DarkFuse #2

DarkFuse Anthology Series #2

by Shane Staley (editor)

The second volume of DarkFuse's anthology series, featuring 6 original tales of dark fiction.

“Nether Goole” by Richard Farren Barber

“Imago” by F. Charles Murdock

“The Betting Man” by Michael A. Pignatella

“Splotch of Red” by Samuel Marzioli

“Pink Denim” by Brady Golden

“The Eldritch Eye” by Tim Curran

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2014

Reviews

[Paul Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second compilation of short stories produced by Darkfuse contains some seriously dark and creepy tales, my favourite was Nether Goole by Richard Farren Barber, a place no road leads to, a place not easily seen and when the children play, it’s a place you may never return from.

Imago by F. Charles Murdock is the second story and peeks into the unhinged mind of a psychotic young man as he decides to violently take the promises, that in his head, a girl’s body has been giving him, playing games with him.

The Betting Man by Michael A. Pignatella follows the story of Craig who as a kid crosses the carne woman and ends up getting a ticket with the day he dies written on it, on that very day he finds the ticket and in a moment of madness decides to revisit the carnival and proclaim his survival to win the bet. Not a good idea.

Splotch of Red by Samuel Marzioli is about the inquisitive Ellen who on returning from college is asked to house sit a neighbour’s house, it then becomes her mission to obtain entrance to the locked room, with her curiosity burning like a furnace she opens the one thing she really should never have been anywhere near.

Pink Denim by Brady Golden is a story about Connie who takes her father in to live with her, surprised by the mail that’s delivered to him and the screaming nightmares, she ends up back at the family home investigating the impossible.

The final tale is The Eldritch Eye by Tim Curran, Art’s eyesight had been deteriorating and after surgery he knows something’s not right, different even but his eyesight is excellent. Right up until his eyes start seeing things, acting independently of him, is he losing his mind, going crazy or is it something else.

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[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up.

Every collection will have some stories that resonate with the readers more so than others. That being said, the lowest rating that I, personally, gave to an individual story here was a 3. There were 6 stories here, and of them, 2 solid 5's, and two 4.5's, that I might have rounded up in an individual review.

My (spoiler-free) breakdown of stories:
--"Nether Goole": 5 stars! I loved this one because it was so very atmospheric and mental; it didn't rely on the visual sense, so much as "intellectual", and instinctual sense...Very creepy setting that immediately got under my skin!

--"Imago": 3 stars. I had a hard time getting into this one. The symbolism just didn't quite connect with me, but other readers may not have that problem.

--"The Betting Man": 4.5 stars. This was one that I wasn't sure of at first, but it took a couple of turns that I really enjoyed.

--"Splotch of Red": 4 stars. Good tension, but would have liked a "further" conclusion.

--"Pink Denim": 4.5 stars. A mysterious tale that combined sadness and mystery into a conclusion that I didn't see coming!

--"The Eldritch Eye", by Tim Curran: Absolute 5 stars! Stunning story that fans of Curran will have no problem "expecting" this to be the strongest story in the collection. The entire tale, from atmosphere, characterization, and detail were presented perfectly.

A huge success in the DarkFuse line-up--Highly recommended!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nether Goole by Richard Farren Barner - 5 stars

Two friends set out on a weekend trip together to visit the town of Nether Goole. As they hike in to it, one of them talks about seeing children in the trees, watching them. They press on to a house that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and go exploring. This is where things really start to get creepy!

A fun haunted house story. The things that happened to the characters were unique and creepy and I would love to see this expanded to include a return visit.

Imago by F. Charles Murdock - 3 stars

Cole is in the process of raping his fellow student Bailey when his attention is turned to a buzzing cicada beside them. When he looks back at it, the cicada has turned into a baby; a baby from his past that he made "go away".

I didn't really get into this one due to the subject matter.

The Betting Man by Michael A. Pignatella - 5 stars

As a young man, Craig and his friends visit the Colegrove Brothers Carnival where his friends goad him into having one of the workers guess his age. He offends the worker so she plays a different game with him; guess the date of his death.

This one was a quick, entertaining read which I enjoyed. I did find the ending a bit predictable though.

Splotch of Red by Samuel Marzioli - 4 stars

Mr. Lomax, the mailman, has asked Ellen to house sit for him while he's gone. She's always been fond of him so she readily agrees. The possibility of being in his house again brings back an old curious memory; every day, Mr. Lomax would bring a bag of letters into a room of his house and come back out with it empty. He always kept the room locked so Ellen never got a chance to take a peek. With him out of the house for a while, she's determined to satisfy her curiosity about the room...

This story had a unique concept and piqued my curiosity early on. It leaves a lot to think about - like why the one man had one of the letters and what he intended to do about it and what the history behind the letters was.

Pink Denim by Brady Golden - 4 stars

After Connie's father, Jack, falls on the floor and lays there for 32 hours, she convinces him to move in with her. Soon after moving in, Jack starts receiving letters in the mail. After receiving the first letter, Jack screams in the night and starts babbling about someone being at the apartment's fourth story window. It isn't until she visits his old house and pokes around that things start to fall into place for her and gives her reason to question the past.

This story had a nice continual buildup of the creepy factor which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I would have liked a little more information on the girl that played such a major role.

The Eldritch Eye by Tim Curran - 5 stars

Art had eye surgery to correct his failing eyesight. After the surgery was done, he experiences strange sensations in his eyes and starts experiencing very strange, and very alarming, side effects with them.

I don't want to go into the plot too much but this story was fantastic (it IS Tim Curran)! Curran is currently one of the best authors in the horror genre right now because of his ability to have a unique plot and draw the reader in from the start and he does just that in this story. This story alone is well worth the price of the book.

Overall this is an enjoyable collection of stories for a very decent price and it's a great way to sample some new authors. Recommended!

[Kaisersoze · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories without a great amongst them, the best of DarkFuse #2 is not surprisingly Tim Curran's take on body horror in THE ELDRITCH EYE. That said, I also liked F Charles Murdock's IMAGO, even if some of the evident symbolism within this tale of full-blown psychosis was lost on me. NETHER GOOLE by Richard Farren Barber seems to have gotten a great deal of love in other reviews, but for mine it was just a standard story of the supernatural; while SPLOTCH OF READ by Samuel Marzioli had a wonderful build up, only to end more suddenly than a fly hitting a windscreen at 100kmph. Michael A Pignatell's THE BETTING MAN was probably the most complete and fulfilling tale of the bunch (though it lacked the horror of Curran's contribution), whereas by contrast PINK DENIM by Brady Golden felt the least satisfying as it left too much open to interpretation.

All in all, DarkFuse #2 represents a decent way to spend an hour or two.

3 Eyes That See More Than They Should for DarkFuse #2.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This the second book of short stories by DarkFuse had its high & low points. The high being The Eldritch Eye by Tim Curran and Nether Goole by Richard Farren Barber. The low was Splotch of Red by Samuel Marzioli. Not that it was a bad story, it just ended too abruptly. The rest were middle of the road, okay reads. I'm not the biggest fan of SS collections, but I do enjoy reading stories from my favorite authors. I gave DarkFuse#2 3 1/2 stars.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkfuse #2 is a nice quick read that showcases 6 authors. There are some genuinely creepy reads in the anthology with my favourites being:
The Eldrtich Eye by Tim Curran and The Betting Man by Michael A. Pignatella.
The Eldritch Eye tells the tale of Art who has surgery on his failing eyesight but starts to see very strange things during his recovery.
The Betting Man is about Craig who ends up making a bet with a carnie he insults and for his rudeness the carnie gives him a card with his death date on it. Years later he decides to return to the carnival and gloat about cheating death.
My least favourite was Pink Denim which I found a bit confusing.
Overall a decent way to spend an hour reading and some nice little gems to discover.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was pretty strong collection of short stories. I found "Nether Goole" by F. Charles Murdock, and "The Eldritch Eye" by Tim Curran to be particular standouts here. Both authors put some strong, freaky story-telling chops on display, with the former giving shape to a pretty literal ghost town. Curran's effort - well, let me put it out there that I have a huge weakness when it comes to threats or damage to eyeballs. I always squirm when that particularly sensitive weak point of the body gets exploited for horror, and it's no surprise that Curran was able to exploit it to the max with his diabolical Lovecraftian take on eye surgery. Although I received a copy of this book for free from the DarkFuse VIP Book Club, I think Curran's story is worth the price of admission alone.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Darkfuse Anthology #2 there was a mixed bag of 6 short stories. My favorites were the first and last stories – Nether Goole by Richard Farren Barber and The Eldritch Eye by Tim Curran. In between there was Imago and The Betting Man, both of which were pretty good short tales. Splotch of Red was another a good story, but ended a bit abruptly and Pink Denim was a little confusing and, although it was written well, may have been a bit off the mark for me.

Anthologies are always very hit or miss for me, but overall Darkfuse #2 is an enjoyable collection with several authors that I was previously unfamiliar with. 3.5 Stars

[Kim (Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in Darkfuse's anthology series. Once again it features six stories by six different authors.

I love anthologies. They are so easy to dip in and out of without investing too much time in one go. That being said it is rare too fins an anthology where every story is a winner, or near winner. This one is that exception. I enjoyed every story in this anthology, but the last one by Tim Curran was by far the best. Tim's story was also slightly longer than the rest. It built up slowly and then power housed through to the end. it was written in the style I have come to expect from Tim. All in all, this second anthology stoop up well to the first and is an excellent read.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection, but not as much as Volume 1. Still some pretty scary stuff, and this remains a great anthology series.

[Timothy Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in the Darkfuse anthology series offers six short tales from six different authors. The best of the bunch are the first and last stories. The first, "Nether Goole" by Richard Farren Barber, is a creepy and atmospheric tale about a couple of friends on their monthly road trip to find some obscure place on the map. This month’s trip is to a place called Nether Goole. Yikes! The last, "The Eldritch Eye" by Tim Curran, is another creature feature of sorts by a master of creature features. Both of these are very enjoyable.
The middle of the book stands out more for just being a collection of very brief tales that either lack any real tension or end very suddenly. Of these middle four, "Pink Denim" by Brady Golden stands out for me as a sad, lonely tale with a nice conclusion.
Like most anthologies, there will always be some you enjoy more than others. And may even be a few you don’t care for at all. But overall, this is a good collection of stories and I look forward to #3.

[Robert Mingee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think overall that the second entry in the DarkFuse anthology series was a little more uneven than the first, though there are still some very good stories here. The first and last were my favorites, and it's hard to pick between the 2, though they are quite different. Of the middle stories, some started strong, but a couple had endings that either I didn't quite understand, or that I just felt didn't work.

The variation in theme and tone is nice - there were atmospheric pieces (like the first) as well as classic, almost b-movie feel horror (like the last). I debated between 3 and 4 stars, but am rounding up to 4, based on the variety and overall quality of the writing, even if some of the stories were not as much to my personal taste

[Josef Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very good DarkFuse anthology

For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/darkfu... and follow me on Twitter @josenher