Wake the Wicked

by Christian Baloga, Michael Garrett (Editor)

In this explosive debut collection of thirteen twisted tales, we meet an alcoholic who’s obsessed with a tattoo of his dead daughter (“Digging Deep”); split Siamese twins with a sinister connection (“Poison Ivy”); two morbid magicians determined to make their final trick unforgettable (“Dusk to Dust”); an army of vengeful wasps who stop at nothing to rebuild a nest (“Unraveling the Nest”); and many more.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Banned Books, Bizarro Fiction, Anthologies

206 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2012

About the author

Christian Baloga lives in rural Pennsylvania and was born just one day after Halloween, on the Day of the Dead. When not writing books, he harbors a peculiar interest in urban exploring, paranormal investigation, traveling, and creating works of art. In fact, three of his human hair sculptures are displayed in Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum.

Reviews

[Rocio Voncina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Titulo: Wake the Wicked
Autor: Christian Baloga
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 2.5/5

Esta antologia incluye trece relatos, por momentos da la impresion que Christian Baloga intenta ser provocador o incomodar, pero no logra ninguna de las dos cosas, la sensacion se acerca mas a que los cuentos tienen una vibra de rareza/weird.
En mi opinion muy personal es una antologia con buenas ideas, pero al momento de ejecutar esas ideas, todo queda a medio camino.


Poison Ivy: un cuento sobre gemelas siameses con una conexion fuera de lo comun. Una ambientacion tetrica, y un desenlace fatal. 3/5

Flesh Boots: un señor mayor con una salud endeble. La historia por momentos es previsible, un poco debil el recurso narrativo. 2/5

Unraveling the Nest: unas avispas con sed de venganza, ojo por ojo, diente por diente. Horror muy visceral. 3.5/5

Psycho Pharm: un retrato descarnado de un animal de laboratorio, el relato es desde su perspectiva. 4.5/5

Birds of Prey: un hombre atormentado por el recuerdo y una decision irreversible. 2/5

Under the Thorns: una historia rara, que sinceramente no le encontre mucho sentido. 2/5

Raga Bones: el poder de una hermana a traves de unas muñecas. Siento que la trama por momentos se torna aburrida, una lastima porque la premisa es interesante. 3/5

Ripped to Ribbons: es un cuento con cierto potencial, pero siento que la idea principal esta muy mal ejecutada. El final me hizo levantar las cejas, porque de todos los finales posibles es el mas irreal posible (se que es ficcion, pero la ficcion necesita cierta logica, que aca no esta presente). 2/5

Tremble for Me: esta clase de historias definitivamente no son lo mio, contiene abuso y una sesion de tortura realmente muy grafica. 1/5

The Bough Watchtower: un cuento rarisimo, con una criatura muy popular dentro del folclore. La logica no es parte de la trama, y quedan cabos sueltos. 2.5/5

Digging Deep: una muy buena premisa, muy original pero la trama nunca llega a un gran giro o desenlace, hasta ultimo momento la sensacion es "aca viene lo grandioso" pero eso nunca ocurre, una verdadera lastima. 3/5

Savage Games: creo que el autor intento explorar el tema de los videos juegos, y como ciertas personas no diferencian entre la fantasia y la realidad, lamentablemente me aburrio muchisimo. 2/5

Dusk to Dust: es una lastima que este ultimo cuento tampoco fue de mi agrado. Dos magas intentanto crear un truco memorable pero todo se ve envuelto en la tragedia. 2/5

[Joanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly creepy and thought provoking! Most importantly, each story is unique and not predictable. A must read for anyone who enjoys dark fiction!

[Lydia Peever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wake The Wicked: Thirteen Twisted Tales leads us beyond a plain spooky read. The book trailer intrigued me, and I had the suspicion the author was behind the creative drive for it as well. I interviewed Baloga, and reviewed the trailer on dreadfultales.com.

Stand out favorites of mine include; Flesh Boots (I have an affinity for the German, dogs, and cleaning), Psycho Pharm (so terribly distressing and beautifully written in the tradition of Plague Dogs), Tremble For Me (which struck me as the most violent while being a commentary on popularity in the digital age), Savage Games (if anything, as a child, I avoided being monstrous and this lesson reminds me why), Dusk to Dust (fascinating visuals of powerful and wonderful women that remind me of the Soskas, Canada’s Twisted Twins), and Ripped to Ribbons, where curiosity caught the cat, but you will have to read on to see what dies.

Without going overboard too often into visceral or grotesque horror, Wake the Wicked dips in and out of terror, letting us peek around shadowy corners into nightmarish landscapes. Delightful dark moments the reader is plunged headfirst into brilliant gore and at times relentless brutality. All the while, an air of tenderness whispers through the prose making every moment personal and vividly imagined. Intensely descriptive, it’s easy to take walk in his characters shoes, though the faint of heart may try to stop or run away from what they face.

[Christian Baloga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for your interest in "Wake the Wicked: Thirteen Twisted Tales!"
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
As the author of this book, I invite you to let the book speak for itself. Click here to read "Poison Ivy," the complete first tale.

For those of you who have written sincere, respectful, and thought-provoking reviews, thank you! These substantive reviews are one in a million, and any author or future reader would be grateful.

Thanks again. Enjoy!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't read this book before bed because I would be scared to fall asleep. It is like nothing I have read before, truly creepy and a great read!

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Hubert Selby and Stephen King, this radical and horrifying collection of stories sent a chill right down my spine and kept me up for more than one night. Baloga has a genuine gift for painting scenery with vivid imagery and creating characters that are unique but also frighteningly easy to relate to. I wasn't that familiar with his work before reading these stories, but I will definitely be coming back for more. Overall, if you are looking for some thrilling tales you'll want to check this out!

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! This is an awesome book great read will definitely read many more times. Couldn't put the book down! Great thriller suspenseful till the last word if you love a good thriller and horror you need to read this one!

[Allie]

not bad

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find these stories scary at all, just a little strange. It was okay.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of 80's horror... this reminds me of a modern version of the twisted tales from that era. If shocking horror is your thing, read it! If you get uncomfortable easily, it's not for you.

[Jordan Marriott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it first came out in paperback. I just love the way the author twists the stories so you have no idea what's coming. Each story is very different. I like the diversity there. It gave me a sense of unease, which I enjoy. Some of the stories I was like Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Read it if you like weird fiction horror.

[Stefanie Sadler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time finishing this book. I thought that it being short stories would make it easier but it was just not for me.

[Joshua]

I'm about beyond willing to give any book of mine in exchange for a copy of this.