Murderous trees! A truly bad day at the office! A not-so-idyllic beach! Ghosts whispering from beyond the grave! An evil mail slot! Malevolent forces are at work in The Shivers Collection of five short stories from the biggest names in horror. As with most short story collections, some stories wereContinue Reading
If you, like me, love the televised adaptations of Lovecraft because you just can’t wade through the thick formal Lovecraft prose, this book will be a treat. All the creepy atmosphere and thought-provoking plots with none of the convoluted wordplay to untangle. In the Mad Mountains definitely gives off VictorianContinue Reading
Technical Slip contains 14 excellent short stories and one tedious novella by the author of The Midwich Cuckoos, the basis of the Village of the Damned movies. The stories vary from science fiction to fantasy and even to comedy. All would be excellent choices for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Indeed, Jizzle,Continue Reading
With ten eerie tales, Alley is a fascinating look into Japanese fears. With serial killers, ghosts and demons, most horror sub-genres are represented. My favorite story, Blessing, even has a mystery to solve within it. Many of the stories are unique enough to be remembered long after the story isContinue Reading
Greatest Hits is a collection of award-winning short stories by the great twentieth century science fiction writer, Harlan Ellison. If you are jaded and think you have read every plot imaginable, read some Harlan Ellison. The man was completely bonkers! His stories are totally original. They do take some gettingContinue Reading
How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi Is a compilation of various nerd night presentations given around the world by nerds to nerds. Want to read about interesting sea creatures? Sex? Health? Death? Tech? Math? They are all here…plus much much more. Each chapter is a short 5-10 minute read.Continue Reading
The author of the great horror mystery book, The Chalk Man, writes eleven short stories showing us A Sliver of Darkness. The tales were mostly written during the recent Covid pandemic and so are apocalyptic in nature. However, many also speak to the resilience of mankind. I usually don’t likeContinue Reading
Hotel California contains eight mystery stories not all of which are set in California. In a clever homage, the story titles are the names of the songs on The Eagles album Hotel California. The stories express all the different sub-genres of mystery. The stories vary from a new Jack ReacherContinue Reading
Who doesn’t love reading a locked room mystery? It’s fascinating how each author in this collection thought of a unique and intriguing impossible murder scenario. And then quickly unveiled their witty solution. Surely, one or more of the fourteen tales within the Golden Age Locked Room Mysteries will tickle yourContinue Reading
There are eleven adult Grimm Tales from the Cave. They are about sins and sinners. But all have a moral in there somewhere just like the original Grimm tales. “When you reach hell, I shall serve you a meal. What will be the meat? What will be the spoon? AndContinue Reading
With twenty horror tales, The Best of Dark Terrors has plenty for everyone. There are famous authors like Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman alongside relatively unknown writers. While all the tales involve the paranormal, not all are scary. Both humor and pathos are also included. Whether you areContinue Reading
Containing twelve hard science fiction stories, The Truth and Other Stories is like peering into the future through the lens of the past. Most of the stories were written in the late 1950s to mid-1960s with one from 1976 and another from 1993. Many are amazingly prescient with their guessesContinue Reading
With sixteen paranormal tales, Weird Women Vol 2 is sure to contain something that will enthrall you. Famous female writers, like Harriet Beecher Stowe, George Eliot, Edith Wharton, and Zora Neale Hurston are included among the forgotten female authors. The tales vary in length from eight to forty-four pages. TheContinue Reading
Halloween Party Murder is what you get in each of these three cozy mystery novellas. All three are part of a larger series: Lucy Stone Mysteries, Hayley Powell Food and Cocktail Mysteries, and Maine Clambake Mysteries. First up, Lucy decorates a decrepit mansion for her charity. Each room is setupContinue Reading
When a Stranger Comes to Town nothing good happens, at least in these nineteen varied tales. The book has many familiar names among its authors. Michael Connelly, Joe R. Lansdale, Lisa Unger, Michael Koryta. Alafair Burke and Joe Hill are some of the best known. As with all short storyContinue Reading
The Intellectual Devotional presents 365 short chapters displaying what humanity has learned, created, and achieved during its time on Earth. The book covers seven subjects— one for each day of the week. Monday-History Tuesday-Literature Wednesday-Visual Arts Thursday-Science Friday-Music Saturday-Philosophy Sunday-Religion After taking every Appreciation class offered at my community college,Continue Reading