Cold, Black, & Infinite by Todd Keisling

 

Down here in the dark lies a vast and twisted landscape where the wicked, wistful, and profane coalesce. This is where the lonely and lost face their demons, where anxious paranoias are made manifest, and where mundane evil wears a human face. For readers, the sixteen stories found within Cold, Black, & Infinite serve as a harrowing glimpse into the nightmarish imagination of
Todd Keisling, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Devil’s Creek and Scanlines.

Visit a town where the residents are slowly being replaced by mannequins in “We’ve All Gone to the Magic Show.” Go for a drive and discover your favorite radio host is still transmitting from beyond the grave in “Midnight in the Southland.” Laugh at Karen’s misfortune when she learns necromancy isn’t the best way to raise a child in “Afterbirth.” And uncover the true motivation behind one man’s historical betrayal in “Gethsemane.”

Featuring three previously unpublished stories and an introduction by Bram Stoker Award-winner John Langan, Cold, Black, & Infinite establishes Keisling as a leading voice in contemporary indie horror.

Cast your doubts aside and take the plunge. Touch the abyss. It’s waiting.

I loved Devil's Creek by this author so I was super excited to see this collection.

These short stories are not all that diminutive in size. They are long enough to pack sufficient meat on their bones to make a filling and gory meal.

There were a couple of holiday horrors that I especially enjoyed. If you ever watch those Hallmark Christmas romance movies and think how much better they would be if only everyone would get their brains bashed in or that holiday shopping would be less boring if zombies came to the mall, these may be your favorites too.

Some of these stories may be too disturbing for some readers but if you like your fiction very dark this is for you.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance

4 out of 5 stars

About the author

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The New Mother by Nora Murphy

 

Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

 

Natalie Fanning has just been released with baby Oliver. Maternity leave is not going as well as she hoped. Her husband is about to return to work, She's ok with that because she feels he is no help anyway. Baby Oliver only wants her. It's pretty clear early on that Natalie is suffering from postpartum depression. She doesn't realize it, and worse, nobody who could be of any help to her notices it. 

Unfortunately for Natalie, there is a neighbor who sees the signs. He knows she is vulnerable and he plans to use her for his own nefarious plot. He's no stranger to using women, whether it's to support his lifestyle or to meet his other needs, but his plan for Natalie is much worse than he's done to others.

This is a book that every mom can relate to. Those first few days home from the hospital, the pain, the exhaustion, the fear of making a mistake, the weight of knowing you are entirely responsible for another life, the unsolicited advice. The author paints a realistic picture that brought those memories to life for me. I had a lot of sympathy for Natalie, but not so much for her husband who was too wrapped up in his hurt feelings to notice that his wife needed help until it was almost too late. I think this is a book that will appeal more to those with children than without. It definitely has me nodding and agreeing and feeling seen. Loads of suspense made this a fun read.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Minotaur Books

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Mother: Tales of Love and Terror Edited by Christi Nogle and Willow Becker

 

Mothers protect, nurture, love, and adore...but what if they are more than just their title? In these 33 stories and poems, we examine what motherhood is and explore mothers of all kinds. With over 300 pages of horror, dark fantasy, science fiction, and poetry, we introduce the motivations and compulsions that make up a mother—both good and evil. Whether they are robot mothers, evil stepmothers, or sociopathic mothers-to-be, these stories will illuminate what's really going on inside of that woman we think we know so well...Mother.

 Has there ever been such a paradox as a mother? A woman who gives of herself until she has nothing left, and then gives some more.

Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out for motherhood, and some you will meet in this book have nothing to give but ugliness, evil and violence.

Powerful stories, poems and illustrations with the theme of motherhood fill these pages. Motherless children and childless mothers abound. But you won't find any Carol Brady or June Cleavers here. Mothers in these stories give life, take life, and ruin lives. There is ugliness and violence in these stories of the bonds of motherhood and of severing those ties. Fathers don't play much of a role in these tales, but occasionally an unusual father results in an exceptionally special child or even a litter of them. Some of my favorite stories involved very strange children.

If you are a fan of dark and weird fiction this anthology is for you. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Weird Little Worlds

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Contents

“The Sire,” by Steven Rasnic Tem
“Last Leaf of an Ursine Tree,” by Hailey Piper
“Of a Thousand Arms and More,” by Ai Jiang
“Passed,” by Elizabeth R. McClellan
“Mother Made Cake,” by Nicoletta Giuseffi
“Puerperium,” by Donyae Coles
“Pelican,” by Gemma Files
“Fracture,” by Mercedes M. Yardley
“When Auntie’s Due,” by Sarah Read
“Vé’otsé’e (Warpath Woman),” by Shane Hawk
“Stone’s Blood,” by Nick Bouchard
“Shields,” by Christina Sng
“The Bone Child,” by Ryan Cole
“The Wives of Tromisle,” by Dan Coxon
“Duties Terrible and Dear,” by John Langan
“Worry Dolly,” by Nadia Bulkin
“(sub)Maternal Instincts,” by K.M. Veohongs
“720º,” by Steve Toase“Number ONE,” by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
“Here in the Cellar,” by R. Leigh Hennig
“She’s Untouchable,” by Renee Cronley
“Lida’s Beach,” by Stephanie Nelson
“Instruments of Bone and the Flesh Songs They Create,” by Nikki R. Leigh
“Transformative Love,” by Tehnuka
“The Withering Depths,” by Todd Powell
“Waiting for Mother,” by Brian Evenson
“Unchild,” by Jonathan Louis Duckworth
“Take Care,” by S.P. Miskowski
“Mother Trucker,” by Wailana Kalama
“The Last Sin,” by Gabino Iglesias
“Jacob’s Mother,” by Katie McIvor

The Moore House by Tony Tremblay

 

Three excommunicated nuns, Nora, Agnes, and Celeste, join a paranormal unit sanctioned by the Catholic Church, in the hopes for redemption in God's eyes. As empaths, their jobs are to verify reports of demonic possession, and when their boss, Father MacLeod, is persuaded to investigate a house in a small New Hampshire town, the three women are chosen to assess these claims. Goffstown police files detail numerous extraordinary occurrences at the Moore house, including seven gruesome, unsolved killings. For this reason, the three empaths are instructed to not enter the dwelling, but to employ their abilities while circling outside the house. Nora, Agnes, and Celeste proclaim it free of supernatural forces, but they are wrong...dead wrong.

The three women discover their presence is part of a larger plan. The Moore House is not only possessed, but it soon possesses them, forcing them to relive the sins that had resulted in their excommunications. Their belief in God and redemption dissolving, they become pawns in a demonic scheme, a means to an end, in which Father MacLeod is their only hope. But Father MacLeod has made his own deal with devil, and the devil is ready to collect.

Normally the reviews I post are of books that are recently published or are about to be published. Today I have a quick review for a book that I have been meaning to read for years.

A team of excommunicated nuns are sent to confirm or rule out a demonic presence in an old house with a dark past.

The Moore house has been the scene of multiple deaths. It stands alone and abandoned but perhaps not empty. From the opening scene, I knew this was going to be a terrifying tale. 

Religion and redemption play a huge part in the back story of this team of women and the priest who sent them.

The characters are complex and not always likable, but just like real life, they have their good and bad points.

There were a few minor things that irked me, one of which was a paragraph where a character was called by the wrong name enough times to momentarily confuse me, which pulled me out of the story. 

Overall this was a good novel and If you like religious horror this is for you. It's a clever tale of revenge not only from beyond the grave but beyond the gates of hell. Visit the Moore house for a deadly, demonic good time.

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