What do you think?
Rate this book
Easy Reading for Difficult Devils: An Anthology of Dark Fiction
Strange things come down from the heavens. A medical ward is full of patients who explode. A man must dispose of a corpse for his idiot brother. A little boy finds himself trapped beneath an outhouse. These, and others, are the strange tales contained within Easy Reading for Difficult Devils, a dark fiction anthology featuring stories by Kevin Sweeney, C.V. Hunt, Edward Martin III, and many more, as well as classics by Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Jack London.
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2014
38 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Zachary T. Owen
7 books24 followersZachary T. Owen is an arsonist. A nice arsonist. He'd never burn a book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 19, 2021
Sometimes you just happen to come across a book that is strange and unknown, but you should definitely be glad you have it.
This book is one of those treasures that are out there in the book world just waiting to be discovered. I found this anthology in my collection of books from Apple’s iBooks app.
I don’t remember when it was purchased, or even if it was purchased. I ran across it and I decided to read it. And it is such a great book, I couldn’t put it down.
The stories are excellent and full of suspense and horror, with endings that are strange and well deserved. I hope you give it a try. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Go on...try it.
This book is one of those treasures that are out there in the book world just waiting to be discovered. I found this anthology in my collection of books from Apple’s iBooks app.
I don’t remember when it was purchased, or even if it was purchased. I ran across it and I decided to read it. And it is such a great book, I couldn’t put it down.
The stories are excellent and full of suspense and horror, with endings that are strange and well deserved. I hope you give it a try. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Go on...try it.
January 25, 2024
Grease for the Gears of Heaven, Splatter Ward, Balk ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shockingly good quality for a free book
April 6, 2020
Weird mix of weird short fiction, some classic by dead authors, some modern. The introduction is only one paragraph, so you have to guess for yourself why this particular compilation was made, or you could just be entertained by it, which is what I did.
May 15, 2019
The title of this horror anthology contains the words “easy reading”. Now, this is referring to the short, quick pace of the stories, because these stories are by no means easy to read. They are strange, dark, disturbing, and creepy. I loved most of these stories and looked forward to reading one or two every day.
Some of my favorites were:
-The Adoring Dentist
-The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
-The Quarry
-Bar Fly
Some of my favorites were:
-The Adoring Dentist
-The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
-The Quarry
-Bar Fly
November 10, 2020
Rather disappointed with this collection overall. Had a few good ones though. A couple that I'd read more by the author.
The Invisible Giant by Bram Stoker
2 stars. Not much to say here. Didn't really like the writing style either. Not really dark to me.
Grease for the Gears of Heaven by Kevin Sweeney
2 stars. I just... don't know. Maybe would have been better if it was longer?
What's My Story? by Brandon Lewis
4 stars. Ooh, this was a good one. Especially for how short it was. Poor Dad. I'll probably look into more by this author considering what he did with something so short!
Watching by Edward Martin III
4 stars. This was fun. Nice little twist at the end.
Splatter Ward by Neil Peters
2 stars. I wanted more. Very bleak world from this glimpse but didn't really have any depth so I just didn't care.
The Adoring Dentist by Darren Simpson
3 stars. *shudders* Can't even imagine. I knocked it down in rating because I really don't understand how she could have found the things. But this one definitely belongs with the dark category.
Job Hunting by Tamara Rogers
2 stars. Hm. Okay...? Could have potential though.
The Truth and Other Hideous Beasts by Jonathan Persinger
2 stars. So sad. But I really don't like this type of writing style.
Curse of the Ape Man by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
3 stars. Would have been better with a different title... Not bad though.
To Build a Fire by Jack London
2 stars. Can't get behind a main character like this. Not sad for him. Glad about the dog!
The Gladsmoor Beldam by Philip Gorski
3 stars. Not unexpected but worked well here. Liked the style.
Balk by Ben Rutkowski
1 star. Just... Didn't work for me.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe
1 star. It just dragged on. His writing is hard for me to read sometimes...
Curiosity by Marjorie Lord
2 stars. I would like to see the story behind the aunt what was put behind the study. Left me wanting more.
The Quarry by C.V. Hunt
3 stars. Kind of expected it, but I literally just read this in the last anthology I read which was too bad since I picked this because of her. Again, intriguing. Slightly creepy.
Bar Fly by Jamison VanLoocke
2 stars. Weird... Don't really have anything else to say.
Footprints by Jeremy Terry
5 stars. Creepy and justice served. Perfect length. Might check out more by this author.
Shithouse Rat by Zachary T. Owen
1 star. Yeeaah. Wasn't promising with such a title and sure enough... Was just random and weird and... not a fan. Writing style was okay enough but did not like the story itself.
The Invisible Giant by Bram Stoker
2 stars. Not much to say here. Didn't really like the writing style either. Not really dark to me.
Grease for the Gears of Heaven by Kevin Sweeney
2 stars. I just... don't know. Maybe would have been better if it was longer?
What's My Story? by Brandon Lewis
4 stars. Ooh, this was a good one. Especially for how short it was. Poor Dad. I'll probably look into more by this author considering what he did with something so short!
Watching by Edward Martin III
4 stars. This was fun. Nice little twist at the end.
Splatter Ward by Neil Peters
2 stars. I wanted more. Very bleak world from this glimpse but didn't really have any depth so I just didn't care.
The Adoring Dentist by Darren Simpson
3 stars. *shudders* Can't even imagine. I knocked it down in rating because I really don't understand how she could have found the things. But this one definitely belongs with the dark category.
Job Hunting by Tamara Rogers
2 stars. Hm. Okay...? Could have potential though.
The Truth and Other Hideous Beasts by Jonathan Persinger
2 stars. So sad. But I really don't like this type of writing style.
Curse of the Ape Man by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
3 stars. Would have been better with a different title... Not bad though.
To Build a Fire by Jack London
2 stars. Can't get behind a main character like this. Not sad for him. Glad about the dog!
The Gladsmoor Beldam by Philip Gorski
3 stars. Not unexpected but worked well here. Liked the style.
Balk by Ben Rutkowski
1 star. Just... Didn't work for me.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe
1 star. It just dragged on. His writing is hard for me to read sometimes...
Curiosity by Marjorie Lord
2 stars. I would like to see the story behind the aunt what was put behind the study. Left me wanting more.
The Quarry by C.V. Hunt
3 stars. Kind of expected it, but I literally just read this in the last anthology I read which was too bad since I picked this because of her. Again, intriguing. Slightly creepy.
Bar Fly by Jamison VanLoocke
2 stars. Weird... Don't really have anything else to say.
Footprints by Jeremy Terry
5 stars. Creepy and justice served. Perfect length. Might check out more by this author.
Shithouse Rat by Zachary T. Owen
1 star. Yeeaah. Wasn't promising with such a title and sure enough... Was just random and weird and... not a fan. Writing style was okay enough but did not like the story itself.
July 19, 2024
Pretty out there
Okay. So you have a few gothic masters here. But the tales taken from the beginning of last century do sort of work with the more modern ones.
Granted, some of the newer tales are written with a cringeworthy naivety, and what they couldn't do for an editor?!
But even those have a decent story underpinning them. And, some of the newer ones tick all the right boxes.
Overall, original, well themed, and worth a couple of hours of any speculative fiction/horror reader's time.
Okay. So you have a few gothic masters here. But the tales taken from the beginning of last century do sort of work with the more modern ones.
Granted, some of the newer tales are written with a cringeworthy naivety, and what they couldn't do for an editor?!
But even those have a decent story underpinning them. And, some of the newer ones tick all the right boxes.
Overall, original, well themed, and worth a couple of hours of any speculative fiction/horror reader's time.
July 2, 2015
This anthology was an odd mixture of subgenres, all of the stories as the subtitle implies were dark fiction. It was also an odd mixture of old and new. The publisher/editor included some classic (public domain) stories.
Overall, the the collection is a very good. Like with most anthologies, there were a couple of stories I liked a lot less than the rest, but all were entertaining reads.
Worth reading for anyone who's into dark fiction.
Overall, the the collection is a very good. Like with most anthologies, there were a couple of stories I liked a lot less than the rest, but all were entertaining reads.
Worth reading for anyone who's into dark fiction.
July 7, 2017
Some of these stories were just okay but some of them were so mind blowingly amazing that I couldn't even think about giving this book less than 5 stars.
I especially loved the Darren Simpson one, gave me chills!
I especially loved the Darren Simpson one, gave me chills!
August 5, 2016
A solid 3.5 stars for this creative collection of stories ... Some vintage, some borrowed, some original. With a variety of writing styles, you may find a new favorite author here. I recommend giving this anthology a try if you like dark things that may go bump or explode or ...
December 29, 2014
Not the best read ever except for beam stoker and several other notables it is poorly written and uninspiring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews