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Dark Yonder: Issue 2
Welcome to Issue 2 of Dark Yonder, a quarterly journal that seeks out and publishes the best neo-noir short fiction being written today. Dark Yonder’s stories come from the imaginations of bestselling authors and undiscovered writers alike. But what all of our stories share is this: great writing, unique voices, glimpses into lives unlike our own, a willingness to choose reality over escapism, insights into the dark side of life, and sometimes even humor.
Once again featuring commentary by editors Eryk Pruitt and Katy Munger, Issue 2 features a great line-up of nine outstanding stories for you to enjoy:
Tayden’s 2! by Alice Archer
I’m coming to get you by Kevin A Brown
Wheelies by Recita L. Clemons
A Song for the Shattered Hearts by S.A. Cosby
Chicken Fly Christ by Joseph Hirsch
Beach House by Joe Labriola
Grief by Preston Lang
Big Bob’s Donuts at 3a.m. by Meagan Lucas
Bear Hunt by Warren Moore
Once again featuring commentary by editors Eryk Pruitt and Katy Munger, Issue 2 features a great line-up of nine outstanding stories for you to enjoy:
Tayden’s 2! by Alice Archer
I’m coming to get you by Kevin A Brown
Wheelies by Recita L. Clemons
A Song for the Shattered Hearts by S.A. Cosby
Chicken Fly Christ by Joseph Hirsch
Beach House by Joe Labriola
Grief by Preston Lang
Big Bob’s Donuts at 3a.m. by Meagan Lucas
Bear Hunt by Warren Moore
150 pages, Paperback
Published March 17, 2023
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8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 26, 2024
After brief intros by Editors Katy Munger and Eryk Prutt followed by a drink recipe, it is onto the stories. Noted author S.A. Cosby powerfully kick things off with “A Song For The Shattered Hearts” Terry has had a really bad week. The kind of week that country and western songs are written about. At least he still has fishing and is doing so in a neglected spot on an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay. As a reader, you know he will catch something. The question is what will it be and what will the catch lead to.
Sticking around the club for the free after work drink was a bad idea in “Big Bob’s Donuts At 3 A.M.” by Megan Lucas. She met Teddy, felt a tingle, and felt seen and heard. Meeting Teddy created a new set of problems in an already hard life.
Jason has a plan for the old Florida motel in “Chicken Fly Christ” by Joseph Hirsch. Those plans are going to have to wait as a guest by the name of Craig Sakowitz is being a difficult check in. He isn’t the only one with problems in the motel.
Eli Tate and Norris Mapp are twelve years and riding mountain bikes adjacent to a lake. In “Wheelies” by Recita L. Clemons, they find an injured woman. While she is injured in some way, they can see blood, she also might be trouble.
He works for Roy’s Taxi and, over the years, has seen quite a lot more than a thing or two. He sees more stuff in “I’m Coming To Get You” by Kevin Brown. The good, bad, and the ugly past flow through this short story.
Tony is an artist and is dating Kenzie. Things are progressing along their relationship so he has invited her to his home for the first time in “Bear Hunt” by Warren Moore. Art and art appreciation drive the romantic interest in their relationship. But, they may not see art and the artist the same way.
A child is missing in “Trayden’s 2!” by Alice Archer. That missing child is just one point in lot of stuff going on in this complicated story.
Jackson isn’t having much fun on vacation with his family in “Beach House” by Joe Labriola. This Memorial Day weekend getaway is a bust, all things considered. At least he found a hidden spot in a small gully just down from his rented beach house. At least he could go there and relax if he could just get five minutes to himself.
She likes to spend intimate time with men who have recently become widowers. She loves their grief as it makes her feel alive and powerful. In “Grief” by Preston Lang, Annabel and her obsession with broken men is the final short story.
Each of the tales presented in Dark Yonder: Issue 2, Spring 2023, is a good one. Noir is the universal theme and each tale is a dark one. While the setup parameters might occasionally be familiar to readers, the execution of the premise and how that is accomplished is what makes these reads work.
Just like the first issue, Dark Yonder: Issue 2, Spring 2023, is well worth your time.
My digital reading copy was a gift from a friend.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Sticking around the club for the free after work drink was a bad idea in “Big Bob’s Donuts At 3 A.M.” by Megan Lucas. She met Teddy, felt a tingle, and felt seen and heard. Meeting Teddy created a new set of problems in an already hard life.
Jason has a plan for the old Florida motel in “Chicken Fly Christ” by Joseph Hirsch. Those plans are going to have to wait as a guest by the name of Craig Sakowitz is being a difficult check in. He isn’t the only one with problems in the motel.
Eli Tate and Norris Mapp are twelve years and riding mountain bikes adjacent to a lake. In “Wheelies” by Recita L. Clemons, they find an injured woman. While she is injured in some way, they can see blood, she also might be trouble.
He works for Roy’s Taxi and, over the years, has seen quite a lot more than a thing or two. He sees more stuff in “I’m Coming To Get You” by Kevin Brown. The good, bad, and the ugly past flow through this short story.
Tony is an artist and is dating Kenzie. Things are progressing along their relationship so he has invited her to his home for the first time in “Bear Hunt” by Warren Moore. Art and art appreciation drive the romantic interest in their relationship. But, they may not see art and the artist the same way.
A child is missing in “Trayden’s 2!” by Alice Archer. That missing child is just one point in lot of stuff going on in this complicated story.
Jackson isn’t having much fun on vacation with his family in “Beach House” by Joe Labriola. This Memorial Day weekend getaway is a bust, all things considered. At least he found a hidden spot in a small gully just down from his rented beach house. At least he could go there and relax if he could just get five minutes to himself.
She likes to spend intimate time with men who have recently become widowers. She loves their grief as it makes her feel alive and powerful. In “Grief” by Preston Lang, Annabel and her obsession with broken men is the final short story.
Each of the tales presented in Dark Yonder: Issue 2, Spring 2023, is a good one. Noir is the universal theme and each tale is a dark one. While the setup parameters might occasionally be familiar to readers, the execution of the premise and how that is accomplished is what makes these reads work.
Just like the first issue, Dark Yonder: Issue 2, Spring 2023, is well worth your time.
My digital reading copy was a gift from a friend.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
May 15, 2023
A solid second issue. Highlights for me were "A Song for the Shattered Hearts" by S.A. Cosby and "I'm coming to get you" by Kevin A. Brown. Looking forward to Issue 3.
June 6, 2024
Struggled with a few stories in this collection. Always find the S.A. Cosby engaging.
August 18, 2024
Liked: Song for Shattered Hearts, Wheelies, Bear Hunt, Grief
August 19, 2025
Some stories ended with no resolve. Some stories were difficult to even comprehend. Style over substance. Real cute jumping around in time. Just write the effin story. I even read the story twice, but still wasn't clear on who was a parent, who was a step-parent, and which characters were which. Author wasn't a good enough writer to pull off this style. OK read, but not satisfying or memorable.
April 18, 2023
Exclude the offering from disgraced former mall Santa Joseph Hirsch and you’re left with seven or eight quality noir tales. Some are episodic, others tightly plotted. None feel too derivative, and a few feel downright autobiographical. The best for me were the following:
Big Bob’s Donuts at 3 A.M. An exotic dancer deals with one patron’s condescension in a violent, completely unpremeditated (but completely understandable) fashion. I like it when I can’t predict the twists and turns a story takes. I couldn’t with this one.
I’m Coming to Get You. Not as menacing, or horror-infused as the title might lead one to believe (or is it?), this one’s about a cab driver who snaps on a fare. It almost costs him his job, but some quick thinking and practiced patter with the dispatcher saves the day, or night. That’s the plot, but it doesn’t give you the color, the flavor, the feel of an insomniac searching the streets for something and finding nothing. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. Until then, Roy’s Taxi is available to ferry you from one side of hell to the other.
Grief. This one, strangely enough, has the most episodic and yet well-plotted feel of them all. How does something seem so paratactic and yet poetic? The writer’s skilled is all, in characterization, in economical storytelling (especially important in noir) that’s still too rich to be called minimalist. The tale follows the misadventures of a woman who has a strange attraction to the dead. “Fetish” would be a little too crass, and misleading. It’s a bit like Harold and Maude if Harold were a woman and Maude a man (and a con artist, a grifter loyal only to his better half.)
The presentation’s quality, in terms of artwork, formatting, and design. If you need a realtor, there’s an ad in the back. If you want to make a tasty cocktail, there’s a recipe near the beginning, before the first story. Recommended.
Big Bob’s Donuts at 3 A.M. An exotic dancer deals with one patron’s condescension in a violent, completely unpremeditated (but completely understandable) fashion. I like it when I can’t predict the twists and turns a story takes. I couldn’t with this one.
I’m Coming to Get You. Not as menacing, or horror-infused as the title might lead one to believe (or is it?), this one’s about a cab driver who snaps on a fare. It almost costs him his job, but some quick thinking and practiced patter with the dispatcher saves the day, or night. That’s the plot, but it doesn’t give you the color, the flavor, the feel of an insomniac searching the streets for something and finding nothing. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. Until then, Roy’s Taxi is available to ferry you from one side of hell to the other.
Grief. This one, strangely enough, has the most episodic and yet well-plotted feel of them all. How does something seem so paratactic and yet poetic? The writer’s skilled is all, in characterization, in economical storytelling (especially important in noir) that’s still too rich to be called minimalist. The tale follows the misadventures of a woman who has a strange attraction to the dead. “Fetish” would be a little too crass, and misleading. It’s a bit like Harold and Maude if Harold were a woman and Maude a man (and a con artist, a grifter loyal only to his better half.)
The presentation’s quality, in terms of artwork, formatting, and design. If you need a realtor, there’s an ad in the back. If you want to make a tasty cocktail, there’s a recipe near the beginning, before the first story. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews