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Stories of a Different Dark
Step into a different dark….
These Texas tales of mischief and mayhem will carry you from the Piney Woods all the way up to Fort Worth, and meander as far west as Muleshoe, but even locals may not recognize the landscape. Jumping genres like a jackalope through folk horror, fantasy, and science fiction, this collection knows no borders.
Populated by bored demons waiting for a taste of sin, a condemned man saved and destroyed by his fiddle, a dispirited janitor left to mop up after a failed Rapture, a despairing boy who runs into the arms of a monster, and a reluctant creator of the universe, the countryside of Nobles’ imagination is as varied and wild as the Lone Star State.
A group of friends in a bar may or may not have had a brush with the Almighty. Two old friends meet at a Texas crossroads to continue their epic and mysterious journey. A little girl with a special gift sees dark forces closing in that are invisible to the rest of the world. A man who has chosen to spend his life consuming the sins of others seeks to lay his burden down in a most shocking fashion. A couple walking home late at night discover they are not the people they thought they were.
Take a trip through a country where creatures of legend beckon from the shadows, and the uncanny might be sitting on the next barstool.
These Texas tales of mischief and mayhem will carry you from the Piney Woods all the way up to Fort Worth, and meander as far west as Muleshoe, but even locals may not recognize the landscape. Jumping genres like a jackalope through folk horror, fantasy, and science fiction, this collection knows no borders.
Populated by bored demons waiting for a taste of sin, a condemned man saved and destroyed by his fiddle, a dispirited janitor left to mop up after a failed Rapture, a despairing boy who runs into the arms of a monster, and a reluctant creator of the universe, the countryside of Nobles’ imagination is as varied and wild as the Lone Star State.
A group of friends in a bar may or may not have had a brush with the Almighty. Two old friends meet at a Texas crossroads to continue their epic and mysterious journey. A little girl with a special gift sees dark forces closing in that are invisible to the rest of the world. A man who has chosen to spend his life consuming the sins of others seeks to lay his burden down in a most shocking fashion. A couple walking home late at night discover they are not the people they thought they were.
Take a trip through a country where creatures of legend beckon from the shadows, and the uncanny might be sitting on the next barstool.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 7, 2025
Alright, listen. If you haven't discovered Mark A. Nobles yet, you are missing out. I'll admit, I might be biased because I love Texas folk horror, but STORIES OF A DIFFERENT DARK has got to be one of my favorite collections I've read in a long time.
He's also got a brand new novella that I'll need to check out soon.
He's also got a brand new novella that I'll need to check out soon.
October 13, 2025
I enjoyed reading this little collection of short stories, and I liked that some of them were linked to each other. I expected more horror, but was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful and even whimsical stories in this book. It concludes with a timeless and important message in the final story, which leaves the reader pondering about their candle and the different dark.
June 28, 2026
This book was NOTHING like I expected, but it was entertaining as all get out.
I really enjoy the way this author writes…and I’m wondering if it’s because he’s local so he writes like the voice of my conscious haha it feels just very familiar and easy to consume.
I really enjoyed the way each of the short stories felt like they were separate, but most of them had some sort of overlap, mostly in the way of the setting. It made the collection of short stories feel very cohesive.
I’m thrilled that I enjoyed this, since I bought another book by the same author…I’ll be reading Chalk Mountain sometime in the coming months.
I really enjoy the way this author writes…and I’m wondering if it’s because he’s local so he writes like the voice of my conscious haha it feels just very familiar and easy to consume.
I really enjoyed the way each of the short stories felt like they were separate, but most of them had some sort of overlap, mostly in the way of the setting. It made the collection of short stories feel very cohesive.
I’m thrilled that I enjoyed this, since I bought another book by the same author…I’ll be reading Chalk Mountain sometime in the coming months.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews