Book Review: Terror in the Shadows Vol. 9: Horror Short Stories Collection with Scary Ghosts, Paranormal & Supernatural Monsters by by Scare Street (Publisher), Ron Ripley (Author), David Longhorn (Author), Sara Clancy (Author), Bronson Carey (Author), Kathryn St. John-Shin (Editor), Michelle Reeves (Editor)

 I received a review copy through librarything's Early Reviewer's program.

This is the first horror short story collection I have read by Scare Street. This collection has seventeen stories by four authors. Many are set in the northeastern portion of the United States. Many of the characters meet grisly ends from the hands of the undead. A few stories have very current settings with references to the current pandemic, and the very last story Fatberg, while it didn't quite match up with the tone of the other stories in the book was probably my favorite as it had a little more humorous tone than the other stories. Like many short story collections that I have read the stories varied in strength. Some of these were very good, and others weren't as engaging in my opinion.

All in all though, this was an engaging collection of spooky stories, perfect for fall spooky reading.

Book Review: Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese

Read and Reviewed for Front Street Reviews.

Down to a Sunless Sea is a collection of fifteen short stories written by Mathias B. Freese. I have mixed feelings about this slim book. On one hand, there are a few gems in the collection. Then on the other hand, there are others that just seem to fall short of the mark. It took me a longer time than I usually take to commit myself to reading this book.

The author, uses his experiences and observations gained from twenty-five years as a clinical social worker and psychologist in crafting his stories. Most of them, are rather dark, keeping with the author’s dark view of humanity (something he has readily admitted to having). However, a few of the stories show both humor and a moving look at how we view life. In the introduction, Down to a Sunless Sea is promoted as “plunging the reader into uncomfortable situations and into the minds of troubled characters.” This is a very apt statement, but in my opinion a few of the stories just seemed abrupt, and the characters not given as much of an opportunity to establish themselves as they could. The stories, written over a thirty-year time frame delve deeply into the human psyche, and are excellently written if a bit raw and packed with emotion.

I found the story “Alabaster” to be one of most moving of the collection. This story introduces an old Polish woman and her daughter. The mother, a survivor of the Holocaust and her devoted daughter live in the neighborhood, but do not easily interact with their neighbors. They sit together, and alone, until their lives are brightened briefly by a small boy who is too young to know of the tragedy that they had lived through. He, after hearing from the old woman of her experiences during WWII, reads the tattoo she still carries out loud, wondering who 7859912 was. A person, the old woman can not tell him was herself as others had seen her, an undesirable, and not the alabaster armed young girl she once was.

The other stories I found enjoyable in the collection were:
“Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Father was a Nazi”
“Echoes”.
“Herbie”
“Mortise and Tenon”

Book Review: Bang Crunch by Neil Smith

Read & reviewed for Armchair Interviews

Bang Crunch is Canadian author Neil Smith’s debut collection of short stories. It contains nine short stories all about pretty ordinarily average people, who find themselves in rather unexpected situations. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened up the book, while snuggling up on my sofa, against the cold weather outside with a large mug of tea. What I found between the covers of this slim novel captivated me and left me wanting to read more by this extraordinarily talented author.

These are a few of the introspective stories in Bang Crunch:

Isolettes introduces us to a young set of parents dealing with the extremity early birth of their child. The story examines the frailty of the new life, and the struggle the young mother has with finding love for the incubator found, baby wrapped in tubes and sensors.

Green Florescent Protein is about Max, a teen struggling to cope with several new situations. He recently moved to a new home in Westmont. His mother, a wacky, sober ex drunk who talks to his father’s cremated remains (which are housed inside a curling stone), deciding to give herself a “life overhaul”. He also is struggling with a new feeling of attraction past friendship with his closest friend Ruby-Doo.

The B9ers What happens when a survivor of a benign tumor starts a support group for others in the same situation? The B9ers captures the struggle of a group of people trying to return to normal life after a close call. They don’t get the support and sympathy they need, since their tumors were not malignant, but still struggle along after surgery.

Bang Crunch Is a look into the life of a girl with Fred Hoyle’s Syndrome, which ages her a year a day.

Scrapbook Amy and her boyfriend struggle with the attack on a University German class that ends with the death of eight women. He was one of the survivors of the attack. This story delves into the what ifs? Why did this happen? The storry delves into the emotions of guilt and anxiety of being a survivor.

Book Review: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Muramaki

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is Haruki Murakami’s first collection of short stories since after the Quake (2002). It contains twenty – four short stories written between 1981 and 2005. The author mentions in his introduction, that his writing pattern alternates between novels and short stories, and never writing one type while working on the other. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is the first short story collection by Haruki Murakami that I have read. I’m a huge fan of his full length novels , and discovered during this reading, that my reasons for enjoying the author’s novels carries over to his short stories as well. I found this collection to contain whimsy magic. And a delightfully entertaining look at everyday life, and the emotions that power humans and their life experiences. Since the book has such a large amount of stories in its pages, it is hard to give each one a good look. Instead, let me tell you of a few favorites I have from the book.

Birthday Girl introduces the reader to the following idea; If you could have one wish granted, anything at all would you make it? The story is told by a woman recalling the strange events that happened on her twentieth birthday. While working on what was becoming a very disappointing birthday she stumbled into an extraordinary situation. While delivering an evening meal to the owner of the restaurant she worked at, she was given the choice of a gift that would change her life. He offered to grant her one wish.

In A “Poor Aunt” Story, the narrator tells a close friend how he wants to write a story featuring a “poor aunt”. In the process he wakes up one morning to find he has a poor aunt stuck to his back. Murakami explores what it is like for his writer to descend into a life where no one notices him, until one day she disappears. The story delves into human nature , and what drives us humans.

Blind Willow Sleeping Woman is an excellent collection of short stories written by a master of literature.