Hindsight’s 2020, ed. Tyrolin Puxty

Flavoured with but not tainted by the uncertainty and constraint of the Covid-19 pandemic, this anthology provides a series of engaging escapes from reality. This anthology collect nine stories inspired by the theme of “regret”, spanning a range of genres and styles. ‘I Should Have Known’ by Samantha Bryant. A young woman reminisces on why …

No Masks Here

Yesterday I came across an untitled poem by Upashna that refused to quite let go. Dusk pours her dregs of light on the weary bones draped in a corrugated yellow skin threading the silk suture A melange of reverberations in the air- a distinct chirp of hatchlings calling it’s dame at prey, the yellow tailed …

How to Stop a Vampire War in Six Easy Steps by Matthew S. Cox

Cox mixes the politely lethal conflict of medieval nobles or mafia dons with the unique threats and approaches of vampirism to create urban fantasy with pace and complexity. This novel is the eleventh volume of Cox’s Vampire Innocent series. The previous books have plenty of enjoyable misunderstandings and reveals... it would be a shame if …

Upon Boxes

Inspired by a conversation with my wife, I've added a "First in Series" category for reviews. While I feel it's a useful addition, it's rather self-explanatory and the time spent adding existing reviews didn't generate any engaging stories. So, here's a somewhat creepy short film to add some interest to the post: Stucco (Janina Gavankar, …

Haemopolitics

Whilst modern portrayals of vampires are as varied as modern society, the most common trope in Western media is still the male vampire biting female prey (whether willing or not). But why does this image endure so strongly when other classic monsters are portrayed without such a clear biological divide? Unsurprisingly perhaps, a combination of …

Write Like Hell: Kaiju, ed. Sentinel Creatives

Ranging across genres, locations, and time-periods, this anthology provides a variety of perspectives on the question “How might humans act if giant monsters were real?” This anthology contains twelve kaiju tales, united by the presence of some immense creature or creatures but spanning genres from horror to romance. ‘Big Bloody Ben’ by Adam Gray. When …

At the End of the World by Gabriel Garret

Garret blends wish-fulfillment female angels with fast-paced metaphysical horror to create urban fantasy with world-shattering consequences that maintains its character-driven focus. Jack lives a boring life with a boring job, his only escape sketching winged women and monsters. When he starts half-hearing voices, he thinks it’s stress or madness. Until one of the voices becomes …

Lovingly Crafted Fictions?

H.P. Lovecraft at all times presented as a rationalist (albeit potentially drawing upon now-discredited science), and described his creations in terms of a universe with principles we could not understand populated with beings that are alien rather than divine. So—barring a deep and sustained deceit—he didn’t believe he was writing about occult truths in the …

Hawthorne High by Jordan Elizabeth

Elizabeth transports the trappings of a classic ghost story to the tawdry dystopia of a US high school, amplifying the exclusion faced by those whose life includes—or publicly includes—other than the narrow list of socially acceptable things. Dylan Hatfield’s grandmother suffers from dementia. And, ever since moving to Hawthorne, Dylan has been followed by imaginary …

Joe Coffin, Season Two by Ken Preston

Preston’s alternate world of vampires stalking the dodgy backstreets of modern day Birmingham continues to deliver visceral action and moral choices with no good option. This book is the second in Preston’s Joe Coffin series. The vampire behind the loss of Coffin’s family has been destroyed by Coffin’s hand. However, the Slaughterhouse Mob’s club is …