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The Restless Dark
Sleep should be a refuge. Here, it's a prison.
Tracey King and T.J. Lawler deliver five nightmares you can't wake up from-where silent watchers linger, shadows move when they shouldn't, and dreams leave scars. Featuring The Silent Watchers, Shadow Man, The Silent Scream, Dreams Don't Bleed, and Where Monsters Are Kind, plus chilling excerpts from their previous works, this collection will make you question what lurks beyond closed eyes.
Close your eyes-if you dare.
Tracey King and T.J. Lawler deliver five nightmares you can't wake up from-where silent watchers linger, shadows move when they shouldn't, and dreams leave scars. Featuring The Silent Watchers, Shadow Man, The Silent Scream, Dreams Don't Bleed, and Where Monsters Are Kind, plus chilling excerpts from their previous works, this collection will make you question what lurks beyond closed eyes.
Close your eyes-if you dare.
153 pages, ebook
Published June 6, 2025
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 12, 2025
I love sleep. No, seriously, just came back to the apartment, had a meeting, wrote this review… and now? Nap time.
I love sleep.
This collection was really good. Two authors (two minds) are diving into the horrors of sleep, dreams, and what lies beneath our brains.
What struck me most is how sometimes the terror of dreams can feel safer than waking life. The dream may be twisted, but at least it has a limit. The unknown? That’s worse. It’s personal, and it’s all in how we meet it.
And weirdly enough, these past few days I’ve had dreams that hit all the notes: comforting, disturbing, and downright bizarre…
The collection also includes excerpts from the authors’ other works, which I’ve read and rated before, so here I’ll just focus on the original pieces:
-The Silent Watchers – Lawler: 4/5
-Shadow Man – King: 4/5
-Dreams Don’t Bleed – Lawler: 5/5 (Might be my new Lawler favorite. I need to have a full-on mental conflab with myself about it).
-The Silent Scream – King: 3/5
-Where Monsters Are King – Lawler: 4.5/5
June 7, 2025
I like what I’ve read previously from Tracey King and TD Lawler, but even still, I didn’t expect to like The Restless Dark as much as I did. The distinct styles between King and Lawler really add a lot of texture and variety to reading. They both transport you into their respective stories in different ways—King through detailed, methodical descriptions, and Lawler through intense emotional amplification.
Shadow Man was my favorite read here: eerie, oppressive, and absolutely not something I recommend reading in bed.
Other standouts include The Silent Scream and Where Monsters Are King—each bringing its own flavor of fear while still feeling part of the same uneasy dreamscape. And of course I could read The Hollow Gaze every month and not get tired of it. It’s somber, strange, and beautifully written.
The Restless Dark is great and a rare themed collection that doesn’t feel ultra repetitive. King and Lawler were meant to write together, and I’d love to see more collaborations!
Shadow Man was my favorite read here: eerie, oppressive, and absolutely not something I recommend reading in bed.
Other standouts include The Silent Scream and Where Monsters Are King—each bringing its own flavor of fear while still feeling part of the same uneasy dreamscape. And of course I could read The Hollow Gaze every month and not get tired of it. It’s somber, strange, and beautifully written.
The Restless Dark is great and a rare themed collection that doesn’t feel ultra repetitive. King and Lawler were meant to write together, and I’d love to see more collaborations!
November 28, 2025
I was looking forward to this collection from prolific indie horror authors Tracey King and TD Lawler and it did not disappoint. Both great writers in their own right (highly recommend King's What Lies Within and Lawler's Super Beast) their alternating contributions to this anthology really contrast and compliment each other's. With stories featuring demonic torture, shadow figures, inescapable nightmares, suffocating gloom and gore, there's something here for every horror fan.
May 30, 2025
Next Review
🥊 BRO vs. THE RESTLESS DARK 🥊
📚 The Book: In this tag-team horror bout, Lawler and King come together to ruin bedtime with tales of dream demons, creepy whispers, and horrors that follow you from the sheets to the streets…plus some excerpts from their other work to keep the terror going even after the main event ends.
⸻
💪 The Bro: Look—themed horror collections are like buffets: a lotta the same flavor, even if the chefs are great. But The Restless Dark actually pulls it off, thanks to the switch-ups between King and Lawler. King’s out here painting horror in 4K Ultra HD—her descriptions go hard. Meanwhile, Lawler sneaks up on you with that emotional gut punch.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 1: First Impressions
• I went in skeptical. Sleep horror? Been there, snoozed that. But then the vibes kicked in.
• Even though the first story didn’t rock me like a cradle, the tone was set.
• What really works here is the variety—Shadow Man goes full nightmare-fuel, while The Hollow Gaze takes grief and cradles it in something bleak and beautiful.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 2: In the Thick of It
• Shadow Man is a banger—absolutely terrifying, and probably not safe to read in bed unless you want to meet your own hallway silhouette at 3AM.
• The Hollow Gaze got me, bro. Real emotional weight.
• But The Silent Scream and Where Monsters Are King both deliver with creepy premises and strong finishes.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 3: Final Verdict
• This is a really solid horror sampler. Not every story is a knockout, but enough of them land that I’d throw down money for a sequel. My biggest gripe? It’s over too soon.
• Also…can we talk about how The Shadow Man and Phantasmagoria’s sleep demon should throw hands in a crossover? King & Josh White, make it happen!
⸻
🔥 FINAL BELL: ARC Bro Scorecard 🔥
🥊 Split Decision – A creepy, dream-haunted brawl of a book with two very different fighters in the ring. King and Lawler make for a killer tag team.
🥊 BRO vs. THE RESTLESS DARK 🥊
📚 The Book: In this tag-team horror bout, Lawler and King come together to ruin bedtime with tales of dream demons, creepy whispers, and horrors that follow you from the sheets to the streets…plus some excerpts from their other work to keep the terror going even after the main event ends.
⸻
💪 The Bro: Look—themed horror collections are like buffets: a lotta the same flavor, even if the chefs are great. But The Restless Dark actually pulls it off, thanks to the switch-ups between King and Lawler. King’s out here painting horror in 4K Ultra HD—her descriptions go hard. Meanwhile, Lawler sneaks up on you with that emotional gut punch.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 1: First Impressions
• I went in skeptical. Sleep horror? Been there, snoozed that. But then the vibes kicked in.
• Even though the first story didn’t rock me like a cradle, the tone was set.
• What really works here is the variety—Shadow Man goes full nightmare-fuel, while The Hollow Gaze takes grief and cradles it in something bleak and beautiful.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 2: In the Thick of It
• Shadow Man is a banger—absolutely terrifying, and probably not safe to read in bed unless you want to meet your own hallway silhouette at 3AM.
• The Hollow Gaze got me, bro. Real emotional weight.
• But The Silent Scream and Where Monsters Are King both deliver with creepy premises and strong finishes.
⸻
🥊 ROUND 3: Final Verdict
• This is a really solid horror sampler. Not every story is a knockout, but enough of them land that I’d throw down money for a sequel. My biggest gripe? It’s over too soon.
• Also…can we talk about how The Shadow Man and Phantasmagoria’s sleep demon should throw hands in a crossover? King & Josh White, make it happen!
⸻
🔥 FINAL BELL: ARC Bro Scorecard 🔥
🥊 Split Decision – A creepy, dream-haunted brawl of a book with two very different fighters in the ring. King and Lawler make for a killer tag team.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews