Liminal Madness

by Caitlin duffy, Darren Todd, Fendy S Tulodo

Hiding just behind the fragile skin of reality, like a parasite beneath the flesh, festers a world where nothing makes sense. Time doesn't move—it twitches, stalls, reverses in spasms, dragging you through the same moment again and again with subtle, sickening differences. Space twists into unnatural shapes, folding in on itself like a body contorted in agony, corridors stretching into infinity before snapping shut behind you. The very laws that govern existence—gravity, light, sound—fracture into chaos, whispering rules that change without warning. You've crossed into a liminal space, a rotting no-man's-land between worlds, where the familiar turns hostile, and every shadow hums with the promise of something watching, waiting. Here, nothing is as it seems

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2025

Reviews

[Naito Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing anthologies is never easy—there are always stories that resonate more than others. But when an anthology has such a clear promise in its title, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. Liminal Madness delivers on that promise perfectly.

Secret learning rooms, never-ending nightmares, clinical death, mirror worlds—this collection dives headfirst into liminal places and in-between states, and it’s genuinely fascinating. The stories explore those unsettling thresholds where reality slips, bends, or fractures, and that sense of unease is consistent throughout the anthology.

I especially loved that most of the stories are quite short. They’re long enough to explore a concept and leave an impression, but not so long that they overstay their welcome. Each piece feels like a perfect campfire tale—around a ten-minute read—ideal for dipping in and out.

The “madness” in the title is no exaggeration. Some stories intentionally blur meaning and logic until you can barely grasp what’s happening, and honestly, that’s part of the fun. Sometimes, we want stories that embrace confusion—and this anthology does exactly that.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to receive an ARC of Liminal Madness as a big fan of liminal space horror.
However, I'm really sorry to say it was a let down. Even the stories that held a lot of promise left me feeling very...meh with Goosebumps episode style endings and twists that I didn't care about.
It wasn't that they were formulaic and predictable. I can enjoy a formula story so long as the story is told well with tension, characters you care about or at least are interested in what happens to them, and interesting directions in plot but overall I was just bored. It got to the point that half way through the book I was starting to dread reading another story.
I think as a collection of shorts its middling. A lot of my let down was due to how enthusiastic I was at the start. I really do love liminal horror and there isn't enough out there that does it well. Unfortunately, this didn't do it for me. Sorry.

[Milt Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded to 3.

24 stories, yet the book felt curiously disappointing. It started quite strong, the first 3 stories were good (namely the opening story, Caitlin Duffy's "The Study Room," the next one, "Unit 78" by Darren Todd, and the genuinely weird and original "Sir Left" by Fendy S. Tulodo). Gradually, though, both tone, voice, writing style and structure became pretty much the same, as if everything were written by the same person. One exception was D. Winchester's "A Waste of Time," the only Backrooms story, whih had a couple of creepy moments. For an anthology about liminality, there was a marked lack of atmosphere and tension.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.