Weak And Wounded

by Brian James Freeman

This collection by Brian James Freeman features characters who are searching for answers to deeply troubling questions: • In “Running Rain,” a devastated husband and wife pretend life can somehow be normal again after their son becomes a victim of a serial killer, but the dark secrets they’re keeping from each other push their relationship to the brink. • Jacob is a cable repair technician who doesn’t much care for his job, and in “Mama’s Sleeping” he finds himself troubleshooting a very serious problem with the unusual little girl who appears to be all alone in Apartment 6B. • Considering how high the radiation levels still are, no one is supposed to be in the abandoned town near the old nuclear power plant, but journalist Stephen feels he is being watched just the same in "An Instant Eternity." • “Where Sunlight Sleeps” is the tale of a grieving father and his young son, both dealing with a shared loss the best they can, who take a trip down a memory lane lined with jagged edges and vicious traps. • The young couple in “Marking the Passage of Time” face the imminent end of the world while trying to determine where all of the time they thought they still had has gone. • In “Walking With the Ghosts of Pier 13,” a young man visits the beach front amusement park where his brother died during a terrorist attack that changed the country forever. • And finally: the question isn’t how do you prove “A Mother’s Love,” but instead, how does a son prove his love for his mother is truly eternal and never-ending? These hauntingly beautiful stories show why Publishers Weekly called Brian James Freeman’s writing “skillfully composed prose” and why Tess Gerritsen said, “Brian James Freeman managed to both scare me and move me to tears.”

Genres: Horror, Collections

98 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2013

About the author

Brian James Freeman sold his first short story when he was fourteen years old and now writes full-time thanks to the support of his patrons on Patreon. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and an English Pointer. More books are on the way.

Reviews

[Robert Krone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started and finished this collection today. This is an excellent collection of stories. I don't normally read short story collection straight through as I typically prefer longer works, but much like Freeman's previous collections, I had to read this one straight through! I had previously read and enjoyed some of these stories previously, but it was a pleasure to read them over again. The stories in this collection are haunting and heartbreaking and Freeman does a masterful job of setting the scene and mood that is proper for each of the stories. If you enjoy dark stories I HIGHLY recommend this story. Anxiously awaiting Freeman's next collection.

[Squire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collection of dark ruminations by Freeman dealing with the hope, fear, and desperation coming from loss. At least one is frustratingly vague, but the whole provides a quick atmospheric read that will remain with you for a while after complete.

[Rusty Lundgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of 5 stories. I read this all in one sitting. Highly recommended.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although each of the five stories in this collection stands on its own with characters and situations that are unrelated to the others, they are connected by the heart and spirit of their author. As in his other work, Freeman enters into the lives and thoughts of his characters and shows us their often painful and heart-wrenching struggles with the questions of being human. Dealing with loss and grief in a way that is gruesome and yet creative, running to try to escape a truth that makes life almost unbearable, coming to terms with the end of life while regretting the losses that have preceded the ultimate loss - the reader is in the mind of the characters in a very real and poignant way. This author touches my spirit with his writing in a way so few can. He gets classified in the "horror" genre, but he is in a world all his own.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection that plays with the ideas of perceived victims quite a bit to my mind, but perhaps owes more to twist endings as a trope. Either way, every story just WORKS.

[David Thwaites · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection. I'm in a period where I'm reading more short stories, and there were a couple here that were very good!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian James Freeman has put together 5 more haunting tales of darkness. The reader will discover the ray of hope but will also see the darkness wrap around each one of the tales. Freeman has a gift when it comes to writing short stories.

[Frank Pero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories by a great author!

[Karl]

This is one of 750 copies signed and numbered.

Signed by:

Brian James Freeman
Glen Chadbourne
Ron McLarty

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Power, accessibility, economy, style, and horror. Freeman has it all.

[Michael Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid collection of stories, hard to put down.