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Darkness Calls: A Collection of Short Stories - Volume One
"Darkness Calls - Volume One" is the first in a series of three short story collections. Comprising themes of fear, madness, isolation, violence and the supernatural, "Darkness Calls" builds into a chilling collection of modern horror works.
In volume opener "Dark Rain", a mysterious storm brings about a terrifying change in the residents of a sleepy country village. Taking cues from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, "The Patio" is a dream-like journey into a mysterious world... and the horrific revelation it contains. "An Open Letter..." is a short but powerful, thought-provoking piece of prose; a pointless cry to an ignorant society.
The oldest story in this collection, the violent "Face Value" presents a shocking tale of revenge from beyond the grave. A dystopian future provides a terrifying backdrop to the symbolic existence of five leviathans: the forgotten, the needing, the homeless, the corporation, and Death in "Fallen Angel". The final story in the volume, "Trapped", takes us into the claustrophobic hell of a mother and daughter, imprisoned in their overturned vehicle along an isolated highway.
Featuring a foreword by the author and individual notes on each story contained within, this opening volume serves as the perfect introduction to the works of this exciting new British horror talent.
In volume opener "Dark Rain", a mysterious storm brings about a terrifying change in the residents of a sleepy country village. Taking cues from the works of Edgar Allan Poe, "The Patio" is a dream-like journey into a mysterious world... and the horrific revelation it contains. "An Open Letter..." is a short but powerful, thought-provoking piece of prose; a pointless cry to an ignorant society.
The oldest story in this collection, the violent "Face Value" presents a shocking tale of revenge from beyond the grave. A dystopian future provides a terrifying backdrop to the symbolic existence of five leviathans: the forgotten, the needing, the homeless, the corporation, and Death in "Fallen Angel". The final story in the volume, "Trapped", takes us into the claustrophobic hell of a mother and daughter, imprisoned in their overturned vehicle along an isolated highway.
Featuring a foreword by the author and individual notes on each story contained within, this opening volume serves as the perfect introduction to the works of this exciting new British horror talent.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 12, 2012
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About the author
Andy Hill
16 books4 followersAndy Hill was born in Scotland in 1978 but moved to the South-West of England at the age of six. Devouring books by such horror greats as Stephen King, James Herbert and Shaun Hutson throughout his teenage years, he first discovered a talent for creating horror fiction shortly before turning 15. Since then, Andy has honed his skills by writing on a variety of subjects but always felt drawn back to his love of the macabre.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 7, 2013
Creepy, grisly and gory.
April 8, 2012
Darkness Calls by Andy Hill is an interesting and macabre little jewel box of stories. The small volume contains six horror stories, widely varied in theme and tone. These tales do not contain the creepies and crawlies typical of horror, except perhaps for the fourth story “Face Value,” but they are all well-written and delightfully atmospheric.
The first story is “Dark Rain,” and this story was the most satisfying in the book, in my opinion. Divided into sections that feel satisfyingly like chapters despite its short length, “Dark Rain” describes the terrifying effect of a mysterious rain on a country village.
“The Patio” follows “Dark Rain.” Surreal and dream-like, this very short story is light on plot but heavy in mood and mystery, making it satisfyingly eerie.
Next is “An Open Letter...” This is a lovely piece of prose, less a story than what Oscar Wilde liked to call ‘a prose poem.’ It’s evocative: both beautiful and sad.
“Face Value” feels as though it was intended to be the powerhouse of the collection, a story of death, revenge and the unnatural. Here again is the episodic style that worked so well in “Dark Rain.” I think, however, it did not work as well in “Face Value.” Rather than giving the story a sense of progressive chapters, I found “Face Value” a bit confusing at first. The story would have been served by clearer transitions made between sections. Hill writes that this is the oldest story in the book, and it feels that way, as if it is so familiar that the progression between sections seem obvious to him. Still the tale is gruesome and gory and fulfills its horror promises.
The fifth story is “Fallen Angel,” the only story in the book that did not work at all for me. It is an allegory so big, so broad, I had nowhere to hold on, no place to hang my hat and become involved. While I believe I saw where it was going, and felt I could support its social commentary, I was never engaged in any way beyond the intellectual. I did not care. Still in “Fallen Angel,” as is true in every story in this volume, Hill’s prose is admirable.
Finally is “Trapped,” a gem of a story, both claustrophobic and sinister. My favorite second to “Dark Rain,” this story recounts the horrible time between accident and rescue of a mother and daughter imprisoned in an overturned car.
In sum, then, I would recommend this book without hesitation. The stories are elegantly written and suitably creepy.
Darkness Calls: A Collection of Short Stories - Volume One
Andy Hill
The first story is “Dark Rain,” and this story was the most satisfying in the book, in my opinion. Divided into sections that feel satisfyingly like chapters despite its short length, “Dark Rain” describes the terrifying effect of a mysterious rain on a country village.
“The Patio” follows “Dark Rain.” Surreal and dream-like, this very short story is light on plot but heavy in mood and mystery, making it satisfyingly eerie.
Next is “An Open Letter...” This is a lovely piece of prose, less a story than what Oscar Wilde liked to call ‘a prose poem.’ It’s evocative: both beautiful and sad.
“Face Value” feels as though it was intended to be the powerhouse of the collection, a story of death, revenge and the unnatural. Here again is the episodic style that worked so well in “Dark Rain.” I think, however, it did not work as well in “Face Value.” Rather than giving the story a sense of progressive chapters, I found “Face Value” a bit confusing at first. The story would have been served by clearer transitions made between sections. Hill writes that this is the oldest story in the book, and it feels that way, as if it is so familiar that the progression between sections seem obvious to him. Still the tale is gruesome and gory and fulfills its horror promises.
The fifth story is “Fallen Angel,” the only story in the book that did not work at all for me. It is an allegory so big, so broad, I had nowhere to hold on, no place to hang my hat and become involved. While I believe I saw where it was going, and felt I could support its social commentary, I was never engaged in any way beyond the intellectual. I did not care. Still in “Fallen Angel,” as is true in every story in this volume, Hill’s prose is admirable.
Finally is “Trapped,” a gem of a story, both claustrophobic and sinister. My favorite second to “Dark Rain,” this story recounts the horrible time between accident and rescue of a mother and daughter imprisoned in an overturned car.
In sum, then, I would recommend this book without hesitation. The stories are elegantly written and suitably creepy.
Darkness Calls: A Collection of Short Stories - Volume One
Andy Hill
April 30, 2012
The old saying in show business is to always leave the audience wanting more. I think we have lost that in our modern society with an abundance of monstrous Cheesecake Factory meals and movies that spell everything out for the audience. Andy Hill spins several horror tales in Darkness Calls that left me wanting more.
Because of the entertainment gluttony we delve into as a society, I as a writer know how difficult it is to write short stories that provide the correct atmosphere without drenching the reader with profane prose. Hill pulls this balance off artfully, especially in “Dark Rain”, which is the first story in the collection. “Face Value” provides a good balance as well, save the confusing transitions and array of characters.
I will say that “Trapped” to me felt like Hill stopped short, instead of just providing enough to leave me wanting. The story could have been so much more if the author had played with it and added something to the plot and/or main character. It just barely fell short for me, which was a shame considering its potential was high.
Hill's work reminds me of a modern Edgar Allen Poe, who digs into the grit of society for characters and plot elements, while still maintaining an artful feel. This is not an easy thing to pull off, as some writers attempt it and achieve writing that does not rise above the level of the gutter.
Would I like to read a full-fledged novel by Hill in the future? No--I would love to read a longer work by him. Darkness Calls left me reading the last page on my Kindle, wishing I could have more to delve into.
Because of the entertainment gluttony we delve into as a society, I as a writer know how difficult it is to write short stories that provide the correct atmosphere without drenching the reader with profane prose. Hill pulls this balance off artfully, especially in “Dark Rain”, which is the first story in the collection. “Face Value” provides a good balance as well, save the confusing transitions and array of characters.
I will say that “Trapped” to me felt like Hill stopped short, instead of just providing enough to leave me wanting. The story could have been so much more if the author had played with it and added something to the plot and/or main character. It just barely fell short for me, which was a shame considering its potential was high.
Hill's work reminds me of a modern Edgar Allen Poe, who digs into the grit of society for characters and plot elements, while still maintaining an artful feel. This is not an easy thing to pull off, as some writers attempt it and achieve writing that does not rise above the level of the gutter.
Would I like to read a full-fledged novel by Hill in the future? No--I would love to read a longer work by him. Darkness Calls left me reading the last page on my Kindle, wishing I could have more to delve into.
April 8, 2012
Darkness Calls has a little something for everyone: the supernatural, the horrific, chilling villains and even tragedy. Andy Hill has a real gift for descriptive writing, bringing each scene to life with vivid detail. I found myself actually wincing and cringing during some stories, grimacing as I saw something terrifying creeping closer and closer. Each tale has very strong imagery. Some of the plots are a little shaky, and it's easy to get lost in the details or sidelined by some of the more obscure references (a 24-hour clock is bound to throw me off every time), but the writer has a strong narrative voice. In that, Hill is consistent throughout, and each page truly comes to life. These are stories to be absorbed, not carefully picked apart. Hill is a unique storyteller who doesn't always follow a straight line, but by not conforming to any particular pattern the writer makes each story distinctly different from the next.
April 25, 2012
I am an avid fan of UK horror and mysteries. Andy Hill has created a collection of short stories perfect for those fans who miss the days of Hammer films and the others who created a masterpiece of enlightenment for horror readers. Darkness Calls is an excellent book to add to your collection and I recommend it. I look forward to reading more of Andy's work in the future. Delve deep into the stories but be careful...you could lose your head in the excitement!
April 3, 2017
This was ok. I found some of the stories quite disjointed, particularly Fallen Angel. The tenses were all over the place, going from present to past back to present, then future, then present, then past, you get the idea. There were a few typos and some unnecessary capitalisations, such as World. I was a little disbelieving of the revenge thing because a corpse burnt black and crispy should really have been in a pugalistic pose. It would have made an excellently horrid description writing how when reanimated he had to crack his arms back into some form of functional position, stretching and snapping tendons, charcoaled skin crumbling at the bent elbows. Having said this, I did read on the author's web site a post from October that the said they are going to revamp this edition and put it out again as a second edition so hopefully the things that niggled at me will be fixed. I did like the notes that were attached, the author is right, it gives a glimpse into the inner workings, which is fun and helps with interpretation
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews