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Dust & Shadow
From a cop dealing with the ghosts of both a turbulent past and present, and the mournful sound of a lonesome night train, to horrific first days on the ultimate dirty job, and urban legends revealed to be all too real, herein lies a collection of modern ghost stories from some of the best proponents of the form.
Featuring short stories by Joe McKinney, Lisa Morton, Simon Wood, Nate Kenyon, Scott Nicholson, Jeremy C. Shipp, Maria Alexander, Kealan Patrick Burke, and Joe Nassise
Featuring short stories by Joe McKinney, Lisa Morton, Simon Wood, Nate Kenyon, Scott Nicholson, Jeremy C. Shipp, Maria Alexander, Kealan Patrick Burke, and Joe Nassise
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First published August 1, 2011
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About the author
Nate Kenyon
32 books204 followersNate Kenyon's latest novel is the techno-thriller Day One (Thomas Dunne/St. Martins Press). Booklist gave it a starred review, calling it "exciting and inventive." Library Journal called it a "must" and Kenyon's "scariest to date."
Kenyon grew up in a small town in Maine. His first novel, Bloodstone, received raves from places as varied as Library Journal, Fangoria, Publishers Weekly, about.com, Cemetery Dance and The Romance Studio, and praise from authors such as Brian Keene, Tim Lebbon, Douglas Clegg, Mort Castle and Rick Hautala. Bloodstone was a Bram Stoker Award finalist and and P&E Novel of the Year Award winner. It was released in paperback from Leisure Books.
Nate's second novel, The Reach, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it "superb." The Reach is in development as a major motion picture. His third novel, The Bone Factory, and his science fiction novella, Prime, were released in 2009. The Bone Factory was called "masterful" by Booklist, and Shroud Magazine called Prime "a blistering, fast-paced tale."
Nate's fourth novel SPARROW ROCK was also optioned for film. He has written the novel StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, based on the bestselling videogame by Blizzard and published by Pocket Books, and Diablo: The Order, also based on a Blizzard game and published by Gallery Books.
Nate is one of four authors featured in the Dark Arts Books anthology When the Night Comes Down, March 2010.
Nate's dark fiction stories have appeared in various magazines such as Shroud and The Belletrist Review, and in the horror anthologies Terminal Frights, Northern Haunts, Legends of the Mountain State, and Monstrous, among others. Kenyon has worked at the Brookline Public Library in Brookline, Mass. and the Boston College Law School as their Director of Marketing & Communications. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.
Kenyon grew up in a small town in Maine. His first novel, Bloodstone, received raves from places as varied as Library Journal, Fangoria, Publishers Weekly, about.com, Cemetery Dance and The Romance Studio, and praise from authors such as Brian Keene, Tim Lebbon, Douglas Clegg, Mort Castle and Rick Hautala. Bloodstone was a Bram Stoker Award finalist and and P&E Novel of the Year Award winner. It was released in paperback from Leisure Books.
Nate's second novel, The Reach, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it "superb." The Reach is in development as a major motion picture. His third novel, The Bone Factory, and his science fiction novella, Prime, were released in 2009. The Bone Factory was called "masterful" by Booklist, and Shroud Magazine called Prime "a blistering, fast-paced tale."
Nate's fourth novel SPARROW ROCK was also optioned for film. He has written the novel StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, based on the bestselling videogame by Blizzard and published by Pocket Books, and Diablo: The Order, also based on a Blizzard game and published by Gallery Books.
Nate is one of four authors featured in the Dark Arts Books anthology When the Night Comes Down, March 2010.
Nate's dark fiction stories have appeared in various magazines such as Shroud and The Belletrist Review, and in the horror anthologies Terminal Frights, Northern Haunts, Legends of the Mountain State, and Monstrous, among others. Kenyon has worked at the Brookline Public Library in Brookline, Mass. and the Boston College Law School as their Director of Marketing & Communications. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 8, 2013
I got this collection of short stories as a freebie from Amazon thanks to a Good Reads friend. And most of the stories were actually pretty good. So I am glad I took the time to download it. I have divided the stories up with a small review for each one.
Blemish – Joe McKinney
This was a good story with a good moral to it. I liked the characters in the story, and they were pretty well built, realistic and believable. They were pretty much your normal everyday people. Dealing with the problems that we have to deal with on a daily basis. The story felt a little unfinished to me, maybe a little rushed in the end. I feel it could have been so much more.
Blind Stamped – Lisa Morton
I really enjoyed this story because it is almost like a true story in the way that it was about the love of books, and the importance of both the writers and the readers. I felt this story described every part of me and my love of reading and understanding and my perception of the books I read. The author had a pretty profound quote in this story which was "What a writer brought to a book didn't matter as much as what the reader contributed." And I feel that to be true. Not to say what the writer wrote was not important, because it is, otherwise we would not gain this passion for reading, but to say that our perception of things has an effect on a story for other readers, whether it be good or bad. And this makes it more important for a new reader to read and form their own opinions on a story. Thus is continues on and on.
The Ladies Room – Simon Wood
This a pretty short story and since it is so short all I will say is that the moral of the story would be, go back and get what you need, it will really pays off.
The Anniversary – Nate Kenyon
This was a quick short story that makes the heart pump a little harder. It was just a little predictable but still worth the read with a little twist in the end.
She Climbs a Winding Stair – Scott Nicholson
I am not sure that I really enjoyed this story. I mean it was ok but I found that I did not like the selfishness of our main character. So there were pros and cons. The premise of the story was pretty good, but then it seemed to fall a little short. It was an unrealistic story, but then again that is one thing that makes a story interesting. I think the story could have been so much more, it had a lot of promise, but then again it is a short story and you can only add so much.
Watching – Jerry C. Shipp
Ok I am not even sure what this story was. Well maybe I do, it was a MESS. It was like the author just wrote a bunch of stuff and called it a story.
Some Divine – Maria Alexander
This was a pretty good tale of love mostly. I am not one for romance but this one included a guy, a girl, and a bird. Made it a little more interesting.
The Tradition – Kealen Patrick Burke
This was a pretty creepy story. I really enjoy Kealan Patrick Burke’s writing and this story was no different. It gave me those familiar feelings of anticipation and panic. Awesome work for a pretty short story.
The Urge – Joe Nassise
This was actually a very good story. It was quite a different story and I don’t recall ever reading a story quite like it. All I will say about this is that it takes law enforcement to a whole new level! It is a little graphic, but definitely worth the read.
Blemish – Joe McKinney
This was a good story with a good moral to it. I liked the characters in the story, and they were pretty well built, realistic and believable. They were pretty much your normal everyday people. Dealing with the problems that we have to deal with on a daily basis. The story felt a little unfinished to me, maybe a little rushed in the end. I feel it could have been so much more.
Blind Stamped – Lisa Morton
I really enjoyed this story because it is almost like a true story in the way that it was about the love of books, and the importance of both the writers and the readers. I felt this story described every part of me and my love of reading and understanding and my perception of the books I read. The author had a pretty profound quote in this story which was "What a writer brought to a book didn't matter as much as what the reader contributed." And I feel that to be true. Not to say what the writer wrote was not important, because it is, otherwise we would not gain this passion for reading, but to say that our perception of things has an effect on a story for other readers, whether it be good or bad. And this makes it more important for a new reader to read and form their own opinions on a story. Thus is continues on and on.
The Ladies Room – Simon Wood
This a pretty short story and since it is so short all I will say is that the moral of the story would be, go back and get what you need, it will really pays off.
The Anniversary – Nate Kenyon
This was a quick short story that makes the heart pump a little harder. It was just a little predictable but still worth the read with a little twist in the end.
She Climbs a Winding Stair – Scott Nicholson
I am not sure that I really enjoyed this story. I mean it was ok but I found that I did not like the selfishness of our main character. So there were pros and cons. The premise of the story was pretty good, but then it seemed to fall a little short. It was an unrealistic story, but then again that is one thing that makes a story interesting. I think the story could have been so much more, it had a lot of promise, but then again it is a short story and you can only add so much.
Watching – Jerry C. Shipp
Ok I am not even sure what this story was. Well maybe I do, it was a MESS. It was like the author just wrote a bunch of stuff and called it a story.
Some Divine – Maria Alexander
This was a pretty good tale of love mostly. I am not one for romance but this one included a guy, a girl, and a bird. Made it a little more interesting.
The Tradition – Kealen Patrick Burke
This was a pretty creepy story. I really enjoy Kealan Patrick Burke’s writing and this story was no different. It gave me those familiar feelings of anticipation and panic. Awesome work for a pretty short story.
The Urge – Joe Nassise
This was actually a very good story. It was quite a different story and I don’t recall ever reading a story quite like it. All I will say about this is that it takes law enforcement to a whole new level! It is a little graphic, but definitely worth the read.
March 23, 2021
Really decent anthology. Only 1 or 2 stories were 'meh'; the rest were awesome and/or excellent. Great introduction to some new writers.
September 12, 2013
I picked up this collection of short stories from Amazon for free during one of their sales, so I feel a little ungrateful complaining about a book under such circumstances, but this one did almost nothing for me. I was attracted because of a few of the featured authors leapt out at me as people I planned to one day check out, and sadly, in some occasions, I doubt I'll be making any considerable effort to follow up with some of them.
Blemish by Joe McKinney was a perfectly acceptable beginning, if a little underwhelming, while Blind Stamped by Lisa Morton and She Climbs a Winding Stair by Scott Nicholson were both extremely well-written but not unsettling or frightening enough for my tastes. The two that I enjoyed most were The Urge by Joe Nassise and The Anniversary by Nate Kenyon (so I will be seeking out more of their works in future), as they were short, sharp and packed a punch. The former, in particular, was a fantastic idea that could be expanded into at least novella length. Kelan Patrick burke served as editor here, and his story The Tradition offered a clever variation on the other tales but little else. Then there was the head-scratching, "I-still-don't-understand-a-single-thing-that-happened" confusathon entitled Watching by Jeremy C Shipp, the easily palatable and instantly forgettable The Ladies' Room by Simon Wood, and the languidly paced Some Divine by Marie Alexander.
All in all, a varied collection of stories that (generally) did not appeal to me with one or two notable exceptions. 1.5 stars.
Blemish by Joe McKinney was a perfectly acceptable beginning, if a little underwhelming, while Blind Stamped by Lisa Morton and She Climbs a Winding Stair by Scott Nicholson were both extremely well-written but not unsettling or frightening enough for my tastes. The two that I enjoyed most were The Urge by Joe Nassise and The Anniversary by Nate Kenyon (so I will be seeking out more of their works in future), as they were short, sharp and packed a punch. The former, in particular, was a fantastic idea that could be expanded into at least novella length. Kelan Patrick burke served as editor here, and his story The Tradition offered a clever variation on the other tales but little else. Then there was the head-scratching, "I-still-don't-understand-a-single-thing-that-happened" confusathon entitled Watching by Jeremy C Shipp, the easily palatable and instantly forgettable The Ladies' Room by Simon Wood, and the languidly paced Some Divine by Marie Alexander.
All in all, a varied collection of stories that (generally) did not appeal to me with one or two notable exceptions. 1.5 stars.
September 28, 2013
This was a Kindle freebie. I thought this was a great collection of short ghost stories. Some authors I was familiar with – others were new to me and I will check out their other stuff for sure!
Blemish – Joe McKinney
A different kind of ghost story – had a nice ending to it. I am checking into more of this author’s works!
Blind Stamped – Lisa Morton
A bookish story! An interesting and comforting tale.
The Ladies Room – Simon Wood
You never know about the ghosts you encounter….
The Anniversary – Nate Kenyon
Do you hear the ghost train coming? You might not want to know how it all ends! A real surprise!
She Climbs a Winding Stair – Scott Nicholson
I vaguely remember reading this somewhere else it seems… of course I read tons of books so who knows where I have read this before…interesting story!
Watching – Jerry C. Shipp
A very odd story. I am not entirely sure what it all meant… ?
Some Divine – Maria Alexander
interesting story – liked the bird – but I have to say that the story didn’t quite do it for me.
The Tradition – Kealen Patrick Burke
Woah. A nice creepy Halloween type story!
The Urge – Joe Nassise
woah...very interesting with a twist!
Blemish – Joe McKinney
A different kind of ghost story – had a nice ending to it. I am checking into more of this author’s works!
Blind Stamped – Lisa Morton
A bookish story! An interesting and comforting tale.
The Ladies Room – Simon Wood
You never know about the ghosts you encounter….
The Anniversary – Nate Kenyon
Do you hear the ghost train coming? You might not want to know how it all ends! A real surprise!
She Climbs a Winding Stair – Scott Nicholson
I vaguely remember reading this somewhere else it seems… of course I read tons of books so who knows where I have read this before…interesting story!
Watching – Jerry C. Shipp
A very odd story. I am not entirely sure what it all meant… ?
Some Divine – Maria Alexander
interesting story – liked the bird – but I have to say that the story didn’t quite do it for me.
The Tradition – Kealen Patrick Burke
Woah. A nice creepy Halloween type story!
The Urge – Joe Nassise
woah...very interesting with a twist!
October 2, 2013
This was a pretty decent collection of ghost stories. Some of the authors I was familar with and some not so much. My favorite story in the collection was "The Urge" by Joe Nassie. This story went in a totally different direction than what I thought it would. My least favorite was "Watching" by Jeremy C. Shipp. I have no idea what that story was supposed to be about, even after skimming back through it a second time. Overall I give this collection 3 stars.
September 28, 2013
This is an ok book. Some of the stories are a little confusing. I think if made into books a couple of them could be very good. It's also makes a quick read with none of them being more than a few pages.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews