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I Will Devour You and Other Promises
I will devour you . . .
Spencer Hamilton has returned with 13 brutal tales of horror, of succumbing to the darkness, of revenge and cruelty and monsters. A man wakes in his own grave . . . a little girl's day at Smileyland turns into a nightmare . . . a grieving father faces the terror lurking beneath the ice of a frozen lake . . . the antichrist's mother live-tweets her escape . . . a forest grows overnight in the Vatican . . . and a tumor that whispers, I will devour you! Come on inside, but be warned—these stories devour.
With a foreword by Jeremy Megargee, author of Stained & Starless Places
"Hamilton doesn't mess around, and he's not afraid of taking chances." —Michael R. Goodwin, author of Smolder
Spencer Hamilton has returned with 13 brutal tales of horror, of succumbing to the darkness, of revenge and cruelty and monsters. A man wakes in his own grave . . . a little girl's day at Smileyland turns into a nightmare . . . a grieving father faces the terror lurking beneath the ice of a frozen lake . . . the antichrist's mother live-tweets her escape . . . a forest grows overnight in the Vatican . . . and a tumor that whispers, I will devour you! Come on inside, but be warned—these stories devour.
With a foreword by Jeremy Megargee, author of Stained & Starless Places
"Hamilton doesn't mess around, and he's not afraid of taking chances." —Michael R. Goodwin, author of Smolder
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2023
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 28, 2023
I’m well aware that it’s incredibly shallow to judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest, that’s my modus operandi. This way of doing things has caused me to read/watch some terrible things, but it’s mostly shown me some great works of literature/cinema. Case in point: Spencer Hamilton’s I Will Devour You. The moment I laid eyes on this cover I instantly loved/liked the pic and was invested for launch day. I followed the author & even commented that I am 100% in for the cover alone. Little did I know I would be in for some first-rate, soul-tainting horror that would hit me on so many different levels. Short stories aren’t for everyone, but if there was a masterclass on them, I would nominate Spencer to teach it. The way he is able to seamlessly squeeze just enough background/depth to his characters that only get a few pages is remarkable. As someone who is trying his hand at writing, it’s NOT easy & I definitely took some notes from him.
Anyways, let’s get to the meat & potatoes of this collection.
What you get: a sinister amusement park that goes extra manic, the dinner party from hell, a scouting trip you should have skipped, a stubborn wine stain, it IS a tumor, video evidence of an eldritch horror, and sweet hubris for a catholic priest.
A lot of terror, dread, and satisfying closure packed into some great writing. Highly recommend it & very glad I also got “Sister Funtime” to fill me in on more of Smileyland.
Anyways, let’s get to the meat & potatoes of this collection.
What you get: a sinister amusement park that goes extra manic, the dinner party from hell, a scouting trip you should have skipped, a stubborn wine stain, it IS a tumor, video evidence of an eldritch horror, and sweet hubris for a catholic priest.
A lot of terror, dread, and satisfying closure packed into some great writing. Highly recommend it & very glad I also got “Sister Funtime” to fill me in on more of Smileyland.
January 14, 2024
10 out of 5. So this is a case of me judging a book by the author before I even read it. When I saw that Spencer Hamilton was releasing his second short story collection, I knew immediately that I had to have it. This did not disappoint. Different styles, points of view, and genres all give this collection an anthology feel, but instead of multiple contributors, aside from a collaboration with Amy Rochester, it is just Hamilton crafting these stories. Also, this book is gorgeous inside and out. I loved the gray scale double page to start each story, and this cover deserves to be hung on the wall.
October 18, 2023
4.5 rounded down
•
Horror fans: Have you read anything by Spencer Hamilton yet? For those that haven’t, what can I do to change that??
If you don’t know where to start, look no further than his latest collection, I Will Devour You. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and it isn’t just window dressing; inside is a fantastic offering of stories that are perfect for spooky season*!
💀Spoiler Free Review💀
This Goes Out to You - Short and sweet, this one had me feeling creeped out in the beginning, but confused by the end. 3 stars
The Cold, the Grief - This was a favorite when I read earlier versions and it hit me right in the feels again with this reread. 5 stars
The Tweeted Confession of Mariam Thornwood - A new favorite and the most fun I’ve ever had reading about the Antichrist. 5 stars
Momma’s Monster - Powerful. I knew the direction things were going and was still squirming in my seat the whole time. 4.5 stars
Smile and Say Your Prayers - Give me ALL the Smileyland stories. 4.25 stars
The Stars, They’re Laughing - A coming of age story with a cosmic horror vibe that nails the feeling of being alone in a crowd. 3.5 stars
You Are Beneath It All - Irreconcilable differences have a whole new meaning in this deliciously claustrophobic tale of divorce gone wrong, or right. 4.5 stars
The Ones Who Watch - This bizarre little story felt like a fever dream; fantastic. 4.25 stars
Stomp - No sour grapes from this toast-worthy tale. 3.75 stars
Evidence Locker VHS Tape #6 - Teenagers and monsters; always a good mix for a scary story. 4 stars
Out of the Shadows, Into the Sun - Another new favorite; I love when a story goes somewhere I don’t expect. 4.5 stars
The Overnight Forest - I really liked this one when I read it in a previously published anthology, but this reread made an even bigger impact. The writing is graphic, yet beautiful, and it delivers layers upon layers of horror. 5 stars
I Will Devour You - This brief Lovecraftian story was a perfect end for this collection. 3.25 stars
•
*all day, every day
•
Horror fans: Have you read anything by Spencer Hamilton yet? For those that haven’t, what can I do to change that??
If you don’t know where to start, look no further than his latest collection, I Will Devour You. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and it isn’t just window dressing; inside is a fantastic offering of stories that are perfect for spooky season*!
💀Spoiler Free Review💀
This Goes Out to You - Short and sweet, this one had me feeling creeped out in the beginning, but confused by the end. 3 stars
The Cold, the Grief - This was a favorite when I read earlier versions and it hit me right in the feels again with this reread. 5 stars
The Tweeted Confession of Mariam Thornwood - A new favorite and the most fun I’ve ever had reading about the Antichrist. 5 stars
Momma’s Monster - Powerful. I knew the direction things were going and was still squirming in my seat the whole time. 4.5 stars
Smile and Say Your Prayers - Give me ALL the Smileyland stories. 4.25 stars
The Stars, They’re Laughing - A coming of age story with a cosmic horror vibe that nails the feeling of being alone in a crowd. 3.5 stars
You Are Beneath It All - Irreconcilable differences have a whole new meaning in this deliciously claustrophobic tale of divorce gone wrong, or right. 4.5 stars
The Ones Who Watch - This bizarre little story felt like a fever dream; fantastic. 4.25 stars
Stomp - No sour grapes from this toast-worthy tale. 3.75 stars
Evidence Locker VHS Tape #6 - Teenagers and monsters; always a good mix for a scary story. 4 stars
Out of the Shadows, Into the Sun - Another new favorite; I love when a story goes somewhere I don’t expect. 4.5 stars
The Overnight Forest - I really liked this one when I read it in a previously published anthology, but this reread made an even bigger impact. The writing is graphic, yet beautiful, and it delivers layers upon layers of horror. 5 stars
I Will Devour You - This brief Lovecraftian story was a perfect end for this collection. 3.25 stars
•
*all day, every day
October 13, 2024
Quite why I left it *over a year* to pick up and, ahem, devour this collection I don’t really know, but better late than never, right?
This collection absolutely slams - from the beautiful cover to the haunting end of the final story, the writing is tight and emotional, the horror is unrelenting, and the scares are terrific.
I wanted to shout out my favourites from the collection and, as you can see below, it’s pretty much all of them! Anyway…
This goes out to you: ok we are up and running and we are not messing around. Short and terrifying (exactly 666 words)
The cold, the grief: powerful musing on loss and on grief. Especially effective portrayal of losing a child despite Spencer not being a parent himself. It hits hard!
The tweeted confession of Marian Thornwood: fun way of telling a story, via a twitter thread. A little light, but interesting all the same.
Momma’s Monster: nasty story of vengeance and violence
Smile and Say your Prayers: A disorientating and discombobulating visit to Smileyland. Try not to feel dizzy!
You Are Beneath It All: a dark tale of divorce told in the second person. Very weird and very disturbing.
The Ones Who Watch: haven’t looked at owls in this way since watching Twin Peaks. A dark tale about a man with a dark secret.
Stomp (with Amy Rochester): feminine rage and wine - classic combo
Evidence locker vhs tape #6: found footage of a trip to a cave and things with teeth. Gnarly. (Originally in Devil’s Rejects)
Out of the shadows, into the sun: short and sharp tale of either guilt or revenge depending on your viewpoint. Would have liked more! (Originally in Slice of Paradise)
I will devour you: short, sharp and nasssssty
Anyway, I had a wonderful time with this. Spencer is a fantastic human and an equally brilliant writer. If you’ve also slept on this release, change that now!
This collection absolutely slams - from the beautiful cover to the haunting end of the final story, the writing is tight and emotional, the horror is unrelenting, and the scares are terrific.
I wanted to shout out my favourites from the collection and, as you can see below, it’s pretty much all of them! Anyway…
This goes out to you: ok we are up and running and we are not messing around. Short and terrifying (exactly 666 words)
The cold, the grief: powerful musing on loss and on grief. Especially effective portrayal of losing a child despite Spencer not being a parent himself. It hits hard!
The tweeted confession of Marian Thornwood: fun way of telling a story, via a twitter thread. A little light, but interesting all the same.
Momma’s Monster: nasty story of vengeance and violence
Smile and Say your Prayers: A disorientating and discombobulating visit to Smileyland. Try not to feel dizzy!
You Are Beneath It All: a dark tale of divorce told in the second person. Very weird and very disturbing.
The Ones Who Watch: haven’t looked at owls in this way since watching Twin Peaks. A dark tale about a man with a dark secret.
Stomp (with Amy Rochester): feminine rage and wine - classic combo
Evidence locker vhs tape #6: found footage of a trip to a cave and things with teeth. Gnarly. (Originally in Devil’s Rejects)
Out of the shadows, into the sun: short and sharp tale of either guilt or revenge depending on your viewpoint. Would have liked more! (Originally in Slice of Paradise)
I will devour you: short, sharp and nasssssty
Anyway, I had a wonderful time with this. Spencer is a fantastic human and an equally brilliant writer. If you’ve also slept on this release, change that now!
November 16, 2023
First off, I LOVED this book!
The cover - no words needed! 🥰
I’m really enjoying short stories at the moment so this book arrived in time to help my Covid brain get back in to reading.
This book is made up of a collection of short horror stories. The details and atmosphere that has been put in to each story is amazing. My favourites were Momma’s Monster and Smile and say your prayers (I loved the original Smileyland book and couldn’t wait to get to this one!)
Story Notes at the back are a nice touch with Spencer’s comments on each story 👍🏻
The cover - no words needed! 🥰
I’m really enjoying short stories at the moment so this book arrived in time to help my Covid brain get back in to reading.
This book is made up of a collection of short horror stories. The details and atmosphere that has been put in to each story is amazing. My favourites were Momma’s Monster and Smile and say your prayers (I loved the original Smileyland book and couldn’t wait to get to this one!)
Story Notes at the back are a nice touch with Spencer’s comments on each story 👍🏻
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews