What do you think?
Rate this book
Cages and Those Who Hold the Keys
In the Midnight Museum - Bram Stoker Award-nominated for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, 2005
Martin Tyler is a 44-year-old janitor whose life has come to a sputtering halt; he has no friends, no family, and no promise of better days ahead. In the grip of blackest depression, he attempts to take his own life, only to find himself waking up in a local mental health facility where he has been placed for observation.
But something more has happened to Martin than just a failed suicide attempt; certain doors of perception have been unlocked in his mind, allowing him to see fantastic creatures that lurk outside on the streets of Cedar Hill - creatures only he can perceive.
Over the next 48 hours, Martin will discover what these creatures are, who controls them, and why he must enter The Midnight Museum, a place with no doors or windows, but many entrances and exits; a place just outside the perception of everyday life; a place where Martin will discover how and why he inadvertently holds the fate of the world in his hands.
The Ballad of Road Mama and Daddy Bliss
In the novella The Ballad of Road Mama and Daddy Bliss, a man assigned community service duty with the city morgue after a DUI arrest is offered a simple deal: transport an old woman's body back to her hometown, and his record will be wiped clean. But this is no typical old woman, and -- as he soon discovers -- he is taking her to a town that is on no map. The old woman's identity, as well as the reasons behind the town's secret existence, will be revealed to him over the course of a few nightmarish hours between midnight and dawn -- the time when The Road demands its sacrifices.
Kiss of the Mudman
International Horror Guild Award for Long Fiction, 2007
A haunting story behind the lyrics of a rock song from the 70s. It is a story of music, stardom, death, and the combination of notes that brings dirty destruction to the Cedar Hill halfway house. Along the way, a visit from the "ulcerations" of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, Kurt Cobain, and Billie Holiday enlighten the legend of just why the greatest guitar player that ever lived was a woman. Music fans will love it, and Braunbeck's fans should not miss it. It has all the things that make his work special: the pain, the despair, and the fear, all combined but with each one allowed its own moment in the sun, each one getting its own time with your nerves before they all come crashing down, leaving you with just enough energy to turn the page.
Tessellations
A haunted, young actress returns home after the death of her father to discover that her brother has seemingly gone insane. Over the course of one unnerving night she first witnesses — and then becomes a part of — a Halloween nightmare that, piece by piece, physically brings back the past, rips a hole in her consensual reality, and allows demons, monsters, and even a miracle or two to shamble into this world and transform it into the darkest of fairy tales...
The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women
'The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women' is the story of Amanda, who gains beauty but at a terrible price as her new physical attributes are torn from other people, the tale never less than compelling and with a heartfelt moral at its core.
Martin Tyler is a 44-year-old janitor whose life has come to a sputtering halt; he has no friends, no family, and no promise of better days ahead. In the grip of blackest depression, he attempts to take his own life, only to find himself waking up in a local mental health facility where he has been placed for observation.
But something more has happened to Martin than just a failed suicide attempt; certain doors of perception have been unlocked in his mind, allowing him to see fantastic creatures that lurk outside on the streets of Cedar Hill - creatures only he can perceive.
Over the next 48 hours, Martin will discover what these creatures are, who controls them, and why he must enter The Midnight Museum, a place with no doors or windows, but many entrances and exits; a place just outside the perception of everyday life; a place where Martin will discover how and why he inadvertently holds the fate of the world in his hands.
The Ballad of Road Mama and Daddy Bliss
In the novella The Ballad of Road Mama and Daddy Bliss, a man assigned community service duty with the city morgue after a DUI arrest is offered a simple deal: transport an old woman's body back to her hometown, and his record will be wiped clean. But this is no typical old woman, and -- as he soon discovers -- he is taking her to a town that is on no map. The old woman's identity, as well as the reasons behind the town's secret existence, will be revealed to him over the course of a few nightmarish hours between midnight and dawn -- the time when The Road demands its sacrifices.
Kiss of the Mudman
International Horror Guild Award for Long Fiction, 2007
A haunting story behind the lyrics of a rock song from the 70s. It is a story of music, stardom, death, and the combination of notes that brings dirty destruction to the Cedar Hill halfway house. Along the way, a visit from the "ulcerations" of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, Kurt Cobain, and Billie Holiday enlighten the legend of just why the greatest guitar player that ever lived was a woman. Music fans will love it, and Braunbeck's fans should not miss it. It has all the things that make his work special: the pain, the despair, and the fear, all combined but with each one allowed its own moment in the sun, each one getting its own time with your nerves before they all come crashing down, leaving you with just enough energy to turn the page.
Tessellations
A haunted, young actress returns home after the death of her father to discover that her brother has seemingly gone insane. Over the course of one unnerving night she first witnesses — and then becomes a part of — a Halloween nightmare that, piece by piece, physically brings back the past, rips a hole in her consensual reality, and allows demons, monsters, and even a miracle or two to shamble into this world and transform it into the darkest of fairy tales...
The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women
'The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women' is the story of Amanda, who gains beauty but at a terrible price as her new physical attributes are torn from other people, the tale never less than compelling and with a heartfelt moral at its core.
- GenresHorror
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 13, 2011
6 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Gary A. Braunbeck
223 books232 followersGary A. Braunbeck is a prolific author who writes mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream literature. He is the author of 19 books; his fiction has been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and German. Nearly 200 of his short stories have appeared in various publications.
His fiction has received several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award in 2003 for "Duty" and in 2005 for "We Now Pause for Station Identification"; his book Destinations Unknown won a Stoker in 2006. His novella "Kiss of the Mudman" received the International Horror Guild Award in 2005."
His fiction has received several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award in 2003 for "Duty" and in 2005 for "We Now Pause for Station Identification"; his book Destinations Unknown won a Stoker in 2006. His novella "Kiss of the Mudman" received the International Horror Guild Award in 2005."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 29, 2014
This is a collection of five novellas featuring Gary Braunbeck's fictional town of Cedar Hill. I rated each novella, then averaged the ratings to come up with four-stars for the whole collection. There are a couple typos (missing punctuation, strange bold words), which might upset the OCD-crowd but doesn't detract from the stories.
I wasn't crazy about the opening story, In the Midnight Museum, because it reads like literary nonsense and I'm not a fan of the genre so it's no surprise that this tale didn't hook me. How this story was put together was more interesting to me than the actual story (much like Lewis Carroll's work).
Science-fiction and supernatural horror blend together, playing off the fear of road-accidents in Road Mama and Daddy Bliss while Kiss of the Mudman resurrects the ghosts of musical idols to remind us how thoughts and beliefs can shape reality. A freaky Halloween tale, Tessellations, has a strong Day of the Dead influence.
The closing story, The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women, is my favorite story in the collection. A gruesome be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale hitting upon an issue that all women encounter at some point in their lives: body image.
I look forward to visiting Cedar Hill again in the future.
I wasn't crazy about the opening story, In the Midnight Museum, because it reads like literary nonsense and I'm not a fan of the genre so it's no surprise that this tale didn't hook me. How this story was put together was more interesting to me than the actual story (much like Lewis Carroll's work).
Science-fiction and supernatural horror blend together, playing off the fear of road-accidents in Road Mama and Daddy Bliss while Kiss of the Mudman resurrects the ghosts of musical idols to remind us how thoughts and beliefs can shape reality. A freaky Halloween tale, Tessellations, has a strong Day of the Dead influence.
The closing story, The Sisterhood of Plain-Faced Women, is my favorite story in the collection. A gruesome be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale hitting upon an issue that all women encounter at some point in their lives: body image.
I look forward to visiting Cedar Hill again in the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review