Called From The Cares Of The World: Collected Farewells

by Alexander Michael

A collection of melancholia.

An insurance investigator on the run from the occult. A graveyard tryst heralding mystery. A Parisian date night devolving into a study of fear.

A sea cave. A lost boy. A cosmic romance. Farewells.

Witness darkly cathartic moments as lost souls face their crossroads. Will they succumb to monsters? Will they finally be free From The Cares Of The World?

277 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2024

About the author

Alexander Michael is a writer of speculative fiction, and a member of the Australasian Horror Writers Association. The open sky is a wellspring of new ideas. What fuels his work is simply witnessing nature in its most raw forms. His fiction deals with the truth of things: midnight occurrences unseen by most; the past and its claws; and the magic that can still be seen if we open our eyes in time.

For fans of horror, fantasy, literary, and an intricate story.

Reviews

[Sharron Joy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirteen short tales of unease exploring the goodbyes we all live through. These are creepy unsettling stories, deeply unnerving but such rich and delicious prose.

Settle in as we venture into the illusory place of memory, the spirit of letting go, the hope of singularity, the void of a shallow life, a window to a better place, a town waits for the tides, lost love rekindled, letters from Santa, nature rebalanced, a mission to recover the lost, the search for meaning, a lesson in flesh, a chance to face fears and a journey through memory.

Here there is love, grief, loss and otherworldly horrors all tangled in a web of macabre malevolence full of Eldritch atrocities and bloodthirsty terrors. There is hope, transcendence and parallels, eternity in a single moment. This is life, death and the beauty of everything before, during and after.

[Pauline Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this collection of dark and at times eerie short stories. The eloquent prose is the standout feature—easy to get lost in, hard to escape. Recommended reading for lovers of beautifully crafted dark speculative fiction. Favourites include “Solitude in Celluloid”, “Hettie’s Bane”, and “Called From The Cares Of The World”.

[Leah Lindeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Michael’s collection of farewells is an exploration of human love and loss in the midst of otherworldly horrors that wraps around the reader’s mind and gives a bittersweet embrace.

Be ready to be swept away by gorgeous atmospheric descriptions of island grottos, craggy beaches, and cemeteries.

Alexander Michael’s books are an instant read for me, and this work just cemented that.

[J.C. Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when I started to read this, what with having no prior knowledge of the author, but it certainly wasn't this. With prose which evokes the visceral sexuality of Clive Barker and elements of Lovecraftian horror beyond our understanding there's a depth to these stories that demands the reader focus on the storytelling and give the tale their full attention. I read the collection over a couple of days and found the antipodean flavour a refreshing change from the usual US or UK centric stories I tend to read. There's also a clever balance of repeated themes yet variety in execution. An ambitious and intriguing collection that stands out amongst the anthologies and collections I've had the privilege of not just reading, but also contributing to, and as a fellow author I can appreciate the work and thought that Alexander has put into this.
In summary Called From The Cares of The World blends the influences of Barker and Lovecraft into something distinctly different, with deep themes of love, loss, and things far bigger than you and I, which simply demands a readers attention and won't lose hold until the last word of the final story is read.

[Robert Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Night has fallen. No moon. No stars. This is a night of apocalypse.”

Alexander Michael’s writing is a bunch of very positive adjectives, yet how can I capture praise of someone’s unique voice in a few words? Michael’s writing voice and topics are dark and lush and sensitive all at once. Authenticity and authority (of subject or emotion) are important components of being an author, and Michael embodies them all. He is not a writer for clout. He is a writer because he must write. Because his heart screams to be heard.

“He crept over to the pine tree. In one direction, the shores lit by electricity, dwarfed by the galaxy. In the other, dark out to sea, bilious clouds forming a more complete darkness. But the hill seemed to be empty of souls save theirs, so who the hell was she speaking to?”

This is, as of publication and as of reviewing, Michael's biggest achievement in terms of demonstrating his artistic merits. Here one can find aspects of his novellas: the darkness of The Galleria, the focus of Home, and the ambition of Everything is Summer. But this is not a retread of what he has done before; this is Michael pushing his work ever further, a writer who cares about his craft and constantly attempts to improve it.

“I was dead back there, in that other world, and so were you.”

Each story has the potential to be someone's favourite. But I think, just to be comprehensive, my favourite stories are:

Solitude in Celluloid
Called from the Cares of the World
Hettie’s Bane
Of Grave and Garland
Where Were You

Yet these could all change depending on my mood. The stories are so varied and imaginative that I am equally envious of and awed by how well he has put this book together. This collection is as good as any collection I have ever read.

The other remaining stories are as follows:

It's Called Skin
Still No Word
Here at the End of the World
Love on the Shore
A Place to Die
Dead Letters
Night-Blooming

The author provided this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Coy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An evocative and beautifully written collection of tales. Alexander Michael is a unique voice shining a light through the darkness.