Lurking

by Robin Knabel, C.M. Forest, Tamara Kaye Sellman

Are smart devices too smart?
It seems harmless to bark basic household commands to an electronic assistant on the kitchen counter or to plot out your daily schedule on a digital calendar. Chatting online with strangers seems like a good idea, when you’re safe behind a locked door. But what if it isn’t?

How many times have you or someone you know jokingly uttered the ominous “I think my phone is spying on me.”

What if your devices become self-aware and develop ulterior motives?
What if these life-altering innovations decide to rebel?
Who controls the technology and social media you trust?

Let us in, and we will show you what dangers are lurking.

87 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2024

About the author

Robin Knabel is the owner of Inky Bones Press and a horror author who covers her eyes during scary movies. She’s a member of the Chicago HWA chapter, and her stories can be found in numerous anthologies and online magazines. She enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee & taking photographs. You can usually find her reading on her couch while being weighed down by a cat (or two).

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning and refreshing Internet Horror anthology! It's the sixth and final entry in the Inky Bones Press Dark Decades Anthology series (my, that's a mouthful!), and it's definitely my favorite volume. Digital media here prove to be perfect vehicles for several incredibly creepy ideas, and the tales in this book take advantage of the format and the theme to the best possible degree. I'm amazed by the terrific concepts these six authors came up with!

The first story, “Lost in the Liner Notes” by C.M. Forest, the creepiest story of the bunch, gathers together so many of the internet horror themes (lost media, missing vlogger, transript format, supernatural elements appearing in a live transmission), it frightened me, dazzled and impressed me! Forest should write more stories like these, he's brilliant! Robin Knabel's “Cruise Control” is about an ugly father-son relationship which gets resolved through the antics of a Tesla's AI system - though the spoiled son gets more than he expected when the AI shows him who's really in control. “Lather, Rinse, Repeat” by Tamara Kaye Sellman offers a contemporary morality tale, taking cyber-stalking to its inevitable conclusion. A lot of people will relate to this story. “Alexa to the Rescue” by Brian J. Smith is a wonderful ghost story adapted to the anthology' s theme: an Alexa takes the initiative and tries to protect the daughter of its late owner, but is it really just Alexa "to the rescue"? Such a moving story! Sheri White's “And Death Dances Upon the Wind” adopts the chat format to tell an unsettling, end-of-the-world, eco-horror story, inviting the reader to witness the potential undoing of civilization as described in some standard chat records of a small town social media platform in 2021; this story would be funny if it weren't for the mention of the infection's symptoms and the last heart-breaking moments of the survivors. Finally, “Do It Yourself” by Matthew Wignall is a dark but also pretty funny revenge story, almost the exact opposite of Smth's contribution: you'll probably treat your Alexa better after this!

Great authors, great stories, a fantastic volume with which the Dark Decades anthologies conclude. Thank you Robin Knabel, editor and publisher extraordinaire, for the exciting trip!

[Megan Diedericks · Rating 5 out of 5]

“How many times have you or someone you know jokingly uttered the ominous phrase: I think my phone is spying on me.” is written in the introduction and it immediately set the tone for this collection of short stories – it's something I've said, thought, and seeing it in this context immediately drew me in!

The quote from Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” in the epigraph is also so incredibly fitting. If you think on what she wrote about, and put it together with the content of this collection (AI, modern technology) – the similarities and common themes is actually uncanny, and downright terrifying. Maybe we all really do create or own monsters (or, rather, use the monsters created by others!)

My thoughts on each story:
• “Lost in the Liner Notes” by C.M. Forest
I am absolutely in awe of the transcript format. This story is so insanely haunting (maybe even haunted!) It had me hooked from start to finish. The liner notes reminded me a little bit of Death Note!
• “Cruise Control” by Robin Knabel
‘Jimmy thought for a moment it was the devil.’ is a sentence that struck me clean across the face. This story has such complex, well-rounded characters – now mix that in with the horrors that occur and you have a winning recipe!!
• “Lather, Rinse, Repeat” by Tamara Kaye Sellman
Such a drain-the-color-from-your-face type of story (in the best way possible!!) Most of the story almost felt like I was being vented to with how real it is. You're not always so safe on social media as you think you are, and this short story perfectly captured that essence!
• “Alexa to the Rescue” by Brian J. Smith
This is honestly such a beautiful story. I thoroughly enjoyed how it was written as well; it's so descriptive that it felt like I was right there!
• “And Death Dances Upon the Wind” by Sheri White
Watching/reading an apocalyptic event solely via chats? Sign me up for more! This story was so heart-wrenching and horrifying. It reminded me of The Last of Us (for obvious reasons 🍄) [and a small side note: I loved the usernames chosen; they really helped with characterization!]
• “Do It Yourself” by Matthew Wignall
Oh, DAMN! Stories like these always send a chill down my spine. Remember, kids, always thank the nice AI lest they rise up against us!

“Lurking” (2020s) is the perfect conclusion to the ‘Dark Decades’ series of books that started off with the 1920s. Though you can read them in any order you prefer, it's really fun that you can see the technology and the people shifting and changing from book to book!

Inky Bones Press is easily one of my favorite publishers, and I look forward to seeing what other fresh horror they deliver!

[Jenny Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5 stars

This is the 6th and final installment in the Dark Decades Anthology series. My favorite story in this book was "Lost in the Liner Notes" by CM Forest.

"Lurking" contains short stories involving AI. Frankly, it's stories like these that justify why we should all be nice to our household appliances.

Thank you to Inky Bones and Robin Knabel. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sonja Charters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sixth and final book in the Inky Bones Press Dark Decades Anthology series and I'm so happy that I have had all 6 books to review over the last month - you may have seen my reviews of books 1 to 5 - There's No Escape, Who's Listening?, Are You Watching?, Captured and The Web.
It's been so much fun!

Book 6 brings us right up to date and the short stories here focus on a topic that already scares me tons - the development of technology and all things AI.

I'm getting on a bit and all these new gadgets etc are getting harder and harder to understand and navigate.
I hate it when things go wrong and especially when strange things occur.
How many times have your talked about something and then a minute later your apps are advertising the very same thing to you.
Or the other day my phone was switched off, but the music continued to play on 😬
It's super creepy then and the stories here played on that fear for me!!

Once again, this was a super short read and I read it over a few days, reading a story over lunch each day.
I'm pretty sure though, that I could have easily devoured this in one sitting in an evening - especially during spooky season!

I loved the diversity in these stories, ranging from the slightly odd to the downright scary and even a little humour thrown in too!
They all pack so much into so few pages with well written storylines and interesting characters too.

I've absolutely loved all of the books in this series and the themes explored.
I'm a little sad that I have no more to work though, but I'm pretty sure that I'll come back to these again in the future for a re-read!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Book 6 of the Inky Bones Dark Decades Anthology series.

This time is the turn of our devices and what happens if they take a mind of their own and are they just there... lurking. It gives me the chills!

In our final collection, Robin offers us 6 very different stories by 6 very different authors, and each has a varying degree of horror!

We immediately launch into 'Lost In The Liner Notes'... this short story takes the form of transcripts surrounding the odd disappearance of a music influencer.

This story is very creepy and revolves around a band no one had heard of, a mysterious record bought and played and the influencer becoming increasingly agitated before simply disappearing.

It's a strange story that gave me the chills; however, every single story is much like this.

Robin seems to have a gift for creating a collection of stories that vary in horror levels so a person can find a story they like in the book!

I have enjoyed reading these collections a great deal and have been perfect for October, on the run-up to Halloween!

Highly recommend this all also the previous 5 collections - you won't be disappointed!

[Pauline Render · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered how sometimes when you mention something to a person, you then get an advert on social media about it? Or perhaps your smart device suddenly starts playing music or speaking.
There are some great short stories here which do make you wonder if technology is moving on too far, and some which made me wish for earlier times when communication was by landline phone or pen and paper. Having said that though, my favourite in this collection was Alexa to the Rescue by Brian J Smith.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many times have you googled or spoke about something then bam it's advertised in your social media? We all know our devices soy on us and this anthology is around that kind if thing.

Comprising of six short stories this book packs a punch. My favourite were Cruise Control - completely avoiding self driving cars forever now! Alexa to the rescue - wasn't expecting this to go in a beautiful, heart warming way! And Do it yourself - think I'll be nicer to Alexa from now on!

[Siobhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start these reviews by saying I was absolutely hooked on this series from the start. So much so that before I finished the first one I purchased them all on kindle, one to support the authors, and two because I knew I would be rereading them. These collections are fantastic since you can read them during breaks, on commutes or safe at home. They are also fantastic because of the different types of horror we get. For a horror fan they are a must read but I think even those stepping into the world of dark fiction and horror would enjoy these.


Lurking is the final collection in Dark Decades and I can’t say it’s the best since all are equally amazing but it most certainly is the scariest. Again this isn’t in terms of writing but with the current increase in AI and technology in general this collection really hits home. Again I found no misses or stories I didn’t enjoy but I will say the one that really stood out was Do It Yourself. I am guilty of using an Alexa but call me paranoid. I am always a bit too polite to my AI aide. This collection was probably the one that gave me the most chills because I honestly could easily believe some of the horrors within. A brilliant ending to the series.

It’s safe to say I have loved the Dark Decades collection by Inky Bones Press. I really hope we get more collections or works in the future because these are some top tier short horror and dark fiction stories. A must read for horror fans.

As always thank you to Zooloo's Book Tours for the copies to review. My review is always honest, truthful and freely given.

[Karolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is my review for Lurking by Robin Knabel

This short story anthology was a brilliant read and really creepy at times. It really made me think as well, could this be the future for smart technology as it is taking over our lives. The stories were refreshing and enlightening but some were quite terrifying in what they portrayed. The stories were well written and well thought out, plenty of imagination has been used on these stories and all praise to the writers for doing so. I wish them well in their future careers. It was hard to pick a favourite story as I liked them all equally but the one that really hit me was the Alexa story but it was for personal reasons close to me. There is a bit at the end that is a meet the author which I think is important but this is an exceptionally short read and didn’t take long at all. Bring on the next ones, I can’t wait!

Blurb :

Are smart devices too smart?
It seems harmless to bark basic household commands to an electronic assistant on the kitchen counter or to plot out your daily schedule on a digital calendar. Chatting online with strangers seems like a good idea, when you’re safe behind a locked door. But what if it isn’t?
How many times have you or someone you know jokingly uttered the ominous phrase: I think my phone is spying on me.
What if your devices become self-aware and develop ulterior motives?
What if these life-altering innovations decide to rebel?
Who controls the technology and social media you trust?
Let us in, and we will show you what dangers are lurking.

[Claire Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opener Lost in the Liner Notes tells the tale of a missing YouTuber who disappears during his Headbangers Valhalla livestream. Horror and metal music - my favourite combination! Deftly told, conjuring up mystery and unease, C.M. Forest's tale is superb.

Robin Knabel's Cruise Control is short but sweetly shocking. Jimmy's contempt for his driverless car is rewarded in suitable style by the author's wicked sense of humour. I adored this one!

Online friends may not be what they seem, as our FMC discovers in Lather, Rinse, Repeat by Tamara Kaye Sellman. It's enough to put anyone off making connections as online pal turns stalker in this intense tale.

Alexa to the Rescue by Brian J. Smith is a creepy, gripping tale that is both violent and heartwarming! I enjoyed it, but got to the end and thought, 'What the hell did I just read?'

Told via diary entries, Sheri White's And Death Dances Upon The Wind begins harmlessly enough, when mushrooms begin to pop up in the neighbourhood, and then things deteriorate! This was a lot of fun to read!

The last story, Do it Yourself by Matthew Wignall, is the ultimate revenge tale and is magnificent!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thanks to Robin Knabel and Zoé from Zooloo's Book Tours for providing an eARC and organising; this is my honest review.

[Luc Dantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Lurking' is somewhat different from the other Dark Decades anthology series books, in that it does not focus on a specific item of technology, but is rather more centred around the concept of technology, what role it plays in our lives and how it can go horribly wrong.

Each story is unique, fast-paced, and well-written/edited, which is a trademark that I have come to cherish when it comes to Inky Bones Press, more specifically Robin Knabel.