Echoes from a Shoreless Void

by Joe Pawlowski

At the edge of reality lies a shoreless void.

In this place, darkness abounds. The air is heavy with dread, and watery eyes of depravity study the hapless from every shadow. This is where bloodthirsty deities prowl. Where ghouls with shovels unearth the newly entombed. Where cries of anguish echo in the dead of night.

Here a curious souvenir unleashes a yearning that cannot be controlled. Here a search for enlightenment leads down a horrifying trail of retribution. Also here await a winged terror, a fatal homecoming, and an ancient ogre with malicious intent.

There are scales, fangs, and claws; flashing blades and bellowing gun barrels; ghosts and demons of assorted forms and dispositions; and physical embodiments of envy and guile and overpowering lust.

Eleven tales explore this realm where lives tremble at the whim of malevolent forces.

As you explore them, don’t let your senses fool you. Perception can be an illusion. And who’s to say what’s ultimately real and what is not?

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Rebecca M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and weird

Strange stories with stranger endings. I liked the stories more the weirder they got, which ended up near the end of the book.

The author did a good job of being whimsical , witty, and a little wild. Some of the stories got mildly graphic, but I feel like he did a good job of keeping them tasteful. I think these stories can be enjoyed by all sorts of people because of this.

Author gained my favor almost immediately by mentioning my favorite band, Ghost. ;) I don't often find connections like that when reading. Took me by surprise, that one.

Definitely read if you love Minnesota, or even if you don't!

[Shan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Joe for advancing me this Kindle book via a giveaway. Cheers!
I was initially very excited to read this book. The cover drew me in, and I thought it would be pretty scary and/or interesting.
However, it was so. Boring.
Each story felt like it was going somewhere, getting to some really jaw-dropping ending, but then the story just...ended. The endings of each tale were very underwhelming and it didn't make me want to continue reading. This issue also made it feel like each story was unresolved, and it was unsatisfying and unenjoyable.
The only other critiques I have are small:
1. The title does not appear to have any correlation to any of the stories, which is confusing.
2. Most of the short-story ideas were great thoughts in theory, just not executed in the best way.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I think this was a fun and worthwhile read. While there were a couple of stories I wasn’t a huge fan of, I really enjoyed the majority of them. There’s a lot of variety across the type of stories being told so it was always exciting wondering where the next one was going.
Definitely recommend for any horror fans looking for a quick read and/or something different.

[A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked only one of all of the stories, they were all pretty uneven & rather pointlessly unpleasant. I like horror books but the stories seemed to have no real point to them, nor did they seem to have any new or cohesive ideas. I had to slough through the book because I wasn't able to find much enjoyment in it. Cannot recommend.

[Amy Marnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked if a few of the stories had just a bit more to them. They felt unfinished. That being said, they were new ideas and not rip offs of older scary stories and just creepy enough. 3.7 stars

[Krissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for sending this ebook in a goodreads giveaway! It was an enjoyable read of spooky short stories. Some editing definitely is needed to expand on the stories a little bit, but overall, it was a fun quick read.

[Ashley Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this as a collection of short stories until I got to one I just couldn’t get into and it felt like it took forever to get through it. Once I did, there were more pleasantly strange WTF moments that made it a decent read overall.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Goodreads Giveaway!
Thank goodness it was only short stories, some were so scary I don’t think I would have been able to finish the book!
But although some were really scary and gruesome, it was a good book to read!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Joe Pawlowski.
I love the short stories. Although a couple of them were very frightening to me, but that’s what they are supposed to be.
Looking forward to the next book!

[Ashley Nycz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked these stories. I can't say there was a single one that I didn't like so I read this book pretty quickly. I will definitely be checking out more books from this author!

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got an ebook copy of this in exchange for an honest review via Goodreads giveaways.

This book was good. Smart writing. Very strange, and maybe a little over my head at times. Worth the read!

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Goodreads Giveaway

Another great collection of stories, will continue to read more of his work!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Echoes from a Shoreless Void from a Goodreads giveaway, which is exciting because it’s always fun to experiment and learn about new authors, especially horror authors.

Alas, I did find many of the stores in this collection a bit uneven, sometimes showing their 1980’s Stephen King influence a bit too obviously. On the other hand, I happen to really *like* 1980’s King, so it was still a comfortable place to read from.

I also felt like the stories need another round with an editor or a little bit more expansion; there was something a bit undercooked in many of them. Some concepts were worth more exploration but felt rushed (wait, that really IS like 80s King lol). Still, the book is a quick read and, for a horror fan, there are at least 2 or 3 stories you’ll enjoy.