What do you think?
Rate this book
The Man of Shadows
The Man of Shadows is a dark collection of twenty-five short horror stories.
It begins with “The Mouth of Babes,” a visceral tale of streetwalkers and addicts, morbid voyeurs, cannibalistic tattoos, and witchcraft. Jimmy only wants another photograph for his online Death Images website. But when his good friend, Steve calls him down to the morgue to see a body with a strange tattoo of a mouth on her abdomen, he learns that sometimes the dead have incurable appetites.
In Death Reversal,” a grief-stricken wife hopes to resurrect the husband she murdered by making a long distance call to hell.
“The Bridge” pits the superstitious beliefs of the neurotically-challenged, Benson against the very real presence of a modern-day troll.
“Dead Flames” paints us a brief love story between the walking dead.
From the wicked predilections of children to the varied manifestations of evil personified, The Man of Shadows will have you running for the light.
It begins with “The Mouth of Babes,” a visceral tale of streetwalkers and addicts, morbid voyeurs, cannibalistic tattoos, and witchcraft. Jimmy only wants another photograph for his online Death Images website. But when his good friend, Steve calls him down to the morgue to see a body with a strange tattoo of a mouth on her abdomen, he learns that sometimes the dead have incurable appetites.
In Death Reversal,” a grief-stricken wife hopes to resurrect the husband she murdered by making a long distance call to hell.
“The Bridge” pits the superstitious beliefs of the neurotically-challenged, Benson against the very real presence of a modern-day troll.
“Dead Flames” paints us a brief love story between the walking dead.
From the wicked predilections of children to the varied manifestations of evil personified, The Man of Shadows will have you running for the light.
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2011
64 people want to read
About the author
Angel Zapata
45 books29 followersAngel Zapata calls Augusta, Georgia his home. Born and raised in New York City, his award-winning fiction and poetry is a conglomeration of street smarts and Southern charm. He’s authored a crime thriller novelette, literary and genre short story collections, and four poetry chapbooks including “Pearl Street” from Rinky Dink Press. His latest poetry collection, “miraculous,” is available from Main Street Rag.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 12, 2011
Angel Zapata has a way with drawing you in to a story and keeping you there - even though you cringe, you crave more words. From the atmospheric crime horror-noire of The Mouth of Babes, to the subtle horror of Surrogate Fruit, and a bite of zombie lore with compassion in Dead Flames, this collection is a taste of the author’s writing career from 2008 to the 2010. You don’t have to be a horror fan to love Zapata’s work. He finds the sick and twisted amongst what at first appears normal, and humanity in the most bleak circumstances. If you like prose that paints a picture, tingles the spine, and leaves you wanting more, The Man of Shadows is highly recommended for you.
February 23, 2011
“…dark fiction, unlike any other.”
To describe Angel Zapata’s short fiction as poetic, bizarre, and speculative dark horror is anything but fitting, because it doesn’t highlight the effect his stories have on the reader’s psyche. Zapata fiction brings horror to the edge of science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and literary, and then he spices it with traces of slipstream, erotica, and noir in a language that is both stunning and precise, ultimately delivering that meaty tale one expects.
In his first collection of dark fiction, “The Man of Shadows,” Angel has gathered a variety of darkness, a splendor of wicked characters, prose that mystifies the mind, and a disturbing bulk of demented originality, such as that in his first piece, about carnivorous eating tattoos in, “The Mouth of Babes.” Other works are satiated with the dark nature of evil in, “Death Reversal,” and “Skin Deep,” or classic zombies with a modern twist in, “Dead Flames,” “Feed It Some More,” and not without the timeless monsters from childhood, like those in, “Cheese,” and “The Bridge.”
Yes, there are vampires, demons, and witchcraft too—my favorite, “The Hired Hand,” tells about the chilling price one will pay for truth and revenge. The last story in Angel’s collection of horror, “The Man of Shadows,” unifies the theme in the anthology: darkness will and does reign, and oddly, you will be happy about that.
Angel Zapata’s dark fiction is unlike any other and will, without a doubt, quench your thirst for horror and everything else you suppress in the dark recesses of your mind.
To describe Angel Zapata’s short fiction as poetic, bizarre, and speculative dark horror is anything but fitting, because it doesn’t highlight the effect his stories have on the reader’s psyche. Zapata fiction brings horror to the edge of science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and literary, and then he spices it with traces of slipstream, erotica, and noir in a language that is both stunning and precise, ultimately delivering that meaty tale one expects.
In his first collection of dark fiction, “The Man of Shadows,” Angel has gathered a variety of darkness, a splendor of wicked characters, prose that mystifies the mind, and a disturbing bulk of demented originality, such as that in his first piece, about carnivorous eating tattoos in, “The Mouth of Babes.” Other works are satiated with the dark nature of evil in, “Death Reversal,” and “Skin Deep,” or classic zombies with a modern twist in, “Dead Flames,” “Feed It Some More,” and not without the timeless monsters from childhood, like those in, “Cheese,” and “The Bridge.”
Yes, there are vampires, demons, and witchcraft too—my favorite, “The Hired Hand,” tells about the chilling price one will pay for truth and revenge. The last story in Angel’s collection of horror, “The Man of Shadows,” unifies the theme in the anthology: darkness will and does reign, and oddly, you will be happy about that.
Angel Zapata’s dark fiction is unlike any other and will, without a doubt, quench your thirst for horror and everything else you suppress in the dark recesses of your mind.
November 8, 2011
Many thanks to Angel Zapata for hosting this giveaway on goodreads firstreads! It is full of ghastly creatures and horrific monsters and more than anything else GORE!!
The first story 'The Mouth of Babes' has to be my favourite. It is a grisly tale of a woman with a not-so-normal tattoo. At the start when I discovered there was supposedly a crazy tattoo on this dead woman I couldn't even begin to imagine the tattoo would be ALIVE. The plot is delivered well and is one of the longer stories in the book with fantastic attention to detail and grusome descriptions. This one will keep me awake toninght.
Many of the stories include children committing savage deeds like the boy who lures his mother to the bogeyman in 'Cheese' which was clever but so cruel. Also the group of school girls in 'Yours and Mine' as in you show me yours and I'll show you mine, who actually (if I followed the story correctly) cut of the boy's penis, I couldn't believe it. This is classic horror gone mad!
Overall this book may deprive me of sleep for a few days but is thoroughly entertaining and has an element of suprise on every page.
The first story 'The Mouth of Babes' has to be my favourite. It is a grisly tale of a woman with a not-so-normal tattoo. At the start when I discovered there was supposedly a crazy tattoo on this dead woman I couldn't even begin to imagine the tattoo would be ALIVE. The plot is delivered well and is one of the longer stories in the book with fantastic attention to detail and grusome descriptions. This one will keep me awake toninght.
Many of the stories include children committing savage deeds like the boy who lures his mother to the bogeyman in 'Cheese' which was clever but so cruel. Also the group of school girls in 'Yours and Mine' as in you show me yours and I'll show you mine, who actually (if I followed the story correctly) cut of the boy's penis, I couldn't believe it. This is classic horror gone mad!
Overall this book may deprive me of sleep for a few days but is thoroughly entertaining and has an element of suprise on every page.
January 30, 2011
King. Koontz. Straub. Poe. Your mind recalls their stories like welcomed friends (or feared monsters!). I would add Zapata to this list. I couldn’t say his writing is like “such and such” because it is like Zapata – a demon backbone with Angel’s blood. He can make you think, entertain, tickle, and scare the hell out of you. Simple as that. Just like that. He is one of my absolute favorite horror writers of today and I put him up there with the best.
Man of Shadows is just a taste of what Zapata can deliver; the talking belly button with teeth tends to agree. Buy this antho now. Who knows when he’ll hit it big and you can say, I read Angel’s horror before he lost the wings and grew horns...
Man of Shadows is just a taste of what Zapata can deliver; the talking belly button with teeth tends to agree. Buy this antho now. Who knows when he’ll hit it big and you can say, I read Angel’s horror before he lost the wings and grew horns...
July 8, 2011
Overall, Zapata has a knack for both flash fiction and regular short story-length works, but some of his flash pieces stand out more than others. Because there are so many varied stories, horror fans are bound to find something that appeals to their individual sensibilities; in other words, there’s a little bit of something in here for everyone.
To read the entire review, go to http://thedarkeva.com.
To read the entire review, go to http://thedarkeva.com.
February 13, 2011
Something for every horror fan. From modern terrors to dark and gothic, Angel Zapata is a true master of horror.
Want to read
February 23, 2011This looks like it will be a great book to read.
Read
January 9, 2015HI DAD
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews