Author: Ben

October 5, 2021

Short Story Review – Hundreds of Little Absences by Aimee Ogden

I love cheesey horror movies. My wife and I went to see Insidious 2 on our first date. Neither of us had seen Insidious 1. Sometimes I get so into the fun of watching and reading silly horror that I forget just how powerful horror can be when it’s done seriously and done well. Hundreds of Little Absences by Aimee...

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October 4, 2021

Short Story Review – Fading Memories by Michael Bracken

[Content Warning: This one is pretty much erotica] On Twitter I announced that I had a personal goal of reading one short horror story for every day in October. Part of the reason I wanted to set that goal is that I really like fiction magazines. I don’t feel like the short fiction market gets a lot of attention from...

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October 3, 2021

Short Story Review – Double Dare by Serena Jayne

Double Dare by Serena Jayne is a modern twist on a classic horror formula. A person desecrates a grave, corpse, or some other artifact of a dead person that is part of their proper funeral rites. The person is then punished for this transgression, usually with some supernatural curse. In this story a therapist, who is in desperate need of...

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October 2, 2021

Short Story Review – Darkness in August by Bentley Little

[Content Warning: Rape] There’s a kind of subgenre that crops up from time to time in short form horror fiction. I don’t know if it has a proper name, but I’m going to call it “Literary Fan Fiction.” I’m sure it happens in other genre fiction as well, but in horror there are a lot of stories in which a...

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October 1, 2021

Short Story Review – The Wemategunis by James Edward O’Brien

The Wemategunis is a story about a creature from Native American folklore (pronounced: weh-mah-teh-guh-neese) that struck me as being similar to the huldufólk from Icelandic folklore. Our main character, Otto, is desperate to be rid of a supernatural entity that has been lurking in his apartment at night. The story skips over the traditional horror trope of a modern intellectual...

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August 7, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of The Wrack by John Bierce

The Wrack by John Bierce My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. I also completely understand why this book seems not to have worked for many of my fellow reviewers. It’s not a traditional narrative with characters who have arcs. The main focus of the book is The Wrack,...

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July 19, 2021

The Letters of Tolkien

I recently read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. I did a Goodreads review of the book that may help a fan of Lord of the Rings, or even just someone who is curious about Tolkien, decide if the book is for them or not. On the blog, I wanted to talk a little more about how the book made me...

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June 29, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Sandkings by George RR Martin

Sandkings by George R.R. Martin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite George R. R. Martin short stories/novellas. It’s done in the style of a typical Twilight Zone episode, which is no coincidence as Martin worked on an iteration of that show as well. What really sells the story for me is the concept of...

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June 27, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Ghost Hunters Adventure Club

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau by Cecil H.H. Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars Literary juggernaut, Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills has made a transition into young adult literature that is delightful as it is surprising. Many thought that the failure of his magnum opus “Cerberus, From on High” would be a career ender,...

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June 23, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of Promise of Blood

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan My rating: 3 of 5 stars There’s some interesting things going on in this book, but ultimately it is not my thing. I’ll admit a slight bias here in that I have never liked a book where the narrative and prose take a back seat to the magic system. I’d happily play an RPG...

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