Unseen Things

by Milo James Fowler

Unseen Things collects 7 flash-sized tales in the slipstream, horror, and science fiction genres.
Contents:

From Scheol My Soulfire Burns - "The cursor blinks. This white veil awaits my next thought."

Imaginary Friendships Aren't the Easiest to Break - "Bernard felt things no one else did."

You Kill Me - "Looking at you now, it's tough sometimes to see the person I fell in love with."

While She Sleeps, Mountains Tremble - "The child looked as much like an angel as anything could, innocence incarnate."

Darker Ever After - "I'm too old for this."

Autonomic Zen and the Art of Destruction - "Unit X11-76 entered the universe as more than a null set but far less than an infinite number of possibilities."

A Monster By Any Other Name - "Sometimes he really hated being seven."

7,000 words

These stories originally appeared in Silver Blade, Liquid Imagination, Misfit Magazine, Triangulation: Last Contact, Every Day Fiction, and Bards and Sages Quarterly.

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Milo James Fowler is the cross-genre author of more than thirty books: space adventures, post-apocalyptic survival stories, mysteries, and westerns. A native San Diegan, he now makes his home in West Michigan with his wife and all four seasons. Some readers seem to enjoy the unique brand of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and humor found in his ever-growing body of work. Soli Deo gloria.

Reviews

[Jada Ryker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Collection of Very Short Stories

In the words of the author:

"The stories you're about to read are short. Very short. 500 to 1,000 words short. If you're not a fan of flash fiction, turn back now while you still can.

"But if you continue on…

"You'll notice that prior to every story, I've provided some background information. Feel free to skip over these italicized portions if you have no desire to peek behind the curtain."

With or without a look behind the curtain, the collection of very short stories with thrill, horrify, and best of all, entertain.

Milo James Fowler's Unseen Things is an excellent collection of very short stories.

[Christine Rains · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven well written short speculative fiction tales that will leave you trembling and sleeping with a light on.

We get peeks into despairing futures with "From Scheol My Soulfire Burns" and "While She Sleep, Mountains Tremble." A hint of artificial intelligence with "Automatic Zen and the Art of Destruction." Horror grips you in "Darker Ever After" and "Imaginary Friendships Aren't the Easiest to Break." A glimpse of twisted love in "You Kill Me."

The final story is my favorite. "A Monster By Any Other Name" is creepy and made my stomach churn as my imagination ran away with it!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories, from the wild and vivid imagination of Milo James Fowler.
These are my thoughts, accompanied by snippets from some of the tales.

From Scheol My Soulfire Burns
"a bizarre future where the last living human has a message to share with us" - this one really gets you thinking...

Imaginary Friends Aren't The Easiest To Break
This was creepy good. The "cold greasy fingers birthed into existence from the depths of Bernard's darkest fears", really showcases the author's fertile imagination!

You Kill Me
It's all about the walking dead in a tale of zombie love, where decisions have to be made, and result in a situation where "one hacks off its toes, cauterizing the wounds...while the other pops pieces into its mouth, crunching and munching" - yucky images!

While she Sleeps, Mountains Tremble
"the last human child who may be the only hope for mankind, is offered up as a sacrifice..." - need I say more?

Darker Ever After
Are you afraid of the dark? Consider this: "...the headless torso sitting on my couch, waiting for me to wake up around 3AM..."
"the darkness will thicken and grow blacker than black, suffocating my senses, and I won't see the yellow glow of the streetlight..."
I repeat, are you afraid of the dark? Read this one and then answer...

Autonomic Zen And The Art of Destruction
Somehow, my brain just didn't (or couldn't) wrap itself around this one...

A Monster By Any Other Name
It's frustrating when others won't listen, just because you're a kid.
"...a single claw crept out of the unstopped drain. It shifted once to the left, then to the right." This is that moment where you scream - watch out!

Weird, chilling but definitely entertaining!

[Lexa Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fowler’s collection of seven short horror stories was a complete surprise to me. Instead of the typical slash and gore fare, each story delved into buried places in the human psyche -- dark, tangled, yet completely human places. Each story was more about the inner torments of the characters than their external challenges. Not that there aren’t some horrific stories in there, like “You Kill Me,” where the survivors of an apocalypse must fight the walking dead as well as other survivors and the narrator of the story must come to grips with the fact that in some situations, there’s no way to win even if you do your best. Even if you love beyond all reason. Even if you would sacrifice yourself to save another. Sometimes, it’s not enough.

My favorite story was “A Monster By Any Other Name,” where Jimmy, a little kid, is in the predicament of knowing things the adults around him refuse to believe. He warns them, but there’s nothing he can do but sit back and watch as reality rears its ugly head. I loved the premise of this one as it's easy to understand that frustrating feeling of trying to give others advice who just aren’t open to it.

The stories are a rare blend of literary and psychological horror, certain to make you re-examine your views of what makes up true horror.

[Matthew Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally do not seek out flash fiction, but admittedly do come across the odd gem in the small press speculative fiction magazines. In Unseen Things, Fowler collects seven of his flash fiction works, of either science fiction or horror. There is an eerie monologue exploring the theme of intelligent machines turning on man with “From Scheol My Soulfire Burns.” We step into an insane mind while out at the movies in “Imaginary Friendships Aren't the Easiest to Break”. In “A Monster By Any Other Name,” something sinister lurks in the pipes of an ordinary home.

I found several of these tales, which were my favorites too, had the potential to be flushed out into bigger works. “You Kill Me,” a zombie apocalypse tale in which a survivor makes some hard decisions, comes to mind. Also, the science fiction story, “While She Sleeps, Mountains Tremble,” has this potential as well. Here, the most devastating weapon available to end a conflict and free humanity, is a child.

Overall, Unseen Things is is enjoyable collection of horror and science fiction flash fiction.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Milo James Fowler just might be my favorite modern flash fiction/short story writer. This is my second purchase and I enjoyed the previous one and this one immensely. Fowler is great with bizarre topics, as well as with both internal and external conflicts. I'll definitely be reading more of his work.

[Stoney Setzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Unseen Things" is a good--if somewhat pessimistic--collection of flash fiction by Milo James Fowler. Fowler is very skilled in producing great impact with very few words. If you want a quick read that will still keep you in suspense, give this title a try.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and occasionally scary set of shorts. Well worth a read.