Communion by Steve Stred is the second book of an ongoing trilogy – book one was Ritual (which we reviewed here) and the second book starts pretty much where book one finished. This proposed trilogy of books by Stred is dark, brooding and graphic as hell, with Stred giving us a slice after slice of
I’ve not read Alicia Hilton’s work before but after this short outing in Demain Publishing’s ‘Short Sharp Shocks!’ series this is something I am going to have to remedy – and double time. Hilton delivers two stunning short stories that are each beautifully woven together, the first, and the title story has us at the
It is early evening when a dishevelled and terrified twelve year old girl bangs on the door of a middle aged Irish priest. Her father has disappeared and we immediately find ourselves sharing the narrator’s intense anxiety. Conor O’ Callaghan’s first novel, Nothing on Earth, is a Gothic tale set in a barren half built
In the Introduction to Europa28, writer Laura Bates states that ‘women see things differently […] it comes as a shock, because our default setting is to see things through men’s eyes without ever realising we are doing so.’ I am more than inclined to agree. It’s along this premise that we find Europa28, an anthology
Christopher Beck gives birth to three different variations of horror within this short collection of his work, with many different tropes of the horror genre – first we have a tale steeped in an eeriness that as a reader we are unsure of the intentions of our protagonist, the second we see life in all
Well if you’ve found your way to this review you’re either a fan of Planet of the Apes, Folio Society or a consumer of fiction – well if that’s the case you are in for a mighty fine time. If you’re a space travelling lost soul and discovered this (a message in a bottle if
The motif of the Bird flies all the way through Anna Vaught’s novel, Saving Lucia. It encapsulates in its image a plethora of contradictory notions: freedom and constraint, strength and vulnerability, companionship and loneliness, elation and desolation. The birds that flit in and out of this novel offer both solace and sorrow to the characters
Dear Laura is one of the finest novella’s that I have read, the stylistic qualities on show are sublime, the prose is taut as if at any moment it’ll snap and whip the reader – maiming them at any given moment. The uniqueness of the story is another masterstroke with Amor dropping us right into
A librarian – Irena and Prince Kai – a dragon, are sent on a mysterious dangerous mission to acquire an old book from Mr Nemo, a well-known collector. Irene and her companion are told they must succeed to realign and stop probable chaos in their world. Irene and Kai are sent on this adventure to
Last Meal In Osaka & Other Stories by Gary Buller is a journey through various interpretations of horror, first we have Swashbuckle Cove which is your more childhood based horror where we are unsure if the things that are transpiring to our protagonists are real or if it is a coping mechanism for grief and
