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You Shall Never Know Security
For years, J.R.'s stories have been acclaimed throughout the underground horror world. For the first time, these surviving stories have been collected in one anthology. These are stories that challenge expectations and reject the staid conventions of the genre. These are stories that don't compromise.
Above all, what readers understood and appreciated was that these stories were about something. These are stories that, in the finest tradition of H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Dennis Etchinson, and T.E.D. Klein, articulate what you'be always suspected: that life is a losing proposition.
Above all, what readers understood and appreciated was that these stories were about something. These are stories that, in the finest tradition of H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Dennis Etchinson, and T.E.D. Klein, articulate what you'be always suspected: that life is a losing proposition.
263 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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October 16, 2025
When I got into work at 11:30pm that night, the first words I heard were, "Hey, Byrnes, a package came for you. It's in the closet." I had no idea what Nic was talking about. I put my Red Bull and Vitamin Water in the pint-sized fridge at the back of the office, and then settled in at the dispatch desk. I would have asked him about the delivery, but all I had left of Nic, our late day dispatcher, was a fleeting glimpse as the outer door closed behind him. The phones started ringing before I was even able to get my shoes off. That was an improvement. Some nights they started before I even reached the seat. My schedule is like a barbell, heavy at both ends and somewhat thin in the middle. By the time I looked up from the early rush it was 1:30am.
J.R. Hamsntaschen - image from Rising Shadow
It came back to me then, the package. The closet is conveniently located in the wall adjacent to the dispatch desk. All I had to do was swivel and open. It began to seep back into my ancient gray cells then. I had received a message from the author on GR, noting that I had liked a GR-bud's review of his book. He had a new one coming out and thought I might be a good person to take a look at his year-old release, maybe build some awareness for the new one. We exchanged a message or two re where it might be sent, and settled on my office. J.R. was feeling unwell during our exchange. I would later wonder where he might have contracted an illness, here or some unknowable there, and whether by the time I posted a review he might still be with us. Not because I take all that long to write these pieces, but because…oh, never mind.
I maintain a steady flow of incomings, typically reading several books at once. While I may read quickly enough, I review slowly. I promised to get to his as soon as I finished my current load.
The book is published by the West Pigeon Press. We have had for the last several months a considerable population of pigeons on our north-facing terrace, and know what they can do. Oh, the horror! WPP conjured up the wrong image for me, dark and miserable, but wrong. I checked out the publisher's web site. (sadly no longer accessible, or, possibly, existent)
We learn there that J.R. is a part-time writer, maintains no personal web site and changes his surname frequently. What is he afraid of? Who or what might be in pursuit? One might presume then that the current iteration, "Hamantaschen" might be regarded as a nom de prune, a tasty interlude to something a bit more fear-inducing. On reading the book it might not seem unreasonable that he wants to keep a low profile. There are things out there, and if he is letting the rest of us know, they might take exception so he probably should maintain a low profile.
With a hundred calls a night, it is a difficult thing to read much at work, even during slow times. That is too bad, as this is the sort of book one should definitely read while alone in a building during the wee hours, when inexplicable, but probably innocent noises intrude into one's consciousness. I managed to squeeze in a story or two, reading the rest over the next week, in bed before sleeping, at the laundromat, in the living room before the ridiculous June/July heat became too much. But maybe spacing it out allows one a bit of time to digest. "Jesus, Billy, chew your food."
One final caveat. Although I have read a reasonable number of horror books over the years, almost all of King, a fair number of the classic older tales, and certainly a goodly portion of Lovecraft, I am not very much a current reader of horror. I have never read the zines in which the author has published many of these pieces. I am not familiar with the contemporary horror fiction scene. Thus, I may not be sensitive to elements that scream out at those more familiar with the horror genre of today. Also, I am far from J.R.’s target demographic, so references to unfamiliar terminology had me heating up my computer, searching. So be it.
There are thirteen tales here, maybe an ideal number for a horror collection. They vary in length and impact, but show a creative (or maybe damaged) mind at work, demonstrating enough insight to matter, and offering up some fun images. Some are tastier and more filling than others. They are peppered with generous shakes of Lovecraft. At least two stories go so far as to use the word “eldritch,” a word I have never seen used outside a Lovecraft story. I have not checked, but would not be surprised if those stories were first published in zines dedicated to Lovecraftian fiction.
The rear cover of the book refers to “Thirteen Stories of Truly Dark Fiction.” It seems to me that horror is horror, and that adding “Truly Dark” is gilding a lily, but again that might be promotional nomenclature particular to this area of interest.
In many of the stories, the intent clearly was to present an image, and not always force that into a beginning-middle-end structure. Don't go looking for dominant-tonic resolutions in most of these stories. But a good image is good enough if well done. Scary does not necessarily care about a well crafted denouement. It helps if the presentations are understandable. Getting too abstract can be a hindrance to appreciation. The short story is not a form conducive to much deep character development, so we have to rely primarily on the ideas, the images presented to carry the load. Then the question becomes are they, those images and ideas, up to the task.
Sometimes yes and sometimes not so much.
“Come in Distraction” presents an image of Great Britain infested with a disease that transforms people into very Lovecraftian beasties, with vine-like thirty-foot arms. Definitely a chilling image. In “Jordan, When Are You Going To Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” J.R. reaches new heights, or depths, in conjuring a horrifying and very personal image of a problem with one’s own body. This is definitely one that will stay with you, no shit. “There is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer” is probably the most Lovecraftian, reminding me of The Music of Eric Zann. Two young men search for a portal to another dimension in a loft wall. In a lesser example, “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction,” we are told of an unfriendly critter via court papers. The monster remained too ill-defined for me and the court paper mechanism did not work well.
Irony figures in a few stories, as one might expect in a collection of tales written by a twenty-something New Yorker. In “A Parasite Inside Your Brain“ an alien invasion of a small kind yields a delicious turn, as does “Endemic,” in which a plan to catch sex offenders with androids yields unexpected consequences.
He likes to refer to his critters, sometimes keeping them off screen, in a way. “In Truth is Stranger than Fiction” we learn through court papers of a rapacious flying thing, as described by a witness. “Come in Distraction” also keeps us at one remove from the critters, as we hear about them from third parties, but are never really there. Ditto in “Family of Gnomes.”
Sexuality is a bit of trouble in J.R.s fictional universe. In “A Lower Power” a woman takes as a lover a really, really bad boy. In “Wonder” the narrator gloats over having infected a man who rejected him with something far worse than an STD. In “There’s Always Something…” “it had come to occupy Josh through Josh’s dick…” never a pleasant way to acquire an alien presence, but maybe a way of commenting on the source of a lot of the unpleasantness that follows. In the same story one character manages to alienate those attending a wedding by announcing in response to whether he was having a good time, “It’s better than sucking cocks.” Aaaawkward. “There Must Be Lights Burning…” includes an element that might be interpreted as a sexual reference, something phallic protruding from a critter, and doing no one any good.
Sometimes, the stories have elements that cause us to pause in our suspension of disbelief. “Sorrow Has its Natural End” presents a fascinating look at a character in search of medical help, but then tells us something very significant about him without offering any explanation at all. This deus ex machina needed some oil. Also, one of the longer pieces, “There’s Always Something in The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us,” offered an interesting concept, but it seemed way too concept-y to me and left me gazing in from too far a distance.
There are a couple of stories here that struck me as throw-aways. “College” offers up a concrete image of how one’s choices in life affect others, and what might our values actually be worth. The other, “Nothing “ contemplates our position in the world, offering a different view. Somehow it just never pulled me in.
Saving the best for last, I was most impressed with “There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter Somewhere.” It could have begun, Ok, a monster walks into a bar. And indeed one does, wreaking havoc, without a by your leave or a take me to your leader, or can I have a pint of whatever. It is a very Lovecrafted monster, with a deadly white bone-like protuberance that set my Freudian sensors all atingle, particularly when three characters hide in a closet. One of the three does something, while under the power of the creature. But, and here is where the sophistication comes in, it is the aftermath that is of interest in the story. Many years later, survivor’s guilt, PTSD, something that leads to an attempt to find the truth of the events of that day, now so long ago. This is the story that made me think that J.R. might do well to consider a longer form. I thought his characterization here took on a richer life, and was the most engaging story of the baker’s dozen and balanced character and concept best.
There are instances of acute observation here that demonstrated some licks
PS - I came across more type-setting and editing miscues than are usual. Dr. Moody on p 19 becomes D. Moony by p 30, for example. The occasional sentence makes no sense. The next go round will need a better extra pair of eyes to smooth out such wrinkles.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
J.R. at GR
There is a nice, 2014 interview with the author at Rising Shadow - An interview with J. R. Hamantaschen by Seregil of Rhiminee
J.R. Hamsntaschen - image from Rising Shadow
It came back to me then, the package. The closet is conveniently located in the wall adjacent to the dispatch desk. All I had to do was swivel and open. It began to seep back into my ancient gray cells then. I had received a message from the author on GR, noting that I had liked a GR-bud's review of his book. He had a new one coming out and thought I might be a good person to take a look at his year-old release, maybe build some awareness for the new one. We exchanged a message or two re where it might be sent, and settled on my office. J.R. was feeling unwell during our exchange. I would later wonder where he might have contracted an illness, here or some unknowable there, and whether by the time I posted a review he might still be with us. Not because I take all that long to write these pieces, but because…oh, never mind.
I maintain a steady flow of incomings, typically reading several books at once. While I may read quickly enough, I review slowly. I promised to get to his as soon as I finished my current load.
The book is published by the West Pigeon Press. We have had for the last several months a considerable population of pigeons on our north-facing terrace, and know what they can do. Oh, the horror! WPP conjured up the wrong image for me, dark and miserable, but wrong. I checked out the publisher's web site. (sadly no longer accessible, or, possibly, existent)
We learn there that J.R. is a part-time writer, maintains no personal web site and changes his surname frequently. What is he afraid of? Who or what might be in pursuit? One might presume then that the current iteration, "Hamantaschen" might be regarded as a nom de prune, a tasty interlude to something a bit more fear-inducing. On reading the book it might not seem unreasonable that he wants to keep a low profile. There are things out there, and if he is letting the rest of us know, they might take exception so he probably should maintain a low profile.
With a hundred calls a night, it is a difficult thing to read much at work, even during slow times. That is too bad, as this is the sort of book one should definitely read while alone in a building during the wee hours, when inexplicable, but probably innocent noises intrude into one's consciousness. I managed to squeeze in a story or two, reading the rest over the next week, in bed before sleeping, at the laundromat, in the living room before the ridiculous June/July heat became too much. But maybe spacing it out allows one a bit of time to digest. "Jesus, Billy, chew your food."
One final caveat. Although I have read a reasonable number of horror books over the years, almost all of King, a fair number of the classic older tales, and certainly a goodly portion of Lovecraft, I am not very much a current reader of horror. I have never read the zines in which the author has published many of these pieces. I am not familiar with the contemporary horror fiction scene. Thus, I may not be sensitive to elements that scream out at those more familiar with the horror genre of today. Also, I am far from J.R.’s target demographic, so references to unfamiliar terminology had me heating up my computer, searching. So be it.
There are thirteen tales here, maybe an ideal number for a horror collection. They vary in length and impact, but show a creative (or maybe damaged) mind at work, demonstrating enough insight to matter, and offering up some fun images. Some are tastier and more filling than others. They are peppered with generous shakes of Lovecraft. At least two stories go so far as to use the word “eldritch,” a word I have never seen used outside a Lovecraft story. I have not checked, but would not be surprised if those stories were first published in zines dedicated to Lovecraftian fiction.
The rear cover of the book refers to “Thirteen Stories of Truly Dark Fiction.” It seems to me that horror is horror, and that adding “Truly Dark” is gilding a lily, but again that might be promotional nomenclature particular to this area of interest.
In many of the stories, the intent clearly was to present an image, and not always force that into a beginning-middle-end structure. Don't go looking for dominant-tonic resolutions in most of these stories. But a good image is good enough if well done. Scary does not necessarily care about a well crafted denouement. It helps if the presentations are understandable. Getting too abstract can be a hindrance to appreciation. The short story is not a form conducive to much deep character development, so we have to rely primarily on the ideas, the images presented to carry the load. Then the question becomes are they, those images and ideas, up to the task.
Sometimes yes and sometimes not so much.
“Come in Distraction” presents an image of Great Britain infested with a disease that transforms people into very Lovecraftian beasties, with vine-like thirty-foot arms. Definitely a chilling image. In “Jordan, When Are You Going To Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” J.R. reaches new heights, or depths, in conjuring a horrifying and very personal image of a problem with one’s own body. This is definitely one that will stay with you, no shit. “There is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer” is probably the most Lovecraftian, reminding me of The Music of Eric Zann. Two young men search for a portal to another dimension in a loft wall. In a lesser example, “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction,” we are told of an unfriendly critter via court papers. The monster remained too ill-defined for me and the court paper mechanism did not work well.
Irony figures in a few stories, as one might expect in a collection of tales written by a twenty-something New Yorker. In “A Parasite Inside Your Brain“ an alien invasion of a small kind yields a delicious turn, as does “Endemic,” in which a plan to catch sex offenders with androids yields unexpected consequences.
He likes to refer to his critters, sometimes keeping them off screen, in a way. “In Truth is Stranger than Fiction” we learn through court papers of a rapacious flying thing, as described by a witness. “Come in Distraction” also keeps us at one remove from the critters, as we hear about them from third parties, but are never really there. Ditto in “Family of Gnomes.”
Sexuality is a bit of trouble in J.R.s fictional universe. In “A Lower Power” a woman takes as a lover a really, really bad boy. In “Wonder” the narrator gloats over having infected a man who rejected him with something far worse than an STD. In “There’s Always Something…” “it had come to occupy Josh through Josh’s dick…” never a pleasant way to acquire an alien presence, but maybe a way of commenting on the source of a lot of the unpleasantness that follows. In the same story one character manages to alienate those attending a wedding by announcing in response to whether he was having a good time, “It’s better than sucking cocks.” Aaaawkward. “There Must Be Lights Burning…” includes an element that might be interpreted as a sexual reference, something phallic protruding from a critter, and doing no one any good.
Sometimes, the stories have elements that cause us to pause in our suspension of disbelief. “Sorrow Has its Natural End” presents a fascinating look at a character in search of medical help, but then tells us something very significant about him without offering any explanation at all. This deus ex machina needed some oil. Also, one of the longer pieces, “There’s Always Something in The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us,” offered an interesting concept, but it seemed way too concept-y to me and left me gazing in from too far a distance.
There are a couple of stories here that struck me as throw-aways. “College” offers up a concrete image of how one’s choices in life affect others, and what might our values actually be worth. The other, “Nothing “ contemplates our position in the world, offering a different view. Somehow it just never pulled me in.
Saving the best for last, I was most impressed with “There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter Somewhere.” It could have begun, Ok, a monster walks into a bar. And indeed one does, wreaking havoc, without a by your leave or a take me to your leader, or can I have a pint of whatever. It is a very Lovecrafted monster, with a deadly white bone-like protuberance that set my Freudian sensors all atingle, particularly when three characters hide in a closet. One of the three does something, while under the power of the creature. But, and here is where the sophistication comes in, it is the aftermath that is of interest in the story. Many years later, survivor’s guilt, PTSD, something that leads to an attempt to find the truth of the events of that day, now so long ago. This is the story that made me think that J.R. might do well to consider a longer form. I thought his characterization here took on a richer life, and was the most engaging story of the baker’s dozen and balanced character and concept best.
There are instances of acute observation here that demonstrated some licks
the relationship had taken on a life of its own, and it only desired a subsistence existence. Their relationship desired nothing other than self-preservation. Their relationship consisted of nothing but exposition, directions, and commands. Action words. No digressions or detours. All their time together was about feeding “the relationship” and not about enjoying each other’s company.Really, people, how many of us have lived that exact thing? And then maybe the truly dark fiction aspect might be captured not so much in the zoological garden with which he populates his stories, but in:
“You keep telling yourself that every setback you encountered was building up to something worthwhile. That you were going to be redeemed. You aren’t. This is it.”Life’s a bitch and then you die. That would be the cheery version. This author’s version might be more like life’s a bitch and they you are torn limb from limb by an inexplicable being from Lovecraft’s nightmares, while telling the beast you love it. Have a nice day. But there is a lot of non-Lovecraftian horror in these stories as well. How about coming back from the dead and finding that you are still stuck living with your mother? How about feeling that your entire life was wasted? How about feeling that you have tried and failed, or not tried and thus guaranteed failure. Or that you have been running away all your life from something you really, really need to confront. That is horror that can hit close to home. Despair. A Peggy Lee lament about the dissatisfaction of life. That is the strength here. A promise of good things to come. Not dark at all but rather bright.
PS - I came across more type-setting and editing miscues than are usual. Dr. Moody on p 19 becomes D. Moony by p 30, for example. The occasional sentence makes no sense. The next go round will need a better extra pair of eyes to smooth out such wrinkles.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
J.R. at GR
There is a nice, 2014 interview with the author at Rising Shadow - An interview with J. R. Hamantaschen by Seregil of Rhiminee
April 22, 2012
on saturday, when i was having this book signed in at work, the guard chuckled at the title, and murmured, "iiinteresting." had she known that one of the last sentences i had read before coming through the door was, "no, not the image of his sister's vagina carved out like a halloween pumpkin..."
she may have chosen a different word
this is a collection of horror stories fusing the quotidian with the ineffable. all of the stories start off in a more or less familiar territory that slowly starts to show cracks through which the nasty things are able to creep.
the horror is of the very lovecraftian variety (from what i remember of lovecraft - i am no scholar), with the terror being given a shape like:
a squat form, thick like a tree stump, adorned with embedded armored earth fanned out like stalagmite plates, too many to count, stretching out forever. shifting and rotating. in the distance, farther away but on top of the tree stump, were dark forms, forms covered in brambles, forms cowering in subservience to something unseen, practically degenerating before it. too many of them. couched in subservience but too plentiful to be anything but dominant, so many they were intertwined into each other, growing.
this is not the horror of the axe-wielding inbred or alien or the monster in the basement:
this is horror that nearly defies description. men with arms as long as vines and different men with teeth wild as brambly bushes. horror my brain cannot even fathom.
but he saw before him what appeared to be a mound, but when he tried to look at the bottom of it, where its "feet" should be, his head began to buzz and he had to look away. there was too much going on, too many whizzing adornments. his eyes moved several feet northward, to the top pf the mound, which was covered with what appeared to be smooth obelisks, calcified deposits that looked like porcelain beehives, stacked and interspersed into each other in unfathomable detail.
i can relate to the character's assessment of "too much going on", and i think that is the right word: unfathomable. my mind recoiled from even trying to picture something like that, which is why i had a problem with lovecraft when i tried to read him - the descriptive elements were too much, too inscrutable, too foreign and unimaginable. it is hard for me to be afraid of something i can't even picture in my mind. but that is my problem for having a faulty imagination, and a lot of these stories do not have such grandiose forces of evil.
the standouts in the collection, to my mind, are: jordan, when are you going to settle down, get married, and have us some children? which is about poo, a parasite inside your brain which is about a parasite inside your brain...with a twist, wonder which is an amazing story of karma, and endemic which is about taking back the night in a big way.
many of the stories would have been perfectly good and interesting even without the horror elements. for example, in there's always something in the misfortune of our friends that doesn't displease us, a story of the wedding between a knocked-up high school teacher and the father of her baby; one of her students, would be an excellent situation for a "straight" story, as the bride's super-white staid midwestern family awkwardly mingles with the much-younger black and hispanic inner city guests of the groom. and then - MONSTER! so it's kind of great, and makes me wonder how many more of raymond carver's stories i would have enjoyed more if at the end, everyone ended up ravaged by monsters. at least four, i bet.
maybe five.
so my three stars are because i did enjoy the stories, but i sometimes had difficulty envisioning my adversary. entirely my own limitations. but for fans of traditional horror like algernon blackwood or lovecraft - there is also an emphatic nod to richard matheson - these are perfect for y'all. me, i need my horror spelled out for me, because i am too stupid to meet anyone halfway in my imagination.
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July 25, 2024
If Horror can be a genre, so can Madness.
Complaints (Not About the Book):
The wonderful thing about literature in our modern era is that one can feel almost elite, sophisticated, and elegantly antiquated by the mere mentioning of a writer who isn’t a pundit, a preacher, or a reality-television star. Reading, among a significant amount (if not a majority) of my generation is viewed as a vestigial and archaic entertainment. (And it’s so boring and time-consuming). If you want a book deal these days, you’d best be willing to have a DEI panel red-pen your manuscript, or create as creepily ‘alluring’ of a male character as you can.
But, and this part isn’t a complaint, and it is also getting to the book on which I am going to speak, the wonderful thing about underground literature, particularly literary terror, is that there is so little to prepare one for what is in store for them. Scarcely is there a possibility of eavesdropping in a coffee shop (as I am wont to do) and hearing a conversational fragment at all similar to “…but Lovecraft wasn’t space-pirate sci-fi, or Victorian gothic horror. He broke the mold of his time. He was oceanic terror. He was inescapable dread. He was Cosmic Indifferentism…”, let alone something like “…but Hamantaschen is no mere disciple of any forebear of any genre. He is uncompromising psychological carnage…”
The author, as well as the editors of this volume would like you all to be aware that the stories contained within are about something. It is imperative for all involved in its publication to stress the seriousness, the darkness, the realness of each of these stories.
Whatever I am to make of such an announcement—whether it’s the poor actor-cum-amusement park ride operator delivering a warning before entering a rickety, cheesy tunnel of fog machines and rubber skeletons on strings and recorded shrieks, or I am being genuinely lead by an impossibly cold hand into a cerebrum-liquefying abyss—I just hope I get my (space)time’s worth.
The Substance and The Scares (Of Both Personal and More Universal Natures):
Dangerous infatuations can take over your life, and the object of your affection could end up crawling around on your bedroom ceiling like a spider. You can ignore all the signs of doomed love-struck youth until transmogrification occurs to shatter your perception of the world forevermore. I apologize. Let’s get less obscure. Modern references to things like ‘Hot Topic’ and ‘Facebook’ were initially a little off-putting, but ultimately contributed to the turmoil as it added some unexpected contiguousness to the not-quite-explicitly-describable Lovecraftian horror of yore, and that’s just the first story. Although almost any pop culture or social reference included in a book these days will be irrelevant by the time it’s published.
Switch gears to sexy, mechanical, rapist traps and a parasite that serves as an antidote to despair. Switch again to sentient turds and extra-terrestrials for which we are comparatively no more than recipients of redirected sunlight under a Fresnel lens. These are such cataclysmic and traumatizing things that we can all nod to each other in silent agreement that it is indeed quite creepy, or all-out horrifying , or would be, granting we were involved in, or bore witness to, such things.
‘A hunter from the darkest wild, makes you feel just like a child.' I apply this line from Jumanji because it represents how some of the imagery in this book created a worm-hole from my childhood to the time of the very sentences I was reading and sucked my fears of prematurity through, preserved and perfectly intact, to supplant my imagined bearded-machismo. With this admission in mind, I present to all of you the story entitled Come In, Distraction, in which “…diseased men swing… across their apartments like monkeys with vines for arms.” Wait… what did you just read? You read what I read. Instantly and without warning, the very first image I remember being utterly terrified by. Search ‘Alice in Wonderland long neck.’
There you have it, my most primal fear; overly extended extremities, stalks, limbs, and so forth. These sanity-compromising details seemed to validate and rationalize my fears of yesteryear in a profoundly cathartic way. I asked the author if any memories of youthful cold sweat went into his work and if he ever writes to unnerve himself intentionally. His response was publicly posted, so I trust he won’t mind my retyping it here:
I think that is well put, and when I spoke of the catharsis of childhood fears, it was not to imply that it would be useful in any way to, say, visit the spot where someone you knew was murdered and write about how you feel while you’re there. I don’t subscribe to that either. What Mr. Hamantaschen did for me wasn’t an encouraged confrontation with my past, but an unguided, lucky excavation into the ol’ medulla oblongata.
So, I got a little personal there (as forewarned above), a trifle cathartic, and it was good. I do hope others can relate, but I’d be disappointed if everyone could. This is how I’m bringing it back around to the seemingly tangential preface I gave to this review.
Alas, or At Last, A Few Complaints (Now About the Book):
Grading something with English paper criteria (to which I hope my reviews are not subject), one would have to take into account the distracting, but not destructive, amount of typos in this book. I support independent publications whole-heartedly, but this could have used another thorough proof-reading from somebody, perhaps anybody.
A couple of these stories may have been more miss than hit for me. Wonder being one of them, rather pettily angsty as it was, and Sorrow Has Its Natural End, which had an ending worth the read, but which took its time in commanding my captivation.
But all in all, this makes the cut, to say the least.
Complaints (Not About the Book):
The wonderful thing about literature in our modern era is that one can feel almost elite, sophisticated, and elegantly antiquated by the mere mentioning of a writer who isn’t a pundit, a preacher, or a reality-television star. Reading, among a significant amount (if not a majority) of my generation is viewed as a vestigial and archaic entertainment. (And it’s so boring and time-consuming). If you want a book deal these days, you’d best be willing to have a DEI panel red-pen your manuscript, or create as creepily ‘alluring’ of a male character as you can.
But, and this part isn’t a complaint, and it is also getting to the book on which I am going to speak, the wonderful thing about underground literature, particularly literary terror, is that there is so little to prepare one for what is in store for them. Scarcely is there a possibility of eavesdropping in a coffee shop (as I am wont to do) and hearing a conversational fragment at all similar to “…but Lovecraft wasn’t space-pirate sci-fi, or Victorian gothic horror. He broke the mold of his time. He was oceanic terror. He was inescapable dread. He was Cosmic Indifferentism…”, let alone something like “…but Hamantaschen is no mere disciple of any forebear of any genre. He is uncompromising psychological carnage…”
The author, as well as the editors of this volume would like you all to be aware that the stories contained within are about something. It is imperative for all involved in its publication to stress the seriousness, the darkness, the realness of each of these stories.
Whatever I am to make of such an announcement—whether it’s the poor actor-cum-amusement park ride operator delivering a warning before entering a rickety, cheesy tunnel of fog machines and rubber skeletons on strings and recorded shrieks, or I am being genuinely lead by an impossibly cold hand into a cerebrum-liquefying abyss—I just hope I get my (space)time’s worth.
The Substance and The Scares (Of Both Personal and More Universal Natures):
Dangerous infatuations can take over your life, and the object of your affection could end up crawling around on your bedroom ceiling like a spider. You can ignore all the signs of doomed love-struck youth until transmogrification occurs to shatter your perception of the world forevermore. I apologize. Let’s get less obscure. Modern references to things like ‘Hot Topic’ and ‘Facebook’ were initially a little off-putting, but ultimately contributed to the turmoil as it added some unexpected contiguousness to the not-quite-explicitly-describable Lovecraftian horror of yore, and that’s just the first story. Although almost any pop culture or social reference included in a book these days will be irrelevant by the time it’s published.
Switch gears to sexy, mechanical, rapist traps and a parasite that serves as an antidote to despair. Switch again to sentient turds and extra-terrestrials for which we are comparatively no more than recipients of redirected sunlight under a Fresnel lens. These are such cataclysmic and traumatizing things that we can all nod to each other in silent agreement that it is indeed quite creepy, or all-out horrifying , or would be, granting we were involved in, or bore witness to, such things.
‘A hunter from the darkest wild, makes you feel just like a child.' I apply this line from Jumanji because it represents how some of the imagery in this book created a worm-hole from my childhood to the time of the very sentences I was reading and sucked my fears of prematurity through, preserved and perfectly intact, to supplant my imagined bearded-machismo. With this admission in mind, I present to all of you the story entitled Come In, Distraction, in which “…diseased men swing… across their apartments like monkeys with vines for arms.” Wait… what did you just read? You read what I read. Instantly and without warning, the very first image I remember being utterly terrified by. Search ‘Alice in Wonderland long neck.’
There you have it, my most primal fear; overly extended extremities, stalks, limbs, and so forth. These sanity-compromising details seemed to validate and rationalize my fears of yesteryear in a profoundly cathartic way. I asked the author if any memories of youthful cold sweat went into his work and if he ever writes to unnerve himself intentionally. His response was publicly posted, so I trust he won’t mind my retyping it here:
“. . . I don't write to unnerve myself, and I don't really get unnerved, unfortunately (I'd like to!)… childhood fears. Well, blindness has always been a childhood -and, unfortunately, adulthood - fear of mine, and I incorporated that into "Sorrow." I don't subscribe to the idea that writing about your fears 'purges' then(sic) in anyway; but they do become recurring themes, as they tend to cluster up the ol' medulla oblongata.”
I think that is well put, and when I spoke of the catharsis of childhood fears, it was not to imply that it would be useful in any way to, say, visit the spot where someone you knew was murdered and write about how you feel while you’re there. I don’t subscribe to that either. What Mr. Hamantaschen did for me wasn’t an encouraged confrontation with my past, but an unguided, lucky excavation into the ol’ medulla oblongata.
So, I got a little personal there (as forewarned above), a trifle cathartic, and it was good. I do hope others can relate, but I’d be disappointed if everyone could. This is how I’m bringing it back around to the seemingly tangential preface I gave to this review.
Alas, or At Last, A Few Complaints (Now About the Book):
Grading something with English paper criteria (to which I hope my reviews are not subject), one would have to take into account the distracting, but not destructive, amount of typos in this book. I support independent publications whole-heartedly, but this could have used another thorough proof-reading from somebody, perhaps anybody.
A couple of these stories may have been more miss than hit for me. Wonder being one of them, rather pettily angsty as it was, and Sorrow Has Its Natural End, which had an ending worth the read, but which took its time in commanding my captivation.
But all in all, this makes the cut, to say the least.
December 10, 2015
This book is a kick ass collection of weird and dark stories. In the very best tradition of weird tales, Robert Aickman and Thomas Ligotti among them, this collection stands tall.
There's some nihilism here, there's some Lovecraftian angles here and then almost smack dab in the middle, there's some major laughs. I think the lighter story was perfectly placed, because my main complaint about the last Ligotti collection I read was that it was too nihilistic, resulting in the urge to kill myself about halfway through. Mr. Hamantaschen wisely avoids this.
Nearly every story in this collection worked for me but my favorites were:
Endemic An imaginative tale about a creative way to catch perpetrators of a certain type of crime.
There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us Focused on IT,(Something Gleeful), and its focus on the horrible patterns we humans get into in our daily living and then using those patterns to achieve its horrible goals. The storytelling style here was absolutely perfect and I loved it.
Nothing This one worked well for me and that's all I'm going to say.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere The last story in the collection and the longest. Some killer descriptions here of horrific events (the girl's back? WTF was that?) and the guilt (?) that plagues the survivors. A powerful story, both in description and creativity.
Lastly, the aforementioned funny story: "Jordan, When Are You Going To Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children? I don't even know what to say. Horrifically funny doesn't seem to cover it, but there you have it, just the same.
Overall, I adored this collection. I feel like I do need to mention that there were a number of small errors in the edition I received. Normally that irks me, and it did here, but the stories were just so damn good, I was able to overlook them. That's the ONLY complaint I have about this sublime collection.
I HIGHLY recommend this book for fans of weird tales, such as those by Ligotti and Aickman, and to fans of short stories, in general. Bravo J.R. Hamantaschen! Bravo!
There's some nihilism here, there's some Lovecraftian angles here and then almost smack dab in the middle, there's some major laughs. I think the lighter story was perfectly placed, because my main complaint about the last Ligotti collection I read was that it was too nihilistic, resulting in the urge to kill myself about halfway through. Mr. Hamantaschen wisely avoids this.
Nearly every story in this collection worked for me but my favorites were:
Endemic An imaginative tale about a creative way to catch perpetrators of a certain type of crime.
There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us Focused on IT,(Something Gleeful), and its focus on the horrible patterns we humans get into in our daily living and then using those patterns to achieve its horrible goals. The storytelling style here was absolutely perfect and I loved it.
Nothing This one worked well for me and that's all I'm going to say.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere The last story in the collection and the longest. Some killer descriptions here of horrific events (the girl's back? WTF was that?) and the guilt (?) that plagues the survivors. A powerful story, both in description and creativity.
Lastly, the aforementioned funny story: "Jordan, When Are You Going To Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children? I don't even know what to say. Horrifically funny doesn't seem to cover it, but there you have it, just the same.
Overall, I adored this collection. I feel like I do need to mention that there were a number of small errors in the edition I received. Normally that irks me, and it did here, but the stories were just so damn good, I was able to overlook them. That's the ONLY complaint I have about this sublime collection.
I HIGHLY recommend this book for fans of weird tales, such as those by Ligotti and Aickman, and to fans of short stories, in general. Bravo J.R. Hamantaschen! Bravo!
April 9, 2013
Solid collection of unsettling and weird (with a capital W) short stories. First, I want to put a plug in for Crowinator's review here. It was her review that brought the book to my attention and made me want to read it. I also love how she breaks down all the stories and gives you a chance to figure out if this collection is for you or not. And hey, the best part? If you feel like taking a chance, the ebook is on sale right now for 0.99 cents. That is some serious bang for your buck. What have you got to lose?
Love the title and the cover. These things should never be underestimated. Each on their own has the power to persuade readers to read. I find the big publishing houses are getting lazy of late, or they've stopped caring, or they've sacrificed their creative marketing departments to save on the bottom line; whatever the reason, most of their covers suck or at the very least are uninspired. But the smaller, independent presses? They know they are fighting for their lives and our attention and dollars. Proof is in the covers, and in their willingness to approve some pretty audacious titles. Evidence please? Book covers are clickable.
I don't even need to know what these books are about to want to read them. But maybe that's just the magpie in me.
J.R. Hamantaschen has great titles that almost tell a story in and of themselves. He's also got the patter of Weird down without being overtly obnoxious about it, or coming across as trying too hard. Yet these stories feel modern and young, so much so that some of the awkward word choices just felt right anyway in spite of themselves. Like any small press/independent work, it is rough in places and could do with some editorial spit and polishing, but overall it reads very clean.
The author has a unique and distinctive voice that excels in creating unsettling and/or haunting images. Crowinator refers to the writing as "cryptic and suggestive" and I agree. The stories are more about allowing the reader to think the worst, providing our imagination an opportunity to flex its muscles.
More than titles or prose, what really made these stories hum for me were the ideas behind them. A good story idea that hasn't been regurgitated a thousand times in a thousand different ways is hard to come by. Hamantaschen must have a tree growing in his back yard where he can go pick one off it any time he chooses. My favorites:
Endemic: a nasty little story about rape and misogyny and the creation of a device to ensnare men in the act. Mixing sci-fi elements with that twist of horror and Weird, this story becomes the next evolution of To Catch a Predator.
A Parasite Inside Your Brain: I loved this one just because the idea of something crawling inside my head and laying eggs there creeps me out more than any other concept. This is a nice riff on the classic Night Gallery episode, but with a very different outcome. In a more serious way I find its dealing with depression and perhaps questioning whether your doctor always knows best a refreshing angle.
Come In, Distraction: I can't put my finger on what I enjoyed so much about this one, and I can't really talk too much about it without ruining the surprise. I guess I loved the slow creep as it builds to its reveal. This English wanker -- is he exploiting, or is he being exploited in turn? I would say both really. The subtleties work here extremely well, but I longed to know more....
Sorrow Has Its Natural End: this one worked for me only because it tapped into my other primal fear, which is going blind. I have bad eyesight as it is and have worn glasses since childhood. I am remiss in my checkups and have floaters that could indicate a high risk of retinal detachment (wow, I just made myself sound really sexy there, didn't I?) This story is about a guy whose retinas detach in both eyes making him nearly blind. But he has a lead on a cure.
Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?: okay, I have to include this one because the idea is so extreme, outrageous and funny in a dark and horrible way. There's a Seinfeld episode where George is out on a date with a woman in her apartment and finds himself really needing to go number 2. But her little bathroom, with no buffer zone, is not going to give him the privacy he knows he will need. This story is that situation except with unimaginable results.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere: great title, the longest story in the collection, and my favorite. The set-up is three desperate, frightened people hiding out in a closet from some unnamed threat. As the story progresses it is revealed how they ended up in the closet, what they're hiding from, and how they escape. Survival will come at a high price. This one gave me the heebie-jeebies.
This review can also be found at Busty Book Bimbo.
July 2, 2023
Something to Think About.
There’s something for everyone in this collection of thirteen stories. I enjoyed reading most of the stories, but some of them are not as desirable to me as others.
I have my favorites:
1. Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?
2. There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer
3. A Parasite Inside Your Brain
I like a few others, too, but these are my favorites. They give a great sense of fear at the appropriate times and bring about the tension that comes when you are waiting for something to happen. And they have a great ending.
Some of the stories have no ending or the ending is tepid. The ending is a little flat and feels flimsy.
But overall the book gets three strong stars. 💫💫💫
There’s something for everyone in this collection of thirteen stories. I enjoyed reading most of the stories, but some of them are not as desirable to me as others.
I have my favorites:
1. Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?
2. There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer
3. A Parasite Inside Your Brain
I like a few others, too, but these are my favorites. They give a great sense of fear at the appropriate times and bring about the tension that comes when you are waiting for something to happen. And they have a great ending.
Some of the stories have no ending or the ending is tepid. The ending is a little flat and feels flimsy.
But overall the book gets three strong stars. 💫💫💫
February 1, 2012
We go through our daily routine, surviving economically and psychically, taking what comfort we can from life's pleasures, hoping that we can count on our beliefs, belief in ourselves, belief in others, and belief in our world. In the delicate world of our psyche is a built in distaste for anything that creates conflict in our beliefs. J.R. Hamantaschen's 13 short stories is a collection of philosophical horror. These are not horror of the type in which the monster chases you, and, in the end, you triumph with your sense of self and sanity intact. Instead, it's the type of horror that we all know very well in our lives. It's that sense of dread and fear that turns your stomach today, that something bad is going to happen to you and your world, when yesterday, the sun was shining and you feel you can conquer the world. These stories are written with beautiful and thoughtful prose. Monsters, creepy things, personal demons and desires, and threat to personal safety create a cognitive dissonance.
The horror unfolds excruciatingly. You never truly know the nature of the terror. If there is a monster in the story, it is not of the hero vs. monster in mythology, in which the hero defeats the monster and wins. Even the monsters in some of these stories are never described explicitly, but their monstrosity is felt more than imaged. Often, the protagonist has to make decisions that goes against his belief, forcing him to validate his action so he can live with himself, somehow lessening the impact of the traumatic event in his mind.
The 13 stories, thirteen being the number in superstition signifying bad luck, are imbued with a deadly sense of dread. The stories are varied. Some are of the monster kind, never explicit but gruesomely suggested, such as "A Lower Power", which has the evocative potency of a Richard Matheson or a Thomas Ligotti short story monster. Another, "A Parasite Inside Your Brain" gives us a differing perception of what a parasite is. "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?" features a different kind of monster, in a disgusting yet comical way.
Often, these monsters are more alarming in the fact that they were not seen. "Wonder" contains prose that repeatedly starts with the "You won't think of me...", with each imagery revealing an increasing sinister tone as the entity smuggly reveals a supernatural revenge on his victim. In "There is a Family of Gnomes Behind my Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer", the title is all that explains what the monsters are, but you know they're there by the unfolding events as seen through the eyes and mind of the protagonist. The most disturbing monster story of this collection is "Truth is Stranger than Fiction", in which the monster is revealed through a court document of a woman's trial. These monster short stories are brilliant in their unconventional and clever tackling of the monster idea, counting more on the reader's imagination to create the monster.
Among these short stories are also stories that challenge the cognition and perception. "Sorrow Has Its Natural End" deals with a man who was given a second chance to regain his eyesight, but has to make a predatory choice. The emotion is intense as we feel his reasoning for his decision. In "Nothing", a man muses about a lack of control over his life, that he is a puppet to the function of his brain. "College" has a student being forced to make a life or death choice. A man in "There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere" has to deal with the huge guilt over his forced action during a calamity.
A couple of the stories have overtones of Sci-Fi. In "Endemic", beautiful AIs were used to lure and capture rapists in a morally questionable way, with questions about the nature of pornography thrown into the mix. "Come In, Distraction" deals with one of the last survivor of the apocalypse that decimated his country.
Most of the stories are only a few pages long, but are potent in their psychic punch. The fear commits a guerrilla warfare on the mind, making you doubt the safety of this world and erodes your reason. In the end, you shall never know security, as fear creeps down your spine like the shrieking of the chalk board.
The horror unfolds excruciatingly. You never truly know the nature of the terror. If there is a monster in the story, it is not of the hero vs. monster in mythology, in which the hero defeats the monster and wins. Even the monsters in some of these stories are never described explicitly, but their monstrosity is felt more than imaged. Often, the protagonist has to make decisions that goes against his belief, forcing him to validate his action so he can live with himself, somehow lessening the impact of the traumatic event in his mind.
The 13 stories, thirteen being the number in superstition signifying bad luck, are imbued with a deadly sense of dread. The stories are varied. Some are of the monster kind, never explicit but gruesomely suggested, such as "A Lower Power", which has the evocative potency of a Richard Matheson or a Thomas Ligotti short story monster. Another, "A Parasite Inside Your Brain" gives us a differing perception of what a parasite is. "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?" features a different kind of monster, in a disgusting yet comical way.
Often, these monsters are more alarming in the fact that they were not seen. "Wonder" contains prose that repeatedly starts with the "You won't think of me...", with each imagery revealing an increasing sinister tone as the entity smuggly reveals a supernatural revenge on his victim. In "There is a Family of Gnomes Behind my Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer", the title is all that explains what the monsters are, but you know they're there by the unfolding events as seen through the eyes and mind of the protagonist. The most disturbing monster story of this collection is "Truth is Stranger than Fiction", in which the monster is revealed through a court document of a woman's trial. These monster short stories are brilliant in their unconventional and clever tackling of the monster idea, counting more on the reader's imagination to create the monster.
Among these short stories are also stories that challenge the cognition and perception. "Sorrow Has Its Natural End" deals with a man who was given a second chance to regain his eyesight, but has to make a predatory choice. The emotion is intense as we feel his reasoning for his decision. In "Nothing", a man muses about a lack of control over his life, that he is a puppet to the function of his brain. "College" has a student being forced to make a life or death choice. A man in "There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere" has to deal with the huge guilt over his forced action during a calamity.
A couple of the stories have overtones of Sci-Fi. In "Endemic", beautiful AIs were used to lure and capture rapists in a morally questionable way, with questions about the nature of pornography thrown into the mix. "Come In, Distraction" deals with one of the last survivor of the apocalypse that decimated his country.
Most of the stories are only a few pages long, but are potent in their psychic punch. The fear commits a guerrilla warfare on the mind, making you doubt the safety of this world and erodes your reason. In the end, you shall never know security, as fear creeps down your spine like the shrieking of the chalk board.
January 20, 2012
The type of story within You Shall Never Know Security is a favorite of mine to read, so my opinion on J. R. Hamantaschen could be considered biased. The stories are weird and very dark. They’re also intelligent and linger in your thoughts after reading. I found that I had to stop sometimes just to digest what I had just read.
You Shall Never Know Security is full of raw emotion and themes that are the obvious result of some very deep thought. Each story is actually about something. They are real even at their most absurd. They’re topics has affected us all one way or another. They can be terribly sad or angry, but around the middle of the collection there is one comedic story that does well in relieving the tension.
The stories that had the most effect on me are as follows: Endemic is, perhaps, one of the strangest stories I’ve ever read. It poses an interesting approach to catching rapists. A Parasite in Your Brain makes me want J. R.’s version of a parasitic spider to stretch its legs out amongst the folds of my own brain. Truth is Stanger than Fiction paid homage to Lovecraft, I think, and very well done. Sorrow has its Natural End is, perhaps, the story that affected me the most. It’s about a man in his twenties whose gone blind. His dark spiritual journey is probably similar to what mine would be if I were to go blind. College is about a professor who asks his student some very interesting morality questions in an experiment that reminded me of a course I took while in college myself.
With this collection, J. R. manages to remind the reader of Lovecraft and Ligotti, while at the same time remaining completely faithful to his own ideas, themes, and voice. What it comes down to is this: as a writer myself, one who also aspires create weird horror, reading these stories made me a little jealous. Okay, I lie. They made me a lot jealous. I wish I could write at Hamantaschen’s calibre and level of talent. I look forward to reading more.
You Shall Never Know Security is full of raw emotion and themes that are the obvious result of some very deep thought. Each story is actually about something. They are real even at their most absurd. They’re topics has affected us all one way or another. They can be terribly sad or angry, but around the middle of the collection there is one comedic story that does well in relieving the tension.
The stories that had the most effect on me are as follows: Endemic is, perhaps, one of the strangest stories I’ve ever read. It poses an interesting approach to catching rapists. A Parasite in Your Brain makes me want J. R.’s version of a parasitic spider to stretch its legs out amongst the folds of my own brain. Truth is Stanger than Fiction paid homage to Lovecraft, I think, and very well done. Sorrow has its Natural End is, perhaps, the story that affected me the most. It’s about a man in his twenties whose gone blind. His dark spiritual journey is probably similar to what mine would be if I were to go blind. College is about a professor who asks his student some very interesting morality questions in an experiment that reminded me of a course I took while in college myself.
With this collection, J. R. manages to remind the reader of Lovecraft and Ligotti, while at the same time remaining completely faithful to his own ideas, themes, and voice. What it comes down to is this: as a writer myself, one who also aspires create weird horror, reading these stories made me a little jealous. Okay, I lie. They made me a lot jealous. I wish I could write at Hamantaschen’s calibre and level of talent. I look forward to reading more.
March 4, 2012
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I love horror, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the gore-for-gore’s sake variety (though I appreciate gore a lot when it’s integrated well); I prefer psychological horror, weird situations delving into the intersection between reality and madness. The thirteen stories in this collection are my favorite kind of horror: ones with a slow build and mundane situations that seem only a bit off, then grow more and more disturbing the more they are developed. They are cryptic and suggestive: not everything is explained, more is left up to the imagination, endings are ambiguous, and the mood is often more important than the plot. Several of the stories remind me of Lovecraft (or what I know of what people say about Lovecraft in anthologies based on his writings, since I am no heavy Lovecraft reader), albeit much less overwrought, with the idea that lurking behind our mundane world are unfathomable depths of horror and strangeness. The writing itself is a mix of a minimalist, direct style (no purple prose here!) with enough erudite language to stop it from being plainspoken.
The narrator of each story often seems like the same kind of person, whether male or female, which ties the collection together though it doesn’t necessarily show a lot of range in writing style. They are disaffected, out of place, disoriented, cynical, haunted by failures, looking for meaning in a world that suddenly makes no sense. Hamantaschen does an excellent job conveying this wealth of ineffable disquiet:
I know this feeling, though like the narrator, I can’t give it a name. It just is.
Here’s a brief run-through of my thoughts on the individual stories.
A Lower Power – Dysfunctional, co-dependent relationship issues take a suggestively monstrous turn in this musing narrative on the difficulties of dating the self-aware, grinning bad boy (a “tool wearing sunglasses in the mall” and a perpetual leather jacket) when it turns out not to be an act, but a protective side affect of his secret birthright. I loved the cut-off ending (it leaves off in the perfect spot to really engage one’s twisted imagination) and what it means for a monster to discover his purpose in life – with a little help from his girl.
Wonder – This is a sinister revenge story in which the nameless narrator speaks directly to his ex-lover (ex-friend?), patiently walking him through the steps of his – and his family’s – inevitable bloody end, from the first tiny inkling of worry to a crescendo of unimaginable horror. Like many of the stories in this collection, it starts off with a simple scenario that slowly grows twisted, and that’s a feat to do in a story that’s only four pages.
Endemic – This story made me uncomfortable, since it deals so explicitly with rape and the disquieting suggestion that all men are potential rapists in their deepest, darkest selves. Read this after watching the movie Teeth.
A Parasite Inside Your Brain – Living with depression is hard, but when even Cymbalta can’t help, maybe you should try a creepy-ass arachnid that crawls in through your ear canal and burrows in your brain. It chemically regulates your moods and gives you a sense of purpose and it has absolutely no bad side effects! I thought this story was a little on the nose, but there is a tragic irony in this tale about the futility of so-called medical solutions, and since I’m married to a doctor I found it interesting to think about.
Come In, Distraction – This story starts out innocuous – a British guy in a bar trying to use his Britishness to pick up chicks – but slowly delves into a seriously disturbing alternate history in which being British means something totally different than what you’d expect. This one is a great example of how to initially create a sense of safety – a familiar, everyday situation – then subtly infuse it with an unsettlingly alien backstory.
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction – Written as an official court document of a first-degree murder charge, this struck me as the most Lovecraftian story in the collection, as the woman charged with the crime seems to be a harbinger of an evil on the verge of breaking through into the real world.
Sorrow Has Its Natural End – Max, a young man who is functionally blind due to detached retinas, seeks out a man who had successful corrective surgery for a similar problem, and their odd connection gives Max an idea of how he can see again. This is not my favorite story, but then I have a major squick with anything involving eyes, so I had to skim some of it. I don’t want to spoil Max’s big reveal, so I’ll just say that overall, I’m just not sure I really got how everything tied together in this one.
“Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” – I’m not sure what I think of this graphic scatological story. It’s both gross and fascinating and has a real punch of an ending. Some of the stories in this collection blend together because of the similar narrative voice and tone, so I can’t always remember what each one is about when I just see the title (I keep forgetting what “Nothing” is about, for example, until I look up the story), but this is definitely one of those stories I will never forget.
There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer – I love titles like this. The long titles in this collection tell a story all on their own, and this is my favorite of those. It’s genius. On the other hand, I’m not sure what the heck actually happened in this trippy story of two men sharing a loft where they become convinced there is something of “eldritch possibility” beyond their kitchen wall. Whatever was going on beyond the wall was a little too philosophical and abstract of a monster for me, especially since the big moment happens off-page when the narrator is unconscious. In this case, my imagination fails, too overcome with images of the Travelocity Gnome popping out of a Doctor Who crack in the wall. That’s on me.
College -- This story was a good philosophical examination of a familiar moral dilemma, as posed to a college student by his professor – if you were offered a certain sum of money, would you press a button that would condemn another person to death, a person you would never meet nor hear about? The professor’s tricky double-speak is well done, but overall I’ve read this scenario a million times and this didn’t do anything new with it.
There’s Always Something In The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us – Another lovely suggestive title. This is my favorite story of the collection. It’s told from the monster’s point of view (and I use “monster” loosely) as it dons a skin suit and goes undercover to sow discord and uncertainty among guests at a wedding celebration. It has a lot of excellent wordplay and some of the greatest descriptions of life’s (or death’s?) utter meaninglessness that I’ve read. As the Something of the title tells one of his hapless victims just before his death: “You kept telling yourself that every setback you encountered was building up to something worthwhile. That you were going to be redeemed. You aren’t. This is it.” Do we all feel this way upon our death? An uncomfortable notion.
Nothing – This is probably the most existential story of the bunch. It’s a lengthy solipsistic rumination on the brain’s ability to overanalyze everything, including itself, until the narrator almost breaks through into seeing the world for the as it really is -- a “divine insight”. Almost is the key word.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere – My second favorite story. It starts out with three people hiding in the closet of a bar while an indescribable monster rips the other patrons to shreds, and follows one of the group during the aftermath as he attempts to come to terms with the price he paid to survive. This tragic tale is the most complete and evocative story in the collection.
Favorite stories:
A Lower Power
Wonder
There’s Always Something, etc.
There Must Be Lights, etc.
I love horror, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the gore-for-gore’s sake variety (though I appreciate gore a lot when it’s integrated well); I prefer psychological horror, weird situations delving into the intersection between reality and madness. The thirteen stories in this collection are my favorite kind of horror: ones with a slow build and mundane situations that seem only a bit off, then grow more and more disturbing the more they are developed. They are cryptic and suggestive: not everything is explained, more is left up to the imagination, endings are ambiguous, and the mood is often more important than the plot. Several of the stories remind me of Lovecraft (or what I know of what people say about Lovecraft in anthologies based on his writings, since I am no heavy Lovecraft reader), albeit much less overwrought, with the idea that lurking behind our mundane world are unfathomable depths of horror and strangeness. The writing itself is a mix of a minimalist, direct style (no purple prose here!) with enough erudite language to stop it from being plainspoken.
The narrator of each story often seems like the same kind of person, whether male or female, which ties the collection together though it doesn’t necessarily show a lot of range in writing style. They are disaffected, out of place, disoriented, cynical, haunted by failures, looking for meaning in a world that suddenly makes no sense. Hamantaschen does an excellent job conveying this wealth of ineffable disquiet:
“But this feeling that coursed through him, it was so familiar – he felt it all the time – but he could never put his finger on what it was. It wasn’t anxiety: there was no tapping of pens or fidgeting of the feet. He wasn’t fearing anything, either. Truth-be-told, he felt pretty comfortable in bed alongside this sweet gal he had come to know and love, a girl he loved as much as he ever imagined him knowing-and-loving anybody. But, still, this feeling . . . an emotion of undiagnosed vintage, but of determinable weight. It was heavy. It weighed him down. It occupied his core, he could picture it coiled in his gut, something knotty and thick to accompany his intestines.” – “There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere” [252]
I know this feeling, though like the narrator, I can’t give it a name. It just is.
Here’s a brief run-through of my thoughts on the individual stories.
A Lower Power – Dysfunctional, co-dependent relationship issues take a suggestively monstrous turn in this musing narrative on the difficulties of dating the self-aware, grinning bad boy (a “tool wearing sunglasses in the mall” and a perpetual leather jacket) when it turns out not to be an act, but a protective side affect of his secret birthright. I loved the cut-off ending (it leaves off in the perfect spot to really engage one’s twisted imagination) and what it means for a monster to discover his purpose in life – with a little help from his girl.
Wonder – This is a sinister revenge story in which the nameless narrator speaks directly to his ex-lover (ex-friend?), patiently walking him through the steps of his – and his family’s – inevitable bloody end, from the first tiny inkling of worry to a crescendo of unimaginable horror. Like many of the stories in this collection, it starts off with a simple scenario that slowly grows twisted, and that’s a feat to do in a story that’s only four pages.
Endemic – This story made me uncomfortable, since it deals so explicitly with rape and the disquieting suggestion that all men are potential rapists in their deepest, darkest selves. Read this after watching the movie Teeth.
A Parasite Inside Your Brain – Living with depression is hard, but when even Cymbalta can’t help, maybe you should try a creepy-ass arachnid that crawls in through your ear canal and burrows in your brain. It chemically regulates your moods and gives you a sense of purpose and it has absolutely no bad side effects! I thought this story was a little on the nose, but there is a tragic irony in this tale about the futility of so-called medical solutions, and since I’m married to a doctor I found it interesting to think about.
Come In, Distraction – This story starts out innocuous – a British guy in a bar trying to use his Britishness to pick up chicks – but slowly delves into a seriously disturbing alternate history in which being British means something totally different than what you’d expect. This one is a great example of how to initially create a sense of safety – a familiar, everyday situation – then subtly infuse it with an unsettlingly alien backstory.
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction – Written as an official court document of a first-degree murder charge, this struck me as the most Lovecraftian story in the collection, as the woman charged with the crime seems to be a harbinger of an evil on the verge of breaking through into the real world.
Sorrow Has Its Natural End – Max, a young man who is functionally blind due to detached retinas, seeks out a man who had successful corrective surgery for a similar problem, and their odd connection gives Max an idea of how he can see again. This is not my favorite story, but then I have a major squick with anything involving eyes, so I had to skim some of it. I don’t want to spoil Max’s big reveal, so I’ll just say that overall, I’m just not sure I really got how everything tied together in this one.
“Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” – I’m not sure what I think of this graphic scatological story. It’s both gross and fascinating and has a real punch of an ending. Some of the stories in this collection blend together because of the similar narrative voice and tone, so I can’t always remember what each one is about when I just see the title (I keep forgetting what “Nothing” is about, for example, until I look up the story), but this is definitely one of those stories I will never forget.
There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer – I love titles like this. The long titles in this collection tell a story all on their own, and this is my favorite of those. It’s genius. On the other hand, I’m not sure what the heck actually happened in this trippy story of two men sharing a loft where they become convinced there is something of “eldritch possibility” beyond their kitchen wall. Whatever was going on beyond the wall was a little too philosophical and abstract of a monster for me, especially since the big moment happens off-page when the narrator is unconscious. In this case, my imagination fails, too overcome with images of the Travelocity Gnome popping out of a Doctor Who crack in the wall. That’s on me.
College -- This story was a good philosophical examination of a familiar moral dilemma, as posed to a college student by his professor – if you were offered a certain sum of money, would you press a button that would condemn another person to death, a person you would never meet nor hear about? The professor’s tricky double-speak is well done, but overall I’ve read this scenario a million times and this didn’t do anything new with it.
There’s Always Something In The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us – Another lovely suggestive title. This is my favorite story of the collection. It’s told from the monster’s point of view (and I use “monster” loosely) as it dons a skin suit and goes undercover to sow discord and uncertainty among guests at a wedding celebration. It has a lot of excellent wordplay and some of the greatest descriptions of life’s (or death’s?) utter meaninglessness that I’ve read. As the Something of the title tells one of his hapless victims just before his death: “You kept telling yourself that every setback you encountered was building up to something worthwhile. That you were going to be redeemed. You aren’t. This is it.” Do we all feel this way upon our death? An uncomfortable notion.
Nothing – This is probably the most existential story of the bunch. It’s a lengthy solipsistic rumination on the brain’s ability to overanalyze everything, including itself, until the narrator almost breaks through into seeing the world for the as it really is -- a “divine insight”. Almost is the key word.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere – My second favorite story. It starts out with three people hiding in the closet of a bar while an indescribable monster rips the other patrons to shreds, and follows one of the group during the aftermath as he attempts to come to terms with the price he paid to survive. This tragic tale is the most complete and evocative story in the collection.
Favorite stories:
A Lower Power
Wonder
There’s Always Something, etc.
There Must Be Lights, etc.
January 15, 2022
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
Horror anthology that might make someone think.
I wasn't too scared, but I read this during the daytime.
Horror anthology that might make someone think.
I wasn't too scared, but I read this during the daytime.
February 21, 2019
O Hamantaschen γράφει αλλόκοτη λογοτεχνία. Συνορεύει με τον συμβατικό τρόμο, αλλά είναι τόσο ενοχλητικές και στριφνές οι ιστορίες του, ώστε να φλερτάρουν με μια πιο αυθεντική λογοτεχνία. Όπως αυτή που έγραφε κάποτε ο κόσμος πριν τα είδη και οι κατηγορίες γίνουν ένα στοιχείο της καταναλωτικής εκδοτικής παραγωγής.
Έπιασα το βιβλίο με υψηλές προσδοκίες και, αν και δεν είμαι σίγουρος αν καλύψθηκαν, χάρηκα γιατί διάβασα ιστορίες πρωτότυπου τρόμου. Ίσως να ήταν λίγο πιο επιτηδευμένες απ' όσο θα τις ήθελα, ίσως εστίαζαν περίσσοτερο στο ύφος, ίσως στέκονταν σ' εκείνη την περιοχή που ο συγγραφέας περισσότερο πειραματίζεται παρά παραδίδει μια εθιστική διήγηση. Επειδή όμως μου θύμισε Τόμας Λιγκότι και φαίνεται να αγαπάει μια σειρά συγγραφέων που είναι πολύ του γούστου μου, και επειδή τούτο αποτελεί πρώιμη προσπάθεια του συγγραφέα, ο οποίος είναι πολύ νέος αλλά και εξαιρετικά ταλαντούχος, δηλώνω ευτυχής με την γνωριμία μου μαζί του. Περιμένω με προσμονή να διαβάσω το With a Voice that is Often Still Confused But is Becoming Ever Louder and Clearer.
Έπιασα το βιβλίο με υψηλές προσδοκίες και, αν και δεν είμαι σίγουρος αν καλύψθηκαν, χάρηκα γιατί διάβασα ιστορίες πρωτότυπου τρόμου. Ίσως να ήταν λίγο πιο επιτηδευμένες απ' όσο θα τις ήθελα, ίσως εστίαζαν περίσσοτερο στο ύφος, ίσως στέκονταν σ' εκείνη την περιοχή που ο συγγραφέας περισσότερο πειραματίζεται παρά παραδίδει μια εθιστική διήγηση. Επειδή όμως μου θύμισε Τόμας Λιγκότι και φαίνεται να αγαπάει μια σειρά συγγραφέων που είναι πολύ του γούστου μου, και επειδή τούτο αποτελεί πρώιμη προσπάθεια του συγγραφέα, ο οποίος είναι πολύ νέος αλλά και εξαιρετικά ταλαντούχος, δηλώνω ευτυχής με την γνωριμία μου μαζί του. Περιμένω με προσμονή να διαβάσω το With a Voice that is Often Still Confused But is Becoming Ever Louder and Clearer.
January 16, 2013
Please note: I read this in February 2012. I'm just updating the formatting and adding the disclosure that the author provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Book information: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy, Lovecraftian short stories
Reading Level: Adult
Triggers: Weirdness, violence
Recommended for: Fans of Lovecraft, dark fantasy
My synopsis and musings on the book: This is a short story anthology, with stories in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft – dark fantasy stories, the type of things that will settle in your soul and leave shadows there that weren’t before. These stories range in length and topic, but all share the same darkness, the same weirdness, the same … creeping quality that will crawl into your brain and set up shop and leave you … different than you were before reading them. Wonderfully twisted, terrifically strange, and highly recommended. An experience you must have – get this book, and read this book. You will not be disappointed.
Detailed thoughts: My favorite story was the short “Jordan, When are you Going to Settle Down, get Married and Have us Some Children?” I liked it so much, I read it aloud to my husband before he went to sleep this morning. I hope he had a nice, twisted dream. I can’t even tell you what it is about without spoiling it, but it is so weird, so twisted, so gross that you will probably love it, too! The final story, “There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere” is also the longest, and deals with how someone handles the aftermath of a very stressful situation. Wonderful. “A Parasite Inside your Brain” will make you think – are parasites really so bad? I could go on, but I will let you discover these wonderfully twisted and dark stories yourself. If you like Lovecraft, if you like twisted and weird dark fantasy, you will love this stuff!
Book information: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy, Lovecraftian short stories
Reading Level: Adult
Triggers: Weirdness, violence
Recommended for: Fans of Lovecraft, dark fantasy
My synopsis and musings on the book: This is a short story anthology, with stories in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft – dark fantasy stories, the type of things that will settle in your soul and leave shadows there that weren’t before. These stories range in length and topic, but all share the same darkness, the same weirdness, the same … creeping quality that will crawl into your brain and set up shop and leave you … different than you were before reading them. Wonderfully twisted, terrifically strange, and highly recommended. An experience you must have – get this book, and read this book. You will not be disappointed.
Detailed thoughts: My favorite story was the short “Jordan, When are you Going to Settle Down, get Married and Have us Some Children?” I liked it so much, I read it aloud to my husband before he went to sleep this morning. I hope he had a nice, twisted dream. I can’t even tell you what it is about without spoiling it, but it is so weird, so twisted, so gross that you will probably love it, too! The final story, “There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere” is also the longest, and deals with how someone handles the aftermath of a very stressful situation. Wonderful. “A Parasite Inside your Brain” will make you think – are parasites really so bad? I could go on, but I will let you discover these wonderfully twisted and dark stories yourself. If you like Lovecraft, if you like twisted and weird dark fantasy, you will love this stuff!
December 15, 2011
It took me longer than usual to read this fascinating collection of stories by J. R. Hamantaschen because I read many of them twice. Once to experience the exceptional style of the author's writings and another to figure what the heck he was writing about.
Before you misinterpret the above paragraph let me say that it is a major compliment. Hamantaschen can really turn a phrase. His fiction merits attentive reading. But he also has a rather dense style of writing with themes and plots that can send you a bit out of focus. Like horror writers Dennis Etchison and, to a lesser degree, T.E.D. Klein, he excels at taking the mundane everyday issues and turning them on its head. "Jordan, when are you going to settle down, marry, and have us some children" starts with a common nightmare that some guys worry about on a first date and turns it horribly wrong. "A Parasite Inside Your Brain" is deeply disturbing in its simplicity. "Nothing", the last and longest tale in the book, starts with a horrifying incident but is more about the quieter but no less terrifying aftermath of one of the protagonists. Hamantaschen is a younger author, 27 years old according to the book blurb, and occasionally a passage will reveal that this is a writer still polishing his craft. However, the depth of these writings is quite impressive and it bodes well for this new writer of avant-horror.
Before you misinterpret the above paragraph let me say that it is a major compliment. Hamantaschen can really turn a phrase. His fiction merits attentive reading. But he also has a rather dense style of writing with themes and plots that can send you a bit out of focus. Like horror writers Dennis Etchison and, to a lesser degree, T.E.D. Klein, he excels at taking the mundane everyday issues and turning them on its head. "Jordan, when are you going to settle down, marry, and have us some children" starts with a common nightmare that some guys worry about on a first date and turns it horribly wrong. "A Parasite Inside Your Brain" is deeply disturbing in its simplicity. "Nothing", the last and longest tale in the book, starts with a horrifying incident but is more about the quieter but no less terrifying aftermath of one of the protagonists. Hamantaschen is a younger author, 27 years old according to the book blurb, and occasionally a passage will reveal that this is a writer still polishing his craft. However, the depth of these writings is quite impressive and it bodes well for this new writer of avant-horror.
February 23, 2018
3.5/5*
YOU SHALL NEVER KNOW SECURITY is a collection of 13 tales from J.R. Hamantaschen. These stories vary greatly in theme, but one thing I can say with certainty is that they all have that haunting, lingering power that leads you to dwell on the significance of each, as well as possible "hidden" ideas embedded that come to light upon further reflection. While I wouldn't classify these as all horror by any means, I enjoyed reading just about all of them, and the twisted viewpoints each of them presented.
Personal favorites of mine included:
--"A Parasite Inside Your Brain": This one really makes you take a good look at the gains in the scientific/medical field, and contemplate what actually makes our lives "better".
--"Sorrow has its Natural End": This one took me by surprise, and is probably one of the stories closest to what I would define as "horror". ". . . Surviving on pity like some emotional parasite."
--"Endemic": A tale of a "scientific advance" that will have you questioning the very nature of "advancement", and of course, human nature in general...
--"Wonder": While this was one of the shortest tales here, it is also my personal favorite. WOW! The power of suggestion is all it takes to get your mind moving in all kinds of ways. This is one that kept coming back to haunt me afterwards, increasingly complex each time I contemplated it.
Overall, a great collection of some very unique tales that drive you to think outside the box, and examine life through a new, before-unseen, lens.
Recommended!
YOU SHALL NEVER KNOW SECURITY is a collection of 13 tales from J.R. Hamantaschen. These stories vary greatly in theme, but one thing I can say with certainty is that they all have that haunting, lingering power that leads you to dwell on the significance of each, as well as possible "hidden" ideas embedded that come to light upon further reflection. While I wouldn't classify these as all horror by any means, I enjoyed reading just about all of them, and the twisted viewpoints each of them presented.
Personal favorites of mine included:
--"A Parasite Inside Your Brain": This one really makes you take a good look at the gains in the scientific/medical field, and contemplate what actually makes our lives "better".
--"Sorrow has its Natural End": This one took me by surprise, and is probably one of the stories closest to what I would define as "horror". ". . . Surviving on pity like some emotional parasite."
--"Endemic": A tale of a "scientific advance" that will have you questioning the very nature of "advancement", and of course, human nature in general...
--"Wonder": While this was one of the shortest tales here, it is also my personal favorite. WOW! The power of suggestion is all it takes to get your mind moving in all kinds of ways. This is one that kept coming back to haunt me afterwards, increasingly complex each time I contemplated it.
Overall, a great collection of some very unique tales that drive you to think outside the box, and examine life through a new, before-unseen, lens.
Recommended!
November 14, 2018
Got this in the Goodreads First Reads program, hooray! Thanks so much for the opportunity--I appreciate it.
2.5 stars--somewhere between "OK" and "liked."
This is a book of dark fantasy/horror stories--a genre I quite like. I think a lot of the ideas here show promise. I especially enjoyed the last novella, called "There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere."
However, the grammar and writing style aren't quite there yet. Maybe after some more writing experience!
2.5 stars--somewhere between "OK" and "liked."
This is a book of dark fantasy/horror stories--a genre I quite like. I think a lot of the ideas here show promise. I especially enjoyed the last novella, called "There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere."
However, the grammar and writing style aren't quite there yet. Maybe after some more writing experience!
August 19, 2013
I don’t read all that many anthologies. I prefer reading novels, just as I prefer writing them. So when I do read anthologies, I don’t finish them unless they are good. You Shall Never Know Security by J.R. Hamantaschen is good. In fact, it is very good indeed.
I think there is something wrong with J.R., and I mean that in the kindest way possible. His stories display a sickly twisted diabolical nature that is difficult to achieve. Whether it’s the tragically beautiful “A Parasite Inside Your Brain,” the devilishly delightful “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction,” (so ripping this one off at some point), or the hilariously introspective “Nothing,” every single one of J.R.’s stories is both unique and horrifying in its own way. If you enjoy short fiction with a dark twist—particularly that kind of darkness you only see from Lovecraftians—then check out You Shall Never Know Security.
Just beware—the title does not overpromise.
5 Stars
I think there is something wrong with J.R., and I mean that in the kindest way possible. His stories display a sickly twisted diabolical nature that is difficult to achieve. Whether it’s the tragically beautiful “A Parasite Inside Your Brain,” the devilishly delightful “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction,” (so ripping this one off at some point), or the hilariously introspective “Nothing,” every single one of J.R.’s stories is both unique and horrifying in its own way. If you enjoy short fiction with a dark twist—particularly that kind of darkness you only see from Lovecraftians—then check out You Shall Never Know Security.
Just beware—the title does not overpromise.
5 Stars
August 25, 2015
There's nothing wrong with this collection. The stories held my interest while I was reading them. Sadly, there's also nothing particularly memorable either. Other than leaving a hazy vision of nasty things with pointy little teeth, they've drifted out of my head forever.
March 29, 2012
Smart, dark, depressing, and humorous. Good stuff.
January 16, 2024
Edgelord horror at its finest. Not recommended for people who are sensitive, women, pet lovers, human lovers, or men.
December 14, 2013
Originally published at Risingshadow.
J.R. Hamantaschen's You Shall Never Know Security is one of the best dark fiction collections ever published. It contains fascinating, disturbing and beautifully written stories that range all the way from dark fantasy to horror.
The last decade has been an exceptionally good decade for dark fiction, because several good authors have emerged and delighted dark fantasy and horror readers with their disturbing and unsettling stories. J.R. Hamantaschen is one of these good authors and I'm sure that several readers will agree with me when I say that he's very talented.
I have to say that I was very impressed by this collection, because it contains fine and elegantly written stories. The stories in this collection were my kind of fiction, because they were original and disturbing masterpieces of dark fiction. I've always been fascinated by the darker side of fantasy, horror and weird fiction, so these stories made a huge impression on me.
The stories in this collection may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm sure that everybody who likes good dark fiction will enjoy reading them.
Before I write more about the contents of You Shall Never Know Security, I think it's good to mention that I've noticed that there are several readers out there who have a bit erranous views about what is dark fiction and what is not. It's interesting that several readers think that when a story or a book contains certain elements (for example vampires, zombies or werewolves), it's automatically dark fiction. The truth is that these elements don't necessarily make a story or a book dark fiction, because real dark fiction is something totally else. Dark fiction is basically another name for horror fiction and encompasses dark fantasy and horror and all the possible sub-genres associated with them. In my opinion real dark fiction is the kind of fiction which disturbs you, makes you think about what you've read, challenges your views about the world and people, and frightens you. Dark fiction may contain violently and sexually graphical material, but it may also contain descriptions of mental illness and psychological horror. The truly sophisticated dark fiction is the kind of fiction that has an unsettling effect on you and you can't stop thinking about what you've read (this collection is this kind of dark fiction, because you simply can't forget what you've read).
You Shall Never Know Security contains the following stories:
- A Lower Power
- Wonder
- Endemic
- A Parasite Inside Your Brain
- Come In, Distraction
- Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction
- Sorrow Has Its Natural End
- "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?"
- There Is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer
- College
- There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us
- Nothing
- There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere
Here's more information about some of the stories:
"A Lower Power" and "Wonder" are powerful short stories and they pave the way for other great stories. "Wonder" is one of the best and most memorable stories in this collection, because it's difficult to forget how the author writes about lost love. It's a wonderfully macabre and disturbing story.
"A Parasite Inside Your Brain" is a fascinating story about Caitlin who has an arachnid inside her brain. In this story the author writes interestingly about depression.
"Come In, Distraction" is another excellent story. I liked the way the author wrote about what had happened in England and how the people had changed horribly.
I'm sure that "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?" will linger on every reader's mind. It may not be to everybody's liking, but it's an unforgettably weird and twisted story that has pitch black humour in it.
"Truth Is Stanger than Fiction" is a fantastic story about Melias and the brutal murder she committed. In my opinion this story has interesting Lovecraftian elements in it.
"Sorrow Has Its Natural End" is a strong story about Max who's almost blind. The author writes intriguingly about how Max finds information about a man who's been cured of the same condition by using nanotechology particles. What follows is an unsettling story.
"There Is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer" is one of the best stories I've read this year. It's a fascinatingly quirky story. I'm not going to write about what happens in it, but I'll mention that it's an excellent story.
"There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere" is one of the best stories in this collection. It's a story about Alex who hides in a closet with two other persons. Something horrible has happened outside the closet and they try to survive by staying in the closet. It's amazing how well and captivatingly the author writes about Alex and his situation, because at first the happenings take place inside a closet. It takes quite a lot of skill to build tension when the characters are hiding in the closet, but the author succeeds in it and creates an atmospherical story that you won't easily forget.
At the beginning of this collection, the editors tell that the author has written the stories with time and hasn't hurried in the writing process. This can be seen in the quality of the stories, because each of them is beautifully written and there's real emotion (sadness, pain, loneliness etc) in them.
J.R. Hamantaschen has managed to bring lots of depth to his stories by writing about what the characters feel and what happens to them. I liked it very much that the author was able to write effortlessly about the characters and their feelings and managed to give them different personalities. The characters in these stories can almost be seen as Lovecraftian characters who are unable to resist temptation and feel drawn towards darkness and doom.
There's a wonderfully weird and unsettling atmosphere in all of these stories. The author is capable of creating an atmosphere that causes feelings of unease in the reader. His weird and macabre stories will linger on the reader's mind, because he manages to put ideas into the reader's head and makes the reader think about what's happening.
The author approaches weirdness in a modern way, which is very nice. He doesn't imitate anybody, but has his own distinct voice. What separates him from several other authors is that he writes about what kind of normal and disturbing thoughts go through the characters' minds. This kind of writing adds freshness and power to his stories.
J.R. Hamantaschen writes interestingly about things related to sex, sexuality and relationships. His approach to these things is refreshingly weird and also more than a bit twisted. For example, in "There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us" he writes surprisingly well about elements related to sexuality (homosexuality etc) and relationships, and in "Endemic" he writes about difficult things in an unflinching way.
One of the reasons why You Shall Never Know Security is a great collection is the quality of the prose. I like the author's prose very much, because he writes excellent prose. His prose reminds me a bit of the prose by H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Nathan Ballingrud, T.E.D. Klein and other masters of weird fiction and horror. He strips away the flesh of normal everyday life and reveals what kind of horrors lurk beneath the surface. He offers his readers disturbing visions and brilliantly imagined scenarios of twisted and extraordinary happenings.
I hope that J.R. Hamantaschen continues to write more stories, because he's a talented author. Because J.R. Hamantaschen is mostly known to readers who read underground horror, it would be nice if his stories were discovered by as many readers as possible. His stories deserve to be read, because they're good stories.
If you've read stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Nathan Ballingrud, Thomas Ligotti, Laird Barron, Richard Gavin, T.E.D. Klein and other similar authors, you should put this collection to your reading list, because the stories in this collection are fascinating and a bit different kind of stories for fans of dark fiction. This collection may also be of interest to readers of D.P. Watt, Quentin S. Crisp and Brendan Connell.
Highly recommended!
J.R. Hamantaschen's You Shall Never Know Security is one of the best dark fiction collections ever published. It contains fascinating, disturbing and beautifully written stories that range all the way from dark fantasy to horror.
The last decade has been an exceptionally good decade for dark fiction, because several good authors have emerged and delighted dark fantasy and horror readers with their disturbing and unsettling stories. J.R. Hamantaschen is one of these good authors and I'm sure that several readers will agree with me when I say that he's very talented.
I have to say that I was very impressed by this collection, because it contains fine and elegantly written stories. The stories in this collection were my kind of fiction, because they were original and disturbing masterpieces of dark fiction. I've always been fascinated by the darker side of fantasy, horror and weird fiction, so these stories made a huge impression on me.
The stories in this collection may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I'm sure that everybody who likes good dark fiction will enjoy reading them.
Before I write more about the contents of You Shall Never Know Security, I think it's good to mention that I've noticed that there are several readers out there who have a bit erranous views about what is dark fiction and what is not. It's interesting that several readers think that when a story or a book contains certain elements (for example vampires, zombies or werewolves), it's automatically dark fiction. The truth is that these elements don't necessarily make a story or a book dark fiction, because real dark fiction is something totally else. Dark fiction is basically another name for horror fiction and encompasses dark fantasy and horror and all the possible sub-genres associated with them. In my opinion real dark fiction is the kind of fiction which disturbs you, makes you think about what you've read, challenges your views about the world and people, and frightens you. Dark fiction may contain violently and sexually graphical material, but it may also contain descriptions of mental illness and psychological horror. The truly sophisticated dark fiction is the kind of fiction that has an unsettling effect on you and you can't stop thinking about what you've read (this collection is this kind of dark fiction, because you simply can't forget what you've read).
You Shall Never Know Security contains the following stories:
- A Lower Power
- Wonder
- Endemic
- A Parasite Inside Your Brain
- Come In, Distraction
- Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction
- Sorrow Has Its Natural End
- "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?"
- There Is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer
- College
- There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us
- Nothing
- There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere
Here's more information about some of the stories:
"A Lower Power" and "Wonder" are powerful short stories and they pave the way for other great stories. "Wonder" is one of the best and most memorable stories in this collection, because it's difficult to forget how the author writes about lost love. It's a wonderfully macabre and disturbing story.
"A Parasite Inside Your Brain" is a fascinating story about Caitlin who has an arachnid inside her brain. In this story the author writes interestingly about depression.
"Come In, Distraction" is another excellent story. I liked the way the author wrote about what had happened in England and how the people had changed horribly.
I'm sure that "Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?" will linger on every reader's mind. It may not be to everybody's liking, but it's an unforgettably weird and twisted story that has pitch black humour in it.
"Truth Is Stanger than Fiction" is a fantastic story about Melias and the brutal murder she committed. In my opinion this story has interesting Lovecraftian elements in it.
"Sorrow Has Its Natural End" is a strong story about Max who's almost blind. The author writes intriguingly about how Max finds information about a man who's been cured of the same condition by using nanotechology particles. What follows is an unsettling story.
"There Is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, and I Swear I Won't Disappoint Them Any Longer" is one of the best stories I've read this year. It's a fascinatingly quirky story. I'm not going to write about what happens in it, but I'll mention that it's an excellent story.
"There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere" is one of the best stories in this collection. It's a story about Alex who hides in a closet with two other persons. Something horrible has happened outside the closet and they try to survive by staying in the closet. It's amazing how well and captivatingly the author writes about Alex and his situation, because at first the happenings take place inside a closet. It takes quite a lot of skill to build tension when the characters are hiding in the closet, but the author succeeds in it and creates an atmospherical story that you won't easily forget.
At the beginning of this collection, the editors tell that the author has written the stories with time and hasn't hurried in the writing process. This can be seen in the quality of the stories, because each of them is beautifully written and there's real emotion (sadness, pain, loneliness etc) in them.
J.R. Hamantaschen has managed to bring lots of depth to his stories by writing about what the characters feel and what happens to them. I liked it very much that the author was able to write effortlessly about the characters and their feelings and managed to give them different personalities. The characters in these stories can almost be seen as Lovecraftian characters who are unable to resist temptation and feel drawn towards darkness and doom.
There's a wonderfully weird and unsettling atmosphere in all of these stories. The author is capable of creating an atmosphere that causes feelings of unease in the reader. His weird and macabre stories will linger on the reader's mind, because he manages to put ideas into the reader's head and makes the reader think about what's happening.
The author approaches weirdness in a modern way, which is very nice. He doesn't imitate anybody, but has his own distinct voice. What separates him from several other authors is that he writes about what kind of normal and disturbing thoughts go through the characters' minds. This kind of writing adds freshness and power to his stories.
J.R. Hamantaschen writes interestingly about things related to sex, sexuality and relationships. His approach to these things is refreshingly weird and also more than a bit twisted. For example, in "There's Always Something in the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn't Displease Us" he writes surprisingly well about elements related to sexuality (homosexuality etc) and relationships, and in "Endemic" he writes about difficult things in an unflinching way.
One of the reasons why You Shall Never Know Security is a great collection is the quality of the prose. I like the author's prose very much, because he writes excellent prose. His prose reminds me a bit of the prose by H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Nathan Ballingrud, T.E.D. Klein and other masters of weird fiction and horror. He strips away the flesh of normal everyday life and reveals what kind of horrors lurk beneath the surface. He offers his readers disturbing visions and brilliantly imagined scenarios of twisted and extraordinary happenings.
I hope that J.R. Hamantaschen continues to write more stories, because he's a talented author. Because J.R. Hamantaschen is mostly known to readers who read underground horror, it would be nice if his stories were discovered by as many readers as possible. His stories deserve to be read, because they're good stories.
If you've read stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Nathan Ballingrud, Thomas Ligotti, Laird Barron, Richard Gavin, T.E.D. Klein and other similar authors, you should put this collection to your reading list, because the stories in this collection are fascinating and a bit different kind of stories for fans of dark fiction. This collection may also be of interest to readers of D.P. Watt, Quentin S. Crisp and Brendan Connell.
Highly recommended!
February 19, 2012
You Shall Never Know Security is a short-story collection that is intended for someone who is looking for a quick fix. It equates to a B-movie. Some of the stories (especially the piece entitled “There is a Family of Gnomes Behind My Wall”) show remarkable daring, but I’m put off again and again by the extremely clunky prose (and the preponderance of ellipsis).
All of the stories can really use a thorough do-over plus a lot of editing.
For example, the story “A Parasite Inside Your Brain” was enjoyable until the final two sentences which ruined it. The attempt to deliver a punch line at the end deflated the whole story.
Moreover, there are so many “big” words which seem to me have been padded for effect. Some examples are cynosure, prestidigitation, kinesalgia (cramp or muscle pain will fit perfectly in the context of the sentence), scheudenfreude (according to Google, it’s shadenfreude), vermiculate, recrudesced, opprobrium (when the word “disgrace” would have sufficed), ukase (to mean “decree”), etc. All these words distract if the overall tone and the prose styling is not that sophisticated. “Big” words need to be interspersed with well-constructed prose, otherwise they will stick out in an off-putting way because they clearly don’t belong there.
The violence, the overplayed sex scenes – they all sounded forced and at times, unnecessary. There’s a story containing a badly written scene of a character who is taking a crap; it stretched for two paragraphs until the character used the toilet paper. Bentley Little wrote something similar in “Against the Pale Sand,” and how the scene came out masterfully -- the effect was disturbing and mesmerizing. The one in You Shall Never Know Security is just gross.
“Sorrow Has Its Natural End” was the strongest piece in this collection. It reminded me of a watered down version of the excellent “Muscae Volitantes” by Chet Williamson.
The back cover blurb must have raised my hopes because it states that the stories in the book are in the same vein as those of luminaries like Ligotti, Etchison, and Klein – writers I worship because of their writing flair and originality. Many of the stories in this book, specifically their execution, need professional editing and tightening to realize their vision. You Shall Never Know Security had promise if only the prose were sound.
All of the stories can really use a thorough do-over plus a lot of editing.
For example, the story “A Parasite Inside Your Brain” was enjoyable until the final two sentences which ruined it. The attempt to deliver a punch line at the end deflated the whole story.
Moreover, there are so many “big” words which seem to me have been padded for effect. Some examples are cynosure, prestidigitation, kinesalgia (cramp or muscle pain will fit perfectly in the context of the sentence), scheudenfreude (according to Google, it’s shadenfreude), vermiculate, recrudesced, opprobrium (when the word “disgrace” would have sufficed), ukase (to mean “decree”), etc. All these words distract if the overall tone and the prose styling is not that sophisticated. “Big” words need to be interspersed with well-constructed prose, otherwise they will stick out in an off-putting way because they clearly don’t belong there.
The violence, the overplayed sex scenes – they all sounded forced and at times, unnecessary. There’s a story containing a badly written scene of a character who is taking a crap; it stretched for two paragraphs until the character used the toilet paper. Bentley Little wrote something similar in “Against the Pale Sand,” and how the scene came out masterfully -- the effect was disturbing and mesmerizing. The one in You Shall Never Know Security is just gross.
“Sorrow Has Its Natural End” was the strongest piece in this collection. It reminded me of a watered down version of the excellent “Muscae Volitantes” by Chet Williamson.
The back cover blurb must have raised my hopes because it states that the stories in the book are in the same vein as those of luminaries like Ligotti, Etchison, and Klein – writers I worship because of their writing flair and originality. Many of the stories in this book, specifically their execution, need professional editing and tightening to realize their vision. You Shall Never Know Security had promise if only the prose were sound.
December 27, 2011
There are thirteen stories in this collection and none of them are called ‘You Shall Never Know Security’. That, as it turns out, is J.R.’s personal message to the reader. Prepare to mutter ‘what the goddamn hell?’ and look up from the book and find a good, solid, ordinary object in your home to focus on by way of relief before being dragged inexorably back down into his almost conversational narratives on things that are more horrible than most people can be bothered to imagine.
Truly dark fiction, it turns out, doesn’t come in just one flavour… Wonder is a short crescendo of revenge, an example of craftsmanship that is awe-inspiring, in that it takes a mere three-and-a-half pages (of largish text) to achieve a state of absolute horror. Some authors would have eked that imagery out over three books. A Parasite Inside Your Brain is terribly sad and Come In, Distraction has sadness cohabiting with chilling and blunt horror. “Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children” is the most disturbing shit I have read in my life. There’s Always Something in the Misfortune of Friends that Doesn’t Displease Us is utterly enjoyable. The end of the first story, A Lower Power, energised me with fear, as did the beginning of the last story, There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere; a pitch which settled into a desperate desire not to know what the hell had gone on in that bar.
Most of the stories involve some wordplay, which I love, but some include some style-play, too, like Truth is stranger than Fiction, enormously effective when coupled with the author's preference for instilling in the reader the sense that we are far further down the food chain that we think, and any attempt to understand what’s going on up the chain will result in failure and mangled body parts.
Read the collection. Lose a little sleep (maybe a little lunch). Keep the light on in the stairway. Glance out of darkened windows at night and consider what might be out there, with fresh insight into how impossible our survival would be against it. Go to work and pretend everything’s okay. And don’t say you weren’t warned. It's all in the title.
Truly dark fiction, it turns out, doesn’t come in just one flavour… Wonder is a short crescendo of revenge, an example of craftsmanship that is awe-inspiring, in that it takes a mere three-and-a-half pages (of largish text) to achieve a state of absolute horror. Some authors would have eked that imagery out over three books. A Parasite Inside Your Brain is terribly sad and Come In, Distraction has sadness cohabiting with chilling and blunt horror. “Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children” is the most disturbing shit I have read in my life. There’s Always Something in the Misfortune of Friends that Doesn’t Displease Us is utterly enjoyable. The end of the first story, A Lower Power, energised me with fear, as did the beginning of the last story, There Must be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere; a pitch which settled into a desperate desire not to know what the hell had gone on in that bar.
Most of the stories involve some wordplay, which I love, but some include some style-play, too, like Truth is stranger than Fiction, enormously effective when coupled with the author's preference for instilling in the reader the sense that we are far further down the food chain that we think, and any attempt to understand what’s going on up the chain will result in failure and mangled body parts.
Read the collection. Lose a little sleep (maybe a little lunch). Keep the light on in the stairway. Glance out of darkened windows at night and consider what might be out there, with fresh insight into how impossible our survival would be against it. Go to work and pretend everything’s okay. And don’t say you weren’t warned. It's all in the title.
February 23, 2012
J.R. Hamantaschen is the guy at the back of the bar secretly planning to kill you. Don’t worry, you’re safe – for now; any death that he could realistically deal you couldn’t possibly live up to his caustic imagination, and the last thing he wants is to be a disappointment.
He needn’t worry. His debut anthology, You Shall Never Know Security, makes a hell of an impression and forebodes a long and distinguished career writing dark fiction. The stories feature a variety of themes and tones shaped by the usual influences but are not burdened with their associations. What emerges is authentic. Hamantaschen is deeply cynical but also self-deprecating and his best characters embody these traits. His understanding of human ugliness is nuanced and often takes his narratives to places where polite society would not care to follow; fortunately, this is part of what makes horror effective.
As a side note, my fiancé – who works in a bakery – reminded me that hamantaschen is also a delicious cookie that she sells. J.R. is probably already painfully aware, but I thought it was cute and it might be an association he may want to exploit if he ever wants to soften his image. (sorry, J.R.)
He needn’t worry. His debut anthology, You Shall Never Know Security, makes a hell of an impression and forebodes a long and distinguished career writing dark fiction. The stories feature a variety of themes and tones shaped by the usual influences but are not burdened with their associations. What emerges is authentic. Hamantaschen is deeply cynical but also self-deprecating and his best characters embody these traits. His understanding of human ugliness is nuanced and often takes his narratives to places where polite society would not care to follow; fortunately, this is part of what makes horror effective.
As a side note, my fiancé – who works in a bakery – reminded me that hamantaschen is also a delicious cookie that she sells. J.R. is probably already painfully aware, but I thought it was cute and it might be an association he may want to exploit if he ever wants to soften his image. (sorry, J.R.)
October 31, 2012
I wrote an entire review of this book, which I then lost.
Here is the short version: I loved these stories. I will definitely re-read them. JR Hammantaschen is a wonderful talent who should have a long and successful career.
The longer version discussed several stories at length, but it's late and I'm tired and aggravated. So let me just mention, briefly, some highlights:
"College" was thought provoking and sparked a lengthy discussion with my husband regarding the nature of ethics.
"Jordan" (I've abbreviated the title) is hilarious and horrible.
"Truth is Stranger Than Fiction" is told entirely in the form of a legal pleading, which may be daunting to some, but which I felt worked very well and is unique in genre fiction.
Very short version: Do yourself a favour and read this book. It's cerebral horror/speculative fiction for intelligent readers who enjoy a little nastiness.
Here is the short version: I loved these stories. I will definitely re-read them. JR Hammantaschen is a wonderful talent who should have a long and successful career.
The longer version discussed several stories at length, but it's late and I'm tired and aggravated. So let me just mention, briefly, some highlights:
"College" was thought provoking and sparked a lengthy discussion with my husband regarding the nature of ethics.
"Jordan" (I've abbreviated the title) is hilarious and horrible.
"Truth is Stranger Than Fiction" is told entirely in the form of a legal pleading, which may be daunting to some, but which I felt worked very well and is unique in genre fiction.
Very short version: Do yourself a favour and read this book. It's cerebral horror/speculative fiction for intelligent readers who enjoy a little nastiness.
August 16, 2019
You Shall Never Know Security is aptly titled. Containing 13 tales, all are beautifully written, most are engrossing and there's a vein of loss running throughout. Overall, the book is depressing but still compelling as hell because of J.R. Hamantaschen's skill with words. As supernatural as the stories can get, there's still a semblance of "real life" found in each as sometimes there are just no happy endings. Sometimes the real world just sucks.
You can read Steve's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Steve's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
January 29, 2014
As a person who is skeptical of authors I've never heard of, this one was definitely a gem. The stories were written with depth and creativity. Some were gross, others disturbing, but always left you wanting more and pondering what you just read. It was a joy to read and can't wait for more from this author. I will definitely give this book a reread. It had me asking alot of questions, but I had the opportunity to read this with someone to make the experience even better. I definitely reccommend this to lovers of dark fiction.
January 1, 2013
Great collection of weird and thought provoking tales. Not all of the stories were a direct hit, but the ones that were are stories that will stick in mind for a long time. The author touches a raw nerve with several of the stories with my favorite being the last novella of the collection.
March 19, 2016
3.5 bumped to a 4. Only three or four stories here that didn't really move me.
Really liked Wonder, Endemic and Jordan..... but my favorite was There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere.
Really liked Wonder, Endemic and Jordan..... but my favorite was There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere.
May 9, 2021
Another solid collection of what I consider to be story sketches, told in J.R.'s very unique voice. And when I say story sketches, I'm not trying to take away from the author at all. These are very good sketches in my opinion and if they were fully formed and filled out they would lose some of the more charm they have. The author purposefully leaves it up to the reader to fill in the more mysterious gaps with our own worst parts of our imagination, and this kind of backs up one (if not the) central theme of this collection which is "we are all going to die". But even as we know and understand this to be true, to think about it on a daily basis would obviously lead to mankind accomplishing nothing. Nature has tricked us and put the fact of death into our blind spot. And Hamantaschen with his writing is trying his hardest to yank the spotlight away from our daily routines and shine it on the reaper waiting for us all.
Also there is a story about designing alluring robot women to catch rapists.
But overall there is a lot of humor, some very biting satire and overall depressingly spooky stuff in this collection.
Also there is a story about designing alluring robot women to catch rapists.
But overall there is a lot of humor, some very biting satire and overall depressingly spooky stuff in this collection.
January 16, 2016
I believe I first heard of this collection on the Ligotti Online forums. I wouldn't call these stories expressly "Ligottian," although there's certainly nihilistic strains in stories like "College," "There’s Always Something In The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us" and especially the last two stories "Nothing" and "There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere."
These stories are insidious, they creep up on you. They make you uncomfortable. This is dark fiction, with some cosmic horror and body horror thrown in on occasion. But most of all Hamantaschen shines a light on parts of the psyche and human condition we'd rather forget -- guilt, loneliness, schadenfreude and a melancholy that's palpable throughout.
Hamantaschen is great with sensitivity toward people's inner-thoughts and fears, their interactions with others. You care about these (flawed) characters. These stories are very modern, with references to college loan anxiety, social media, etc. and expand the definition of what horror fiction can be with their depressive underpinnings. I was also impressed by what he could squeeze out of a mere 1,000-2,000 words at times. Some of the best stories here are quite brief.
I'd like to give this collection four stars, but I admit I found it uneven. I enjoyed almost all of the stories, but would only re-read a few. I like unresolved ambiguities, but a few endings here weren't to my taste and left me unsatisfied. Still, I think there's a great imagination at work here, it's an excellent first collection, I'll definitely be reading his 2015 collection, "With a Voice that is Often Still Confused But is Becoming Ever Louder and Clearer."
A Lower Power - A very strange piece of dark fiction, not everything here made complete sense and I felt the end left me hangin', but the imagery is certainly powerful, memorable and creates an interesting effect. The manipulative narrator adds a dark touch. A girl tells about her fascinating boyfriend who was infected with many strange powers, good and bad.
Wonder - Wow this is a truly horrific, dreadfully dark work with lots of creepy little touches. Most impressive I thought was that it makes so much out of a mere 1,000~ words. Someone takes revenge in seeing a man's life destroyed in the most horrible, and weird ways possible.
Endemic - This story jumps around in time and perspective a bit and holds it's cards close to the chest, it's only at the end that we see how good it is. Elements of sci-fi and body horror. A corporation comes up with a very vicious way to deal with rapists.
A Parasite Inside Your Brain - Such a great story, it has some creepy moments in it, but really has something to say about medicine and modern psychology I thought. A parasite embeds itself into a teenage girl's brain, with unexpected consequences.
Come In, Distraction - A sad story, lonely, cynical, true, about the dating scene, with a very weird reveal at the end. An American girl hooks up with a Brit at a bar, she's seduced by the allure of his status, he's thinking of the apocalyptic event that haunts his memory.
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction - Story told in a very interesting way -- through the cold legalese of a court document. So much is left unanswered here, but we get some very creepy hints. A woman convicted of murder tries to explain what really did the horrible act.
Sorrow Has Its Natural End - One of the longer stories here, it has a certain emotional weight to it and a genuine sense of loneliness. A young man who is half blind from a detached retina gains hope from someone he tries to befriend who had an experimental surgery for the same condition.
“Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” - Great title for a story, and wow this one is truly grisly. I am amazed what Hamantaschen can pack into a mere 1,000~ words. A man explains a horrible condition that keeps him from ever keeping a girlfriend.
There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer - This was a very surreal, bordering on bizarro piece. I found it quite effective for what it tries to achieve, but wouldn't say it was among my favorites. A man's roommate seems convinced that there's an inner-dimensional portal in their kitchen wall.
College - Oh I LOVE this story, and completely agree with it's dark, nihilistic conclusion, as unsettling as it might be. Hamantaschen really gets at something here no one wants to admit. A good critique of Social Justice Warrior "virtue signaling" if I ever read it. A college student takes part in an experiment which exposes moral outrage and feigned caring for others for what it really is.
There’s Always Something In The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us - This is dark humor at it's best, an exploration of schadenfreude. This one made me laugh a few times. An alien visitor to a wedding causes havoc for fun.
Nothing - Excellent story, Ligottian philosophical ideas and appropriate imagery. A man reflects on how everything he thinks he wants is just driven by his brain's hard-wired evolutionary-driven desires.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere - This is one of the best stories here, and the longest by far. It's a tale of cosmic horror with an end that offers no consolation. It's quite gory at times and explores deep feelings of guilt. After experiencing what can only be termed a "cosmic massacre," a young man tries to move on with his life, while confronting the guilt he feels from surviving it.
These stories are insidious, they creep up on you. They make you uncomfortable. This is dark fiction, with some cosmic horror and body horror thrown in on occasion. But most of all Hamantaschen shines a light on parts of the psyche and human condition we'd rather forget -- guilt, loneliness, schadenfreude and a melancholy that's palpable throughout.
Hamantaschen is great with sensitivity toward people's inner-thoughts and fears, their interactions with others. You care about these (flawed) characters. These stories are very modern, with references to college loan anxiety, social media, etc. and expand the definition of what horror fiction can be with their depressive underpinnings. I was also impressed by what he could squeeze out of a mere 1,000-2,000 words at times. Some of the best stories here are quite brief.
I'd like to give this collection four stars, but I admit I found it uneven. I enjoyed almost all of the stories, but would only re-read a few. I like unresolved ambiguities, but a few endings here weren't to my taste and left me unsatisfied. Still, I think there's a great imagination at work here, it's an excellent first collection, I'll definitely be reading his 2015 collection, "With a Voice that is Often Still Confused But is Becoming Ever Louder and Clearer."
A Lower Power - A very strange piece of dark fiction, not everything here made complete sense and I felt the end left me hangin', but the imagery is certainly powerful, memorable and creates an interesting effect. The manipulative narrator adds a dark touch. A girl tells about her fascinating boyfriend who was infected with many strange powers, good and bad.
Wonder - Wow this is a truly horrific, dreadfully dark work with lots of creepy little touches. Most impressive I thought was that it makes so much out of a mere 1,000~ words. Someone takes revenge in seeing a man's life destroyed in the most horrible, and weird ways possible.
Endemic - This story jumps around in time and perspective a bit and holds it's cards close to the chest, it's only at the end that we see how good it is. Elements of sci-fi and body horror. A corporation comes up with a very vicious way to deal with rapists.
A Parasite Inside Your Brain - Such a great story, it has some creepy moments in it, but really has something to say about medicine and modern psychology I thought. A parasite embeds itself into a teenage girl's brain, with unexpected consequences.
Come In, Distraction - A sad story, lonely, cynical, true, about the dating scene, with a very weird reveal at the end. An American girl hooks up with a Brit at a bar, she's seduced by the allure of his status, he's thinking of the apocalyptic event that haunts his memory.
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction - Story told in a very interesting way -- through the cold legalese of a court document. So much is left unanswered here, but we get some very creepy hints. A woman convicted of murder tries to explain what really did the horrible act.
Sorrow Has Its Natural End - One of the longer stories here, it has a certain emotional weight to it and a genuine sense of loneliness. A young man who is half blind from a detached retina gains hope from someone he tries to befriend who had an experimental surgery for the same condition.
“Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” - Great title for a story, and wow this one is truly grisly. I am amazed what Hamantaschen can pack into a mere 1,000~ words. A man explains a horrible condition that keeps him from ever keeping a girlfriend.
There is A Family of Gnomes Behind My Walls, And I Swear I Won’t Disappoint Them Any Longer - This was a very surreal, bordering on bizarro piece. I found it quite effective for what it tries to achieve, but wouldn't say it was among my favorites. A man's roommate seems convinced that there's an inner-dimensional portal in their kitchen wall.
College - Oh I LOVE this story, and completely agree with it's dark, nihilistic conclusion, as unsettling as it might be. Hamantaschen really gets at something here no one wants to admit. A good critique of Social Justice Warrior "virtue signaling" if I ever read it. A college student takes part in an experiment which exposes moral outrage and feigned caring for others for what it really is.
There’s Always Something In The Misfortune Of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us - This is dark humor at it's best, an exploration of schadenfreude. This one made me laugh a few times. An alien visitor to a wedding causes havoc for fun.
Nothing - Excellent story, Ligottian philosophical ideas and appropriate imagery. A man reflects on how everything he thinks he wants is just driven by his brain's hard-wired evolutionary-driven desires.
There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere - This is one of the best stories here, and the longest by far. It's a tale of cosmic horror with an end that offers no consolation. It's quite gory at times and explores deep feelings of guilt. After experiencing what can only be termed a "cosmic massacre," a young man tries to move on with his life, while confronting the guilt he feels from surviving it.
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