From Darkness

by D.R. Gordon

A Victorian age girl is pursued by a mysterious suitor. Deep in the backwoods a pair of hunters become the hunted. The great dreamer travels through the void searching for his final resting place. A group of revellers head to the ultimate club, but, what is the door charge? D R Gordon’s Debut horror collection “From Darkness” is filled with monsters. Monsters of the flesh and the mind. You will find ghosts, demons, and gods of old within these pages; a myriad of fiends born from Darkness. In the tradition of the grandfathers of short horror fiction Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood and Le Fanu D R provides snapshots of the human mind at its most fiendish, its most terrified, its darkest. His sharp style takes us from a fifteenth century village, as a witch hunter comes to town, to the grimy back-streets of modern cities, where ladies of the night ply their wares, with the skill and ease of an accomplished wordsmith. Beware those who enter the world of D R Gordon, you will not come out the same.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2014

About the author

I am a nomad who’s wandered the globe for many a year now. My passport says I’m Australian and I think of Newcastle and Melbourne, Australia, as equal homes. I’ recently relocated to Germany seeking the Berlin artist’s scene.
I enjoy snowboarding, hiking, exploring new places, and of course, reading and writing. I’ve been writing since the third grade and haven’t stopped since. Personally I read a lot of Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood and Le Fanu. It doesn’t take a scholar to see their influences throughout my work.
I completed my Bachelor of Arts as an English Literature major, Philosophy minor, at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand. I also started a Masters of Creative writing in Melbourne, but put it aside after gaining a diploma because, funnily enough, it was taking up too much of my writing time.

Reviews

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best anthology I've read.. each and every story is good..

[Tom Conyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gordon displays the populist touch in a collection of horror and dark fantasy stories that is eminently readable. ‘From Darkness’ is an impressive debut.

Gordon kicks off in high style with ‘The Suitor’ a baroque tale with a twist on a well-known literary figure. 'The Portrait' maintains the Gothic tradition in a nod to Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Grey.' 'Club Diablo' comes next, perhaps my favourite inclusion: a perfectly timed contemporary tale with a great twist. 'The Dark Man' is an effective chiller replete with dollhouse, disfigured mannequin and the dark man of the title. 'Karnak's Rest' has the cosmic dimension of horror to be found in Lovecraft; although Gordon's take seems to be an allegory about today's earth and the potential man-made crisis threatening it. 'Terrible Beauty' (the phrase borrowed from Yeats' 'Easter' perhaps?) is an appropriately nasty little vignette, sharp as a knife. 'Mountain Air', a longer story, had about it for me that effortlessly involving style of Stephen King's. (Indeed, as a general point, Gordon has an enviably accessible and effortless style, sure to garner him an even wider readership than the one he has so far amassed.)

'Reddening Tide' continues a well-respected literary tradition of stories dealing with doubles (one thinks of Fyodor Dostoyevsky). 'The Bird' is a deceptively innocuous title for a tale about an avian menace. The next two offerings, 'Witches' and 'The Beast’, demonstrate Gordon's range to great effect, the first in his handling of ‘olde worlde’ vernacular and the theme of mob insanity (and sanity at the last minute), the second in its apparent borrowings of science fiction tropes – a tale that reminded me of Ray Bradbury. 'Alice' also highlights Gordon's inventiveness, and is perhaps his most serious inclusion. What begins as an amusing riff on a famous children's book soon steps into a very real world of abominable crimes committed on children. Perhaps the most disturbing in the collection.

'In The Woods' was the first tale of Gordon's I read, which a friend shared from D R Gordon's facebook page. Gordon had the clever idea of asking his facebook fans to suggest story ideas or opening sentences which he then weaved complete tales from. It was great to see with 'In The Woods' that the young’uns are still reading the old masters of weird tales like Algernon Blackwood and taking inspiration from them.
'Zombies' puts on display another facet of Gordon's writing I've so far neglected to mention: his humour. 'The Fairy' does not deal with a benign fairy, of course, and 'The Wo'gey' successfully continues a trick up Gordon's sleeve of leading the reader to believe he is writing about one thing, before pouncing with another. 'The Tail' is a good choice to round out the collection, amusing and upbeat.

In a collection of short stories one might expect some filler. But these are all carefully crafted and highly inventive pieces. ‘From Darkness’ has deservedly already proved a hit. I eagerly await, as I’m sure many do, Gordon's first novel. It's sure to be a feverishly imaginative and surprising treat.

[Amanda Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stories in this new horror book provided me with a very pleasant reading experience. However, ‘The Beast’ has a special place in my heart. Let me tell you why I was so impressed by this particular one, without making any spoilers.
The scenery is described in an exquisite manner. The author does a great job in creating the perfect surroundings in which an intense horror story can take place. The amount of details which are given to the reader increases the clarity of the new created world, but, in the same time, it doesn’t overwhelm the reader with unnecessary information.
The characters are very carefully researched and developed. Therefore, they feel very familiar but, in the same time, they deliver a very awkward feeling of …strange.
Furthermore, all of the stories in this book have the same attributes and deliver an incredible reading experience. But, ‘The Beast’ has something that made my mind to return to it almost every day since I finished reading it.

[J. Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I picked up by author D R Gordon and being wary with the horror genre, I was pleasantly surprised with the author’s collection of short stories.

I can only appreciate horror when it truly affects me and D R Gordon’s stories did just that without any false sense of scary. The writing in each story is impeccable, drawing the reader into characters that are relatable and tales that send prickly icicles through your blood.

I found myself captivated from the beginning poem that sets the stage for the entire book; the stories themselves stand out on their own but flow together smoothly to create an entrancing anthology.
I literally felt the chills run through me as I looked around before turning the page and further into the darkness that pulls you into its perfection of horror. The bits of romance and humor thrown in gave the book its very own pedestal within its genre and I look forward to reading more from this author.

[K.N. Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short horror stories is well written and will make your skin crawl! Try not to read it in the dark...or alone...or an empty house. I enjoyed every story, especially the one about the painter. It reminded me of the Curse of Dorian Gray. Within this collection you'll be faced with demons, ghouls, vampires and more. I felt that the author's style was reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft. I have a feeling that I'll be thinking about these stories for quite a while.

[Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my experience any book that starts with a poem is usually good. The author had me at:
“I knew about the darkness
It was something held inside
But the lights are burning low
And the shadows override”

I’m big on opening lines for books and this one “I knew about the darkness” is great! It tells so much about what we are soon to discover and sets the mood for how we will receive the tales spun in the pages to come. From Darkness by D R Gordon is a masterful collection of disturbing stories that prod and tease the reader in crafty, imaginative ways. I love the writing, here’s another example that pushes us right into the scene:

“Mrs. Price clung to her husband tightly as her sister’s coffin went gently into the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks, which she attempted to wipe on her husband’s heavy coat. The rains held back for nobody. Even no the drowned the sorry procession.”

Many of the tales could be woven into a novel length story. The author packs in tension and suspense, sorrow, etc., and all manner of original plot twists. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author and give it my highest recommendation to anyone that likes horror and suspense. 5-stars!

[Ryann Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars because it is well written and very entertaining. This book is not for the weak, if it were a movie, it would be rated R. It starts off with a poem at the beginning and I must say it was a great poem. If I find out D. R. Gordon has written a poem book, I will buy it next.

This book gives you a variety of scary stories to leave your mind pondering about for a while after your read them. You may even find yourself going to bed with the bathroom light on. The series of short stories in this book keep you on the edge of your seat biting your nails! As soon as I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I really hope D. R. Gordon continues to write more books like these in the future. I highly recommend this book to all horror story lovers out there.

[Delta]

Free 09-18-14 (Horror Anthology)

http://www.amazon.com/From-Darkness-D...