What do you think?
Masques Macabre
Best Short Story Collection - International Book Awards
Masques Macabre is “a juicy collection of stories, with some great character development and a lot of original ideas. Recommended!”
—Horror After Dark
“I found this book to be an extreme delight. Bruns builds each piece with a subtle tension rather than in your face horror. But do not misunderstand that the horror is there and very real.”
—Horror Novel Reviews
“This collection consists of four unique stories. Bruns handles plot, setting, and characterization exceptionally well in all four. The horror creeps slowly under your skin until you suddenly realize you’re in the midst of madness.”
—Quiet Fury
“Bruns creates realistic settings for his well-imagined, lively characters.”
—Kirkus Reviews
THE GHOST OF NAKED
“We are immersed in the scheming of Diego del Gilbrafaro as he attempts to become the main political player in old New Orleans. However, the ghost of a slave mistress (and Diego’s partner in crime’s obsession with her) makes these dealings harder by parading around his house in the nude. I winced at not only the treatment of slaves in this story, but also the descriptions of the owner’s mindset, which to me as a Black female was all the more chilling. While it was harsh, it wasn’t overworked. The ghost herself does not acknowledge the Señor at first, leaving first his sense of entitlement, then his sanity, in shreds.”
—Hellnotes
THE GOTHIC
“A contemporary fable about a man who comes into a restaurant every day to gulp down vast quantities at the shrimp buffet, while his forlorn waitress seems to gain weight on his behalf. Here Bruns achieves a delightful balance of whimsy and the grotesque, with a glimmer of moonstruck romance.”
— Kirkus Reviews
THE PENULTIMATE MR.
“ The Penultimate Mr. Nilly visits the crew of a ship stuck in the Arctic ice over the bitter winter of 1859 as they slowly go mad from hunger. The ultimate solution - prompted by a stitched, velveteen toy wolf - gives a completely new twist on survival of the fittest.”
— Kirkus Reviews
THE FINGER
“ The Finger People takes place during the American Civil War. It follows the tribulations of a rebel cook who takes great pride in his ability to fill the mens’ stomachs with something to eat, but lacks any other real confidence or fortitude. Not taking part in the actual fighting, his eyes are open to the things on the periphery. It is with this open gaze that he discovers something far more scary than fighting the Union. Something...or things, that sneak through the destruction unseen, with stealth, speed and claws.”
—Dark Distractions (UK)
Masques Macabre is “a juicy collection of stories, with some great character development and a lot of original ideas. Recommended!”
—Horror After Dark
“I found this book to be an extreme delight. Bruns builds each piece with a subtle tension rather than in your face horror. But do not misunderstand that the horror is there and very real.”
—Horror Novel Reviews
“This collection consists of four unique stories. Bruns handles plot, setting, and characterization exceptionally well in all four. The horror creeps slowly under your skin until you suddenly realize you’re in the midst of madness.”
—Quiet Fury
“Bruns creates realistic settings for his well-imagined, lively characters.”
—Kirkus Reviews
THE GHOST OF NAKED
“We are immersed in the scheming of Diego del Gilbrafaro as he attempts to become the main political player in old New Orleans. However, the ghost of a slave mistress (and Diego’s partner in crime’s obsession with her) makes these dealings harder by parading around his house in the nude. I winced at not only the treatment of slaves in this story, but also the descriptions of the owner’s mindset, which to me as a Black female was all the more chilling. While it was harsh, it wasn’t overworked. The ghost herself does not acknowledge the Señor at first, leaving first his sense of entitlement, then his sanity, in shreds.”
—Hellnotes
THE GOTHIC
“A contemporary fable about a man who comes into a restaurant every day to gulp down vast quantities at the shrimp buffet, while his forlorn waitress seems to gain weight on his behalf. Here Bruns achieves a delightful balance of whimsy and the grotesque, with a glimmer of moonstruck romance.”
— Kirkus Reviews
THE PENULTIMATE MR.
“ The Penultimate Mr. Nilly visits the crew of a ship stuck in the Arctic ice over the bitter winter of 1859 as they slowly go mad from hunger. The ultimate solution - prompted by a stitched, velveteen toy wolf - gives a completely new twist on survival of the fittest.”
— Kirkus Reviews
THE FINGER
“ The Finger People takes place during the American Civil War. It follows the tribulations of a rebel cook who takes great pride in his ability to fill the mens’ stomachs with something to eat, but lacks any other real confidence or fortitude. Not taking part in the actual fighting, his eyes are open to the things on the periphery. It is with this open gaze that he discovers something far more scary than fighting the Union. Something...or things, that sneak through the destruction unseen, with stealth, speed and claws.”
—Dark Distractions (UK)
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 13, 2024
About the author
Brian David Bruns
40 books73 followersBrian David Bruns is the author of Cruise Confidential, Foreword Magazine’s Humor Book of the Year and a Benjamin Franklin Award winner. ABC’s 20/20 featured his work; Deborah Roberts said, “This man has seen it all.” Peter Greenberg of the Today Show called it “absolutely hilarious.”
Bruns has lived in Transylvania, traveled through 70 countries, and turned up in articles in a dozen languages—and, to his delight, in the British tabloids.
He now writes Motivational Monsters®, a blend of cheeky humor, quirky history, and useful life skills disguised as monster lore. He also created the Not Monsters Pledge, helping animals abused by superstition, fear, and ignorance: black cats, wolves, and bats.
Bruns has lived in Transylvania, traveled through 70 countries, and turned up in articles in a dozen languages—and, to his delight, in the British tabloids.
He now writes Motivational Monsters®, a blend of cheeky humor, quirky history, and useful life skills disguised as monster lore. He also created the Not Monsters Pledge, helping animals abused by superstition, fear, and ignorance: black cats, wolves, and bats.
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