It's been a while since I last posted anything from the Short Story Junky. In fact, since the last time, I've probably read well over 5,000 short stories, as I tend to read a dozen or more daily. So, this is by no means a comprehensive listing, but rather what I have read over the last month that I thought was noteworthy. Honestly, this collection of five books of shorts is perhaps the finest gathering of shorts I have read in quite a while. There's not a bad one in the bunch and I highly, highly recommend any, or better yet, ALL of these books to you. I'll keep the reviews to a bare bones minimum, because I'd rather you form your own opinions on them.
Maybe the best collection of single author short fiction I have read aside from Bradbury. I wouldn't say it's horror fiction, but perhaps bizarre fiction. Subtle hints of the strange. If you like Ramsey Campbell, you'll like this. Every story has a way of slowly inserting the reader deeply into the story, and then twisting it to the hilt. If you don't have it in you to read any of the other books on this list, I say you owe it to yourself to at least read this one. You won't regret it.
Madhouse is a shared world anthology, meaning it's full of short stories that all center around a central theme and setting. That setting being, of course, a madhouse. I love this book. Not only are there dozens of great authors contributing their little pieces of madness, but the illustrations that accompany each one by artist Aeron Alfrey are amazingly creepy. This is a true horror collection and is brilliantly done.
Another single author anthology that will not disappoint. It always amazes me how often I'll find a collection of stories by an author I've never heard of before and think to myself, why haven't I been reading this person's stuff until now? I very much enjoyed every story in this collection and will be looking for more of his work in the future, as I hope you will as well.
Anybody that reads this blog, all three of you, knows I'm a fan of this series by author and editor Troy Blackford. But I have to say, in my opinion, volume 4 is the best collection in this ongoing series so far. There are some really strange, weird, and fun stories within these pages. I never know what I'm going to read with these books, and to me, that's part of their appeal.
This is one of those anthologies that I know will become a classic. I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to proof read the original manuscript for Crystal Lake Publishing, to have read the words of some truly great authors whose work makes up this book. I can't wait for this collection to come to print. There is no link associated with this yet, as it's still in the process of being published. I'll be sure to add it when available, because this is a book all fans of horror fiction need on their shelf.
**Gutted is now available for pre-order at Amazon! Click the title above**
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