D is for Demons is published by Red Cape Publishing and is one of a planned 26 books in their A-Z of Horror series. There are thirteen short stories in this volume and many of them were thoroughly enjoyable. Overall I was impressed by the high standard of writing.
Full disclosure – one of my short stories “Within” is featured in this collection. I shall not review that story here other than to mention that there are better stories than mine included in the anthology and on reading mine again it feels a touch rushed in places. Feel free to let me know though if you did enjoy my story. It’s always great to hear readers’ thoughts.
Deliciously Devilish, by Molly Thynes is delightful. It’s probably the funniest tale in the book and one of the few where the demon is a protagonist. It’s written in first person present tense, a difficult style to pull off effectively, but it absolutely is the right choice for this story. The narrator is possessed and has beautifully written discussions with the demon who recently took up residence inside her. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll leave you with a final thought – this single story alone is worth the cost of the book.
Personal Demons, by D.S. Ullery built slowly to an explosive ending.
Sp cial Scree ing 1 Nite Only (no those aren’t typos) by Bryan Miller is brilliant too. It describes a fascinating relationship between a teenage boy and an old man built on a love of cinema.
What the Trees Recall, by Mark Anthony Smith is another story with a demon as protagonist (most of my favourites are). It’s a very short and brilliantly written twist on a creation story.
Rabid Rhino Blood, by J. Herrera Kamin was a gore-fest of epic proportions. A serial killer who admires Jeffrey Dahmer experiments with forms of torture and a cornucopia of mind and body-altering drugs. I loved this one. Hats of to Kamin in writing such a wonderfully bizarre story.
/rare, by Charles R Bernard is yet another great read. This time we’re treated to a bibliophile’s greatest fantasy full of rare and powerful books, some so powerful and deadly they’re described as poison, and a strong female protagonist with a cruel streak.
The six stories listed above are my favourites, but there are other strong contenders, including: A Warrior Like No Other, Sister Mary, and Who Called you? And despite the places where I suspect the pace should be slightly slower (if I had the opportunity to rework it, I’m sure writers know how I feel) I’m proud of how my story Within turned out, so I’m not too modest to pop it in this group.
A couple of the other stories had some editing issues or just didn’t vibe with me, but ten good stories and discovering new talent in the process, well I’m very glad I read this book and will most likely read at least six of the stories again.
If you want to read the collection yourself you can find it at Amazon UK and Amazon US, and probably at lots of other stores.
4.5/5* and an absolutely devilish delight.
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