not

Author: Joshua Scribner

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: January 26, 2021

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 10 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A brilliant scientist’s vocabulary is now limited to a few words. His daughter wants to know why. Doctors can’t tell her. Maybe someone else can.

Review:

Content Warning: Religion and brain damage that leaves someone unable to communicate.

Everything happens for a reason…right?

Marie’s relationship with her dad made me smile. Their personalities were incredibly similar, and they clearly loved each other quite a bit. It’s always nice to meet characters who have stable, close families, and that foundation only made her father’s medical emergency more heartbreaking for me as a reader. I held my breath as I waited to see if the doctors could tell them why her intelligent and scholarly dad was suddenly unable to do something as simple as have a conversation about his feelings.

I found myself wishing for more details when the explanation was shared at the end of this short story. Yes, it made some sense given the world building that had happened earlier, but there were plot holes regarding how certain characters had this knowledge and how they knew it to be true that were never filled in. I know I’m being vague here, but it’s hard to give specific examples without sharing spoilers. My reaction to the final scene simply wasn’t what I hoped it would be. If only there had been a few more pages that dove more deeply into the conclusion.

With that being said, I enjoyed the characters’ determination to find an alternative explanation for the health problems Marie’s dad was experiencing once the medical establishment ran out of possibilities. Reaching the end of current medical knowledge is an incredibly frustrating experience, especially for someone who became as disabled as her dad did. I understood why they turned to religious leaders for advice as a last-ditch effort, and I thought it made the storyline stronger to show why some people make that decision under such circumstances.

Know Not was thought provoking.

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September 21, 2023 · 1:00 am

A Review of Ravine of Death

Book cover for Ravine of Death by Hiago Furtado. Image on cover shows an abstract drawing of thick, curvy black lines against a white and grey background. I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be tentacles, veins from the body of a person or animal, or lines in boulders that show where various types of minerals were deposited millions of years ago, or something else entirely. It’s quite vague and open to interpretation, so I’m sorry this alt text can’t be more helpful there. Title: Ravine of Death

Author: Hiago Furtado

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 4, 2023

Genres: Young Adult,  Horror, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 9 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A thief steals a crown of sapphires and is pursued by knights, so to escape, he decides to enter an abandoned forest. Cornered, he must decide whether to jump or not into a gorge called “The Ravine of Death,” where it is said that those who fall are devoured by demons. What does he decide? To jump, of course!

Review:

Content Warning: Murder and theft.

A little horror goes a long way.

The pacing was strong and exciting. I appreciated the fact that the author decided to drop his audience directly into the middle of a tense chase scene while only explaining the basics about what was going on. That was a good choice for the storyline, and it kept me guessing what might happen next until the very end.

Plot holes prevented me from giving this a higher rating. While I certainly wouldn’t expect a short story to have as much character or plot development as a full-length novel, there were many things I struggled to understand about the thief and why he ended up in this predicament. For example, why did he choose to run into the forest? Why didn’t he pick a direction other than the one that lead to something called the Ravine of Death that any sensible person would avoid? While I don’t have a problem reading about characters who have terrible judgment, I do like to know why they lack the common sense that keeps most of us out of trouble most of the time.  There was a lot of promise here, but I thought it needed more development in order to fully realize its potential.

Then again, it was interesting to see the protagonist enter the forbidden gorge and see what all the fuss was about. I knew he wasn’t going to have a pleasant time with it, but I couldn’t have guessed what he was about to experience there. The horror elements of the plot really shone here, so keep reading if the first page or so doesn’t immediately grab your attention and you love that genre. It was inventive and it made me wish for a sequel.

Ravine of Death was full of frights.

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September 14, 2023 · 1:00 am

Alcohol-Fuelled Bad Decisions: A Review of Autumn Moon

Book cover for Autumn Moon by J.T. McCallum. Image on cover shows a wolf howling outside in the middle of the night. A profile of the wolf’s head and neck can be seen against the dim light of a huge full moon. Title: Autumn Moon

Author: J.T. McCallum

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 9, 2020

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 12 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

An attack from a supernatural assailant forces a group of drunken bar patrons to fend for their lives as they try to survive the night.

Review:

Content Warning: Alcohol, characters getting drunk, and some brief scenes of blood, murder, and violence in a bar brawl.

Not everyone knows what to do in an emergency.

The identity of the supernatural assailant becomes evident almost immediately in this story. I’ll refrain from naming it this review for those of you who want to avoid even the mildest of spoilers, but knowing the answer ahead of time will in no way ruin the storyline for anyone who figures it out from context clues or reads other reviews that do give it away. I liked the way the author explored a terrifying interpretation of the relationship between humans and something so different from us, especially since many other contemporary stories about this topics tend to romanticize an incredibly dangerous and unpredictable creature.

Honestly, twelve pages isn’t a lot of space to include character development, but Mr. McCallum took advantage of every inch of them to demonstrate how the unnamed protagonist’s curiosity, cowardice, studiousness, and clumsiness swirled together to try to keep him alive. I can’t say he was someone I’d necessarily want to hang out with due to how little we had in common, but I was intrigued by this character’s journey and wanted to see if he’d make it out of the bar okay after everything fell apart in an instant.  

The final sentence was what convinced me to give this a perfect rating. Yes, the earlier scenes were predictable for anyone who has read much Halloween-adjacent horror or fantasy at all, but this wasn’t the sort of tale that demanded a clever plot twist. What kept me reading was wondering how he was going to react once he realized what the audience figured out much earlier, and this was where the writing excelled. I grinned when I finished the last word and wished there were thousands more of them. If that’s not worthy of a five-star rating, what is?

Autumn Moon was exactly the sort of scary read I needed to kick off the Halloween season. 

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August 24, 2023 · 1:00 am

Summer Lessons: A Review of Modern Parables

Book cover for Modern Parables by Alex Sonifrank and Richa Sonifrank. Image on cover is a painting of a red truck sitting in a meadow on a partially cloudy spring day. A white boy is sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, and an Indian girl and a pig are sitting in the bed of the truck in the back. There is also a white goat sitting on top of the trunk and a large red bird flying overhead. All of the characters look relaxed and happy as they gaze upon the peaceful scene before them. Title: Modern Parables

Author: Alex Sonifrank and Richa Sonifrank

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: July 16, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 82 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the authors.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

You may be familiar with the tortoise and the hare, but have you heard of the king and the sage?

A collection of short stories about the challenges we face each day in the modern world.

Stories that would take you all around the world to different cultures, times, and places. From ancient kings to modern mayors, from vast farmlands and forests to present day offices and from sages to priests.

Review:

Story time is for everyone.

Improving one’s character is a complex task that never ends. Some of my favorite stories in this book were the ones that featured people who genuinely thought they were doing the right thing in life. Good intentions don’t always translate to helpful choices, though, and I nodded along as they realized that sometimes you can be too nice, too eager to give others unsolicited advice, or too quick to judge without knowing someone’s history. These are the sorts of lessons that work better when repeated in a lot of different ways in my experience, so I was glad to see so much attention paid to them here.

I had mixed feelings about the fact that the lesson each story was teaching was written after the end of it. Yes, some readers probably need to have such things pointed out directly to them, but I also think that there’s a big benefit to discussing what you’ve just read and allowing the audience to come to their own conclusions about what it all means and how it should apply to our daily lives. Sometimes one can learn more from a conversation about a work than the tale itself, after all! With that being said, I’ll leave it up to other readers to come to their own conclusions about how well this worked. Just because it didn’t resonate with me doesn’t meant that everyone else will necessarily feel the same way!

One of the strengths of this collection was how varied it was. The characters in it came from a wide array of ages, backgrounds, and places. That isn’t necessarily something that’s common in traditional parables or fairy tales, so it was refreshing to discover here. One specific parable might be more meaningful to a certain person based on their previous experiences in life, but there were so many different types of them that I think anyone will be able to find something that appeals to them. I appreciate authors who pay attention to such things and try to reach out to all sorts of different people in our modern age.

Modern Parables was a thought-provoking read.

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August 10, 2023 · 1:00 am

Graveyard Romance: A Review of The Ghost and the Real Girl

Book cover for The Ghost and the Real Girl by Avery Carter. Image on cover shows a black and white drawing of the profile of a woman’s face. Her hair has been piled on top of her head in a Victorian-style puffy bun, and she has a scarf with a few sprigs of flowers tired around her neck. There is also an oval border around this drawing that has roses, vines, and leaves sprouting around it. Title: The Ghost and the Real Girl

Author: Avery Carter

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 31, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Romance, Historical

Length: 124 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

“There was never a good night to rob a grave, but the night of a full moon was certainly the worst…”

When Sera is hired to rob a 200 year old grave, the last thing she expects is the ghost of Lady Clementine de Quill rising up to scold her for it. Though her world is full of magical echoes from a not-so-distant past, a ghost is completely unheard of. What’s more, no one else can see or hear Clem. Sera tries everything to get rid of her– selling the items she took from her grave, bathing in saltwater, even putting herself through a religious smoke cleansing from the Church of the Wheel. Nothing works, and Sera finally resigns herself to having a ghost follow her around for the rest of her life.

Despite their differences, a partnership begins to bloom between the streetwise gravedigger and the cultured noblewoman. Just as they realize that maybe they aren’t so different after all, Clem starts to fade, flickering in and out for longer and longer stretches of time. Sera begins to realize that with each time Clem vanishes, there’s a chance that she won’t come back. There’s only one problem: she can’t imagine life without her anymore.

Review:

Who says cemeteries have to be scary places?

The romantic storyline was handled perfectly. This is something I’m saying as someone who usually steers clear of that genre, so don’t let that label dissuade you from reading this if you’re the same way. The author did an excellent job of creating two unique, realistically flawed characters and giving them a ton of time to pursue other goals in life before the slightest hint of romance filled the air. Having all of those things established ahead of time made it much easier for me to understand why these characters ended up becoming romantically interested in each other.  I loved this portion of the plot just as much as the rest of it.

There were a few spots where the pacing sagged a little due to how much character development and  world-building the author needed to do. While I appreciated it later on, I did find myself feeling a little restless in that moment when the storyline slowed down and I wasn’t sure why. Keep the slow moments in mind as you read.  I wish certain scenes had been sped up a little, but there is a payoff coming if you persevere!

I was impressed with the world building, though. It’s hard to create a complex society in a shorter work like a novella, but I was immersed in Sera and Clementine’s world by the end of the first scene. More details were released over time, of course, and I relished the opportunity to expand my understanding of where they came from and how their society had evolved in the few hundred years between Clementine’s death and Sera deciding to dig up Clementine’s grave.

The Ghost and the Real Girl made me yearn for more.

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July 20, 2023 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Teller of Stories

Book cover for The Teller of Stories by A.E. Albert. Image on cover shows a full moon shining brightly against a starless night sky. The sky is filled with a thick layer of clouds that hide the stars and even dim the light of the moon itself. Title: The Teller of Stories

Author: A.E. Albert

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 12, 2020

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Length: 13 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

The old woman has only one purpose in her little village- to tell stories. It is an important task and necessary to ease the overburdened people of The Chain. She tells many tales. Some are history and others only myth. But one night, she tells a story. An ancient story. A story about impossible times and events. Is it only a tale from the demented imagination of an old woman or the startling history of a people’s doomed past?

Review:

Content Warning: Nuclear war

Truth comes in many different forms.

This is one of those short stories that I have to review carefully in order to avoid sharing spoilers, but I loved the way Ms. Albert played around with the idea that even the wildest legends might not be as far fetched as you’d think. The old woman had grown so old, frail, and physically infirm that her only real role in her village was to pass on the folklore she’d been taught as a child. It’s up to you as a reader to determine what really happened, and I relished that opportunity.

My favourite scenes were the ones that described scientific advances we are well acquainted with today in such flowery terms that it took a moment to sort out how those details had changed over many generations of storytelling. While the main character lived in a culture that highly valued their oral traditions and were meticulous about making sure every story was passed down correctly, there are still certain things that don’t always translate smoothly between what a tiny agrarian society has access to versus what an large industrial one can create.

I also appreciated the way the author wrote for a teenaged audience while steering clear of many of the overused tropes of young adult science fiction. Similar tales have been told before, of course, but it still felt fresh and interesting to me. In short, don’t let that label scare you off if you generally prefer adult fiction. This transcended the boxes it was written to fit into, and it was an excellent introduction to Ms. Albert’s work for me. I will definitely be keeping at eye out for what she comes up with next.

Let’s see how I can share this one final compliment without giving away massive spoilers. Just when I thought all of my most important questions had been answered, the final page delivered one last plot twist that made me grin. It was something I’d briefly wondered about earlier, but I hadn’t actually thought the narrator was going to go through with it. Isn’t it amazing when that happens?

The Teller of Stories was delightful.

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July 13, 2023 · 1:00 am

A Review of Jathniel, the Immortal

Book cover for “Jathniel, the Immortal” by Eugene Roy. Image on cover shows an analog clock that has been stretched into a spiral so that you keep seeing the numbers 3, 6, 9, and 12 repeating themselves as the clock swirls down into an indeterminate point in the centre of the picture. Title: Jathniel, The Immortal

Author: Eugene Roy

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: April 29, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Contemporary

Length: 42 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

‘Angel Of Death’ Jathniel’s assignment at an elementary school shooting challenges his faith, and breaks his heart. But, like all Transitional Guides, he is supposed to be emotionally sterile. As a means of reset, Jathniel is thrust into unknown territory – life as a mortal canine, where he is granted the experience of love in its purest form, trusting and unconditional.

Review:

Content Warning: Car accident, mass shootings, death of a child, death of a pet, HIV.

Love comes in many different forms.

Jathniel’s reaction to each of his new assignments made me smile. I can’t go into a lot of detail about those moments without giving away spoilers, but I was delighted by how adaptive he was to new situation. The one where he was transformed into dog and had to adjust to a world where he understood the humans perfectly well but they weren’t able to return the favour well at all was especially fun. It truly felt like the author had tapped into dog psychology in those scenes, and I chuckled along as Jathniel adjusted to being someone’s pet instead of the powerful spirit being he had normally been.

My only piece of constructive criticism for this short story has to do with the ending. I found myself getting a little confused about one character’s transformation into someone else, and I would have benefited from a longer explanation about what was going on there. As much as I loved the rest of it, this scene did hold me back from going for a full five-star rating there.

The world building was fabulous. Did I want to dive deeper into it? Of course, but I was also satisfied with how much the author shared about what Jathniel did as an Angel of Death and why he was able to move so seamlessly from one death to the next. If Mr. Roy ever decides to write a sequel, I hope I’ll be the first person in line to read and review it. This was something I was thrilled to have stumbled up, and I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to it yet.

Jathniel, The Immortal made me yearn for more.

 

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July 6, 2023 · 12:00 am

A Review of The First Kiss

Book cover for The First Kiss by Greg Krojac. Image on cover shows a closeup photograph of a black woman who is staring seriously at the audience with the tiniest smile on her lips. Her skin in glowing near a small light in an otherwise dark room. Title: The First Kiss

Author: Greg Krojac

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 16, 2020

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction

Length: 28 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A night that begins with Daniel and Melody sharing a romantic meal at a swanky restaurant culminates in a disturbing discovery.

Review:

Content Warning: Grief and brief references to Covid-19, blood, and gore.

Rules are meant to be followed, right?

The character development was perfect for something of this length. Obviously, there’s not as much space to explore anyone’s personalities in twenty-eight pages as there would be in a full-length novel, but I thought the author did a good job of sharing enough about Daniel and Melody’s tragic pasts to explain why they would be willing to take such a big risk together. Grief can make someone do all sorts of things that they probably wouldn’t think to do otherwise.

As much as I wanted to give this story a higher rating, there were too many things about it that I found far-fetched even for the horror and science fiction genres. For example, the way people consumed food in this futuristic world was wildly different from how the vast majority of us do so right now. It was so out of the ordinary that it pulled me out of the storyline as I came up with several alternatives that would have been more rational for them.  This pattern was repeated a few more times as more about the main characters’ lives was revealed. I know this is vague, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers while still sharing my reasons for choosing a three star rating. If only the plot holes had been given more time to resolve themselves.

With that being said, I was intrigued by the world building. Melody and Daniel live in a place and time that was heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though many years have since passed, their culture remembers those terrible days vividly and have not forgotten any of the horror of it. There were only brief mentions of Covid-19 in this tale which I thought was a good choice. Alluding to it was more than enough given the fact that it’s still such an intimate and terrible part of many people’s lives today.

The First Kiss was creative.

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June 22, 2023 · 1:00 am

Romantic Horror: A Review of Samfah

Book cover for Samfah by JR Martin. Image on cover shows a two-story stone wall of a decaying building that has dozens of stone pillars holding up the second floor. It looks vaguely Greek, has been flooded with water, and there is seaweed growing on the building and columns. Lots of sunlight is streaming into the scene from the sky above. Title: Samfah

Author: JR Martin

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 16, 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Historical, and dash of Psychological Horror

Length: 10 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Looking for an enchanting, action-packed adventure that will leave you breathless? Look no further than “Samfah” – the must-read fantasy short story of the year! Follow the journey of a young girl who mysteriously vanishes into the depths of the sea, leaving her loved ones devastated and searching for answers. As her family struggles to come to terms with her disappearance, she discovers the incredible secrets hidden beneath the waves – a mystical, underwater world full of magic and wonder.

Review:

Content Warning: Kidnapping and a death from natural(ish?) causes. I will be discussing the kidnapping in this review.

If you like weird fiction, keep reading.

Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that I like stories that keep the reader on their toes and mix genres together in new and different ways. This is one of those tales. It resisted any attempt to classify it into a single genre, and it defied my expectations of what horror, fantasy, and romance should be every time I thought the plot was veering off a little more into one of those directions, In short, it was creative and it had something for readers who like any of those genres even if you might not generally be into all three of them. I encourage you all to take a risk on this. It’s (probably) not what you think it will be.

I wish the author had dove more deeply into the character development. For example, Samfah’s relationship with her future husband, Arkan, fascinated me, and yet little time was spent exploring what he was like as an individual or why he withheld certain facts from her when he lured her deep into the ocean and promised her a life of luxury if she stayed forever. Was he simply being romantic or was there some other motive for his decisions? I could come up with arguments for several different logical interpretations of his actions, some of which were much darker than others. If I’d had more material to work with, I would have happily bumped my star rating up to at least a four.

The eerie first scene did an excellent job of grabbing my attention. Samfah did not seem to be in full control of her mind and body when she slowly wandered into the ocean despite not knowing how to swim. I shuddered as she soon entered waters that were over her head and needed to figure out what to do next. What an intense way to introduce a character and setting to an audience! I commend the author for taking this risk and trusting readers to figure out certain things on our own before later confirming whether or not our guesses were correct.

Samfah kept me on my toes.

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