The Dread Machine: Issue 3.3

by Alin Walker, Monica Louzon (Editor), Timothy Burkhardt (Editor)

In this issue of The Dread Machine... Investigate a haunted record store, meet an accidental martyr, and marry a god. Gather the stars, catalog a new planet, and settle the feud with your twin brother. Learn how to determine if your grandmother has been replaced by a fairy, how to build a social media following to crowdfund medical bills before you need it, and thirteen ways to dissect a blackbird. Whatever you do, don't wander to the planet's dark side, be sure to buckle in, and stay far away from the Roomba.

146 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2023

Reviews

[Andrew Kozma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dread Machine always has disturbing, well-written stories. This one has a killer story by Nathaniel Lee about a woman getting trapped inside her own roomba, a surprising direction for existential horror. Neon Yang's "Waiting on a Bright Moon" is a far future story of forbidden love and rebellion in a universe I want to read more of. Greta Hayer's short tale about what to do if you suspect your grandmother has been replaced by a fairy is both frightening and heart-wrenching. Avri Margariti has a beautifully atmospheric story about the afterlife of dead girls. It's a good read.

I'm sad that The Dread Machine is stopping publishing individual issues after 3.4, but you can buy most of the old ones in paperback or all of them digitally. They are worth it.

(Fair warning, I'm published in a number of The Dread Machine issues, though not this one. So I'm biased, but hopefully not too much so.)