Dark Tidings: Volumes I & II

by Gregory Marshall Smith

Tired of ho-hum horror and science fiction stories that fail to keep your interest? Want some tales to keep you awake at night? Then try this double anthology of original science fiction and horror.

An astronaut exploring a new world faces a terrible fate…a doctor with a revolutionary cure learns how far some will go to restrict progress…scammers in Africa get their just “desserts”…a man’s attempt to get out from under a crushing debt could cost him far more than money…how well do you truly know your neighbors…read these and other tales that will keep you awake at night.

This collection of science fiction and horror short stories is for the fans who like traditional, as well as modern science fiction and horror with a little dark fiction thrown in for good measure.

Bonus Content: This ebook includes a sixteen-chapter excerpt from Hunters, the newest novel from Gregory Marshall Smith about modern-day vampires and the humans dedicated to eradicating them once and for all.

Genres: Horror

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2011

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost want to apologize for not liking this book all that much. I really got the feeling that the author, Gregory Marshall Smith, was trying and trying hard. He had well though out ideas and an interesting approach to storytelling, the thing is though was that he just isn't all that good of a writer, especially when it comes to dialogue. It was stilted and unengaging. He had characters speak only when he need exposition. There was no sense of these people being alive and that was sad because the story lines were neat and interesting. I wish him the best luck, I do, and I may pick up another Smith book in the future, let's just hope he improves.

[Alan Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring, bad grammar, way too many commas

Interesting stories but not gripping. Way too many commas as in: (not a quote from the book, just my example) way too many commas, as, in, (....) He, grabbed his arm. The monster, slobbered. Stuff like that. This kind of thing dragged my rating way down. Who was this editor anyway. Was he/she out to torpedo this author's career or just stupid? How about the proofreader. Either way the editing of this book is sloppy and very substandard for readers who know American English. I will read other books on Kindle for this price but I guess you get what you pay for. I will read, other books on Kindle. for this price, but, I guess, you get, what you pay for. How illiterate do these jerks think we are? We are on a READING APP FOR GOODNESS SAKE.

[Will Renaudin III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why 4 Stars (and not 5):
Mr Smith shows a real talent for creative, varied well thought out and easily understood story ideas and plots. I give nods to authors who also write short fiction, and make it easily available. Dark Tidings I & II was a well balanced mix throughout all three genres (no milking the same universe to death...) The mane character(s) (protagonists, antagonist) are solid but the characterization overall needs a little more developing. Also, some of the prose and dialogue is a tad stiff (more concerned with proper English that how people actually talk) but not overly and not in all. While, a few stories fell flat, I found most to be good, and several better than much I've read in so called "End of Year 'Best Of' Anthologies". It may need a little work here and there, but overall it's a good read.

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty well matched set of stories. Sadly a little too well matched in most cases. I really enjoyed the first story 'One Last Look' to the point that I immediately made my husband read it. After that though, it became obvious that every story was going to have some kind of major "twist," some making varying amounts of sense. In addition to 'One Last Look,' 'Your Most Urgent Attention Requested' was a funny little gem amongst the degrees of mediocrity. An entertaining story and also the other least-predictable in the bunch.

[Jett Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a nice sampling of some stories. I was sad when the last story ended and I was left hanging, but I suppose that is the point. Must go find rest of story!

I got this as a free download on Amazon and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for another author to add to their list of favorites!

It was well worth my time to read this work, and I don't think anyone who likes intrigue mystery sci-fi or horror genres would be disappointed.

The stories are short, so to stop from spoiling them I recommend you read the "dust jacket" for details!

[Liquid Frost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle freebie. fast read. So, it starts with some shorts that weren't bad. It then goes into a very long 'excerpt' of a vamp book, which at the end of the book....if you want to continue the story, you need to purchase it for a buck. Not cool. In any event - I saved my dollar.

[david · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uneven storytelling

I had high hopes for this collection but it just didn't pan out.Some of the stories had potential and were pretty good but most of them felt uninspired.

[Suzanne Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ok, I read both volumes and enjoyed the second volume more than the first.