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The Land of Long Shadows
These are not tales of survival, but tales of dying.
The unrecognized island nation of Tautito was a scrap of contested territory, caught between two nuclear superpowers. When the end came, birthed by dark and desperate deeds, it shattered the structure of reality itself. Already ruined city streets sunk into a nightmarish quagmire, as gargantuan pillars burst from the landscape to stop the sagging sky from falling in.
From the shadows of a world knocked off kilter, a horrific menagerie of monsters stalk both the living and the dead. Most people, the lucky ones perhaps, went mad, leaving them as little more than wretched beasts, while those that maintained their sanity could only pretend to ask why they were spared.
The Land of Long Shadows is a collection of 11 short stories in a transgressive, post-apocalyptic, dark-fantasy horror setting.
The unrecognized island nation of Tautito was a scrap of contested territory, caught between two nuclear superpowers. When the end came, birthed by dark and desperate deeds, it shattered the structure of reality itself. Already ruined city streets sunk into a nightmarish quagmire, as gargantuan pillars burst from the landscape to stop the sagging sky from falling in.
From the shadows of a world knocked off kilter, a horrific menagerie of monsters stalk both the living and the dead. Most people, the lucky ones perhaps, went mad, leaving them as little more than wretched beasts, while those that maintained their sanity could only pretend to ask why they were spared.
The Land of Long Shadows is a collection of 11 short stories in a transgressive, post-apocalyptic, dark-fantasy horror setting.
487 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 13, 2023
‘The Worst of Us’
A final World War. A Manhattan Project 2.0. A last-gasp experiment which literally unravels the fabric of reality…. But all of this is just prologue.
The tales that unfold in The Land of Long Shadows could be called many things: cryptic, disgusting, enervating, gratuitous—yet also intriguing and refreshingly unorthodox. Set in the remnants of an Asiatic island nation untold years after the war’s cosmic crescendo, we meet a steady cortège of damned souls inexplicably going about everyday lives in a hellscape teaming with Lovecraftian horrors, frenzied apparitions, once-human wretches and deranged cultists.
Initially such mundane behavior comes off as odd for denizens of this nightmarish setting; even unrealistic. (We’re still fretting over adolescent slights and cheating spouses when mammoth tentacled monstrosities are prowling?) But as tale after macabre tale plays out to its gruesome conclusion, it becomes increasingly clear: this is not so much a functioning world as a mystic tableau haunted by humanity’s peurilities and atrocities. And only the very worst of us thrive in this apocalypse—the perverse, the homicidal, the sociopathic, and the openly psychotic.
This is not a gentle read. Its omniscient narrator seems not only largely unsympathetic toward the characters, but almost gratified by their downfall—like some livid Old Testament deity gleefully smiting his faulty creations. However, there are sparks of illumination. Even a compelling take on the metaphysical roots of wickedness which lends context and function to all the human misery.
I’ve a few issues worth mentioning— Not every story lands with quite the same oomph. The stronger are wonderfully twisted little tales of self-delusion, broken dreams and comeuppance; the lesser beat around the bush too much, wallowing in the omnipresent muck. I found the more prolonged passages of extreme violence (and violation) to, at times, undermine otherwise sharp prose, muddying the clarity of a scene’s action and intent. And there is a tendency of some characters to lapse into unwieldy exposition and heavy-handed soapboxing. But it is a credit to the work’s creativity that this did not deter me from exploring the rich, morbidly absorbing world imagined here.
It’s one part elegy, one part pulpy ‘Tales From the Crypt’ retribution, a dash of the The Leftovers’ ruminative post-Rapture ennui, and one massive helping of fascinating, dizzying cosmological mythos. Quibbles aside, it’s a gutsy (in every sense), unconventional collection and makes me wish more independent fiction would swing for the fences. An indie scene is there to do what the mainstream simply cannot—take risks. Recommended (to those with a strong stomach).
A final World War. A Manhattan Project 2.0. A last-gasp experiment which literally unravels the fabric of reality…. But all of this is just prologue.
The tales that unfold in The Land of Long Shadows could be called many things: cryptic, disgusting, enervating, gratuitous—yet also intriguing and refreshingly unorthodox. Set in the remnants of an Asiatic island nation untold years after the war’s cosmic crescendo, we meet a steady cortège of damned souls inexplicably going about everyday lives in a hellscape teaming with Lovecraftian horrors, frenzied apparitions, once-human wretches and deranged cultists.
Initially such mundane behavior comes off as odd for denizens of this nightmarish setting; even unrealistic. (We’re still fretting over adolescent slights and cheating spouses when mammoth tentacled monstrosities are prowling?) But as tale after macabre tale plays out to its gruesome conclusion, it becomes increasingly clear: this is not so much a functioning world as a mystic tableau haunted by humanity’s peurilities and atrocities. And only the very worst of us thrive in this apocalypse—the perverse, the homicidal, the sociopathic, and the openly psychotic.
This is not a gentle read. Its omniscient narrator seems not only largely unsympathetic toward the characters, but almost gratified by their downfall—like some livid Old Testament deity gleefully smiting his faulty creations. However, there are sparks of illumination. Even a compelling take on the metaphysical roots of wickedness which lends context and function to all the human misery.
I’ve a few issues worth mentioning— Not every story lands with quite the same oomph. The stronger are wonderfully twisted little tales of self-delusion, broken dreams and comeuppance; the lesser beat around the bush too much, wallowing in the omnipresent muck. I found the more prolonged passages of extreme violence (and violation) to, at times, undermine otherwise sharp prose, muddying the clarity of a scene’s action and intent. And there is a tendency of some characters to lapse into unwieldy exposition and heavy-handed soapboxing. But it is a credit to the work’s creativity that this did not deter me from exploring the rich, morbidly absorbing world imagined here.
It’s one part elegy, one part pulpy ‘Tales From the Crypt’ retribution, a dash of the The Leftovers’ ruminative post-Rapture ennui, and one massive helping of fascinating, dizzying cosmological mythos. Quibbles aside, it’s a gutsy (in every sense), unconventional collection and makes me wish more independent fiction would swing for the fences. An indie scene is there to do what the mainstream simply cannot—take risks. Recommended (to those with a strong stomach).
September 26, 2025
Not sure what the point was
It gets four stars because it’s imaginative and well written. But…
This is a pointless (as far as I can see anyway) rambling set of tales that are vaguely related. The narrative is inconstant to the point that I lost count of the times that I had to stop and go back thinking “wait, when did that happen????”
It is dark. Very dark and very deranged at times…but I believe that was the author’s intention. Chaos pure.
The last 20% of the book was a slog…..the author seemed to be trying to tie the previous stories together, but so much was left unclear… It doesn’t end in any expected way.
Not everyone’s taste and not an easy read….but it was an interesting exercise nevertheless.
It gets four stars because it’s imaginative and well written. But…
This is a pointless (as far as I can see anyway) rambling set of tales that are vaguely related. The narrative is inconstant to the point that I lost count of the times that I had to stop and go back thinking “wait, when did that happen????”
It is dark. Very dark and very deranged at times…but I believe that was the author’s intention. Chaos pure.
The last 20% of the book was a slog…..the author seemed to be trying to tie the previous stories together, but so much was left unclear… It doesn’t end in any expected way.
Not everyone’s taste and not an easy read….but it was an interesting exercise nevertheless.
October 13, 2023
Tantalizing mysteries pull you through
The book has an interesting take on a post apocalyptic world that has you reading through to piece together the mystery of the world, much like the people in the world scrabbling for scraps.
The book has an interesting take on a post apocalyptic world that has you reading through to piece together the mystery of the world, much like the people in the world scrabbling for scraps.
September 7, 2023
What in the @#$% did I just read?!?!?!
I generally stay away from transgressive fiction, but reading this author's other works, I really had no choice but to try it. He's that good.
It's off the charts.
I often found myself battling as to whether to put it away for later or stay up all night because I JUST HAD TO KNOW. That's what was going through my brain while reading... I just had to know what was next, what this was all about.
It's fantastic and I loved it and I want more.
I generally stay away from transgressive fiction, but reading this author's other works, I really had no choice but to try it. He's that good.
It's off the charts.
I often found myself battling as to whether to put it away for later or stay up all night because I JUST HAD TO KNOW. That's what was going through my brain while reading... I just had to know what was next, what this was all about.
It's fantastic and I loved it and I want more.
January 6, 2026
This book was far longer than it needed to be, with many scenes repeating the same ideas without adding much. The loose, episodic structure was also confusing, making it hard to tell what matters and where the story was actually going. Instead of making the world feel bigger or scarier, the extra length and unclear structure just drag the book down.
*This review is being made after the author confronted me about my star rating, 2 years after the fact. He didn't seem to believe I read it, so I am giving my honest review, based on my faint memory of it.
*This review is being made after the author confronted me about my star rating, 2 years after the fact. He didn't seem to believe I read it, so I am giving my honest review, based on my faint memory of it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews