Too Scared to Sleep by Andrew Duplessie

 

From debut author Andrew Duplessie, a terrifying collection of teen short horror stories--and accompanying videos--that will keep you up long into the night! Perfect for fans of Five Nights at Freddy's.

A garbage disposal that feeds on flesh . . .

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents . . .

Roses that require human blood to bloom . . .

From blood-chilling horror to supernatural scares, this collection of short stories from debut author Andrew Duplessie offers something to stoke anyone's fear factor. But that's only the beginning. In a first-ever twist, each story also comes with a pulse-pounding video that deepens the horror. Point your phone at the QR code and be prepared to scream! Maybe even share it with your friends, if you dare.

Ready or not, Too Scared to Sleep will answer the question: How brave are you, really?

Too Scared To Sleep is a fun collection of spooky stories geared towards teens and tweens. The majority of the stories revolve around main characters who are fourteen years old, getting into weird and spooky situations.

Cell phones and futuristic technology, along with the dangers of AI are also the main themes here, with cautionary tales of why you should never steal, the dangers of social media, and why you should live each day as it comes because life is too short to even wish away the bad times.

There were a few stories that just didn't work for me, but I enjoyed most of them, and I think the modern themes will resonate with kids of today.

A unique feature of this book, is that a short video accompanies each story. I've read many collections that would include an illustration to go with each story but this is the first time I've ever seen a book that provides a video via a link in a QR code. It was a clever idea that added to the fun.

4 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Clarion Books.

Get a copy

About the author

The Last Haunt by Max Booth III

 

On the one-year anniversary of a young woman’s tragic death, an extreme haunted house attraction reopened its doors to the public. What happened next would forever traumatize a small Texas town. The Last Haunt is an attempt to make sense of the mysterious brutality that occurred on that fateful Halloween night. Constructed from interviews with the survivors, this oral history is the closest anyone has ever come to documenting the truth behind the McKinley Manor massacre.

This novella is written in a true crime/mockumentary style. The Last Haunt tells the story of the life and death of Gus Mckinley, a man whose love of horror and Halloween grew into an obsession with extreme haunt attractions, and the people whose lives were affected by McKinley Manor. Much like an extreme haunt that actually exists, you can enter Mckinley Manor for the mere cost of a bag of dog food. But can you get out?

Told from multiple points of view, as an oral interview by those who knew or worked for Gus, including his family, neighbors, and the brother of the young woman who died while trying to reach the end of Gus's haunt, gives the story a realistic feel. I loved the build-up and suspense as each piece of the interview came together for the final reveal, culminating in a horror that brought a clever and satisfying conclusion. 

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Max Booth III for the review copy.

Get a copy

About the author

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror Edited by Jordan Peele

 The visionary writer and director of Get Out Us and  Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.

A cop begins seeing huge, blinking eyes where the headlights of cars should be that tell him who to pull over. Two freedom riders take a bus ride that leaves them stranded on a lonely road in Alabama where several unsettling somethings await them. A young girl dives into the depths of the Earth in search of the demon that killed her parents. These are just a few of the worlds of  Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele’s anthology of all-new horror stories by Black writers. Featuring an introduction by Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a master class in horror, and—like his spine-chilling films—its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world . . . and redefine what it means to be afraid.

Featuring stories by: Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L. D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.

To be honest the only thing that caught my eye on this cover was the name Jordan Peele. As far as book covers go it's kind of bland for the horror genre.

 Being a huge fan of Jordan Peele movies I had hoped that the stories here would be as "spine-chilling" as his films. (As claimed in the synopsis)

Unfortunately, it's an inconsistent mixed bag more like his hit-or-miss Twilight Zone episodes were.

Stories worth a mention were Eye and Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse, about monster hunting siblings.

 Lasiren by Erin E Adams about children who have been warned to never trust a woman alone in the water.

The Rider by Tananarive Due in which two sisters take an unexpected detour on their way to join the freedom riders in Montgomery. and Hide and Seek by P. Djeli Clark about children being raised by a mother with a strange addiction.

You may enjoy it more than I did. For me it was just an OK read.

3 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Random House.

Available for Pre-order

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

 

A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

There's something new at the farmer's market in the town of Harrow this season.

Dan Paxon, having reclaimed his father's land and his father's dream, has brought to market a most unusual apple. At first, there isn't much interest in it until Dan's daughter Calla, who aspires to be a social media influencer, tells Dan to hand out free samples. One taste is all it takes to have nearly everyone in town clamoring for more. Soon, the apples are selling out faster than Dan can harvest them. Those who've eaten them have begun to change. They're more focused, faster, stronger, healthier, and ...meaner. They're more aggressive, dangerous, and deadly. 

I love small town horror.  Black River Orchard delivers a diverse cast of characters that drive the story forward from multiple points of view, including the small group of people (and a cat! I loved the cat) who have refused to eat the apple and are aware that something evil is afoot. The first half of this book held me spellbound as the effects of the apple took hold of the town and its history was revealed. The middle seemed to stretch on more slowly and I was longing for those who knew the apple was dangerous to get on with whatever they were going to do about it. The final third of the book not only picked up the pace but was sheer unmitigated suspense and horror. 

I would love to see this jump from my kindle screen to the big screen. It deserves to be a blockbuster movie. Horror fans are getting tired of stale sequels and reboots.

My thanks to Del Rey 

Get a copy

About the author