Tales in Sombre Tones by by Sean Walter and Karen Ruffles

Lock the doors, close the blinds and settle in with this anthology of illustrated horror stories. Velvet dark imagery leads you into haunting tales that will stay with you long after the lights have gone out. Drawing on folklore and nightmares, exploring modern versions of classic stories and bringing original, inventive new horrors, this is a collection that takes the reader on a stunning journey into the world just behind the shadows.

 

 

Tales In Sombre Tones contains 24 deliciously disturbing bite sized morsels of dark fiction that I tried to savor slowly like a box of expensive chocolates, but the urge for just one more got the better of me. Before I knew it I had consumed them all. The gorgeous artwork on the cover is just a hint of what's inside.

Each story begins with a full size illustration and I will allow you just a peek at what awaits you. I admit that upon receiving my copy I immediately flipped through to look at all the pictures and tried to imagine what each story was about. I do love illustrated horror! There are tales of vengeance and loss, unusual people, and supernatural creatures. My favorites were probably the stories of monsters, things under the bed, and strangers stumbling through the fog together while I wondered which would make it to their destination. I would highly recommend this anthology to all horror readers and those who enjoy dark fiction.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

 

 

 

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About the author

Sean Walter is an author living in Portland, Oregon. He writes primarily dark fiction and bizarre concepts.

 

Karen Ruffles is a reviewer for Screamfix and a self employed artist of horror, dark fantasy, wildlife and landscapes.

 

 

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 11 Edited by Ellen Datlow

Description

For more than three decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave.

Encompassed in the pages of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as:
Neil Gaiman Kim Stanley Robinson Stephen King Linda Nagata Laird Barron Margo Lanagan And many others

With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today’s most challenging and exciting writers.

 

I love short horror stories and although I have not read all 11 volumes of The Best Horror Of The Year, Volume 11 stands out as my favorite among the few that I have read. There are stories that are quite disturbing (Thumbsucker by Robert Shearman and The Donner Party by Dale Bailey for example) and stories that are frightening (Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester) But my absolute favorites were those that featured people away from their homes facing strange customs such as in "White Mare" by Thana Niveau When a father and daughter claim an inheritance and get caught up in a tradition far different than the Halloween festivities they are used to at home, and Golden Sun where a family on vacation will be forever changed.

There is something for every horror fan in these pages whether you are looking for thrills, scares or scifi.

I received an advance copy for review.

 

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Recursion by Blake Crouch

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.

Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

I have been a huge fan of Blake Crouch since long before any of his books were turned into TV shows and I won't be surprised if this novel ends up as a TV series too, a movie wouldn't do it justice.
Barry Sutton is a cop investigating False Memory Syndrome, a strange disorder that causes sufferers of this malady to recall in perfect detail memories of living an entirely different life than the one they really have. Nobody knows what causes it or whether it is possibly contagious but once someone has False Memory Syndrome those in their close social circles seem to come down with it as well.
Helena Smith is a brilliant Neuroscientist who has been working on way to preserve memories in hopes of helping her mother who is rapidly forgetting everything and everyone to Alzheimer's. Her technology is successful beyond anyone's imagination and can give users the ability not just to remember the past but to relive it. What could possibly go wrong? When Barry is given the "gift" of a chance to relive the past and be a better father, son and husband he will find out what can go wrong, on more than one timeline.
This book will blow your mind.
I received an advance copy for review.
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About the author
Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the forthcoming novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015’s #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado with his family.

Blood for the Dancer by Dallas Mullican

Join an adventure through Heaven and Hell in the first thrilling volume of Dallas Mullican’s fantasy epic- The Horde and the Host Trilogy.

BLOOD FOR THE DANCER

Dying and trapped in pain, Dustan Wheaton cries out to Heaven… but it’s a demon who answers.

Salvation comes at a price. Dustan must become the demons’ most deadly assassin, slaying angels on earth before they can recruit mortal souls into a war that has raged for eons.

With the demons fanning his hatred, Dustan is eager to kill those he blames for ignoring his prayers and allowing his parents to die. He travels the world destroying his angelic enemies until sent to face a mysterious woman.

The Dancer is unlike any foe Dustan has encountered. He finds himself inexplicably drawn to her, and for the first time, he questions his orders. Her claim that his entire life has been a lie threatens to shatter lifelong beliefs and sows doubts about his demon family.

Trusting this woman will mean turning his back on those who saved him and gave his life purpose, not to mention place a target on his back for angels and demons alike. Doubting her could mean the end of all humankind.

Angels and Demons and Wolf Dragons Oh My!
Blood For The Dancer blurs the line between good and evil in a most magnificent way.
This dark fantasy travels through time and mystical realms as we see Dustan grow from a sickly boy to something much more than a man as he trains to fight in a world where demons are not entirely evil and angels are not as virtuous as expected.
As a child, close to death, Dustan's mom prays for a miracle to save her child but what answers is no heavenly being. Dustan possesses an ability to recognize Angels as they hide in plain sight in human form. This is a most useful gift to the demons who want to utilize it and Dustan in their war against the angels.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
After spending twenty years as the lead singer of a progressive metal band, Dallas Mullican turned his creative impulses toward writing. Raised on King, Barker, and McCammon, he moved on to Poe and Lovecraft, enamored with the macabre. During his time at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received degrees in English and Philosophy, Dallas developed a love for the Existentialists, Shakespeare, Faulkner, and many more great authors and thinkers. Incorporating this wide array of influences, he entices the reader to fear the bump in the night, think about the nature of reality, and question the motives of their fellow humans.

A pariah of the Deep South, Dallas doesn't understand NASCAR, hates Southern rock and country music, and believes the great outdoors consists of walking to the mailbox and back. He remains a metalhead at heart, and can be easily recognized by his bald head and Iron Maiden t-shirt.