Men Who Wish to Drown by Elizabeth Fama

December 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Men Who Wish to Drown by Elizabeth Fama
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Short Story (19 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Cited as the only extant firsthand record of a mermaid encounter in New England waters, this deathbed letter from a great-grandfather to his great-grandson is more likely an instructive fiction–a parable of regret. Supposedly corroborating the mermaid story, a ship’s log (in the collections of the Provincetown Historical Museum) of the schooner Hannah, which plucked Mr. Stanton from South Weepecket in 1788, indicates that the crew saw two figures on the island prior to his rescue, but failed to locate a second victim. However, regarding accuracy and reliability, this is the same crew, under Captain John Merriweather, that reported sightings of a ghost ship and not one, but two sea monsters. ~~James S. Rucker, Archivist, Family Collections, Falmouth Historical Society, 1924.

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Regret isn’t an emotion that I’ve seen explored very often in the fantasy genre, so I was intrigued by this tale immediately. It explored the main character’s experiences with this feeling in great detail. The fact that it was written in the form of a letter only intensified the pacing because of how much effort the narrator put into describing what had happened and what he wished his life could have been like instead. He only had a limited amount of space to describe what happened, and he used every single inch of it.

There was only one small thing I wish had been written differently, and it had to do with how a certain character was described. The narrator’s first description of this character was quite different from how he later described her to the audience. I was slightly surprised by this change and would have liked to see a bit of foreshadowing for it since his opinions changed so drastically. With that being said, this is a very minor criticism of something I’ll otherwise be recommending far and wide.

The romantic elements of the plot were written beautifully. When I started the first page, I wondered how the main character was supposed to transition from barely surviving a dangerous accident to falling in love with a stranger. Those two ideas occupied such different parts of my imagination that I couldn’t imagine them being mixed together, so I was delighted by how the author played around with thoughts related to life, the very real threat of a senseless death, despair, and love so deftly that they all felt like they truly did belong together.

Men Who Wish to Drown is a must-read for anyone who loves mermaids.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Preparations by Mark Mills

December 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Preparations by Mark Mills
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (10 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ronald T. Turner is prepared for anything. And the zombies are prepared for him.

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Ronald was a complex guy. I admired him for thinking things through so well before the events of the first scene happened. He was obviously someone who had put a lot of effort into planning for just about everything that could go wrong when zombies began to take over the world. This sharp attention to detail in other parts of his life sometimes irritated me, but I liked the fact that his flaw was such a practical and understandable one. If he were a real person, I’d expect him to behave exactly the way he did in this tale.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the pacing of this story. While it was a short one, I did notice that there was a lot of variation in how quickly it moved from one scene to the next. Sometimes there was so much going on that I had a little trouble keeping up, while in other scenes Ronald didn’t seem to have quite enough to keep him busy considering the fact that he was in the middle of a zombiepocalypse of all things. A little more attention paid to this detail would have lead me to choosing a much higher rating.

With that being said, the ending was fabulous. Not only did it show off the main character’s longterm obsession with this specific type of monster, it featured something that I’ve never seen anyone else do in this genre. While I obviously can’t go into detail about the twist without giving away spoilers, I enjoyed being surprised by what Ronald was able to come up with when his future was looking bleak.

Preparations should be read by anyone who loves the zombie genre.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Still Standing by Marie Krepps, Aurora Styles, David Quesenberry, Garrison Kelly, and Larry Fort

December 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Still Standing by Marie Krepps, Aurora Styles, David Quesenberry, Garrison Kelly, and Larry Fort
Publisher: Hollow Hills
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (178 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Hollow Hills presents Still Standing, an anthology of short stories and poetry about empowerment and healing for victims of bullying and harassment. The royalties from this anthology will go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization helping those in crisis.
Strap yourself in for an emotional ride:

Savage Beatings: An elf braves ridicule and abuse as a sacrifice for his homeland and people.
We Called It Azimov: A group of scientists come together to create a machine unlike any other. One scientist uses this modern marvel to satisfy her desire for revenge.

The Brave Blacksmith: The legendary Blacksmith must fight his own demons while confronting real enemies to save a sorceress from a dire situation.

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The Living Tree: An inspirational poem about life itself.

The past doesn’t always dictate what happens in the future.

The pacing of “Savage Beatings” was fast and exciting. I couldn’t wait to find out if the main character, Windham Xavier, would survive all of his violent encounters and find a way to protect his people. There were so many brutal scenes that this tale slipped into the horror genre at times. It wasn’t something I was necessarily expecting to happen, but it did fit the tone of the storyline well.

“We Called It Asimov” grabbed my attention immediately. I was mesmerized by the thought of a scientist using the skills she’d learned in her career to teach other people a lesson. The more I read about why she behaved the way, the more I wanted to know about what would happen to her next. While it did take me a little while to remember who all of the characters were in this story, I enjoyed it quite a bit after that point.

Within the first few sentences of “The Brave Blacksmith,” a princess named Tima lost everyone she loved. I was so surprised by this opening scene that I couldn’t imagine what might happen to this character next. The worldbuilding was handled nicely. Exactly enough time was spent explaining the rules of the society Tima lived in. I felt like i understood her culture well, and that made me want to keep reading until I knew how her adventures would end.

As someone who wasn’t already familiar with the characters in the universe that Aurora Styles’ “Buccaneer’s Beginning” revisited, I was glad to see her taking the time to briefly explain how everyone knew each other before jumping into the plot. It would have been helpful to see more character development in this tale in general. The storyline itself was well done, but I didn’t get a strong sense of the personalities of the people who inhabited that setting or how they were changing as individuals.

One thing I would have liked to see added to David Quesenberry’s “The Living Tree” was a more definite sense of what the tree represented to the speaker. At first I wondered if it was a metaphor for the creative process itself and how all artists and writers are connected by their desires to create beautiful things. The words themselves were beautiful, and I did enjoy reading them quite a bit. I simply needed a little bit stronger of a nudge in the direction of what the author was trying to say about the experience of being alive.

Still Standing should be read by anyone who has ever wished for justice.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard

November 28, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Length: Short Story (16 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Charlotte died to shore up her master’s house. Her bones grew into the foundation and pushed up through the walls, feeding his power and continuing the cycle. As time passes and the ones she loved fade away, the house and the master remain, and she yearns ever more deeply for vengeance.

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Charlotte was such a sympathetic character. This is never something I thought I’d say about a ghost who had homicidal urges, but she had excellent reasons for behaving the way she did. The people who took her life did so in such a despicable way that I couldn’t help but to hope that she’d find some way to make peace with it. She was young, poor, and defenceless when she died. Any one of those would have made me feel sympathy for her, but for it to happen to someone who fit all three of those groups only increased my urge to find out what her ultimate fate would be.

There was only one small thing I wish had been done differently with this tale, and it had to do with the ending. The final scene was by far the most exciting part of the plot, so I was a bit surprised by how abruptly it ended. It would have been nice to know how that scene turned out even if the narrator wasn’t planning to tell the audience anything else about how she planned to get her revenge for her murder.

This was one of the most grisly things I’ve read this year, and that was a good thing. Charlotte’s death was bloody, violent, and honestly disturbing at times. Learning about why it happened only made me more eager to find out if anyone would ever pay for what they did to this poor girl. I wanted her killers to deal with the consequences of their actions almost as much as she did! It was the only way she’d ever find peace. Knowing how horribly her life had ended was an integral part of understanding why her afterlife was so restless and full of justified anger.

Lullaby for a Lost World was deliciously scary. Anyone who loves their horror grim and ghastly should check it out.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Ghost Story by Mark Twain

November 21, 2018 By Leave a Comment


A Ghost Story by Mark Twain
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Length: Short Story (30 pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“A Ghost Story” is one of the best-known humorous stories by Mark Twain (pen-name of Samuel Clemens, 1865-1936). First published in 1870, it is set in Nineteenth-Century New York City.

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The world-building was phenomenal, and it happened for a character who spent the entire plot in an old, dusty bedroom of a house whose upper floors hadn’t been used in years! All of the descriptions of the home and the things that happened in were so vivid, though, that I could picture exactly what it would be like to stay there. I was pretty impressed by how the author was able to do this given the fact that there was only one setting for the entire storyline.

There aren’t a lot of characters out there who react sensibly when they realize that a ghost is haunting them. Luckily, one of these such individuals was the narrator of this tale. While he was definitely concerned about all of the scary noises he was hearing, he didn’t overreact. I liked reading about his thought processes as he attempted to figure out how to respond to his late-night visitor. He stayed as calm and logical as anyone could reasonably expect to under those circumstances, and that was refreshing.

Not only did the ending fit the tone of this book perfectly, it also made me laugh. I appreciated the narrator’s sense of humor even more once he realized what was actually making all of the frightening noises outside, and later inside, of his bedroom. Honestly, I didn’t want to stop reading his descriptions of what was going on. While I was satisfied with how everything was resolved in the end, I was also left yearning to know what happened next in a very positive sense.

I’d heartily recommend A Ghost Story to anyone who loves the paranormal genre.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler and Will Terry

October 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler and Will Terry
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Big Witch and Little Witch have made stew, and now they want to have their friends for dinner! But when Skeleton mistakes the guest list for a menu, he takes off running, and soon Ghost and Ghoul join him too! But poor Little Witch has no idea there’s a misunderstanding. Luckily there’s one creature in the haunted forest who can help everyone figure it all out.

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You never really know what might happen at a dinner in a graveyard.

This tale had a great sense of humor. I especially liked the fact that it joked about things that both adults and kids would find funny. Ms. Cuyler and Mr. Terry struck a nice balance between appealing to preschoolers while also including moments that grown-ups would enjoy as well. This isn’t always something that’s easy to accomplish. It made me want to read more from these authors in the future, and I will be keeping an eye out for what they release next.

There were a couple of plot holes in this story that were never explained. They had to do with Skeleton’s reaction when he first overheard Big Witch and Little Witch discussing their plans for dinner. I was hoping the narrator would spend more time talking about what was going on in that scene, but it never happened. With some more development, this could have been something I’d want to read again every autumn.

One of the best scenes happened early on when Big Witch and Little Witch began adding important ingredients to the stew they were making. I’ve always found it amusing to read about the fictional, bizarre, or simply hard-to-find ingredients that a witch might need for a special recipe. The list these characters needed to check off was just as quirky as I’d hoped it would be, and that was a good thing.

Anyone who is in the mood for a spooky read before Halloween should give Skeleton for Dinner a try.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Halloween Good Night by Doug Cushman

October 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Halloween Good Night by Doug Cushman
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

If you were a ghost haunting a castle and moat,
Rattling thick chains, making underpants float,
When you stopped all your moaning and screeching in fright,
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On Halloween night, creatures around the world tuck their little ones into bed. How do skeletons say goodnight? What about werewolves, mummies, or vampire bats? In this silly Halloween romp, young children can take a trip through spooky castles and haunted graveyards to find out!

Even little ghosts and skeletons have to be tucked in for bedtime at some point.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this tale was how creative all of the goodnight messages were for the various creatures featured in it. Some of them were written as puns. Others were a humorous spin on the traditional mythologies of everything from mummies to vampires. No matter how these scenes were written, all of them made me smile. Their creativity was what kept me reading until the final page.

Unfortunately, the plot wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked it to be. As interested as I was in the premise, I was hoping for the characters to have more to do during the course of their storylines. They all followed the same pattern no matter who was talking about how their put their children to bed, so there simply wasn’t enough going on in those bedtime routines for me to want to read this more than once.

As someone who loves horror, I’m always on the lookout for children’s stories in this genre that are appropriate for even the youngest readers. While there definitely were horror elements, they were written so gently and humourlessly that I wouldn’t hesitate to read this to any preschooler who is looking forward to Halloween or who would enjoy reading about a few spooky creatures.

Halloween Good Night should be read by anyone who has ever wondered how monsters and other creatures say goodnight to their children.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones

October 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (35 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“The Night Cyclist” by Stephen Graham Jones is a horror novelette about a middle-aged chef whose nightly bicycle ride home is interrupted by an unexpected encounter.

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The main character was an incredibly brave man. I never would have had the courage to do what he did when he encountered something completely out of the ordinary on his bike ride home after dark. He was riding in such a deserted area that I would have been worried about something terrible happening under those circumstances and with no witnesses around to help. This rash decision suited his assertive and risk-taking personality perfectly, though. If anyone was going to run towards danger instead of away from it, he would have been the guy to do that.

There were a few parts of the ending that didn’t quite make sense to me. They had to do with how the protagonist reacted once the most climatic scene had wrapped up and he was left to decide what to do next. His reaction wasn’t what I would have expected from him based on how he’d behaved in the past. It would have been helpful to have a more thorough explanation of why he acted this way.

The world building felt quite realistic to me. Due to the fact that the main character didn’t have superpowers or any particular interest in things that can’t be explained by science, I appreciated how much time it took him to realize that something odd was happening. That was an understandable reaction from him. Even though I always wanted to know more than he was slowly figuring out, I liked the fact that the author stayed so true to this character’s down-to-earth approach to stuff he didn’t understand.

Anyone who has ever been alarmed by a strange sound after dark should give The Night Cyclist a try.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Tangled Woods by Emily Raboteau

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Tangled Woods by Emily Raboteau
Dark Corners collection
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Genre: Contemporary, Horror
Length: Short Story (37 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

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Poison-tongued film critic Reginald Wright is known for his creative insults and intolerance for the garbage culture, insufferable rudeness, and thoughtless racism of predictably common people. Now, against his better judgment, and with a marriage in crisis, he’s attempting a getaway in the Poconos that quickly fulfills his every low expectation. In fact, it’s becoming a nightmare. And that’s just what Reginald needs to wake up.

What dad wouldn’t be excited to be headed on a five night family vacation to Big Bear Lodge in the Poconos? Not widely know film critic Reginald Wright. In fact he seems to bring the grouchiness of a bear with his sour mood and bitter attitude. I feel sorry for Reggie’s wife, Ladette and their son, Thurgood, that they have to deal with such a sullen temperament. Reggie seems to not be aware of how his words can hurt but that will soon change.

This is a well written short tale that delivers a gloomy story of an unhappy man. I wouldn’t categorize the story as scary… more along the lines of disturbing. Starting with Reggie’s depressing and mean behavior, to his odd dream to the encounter with the man upstairs. For such a short story, the author’s words held my attention and drew me in. I felt sympathy for the characters. Sad that a father can’t see what good he has in his wife and son. A son that looks up to his father, but also seems to recognize that his father needs healing.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style and how she put so much into just a few pages. I also like the author’s use of uncommon words that gave the story a certain flare.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Old Dispensation by Lavie Tidhar

October 9, 2018 By 2 Comments


The Old Dispensation by Lavie Tidhar
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror
Length: Short Story (31 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A space opera adventure set in a universe controlled and run by Jewish religious authorities. An enforcer is sent to a distant planet where he discovers an android who changes his mind about what is right and wrong

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There’s something to be said for a plot twist involving a major character that is only vaguely hinted at. While I did end up figuring out what it was probably going to be ahead of time, this in no way made it less interesting to see if my prediction was going to turn out to be the correct one. The fact that the characters involved in it were so surprised by what happened made me grin. I wish I could say more about this, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers about something that was a highlight of the storyline for me.

I found it confusing to jump back and forth in the timeline of this story so often. As interested as I was in the plot itself, it was hard to keep track of when everything happened due to certain key scenes appearing to being shared much sooner or later than they actually happened. There were several times when I had to stop and reread a previous scene due to all of the trouble I had placing it in the timeline, and I’m still not entirely sure I have all of them sorted out correctly.

The world building was well done. I originally wondered if this was part of a series due to all of the little details the author included about things that had happened in the distant past. When I found out it wasn’t, I was even more impressed by how much work had been put into creating such a detailed world in only a few dozen pages.

I’d recommend The Old Dispensation to anyone who loves dark and futuristic science fiction.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,
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