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Reading a little something from the dark side for Halloween.
I love horror shorts and this well written anthology is loaded with innovative chills, frights and surprising plot twists. I was initially drawn to this book by the Jonathan Maberry story Mr Pockets: A Pine Deep Story, which expands upon his popular Pine Deep Trilogy. The rest of the authors equally delivered on their dark-sided mission of fright.
Grey Matter Press, the nascent publisher is owned and operated by Chicago area progressives and ad-wizards.
Somewhere just beyond the veil of human perception lies a darkened plane where very evil things reside. Weaving their horrifying visions, they pull the strings on our lives and lure us into a comfortable reality. But it’s a web of lies...
This book is their instruction manual. And it’s only the beginning...
This book is their instruction manual. And it’s only the beginning...
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Visions-Collection-Modern-Horror-ebook/dp/B00F8N6KJY
There are several reviews, all of which are 5-stars-
I picked up this collection because I was familiar with one of the authors and really enjoy his work. I was rewarded by discovering a bunch of new great authors whose work I will now be picking up. This was a well put together collection. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, all of the stories were worth reading. All 13 stories portrayed unique dark visions, yet they all worked together well. The collection was well balanced, nothing felt out of place. This is exactly why I pick up these collections and why more authors should be involved in them. Not only did I enjoy this reading experience, but I will now be reading work by 3 or 4 other authors whom I would have never discovered otherwise. This collection is definitely worth reading. Well done.
Another review, this one from Amazon UK-
It has been commented on that the short story is the perfect format for horror. Easily digested in half an hour or so and haunting the reader for some time after. This sentiment is not lost on the fiends over at Grey Matter Press who have gathered the great, good and grisly to bring you Dark Visions: A Collection of Modern Horror.
Assembling tales from award-winning authors and horror veterans such as Jonathan Maberry, Ray Garton and John F.D. Taff, Dark Visions is comprised of thirteen short stories, each with their own distinct feel and are worthy of praise individually. For me, the following tales were of particular note:
The collection opens with Mister Pockets: A Pine Deep Story by Jonathan Maberry: a tale of small-town America dealing with the aftermath of horrific events that may have returned to plague the town yet again. This neat little story was just enough of a baited hook to entice me to add the Pine Deep trilogy to my reading list!
Collage by Jay Caselberg narrates how one man struggles with the loss of a loved one and the lengths he goes to in order to keep her memory alive.
For me, The Weight of Paradise by Jeff Hemenway is the most striking tale within this collection; where scientists have found the cure for cancer but with truly deep and everlasting consequences.
Ray Garton's Second Opinion exposes the reader to the darker side of a writer's world.
Scrap by David A. Riley could easily have been a kitchen sink drama, depicting the lives of two brothers growing up in a poverty-stricken council estate in England. Riley chooses to inject a healthy dose of horror, elevating his story to a different, altogether more gruesome level.
The Troll by Jonathan Balog is in effect, a modern day cautionary fairytale, warning everyone to be careful what they wish for...
John F.D. Taff takes the reader back to college in Show Me, delivering a unique short story about gossip, speculation and the unveiling of people's deepest fears.
Of all the stories within this collection, Raining Stones by Sean Logan ought to be expanded into a novel in its own right. I really wanted to know more about this excellent tale of cults, prophecies and sacrifice in present day San Francisco, and to my mind, this desire for more is one of the hallmarks of a great short story.
Naturally, within an anthology of stories, there are what could be considered weaker tales. However, I would suggest that within Dark Visions, there is a story to cater for differing horror tastes and this title ought to grace your bookshelf or Kindle at your earliest convenience.
Assembling tales from award-winning authors and horror veterans such as Jonathan Maberry, Ray Garton and John F.D. Taff, Dark Visions is comprised of thirteen short stories, each with their own distinct feel and are worthy of praise individually. For me, the following tales were of particular note:
The collection opens with Mister Pockets: A Pine Deep Story by Jonathan Maberry: a tale of small-town America dealing with the aftermath of horrific events that may have returned to plague the town yet again. This neat little story was just enough of a baited hook to entice me to add the Pine Deep trilogy to my reading list!
Collage by Jay Caselberg narrates how one man struggles with the loss of a loved one and the lengths he goes to in order to keep her memory alive.
For me, The Weight of Paradise by Jeff Hemenway is the most striking tale within this collection; where scientists have found the cure for cancer but with truly deep and everlasting consequences.
Ray Garton's Second Opinion exposes the reader to the darker side of a writer's world.
Scrap by David A. Riley could easily have been a kitchen sink drama, depicting the lives of two brothers growing up in a poverty-stricken council estate in England. Riley chooses to inject a healthy dose of horror, elevating his story to a different, altogether more gruesome level.
The Troll by Jonathan Balog is in effect, a modern day cautionary fairytale, warning everyone to be careful what they wish for...
John F.D. Taff takes the reader back to college in Show Me, delivering a unique short story about gossip, speculation and the unveiling of people's deepest fears.
Of all the stories within this collection, Raining Stones by Sean Logan ought to be expanded into a novel in its own right. I really wanted to know more about this excellent tale of cults, prophecies and sacrifice in present day San Francisco, and to my mind, this desire for more is one of the hallmarks of a great short story.
Naturally, within an anthology of stories, there are what could be considered weaker tales. However, I would suggest that within Dark Visions, there is a story to cater for differing horror tastes and this title ought to grace your bookshelf or Kindle at your earliest convenience.
DARK VISIONS: A COLLECTION OF MODERN HORROR - Volume One includes thirteen disturbing tales of dread from some of the most visionary minds writing horror, SciFi and speculative fiction today. DARK VISIONS uncovers the truth behind our own misguided concepts of reality.
FEATURING:
MISTER POCKETS: A PINE DEEP STORY by Jonathan Maberry
Pine Deep is a typical small town, but one with a dark and troubled past. For young Lefty Horrigan, it’s just another ordinary day until there's a mysterious murder and he comes face-to-face with the town's very strange hobo. Has The Trouble returned to “the most haunted town in America?”
COLLAGE by Jay Caselberg
What would you do if you lost your one true love? Most of us will be faced with that question at some point. Unless we're the one lucky enough to get out first. Love hurts. But does it have to hurt this much?
THE WEIGHT OF PARADISE by Jeff Hemenway
For years, humans have tried to live without pain. For Alfie this means fighting off the leukemia that’s killing him, while hoping for a cure. But sometimes it’s important to be careful for what we ask.
THREE MINUTES by Sarah L. Johnson
Orphaned John doesn’t have a future. Awakened each night by the same horrifying nightmare, he takes to late-night swims in order to avoid the Dream Eater that plagues his sleep. His goal: hold his breath underwater, for only three minutes until his nightmares go away.
SECOND OPINION by Ray Garton
Author Greg hasn’t had a bestseller in years. But he believes he has just the right story to revive his career. In need of a fresh set of eyes, he shares it with a friend who offers him a bit more than a second opinion.
THE LAST ICE CREAM KISS by Jason S. Ridler
The mind of a disturbed child is filled with dark and dangerous hallways. There are passages that shouldn't be walked, doors better left unopened and rooms whose secrets are best never revealed.
SCRAP by David A. Riley
Childhood should be a time for innocent days spent playing in the sun. But for two abused brothers coming to grips with life on their new English estate, an adventure opens the door into a world of evil and sets in motion a chain of events from which there seems no escape.
WHAT DO YOU NEED? by Milo James Fowler
John wakes up in a motel room in the 1970s. But the problem is, it’s not the ‘70s. What is he doing here? How long has he been here? And whose is the terrifying voice on the phone?
THE TROLL by Jonathan Balog
Summer's over and the school year has begun. Marty's life will once again be filled with the drudgery of bullies and homework, until he hears a voice from beneath a bridge. Once he meets the troll, life becomes a lot more interesting.
DELICATE SPACES by Brian Fatah Steele
There are places the world over where the veil between the living and the dead is paper thin. It’s only when the dead choose to step through that it's a problem.
RAINING STONES by Sean Logan
A series of gruesome murders plagues San Francisco while memories of an absent father point an alcoholic reporter in a direction he may not want. Are Lonnie’s dreams mere hallucinations, or will they lead him down the path into a dark world of religious fanaticism?
SHOW ME by John F.D. Taff
There's something wrong with Joe, and everyone knows it. But that doesn’t mean this college junior is off limits when it comes to trying to get into his pants. Beware, once you know Joe, you won't be the same again.
THANATOS PARK by Charles Austin Muir
Horrors exist beyond the barrier of human perception. We sometimes hear them in the drone of a world humming along. Or we stumble upon them in the dark, unable to grasp the magnitude
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to help my dark-sided, durty liberul hippie publisher friends.
I have to find these collections! 
