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All the Futures That Never Happened
A con man who senses people's deepest fears must face a deadly monster holding souls captive in a plague-stricken town.
Escher, a wandering Romani, can precisely sense what every individual is afraid of - no matter how small or suppressed. Although not magic, it's certainly a useful and exploitative trick for a con man. That is until he is mistaken for a spiritualist medium and becomes entangled with Isla, an enigmatic woman possessed by a monster called the Keroax - which holds the souls of cremated people hostage in the plague-stricken town of Pathyem.
Escher, a wandering Romani, can precisely sense what every individual is afraid of - no matter how small or suppressed. Although not magic, it's certainly a useful and exploitative trick for a con man. That is until he is mistaken for a spiritualist medium and becomes entangled with Isla, an enigmatic woman possessed by a monster called the Keroax - which holds the souls of cremated people hostage in the plague-stricken town of Pathyem.
134 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 1, 2026
This short novel constantly dances on the edge of a cliff.
The main character is a petty thief - a con man, a felon, and certainly not a criminal. He is an expert at reading people, a necessary skill for leveraging their weaknesses in order to part them with their possessions.
Escher (his first name is a quiet nod to the artist, a master at designing labyrinths) becomes close to a young woman named Isla. She is sick, possessed by a monster named Keroax. The monster spits out the memories of hundreds of dead people. Escher listens. He becomes trapped with Isla. They listen to the monster in order to find a way out of insanity. The memories are the only way to understand, but what is really the truth?
The monster leads them to a dark exploration of the worst that humanity has to offer. Blood sticks to the characters like a stain. Escher understands, ever the empath. He stares at the abyss with keen eyes. The man who was an expert at vanishing is now trapped in a web of memories, and the Keroax runs the show. Unlike humans, the monsters knows what he wants...
This is an extremely dark and somewhat confusing novel. The author plays with broken timelines, flash backs, altered memories. If you live with PTSD, you already know what it looks like to walk through the labyrinth in search of the truth. I am amazed that Jim Stallings somehow managed to write a dark fantasy PTSD simulator. A great read if put in the right hands.
I received this novel as an ARC through NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Jim Stallings, and to the editor Oceaniacom Press, for sending me your book in exchange for an honest review.
The main character is a petty thief - a con man, a felon, and certainly not a criminal. He is an expert at reading people, a necessary skill for leveraging their weaknesses in order to part them with their possessions.
Escher (his first name is a quiet nod to the artist, a master at designing labyrinths) becomes close to a young woman named Isla. She is sick, possessed by a monster named Keroax. The monster spits out the memories of hundreds of dead people. Escher listens. He becomes trapped with Isla. They listen to the monster in order to find a way out of insanity. The memories are the only way to understand, but what is really the truth?
The monster leads them to a dark exploration of the worst that humanity has to offer. Blood sticks to the characters like a stain. Escher understands, ever the empath. He stares at the abyss with keen eyes. The man who was an expert at vanishing is now trapped in a web of memories, and the Keroax runs the show. Unlike humans, the monsters knows what he wants...
This is an extremely dark and somewhat confusing novel. The author plays with broken timelines, flash backs, altered memories. If you live with PTSD, you already know what it looks like to walk through the labyrinth in search of the truth. I am amazed that Jim Stallings somehow managed to write a dark fantasy PTSD simulator. A great read if put in the right hands.
I received this novel as an ARC through NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Jim Stallings, and to the editor Oceaniacom Press, for sending me your book in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2026
Escher is a drifter with an unusual skill; he can sense exactly what people fear, no matter how deeply they bury it. It’s not magic, just intuition sharpened into something almost supernatural, and he’s used it to survive as a con man. But when he’s mistaken for a spiritual medium, his carefully controlled life takes a darker turn. Drawn into the orbit of Isla, a mysterious woman seemingly possessed by a force known as the Keroax, Escher finds himself in a plague-ridden town where the line between the living and the dead feels dangerously thin. As rumours of trapped souls and ancient horrors surface, what began as a simple deception becomes something far more real and far more dangerous.
The book is eerie, introspective, and quietly unsettling. Jim Stallings builds a story that feels more like a slow unravelling than a straightforward thriller, using atmosphere and ambiguity to draw you in. Escher is intriguing, morally flexible, observant, and always slightly out of his depth once the story shifts beyond the con. His ability to read fear becomes both a strength and a liability, especially as the supernatural elements begin to take hold.
The book is eerie, introspective, and quietly unsettling. Jim Stallings builds a story that feels more like a slow unravelling than a straightforward thriller, using atmosphere and ambiguity to draw you in. Escher is intriguing, morally flexible, observant, and always slightly out of his depth once the story shifts beyond the con. His ability to read fear becomes both a strength and a liability, especially as the supernatural elements begin to take hold.
March 17, 2026
This book had me at the edge of my seat! I genuinely didn't want to put my kindle down!
A con-man named Escher meet young woman named Isla and becomes close with her. She is actually possessed by a monster. Both of them trying their best to hold onto their sanity. I did feel a bit confusing in the beginning of the book, the pacing didn't work for me really, but I did overall enjoy the story.
I do feel like to confusion was intentional if that makes sense.
Thank you Jim Stallings for sending me this ARC!
A con-man named Escher meet young woman named Isla and becomes close with her. She is actually possessed by a monster. Both of them trying their best to hold onto their sanity. I did feel a bit confusing in the beginning of the book, the pacing didn't work for me really, but I did overall enjoy the story.
I do feel like to confusion was intentional if that makes sense.
Thank you Jim Stallings for sending me this ARC!
February 12, 2026
Didn't want to put it down! Captivating.
April 1, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley, Oceaniacom Press and the author for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.
All the Futures That Never Happened has a fresh take on spiritualism, possession and hauntings that I haven't read before, and I really enjoyed the suspense build-up as the mystery unfolded. I didn't warm up to Escher in the beginning, but towards the end I felt for both him and Isla. Their gifts and talents we're both unique and a curse - If I could I would have wished a happier ending for the both of them.
That being said, it took me a couple of chapters before I got invested in the story, mainly because of how verbose the writing style was for both text and dialogue. I love reading stories where the author "paints with words", but in this particular case it made the beginning of the story very slow to read through before it hooked me. It got more balanced as the story progressed and more characters were introduced, but for a short novella a slow start isn't ideal.
All in all I highly recommend this book for fans of mystic thrillers and horrors!
All the Futures That Never Happened has a fresh take on spiritualism, possession and hauntings that I haven't read before, and I really enjoyed the suspense build-up as the mystery unfolded. I didn't warm up to Escher in the beginning, but towards the end I felt for both him and Isla. Their gifts and talents we're both unique and a curse - If I could I would have wished a happier ending for the both of them.
That being said, it took me a couple of chapters before I got invested in the story, mainly because of how verbose the writing style was for both text and dialogue. I love reading stories where the author "paints with words", but in this particular case it made the beginning of the story very slow to read through before it hooked me. It got more balanced as the story progressed and more characters were introduced, but for a short novella a slow start isn't ideal.
All in all I highly recommend this book for fans of mystic thrillers and horrors!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews