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The Living and the Dead
For fans of STEPHEN KING and DEAN KOONTZ ... author TODD TRAVIS (Creatures of Appetite) has gathered a haunting collection of suspense stories exploring the monsters, both living and dead, roaming our world.
- A brilliant biophysicist on the verge of proving there is no life after death discovers, to his horror, that the dead are determined to stop him ...
- An abused small town boy finds a special friend in the woods next to his trailer, but his friend isn't like other children and cannot leave the woods, not ever ...
- A group of determined graduate students seek Bigfoot on a remote Alaskan range seek but discover a monster far more deadly than they ever imagined ...
- An elderly store manager, disturbed by a stranger eyeing the armored truck deliveries to his store, decides to take matters into his own hands ...
- A beautiful young woman walks the streets of Manhattan at night seeking men, but for her own dark purposes, because for her, night is for hunting ...
- A mysterious little girl somehow "invites" herself along on an abduction, leading her captors to wonder who really is in charge ...
Five stories of suspense and terror and a short novel exploring the darkness everyone eventually faces when it's their time to die, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is a collection one may want to read with all the lights in the house on ...
Foreword by James Schannep (INFECTED - Click Your Poison).
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
- A brilliant biophysicist on the verge of proving there is no life after death discovers, to his horror, that the dead are determined to stop him ...
- An abused small town boy finds a special friend in the woods next to his trailer, but his friend isn't like other children and cannot leave the woods, not ever ...
- A group of determined graduate students seek Bigfoot on a remote Alaskan range seek but discover a monster far more deadly than they ever imagined ...
- An elderly store manager, disturbed by a stranger eyeing the armored truck deliveries to his store, decides to take matters into his own hands ...
- A beautiful young woman walks the streets of Manhattan at night seeking men, but for her own dark purposes, because for her, night is for hunting ...
- A mysterious little girl somehow "invites" herself along on an abduction, leading her captors to wonder who really is in charge ...
Five stories of suspense and terror and a short novel exploring the darkness everyone eventually faces when it's their time to die, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is a collection one may want to read with all the lights in the house on ...
Foreword by James Schannep (INFECTED - Click Your Poison).
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2013
199 people are currently reading
815 people want to read
About the author
Todd Travis
10 books187 followersTodd Travis’ interests include conspiracy theories, the poetry of Michael O’Donoghue and pop music and movies of the 80s. He is single and moves around a lot. His current whereabouts are at this time unknown. He dislikes cable news, views cellphones with suspicion and don’t even get him started on email. He also believes poker is not a sport and therefore should never be allowed on ESPN.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 10, 2022
Excellent collection of six stories here. I liked A Boy's Totem best. One of the best coming of age stories I read in quite a while. 5 stars. 2 stories deal with some strange interpretation of faith (Redemption Center and Angel at my Shoulder). What about the mysterious little girl? In Season is about looking for Bigfoot and Night is for Hunting deals with a female character hunting down male molesters. Strangely the feature story The Living and the Dead didn't really appeal to me. A bit too long winded the existence of God is to be proven. Well, this was my least favorite to be honest. Otherwise an excellent collection I can honestly recommend!
April 10, 2017
Ok, now I think I've read all of the author's books, in no particular order, and he continues to entertain with such consistency and vigor, that he might be becoming one of my favorite indie authors. Travis does both horror and thrillers, though his thrillers are quite horrific and his horror is pretty thrilling in how heavily it relies on psychological nightmares as oppose to gore and guts. This is a collection of the horror, technically, the sort where the evil often wears all too familiar humanish face. There are 5 short stories and a short novel or a novella, if you will. Actually I've read Boy's Totem as a stand alone before, but enjoyed it so much that I didn't mind revisiting it and it absolutely held up to a reread. The rest were new to me and tons of fun, including the longer trippy afterlife exploration, that brought to mind a slew of films from 2000s, which I won't name to protect the ending plot twist, because it's kind of a doozy, a messed up one. Anyway, as with all Travis' books, this was a quick and very entertaining read. Recommended.
February 1, 2021
In 2013, Todd Travis published A Story Collection, consisting of five short stories and a novella under the title The Living and the Dead. A Foreword written by an Air Force Academy graduate named James Schannep who majored in English and who claims to have “personally stopped three zombie uprisings,” calls the Travis Collection “short horror stories“ — but I’m afraid the only scary thing about them is that anyone would find them frightening.
In Redemption Center, the first of the five stories, an owner of a Missouri children’s clothing store with a strange inventory practices his religious faith. In the second story, In Season, graduate students in search of Bigfoot in the Alaskan wilderness, find themselves in mortal danger and are saved by a group of unlikely rescuers. The third story, A Boy’s Totem, is about a ten year old boy who is bullied and beaten, first by his father and then by a classmate at school, until an unusual friend appears to confront his tormentors. In the fourth story, Night is for Hunting, an attractive young woman who knows how to handle herself, prowls the streets and bars of New York City looking for sexual predators who could use some comeuppance. The fifth story, Angel at My Shoulder, reuses characters from the first story who all have a date with fate thanks to a little blonde girl on a holy mission of her own.
The longest entry in the Travis Story Collection is the novella about Caleb Conroy, a biophysicist who lost his religious faith at age 10 when his mother died from cancer after God ignored his prayers to spare her life. Caleb is on a scientific crusade to disprove the existence of an afterlife, the theological foundation of Christianity. But an incoherent storyline and ending ruined the intriguing premise.
Unfortunately, The Living and the Dead shows none of the promise for outstanding fiction that Mr. Travis demonstrated in Creatures of Appetite, published the same year. His volume of short stories and novella does nothing to bolster his reputation as anything beyond a modestly competent writer with a moderately interesting imagination.
In Redemption Center, the first of the five stories, an owner of a Missouri children’s clothing store with a strange inventory practices his religious faith. In the second story, In Season, graduate students in search of Bigfoot in the Alaskan wilderness, find themselves in mortal danger and are saved by a group of unlikely rescuers. The third story, A Boy’s Totem, is about a ten year old boy who is bullied and beaten, first by his father and then by a classmate at school, until an unusual friend appears to confront his tormentors. In the fourth story, Night is for Hunting, an attractive young woman who knows how to handle herself, prowls the streets and bars of New York City looking for sexual predators who could use some comeuppance. The fifth story, Angel at My Shoulder, reuses characters from the first story who all have a date with fate thanks to a little blonde girl on a holy mission of her own.
The longest entry in the Travis Story Collection is the novella about Caleb Conroy, a biophysicist who lost his religious faith at age 10 when his mother died from cancer after God ignored his prayers to spare her life. Caleb is on a scientific crusade to disprove the existence of an afterlife, the theological foundation of Christianity. But an incoherent storyline and ending ruined the intriguing premise.
Unfortunately, The Living and the Dead shows none of the promise for outstanding fiction that Mr. Travis demonstrated in Creatures of Appetite, published the same year. His volume of short stories and novella does nothing to bolster his reputation as anything beyond a modestly competent writer with a moderately interesting imagination.
July 25, 2017
These were some great short stories and some fresh perspective. The final story was a great deal longer.
Todd Travis has definitely entered my must keep an eye on for new books list.
Todd Travis has definitely entered my must keep an eye on for new books list.
April 27, 2020
A mediocre book. With one fairly good short stories and the rest were religion “ believe in god or else” stories
Not one of this authors’ better books.
Nothing scary. Nothing.
Not one of this authors’ better books.
Nothing scary. Nothing.
April 19, 2018
Many short stories, all pretty entertaining.
April 26, 2014
"Extraordinary Horror Stories"
I'm truly impressed with the writings of Author Todd Travis. These stories are emotional, and very powerful. Each story is compelling and definitely has dark overtones. The first story, "Redemption Center," deals with an older man who owns a children's clothing store which has not been open for very long, and does not have a lot of business. The owner, Jimmy, and his weak minded assistant, Flu, look outside to see an armored truck back up to the front of the store. This is not unusual, as it arrives two to three times a week. What's unusual is the man standing across the street, wondering why an armored truck would have cause to stop at this store so frequently. He's very curious...and you know, how curiosity kills the cat? The second story, "In Season" takes place in the infrequently visited desolate areas of Alaska. Gwen and her two friends are doing some exploring, just being flown in by a couple of guys in a small plane; they are staying at their cabin in the woods. Just beware, it's very dark in and around this cabin when the generator fails. I think I had a nightmare last night about this story. The third story, "A Boy's Totem" is about a young boy, Bradley, who witnessed his drunken dad frequently beat his mom, who soon included him in the beatings. Mom and Bradley escape to a different state, but it's hard for Bradley to adjust to the new school and is often bullied. But, one day, while in the woods, he come across another boy and they become friends. Just remember, GOOD friends look after each other as you will discover how Elijah takes care of Bradley. The fourth story, "Night Is For Hunting" is the story of Tamra who is a huntress, and you might say, she always gets her man ... walking the midnight streets of NYC. The fifth story, "Angel At My Shoulder" is about Brent, a child kidnapper, who gets terrified by a little blond girl. This story links back to "Redemption Center." And the last short story is "The Living and The Dead," where Dr. Caleb Conroy is a scientist working in nanotechnology which is still controlled and monitored by the Feds. Caleb's scientific project is to disprove the existence of God. These stories are very well written and exhibit some extremes of radical groups and their different religious beliefs. It makes one stop and think about their own beliefs and if there really is a heaven, along with a promised hell. Read these stories, you'll be well entertained.
I'm truly impressed with the writings of Author Todd Travis. These stories are emotional, and very powerful. Each story is compelling and definitely has dark overtones. The first story, "Redemption Center," deals with an older man who owns a children's clothing store which has not been open for very long, and does not have a lot of business. The owner, Jimmy, and his weak minded assistant, Flu, look outside to see an armored truck back up to the front of the store. This is not unusual, as it arrives two to three times a week. What's unusual is the man standing across the street, wondering why an armored truck would have cause to stop at this store so frequently. He's very curious...and you know, how curiosity kills the cat? The second story, "In Season" takes place in the infrequently visited desolate areas of Alaska. Gwen and her two friends are doing some exploring, just being flown in by a couple of guys in a small plane; they are staying at their cabin in the woods. Just beware, it's very dark in and around this cabin when the generator fails. I think I had a nightmare last night about this story. The third story, "A Boy's Totem" is about a young boy, Bradley, who witnessed his drunken dad frequently beat his mom, who soon included him in the beatings. Mom and Bradley escape to a different state, but it's hard for Bradley to adjust to the new school and is often bullied. But, one day, while in the woods, he come across another boy and they become friends. Just remember, GOOD friends look after each other as you will discover how Elijah takes care of Bradley. The fourth story, "Night Is For Hunting" is the story of Tamra who is a huntress, and you might say, she always gets her man ... walking the midnight streets of NYC. The fifth story, "Angel At My Shoulder" is about Brent, a child kidnapper, who gets terrified by a little blond girl. This story links back to "Redemption Center." And the last short story is "The Living and The Dead," where Dr. Caleb Conroy is a scientist working in nanotechnology which is still controlled and monitored by the Feds. Caleb's scientific project is to disprove the existence of God. These stories are very well written and exhibit some extremes of radical groups and their different religious beliefs. It makes one stop and think about their own beliefs and if there really is a heaven, along with a promised hell. Read these stories, you'll be well entertained.
April 17, 2016
I just finished this horror anthology by the Author of the incredible novel, Creatures of Appetites, Todd Travis. This guy deserves a lucrative publishing contract and expensive movie rights. I have read a lot of short story anthologies and there's always a few that are below par or that I just don't get. Not so with Todd Travis. Every story has flawless execution and well developed characters. They are small in word count only. The last one is a novella and it's the piece de resistance. Even though all the stories are exceptional, this one is even above that level. Very, very highly recommended. Two books from this guy and he's already one of my favourite Author. Can't wait to read the sequel to Creatures, in the meantime, I downloaded Sex, Marry, Kill to tide me over.
July 17, 2013
The Living and The Dead is a great collection of stories that keep you interested throughout the entire book. I first became a fan of Todd Travis after reading his novel Creatures of Appetite. That book is amazing and a must read for anyone who likes thriller/suspense novels. After finishing that book I searched for more books by Todd Travis. I am not a huge fan of short stories because it can be hard to tell a good story that doesn't leave you feeling like you are missing something when it ends. The Living and The Dead proved to me that a talented author can tell a good short story. Todd Travis is a talented author and I cannot wait to read more of his work.
November 10, 2013
I got this as a Free Download and I am so happy I chose to read it out of my 4,000 Kindle Books waiting to be read.
When I was younger, I only read horror but after having kids moved away from it. I had enough to worry about without thinking about the thing in the closet, the basement or under the bed. Slowly I am moving back into the genre and have to say this was a really good start! Although I am not a big fan of short stories because I always feel they are so rushed, these were perfect for reintroducing myself to horror and I am definitely looking for more from Todd Travis.
Great horror stories to give you enough chills to be nervous but not scare the beejesus out of you.
When I was younger, I only read horror but after having kids moved away from it. I had enough to worry about without thinking about the thing in the closet, the basement or under the bed. Slowly I am moving back into the genre and have to say this was a really good start! Although I am not a big fan of short stories because I always feel they are so rushed, these were perfect for reintroducing myself to horror and I am definitely looking for more from Todd Travis.
Great horror stories to give you enough chills to be nervous but not scare the beejesus out of you.
March 5, 2014
I got this as a free download from Amazon this afternoon, and couldn't put it down until I was finished. I loved it - the short stories were deliciously creepy, and will make me look at people sideways for quite a while to come. And the short novel - another amazing twist of an ending by Todd Travis. I cannot wait to read the new book he just released - he is fast becoming a favorite author of mine.
September 15, 2013
This was so good. Made me think maybe I don’t want to live alone. After reading just two stories, all the little noises in the house scared the crap out of me. It was good horror like early short stories by Stephen King. Great suspense and build up. The creep factor was creepy. I will share this with others so I’ not the only one jumping in the dark.
Have you noticed Goodreads has the worst search engine. Type in that title and you won't find it. I had to find it by author name.
Have you noticed Goodreads has the worst search engine. Type in that title and you won't find it. I had to find it by author name.
April 13, 2019
This was such a fun collection of horror/suspense stories! They’re all a little different and focus on a different element of the supernatural. Creatures that stalk the woods, ghosts, evil men and women...the stories all had their own merit. I particularly enjoyed how two of the stories tied back into each other.
My first experience with this author was a success, so I’m definitely going to see what else he has to offer. Hopefully more creepy stories to read at night!
My first experience with this author was a success, so I’m definitely going to see what else he has to offer. Hopefully more creepy stories to read at night!
September 18, 2013
Not great literature, but nonetheless Travis tells some good, spooky stories. six or seven are the basic short story with a punch while one is a novella and has greater character development. Two of the short stories had overlapping characters, which made them interesting. These do a good job of holding your attention.
November 20, 2013
Several short stories and a short novel. Very entertaining read, loved the short novel. The twists in it kept me glued to my Kindle. I think Todd Travis is comparable to Koontz but definitely a great author in his own right. I can't wait to see what his next book will be about, I definitely recommend this book, as its entertaining and quick to read.
May 11, 2015
I enjoyed the short stories in this book - just enough mystery, horror and humor to keep me reading. I got this as a free download and was not disappointed.
The stories are loosely tied together - which I like; the characters are flawed - another plus; could pick the book up, read a little and put down - big bonus considering how busy I've been lately.
The stories are loosely tied together - which I like; the characters are flawed - another plus; could pick the book up, read a little and put down - big bonus considering how busy I've been lately.
September 2, 2013
Todd Travis. My new favorite author, I read his 2 novels in less than a week. These short stories are brilliantly original, fantastic characterization and some of the endings have a real punch to them
November 29, 2013
This collection of "scary" short stories was OK. Most of them were predictable and none of them were really scary to me. I got it free for my Kindle from Amazon, so nothing lost, but neither was anything really gained.
January 9, 2014
This was definitely a good read. I got this book for free and honestly, I would have paid for it. The short stories are good, but the novella "The Living and the Dead" was such a good story. I never saw the ending coming. Very nice collection.
October 25, 2014
This book included a few short stories and a longer story. I really enjoyed the longer story. It had twists and turns that I didn't see coming!
The author is also offering his novel for free on kindle right now. It looks good and I look forward to reading it!
The author is also offering his novel for free on kindle right now. It looks good and I look forward to reading it!
December 1, 2015
While such collections usually include several hits and misses this one is solidly on the hits side. Maybe it's because there aren't that many stories so only better ones made the cut.
Anyway good choice for fans of short horror story genere.
Anyway good choice for fans of short horror story genere.
October 25, 2016
Good read. I will definitely check out more novels from this author.
This was the second book I read from this author who is new to me. The first one was the Emma Stone and Jacob Thorne novel (book 1) which was exceptionally good. Can't wait to read book 2 of the series.
This was the second book I read from this author who is new to me. The first one was the Emma Stone and Jacob Thorne novel (book 1) which was exceptionally good. Can't wait to read book 2 of the series.
September 17, 2019
Great!
Excellent short stories. My personal favorite is "A Boys Totem". Tragic, creepy, and yet touching. All of the stories remind me of the Rod Serling classic Night Gallery (the good shows).
Excellent short stories. My personal favorite is "A Boys Totem". Tragic, creepy, and yet touching. All of the stories remind me of the Rod Serling classic Night Gallery (the good shows).
August 15, 2013
A collection of pretty twisted horror stories, this was one of the best compilations I have read in awhile.
September 6, 2013
I enjoyed the different short stories in this book. Very imaginative. The last story had a great twist at the end.
September 15, 2013
A good collection of short stories. I think that everyone can find one story he will like. The short novel is interesting, and the plots in general are good. Nice read for lonely hours.
February 11, 2014
If Todd Travis wrote it, I'll read it. He never disappoints. I only hope he is somewhere quiet, writing away....
September 16, 2013
Some terrifying tales, with twisted endings that will surprise even a jaded reader.
September 19, 2013
This probably only deserves three stars, but I feel like bumping it up. Cool stories.
September 26, 2013
Good collection of short stories that I really enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews