More Words About Books

October 6, 2021

Short Story Review – There’s Nothing Left Without the Smoke by Osahon Ize-Iyama

A man wakes up amidst a pile of bodies in a forest. He’s filled with an irresistible desire to burn things. Not the trees, but everything around the trees, and burn he does. Some time passes. The man hasn’t been able to sleep since that night. He craves the smoke. He thinks only of fire. As the story go on...

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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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