SYNOPSIS:
OTHER VOICES, OTHER TOMBS is an anthology packed with unsettling stories from the finest independent authors in the horror genre. This collection runs the gamut of styles, including everything from literary horror to creepypasta. Ania Ahlborn, Kealan Patrick Burke, Michael Wehunt, Mercedes Yardley, and Gemma Files are widely considered some of the best authors working in dark fiction right now. Also included are stories from NoSleep Podcast legends: Gemma Amor, JD McGregor, and Michael Whitehouse. Anthologies are pretty much my favorite thing: I can take a few minutes between Stuff That Needs Done and read a story, and usually discover a new author or three along the way. This one doesn't disappoint (as soon as I saw Kealan Patrick Burke and Ania Ahlborn this thing was on my Kindle within a minute). My favorites from this one are: The Second Hand by Kealan Patrick Burke The Governess by Ania Ahlborn Fly Away, Little Fledgling by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason Can We Keep Him? by C.W. Briar And, trigger warning for rape in the third story, Urban Moon. It's a very well-written piece, but it's a difficult read emotionally, so be careful with yourselves. Reactions/favorite lines for each: ((spoilers below)) THE SECOND HAND: -- 'I wish I'd have run to him and hugged him. I wish I'd found any reason at all to stay home with my parents where it was always safe.' -- 'Childhood is about raw wounds, the scars the armor of adulthood.' -- The Friday Night Movie Nights is such a sweet tradition; I love this family. And oh god something so horrible is going to happen the foreshadowing is killing me -- 'Because a truth of which I'd only recently become aware was that for all his hatred of his brother, robbie was slowly becoming him. As sure as a hammer will a nail, his brother's fists were driving meanness into him, and I was as afraid of what my friend would become as much as he feared what Dougie already was.' Yeah sure I wasn't using my heart anyway go ahead and stomp on it. -- the girl in the pond is one hell of a creepy visual no wonder this kid is scared. LISTEN TO THAT FRIGHT KIDDO IT IS TRYING TO KEEP YOU ALIVE -- 'I want to believe I'm overreacting but if so, then why hasn't the girl moved since we got here? If you say fear, okay, she's afraid, but tell me, then: why is the water running up her body instead of down? Fear can't alter physics." GYAH -- HAVING FLASHBACKS TO THE THING NOW THE GOVERNESS -- Oh man, I remember the new-mom panic so hard. -- "Pheebs, you need to relax." Way to be helpful to your upset wife, dick. -- 'Sometimes the night vision would cut out during his staring episodes and when it would click back on, Harrison--with his pupils shining like the eyes of an animal caught in oncoming headlights--would be grinning a disconcerting, toothless smile.' so THAT image is going to haunt me forever -- 'It forced her mind into worst-case scenario mode, because what if the baby had spit up and was now choking to death while lying on his back? What if he'd managed to roll onto his stomach and wasn't able to breathe?" Hello there past me how're you doing? -- oh no open closet door this story is going to give me a heart attack I still have not recovered from Stephen King's The Boogeyman -- Feed your husband to the closet thing sweetie, you'll be better off. -- 'Everything was going to be fine.' *bites nails* -- ((I've heard a lot of wonderful things about Ania Ahlborn but this is the first thing of hers I've actually read; she's stellar)) URBAN MOON -- I want Pen's jacket, it sounds over-the-top and perfect. -- Oh Pen. We'll just send that boyfriend to get eaten by lake-monster-girl from KPB's story. -- The bird imagery in this is very fairy-tale. -- Hey no no just call your husband and say you'll be late do NOT leave Pen there alone -- He seems very nice. WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM. (hopefully nothing, don't let this be That Kind of story) -- Dammit it is -- Oh shit, no. Come on, there's enough bird references and all in here, at least let her morph into a swan and PECK OUT THEIR EYES -- "This isn't right. It doesn't have any feathers." SWEETIE. -- I will kill Tom and his friend and that officer and the ex and the internet mob and... oh, I know it ends on a more hopeful note but it just fills me with so much impotent rage that that almost doesn't matter, sadly. A CIRCLE THAT EVER RETURNETH -- The this-is-only-temporary mantra even as he settles further and further into his new situation is so unsettling. -- "Who the hell is Brad?" eeeeeeeeeek BURY ME IN THE GARDEN -- Poor Ivy. -- 'for the Crone' File under "this is not gonna end well" -- 'Jefferson would not have cowered under the threat of evil. And if I was intending to honor his courage, then neither should I.' Must. Protect. Small. Child. -- 'If someone must be surrounded, it might as well be with books.' Amen, kid. -- Owen's dad needs shot. I notice Mr. It Had To Be Done didn't offer *himself* for sacrifice THIS IS HOW IT GOES -- Well THAT'S one way to start a story thanks I'm traumatized -- I like that she also ends up on things like General Weird Shit threads. :) -- AUGH it's Invasion of the Body Snatchers but WORSE ((also this is a fantastic apocalypse idea)) -- 'For a century or so, the world was small enough not to be afraid of. It got smaller and faster and faster and smaller, 'til you could hold it in your hand. 'Til you could watch it from morning to night without ever having to go anywhere. That's never going to be true again.' -- 'Humans are amazingly adaptable creatures, which seemed like more of a compliment before I realized, post-Split, it was an equally apt descriptor for rats.' COMFORTABLE GODS -- 'this waiting room of a town' is a great phrase. -- This is going to rev up into extreme body horror isn't it -- I don't quite know what's happening yet but this whole atmosphere is unsettling as HELL -- "I remember myself and I don't care what's in this place. I want to find my husband and go away from here." *heart shatters* -- And the extreme body horror is here IN SPADES hiiiiiii nightmares FLY AWAY, LITTLE FLEDGLING -- 'She never got used to caring for children who were terminally ill, it felt so unnatural to watch their little bodies withering away. It sent her mind to a dark place.' oh look it's time to break for the night -- Okay. Next morning. Fortified by hot chocolate, I press on. -- ohhhhh nooooo Charlotte's the same age as my Kaylee I'm gonna go spike my hot chocolate -- "You're closer to hell than heaven." AAAAA -- "The first time, I took care of my own daughter" Then WHY would they ever assign you to a child's case your bosses suck -- "You're my favorite, Nurse Abbie. I want you to be here when I fly away." **sobbing** -- .....oh SHIT FORGET THE BURNING ISLE -- 'It was Jacob. He must have come back to check on me just before it happened.' oh no. ((and I don't know what exactly's going on here but the concept is 11o% terrifying)) -- Good man, McClusky. -- 'even though we're just following orders' Fuck you Blake. -- "I'm a soldier, son. No time for sentiment. I have to look after my own." Repeat previous judgment call. -- GET HIM KIDDO THREE LANES DEEP -- Ugh, these descriptions already have me feeling overheated and claustrophobic. Traffic jams with AC are bad enough; with none? Nooo. -- At least they don't have small children in the car. *Cujo flashbacks* -- LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER LUCAS -- 'She remembers the body in the trunk of the car.' wait WHAT THE SWITCH -- So a horror take on the Parent Trap. I'm here for this. -- "Abigale...honey, I need you to be honest with me. Where is your sister?" ohhhh dear -- 'Secretly, she wondered how much money she would inherit after this shit-show was over.' Shoulda let your granddaughter kill her, sir. -- 'She held the stuffed bear between them and, for the briefest of moments, Abby thought she saw the ratty old thing nod its head.' NOPE. THE RED ROSE -- "Hey, are you having fun?" she asked. "Loads," Ava replied sarcastically. Oh look it's me trying to socialize in high school. -- 'She needed a clear head. Tonight was going to be special for her regardless..." No wait, probably not me because Ava sounds like she's planning to kill people. -- 'Ava smiled, fingering the paring knife in her back pocket.' Yep, gonna kill people. -- okay there Leatherface YIKES -- This is a really interesting take on the killers-working-together trope. -- 'but unlike most dreamers, Ava didn't hesitate to make the necessary sacrifices.' I suppose that's a very, very generous way of looking at it. -- 'Cindy patted Ava's cheek. "That's right, darling. When you're ready to move the bodies, call me." I love how twisted this is. -- 'I've got you too, she thought.' CREEEEEEEPY (perfect) CAN WE KEEP HIM? -- Penny absolutely needs some consequences for that action, but on the other hand it's exactly the kind of prank that little kids who don't think things through play, and the whole 'you're a devil child' thing is a BIT much. -- "What do they protect us from?" Penny had asked mom after school. "Nothing, darling. It's just superstition." "But why would Dad take our star down? What's wrong with good luck?" "Nothing, but an updated exterior is worth more in resale value than good luck." We'll see how concerned you are about resale value when you have a possessed kid -- 'Mom and Dad did not like her exploring the woods on her own, but she did not like being grounded, which made breaking the rules seem fair.' This is such Kid Logic. Now stop investigating weird animal noises alone Penny, this is how people die in horror movies. -- 'For a moment, Penny thought that the cat's jaw was too loose, and that its mouth was opening in directions that it shouldn't, exposing a surprising number of needle teeth. Then she shook her head and got rid of those weird thoughts. The cat was so cute, and she didn't have any reason for the nervous feelings crawling like spiders down her spine.' YES YOU DO oh man I'm going to have nightmares about this, wake up and see one of my own cats, and die of heart failure. -- Penny, sweetheart. Please talk to your mom. -- 'The wind also played with loose boards on the shed, wiggling them like baby teeth ready to come out in a final, bloody yank.' -- Penny is going to need All The Therapy Forever. ALONE IN THE DARK -- 'It wasn't her first rodeo. She'd long since abandoned feeling guilty for driving with whatever illegal substance inside her system.' Please don't kill/hurt anyone else when you inevitably wreck. -- 'Everything was going to be fine. It was only a little buzz. People get away with this shit all the time.' And Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii would love to smack youuuuuuuuuu -- 'made her start to wish she'd just stayed the night at Em's' gee ya think -- OW MY HEART.
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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