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Aberrant Mind
ABERRANT is defined as unusual, abnormal or different. The stories in this book not only differ from most of what you read, but also wildly from each other. A retired school teacher takes on an elder god and his minion; a werewolf picks fights with sea creatures; a neighbor’s lawn may be eating people. Twenty-two stories: scary, funny, weird and different.
In these pages, you will find darkness and fear, revulsion and terror. Mixed with it, however is quite a bit of humor. Sometimes both happen at the same time. So, open it up, join Jim as he fights off zombies with a potato cannon; witness the bloodbath reunion of the first man and his homicidal son; enjoy the monsters, the demons and the deranged.
A word of warning, though: you may never eat a bagel with lox again.
In these pages, you will find darkness and fear, revulsion and terror. Mixed with it, however is quite a bit of humor. Sometimes both happen at the same time. So, open it up, join Jim as he fights off zombies with a potato cannon; witness the bloodbath reunion of the first man and his homicidal son; enjoy the monsters, the demons and the deranged.
A word of warning, though: you may never eat a bagel with lox again.
188 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Ken MacGregor
97 books68 followersKen MacGregor’s short stories have appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines and podcasts. One of his stories was nominated for the Micro Award. Ken is a member in good standing of The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers and an Affiliate member of HWA. He lives in Michigan with his family.He can be found on Facebook (Ken MacGregor - Author), Amazon and at ken-macgregor.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 16, 2014
A diverse (adverse, perverse? ;^) collection of short, punchy horror stories that manage in just a few pages to be disturbingly evocative, amusingly perceptive and guiltily fun.
I haven't read the author's earlier work but this book is certainly an excellent place to start. He has found his voice and is confident enough to play with ideas and the reader to both of our benefit. Takes me back to my carefree days of reading sci-fi short stories, like mental fireworks exploding with new ideas and perspectives.
Full disclosure, I have known the author for a number of years, but my friendship with Ken is not the reason I bought the book. My friendship with Ken is the reason I had an opportunity to have a number of wonderful, engaging talks with Ken before he started writing. The reason I bought this book was in the hopes that his writing would express the same gritty intelligence, heart and will that I enjoyed in our friendship. I was very happy, even a little surprised to have those hopes so well fulfilled.
I haven't read the author's earlier work but this book is certainly an excellent place to start. He has found his voice and is confident enough to play with ideas and the reader to both of our benefit. Takes me back to my carefree days of reading sci-fi short stories, like mental fireworks exploding with new ideas and perspectives.
Full disclosure, I have known the author for a number of years, but my friendship with Ken is not the reason I bought the book. My friendship with Ken is the reason I had an opportunity to have a number of wonderful, engaging talks with Ken before he started writing. The reason I bought this book was in the hopes that his writing would express the same gritty intelligence, heart and will that I enjoyed in our friendship. I was very happy, even a little surprised to have those hopes so well fulfilled.
June 28, 2014
This book is a quick read, but it will stay with you after you are done. The stories range from quick shots of zombies and monsters to longer vignettes about women disappearing under the ocean and Adam taking out Cain. Given this, I think there is something in here for everyone.
February 16, 2015
I really enjoyed the stories in this book. The short stories quickly draw you in, and make you wonder what will happen. Then at the end you think, "Huh, I didn't expect that" and you can't wait to start the next one to see where it will take you. Witty humor. You really care about what happens to the characters. I highly recommend this book.
November 25, 2014
There are 22 stories in Ken MacGregor’s ‘Aberrant Mind,’ some are only a page or two long, others a deal longer. Some of the stories are very visceral, and as such will appeal to many readers. Ken likes monsters; they appear often in this book, and in a range of different forms from the monstrous figure thousands of feet high in ‘The abduction of Glynis Johnson’ – more god than monster, to Gavin, a diffident and boy-like werewolf who appears in ‘Seawolf’ and then later in ‘Arctic Wolf.’ Gavin is a restless werewolf looking for a fight challenge and he can win fights with polar bears, sharks and even grizzlies. He says that ‘just because he’s a werewolf doesn’t mean he’s a dick.’ He’s lonely and I'm glad he made friends with some guys in a remote Alaskan village after he confronted what was terrifying them. Of all the characters in ‘Aberrant Mind,’ Gavin is the most strongly developed. Maybe he’s the one MacGregor identifies with most himself, for what is clear about the majority of these monsters is that they are intimately involved with the human race – in fact, they are us, [and that includes you Gavin]. In fact, I did wonder if there’s a suggestion in ‘Aberrant Mind’ that if us humans were able to become monsters like Gavin with all his survival skills we might lead a better and more ‘wholesome’ life. However, when I read ‘Killer Bagel,’ a parasite story, and ‘Disaster Blanket,’ I changed my mind about that.
Another well depicted character is that of Klaus Engel, the creepy German piano teacher in ‘Protégé’ and again the monstrous element is hidden within the human. The premise for this story is one that has been explored many times before in horror stories, and so it has an honourable tradition. The same could be said for a couple of other stories, ‘Zombie ate my Girlfriend’ and ‘Bazooka Jim,’ that use the setting and situation developed by Robert Matheson in his famous ‘I am Legend.’ Bazooka Jim in particular demonstrates MacGregor’s terribly droll sense of humour in the choice of weapon that Jim makes to fight the zombies.
It would’ve felt strange, since MacGregor is employing all manner of known and popular monstrosities not to come across a vampire in this set of stories. ‘Havin a Bad Day,’ one of the shortest stories, concerns the thoughts of a new vampire just on the turn, a well-managed account which is delightfully humorous. Similarly ‘The First Case of the Year,’ made me laugh out aloud, and what I liked most about this story was that the concept was original. I particularly liked this line:- ‘Sam and I stood out like dirty, dented metal garbage cans at an outdoor wedding.’
Because I’m always drawn to originality in fiction and because I’m not a reader inclined towards the gory side of things, [although I do like stories that have guts], I most enjoyed the stories in ‘Aberrant Mind’ that stayed a bit closer to reality or were a little simpler, such as ‘Obsessive Compulsive Soldier’ in which military scientists succeed in their experiment to create a superhero, except there is a big problem. Or ‘The World’s Strongest Man and Tom’s Personal Demons.’ In ‘The World’s Strongest Man,’ MacGregor writes about traditional circus life as if he had really experienced it. Many writers would have resorted to stereotypes here, but instead MacGregor has researched and written circus characters in this detailed and entertaining story that sound real to me, [as someone who has lived with circus people].
As there are so many stories in ‘Aberrant Mind,’ I have left out one or two, just to make this review contained – although ‘Tom’s Personal Demons’ is one of the best stories, so must be mentioned. I like the premise of this story: the idea of being afraid of the dark. It’s a simple thought, but with huge power and great potential for a story. MacGregor has produced a well written portrayal of the lovers, Carla and Tom, and there are some neat details such as the fact that Carla is not able to wear a sleeping mask at night even though the lights are on because Tom is afraid of the dark. ‘Why don’t you get a sleeping mask?’ Heather asked.
‘I tried,’ Carla said. ‘It was like wearing glasses only worse because I was trying to sleep. I hate having anything on my face.’
Because some of the storylines in this book are so eccentric, I didn’t think the endings worked as well as they could’ve done in all cases, but therein lies the whole trick for writers of this genre; how to finally end a wild ride into the fantastical. However, another of my favourite stories, from near the beginning of ‘Aberrant Mind’ and a very creepy one, is, ‘A Lesson Learned from Archie’ which has a very good ending indeed.
Another well depicted character is that of Klaus Engel, the creepy German piano teacher in ‘Protégé’ and again the monstrous element is hidden within the human. The premise for this story is one that has been explored many times before in horror stories, and so it has an honourable tradition. The same could be said for a couple of other stories, ‘Zombie ate my Girlfriend’ and ‘Bazooka Jim,’ that use the setting and situation developed by Robert Matheson in his famous ‘I am Legend.’ Bazooka Jim in particular demonstrates MacGregor’s terribly droll sense of humour in the choice of weapon that Jim makes to fight the zombies.
It would’ve felt strange, since MacGregor is employing all manner of known and popular monstrosities not to come across a vampire in this set of stories. ‘Havin a Bad Day,’ one of the shortest stories, concerns the thoughts of a new vampire just on the turn, a well-managed account which is delightfully humorous. Similarly ‘The First Case of the Year,’ made me laugh out aloud, and what I liked most about this story was that the concept was original. I particularly liked this line:- ‘Sam and I stood out like dirty, dented metal garbage cans at an outdoor wedding.’
Because I’m always drawn to originality in fiction and because I’m not a reader inclined towards the gory side of things, [although I do like stories that have guts], I most enjoyed the stories in ‘Aberrant Mind’ that stayed a bit closer to reality or were a little simpler, such as ‘Obsessive Compulsive Soldier’ in which military scientists succeed in their experiment to create a superhero, except there is a big problem. Or ‘The World’s Strongest Man and Tom’s Personal Demons.’ In ‘The World’s Strongest Man,’ MacGregor writes about traditional circus life as if he had really experienced it. Many writers would have resorted to stereotypes here, but instead MacGregor has researched and written circus characters in this detailed and entertaining story that sound real to me, [as someone who has lived with circus people].
As there are so many stories in ‘Aberrant Mind,’ I have left out one or two, just to make this review contained – although ‘Tom’s Personal Demons’ is one of the best stories, so must be mentioned. I like the premise of this story: the idea of being afraid of the dark. It’s a simple thought, but with huge power and great potential for a story. MacGregor has produced a well written portrayal of the lovers, Carla and Tom, and there are some neat details such as the fact that Carla is not able to wear a sleeping mask at night even though the lights are on because Tom is afraid of the dark. ‘Why don’t you get a sleeping mask?’ Heather asked.
‘I tried,’ Carla said. ‘It was like wearing glasses only worse because I was trying to sleep. I hate having anything on my face.’
Because some of the storylines in this book are so eccentric, I didn’t think the endings worked as well as they could’ve done in all cases, but therein lies the whole trick for writers of this genre; how to finally end a wild ride into the fantastical. However, another of my favourite stories, from near the beginning of ‘Aberrant Mind’ and a very creepy one, is, ‘A Lesson Learned from Archie’ which has a very good ending indeed.
July 27, 2021
I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to find when I opened the pages to this book. I've read Ken MacGregor a bit in the past... but the cover for this one had me wondering how far he would go.
I know Ken, he's a very nice man, with wonderful children. A kind man. A thoughtful man. And after reading this, I can now also say that he is a man who has an imagination that goes to places - almost without effort - that I wish I could go more often. It's odd to say that, considering that scary stuff and the like have never really been my thing. But this... this is different.
In each of these short stories, Ken takes your brain to some strange and beyond interesting places.
When you get the book, and you really should, here are a few you'll not want to read too slowly...
Tom's Personal Demons has got to be my favorite of the lot. If you've ever been a kid, or known a child, who has been afraid of the dark, this story will resonate with you. Here's the thing I liked best about it: I felt emotionally connected to these people and the darkness. It sounds strange - even stranger after you read the story - but I felt like I completely understood what poor Tom was experiencing, but more, the way Carla was accepting, and the way she helped Stephanie to connect to her father. It's difficult to explain without spoilers, but suffice to say that the gentleness of parenting here, except when it wasn't, caught me in an uncomfortably familiar place. That, and I've never experienced the dark as a living entity before... and now, I feel it a little differently.
Bad Squirrel was especially fun for me, because, growing up with a father who did all he can to defeat them, and me cheering for the squirrels every time, this one made me happy in a place I'm not necessarily proud of acknowledging.
In Karen Gets Her Man, I was again reminded why storytellers and those who indulge in hours of vicarious living through the written word are the luckiest people on the planet. Storytellers and their readers get to do, be, and say things that would get most humans sent to solitary confinement forever. Fiction is our get out of jail free card, and we know it. This is the story every woman secretly plans for, at the same time she plans her wedding... but most never talk about it.
I waited far too long to read this short story collection by the hugely talented Ken MacGregor. You shouldn't!
I know Ken, he's a very nice man, with wonderful children. A kind man. A thoughtful man. And after reading this, I can now also say that he is a man who has an imagination that goes to places - almost without effort - that I wish I could go more often. It's odd to say that, considering that scary stuff and the like have never really been my thing. But this... this is different.
In each of these short stories, Ken takes your brain to some strange and beyond interesting places.
When you get the book, and you really should, here are a few you'll not want to read too slowly...
Tom's Personal Demons has got to be my favorite of the lot. If you've ever been a kid, or known a child, who has been afraid of the dark, this story will resonate with you. Here's the thing I liked best about it: I felt emotionally connected to these people and the darkness. It sounds strange - even stranger after you read the story - but I felt like I completely understood what poor Tom was experiencing, but more, the way Carla was accepting, and the way she helped Stephanie to connect to her father. It's difficult to explain without spoilers, but suffice to say that the gentleness of parenting here, except when it wasn't, caught me in an uncomfortably familiar place. That, and I've never experienced the dark as a living entity before... and now, I feel it a little differently.
Bad Squirrel was especially fun for me, because, growing up with a father who did all he can to defeat them, and me cheering for the squirrels every time, this one made me happy in a place I'm not necessarily proud of acknowledging.
In Karen Gets Her Man, I was again reminded why storytellers and those who indulge in hours of vicarious living through the written word are the luckiest people on the planet. Storytellers and their readers get to do, be, and say things that would get most humans sent to solitary confinement forever. Fiction is our get out of jail free card, and we know it. This is the story every woman secretly plans for, at the same time she plans her wedding... but most never talk about it.
I waited far too long to read this short story collection by the hugely talented Ken MacGregor. You shouldn't!
August 12, 2019
(This review originally appeared at Mad Scientist Journal.)
An Aberrant Mind (Sirens Call Publications, 2014) is a collection of very short horror stories by author Ken MacGregor. This book collects 22 short stories, which range in length from just a couple of pages to more traditional short stories. Because some of the stories are so short, it means there isn’t always much in the way of character development, but rather a scrambling, desperate clawing to not go down so quickly.
Many of the stories feature horrible things happening to the characters within, but the big distinction in the stories is how the characters react to their circumstances. Some are appropriately horrified, while others try to fight the inevitability. “The Abduction of Glynnis Johnson” is an example of the latter type, and one of the stories I enjoyed the most in this collection, as a retiree faces one of the Great Old Ones.
“Protégé,” one of the longer pieces in this collection, is a bit of a slow burn, where you know that something awful is going to happen, but it takes its time getting there, making it all the more torturous. Not all of the stories are completely terrifying, however; “SeaWolf” and “Arctic Wolf,” featuring the same main character, are much more humorous romps.
If you’re a fan of horror stories, especially ones that can be read quickly and occasionally feature flashes of humor, you’ll enjoy An Aberrant Mind.
The author provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
An Aberrant Mind (Sirens Call Publications, 2014) is a collection of very short horror stories by author Ken MacGregor. This book collects 22 short stories, which range in length from just a couple of pages to more traditional short stories. Because some of the stories are so short, it means there isn’t always much in the way of character development, but rather a scrambling, desperate clawing to not go down so quickly.
Many of the stories feature horrible things happening to the characters within, but the big distinction in the stories is how the characters react to their circumstances. Some are appropriately horrified, while others try to fight the inevitability. “The Abduction of Glynnis Johnson” is an example of the latter type, and one of the stories I enjoyed the most in this collection, as a retiree faces one of the Great Old Ones.
“Protégé,” one of the longer pieces in this collection, is a bit of a slow burn, where you know that something awful is going to happen, but it takes its time getting there, making it all the more torturous. Not all of the stories are completely terrifying, however; “SeaWolf” and “Arctic Wolf,” featuring the same main character, are much more humorous romps.
If you’re a fan of horror stories, especially ones that can be read quickly and occasionally feature flashes of humor, you’ll enjoy An Aberrant Mind.
The author provided us with a free copy of this novel in exchange for review consideration.
March 21, 2016
A creepy page turner. Thank you, Ken, for some heroes (or anti-heroes) I could cheer for and some of them living. Read this one with the lights on.....especially Tom's Person Demon's.
Creative, terrifying, and often funny.
If you like horror, then I bet you'll love it.
Now - must read something fluffy.
And for my Ypsi freinds - he's a local.
Creative, terrifying, and often funny.
If you like horror, then I bet you'll love it.
Now - must read something fluffy.
And for my Ypsi freinds - he's a local.
September 26, 2014
An awesome short story collection. If you enjoy being scared..you'll love this :)
July 20, 2020
Ken is skilled at quickly engaging the reader in his short stories and his writing takes my imagination places it wouldn't go on it's own. Maybe don't read it while you're eating, lol.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews