I love this cover art.
After my last short story I was given to review, I was pretty hesitant to get into Staring Into The Abyss. This book contains 20 short stories. All of them are written well, but I found some confusing. Thomas definitely wanted to let your brain come to its own conclusions about some of these stories.
The trouble with reviewing stories and movies in the horror genre is sometimes you can become slightly “numbed” to some contents. This compilation of stories are dark, and would be a good fit for someone first getting into horror. Not all horror is blood and guts, which you’ll soon find with the quick descriptions I’ve included for you guys.
Maker Of Flight – Alone in a room, a man is forced to make robotic blue birds all day, every day. Some people would consider that a vacation..
Steel-Toed Boots – If you’re trying to get your dick sucked by a male stranger, there’s always a chance it could be your pregnant wife.
Freedom – I think a suicidal just got saved by a prostitute.
Committed – Yet another reason for me to be paranoid when going to the post office.
Splintered – Allows you to skip ahead or keep reading a story about a guy whose relationship has gone sour, kind of a confusing one.
Fallible – If you fall asleep with a lit cigarette, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Stillness – Another confusing one. Guys alone in his apartment (or the entire city for that matter) you don’t know why, eventually he gets taken down by a group of storm troopers? Da fuck?
Fringe – The Russians implanted a microchip in your head, what the fuck has been going on in your life?
Underground Wonder Bound – This isn’t a horror story at all. This is about a couple going to an underground club to have sex with strangers. Hey, you’re into what you’re into I’m not here to pass judgment; just cause I’m not down with it doesn’t make it horrifying.
Amazement – Heroine will make you kill yourself and others.
Victimized – Some chick who has been abused her whole life enters a no rules fighting ring to fight her ex.
Twenty-Dollar Bill – Have you ever stopped and thought about whose hands that twenty-dollar bill in your pocket has touched? (not as entertaining as it sounds).
Interview – Babysitter killer, Quentin Tarantino style.
Paying Up – An absent father finally finds his daughter, as a stripper. Absolute horror story for a father, not for a 22-year-old female.
Ten Steps – A kid’s adulthood is affected by his childhood.
Honor – A wife decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps, and her brother kills her client.
Stephen King Ate My Brain – self-explanatory. My favorite of the bunch.
Twenty Reasons To Stay And One To Leave – A husband dealing with his failing marriage, caused by the death of their son.
Transmogrify – Can you technically be considered a lesbian if you’re a robot that looks female?
Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears – I think a 10 year old killed a werewolf that’s been fondling him every night.
Links to pass the time on lonely nights:
Kraken Press
Kraken Press Facebook
Kraken Press Twitter
Richard’s Website
Erebus Horror 