Tag: gothic

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Peripheral Visions

Publisher’s Description

Peripheral Visions is a unique, award-winning reference collection that includes all of Robert Hood’s 44 ghost stories to date, three of them especially written for this volume. These memorable tales display Hood’s uncanny ability to make the fantastic real, to embrace weirdness and create human characters whose lives – both inner and outer – haunted by mortality, are laid bare and revealed to be our own worst nightmares. Ranging from melancholy reflection on life and death, through disquieting tales of dark humour and vengeance, to chilling visions of ghostly apocalypse.

Hood’s stories are sure to draw you into a terrifying world that in the end is revealed to be irrefutably our own. Though many of these stories draw on the traditions of the past, they are far from traditional in approach.

As you turn each page remember this: not everything here is as it seems. There’s always something more, barely glimpsed, out there on the periphery.

Summary

I recently read the limited edition three volume collection Peripheral Visions: The Collected Ghost Stories by Australian horror author Robert Hood.

This limited edition collection spans forty years of Robert Hood’s ghost story writing with 44 tales covering six different themes of haunting in the horror genre. There are many brilliant stories within each section that focuses on a variety of themes including Haunted Places, Haunted Families, Haunted Minds, Haunted Youth, Haunted Vengeance and Haunted Realities. Some of my favourites included Haunted Places, Haunted Minds, Haunted Youth and Haunted Vengeance. The scope of aspects that Hood delves into in these stories includes the deeply psychological, historical and, at times, what felt like a deeply personal venture in the haunted mind.

Review

Peripheral Visions is a sweeping three volume collection of divided into themes on the horror genre of Haunting. There are some of the most unique, darkly humorous and chilling ghost stories I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Hood delivers a masterclass in ghost stories with brilliant prose that keeps the pace of this three volume collection moving with a deft storyteller’s hand.

Conclusion

This was a fabulous, wide-ranging collection of ghost stories and hauntings by one of the best horror authors in the business. Highly recommended!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Diversity Grants & Awards

I’m really excited to announce I’ve been nominated for the Ditmar Awards for Best New Talent and Best Novella for Bluebells – an LGBTQI, disability dystopian alternate history horror.

I’m a recipient of the 2023 Horror Writers Association Diversity Grants to allow me to continue research for my HWA mentorship project with Lee Murray. The final piece will be an alternate history, gothic horror, GBTQI, disability with Fae versus gangsters in 1920s Sydney.

It’s a great time to be writing with my heart, soul and passion. Very excited to see where diversity in horror and dark fantasy can take us!

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Don’t Fear the Reaper

Publisher’s Description

Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted Serial Killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.

Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12th, 2019, a Thursday.

Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.

Summary

I’ve recently read Don’t Fear the Reaper (Indian Lake Trilogy, #2) the sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw by US Horror author Stephen Graham Jones.

Don’t Fear the Reaper returns us to the town of Proofrock and to the protagonist Jade Daniel’s – four years after court trials – she’s changed a lot and finally cleared of the crimes from the Fourth of July Massacre. In the minds of some Proofrock residents, she’s still to blame for the Fourth of July Massacre. Others still, wait for the return of Indian ghost witch, Stacey Graves. But Jade is fairly certain that venegful ghost is finally in her watery grave. She hopes.

Proofrock is gripped in the worst ice storm of a century. The FBI have been busy trying to convict a Native American serial killer by returning to the scenes of his crimes across many states hoping for bodies of the victims still missing. But Dark Mill South has other plans. Once the FBI are inevitably caught in the snowstorm, he makes his escape and heads for…Proofrock. The body count starts piling up quickly and soon Jade and a few former school survivors of the Fourth July Massacre begin to wonder just how many killings are due to Dark Mill South or is someone else taking advantage of his presence?

Review

Graham-Jones writes a compelling and more rigorous sequel as though he’s found his ground, the audience are running with him as we’re led through the icy killing grounds of Proofrock once more. The pace is fast, the killer (or killers) are quick and cunning. Graham-Jones writes a brilliant crime story as well as a horror-infused homage to the slasher form. A steadily building pace is jerked into rapid action with a few gruesome but effective splashes of violence. Graham-Jones is a master of keeping the equilibrium perfectly poised.

Conclusion

A thrilling and suspenseful homage to the slasher genre with genuine characters and masterfully written. Great for fans of dark fiction, horror, slashers, suspense, mystery and thrillers. A highly recommended read!!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Attic Tragedy

Publisher’s Description

Sylvie never called them ghosts, but that’s what they were—not that George ever saw them herself. The new girl, Sylvie, is like a creature from another time, with her old-fashioned leather satchel, her white cotton gloves and her head in the clouds. George watches her drift around the edge of the school playing fields, guided by inaudible voices.

When George stands up for Sylvie, beating back Tommy Payne and his gang of thugs, it brings her close to the ethereal stranger; though not as close as George would have liked. In the attic of Sylvie’s father’s antique shop, George’s scars will sing and her longing will drive them both toward a tragedy as veiled and inevitable as Sylvie’s whispering ghosts.

Summary

I recently read The Attic Tragedy by British-Australian author J. Ashley Smith.

The Attic Tragedy is short but powerful tale exploring coming-of-age and a gender diverse society that is unwilling to accept George, the protagonist for themselves. Only the strange, waif-like Sylvie who’s father owns an antique store befriends George. The allure of Sylvie is her seeming eternal sadness but acceptance of life and especially her claims to hear the voices of ghosts from the antique objects she touches.

Mesmerised by this different and dreamy girl, George’s requited love slowly turns sour as the years pass and Sylvie tries to be less like her true self while George embraces their own gender diversity. A bond forms between Sylvie’s father and George as they mourn the loss of the Sylvie they loved. In the end, George must confront the path Sylvie had chosen and finds themselves more and more of the periphery of her life while she has remained central to theirs.

Review

Ashley-Smith crafts a beautiful, sad but engrossing tale that resonates strongly with honesty and integrity. The eerie supernatural background to The Attic Tragedy brings a quality of otherness and a sense of belonging in a liminal space- the protagonist is neither one thing or the other. The object of their affection is interwoven into the supernatural fabric until – when pulled free from it – there is a sense of loss and especially identity. Slyvie is not the woman her father or the protagonist remember. Ashley-Smith tells a stunning tale of loss, memory, pain and coming-of-age amid a shifting society and as the protagonist finds the transformed Sylvie is more like a faded, ghost of who she was, the sense of loss is profound and far-reaching.

Conclusion

A short but stunning coming-of-age tale, a gothic delight with supernatural themes woven throughout and a profound and powerful read. Highly recommend!!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Coyote Songs

Publisher’s Description

In this mosaic horror/crime novel, ghosts and old gods guide the hands of those caught up in a violent struggle to save the soul of the American southwest. A man tasked with shuttling children over the border believes the Virgin Mary is guiding him towards final justice. A woman offers colonizer blood to the Mother of Chaos. A boy joins corpse destroyers to seek vengeance for the death of his father.These stories intertwine with those of a vengeful spirit and a hungry creature to paint a timely, compelling, pulpy portrait of revenge, family, and hope.

Summary

I recently read Coyote Songs by US author Gabino Iglesias after several recommendations and it did not disappoint.

Coyote Songs is a series of independent short stories that feature a family and the introduction of violence into their lives. The shattering of a child’s innocence with unexpected violence drives him to seek revenge. The mother becomes a symbolic portrait of vengeance incarnate and the devastation of a hopeful life. Intertwined is the coyote who assists the desperate to cross borders but becomes increasingly determined to fight back against the abuse of those he has aided to cross into a ‘better life’. The drive for vengeance and violence in both main story arcs intertwine in a compelling resolution.

Review

Coyote Songs was a masterpiece of a novel. The novel consists of a series of stories, often with interlinking characters and an overall story arcs that follows the noir theme of violence and struggle in a horrorscape of a city. Here, hope and revenge are intertwined in a gritty tale of a family’s drive towards increasing violence and revenge. Igleasias is a compelling storyteller and brings these worlds of crime and the supernatural into a thrilling novel.

Conclusion

A thrilling dark fiction combining gothic horror, ghosts, crime, gritty noir, politics and ancient gods. A fantastic and important read. Highly recommended!!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Tide of Stone

** I received an ARC for an honest review **

Publisher’s Description

The Time-Ball Tower of Tempuston houses the worst criminals in history.

Given the option of the death penalty or eternal life, they chose eternal life.

They have a long time to regret that choice.

Summary

Tide of Stone is a dark fiction novel by Australian horror author Karron Warren.

The protagonist of Tide of Stone is a young woman, Phillipa who has lived her entire life in the town which hosts the Time Ball Tower off-shore – a prison for the worst killers and depraved criminals who death was judged too easy to pay for their crimes. Instead, they are granted eternal life and imprisoned in the Time Ball Tower.

The town supplies the keepers (those who attend the prisoners in the Tower for one year) and has produced some of the wealthiest, famous, talented and influential ex-keepers in the history. Phillipa longs to be famous and remembered but is she willingly to do what it takes to join those keepers who have obtained glory? The dark truth of Tempuston and the Time Ball Tower might be too much for her.

Review

Tide of Stone combines first-person narrative and journal entires that work extremely well with Warren’s skilful crafting of a horrifying tale, the naivety of the protagonist for what awaits her as keeper in the Time Ball Tower is pure storytelling magic. The potential for darkness in the hearts of all is laid bare – and the prisoners might not be the worst of them. Warren’s envisaging of the town of Tempuston and all that depend on the evil in humanity locked away in the Time Ball Tower is a morally challenging and thought-provoking read.

Conclusion

A must-read for fans of psychological horror, dark fiction and alternate history. Highly recommend!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Dreamwhispers

** I received an ARC for an honest review **

Publisher’s Description

Take a journey into the swirling abyss of fever dreams, starry nights, and amethyst lights. Driven by lyrical prose, captivating storytelling, and pure emotion, dreamwhispers sets sail through one writer’s imagination with an unflinching stare into the condition of human beings where the shadows are sharper, and the darkness holds promises of pain.

Summary

I recently read Dreamwhispers, a collection of dark fiction by Canadian author M Ennenbach.

The collection spans contemporary dark fiction, poetry and some pieces are unique reimagining of classic folktales and legends. Some of the highlights which were stories that particularly resonated with me included the poem “Psyche and Eros”, short story “Nervous Breakdown”, “I saw it from the upstairs window” and the dark reimagining of the Grimms fairytale “Piper”.

Review

Ennenbach provides a raw, heartfelt and honest journey into a myriad of different aspects of dark fiction- from the intensely personal to the imagined realms of fairytales. Well-written, this is a beautifully told collection of dark fiction.

Conclusion

A great collection of unique and varied aspects of dark fiction. A recommended read!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nona the Ninth

Publisher’s Description

Her city is under siege.

The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona’s not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger’s body, and she’s afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face…

Review

I recently read Nona the Ninth (Locked Tomb, #3) by New Zealand author Tamsyn Muir.

Nona the Ninth follows from Harowhark the Ninth which saw both Harrow and Gideon end in dire circumstances. We now follow Nona in a child’s body but without any memory of flicker of Harrowhark inside except for her dreams with John (God). Fled to a desecrated planet on the brink of civil war, Nona is cared for by the remaining cavillers of the Nine Houses.

But as things become more complicated on the planet and necromancers made public, Nona and her ‘family‘ fight their way to a shuttle in aim of opening the Tomb and restoring Harrowhawk’s memories to Nona’s body. But opening the Tomb that must never be opened has great risks of waking its sleeping occupant and guardian.

Final Thoughts

Nona the Ninth was cleverly written, believable characters and the chaotic world. While maintaining some of the esoteric style throughout the other books, I enjoyed this almost as much as the first book.

Conclusion

Highly recommend for lovers of science fiction particularly space operas. The continuation of the Locked Tomb series is a must for anyone who enjoyed the flamboyant style of Gideon the Ninth. A must read!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Hell Hounds

Hellhounds are demons or evil spirits that take the form of a dog.

Throughout history and in numerous cultures there are creatures known as hellhounds which appear in mythology, legend and folklore – sometimes as guardians of forbidden areas or as sinister loners that spread death and misery wherever they tread.

A Hellhound is not a demon that takes the form of a wolf – this is more accurately known as a Warg or Worg – as the two terms are likely interchangeable.

Hellhounds date back at least as far as Ancient Greece with the legend of Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the Underworld. The fearsome beast appeared in one of Hercules’ twelve tasks and remains a popular figure in fantasy fiction.

In the British Isles, the ghostly black dogs – often of inhuman size – is an ancient and almost always warning of death. The creatures are embodied in legendary monsters like the Black Shuck which served as the inspiration for the Hounds of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Japan has stories of the shapeshifting Kitsune, which were technically foxes. Koreans had an even more evil fox-spirit known as the Kumiho, which was almost always destructive, chaotic, and evil.

The Hellhound is a supernatural dog found in folklore. There is a wide variety of ominous and supernatural dogs occurring in mythologies around the world. The hellhound commonly has black fur, glowing red, or, sometimes, yellow eyes, with super strength or speed and ghostly or phantom characteristics, a foul odour, and sometimes even the ability to talk.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Online Live Book Launch!!

Join me and author of Rarkyn’s Familiar Nikky Lee for a virtual book launch March 9th 19:30-20:30 AEDST (+11:00 UTC) for The Devil and the Loch Ard Gorge. A belated launch due to my extended illness but it’s finally time to celebrate this gothic horror novelette.

The virtual launch will be held live on Facebook and will remain available as a recording on my Facebook page. Nikky and I will discuss all things gothic horror, hauntings, traditional gothic literature and the history behind the ill-fated Loch Ard shipwreck in 1878 off the infamous southern Australian shipwreck coast.

The virtual book launch can be accessed here.

SIGNED copies of the The Devil and the Loch Ard Gorge are available for purchase via my Shop or kindle and paperback on Amazon here. SIGNED bookplates are also available from my Shop for overseas customers where postage from Australia is unfortunately prohibitive.

Hope to see you there and join the online discussion or via the discussion board!