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Unseaming
Everyone in the world awakens covered in blood—and no one knows where the blood came from. A childhood doll arrives to tear its owner’s reality limb from limb. A portal to the spirit realm stretches wide on the Appalachian Trail, and something more than human crawls through on eight legs. Words of comfort change to terrifying sounds as a force from outside time speaks through them. The buttons in the bin will unseam your flesh to bare your nastiest secrets.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2014
130 people are currently reading
1455 people want to read
About the author
Mike Allen
93 books155 followersMike Allen wears many creative hats, at least one of them tailor-made by his wife and partner-in-crime Anita.
An author, editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them his forthcoming dark fantasy novel TRAIL OF SHADOWS, his sidearms, sorcery, and zombies sequence THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO and THE GHOULMAKER’S ARIA, and his newest horror collection, SLOW BURN.
UNSEAMING and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable “The Button Bin” was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Another collection, THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES, contains experiments in weird science fiction and fantasy.
As an editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award: first, for his anthology CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 5, the culmination of the Clockwork Phoenix series showcasing tales of beauty and strangeness that defy genre classification; and then, for MYTHIC DELIRIUM, the magazine of poetry and fiction he edited for twenty years.
He’s a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry. His six poetry collections include STRANGE WISDOMS OF THE DEAD, a Philadelphia Inquirer Editor’s Choice selection, and HUNGRY CONSTELLATIONS, a Suzette Haden Elgin Award nominee.
With Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia. Their cat Pandora assists.
An author, editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them his forthcoming dark fantasy novel TRAIL OF SHADOWS, his sidearms, sorcery, and zombies sequence THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO and THE GHOULMAKER’S ARIA, and his newest horror collection, SLOW BURN.
UNSEAMING and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable “The Button Bin” was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Another collection, THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES, contains experiments in weird science fiction and fantasy.
As an editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award: first, for his anthology CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 5, the culmination of the Clockwork Phoenix series showcasing tales of beauty and strangeness that defy genre classification; and then, for MYTHIC DELIRIUM, the magazine of poetry and fiction he edited for twenty years.
He’s a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry. His six poetry collections include STRANGE WISDOMS OF THE DEAD, a Philadelphia Inquirer Editor’s Choice selection, and HUNGRY CONSTELLATIONS, a Suzette Haden Elgin Award nominee.
With Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia. Their cat Pandora assists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
January 4, 2015
Mike Allen's "Unseaming" was THE collection of 2014. Hell, it's one of the finest collections I've ever read. Extraordinary stories of loss, sin and the greater cosmos."Her Acres of Pastoral Playground" is a truly frightening tale. Many of these pieces are indeed short, and what Allen is able to do with just a few pages is a revelation. "The Button Bin", "The Blessed Days" and "Let There Be Darkness" should gain momentum until they are considered modern classics. "The Quiltmaker" is a tour-de-force of multiple perspective retribution.
"Unseaming" is a collection I will cherish and return to more often than a sane man should. Notice has been served - this is 'top-of-the-food-chain' amazing.
"Unseaming" is a collection I will cherish and return to more often than a sane man should. Notice has been served - this is 'top-of-the-food-chain' amazing.
December 1, 2014
But he who could believe nothing had no right to tell others what to believe.
A great collection of weird fiction. I read an interview and when Allen started naming his influences,Poe, Lovecraft, King, Straub, Ligotti, and Barron then went on to mention T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land and The Lord of the Rings, I had to check it out.
The idea behind the first story The Button Bin and the sequel The Quiltmaker was just brilliant. Those two stories alone make this a must read for weird fiction fans.
The Blessed Days-Suppose you woke up one morning to find you and your lover covered in blood but with no apparent injuries?
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground-The sequence at the beginning of this story, well....
Lynda chews her peas. Her husband watches, his wary gaze fixed on the beauty mark beneath her left eye, no bigger than a felt-tip stipple, fetching accent to the delicate sweep of her cheekbone.
When Delmar first placed her plate in front of her, that mark wasn't there.
...it only gets better.
There were only two stories that didn't move me but that's a pretty good hit rate out of fourteen stories. Very close to 5 stars. If you like weird fiction do yourself a favor and give this collection a spin. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The symbols in dark brown ink mean nothing to him, though they radiate a head-spinning wrongness. If these scribblings form words, he doesn't know what they say-and yet he does. It's as if another person inside him uses his eyes to see, his mouth to speak, knows the precise rhythms and pauses.
A great collection of weird fiction. I read an interview and when Allen started naming his influences,Poe, Lovecraft, King, Straub, Ligotti, and Barron then went on to mention T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land and The Lord of the Rings, I had to check it out.
The idea behind the first story The Button Bin and the sequel The Quiltmaker was just brilliant. Those two stories alone make this a must read for weird fiction fans.
The Blessed Days-Suppose you woke up one morning to find you and your lover covered in blood but with no apparent injuries?
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground-The sequence at the beginning of this story, well....
Lynda chews her peas. Her husband watches, his wary gaze fixed on the beauty mark beneath her left eye, no bigger than a felt-tip stipple, fetching accent to the delicate sweep of her cheekbone.
When Delmar first placed her plate in front of her, that mark wasn't there.
...it only gets better.
There were only two stories that didn't move me but that's a pretty good hit rate out of fourteen stories. Very close to 5 stars. If you like weird fiction do yourself a favor and give this collection a spin. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The symbols in dark brown ink mean nothing to him, though they radiate a head-spinning wrongness. If these scribblings form words, he doesn't know what they say-and yet he does. It's as if another person inside him uses his eyes to see, his mouth to speak, knows the precise rhythms and pauses.
December 14, 2014
4.5. An excellent debut collection of weird fiction; only the varying quality of some of the stories in the middle section keep it from a perfect score. Allen's going to be a talent to reckon with, if he isn't already.
January 2, 2015
I finished this one at 2:30 a.m., which makes it the first book of the new year. And it says something about the power of Mike Allen's writing that once I'd started with "The Quiltmaker," I kept going despite the late hour and a raging headache. There's an obsessive quality in the writing, so even knowing that horrible things were going to happen, I had to forge on until the end. I think in large part that's due to the way the author never loses sight of the humanity of his characters. That, and his gorgeous, fluid, vivid writing make his work unforgettable. My particular favorites, "The Stone Flowers" and "The Hiker's Tale" edge more into dark fantasy than straight-up horror. But I suspect there's something here for everyone, from the Lovecraft fans to those who prefer their monsters with more human faces.
Also, buttons are still making me kind of nervous. Thanks a lot, Mike.
Also, buttons are still making me kind of nervous. Thanks a lot, Mike.
July 15, 2019
Really well-written and amazingly creepy stories.
December 3, 2014
This collection has everything. Gut-churning, skin-crawling body horror. Sublime cosmic horror. Understated, introspective character studies. Not to mention that beautiful prose. Definitely one of the more visceral and well-written collections I've read in a LONG time.
May 26, 2015
Review to come . . .
May 21, 2015
For some reason, I wasn’t familiar with Mike Allen’s work before reading this book, and only picked it up because his name kept being associated with Laird Barron and Simon Strantzas. I now see why. It’s an amazing collection of ethereal horror, grounded just enough to make you look over your shoulder.
A poet of some renown, Allen brings the lyrical quality to his tales, making them almost dream-like. His horror has that element of the Weird to it, but it’s something else, something in the prose that feels like a fable. It’s very present in the bookend tales, “The Button Bin” and “The Quiltmaker,” his two pieces exploring identity and flesh. We see outer horrors manipulating us in “Her Acres Of Pastoral Playground” and “The Blessed Days” while stranger, sharper things wait in “The Music of Bremen Farm” and “Gutter.” We find lives intertwined around darkness in “The Hiker’s Tale” and “Stone Flowers” while we meet two different faces of evil in “Humpty” and “Monster.”
The stories in UNSEAMING are lush, a horror that engages in all of your senses. You feel immersed in these brief tales, Allen’s word choice in his story-telling wrapping around you. It’s a rich darkness surely on par with the contemporary masters, and I’m excited to read more work by him.
A poet of some renown, Allen brings the lyrical quality to his tales, making them almost dream-like. His horror has that element of the Weird to it, but it’s something else, something in the prose that feels like a fable. It’s very present in the bookend tales, “The Button Bin” and “The Quiltmaker,” his two pieces exploring identity and flesh. We see outer horrors manipulating us in “Her Acres Of Pastoral Playground” and “The Blessed Days” while stranger, sharper things wait in “The Music of Bremen Farm” and “Gutter.” We find lives intertwined around darkness in “The Hiker’s Tale” and “Stone Flowers” while we meet two different faces of evil in “Humpty” and “Monster.”
The stories in UNSEAMING are lush, a horror that engages in all of your senses. You feel immersed in these brief tales, Allen’s word choice in his story-telling wrapping around you. It’s a rich darkness surely on par with the contemporary masters, and I’m excited to read more work by him.
November 19, 2019
A fantastic and deeply weird collection of horror stories; the beautiful language carries you along as you go vaulting headlong into the horrible, and is a great counterpoint to the surreal aspects of some of the stories.
July 19, 2014
The base fears of life lurk in this playground of a book. A parent may wonder why their baby continuously tosses an innocent looking plush toy from the crib, never imagining the darkest possibilities; Mike Allen did. The betrayal of family twisted with deep disturbance sets off a life fraught with unraveling seams as described in two segments of this short story collection. An apocalyptical tale of blessings evokes thoughts of rivers flowing over with blood, while another explores the dark forest of the Appalachian Trail where a different sort of trail magic occurs.
Allen is an author with a sense of humor, even when diving into the dark waters of horror. His voice is earnest, but I can hear his laughter throughout. I nodded at a mention of an incident that involved a bear walking into an emergency room, and acknowledged the lack of a punchline; some acts of horror are quite real. Utilizing his knowledge and experience in journalism, in a story about getting the story, he shares the haunting of cops reporting, where walking through town recalls victims of crimes and the gory details of past headlines.
Once again, Allen proves his talent. If you can’t invite him to tell tales at your midnight campfire, Unseaming is the next best thing.
Allen is an author with a sense of humor, even when diving into the dark waters of horror. His voice is earnest, but I can hear his laughter throughout. I nodded at a mention of an incident that involved a bear walking into an emergency room, and acknowledged the lack of a punchline; some acts of horror are quite real. Utilizing his knowledge and experience in journalism, in a story about getting the story, he shares the haunting of cops reporting, where walking through town recalls victims of crimes and the gory details of past headlines.
Once again, Allen proves his talent. If you can’t invite him to tell tales at your midnight campfire, Unseaming is the next best thing.
December 2, 2016
A collection of weird and sometimes horrific tales. If you like your mouths gibbering and your fleshy creatures all-enveloping, then you'll probably get something out of these short stories from Mike Allen.
The Button Bin ****
A Nebula-nominated short story about a young man looking for his missing half-sister. Interesting use of second-person narration, compelling story, creepy and original premise. Speaks of the darkness in all of us and touches on the uncomfortable, but important topic of sexual assault in a relatively tasteful, yet horribly comprehensible way.
The Blessed Days ***
At some point, people all over the world started waking up drenched in blood. They also stopped remembering their dreams. However, Bryan once mastered the practice of lucid dreaming to help control his childhood nightmares. When he partners with his sleep specialist friend to attempt to induce a lucid dreaming state, what will he see? The conclusion of this story was the one that left me the most ill. I had to put the book down for several days, but ultimately decided to continue. I would call this story part of the Lovecraftian tradition of "cosmic horror"--dealing with unspeakably evil (or just indifferent) things/beings beyond our normal existence.
Humpty **
This one had to do with a creepy childhood stuffed toy, memories of abuse(?) by a father, and the main character confronting his inner darkness. I kind of got it, but didn't really. I think it was just a smidge too poetic for me, which makes sense, because the author also writes poetry.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground *** (spoilers)
In an attempt to save his wife and daughter, a man conducts some kind of dark ritual as the world is being consumed by a quivering mass of flesh/mouths/eyes/etc., but only succeeds in carving out a small peaceful farm at the center of this new reality where, over and over again, he remembers and forgets the terrible beast surrounding his temporary bubble. Another "cosmic horror" sort of story. I don't think I'm as much of a fan of those. It seemed like it explained just enough to make me frustrated that I didn't get the whole backstory. It also kinda made me roll my eyes that the man could hear his own screaming out in the alien flesh. Own screaming = eternal torture outside of time once his bubble pops, yadda yadda. It was trying too hard to scare me, and it didn't really work.
An Invitation via E-Mail *
A satirical piece. A professor invites another professor to participate in the rituals of a cultish group, then follows up with an email to another group member laughing about how they got rid of the first recipient. What really shut me down in this story was this quote: "Of course, there has to be a sacrifice. our ideal choice is one of those horribly misguided individuals (sadly, almost always a parent) who goes to the school board wanting to ban this book or that book, or goes whining to town council to cancel Halloween as a Satanic holiday ... if we can't get our hands on an adult, one of their children will do the trick--those sorts of genes don't need to spread." I'm a librarian, so I also struggle with a pretty judgmental suite of feelings toward "those book-banning people"--all the same, I was pretty disgusted with jokes about chopping out their still-beating hearts and sacrificing them to demons. I'm related to some of "those people," but they're MY "those people," so this crossed a line for me. We don't change people's minds and hearts by cracking jokes about how they should be murdered. Almost put the book down right there, but decided to give the author the benefit of the doubt and continue on with this imaginative collection.
The Hiker's Tale ***
A hiker in the Appalachians sees visions of a missing boy, then discovers that he might have the power to get the boy back. The fact that the main character was of Melungeon descent (had to look that one up; very interesting!) and that he shared his power with his equally dark-skinned grandmother smacked a little bit of the “magical Negro” trope, but I felt like the story transcended that since there were other unrelated people who had similar powers too. I probably would have given this story four stars if the thing about the other dimension had been explained a little more. This was another one that I felt explained just a little too much to be suitably creepy, but not enough to satisfy my awakened curiosity.
The Music of Bremen Farm ****
Super creepy story about an isolated farm where an old woman lives, the last of a very old family. The town prosecutor decides to mess with her. Her only choice is to summon “the musicians.” What happens next will destroy your memories of childhood bedtime stories forever. The donkey... biting down... (shivers)
The Lead Between the Panes ****
Allen did great in this story with keeping enough of it a mystery to maintain an atmosphere of real uneasiness. A young boy's brother disappears when they enter an old church that they're not supposed to be exploring. It has something to do with looking into the lead between the panes of a horrific stained glass window of the tortured Christ. I'm a Christian, and you know, the crucifixion is a pretty awful thing. It's made even more terrible when some demonic force takes possession of its imagery. “I want to see. Up close.” No thanks, I don't think I do.
Stone Flowers ****
Another story that made me glad I kept reading. Goes creatively back and forth between eras in Galina Brodsky's life. It's based on the Russian folktale “The Stone Flower” collected by Pavel Bazhov which also inspired Prokofiev's ballet of the same title. In this version of the story, Danilo and his bride move to the United States, but Danilo remains unaware that Galina has made a terrible sacrifice in order to win him back from the Queen of the Copper Mountain. The theme speaks to the sacrifices that historically more women than men have made so that their partners can have the careers of their dreams.
Gutter ***
A reporter stumbles upon a town's dark secret—that a small area in it demands dark sacrifice in exchange for the rest of the town staying peaceful. Had some important parallels to the real world (i.e. how people in poor, run-down areas of towns and even the world are often exploited). It was good, but it didn't particularly stand out to me in the collection.
Condolences ****
After a girl's parents are murdered, she hears an awful, hollow, terror-inducing noise every time someone in her life offers her empty condolences. One day when her daughter is sick, she decides to follow the noise with her eyes closed, and it gets louder and louder... I probably would have given this five stars because it so perfectly describes the experience of receiving trite sympathies during grief, were it not for the fact that I wasn't totally sure what the ending meant. I think it was symbolic of moving through the grief, but I couldn't tell whether or not the woman exchanged her daughter's life being in danger for her own now being in danger, which seemed important to understand.
Let There Be Darkness **
A really poetic “cosmic horror” piece about maybe the spirit of the Earth summoning(? I forget) her Father from beyond the galaxy to consume the earth. Pretty language, but not all that interesting to me.
The Quiltmaker ***
A continuation of “The Button Bin.” In a weird way, I was actually kind of disappointed that it took away some of the sympathy I'd gained for the very corrupt main character in the original story. The ending, though, struck me as very satisfying revenge fantasy for any woman who's ever been in any way abused by a man. The theme wasn't as together as in the original story, though.
Monster **
Another short, semi-“cosmic horror”-ish story, if the cosmic horror was a dude who used math(?) to enable his physical form to envelope people and create another dimension within himself in which to trap them forever. So-so.
The excerpt at the end of this from Allen's novel The Black Fire Concerto was pretty inventive, and kind of made me want to read it. A future full of zombies that will grant long life to people who are gross enough to eat them? Magic based on music? Several intriguing things there. Seemed more like dark post-apocalyptic fantasy than horror.
The Button Bin ****
A Nebula-nominated short story about a young man looking for his missing half-sister. Interesting use of second-person narration, compelling story, creepy and original premise. Speaks of the darkness in all of us and touches on the uncomfortable, but important topic of sexual assault in a relatively tasteful, yet horribly comprehensible way.
The Blessed Days ***
At some point, people all over the world started waking up drenched in blood. They also stopped remembering their dreams. However, Bryan once mastered the practice of lucid dreaming to help control his childhood nightmares. When he partners with his sleep specialist friend to attempt to induce a lucid dreaming state, what will he see? The conclusion of this story was the one that left me the most ill. I had to put the book down for several days, but ultimately decided to continue. I would call this story part of the Lovecraftian tradition of "cosmic horror"--dealing with unspeakably evil (or just indifferent) things/beings beyond our normal existence.
Humpty **
This one had to do with a creepy childhood stuffed toy, memories of abuse(?) by a father, and the main character confronting his inner darkness. I kind of got it, but didn't really. I think it was just a smidge too poetic for me, which makes sense, because the author also writes poetry.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground *** (spoilers)
In an attempt to save his wife and daughter, a man conducts some kind of dark ritual as the world is being consumed by a quivering mass of flesh/mouths/eyes/etc., but only succeeds in carving out a small peaceful farm at the center of this new reality where, over and over again, he remembers and forgets the terrible beast surrounding his temporary bubble. Another "cosmic horror" sort of story. I don't think I'm as much of a fan of those. It seemed like it explained just enough to make me frustrated that I didn't get the whole backstory. It also kinda made me roll my eyes that the man could hear his own screaming out in the alien flesh. Own screaming = eternal torture outside of time once his bubble pops, yadda yadda. It was trying too hard to scare me, and it didn't really work.
An Invitation via E-Mail *
A satirical piece. A professor invites another professor to participate in the rituals of a cultish group, then follows up with an email to another group member laughing about how they got rid of the first recipient. What really shut me down in this story was this quote: "Of course, there has to be a sacrifice. our ideal choice is one of those horribly misguided individuals (sadly, almost always a parent) who goes to the school board wanting to ban this book or that book, or goes whining to town council to cancel Halloween as a Satanic holiday ... if we can't get our hands on an adult, one of their children will do the trick--those sorts of genes don't need to spread." I'm a librarian, so I also struggle with a pretty judgmental suite of feelings toward "those book-banning people"--all the same, I was pretty disgusted with jokes about chopping out their still-beating hearts and sacrificing them to demons. I'm related to some of "those people," but they're MY "those people," so this crossed a line for me. We don't change people's minds and hearts by cracking jokes about how they should be murdered. Almost put the book down right there, but decided to give the author the benefit of the doubt and continue on with this imaginative collection.
The Hiker's Tale ***
A hiker in the Appalachians sees visions of a missing boy, then discovers that he might have the power to get the boy back. The fact that the main character was of Melungeon descent (had to look that one up; very interesting!) and that he shared his power with his equally dark-skinned grandmother smacked a little bit of the “magical Negro” trope, but I felt like the story transcended that since there were other unrelated people who had similar powers too. I probably would have given this story four stars if the thing about the other dimension had been explained a little more. This was another one that I felt explained just a little too much to be suitably creepy, but not enough to satisfy my awakened curiosity.
The Music of Bremen Farm ****
Super creepy story about an isolated farm where an old woman lives, the last of a very old family. The town prosecutor decides to mess with her. Her only choice is to summon “the musicians.” What happens next will destroy your memories of childhood bedtime stories forever. The donkey... biting down... (shivers)
The Lead Between the Panes ****
Allen did great in this story with keeping enough of it a mystery to maintain an atmosphere of real uneasiness. A young boy's brother disappears when they enter an old church that they're not supposed to be exploring. It has something to do with looking into the lead between the panes of a horrific stained glass window of the tortured Christ. I'm a Christian, and you know, the crucifixion is a pretty awful thing. It's made even more terrible when some demonic force takes possession of its imagery. “I want to see. Up close.” No thanks, I don't think I do.
Stone Flowers ****
Another story that made me glad I kept reading. Goes creatively back and forth between eras in Galina Brodsky's life. It's based on the Russian folktale “The Stone Flower” collected by Pavel Bazhov which also inspired Prokofiev's ballet of the same title. In this version of the story, Danilo and his bride move to the United States, but Danilo remains unaware that Galina has made a terrible sacrifice in order to win him back from the Queen of the Copper Mountain. The theme speaks to the sacrifices that historically more women than men have made so that their partners can have the careers of their dreams.
Gutter ***
A reporter stumbles upon a town's dark secret—that a small area in it demands dark sacrifice in exchange for the rest of the town staying peaceful. Had some important parallels to the real world (i.e. how people in poor, run-down areas of towns and even the world are often exploited). It was good, but it didn't particularly stand out to me in the collection.
Condolences ****
After a girl's parents are murdered, she hears an awful, hollow, terror-inducing noise every time someone in her life offers her empty condolences. One day when her daughter is sick, she decides to follow the noise with her eyes closed, and it gets louder and louder... I probably would have given this five stars because it so perfectly describes the experience of receiving trite sympathies during grief, were it not for the fact that I wasn't totally sure what the ending meant. I think it was symbolic of moving through the grief, but I couldn't tell whether or not the woman exchanged her daughter's life being in danger for her own now being in danger, which seemed important to understand.
Let There Be Darkness **
A really poetic “cosmic horror” piece about maybe the spirit of the Earth summoning(? I forget) her Father from beyond the galaxy to consume the earth. Pretty language, but not all that interesting to me.
The Quiltmaker ***
A continuation of “The Button Bin.” In a weird way, I was actually kind of disappointed that it took away some of the sympathy I'd gained for the very corrupt main character in the original story. The ending, though, struck me as very satisfying revenge fantasy for any woman who's ever been in any way abused by a man. The theme wasn't as together as in the original story, though.
Monster **
Another short, semi-“cosmic horror”-ish story, if the cosmic horror was a dude who used math(?) to enable his physical form to envelope people and create another dimension within himself in which to trap them forever. So-so.
The excerpt at the end of this from Allen's novel The Black Fire Concerto was pretty inventive, and kind of made me want to read it. A future full of zombies that will grant long life to people who are gross enough to eat them? Magic based on music? Several intriguing things there. Seemed more like dark post-apocalyptic fantasy than horror.
September 4, 2020
This incredible collection caught me totally off guard. I stumbled across it for $.99 on an Amazon sale, and praise from authors like Thomas Ligotti, Laird Barron, Nathan Ballingrud, Gemma Files, and John Langan convinced me to give it a chance. And I'm so, so glad I did.
Allen fires on all cylinders. His prose can be visceral and sharp or lofty and mind-bending, depending on what the tale calls for. It does not surprise me one bit that he cut his teeth as a poet. He tends to favor cosmic and body horror, but his takes on both are unique and fascinating, keeping me guessing and tense until each tale's conclusions. There isn't a dud present here.
Despite the variety on display, Mike does bookend his book with "The Button Bin," a brutal and captivating tale of body horror, and "The Quiltmaker," an unexpected sequel novella, which takes the themes of the former and supercharges them into a ride that's every bit as thrilling as it is mind-expanding. I white-knuckled my kindle for the entirety of the hour+ I spent reading it.
My personal favorite story has to be "The Blessed Days," which addresses a question we all ask ourselves sometimes: What if, one day, people starting waking from every sleep session completely drenched in blood and couldn't remember what they dreamt? One man finds a way to explore his dreams and investigate this phenomenon, but does he really want to know? After reading this story back to back with The Button Bin, I knew I was in for a hell of a book.
I truly can't recommend this collection enough. If, like me, you fancy yourself a horror junkie, grab "Unseaming" and hang on tight for the ride.
Favorite Stories: The Button Bin, The Blessed Days, The Hiker's Tale, Gutter, The Quiltmaker
Least Favorites: Her Acres of Pastoral Playground, Let There be Darkness
Allen fires on all cylinders. His prose can be visceral and sharp or lofty and mind-bending, depending on what the tale calls for. It does not surprise me one bit that he cut his teeth as a poet. He tends to favor cosmic and body horror, but his takes on both are unique and fascinating, keeping me guessing and tense until each tale's conclusions. There isn't a dud present here.
Despite the variety on display, Mike does bookend his book with "The Button Bin," a brutal and captivating tale of body horror, and "The Quiltmaker," an unexpected sequel novella, which takes the themes of the former and supercharges them into a ride that's every bit as thrilling as it is mind-expanding. I white-knuckled my kindle for the entirety of the hour+ I spent reading it.
My personal favorite story has to be "The Blessed Days," which addresses a question we all ask ourselves sometimes: What if, one day, people starting waking from every sleep session completely drenched in blood and couldn't remember what they dreamt? One man finds a way to explore his dreams and investigate this phenomenon, but does he really want to know? After reading this story back to back with The Button Bin, I knew I was in for a hell of a book.
I truly can't recommend this collection enough. If, like me, you fancy yourself a horror junkie, grab "Unseaming" and hang on tight for the ride.
Favorite Stories: The Button Bin, The Blessed Days, The Hiker's Tale, Gutter, The Quiltmaker
Least Favorites: Her Acres of Pastoral Playground, Let There be Darkness
March 14, 2015
This is one of the most imaginative collections of weird fiction I've read in a while (and I've consumed a lot of it lately). One can pick up on influences of Lovecraft and Ligotti in particular, but these stories are just abounding with original, imaginative ideas in general, sometimes maybe too many.
I will say that the real "meat" of this book is in a handful of tales. Six of these stories are about 3,000 words or less, and while all of the shorter stories have great ideas they don't expand them out. It feels a bit claustrophobic, perhaps intentionally. That's not a criticism, I just wish there were a few longer stories. The overall effect of the collection is impressive, but years from now I think only a few of these will really be ones I care to re-read.
Just as an aside, can I say I am impressed to find yet another southern-based weird fiction writer? Kiernan bases many of her works in the south, Ballingrud based many of his excellent stories from "North American Lake Monsters" in New Orleans. And now there's this!
The Button Bin - This was an incredibly original story, very imaginative and unlike anything I think I've read in weird fiction. It's got an eerie feel, the characters are well-developed and a it's got an original type of horror. An uncle seeks out a man who he believes has kidnapped his niece, and discovers the man has added her to his "button collection."
The Blessed Days - Wow, this is another wild, weird, original idea -- here of of dream-things bred by man's bloodletting crossing over into the real world. The underlying theme here does remind me a bit of Ligotti's writing, the universal sewer and an awful alternate dimension behind our own. After everyone in the world wakes from sleep covered in blood, one man who is able to recall his dreams agrees to an experiment to discover what's behind it.
Humpty - I liked this story, it just overflows...abounds with reality-twisting ideas and crazy visuals......even if everything doesn't make a lot of sense. When Laird Barron remarked of this collection, "Get ready to have your fuses blown," I can imagine this one is included in that sentiment. A young man gets a visit from a childhood toy that tried to kill him, which leads him in a battle against the memory of his abusive father.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground - WOW, really good weird fiction, this is an incredibly dark, horrific vision. I am consistently amazed by these stories, how original they are. A man and his wife try to survive a Lovecraftian apocalypse.
An Invitation to E-mail - An amusing little episode, kept short. A professor emails a colleague telling her about get-togethers where he describes in bland detail how they sacrifice people to a demon for favors.
The Hikers Tale - This was my favorite story. Allen really stretches the outre elements to their limit here without snapping them and leaving you asking "WTF?" Love the setting here, and the characterization as well, it's just enough but not too much. A young man hiking on the Appalachian Trail encounters a boy lost in another dimension, full of horrific creatures in pursuit.
The Music of Bremen Farm - I liked this one, not as great as the best here, but still quite original and exciting. A sort of dark folktale of revenge. The fresh, new Yankee prosecutor of a small mountain community goes after an old woman he thinks is making drugs in her shack. He finds out it might be something far worse.
The Lead Between the Panes - Very weird story, can't say I understood this one 100% which is frustrating. It feels a bit rushed to me too, if this story was a bit more fleshed out I think it would make more sense. Obviously this is a story of slipping into another dimension, but was his brother transformed into a spider, is that what the dream sequence meant? A few details here really left to wonder at. A boy loses his younger brother, seemingly into another dimension through a portal in an old church.
Stone Flowers - This story was a bit milder than the others in terms of bending one's mind into a pretzel, but it was still a good story, I just wouldn't call it as interesting or memorable as the others. A couple from Europe who fled the war-ravaged 20th century are haunted by a memory of a unborn child they had to trade to a sinister being.
Gutter - Another one I enjoyed, but it's not among the very best here and I'd say it's probably far less "outre" than most of the others. A town reporter notes that almost all of the crime in town happens in one general area jokingly called the Boneyard. Little does he know, those in power have an "arrangement" with something horrible that lives there.
Condolences - Interesting ideas here, can't say I've read anything like this before, but it doesn't have the creep-out factor that I like in the other stories. A girl grows up hearing a strange rumble underneath the earth whenever people give her their condolences.
Let There Be Darkness - A very wild, hallucinogenic, surreal story. Probably most impressive for what it packs into a mere 2,000 words. In the earth's final days the daughter of the creator of the universe tries to save mankind, and when she's ignored her father comes to clean the place up a bit.
The Quiltmaker - This was a great story, probably the best in the book (personally I liked "The Hikers Tale" the best, but that's just personal preference.) A lot of deep delving into the rot behind the facade of suburban perfection, a place where people use one another and no one trusts anyone else. This story is a continuation of the first story in the book, and an expansion of it which makes it make more sense ultimately. A boy in a neighborhood everyone assumes has a drug problem in fact has been taken over by a thing which consumes and assimilates other people.
Monster - Another hallucinogenic episode, well-written for what it is, but I prefer his longer, less vague stories. Plot? Something like this: A man being questioned as an arsonist tells how he can make people disappear. How he studied a mathematical formula and replaced parts of his soul with others, repeated infinitely in a fractal repetition. He sends the detective into a world of flesh, repeated over and over. You asked!
I will say that the real "meat" of this book is in a handful of tales. Six of these stories are about 3,000 words or less, and while all of the shorter stories have great ideas they don't expand them out. It feels a bit claustrophobic, perhaps intentionally. That's not a criticism, I just wish there were a few longer stories. The overall effect of the collection is impressive, but years from now I think only a few of these will really be ones I care to re-read.
Just as an aside, can I say I am impressed to find yet another southern-based weird fiction writer? Kiernan bases many of her works in the south, Ballingrud based many of his excellent stories from "North American Lake Monsters" in New Orleans. And now there's this!
The Button Bin - This was an incredibly original story, very imaginative and unlike anything I think I've read in weird fiction. It's got an eerie feel, the characters are well-developed and a it's got an original type of horror. An uncle seeks out a man who he believes has kidnapped his niece, and discovers the man has added her to his "button collection."
The Blessed Days - Wow, this is another wild, weird, original idea -- here of of dream-things bred by man's bloodletting crossing over into the real world. The underlying theme here does remind me a bit of Ligotti's writing, the universal sewer and an awful alternate dimension behind our own. After everyone in the world wakes from sleep covered in blood, one man who is able to recall his dreams agrees to an experiment to discover what's behind it.
Humpty - I liked this story, it just overflows...abounds with reality-twisting ideas and crazy visuals......even if everything doesn't make a lot of sense. When Laird Barron remarked of this collection, "Get ready to have your fuses blown," I can imagine this one is included in that sentiment. A young man gets a visit from a childhood toy that tried to kill him, which leads him in a battle against the memory of his abusive father.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground - WOW, really good weird fiction, this is an incredibly dark, horrific vision. I am consistently amazed by these stories, how original they are. A man and his wife try to survive a Lovecraftian apocalypse.
An Invitation to E-mail - An amusing little episode, kept short. A professor emails a colleague telling her about get-togethers where he describes in bland detail how they sacrifice people to a demon for favors.
The Hikers Tale - This was my favorite story. Allen really stretches the outre elements to their limit here without snapping them and leaving you asking "WTF?" Love the setting here, and the characterization as well, it's just enough but not too much. A young man hiking on the Appalachian Trail encounters a boy lost in another dimension, full of horrific creatures in pursuit.
The Music of Bremen Farm - I liked this one, not as great as the best here, but still quite original and exciting. A sort of dark folktale of revenge. The fresh, new Yankee prosecutor of a small mountain community goes after an old woman he thinks is making drugs in her shack. He finds out it might be something far worse.
The Lead Between the Panes - Very weird story, can't say I understood this one 100% which is frustrating. It feels a bit rushed to me too, if this story was a bit more fleshed out I think it would make more sense. Obviously this is a story of slipping into another dimension, but was his brother transformed into a spider, is that what the dream sequence meant? A few details here really left to wonder at. A boy loses his younger brother, seemingly into another dimension through a portal in an old church.
Stone Flowers - This story was a bit milder than the others in terms of bending one's mind into a pretzel, but it was still a good story, I just wouldn't call it as interesting or memorable as the others. A couple from Europe who fled the war-ravaged 20th century are haunted by a memory of a unborn child they had to trade to a sinister being.
Gutter - Another one I enjoyed, but it's not among the very best here and I'd say it's probably far less "outre" than most of the others. A town reporter notes that almost all of the crime in town happens in one general area jokingly called the Boneyard. Little does he know, those in power have an "arrangement" with something horrible that lives there.
Condolences - Interesting ideas here, can't say I've read anything like this before, but it doesn't have the creep-out factor that I like in the other stories. A girl grows up hearing a strange rumble underneath the earth whenever people give her their condolences.
Let There Be Darkness - A very wild, hallucinogenic, surreal story. Probably most impressive for what it packs into a mere 2,000 words. In the earth's final days the daughter of the creator of the universe tries to save mankind, and when she's ignored her father comes to clean the place up a bit.
The Quiltmaker - This was a great story, probably the best in the book (personally I liked "The Hikers Tale" the best, but that's just personal preference.) A lot of deep delving into the rot behind the facade of suburban perfection, a place where people use one another and no one trusts anyone else. This story is a continuation of the first story in the book, and an expansion of it which makes it make more sense ultimately. A boy in a neighborhood everyone assumes has a drug problem in fact has been taken over by a thing which consumes and assimilates other people.
Monster - Another hallucinogenic episode, well-written for what it is, but I prefer his longer, less vague stories. Plot? Something like this: A man being questioned as an arsonist tells how he can make people disappear. How he studied a mathematical formula and replaced parts of his soul with others, repeated infinitely in a fractal repetition. He sends the detective into a world of flesh, repeated over and over. You asked!
January 20, 2021
Yeesh, another near 5-star collection. Another author who somehow has managed to go unnoticed by me for a good few years, who weaves together apocalypses both cosmic and personal, lives both familiar and not. The Button Bin and The Quiltmaker are such weird, great, disturbing pieces that much of what sat between the two seemed to pale in comparison. But man, the more I think back on it, only maybe two of the shortest stories didn't hit quite as well, and the rest were just nonstop, manic "fun", to take a single word from Thomas Ligotti's blurb (Thomas Ligotti wrote a blurb for this, that's right!). Seriously, just impressively weirdly disturbingly darkly fun. Even one or two funny bits thrown in. Forget "near 5 stars". Let's go bananas and award my first 5 star rating of the year.
February 1, 2015
Wow, this has some high reviews, I wish I could agree with them. I went into this book on a whim, I bought it from Amazon because my Kindle was acting iffy and I needed to test buy something, and this was recommended. And Laird Barron wrote the intro.
The stories have really really good ideas. I think "The Blessing," where suddenly everyone in the world wakes up covered in blood for some unknown reason, every single time they fall asleep they start bleeding, holy shit that's awesome. A lot of these stories had super badass plots, lots of really good description too. There's a story, "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground," WOW it is fucking great, so original, so sad and only and isolated, too. But I think that's the only one that really succeeded.
Most of the stories in this book are kind of hallucinatory, and focus too much on existential dread and bleakness too much for my taste. It's the same stuff Thomas Ligotti has done ever since the mid 90s, which I also don't like. I want to say these stories get repetitive because nearly all of them have ropy black tentacles somewhere, but that's not fair because the plots are all pretty different. I could have done without the long "The Quiltmaker," which was the same thing from "The Button Bin" but done again and again and again and again: a weird monster that sucks up the bodies and souls of people, flopping around, freaking everyone out and killing them.
I can see why people would really like this, the writing style is a lot denser and more thought out than in most genre fiction, and if you're into that bleak emo David Lynch stuff and want to see it done with lots of blood and monsters, this is the dude to go for.
Not for me.
The stories have really really good ideas. I think "The Blessing," where suddenly everyone in the world wakes up covered in blood for some unknown reason, every single time they fall asleep they start bleeding, holy shit that's awesome. A lot of these stories had super badass plots, lots of really good description too. There's a story, "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground," WOW it is fucking great, so original, so sad and only and isolated, too. But I think that's the only one that really succeeded.
Most of the stories in this book are kind of hallucinatory, and focus too much on existential dread and bleakness too much for my taste. It's the same stuff Thomas Ligotti has done ever since the mid 90s, which I also don't like. I want to say these stories get repetitive because nearly all of them have ropy black tentacles somewhere, but that's not fair because the plots are all pretty different. I could have done without the long "The Quiltmaker," which was the same thing from "The Button Bin" but done again and again and again and again: a weird monster that sucks up the bodies and souls of people, flopping around, freaking everyone out and killing them.
I can see why people would really like this, the writing style is a lot denser and more thought out than in most genre fiction, and if you're into that bleak emo David Lynch stuff and want to see it done with lots of blood and monsters, this is the dude to go for.
Not for me.
May 7, 2015
An exceptionally creepy collection of cosmic and body horror.
I'd never heard of Mike Allen before, but I read a comment on Goodreads comparing him to other authors I like so I took a chance, and I'm glad I did.
This collection demonstrates a really strong, unique voice. Allen's stories hover somewhere near the border between Lovecraft and Cronenburg, where horror is rooted within our own bodies, our dreams, and the possibility that we ourselves could be the gateways to something vastly more dangerous. However, he takes what could be familiar tropes and twists them to fit his own ends.
The real standout stories to me are THE BLESSED DAYS, BUTTON BIN, and THE QUILTMAKER.
The first is the most explicitly Lovecraftian story, dealing with dreams as a gateway between worlds, but with a truly grotesque conceit: everyone, all over the world, stops dreaming and instead, wakes up covered in blood.
The other two, BUTTON BIN, and THE QUILTMAKER, are linked stories about secrets, family, and the skin we live in. They are some of the most original stories I've read in years.
The collection is overall well-written, in a direct, clear style. It isn't excessively gory or violent.
I'll be looking for more from Mr. Allen for sure!
I'd never heard of Mike Allen before, but I read a comment on Goodreads comparing him to other authors I like so I took a chance, and I'm glad I did.
This collection demonstrates a really strong, unique voice. Allen's stories hover somewhere near the border between Lovecraft and Cronenburg, where horror is rooted within our own bodies, our dreams, and the possibility that we ourselves could be the gateways to something vastly more dangerous. However, he takes what could be familiar tropes and twists them to fit his own ends.
The real standout stories to me are THE BLESSED DAYS, BUTTON BIN, and THE QUILTMAKER.
The first is the most explicitly Lovecraftian story, dealing with dreams as a gateway between worlds, but with a truly grotesque conceit: everyone, all over the world, stops dreaming and instead, wakes up covered in blood.
The other two, BUTTON BIN, and THE QUILTMAKER, are linked stories about secrets, family, and the skin we live in. They are some of the most original stories I've read in years.
The collection is overall well-written, in a direct, clear style. It isn't excessively gory or violent.
I'll be looking for more from Mr. Allen for sure!
November 29, 2014
After a strong start, I found some of the middle stories a bit lacking. I was ready to chalk this up as a disappointment, but the last few stories pulled it back up immensely.
Read
April 25, 2015it was a great selection of stories. really enjoyed it
January 16, 2016
Wow, this is the best horror collection I've read in a really long time. Hey Mike Allen: please write a lot more horror very soon.
July 3, 2021
I feel kinda bad giving this 3 stars. I liked a lot of the concepts, but the narration just didn't do it for me. The prose isn't bad, but it veers into 'too telly' territory. Some of the descriptions of the actual monsters are great, but when it comes to the in-between stuff, it gets overlong. Sometimes, one metaphor is enough.
Whereas King's stories are typically bloated because he tries to cram in so many characters and so much plot, these stories are bloated because they love words too much. They're not hard to read, and they're not poorly worded, but the excessive descriptions tended to kill the momentum and tension rather than accentuate it. I think the stories would have benefitted from a bit more breathing room. Obviously, some people prefer this kind of narration, but it wasn't for me. Plus, I didn't really connect with many of the characters.
All that being said, there are some really original creations, creature-wise, in this collection.
The Button Bin - Do you know the button man? One of the more effective entries, with a great and memorable monster as the cherry on top.
The Blessed Days - Everybody wakes up covered in blood... I feel like this story should have been cooler than it was. Maybe it's because it hinges on dreams - there are quite a few dream/hallucinatory sequences spread throughout this collection... I'm not big on dream/hallucinatory sequences. On the positive side, a week later, I can still recall some of the images conjured up in my mind while reading this. That's the thing, when it works, the narration is super effective, but when it doesn't, it drags the whole thing down.
Humpty - Another story that deals in nightmares. Another cool monster, this time in the form of a childhood toy. This one had to do with an abusive father and comes to kind of a weird, somewhat problematic conclusion... Unless I was interpreting it wrong? Anyways, it's odd that 'Humpty' was placed right after 'The Blessed Days' because they have some very similar plot beats, and not in a "Parallels are cool!" kind of way.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground - Possibly the best story in the collection. The conceit is pretty oddball, I'll give it that. If you've read/liked John Langan's 'The Shallows,' then try this one on for size.
An Invitation Via E-mail - Short. Kinda felt like filler to pad out the story count.
The Hiker's Tale - The prose style really put a damper on what otherwise might have been an intense read for me. The monsters weren't as strikingly original as in some of the earlier stories, either. It's got some 'Stranger Things' vibes.
The Music of Bremen Farm - I didn't know the 'Town Musicians of Bremen' were a thing until I looked it up after reading this story. Would it have been more effective if I understood what it was referencing? Probably.
The Lead Between the Panes - A bit overlong and obtuse, I thought.
Stone Flowers - Another story that draws upon a fairy tale, in this case, 'The Mistress of Copper Mountain.' A week later, some of it's stuck, at least.
Gutter - I feel like this one took a bit too long to get to the point, and that it didn't make me empathize with the main character enough in that time.
Condolences - The most ambiguous story in the collection. A girl hears a Wilhelm scream every time somebody gives her false condolences. I feel like the idea behind this one is kind of dead on arrival. Horror-wise, where can it really go?
Let There Be Darkness - I can't really remember this one.
The Quiltmaker - Super zany, fun concept! If you strain your brain real hard, this story could even serve as a prequel to one of the earlier entries. Once again, however, there's too much unnecessary description. And it's not that any one sentence is out of place or poorly written... it's that many simply aren't needed. All of the scenes make sense, but the amount of time spent on them... Somebody's probably said this before, but: When you're running away from a monster, the last thing you're gonna do is stop and smell the roses. The same thing applies to narration. I feel like, sometimes, short, sparse, quickfire sentences are the way to go (at least if the intention is to get the reader's heart beating).
Monster - A shorty. Engh. I wouldn't call it padding, but it didn't enthrall me.
Anyways, Allen clearly has a good harness on both his imagination and the English language, but I think these stories could still use some honing, editing, getting to the meat of the narrative, what have you. Of the plethora of monsters on display, a few are pretty dang memorable.
-Stu
Whereas King's stories are typically bloated because he tries to cram in so many characters and so much plot, these stories are bloated because they love words too much. They're not hard to read, and they're not poorly worded, but the excessive descriptions tended to kill the momentum and tension rather than accentuate it. I think the stories would have benefitted from a bit more breathing room. Obviously, some people prefer this kind of narration, but it wasn't for me. Plus, I didn't really connect with many of the characters.
All that being said, there are some really original creations, creature-wise, in this collection.
The Button Bin - Do you know the button man? One of the more effective entries, with a great and memorable monster as the cherry on top.
The Blessed Days - Everybody wakes up covered in blood... I feel like this story should have been cooler than it was. Maybe it's because it hinges on dreams - there are quite a few dream/hallucinatory sequences spread throughout this collection... I'm not big on dream/hallucinatory sequences. On the positive side, a week later, I can still recall some of the images conjured up in my mind while reading this. That's the thing, when it works, the narration is super effective, but when it doesn't, it drags the whole thing down.
Humpty - Another story that deals in nightmares. Another cool monster, this time in the form of a childhood toy. This one had to do with an abusive father and comes to kind of a weird, somewhat problematic conclusion... Unless I was interpreting it wrong? Anyways, it's odd that 'Humpty' was placed right after 'The Blessed Days' because they have some very similar plot beats, and not in a "Parallels are cool!" kind of way.
Her Acres of Pastoral Playground - Possibly the best story in the collection. The conceit is pretty oddball, I'll give it that. If you've read/liked John Langan's 'The Shallows,' then try this one on for size.
An Invitation Via E-mail - Short. Kinda felt like filler to pad out the story count.
The Hiker's Tale - The prose style really put a damper on what otherwise might have been an intense read for me. The monsters weren't as strikingly original as in some of the earlier stories, either. It's got some 'Stranger Things' vibes.
The Music of Bremen Farm - I didn't know the 'Town Musicians of Bremen' were a thing until I looked it up after reading this story. Would it have been more effective if I understood what it was referencing? Probably.
The Lead Between the Panes - A bit overlong and obtuse, I thought.
Stone Flowers - Another story that draws upon a fairy tale, in this case, 'The Mistress of Copper Mountain.' A week later, some of it's stuck, at least.
Gutter - I feel like this one took a bit too long to get to the point, and that it didn't make me empathize with the main character enough in that time.
Condolences - The most ambiguous story in the collection. A girl hears a Wilhelm scream every time somebody gives her false condolences. I feel like the idea behind this one is kind of dead on arrival. Horror-wise, where can it really go?
Let There Be Darkness - I can't really remember this one.
The Quiltmaker - Super zany, fun concept! If you strain your brain real hard, this story could even serve as a prequel to one of the earlier entries. Once again, however, there's too much unnecessary description. And it's not that any one sentence is out of place or poorly written... it's that many simply aren't needed. All of the scenes make sense, but the amount of time spent on them... Somebody's probably said this before, but: When you're running away from a monster, the last thing you're gonna do is stop and smell the roses. The same thing applies to narration. I feel like, sometimes, short, sparse, quickfire sentences are the way to go (at least if the intention is to get the reader's heart beating).
Monster - A shorty. Engh. I wouldn't call it padding, but it didn't enthrall me.
Anyways, Allen clearly has a good harness on both his imagination and the English language, but I think these stories could still use some honing, editing, getting to the meat of the narrative, what have you. Of the plethora of monsters on display, a few are pretty dang memorable.
-Stu
January 14, 2021
Picture it, Tennessee 2016. I was looking for books on the Amazon site to spend the $50.00 in ebook credit I received for purchasing my first Kindle Fire. Like so many other, the amazing cover drew me to this book. I distinctly remember seeing it on the Amazon site and and thinking what a stunning cover it was. And then to find out it was on sale?!? I immediately purchased it and then it sat in my Kindle library for the next 4 years and 4 months.....
Fast forward to 2021, and I realized I should be reading these books I have been hording on my Kindle and my book shelves. And so begins the year long Mount TBR Book Challenge 2021 version, read books you have owned for over two years.
I have a love/hate relationship with Anthologies. I pick them up, always with the best intentions. I say to myself what a wonderful way to be introduced to new authors, and then they sit, gathering (virtual) dust in the case of Unseaming.
There are several very bloody/disturbing instances of Body Horror in these stories, but Mike Allen or his editor wisely sprinkled in some Weird Horror, just when I was beginning to think it might be getting too much.
I think my two favorite stories were "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground" an amazing tale of body horror, Cthulhu apocalypse, and tragic love story all rolled into one. The other one was "The Hiker's Tale" a horror story that does not really fit in the Body Horror category, and only flirts with weird horror. I loved the way it kept me guessing and the twisted, surprisingly sweet ending.
Mike Allen and Unseaming is not going to be everyone's cup o' tea. But in this case the anthology worked for me. I can only take so much splatter/body horror and this short story collection is appealing to me in this instance.
Fast forward to 2021, and I realized I should be reading these books I have been hording on my Kindle and my book shelves. And so begins the year long Mount TBR Book Challenge 2021 version, read books you have owned for over two years.
I have a love/hate relationship with Anthologies. I pick them up, always with the best intentions. I say to myself what a wonderful way to be introduced to new authors, and then they sit, gathering (virtual) dust in the case of Unseaming.
There are several very bloody/disturbing instances of Body Horror in these stories, but Mike Allen or his editor wisely sprinkled in some Weird Horror, just when I was beginning to think it might be getting too much.
I think my two favorite stories were "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground" an amazing tale of body horror, Cthulhu apocalypse, and tragic love story all rolled into one. The other one was "The Hiker's Tale" a horror story that does not really fit in the Body Horror category, and only flirts with weird horror. I loved the way it kept me guessing and the twisted, surprisingly sweet ending.
Mike Allen and Unseaming is not going to be everyone's cup o' tea. But in this case the anthology worked for me. I can only take so much splatter/body horror and this short story collection is appealing to me in this instance.
March 15, 2023
Good stuff. Enjoyed most of the stories, and my favorites were The Button Bin, The Hiker's Tale, and Her Acres Of Pastoral Playground.
April 24, 2021
Wow. This was incredible. I'm hoping to find more of Mike Allen's weird fiction out there, because I loved this.
January 14, 2023
Short and interesting horror stories, with some interconnectedness.
January 6, 2015
Holy crap.
First time in a long while that I've read horror that actually scared me a little. The short stories in this little gem actually seem to bring nightmares to life. With maybe two exceptions, I loved, loved, loved every story in this collection.
The last horror writer I read with any diligence was Laird Barron, and while he's also great, these stories have a texture all their own, that's completely different from Barron's "peel back a corner of the world to expose the hungry, pulsating madness beneath" style. Allen's got a gift for describing the physically horrific. Where Lovecraft goes right up to the brink of describing the terrifying, and then stopping to let the reader continue into the cosmic abyss on her own, Allen finds a way to evoke the feel and appearance of the horrific in a way that makes it feel like it's right there in the room with you. And these aren't monsters either. Or gore. I won't spoil the discovery or do a disservice to his writing by describing it in more detail here, but, look, you should just read it, ok?
While he does have a couple themes that drift toward what I might call the sci-fi or fantasy aspect of horror, he's also no stranger to the horror of the evil that dwells inside people. He's not quite as deft at this part, but he's more than competent and with a little time and maybe a little more space to write than a short story, I suspect he could go quite deeply into the horror of what evil dwells in the human heart.
My favorite stories were "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground," and the last two, "The Quiltmaker" and "Monster". "Playground" actually almost made me stop reading the book I found it so disturbing. It's a story that will stick with me for a long time. The last two stories, it wasn't the narrative that grabbed me and won't let go, but some of the images. You can't unimagine some things, so consider yourself warned...
... or urged onward to new apexes of horror, depending on what you like to read. :)
First time in a long while that I've read horror that actually scared me a little. The short stories in this little gem actually seem to bring nightmares to life. With maybe two exceptions, I loved, loved, loved every story in this collection.
The last horror writer I read with any diligence was Laird Barron, and while he's also great, these stories have a texture all their own, that's completely different from Barron's "peel back a corner of the world to expose the hungry, pulsating madness beneath" style. Allen's got a gift for describing the physically horrific. Where Lovecraft goes right up to the brink of describing the terrifying, and then stopping to let the reader continue into the cosmic abyss on her own, Allen finds a way to evoke the feel and appearance of the horrific in a way that makes it feel like it's right there in the room with you. And these aren't monsters either. Or gore. I won't spoil the discovery or do a disservice to his writing by describing it in more detail here, but, look, you should just read it, ok?
While he does have a couple themes that drift toward what I might call the sci-fi or fantasy aspect of horror, he's also no stranger to the horror of the evil that dwells inside people. He's not quite as deft at this part, but he's more than competent and with a little time and maybe a little more space to write than a short story, I suspect he could go quite deeply into the horror of what evil dwells in the human heart.
My favorite stories were "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground," and the last two, "The Quiltmaker" and "Monster". "Playground" actually almost made me stop reading the book I found it so disturbing. It's a story that will stick with me for a long time. The last two stories, it wasn't the narrative that grabbed me and won't let go, but some of the images. You can't unimagine some things, so consider yourself warned...
... or urged onward to new apexes of horror, depending on what you like to read. :)
December 29, 2017
Full disclosure: I'm friendly with Mike Allen (he signed my copy at the release party) and he has published poetry of mine.
What elevates Mike Allen's cosmic horror, to me, is the grief that undergirds these tales. Throughout there is the sadness of knowing that the world is not as it could or should be, nor is humanity, nor are we, as individuals. It's not simply that we're not our best selves; often we fall so short that we scar and doom others, even those we claim to love. How then could we possibly challenge the cosmic evils that catch the scent of our blood in the water? But we try.
I especially loved the juxtaposition of The Button Bin and The Quiltmaker, the two tales that sort of bracket the collection. Characters from The Button Bin reappear in The Quiltmaker, and the close-knit (no pun intended) horror of the first story is allowed to rampage through an entire subdivision. In the mayhem, the very nature of the beast is altered. The "sequel" is fascinating and masterfully constructed.
Also, shout-out to the mega-talented cover artist, Danielle Tunstall, whose work is so horrific, I made sure to set the book face-down whenever I paused reading.
What elevates Mike Allen's cosmic horror, to me, is the grief that undergirds these tales. Throughout there is the sadness of knowing that the world is not as it could or should be, nor is humanity, nor are we, as individuals. It's not simply that we're not our best selves; often we fall so short that we scar and doom others, even those we claim to love. How then could we possibly challenge the cosmic evils that catch the scent of our blood in the water? But we try.
I especially loved the juxtaposition of The Button Bin and The Quiltmaker, the two tales that sort of bracket the collection. Characters from The Button Bin reappear in The Quiltmaker, and the close-knit (no pun intended) horror of the first story is allowed to rampage through an entire subdivision. In the mayhem, the very nature of the beast is altered. The "sequel" is fascinating and masterfully constructed.
Also, shout-out to the mega-talented cover artist, Danielle Tunstall, whose work is so horrific, I made sure to set the book face-down whenever I paused reading.
September 27, 2014
First, I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway for free.
Unseaming is a collection of dark fantasy and horror stories by Mike Allen. I love my share of anything scary, especially with the month of October creeping upon us. Quite a few of these stories left me wanting more. The collection is broken into three parts. In Part One The Button Bin was my favorite, the term "wearing someone" can be taken quite literal, all with the help of the button bin. At first I said I wanted that bin. Humpty was another one I like from part one. I think almost everyone can say they remember that one certain toy from their childhood. That one that sort of freaked you out. Imagine it coming to life, and well, becoming your worst nightmare all over again. There are three other stories in part one that are also hair raising.
You can read the rest of my review on my review blog (http://bookcrazed-dazed.blogspot.com/...)
Unseaming is a collection of dark fantasy and horror stories by Mike Allen. I love my share of anything scary, especially with the month of October creeping upon us. Quite a few of these stories left me wanting more. The collection is broken into three parts. In Part One The Button Bin was my favorite, the term "wearing someone" can be taken quite literal, all with the help of the button bin. At first I said I wanted that bin. Humpty was another one I like from part one. I think almost everyone can say they remember that one certain toy from their childhood. That one that sort of freaked you out. Imagine it coming to life, and well, becoming your worst nightmare all over again. There are three other stories in part one that are also hair raising.
You can read the rest of my review on my review blog (http://bookcrazed-dazed.blogspot.com/...)
July 4, 2014
I am not a horror reader, so who am I to judge what's good horror? Trust me, this is good horror. "Let There Be Darkness" was spiritually terrifying and "The Blessed Days" made me experience Lovecraftian dread for the first time. But those aren't the only type of tale on offer here: "An Invitation via E-mail" is darkly humorous, and "Condolences" was psychologically rich and finely drawn. "The Hiker's Tale" and "The Music of Bremen Farm" were true storyteller-stories, with a great sense of place. And *all* the stories are vivid, deftly paced, excellently plotted, and with well-drawn (if sometimes repellant) characters. This is not a collection to pick up if you don't like horror, but if you *do* like horror, Unseaming should slake your thirst.
December 8, 2015
Beautifully written but uneven short story collection, "The Button Bin" and "The Quiltmaker" are the high points of the book.
The dark folklore/fairytale feel of "The Music of Bremen Farm" and "Stone Flowers" was a nice touch and, as a long-time Lovecraft fan, I, quite predictably, loved the cosmic horror element of "The Blessed Days" and "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground".
The dark folklore/fairytale feel of "The Music of Bremen Farm" and "Stone Flowers" was a nice touch and, as a long-time Lovecraft fan, I, quite predictably, loved the cosmic horror element of "The Blessed Days" and "Her Acres of Pastoral Playground".
May 15, 2015
Dark speculative fiction that makes you think.
I quite enjoyed these stories; I didn't expect them to be so original and well-written. This was my first foray into this Allen's writing, and it definitely won't be my last. Just a great collection of short stories!
I quite enjoyed these stories; I didn't expect them to be so original and well-written. This was my first foray into this Allen's writing, and it definitely won't be my last. Just a great collection of short stories!
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