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STARLESS: A COLLECTION OF HORRORS
STARLESS is a collection of 6 short horror stories that span the greatest sub-genres of horror. From monsters and survival, isolation from an eerie affliction, paranormal, the psycho-cosmic, skin-crawling folk and ancient lore, debut horror author Dusty Rose takes you on a tour of terror through all this and more.
Prepare to go STARLESS.
Prepare to go STARLESS.
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About the author
Dusty Rose
134 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
For the Romance author, see Dusty Rose
For the Romance author, see Dusty Rose
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July 14, 2025
Dusty Rose's debut horror collection contains six strong and entertaining stories, two of which reach novelette length. It's a solid collection, wide-ranging, and, above all, quite original; at least, it was the first time for me to encounter a folk horror story ("Cud") about bestiality! And it's not even extreme horror, it's a beautiful example of skilled storytelling, about a horrifying family curse.
"As Above" was my favorite story of the collection. It deals with a couple of young siblings trying to survive a very weird kind of apocalypse: trapped in their house's crawlspace, they have to risk their lives daily to avoid alerting the bizarre spider-like entities that have colonized their house. The tale is suspenseful, well-written, occasionally heavy in action and even heavier in emotion, though never dull or repetitive (as one might expect, since the same thing's happening day in, day out). The bleak atmosphere is very well done, and it certainly fits the harrowing ending. In fact, one scene was very hard to read, and for people who hate spiders, it'll be even harder!
"Five Crosses" is about miscarriage and stillbirth, and it's quite detailed, so trigger warnings should definitely be heeded for this one. A woman severely traumatized by giving birth to another stillborn baby, is left to her own devices, and decides to handle the unbearable pain in her own manner. Note that this is a dark tale of grief horror, combining many horror themes (dolls, body horror, horrific family drama, mental issues) in a way unlike any I've seen before! The ending is a bit ambiguous, it may certainly imply that the story is about healing. Either way, it's worth reading and deciding for yourself.
"The Bellow From The Basement" is about a solitary man encountering a monstrous presence (an alien? a god? a demon?) in his basement, and the way the discovery affects him. This story is terribly multi-layered (going from psychological horror to cosmic horror and back again), and though I mean this in a good way, I confess I did get confused by the author's insistence to repeatedly blur the distinction between imagination and reality. I also felt that this story dragged too much, and had the weakest ending in the book. OK, I didn't like that story very much lol
"Beyond the Blue Sky" is a post-apocalyptic tale, of one man surviving the end of the world, and having to make peace with that fact - his survival, not the end of the world, which latter reminded me of LP Hernandez's "Stargazers" (that's a compliment). A creepy story of guilt, loneliness, and despair.
"Cud" is a sad and cruel story where Hereditary meets... bestiality. It's a novellete about a family man cursed to pay for his father's sins, forced to deal with murder, horrific animal pregnancies, and kinship turmoil. There's a strong religious undertone, though the author also borrows several familiar folk horror tropes, and puts them to terrific use right to the very end.
"The Bookerie," the story closing the collection, has very dark humor, and aims to provoke some visceral reactions by the tongue-in-cheek ending. Although it was much too heavy on description for my taste, it sure delivers when you realize that it was all about... furniture (that's not a spoiler)!
Overall, I did enjoy the collection, and would gladly recommend it for its cinematic descriptions, original depictions of the supernatural, superb sense of place, and immersive portrayal of gruesome rural family life.
"As Above" was my favorite story of the collection. It deals with a couple of young siblings trying to survive a very weird kind of apocalypse: trapped in their house's crawlspace, they have to risk their lives daily to avoid alerting the bizarre spider-like entities that have colonized their house. The tale is suspenseful, well-written, occasionally heavy in action and even heavier in emotion, though never dull or repetitive (as one might expect, since the same thing's happening day in, day out). The bleak atmosphere is very well done, and it certainly fits the harrowing ending. In fact, one scene was very hard to read, and for people who hate spiders, it'll be even harder!
"Five Crosses" is about miscarriage and stillbirth, and it's quite detailed, so trigger warnings should definitely be heeded for this one. A woman severely traumatized by giving birth to another stillborn baby, is left to her own devices, and decides to handle the unbearable pain in her own manner. Note that this is a dark tale of grief horror, combining many horror themes (dolls, body horror, horrific family drama, mental issues) in a way unlike any I've seen before! The ending is a bit ambiguous, it may certainly imply that the story is about healing. Either way, it's worth reading and deciding for yourself.
"The Bellow From The Basement" is about a solitary man encountering a monstrous presence (an alien? a god? a demon?) in his basement, and the way the discovery affects him. This story is terribly multi-layered (going from psychological horror to cosmic horror and back again), and though I mean this in a good way, I confess I did get confused by the author's insistence to repeatedly blur the distinction between imagination and reality. I also felt that this story dragged too much, and had the weakest ending in the book. OK, I didn't like that story very much lol
"Beyond the Blue Sky" is a post-apocalyptic tale, of one man surviving the end of the world, and having to make peace with that fact - his survival, not the end of the world, which latter reminded me of LP Hernandez's "Stargazers" (that's a compliment). A creepy story of guilt, loneliness, and despair.
"Cud" is a sad and cruel story where Hereditary meets... bestiality. It's a novellete about a family man cursed to pay for his father's sins, forced to deal with murder, horrific animal pregnancies, and kinship turmoil. There's a strong religious undertone, though the author also borrows several familiar folk horror tropes, and puts them to terrific use right to the very end.
"The Bookerie," the story closing the collection, has very dark humor, and aims to provoke some visceral reactions by the tongue-in-cheek ending. Although it was much too heavy on description for my taste, it sure delivers when you realize that it was all about... furniture (that's not a spoiler)!
Overall, I did enjoy the collection, and would gladly recommend it for its cinematic descriptions, original depictions of the supernatural, superb sense of place, and immersive portrayal of gruesome rural family life.
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