Tag Archives: Anthology

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Nightmares Unhinged

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My rating is an average of the 20 narratives included within its pages. It took me a rigorous four months to work my way through this book—a testament to my determination to reach the end, despite the challenges I faced. Many of the stories felt rather uninspired, making them a struggle to engage with, especially when even the shorter tales seemed to drag. A couple of times, I found myself setting the book aside in favor of other activities, as I was desperately in need of a break from the lackluster content.

Fortunately, the final four stories were engaging enough to carry me through the finish line, with a few memorable entries sprinkled in the middle that reignited my interest and encouraged me to persist. However, I must confess that I found these tales to be far from terrifying. Perhaps some readers might encounter a jump or two; however, they failed to evoke any genuine fear in me.

I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this anthology, as the experience of reading it felt like an arduous journey rather than an enjoyable escape. Interestingly, I had previously read works from only one of the featured authors, whose contribution I appreciated—even if it was quite mild in its thrill.

In summary, this collection may be worth a read if you’re curious about what these authors consider frightening, but be prepared for an underwhelming experience, as it appears they possess a notably low threshold for true horror. I’m ready to move on!

My rating: ✯✯¼

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Mark’s Merry Mayhem

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Because this is a short story collection I generally rate each story separately and then do an average. With that said, I give this 3.71 stars and have rounded it up to 4 for the sake of their system. I fell in love with the Zombie Fallout books after the first one that was given to me by my sister and have been enthralled ever since. This gives you plenty of the folks from the novels getting into general mayhem.

2 stars, ‘Fucking Pepperoni Pizza’. Michael decides to have a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza knowing that it does not agree with him. When it wakes him up in the night he starts to feel that something is not right. Then he sees something that he hopes is a pepperoni dream.

3.5 stars, ‘Mike in Trouble Again’. Tracy wants Mike to keep his promise to clean out the garage and he tries to get out of it. When he finally starts the work he manages to fall, hit his head, and end up in some alternate universe. Somehow he pulls BT with him and they are being stalked.

4 stars, ‘Michael’s Haunted Adventure’. Mike is asked to conduct a tour of a haunted location because of his own weird experiences with the paranormal. The Paranormal Examining Society has set up a tour of a haunted penitentiary and he is doing it for almost nothing. Turns out things are a lot more spooky than he planned for.

2.5 stars, ‘Through My Baby’s Eyes’. Mercury Jones was born to teenage parents who were forced into marriage. His father stayed around long enough to give him the bizarre name and then took off for parts unknown. His mother found solace in heroin and abandoned her son in that way. Raised by his grandparents he grew into a good young man but suffers from multiple ailments because of his fathers’ many vices. He has tried to live well for a long time and finally, it all catches up to him.

4 stars, ‘Mayan Prophesy’. Michael is trapped with Travis, Tracy, Henry, and Rylie (their bulldogs) in their home on Christmas Eve. The zombies come out of the woods and find their way into the basement where they start to make their way into the house proper. Mike does not have the time he did before and things look a lot more grim.

5 stars, ‘A Visit From That Bitch Eliza’. Okay, this is a poem set to a very familiar Christmas one. You will enjoy it.

5 stars, ‘Henry’s Story’. That bulldog who always seems to be in the right place at the right time gets his own little aside. He does what he does best, takes care of his human.

Most of the stories do not have a Christmas theme but there are two which do. I had been going for a Christmas novel but this still worked fine for me because I do love to deal with Michael Talbot and his penchant for trouble. You get Michael at his snarky best in pretty much each story not to mention BT who is always entertaining in his weird friendship with Mike. I think anyone who enjoys Zombie Fallout or any Mark Tufo novel will be happy with these tales.

My rating: 💫💫💫💫

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Some Will Not Sleep

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Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors by Adam Nevill

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


After reading all the stories and giving each an individual rating I have averaged it out to 2.41 stars for this book. Some of the stories were better than others which is always the case when reading any type of anthology or short story collection. The problem for me was that I did not really find any that I felt truly could be called horror, at least by my standards of the genre. There were some creepy moments in say “Where Angels Come In” or “Mother’s Milk” both of which I liked and a few others. Then you have the ones that I could not figure out why they were even included here like “To Forget and Be Forgotten” which I could not even describe after reading because it did nothing for me or “Florrie” which pretty much gave me the whole story in the first two paragraphs so that I had it figured out right there.

I still want to read something else written by this author since this was my introduction to them. The characters and locales were fine. I could feel for them in a lot of instances and so the writing was not a problem. I would recommend this because though it did not scare or really give me chills that might not be the case for others.



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Shadowed Souls

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To be fully honest I was interested in this book mainly because it had a story by Jim Butcher and I am always happy to find a new Dresden Files story. This is an anthology that contains 10 short stories all based around the same theme. Each story is based on the idea of good and evil, two aspects of the character and how complicated it can be to live as one or the other. The rating is based on the average of all 10 stories.

Cold Case by Jim Butcher: 3.5 stars
The story is about Molly Carpenter in her capacity as the new Winter Lady. Mab has sent her to collect a tribute from a small group of Fae, the Miksani, in Unalaska. There is something odd going on in the town and it may cause trouble for what she needs to do. Carlos Ramirez also happens to be in town which makes it even more clear that there is a problem in the town that could make the Winter Ladies job even harder.

The characters are just as well drawn here as if they were simply pulled away from their lives in Chicago and the never-never. The new characters are a little hazy and their place in the Fae world are not very clear. The story is enjoyable if a little slower than expected. There is also no appearance by Harry, this is strictly about our Molly and the lesson that Mab has to teach her.


Sleepover by Seanan McGuire: 3.0 stars
Elsinora ‘Elsie’ Harrington is half human/half succubus in a world that does not really know that supernaturals live among them. Elsie is at a roller derby match rooting for her cousin when she meets a pretty girl and does something totally silly, she follows her out without telling anyone. Before she can formulate a thought she is drugged and taken away by a group of teenage boys who want her to get back the sister of one of the boys.

The characters are a little dull and boring but they still manage to keep you reading. The story has not real snap to it but you can push through and find something interesting in what the are doing. Not sure it really fits the theme.


If Wishes Were by Tanya Huff: 2 stars
Vicki Nelson is a detective who also happens to be a vampire, though this does not seem to have any bearing on anything. When a woman comes to her about a lamp she has found which contained a Jinn, she wants help to set things right. The problem is that she is tricked into doing just what the Jinn wants. Vicki makes an attempt to handle it on her own with less than satisfactory results.

Truth be told this was one of my least favorite stories. I could see potential but it never materialized. I was bored with it almost from the start and it never got better for me.


Solus by Anton Strout: 2 stars
The Department of Extraordinary Affairs-Other Division goes to investigate the claims of ghosts in a castle. They found the ghost of a lonely young woman, Agatha Sedgwick, who was haunting the castle.

I was so bored I cannot even remember anything much about this story. I actually went to sleep while reading it so draw your own conclusions.


Peacock in Hell by Kat Richardson: 3.5 stars
Emily Ann Peacock is half dead and a master thief. She is sent into Hell to rescue Lenny Red Mane for a sketchy character named Peter Fiori. What she finds is though Lenny may be the one in Hell she is working for a devil. The thing is what can she do about it.

I really liked this story and the characters. They held my attention and made me like them and the situation they found themselves in. This is a good one.


Eye of Newt, A Dan Shambles Zombie P.I. by Kevin J. Anderson: 2.5 stars
Dan Shambles has a new client, a newt named Geck who comes to him because there seems to be a hit out on him. He was attacked and one of his eyes was taken out. He needs help and Dan goes on the case.

This was a nice story with a different kind of hero and a different kind of world.


What Dwells Within by Lucy A Snyder: 3 stars
Jesse Shimmer, a magic user and his ferret familiar Pal are outlaws in the magic community. When a friend of hers is compelled to kill himself and his girlfriend is taken Jesse steps in to help. She is very good at killing devils and this one needs it more than most.

Nice short story that holds your interest and makes you want to know more about the characters.


Hunter Healer by Jim C. Hines: 4 stars
Julia Chapel ran from a life that she could not live any longer. Now she is a Healer who has an assistant who is a hearth fairy, Hob. Terrence Chapel is Julia’s father and a Hunter, he is also the reason that Julia ran away. Julia had a twin sister, who was a very good Hunter, but now her sister resides within her making Julia double souled. When a Harvester comes to her it is only to gain her attention because it also leads a rogue hunter named Shard to her, and he wants to be the only one with a double soul.

Good story that draws you in and sets up the back story in a quick and effective way. The characters are well fleshed and give you a good look at who they are and can be. I enjoyed this one a lot.


Baggage by Erik Scott de Bie: 3 stars
Vivienne Cain, aka Lady Vengeance, former demon possessed super-villain turned edgy it-girl superhero turned fugitive from vigilante justice. She is a high functioning alcoholic who uses the drinking to keep her powers under control. V has been going to a gym working through some of her frustrations for a while when she senses a demon lurking about. As V becomes friends with a girl at the gym the demon gives glimpses of itself but never fully shows itself.

I really like the character of V but she is never as fleshed out as I would like her to be. None of the other characters are very fleshed out either and the story is a little thin. But it was still a good read.


Sales.Force. by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: 3.5 stars
Kaylee loses her fiancee, Dex, in a car accident after he has sworn that they would be together forever. Kaylee had not worked very much while she and Dex were together, her job is killing evil supernaturals. Kaylee goes back to work after only a week and her boss gives her an assignment that is not exactly up her alley, she is sent to investigate, not kill. When she looks into a love potion it may be the best thing for her.

Good story premise with characters who are likeable and make me willing to see more of in a longer version.


Impossible Monsters by Rob Thurman: 4 stars
“Infernally heroic Caliban Leandros takes a trip down memory lane as he deals with some overdue-and nightmarish vengeance involving some quite nasty Impossible Monsters”. Caliban has two lists, one that his brother made for him in order to keep him from doing something unforgivable and inhuman. The other list is one he has made for himself that has the names of people who have done things he feels are wrong but that he wants to give them a chance to change. It’s time for him to start working on that second list.

I totally like Caliban and plan to read the books which can give me a closer and deeper look into who and what he is.

Like with most anthologies this one has good, bad, and iffy stories in it. What did not work for me might work for someone else just as what I liked might not be as good for another. I would recommend this to anyone who likes urban fantasy.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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What Creeps In The Night

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what creeps in the nightWhat Creeps In The Night: A Halloween Anthology
by W.J. May , Chrissy Peebles, Kristen Middleton

This anthology contains three novels which are the first in their respective series. The novels fit well together and form a nice cohesive whole. This was a nice way to be introduced to authors I had not read before and series I might have missed otherwise. The rating is based on an average of the stars I gave each book individually.
‘Seventh Mark’ by W.J. May, 4 stars
I got sucked right into this story from the very beginning and could not stop until I had reached the end. The characters were great and made me believe in their existence as individuals. The story was logical and made perfect sense. The language used by the characters and the descriptive language are what you would expect from the parties.
Rouge Riding is a foster kid who is about to turn 18 years old and be thrust into a world where she must depend on herself. She has never really cared about her past, but there may things which could make her better able to cope. First she meets Michael in passing while she is walking through the cemetery before school starts. On her first day in school she meets Grace, who turns out to be Michael’s sister. These siblings have a secret that could be deadly to an outsider, but is Rouge really an outsider or does she have a role to play in their lives?
‘The Zombie Chronicles’ by Chrissy Peebles, 3.5 stars
This pulled me in for the beginning but started to drag a bit toward the middle. The characters were well written and well fleshed making them real enough to feel for them and what they were going through for the most part. The story was interesting and flowed well.
The zombie apocalypse came out of nowhere and caught everyone by surprise in a big way. Dean and his family were lucky enough to escape to an island where his grandmother already had a home, which was isolated and easily defended. But even with that there have been secrets kept that he finds out about. He has a sister, Val, and after she makes the trip across country to find them she is infected and on the island that is an automatic death sentence. Dean plans on saving her both from execution and from becoming one of the living dead. There is a possible cure and he steals it and gets his sister out of the city with the unwitting help of his brother.
‘Enchanted Secrets’ by Kristen Middleton, 4.5 stars
This was my favorite of the three stories because it seemed to have everything to make me take notice. The writing was excellent and drew me in right away with action from the moment it started. The characters elicit an emotional response because of where they find themselves. The situations though fantastic in many ways are things that could happen to anyone.
Twin sister witches who are just coming into their power are witness to something horrible on the night they were to be inducted into the coven. After that night Vivian and Adrianne take very different paths in their lives. They were very different as girls and as women the chasm has grown even wider. One sister has had twin daughters of her own but has left them ignorant to their heritage and the power that they will need to learn how to control. But before anything else they must face a threat that wants to take away not only there power but their very lives.
The one thing that bugged me about each of these books was that they ended on a cliffhanger which means if I want to know what happens next I have to buy the next installment. I really hate cliffhangers but have to admit they work. I plan to read the rest of each series because otherwise I will feel kind of cheated. I would recommend this anthology or the novels separately. These are all YA with some light violence and harsh language.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars on average

“They’re certainly cute,” I said. Then something clicked and the blood rushed to my ears. “Yes?” he asked, prodding me. I looked at him in shock. “It’s my mother!” Tyler smiled. “Bingo.” I shook my head. “But she’s not a twin. My mom told me that she was an only child.” He shrugged. “I would too if my twin sister was a ruthless and evil witch.” “Excuse me?” “Your aunt Vivian and your mother are very powerful witches.”

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Every Witch Way But Wicked

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every witch way but wicked

Every Witch Way But Wicked (A Stacy Justice Mystery #1.75 (Tale of Two Witches)

This was one of the better anthologies I have read. There was not one story that I did not enjoy and want to continue with. It was very cohesive in its theme, which was Halloween and witches, by having some of the best authors writing about the subject. There were several authors whom I already read such as Rose Pressey, Debora Geary, and Camilla Chafer. Then there are the authors I have never read before but will definitely be reading in the future.

Though every story shared a theme each one was quite unique in its delivery and tone. There were stories which were lighthearted in tone, such as “Cats and Dogs” by J.L. Bryan the story of a woman who is having trouble with a dog who is not ill but seems to be sad. Her neighbor gives her cookies and instructs her eat one a day to give her insight into what is wrong with her pet. Before she has a chance to eat them however her pets get into them with the most spectacular effect ever.

Then you have stories which are a little darker like “The Hazards of Desire” by Wren Emerson about a town of witches. In Desire all the women are witches and the men are bargaining chips. Zelda was once the first daughter and leader of the Coven, but now she is just a broken old woman treated as a pariah amongst the town people. She tells a tale to a young second daughter about true love in Desire and what happens when people have powers like they do. A cautionary tale of dark desires, love, and obsession.

There is something here for everyone. Enjoy a short tale from your favorites and find someone new to follow. You cannot go wrong this book.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I guess he was good-looking if you liked tall, dark, and handsome with a body that would make women unable to form complete sentences in his presence.