What do you think?
Rate this book
Dark Chronicles
Careful what you wish for. In Dark Chronicles, wishes have teeth.
Ten speculative tales brimming with twisted humour and delicious a pepper that lets you in on other people’s thoughts, a radio show that predicts your fate, and a blood-thirsty ghost who refuses to let go.
Award-winning author Karmen Spiljak delivers a chilling and razor-sharp mix of twists and dark suspense, perfect for readers who like their stories to unsettle and linger.
Ten dark tales. Ten twisted fates. One thrilling collection.
Ten speculative tales brimming with twisted humour and delicious a pepper that lets you in on other people’s thoughts, a radio show that predicts your fate, and a blood-thirsty ghost who refuses to let go.
Award-winning author Karmen Spiljak delivers a chilling and razor-sharp mix of twists and dark suspense, perfect for readers who like their stories to unsettle and linger.
Ten dark tales. Ten twisted fates. One thrilling collection.
- GenresHorror
178 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 23, 2026
17 people want to read
About the author
Karmen Špiljak
10 books47 followersKarmen Špiljak is an award-winning author of suspense, horror and speculative fiction, a developmental editor and an Author Accelerator certified book coach for fiction.
Her thriller, 'No Such Thing as Goodbye', was shortlisted and received an honourable mention on 'The Black Spring Crime Fiction Prize 2020'. Her short story collection, 'Add Cyanide to Taste', won the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Award for best short stories. In 2023, LeVar Burton Reads licensed her short story, 'Three Roses', for their podcast. Her collection, 'Pass the Cyanide', won 'The 2023 Wishing Shelf Awards Bronze'.
She currently lives in Belgrade with her husband, two cats and an unknown number of fictional characters. Find out more about her fiction on https://www.karmenspiljak.com and about her book coaching on https://storyallegiance.com .
Her thriller, 'No Such Thing as Goodbye', was shortlisted and received an honourable mention on 'The Black Spring Crime Fiction Prize 2020'. Her short story collection, 'Add Cyanide to Taste', won the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Award for best short stories. In 2023, LeVar Burton Reads licensed her short story, 'Three Roses', for their podcast. Her collection, 'Pass the Cyanide', won 'The 2023 Wishing Shelf Awards Bronze'.
She currently lives in Belgrade with her husband, two cats and an unknown number of fictional characters. Find out more about her fiction on https://www.karmenspiljak.com and about her book coaching on https://storyallegiance.com .
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 25, 2026
In a Nutshell: A short story collection containing some dark speculative fiction tales. The darkness isn't outright paranormal, more like suspenseful or atmospheric. Creative plots, good writing, mostly good endings. A tad repetitive and/or confusing at times due to flashbacks, but this isn't a major issue. I enjoyed most of the stories. Much recommended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am very much a judge-a-book-by-the-cover reader. (Feel free to judge me for this! 🤭) This often results in my missing out on some exemplary works just because the cover didn’t catch my eye. This is one such case. Had an offer to read-&-review this book not popped up through another source, I would have missed out on an entertaining collection of dark suspense.
This indie collection contains ten stories from varied speculative fiction subgenres. None of the stories are outright paranormal, though there are a couple with spooky vibes. The content primarily delivers on atmosphere, building up each tale steadily until it reaches a crescendo of a finish.
The author’s foreword at the beginning of the book – a placement I much appreciate – makes clear the rationale behind the title and the kind of darkness to be expected from the book. I love it when a book sets expectations clearly right at the start. And even better when it delivers on those promises, right?
The last para of the GR blurb says that this book has “Ten dark tales. Ten twisted fates.” This captures the essence of the book well. Every story contains a ‘twisted fate’ for the main character, but this turnaround doesn’t become predictable or repetitive. At times, it is a direct consequence of their actions. At times, an unexpected result of their naivete. And at times, it’s sheer bad luck.
The structure of these stories is admirable. Almost every tale begins with a innocent scenario. Not a *seemingly* innocent scenario, an actually innocent one. But just like a quality car can rev from zero to hundred without any indication, the stories rev up their spook value until we realise that we are catching our breaths, waiting to see how the character comes out of this mess. Needless to say, it is almost impossible to guess this accurately in most cases.
The pacing of the book is fabulous. The 180 pages zoom by, not just because of the fast tempo but also because the writing keeps us flipping the pages wanting to know the whats and whys of the proceedings.
The author is a Slovenian living in Belgrade, but this factor is visible only in a couple of the stories. Most of the tales are generic enough to have been set anywhere. This was both a positive and a negative for me. I have never read a Slovenian author before, so I would have loved for some deeper glimpses of the setting. It probably isn't justified to expect a good use of the locale from a speculative short story collection, but the author did manage this well in one of the stories.
The only part where the writing could have worked slightly better for me is in the frequent flashbacks. Many of the stories have the main characters going into introspective mode, which often involve flashbacks. After a while, the back-and-forth got a teeny bit tedious, especially because the ongoing narrative was so captivating that I wanted to read what happened next without any deviations and distractions.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Every single one of the ten stories earned 3.5 stars or more, which means I either liked them or loved them. This is an amazing performance! Here are my top favourites with 4+ stars each:
Overall, I had a wonderful time reading this set of stories. After a long time, I found a collection that kept me wanting to read more instead of sticking to my usual schedule of reading 1-2 stories per day. The distinctness of the plots, the fast pacing, and the creepy vibes ensured that this collection delivered as promised. I’d love to read more fiction from this talented indie author.
Definitely recommended to speculative fiction readers who enjoy short fiction.
4.05 stars, based on the average of my rating for each tale. (If you are familiar with my ratings, you know that an average that goes to 4 stars and beyond is outstanding for an anthology. Had it not been for the ending of some of the stories, my average would have been even higher.)
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Karmen Špiljak for a complimentary copy of “Dark Chronicles”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am very much a judge-a-book-by-the-cover reader. (Feel free to judge me for this! 🤭) This often results in my missing out on some exemplary works just because the cover didn’t catch my eye. This is one such case. Had an offer to read-&-review this book not popped up through another source, I would have missed out on an entertaining collection of dark suspense.
This indie collection contains ten stories from varied speculative fiction subgenres. None of the stories are outright paranormal, though there are a couple with spooky vibes. The content primarily delivers on atmosphere, building up each tale steadily until it reaches a crescendo of a finish.
The author’s foreword at the beginning of the book – a placement I much appreciate – makes clear the rationale behind the title and the kind of darkness to be expected from the book. I love it when a book sets expectations clearly right at the start. And even better when it delivers on those promises, right?
The last para of the GR blurb says that this book has “Ten dark tales. Ten twisted fates.” This captures the essence of the book well. Every story contains a ‘twisted fate’ for the main character, but this turnaround doesn’t become predictable or repetitive. At times, it is a direct consequence of their actions. At times, an unexpected result of their naivete. And at times, it’s sheer bad luck.
The structure of these stories is admirable. Almost every tale begins with a innocent scenario. Not a *seemingly* innocent scenario, an actually innocent one. But just like a quality car can rev from zero to hundred without any indication, the stories rev up their spook value until we realise that we are catching our breaths, waiting to see how the character comes out of this mess. Needless to say, it is almost impossible to guess this accurately in most cases.
The pacing of the book is fabulous. The 180 pages zoom by, not just because of the fast tempo but also because the writing keeps us flipping the pages wanting to know the whats and whys of the proceedings.
The author is a Slovenian living in Belgrade, but this factor is visible only in a couple of the stories. Most of the tales are generic enough to have been set anywhere. This was both a positive and a negative for me. I have never read a Slovenian author before, so I would have loved for some deeper glimpses of the setting. It probably isn't justified to expect a good use of the locale from a speculative short story collection, but the author did manage this well in one of the stories.
The only part where the writing could have worked slightly better for me is in the frequent flashbacks. Many of the stories have the main characters going into introspective mode, which often involve flashbacks. After a while, the back-and-forth got a teeny bit tedious, especially because the ongoing narrative was so captivating that I wanted to read what happened next without any deviations and distractions.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Every single one of the ten stories earned 3.5 stars or more, which means I either liked them or loved them. This is an amazing performance! Here are my top favourites with 4+ stars each:
🏚 A Thousand Smiles Away: Mild horror, more atmospheric than actual. But the suspense was consistent throughout. Loved the story, hated the ending. How could you stop at that point, dear author??!? 😢 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍲The Feast: Loved the creativity of the concept, loved most of the implementation. Had the finale contained a little less infodump, this would have been an easy 5 stars for me. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🤖 Andy: Sometimes, you can guess where a story will go, but the writing and the plotting will still keep you hooked. This is one such case. Not only was the story fascinating, but it also gave me worries about this being the future of AI because it felt so realistic. 😬 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌱 The Seed of Truth: When the story started with a plant, I absolutely didn't expect the angle it would go in. This was wild and creepy! Kept my attention throughout. Lost a star only because of the ending. Not because it was abrupt but because it left me anxious to know what would happen next. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📧 The Reply: Intriguing, though not entirely surprising. A little more action would have elevated this to a five star. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
👗 Against the Grain Line: This wasn't that dark compared to the rest of the entries. But it was a good story nonetheless, offering Grimm-fairytale vibes. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
💰 For a Good Price: A well-written story that depicts human behaviour accurately. I could guess where this was going, but was still entertained (in a morbid way.) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Overall, I had a wonderful time reading this set of stories. After a long time, I found a collection that kept me wanting to read more instead of sticking to my usual schedule of reading 1-2 stories per day. The distinctness of the plots, the fast pacing, and the creepy vibes ensured that this collection delivered as promised. I’d love to read more fiction from this talented indie author.
Definitely recommended to speculative fiction readers who enjoy short fiction.
4.05 stars, based on the average of my rating for each tale. (If you are familiar with my ratings, you know that an average that goes to 4 stars and beyond is outstanding for an anthology. Had it not been for the ending of some of the stories, my average would have been even higher.)
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Karmen Špiljak for a complimentary copy of “Dark Chronicles”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
January 8, 2026
The stories are the perfect length to give a taste of disquiet, a moderate sense of suspense, and linger in your brain for long after.
I quite enjoyed reading them all.
I quite enjoyed reading them all.
January 25, 2026
Full Review at www.NerdyNerdyBookBook.com
January 25, 2026
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Dark Chronicles' by Karmen Špiljak
OMG!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE ,LOVED THIS BOOK OF SHORT STORIES, AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, GRIPPING AND PAGE TURNING EXPLOSIVE MUST READ!! ANOTHER FAB READ BY ! KARMEN ONE OF THE BEST, CHILLING AND DISTURBING HORROR ANTHOLOGIES I HAVE EVER READ!! ! KARMEN DOES IT YET AGAIN!! CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT ELSE SHE COMES UP WITH NEXT!
OMFG!!!! WTF!?? JUST WOW!!! Just flipping wow!!!! What another absolutely epic page turner!!! Well done to Karmen Špiljak on yet another absolutely incredible book!!
This is the second book I have read by this extremely talented author. I have also read 'Pass The Cyanide' which I would also HIGHLY recommend.
This book is very well written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all.
An addictive and strange collection of 10 short stories filled with karma, magic, science fiction, wishes, AI, regrets, darkness, uniqueness and absolutely everything you could ask for in a gripping page turner plus so very much more!!!!. As I always do with books of short stories or poems I will say a bit about them individually and then give an overall rating at the end. These are the stories that are included in order, a short description of what they are about:
💰 A Celebration: In this story we meet Donald Amon Tharibald who is extremely happy that his meeting went well. He is on his way home in his self driving car and enjoying some Bourbon when an episode of "Big Buck's Champion" comes on the radio. The broadcaster on the radio is telling the listeners about the next "Big Bucks Champion" who started off low but built their way up in the world. As the presenter moves on to tell the listeners about how this "champion" got to where he was by making money while hundreds of people lost their jobs Donald starts to think they are talking about him. The presenter confirms this and goes on to say how the board stitched Donald up on what happened next predicting Donald's fate. Donald starts to panic and get annoyed but how will this story end? A brilliant short story of comeuppance and karma.
🏠 A Thousand Smiles Away: Dana hates the house that she has moved into. It is her partner Petar's house but he had lived there wife his wife Biljana who has passed away. Sha hates the colours, the feeling the house gives and that nothing seems to work. The house is cold, windows open and music plays on it's own. Dana is alone in the house with Petar working away when things go from bad to worse. Is it haunted or is it just in Dana's mind? Read this story to find out for yourselves!!
📺 Make A Wish: Wesley works in marketing and is working on his latest campaign. Martha from Human Resources isn't too impressed with the advert saying that it seems to falsify the product. However it is Wesley's 55th birthday and he is not interested. He goes out for drinks with his friends but when he wakes up things are not the same. A great story about being careful what you wish for.
🍽 The Feast: I previously read this story which was also published in "Pass The Cyanide" but I enjoyed reading it again as it's been a while since I read that. Dee and Finn have been invited to Finn's friend Eric's home. Eric disappeared for years and Finn is hoping to find out why. However they have been at the house constantly eating for 2/3 days and still none the wiser. They are starting to get suspicious but Eric is about to reveal all. Maybe some things are best left unsaid?
🤖 Andy: Frederick has convinced his CEO Theo to get him a digital twin, an identical AI Echolite model (also known as an Andy) avatar that will take over admin, video calls and more freeing him up to do his other work while saving the business more money in the long run. Frederick has to train him to be exactly like him and has also signed an NDA so he cannot tell people about having an Andy, not even his partner. It goes so well that Theo decides to bring in the "bigger" version, the EchoPrime, which is a full size AI robot that is an exact replica of Frederick in looks, behaviour and even feels human. Frederick isn't happy as the Andy is already doing a better job than him and his clients are getting on more with the AI version of him than the real one. When Frederick has a stroke that puts him in hospital the Echoprime starts taking over more and more. This story is actually scarily realistic especially with the way things are going with AI!
🌶 The Seed of Truth: Andrea is a journalist but fed up of being given the rubbish pieces. She decides to experiment with something she found on the dark web. She buys 3 Capsicum cogitationis seeds of a dealer. These seeds grow peppers tat when eaten make you hear other people's thoughts. She wants to use them to discover the thoughts of someone famous and then sell her story and get rich. However things dont go to plan when she gets overwhelmed by people's thoughts and then things take a dark turn. Definitely didn't expect that ending!
🕯 The Blaze: Anita makes a wish while lighting a candle on the grave of famous actress Lilian Gladstone wishing her life to be just like Lillian's was even if it's to the detriment of others. Any intriguing story about the grass not always being greener on the other side and to be careful what you wish for.
📧 The Reply: When Francisca gets an email from herself she ends up meeting woman who looks just like her and says she is her but from another dimension. The Fran from the other dimension says that they need to swap dimensions to save the world. Francisca is a scientist and working on blackholes and Gravity Forges. However to save the worlds Francisca needs to go the parallel universe, learn how to create a Gravity Forge and return to this world and create it. Francisca weighs up the pros and cons with one of the cons being that in Frans dimension her Mother us still alive. Will she swap universes and if she does what will happen?
👗 Against the Grain Line: Beatrice owns and runs Fabric Tales. She is a very talented seamstress as the dresses she makes are made with her magic. When Daniel Bragal, a powerful man who owns most of the town, turns up demanding she makes a dress for his daughter Madeline. Beatrice says she will but with 3 rules that she has. Daniel is not happy but Beatrice only has the dress wearers wishes at heart. However by doing what's best for Madeline will have consequences for Beatrice. Whose wishes will Beatrice follow?
📜 For a Good Price: Jon is on his way home from work and is freezing cold when he spots Nick's convenience store. He finds the perfect hat but Nick does not accept cash or card. To get what they want customers must give up something else and sign a contract. You can buy anything at Nick's shop but it all comes at a price, it all depends on how badly you want something.
An absolutely amazing collection of dark, unique, thought provoking and strange short stories each filled with randomness and PERFECT for fans of uniqueness, darkness, karma and/or short stories! A fantastic collection of short stories with an excellent range of situations, characters, locations and narratives. My favourites were definitely 'Make A Wish', 'The Blaze' and 'For A Good Price'
Grab your copy of 'Dark Chronicles' to discover your favourite story!!
There is a great mix of stories so there is definitely something in there for everyone. This book is ideal to be able to pick up and read a story during a break or while making a cuppa!! The excellent descriptions throughout ensures you feel and see everything the characters are seeing, doing and feeling!!! The fact that these are short stories also allows you to pick it up and read a story at a time or read it in one sitting which is perfect for those who like to read multiple books at one time. Karmen has absolutely amazing writing skills and an incredible imagination and I cannot wait to read more of her books!!
Grab your copy of 'Dark Chronicles' and discover which stories you love!!! This is why you are one of my favourite authors Karmen and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into more of your books!!
Overall an amazing selection of unique, dark and intriguing stories with something for everyone!!
#DarkChronicles #KarmenŠpiljak #KarmenSpiljak #RachelsRandomResources #rararesources
@KarmenŠpiljak @KarmenSpiljak @RachelsRandomResources @rararesources
https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__...
https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhi...
https://www.facebook.com/GoldenOldies...
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3...
https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/a...
Review for 'Dark Chronicles' by Karmen Špiljak
OMG!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE ,LOVED THIS BOOK OF SHORT STORIES, AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, GRIPPING AND PAGE TURNING EXPLOSIVE MUST READ!! ANOTHER FAB READ BY ! KARMEN ONE OF THE BEST, CHILLING AND DISTURBING HORROR ANTHOLOGIES I HAVE EVER READ!! ! KARMEN DOES IT YET AGAIN!! CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT ELSE SHE COMES UP WITH NEXT!
OMFG!!!! WTF!?? JUST WOW!!! Just flipping wow!!!! What another absolutely epic page turner!!! Well done to Karmen Špiljak on yet another absolutely incredible book!!
This is the second book I have read by this extremely talented author. I have also read 'Pass The Cyanide' which I would also HIGHLY recommend.
This book is very well written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all.
An addictive and strange collection of 10 short stories filled with karma, magic, science fiction, wishes, AI, regrets, darkness, uniqueness and absolutely everything you could ask for in a gripping page turner plus so very much more!!!!. As I always do with books of short stories or poems I will say a bit about them individually and then give an overall rating at the end. These are the stories that are included in order, a short description of what they are about:
💰 A Celebration: In this story we meet Donald Amon Tharibald who is extremely happy that his meeting went well. He is on his way home in his self driving car and enjoying some Bourbon when an episode of "Big Buck's Champion" comes on the radio. The broadcaster on the radio is telling the listeners about the next "Big Bucks Champion" who started off low but built their way up in the world. As the presenter moves on to tell the listeners about how this "champion" got to where he was by making money while hundreds of people lost their jobs Donald starts to think they are talking about him. The presenter confirms this and goes on to say how the board stitched Donald up on what happened next predicting Donald's fate. Donald starts to panic and get annoyed but how will this story end? A brilliant short story of comeuppance and karma.
🏠 A Thousand Smiles Away: Dana hates the house that she has moved into. It is her partner Petar's house but he had lived there wife his wife Biljana who has passed away. Sha hates the colours, the feeling the house gives and that nothing seems to work. The house is cold, windows open and music plays on it's own. Dana is alone in the house with Petar working away when things go from bad to worse. Is it haunted or is it just in Dana's mind? Read this story to find out for yourselves!!
📺 Make A Wish: Wesley works in marketing and is working on his latest campaign. Martha from Human Resources isn't too impressed with the advert saying that it seems to falsify the product. However it is Wesley's 55th birthday and he is not interested. He goes out for drinks with his friends but when he wakes up things are not the same. A great story about being careful what you wish for.
🍽 The Feast: I previously read this story which was also published in "Pass The Cyanide" but I enjoyed reading it again as it's been a while since I read that. Dee and Finn have been invited to Finn's friend Eric's home. Eric disappeared for years and Finn is hoping to find out why. However they have been at the house constantly eating for 2/3 days and still none the wiser. They are starting to get suspicious but Eric is about to reveal all. Maybe some things are best left unsaid?
🤖 Andy: Frederick has convinced his CEO Theo to get him a digital twin, an identical AI Echolite model (also known as an Andy) avatar that will take over admin, video calls and more freeing him up to do his other work while saving the business more money in the long run. Frederick has to train him to be exactly like him and has also signed an NDA so he cannot tell people about having an Andy, not even his partner. It goes so well that Theo decides to bring in the "bigger" version, the EchoPrime, which is a full size AI robot that is an exact replica of Frederick in looks, behaviour and even feels human. Frederick isn't happy as the Andy is already doing a better job than him and his clients are getting on more with the AI version of him than the real one. When Frederick has a stroke that puts him in hospital the Echoprime starts taking over more and more. This story is actually scarily realistic especially with the way things are going with AI!
🌶 The Seed of Truth: Andrea is a journalist but fed up of being given the rubbish pieces. She decides to experiment with something she found on the dark web. She buys 3 Capsicum cogitationis seeds of a dealer. These seeds grow peppers tat when eaten make you hear other people's thoughts. She wants to use them to discover the thoughts of someone famous and then sell her story and get rich. However things dont go to plan when she gets overwhelmed by people's thoughts and then things take a dark turn. Definitely didn't expect that ending!
🕯 The Blaze: Anita makes a wish while lighting a candle on the grave of famous actress Lilian Gladstone wishing her life to be just like Lillian's was even if it's to the detriment of others. Any intriguing story about the grass not always being greener on the other side and to be careful what you wish for.
📧 The Reply: When Francisca gets an email from herself she ends up meeting woman who looks just like her and says she is her but from another dimension. The Fran from the other dimension says that they need to swap dimensions to save the world. Francisca is a scientist and working on blackholes and Gravity Forges. However to save the worlds Francisca needs to go the parallel universe, learn how to create a Gravity Forge and return to this world and create it. Francisca weighs up the pros and cons with one of the cons being that in Frans dimension her Mother us still alive. Will she swap universes and if she does what will happen?
👗 Against the Grain Line: Beatrice owns and runs Fabric Tales. She is a very talented seamstress as the dresses she makes are made with her magic. When Daniel Bragal, a powerful man who owns most of the town, turns up demanding she makes a dress for his daughter Madeline. Beatrice says she will but with 3 rules that she has. Daniel is not happy but Beatrice only has the dress wearers wishes at heart. However by doing what's best for Madeline will have consequences for Beatrice. Whose wishes will Beatrice follow?
📜 For a Good Price: Jon is on his way home from work and is freezing cold when he spots Nick's convenience store. He finds the perfect hat but Nick does not accept cash or card. To get what they want customers must give up something else and sign a contract. You can buy anything at Nick's shop but it all comes at a price, it all depends on how badly you want something.
An absolutely amazing collection of dark, unique, thought provoking and strange short stories each filled with randomness and PERFECT for fans of uniqueness, darkness, karma and/or short stories! A fantastic collection of short stories with an excellent range of situations, characters, locations and narratives. My favourites were definitely 'Make A Wish', 'The Blaze' and 'For A Good Price'
Grab your copy of 'Dark Chronicles' to discover your favourite story!!
There is a great mix of stories so there is definitely something in there for everyone. This book is ideal to be able to pick up and read a story during a break or while making a cuppa!! The excellent descriptions throughout ensures you feel and see everything the characters are seeing, doing and feeling!!! The fact that these are short stories also allows you to pick it up and read a story at a time or read it in one sitting which is perfect for those who like to read multiple books at one time. Karmen has absolutely amazing writing skills and an incredible imagination and I cannot wait to read more of her books!!
Grab your copy of 'Dark Chronicles' and discover which stories you love!!! This is why you are one of my favourite authors Karmen and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into more of your books!!
Overall an amazing selection of unique, dark and intriguing stories with something for everyone!!
#DarkChronicles #KarmenŠpiljak #KarmenSpiljak #RachelsRandomResources #rararesources
@KarmenŠpiljak @KarmenSpiljak @RachelsRandomResources @rararesources
https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__...
https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhi...
https://www.facebook.com/GoldenOldies...
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3...
https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/a...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Dark Chronicles by Karmen Spiljak
Thank you to @booktoktours for the eARC.
Dark Chronicles is a short story collection of ten dark, twisty tales of speculative fiction.
It starts with A CELEBRATION which is anything but as Donald is congratulating himself on a radio show featuring his success when, with mounting dread, the programme starts revealing all the shady business practices that led to that success. How have they found these details? Watch out for a twist that Donald didn't see coming.
In a remote house in the Serbian winter there's ghostly revenge mixed with high tech danger. We're A THOUSAND SMILES AWAY as the new lady of the house slides into madness.
Then MAKE A WISH with another dodgy businessman as reality shifts.
THE FEAST gave me Edgar Allan Poe vibes. It feels like a classic macabre tale with a curse and a twist.
ANDY highlights the benefits & dangers of AI and Virtual Assistants while in THE SEED OF TRUTH there are mysterious pepper plants that grant telepathy but the power turns to horror in a very unexpected way.
We have an aspiring actress in THE BLAZE with that age old question of what would you do for fame? Then we move into sci-fi horror territory for THE REPLY with alternate dimension shenanigans.
There's a witch seamstress in AGAINST THE GRAIN LINE and FOR A GOOD PRICE made me think of Stephen King's Needful Things. There's always a deal to be made but should you give into temptation?
A good selection of tales, nicely written with some unique twists and ideas. Short reads that are great to fit in during a few spare minutes. A bit like mini episodes of The Twilight Zone.
If I had to choose a favourite I would go for THE FEAST with THE REPLY a close second.
Thank you to @booktoktours for the eARC.
Dark Chronicles is a short story collection of ten dark, twisty tales of speculative fiction.
It starts with A CELEBRATION which is anything but as Donald is congratulating himself on a radio show featuring his success when, with mounting dread, the programme starts revealing all the shady business practices that led to that success. How have they found these details? Watch out for a twist that Donald didn't see coming.
In a remote house in the Serbian winter there's ghostly revenge mixed with high tech danger. We're A THOUSAND SMILES AWAY as the new lady of the house slides into madness.
Then MAKE A WISH with another dodgy businessman as reality shifts.
THE FEAST gave me Edgar Allan Poe vibes. It feels like a classic macabre tale with a curse and a twist.
ANDY highlights the benefits & dangers of AI and Virtual Assistants while in THE SEED OF TRUTH there are mysterious pepper plants that grant telepathy but the power turns to horror in a very unexpected way.
We have an aspiring actress in THE BLAZE with that age old question of what would you do for fame? Then we move into sci-fi horror territory for THE REPLY with alternate dimension shenanigans.
There's a witch seamstress in AGAINST THE GRAIN LINE and FOR A GOOD PRICE made me think of Stephen King's Needful Things. There's always a deal to be made but should you give into temptation?
A good selection of tales, nicely written with some unique twists and ideas. Short reads that are great to fit in during a few spare minutes. A bit like mini episodes of The Twilight Zone.
If I had to choose a favourite I would go for THE FEAST with THE REPLY a close second.
December 27, 2025
This book is very different to what I’ve ever read before as each chapter is a new story. It is more like a collection of 10 individual novellas in one book. I really liked this concept, especially reading it over the busy holiday season where I don’t have the time to dedicate to reading a full book, thus was nice to sit down in the evening and read a short story or two before bed. I would say to maybe take a break in between chapters/stories. As someone that’s used to reading big books you are used to the next chapter to be part of the same story so even a 10 min break to help my brain realise I’m reading a new story was helpful for me. Some of the stories I liked more the others and some I wish kept going as I was really into them. I found this particularly with “a thousand smiles away” as I think this one was my favourite out of them all.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me this as an ARC.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me this as an ARC.
January 27, 2026
This was a dark, sci-fi-leaning short story collection with a consistently eerie tone. While I enjoyed the creativity of the concepts and the variety of characters, many of the stories ended abruptly without resolution, which made the overall experience feel uneven for me. Some stories stood out more than others, particularly one exploring workplace automation through human-like robots. This works best as a darker palate cleanser for readers who don’t need narrative closure to feel satisfied.
Review of advance copy
Thank you, Black Phoenix Book Tous and the author, for my ARC.
Dark Chronicles by Karmen Špiljak is the kind of collection that doesn’t ease you in with a warm-up story and a friendly wink. It sets a tone early: ordinary life, slightly off-kilter… and then one small choice, one craving, one curiosity becomes a lever that flips the whole situation into something darker, sharper, and (often) weirdly funny in the same breath. If you like speculative short fiction that plays with “what if” ideas but refuses to keep things polite, this book is built to scratch that itch.
A quick note about expectations, because collections live or die on this: Dark Chronicles reads like a carefully curated set rather than a random grab-bag. The stories share a consistent mood—unease with teeth, humor that doesn’t soften the blow, consequences that show up whether the characters believe in them or not. Even when the settings shift, you can feel the author’s fingerprints: a preference for clean, pointed setups, a willingness to let a scenario go fully sour, and a knack for ending lines that make you sit back and think, “Oh. That’s what this was really about.”
The hook that sits under most of these stories is wish-fulfillment gone sideways. Not the fairy-tale kind with glitter and lessons spelled out, but the modern kind: the fantasy of knowing what people think, being warned about the future, being able to bend luck, getting a second chance, forcing closure, escaping embarrassment, staying in control. These are wishes you can imagine someone making quietly on a bad day. And that’s what makes the payoff sting—because the characters aren’t villains twirling mustaches. They’re human. They want relief. They want an advantage. They want a shortcut. They want to stop feeling small. They want to be right.
What I enjoyed most is how the collection treats desire as the engine of horror. The fear isn’t always “something is chasing you.” Sometimes it’s “you got what you asked for and now you can’t un-know it,” or “you’ve been handed power and you’re learning your own limits,” or “you tried to outsmart fate and discovered fate doesn’t negotiate.” That’s a more intimate kind of dread, and it tends to linger longer than a jump-scare plot.
Because these are short stories, the author has to do a lot quickly: build a believable everyday baseline, introduce the twist, then escalate to the point where the ending feels inevitable rather than random. Špiljak is strong at that baseline. The characters usually start in familiar territory—work pressures, social awkwardness, jealousy, loneliness, the quiet resentments people pretend they don’t have. The writing doesn’t spend pages explaining who everyone is. Instead, it drops a few telling details—an offhand thought, a petty impulse, a defensive joke—and you understand the person well enough to anticipate what they’ll do when the world hands them a temptation.
Then the speculative element arrives, usually with a deceptively simple rule. That simplicity is important. The more straightforward the “gift,” the more brutal the story can be, because the reader doesn’t get lost in mechanics. You’re not busy diagramming how the magic works; you’re watching someone choose badly, or choose selfishly, or choose out of fear. The tension comes from watching the character justify themselves one step at a time.
One of the most effective examples of this “simple rule, big fallout” approach is the mind-reading concept teased in the collection’s marketing: a pepper that lets you hear other people’s thoughts. It’s such a sly idea because it’s funny at first. You can picture it as a party trick, a prank, an insecure person’s secret weapon, an anxious person’s worst nightmare. And once you do that, the story can knife right into questions like: Would you still like your friends if you heard their private opinions? Would you ever stop testing people? Would you become addicted to certainty? Would you start performing for the thoughts you want to hear? That concept is inherently psychological, and it’s the perfect example of how the collection uses “cool premise” as a doorway into something more uncomfortable: the realization that privacy is a kind of mercy.
Another recurring pleasure in Dark Chronicles is how it uses modern anxieties without turning into a lecture. A story concept like a radio show that predicts your fate sounds playful until you think about it for five seconds. People already outsource decisions to algorithms and social feeds. They already scan for signs, reassurance, certainty. Drop a “trusted” voice into that ecosystem—a broadcast, an authority, a ritual that feels credible—and you have a recipe for obsession. Even without spoilers, it’s easy to see how that scenario can spiral: you start listening “just to know,” then you start adjusting your life to match what you heard, then you start panicking when the prediction doesn’t come with enough detail, then you start looking for ways to force the outcome or avoid it. And suddenly the story isn’t about a spooky radio station. It’s about control, addiction to certainty, and the way fear can become self-fulfilling.
The collection’s humor deserves its own paragraph because it’s not “comic relief.” It’s more like a blade that’s been polished. The jokes don’t cuddle you. They sharpen the irony, highlight the hypocrisy, or underscore how ridiculous a character’s logic becomes when they’re desperate. That kind of humor is hard to pull off without breaking the mood, but it works here because it comes from character and situation rather than from the author winking at the reader. It’s the humor of watching someone step on their own rake while insisting they’re being clever—and then realizing you might do the same thing.
Stylistically, the prose is efficient. This isn’t the kind of collection that luxuriates in long scenic descriptions. It favors clarity, momentum, and the emotional temperature of a scene. The writing tends to zoom in on the moment a character crosses a line—sometimes knowingly, sometimes with the casual thought that it “doesn’t count” or “won’t matter.” That focus makes the stories feel brisk, but not thin. You still get atmosphere; it’s just delivered through mood and implication rather than decorative language.
The endings are where short fiction often disappoints readers. Either they feel abrupt, or they feel like a gimmick, or they twist so hard they snap believability. Dark Chronicles leans into twisty outcomes, but what makes the twists satisfying is that they’re usually seeded by the story’s moral physics. In other words, the story teaches you its rules, shows you a character’s weak spot, and then lets those two things collide. When you hit the final lines, you can trace the chain of cause and effect—even if you didn’t predict it. That’s the difference between “gotcha” and “oh no.”
That said, not every story will land equally for every reader, and that’s normal in collections. If you prefer your speculative fiction to be deeply character-driven with big emotional catharsis, you may find some entries more concept-forward than heart-forward. A few pieces prioritize the punch of the idea and the sting of the consequence, and they move on before lingering in grief or aftermath. Personally, I don’t mind that pace in short fiction—sometimes the lack of comfort is the point—but it’s worth noting depending on your taste.
Also, because the tonal range stays fairly consistent (dark, twisty, slightly menacing, often ironic), readers who want dramatic variety might wish for one or two softer stories as a palate cleanser. The cohesion is a strength, but it can make the whole experience feel like an extended night walk: thrilling and tense, yet intentionally short on sunshine.
Where the book really shines is in the way it makes consequences feel personal. The “punishments” (for lack of a better word) aren’t always cosmic justice; they’re often a direct reflection of what the character wanted most. If someone craves certainty, the story punishes them with too much knowledge. If someone wants power, the story shows them how brittle they become when that power comes with a price. If someone wants to be seen, the story can turn visibility into a trap. That mirror-like quality is what gives the collection its bite. You don’t finish thinking, “Glad that wasn’t me.” You finish thinking, “If I were them… what would I have done?”
This is a great fit for readers who like:
1. speculative premises that can be explained in one sentence,
2. dark humor that doesn’t soften the mood,
3. twists that feel earned rather than random,
4. stories that end with a little mental echo, the kind you carry into the next room.
It’s less ideal for readers who want:
1. long, cozy immersion in setting,
2. gentle optimism,
3. horror that’s primarily about monsters rather than people’s choices,
4. endings that wrap up neatly.
As a blog read, I’d describe Dark Chronicles as a collection that respects your intelligence and your tolerance for discomfort. It doesn’t overexplain. It doesn’t apologize. It sets up a temptation, watches a human being reach for it, and then follows the fallout with a calm hand and a sharp smile. The result is entertaining in the moment—and oddly unsettling later, when you catch yourself thinking about what you’d wish for if someone offered.
Rating: 4.5/5 for readers who enjoy short, dark speculative fiction with consequences that actually stick.
Dark Chronicles by Karmen Špiljak is the kind of collection that doesn’t ease you in with a warm-up story and a friendly wink. It sets a tone early: ordinary life, slightly off-kilter… and then one small choice, one craving, one curiosity becomes a lever that flips the whole situation into something darker, sharper, and (often) weirdly funny in the same breath. If you like speculative short fiction that plays with “what if” ideas but refuses to keep things polite, this book is built to scratch that itch.
A quick note about expectations, because collections live or die on this: Dark Chronicles reads like a carefully curated set rather than a random grab-bag. The stories share a consistent mood—unease with teeth, humor that doesn’t soften the blow, consequences that show up whether the characters believe in them or not. Even when the settings shift, you can feel the author’s fingerprints: a preference for clean, pointed setups, a willingness to let a scenario go fully sour, and a knack for ending lines that make you sit back and think, “Oh. That’s what this was really about.”
The hook that sits under most of these stories is wish-fulfillment gone sideways. Not the fairy-tale kind with glitter and lessons spelled out, but the modern kind: the fantasy of knowing what people think, being warned about the future, being able to bend luck, getting a second chance, forcing closure, escaping embarrassment, staying in control. These are wishes you can imagine someone making quietly on a bad day. And that’s what makes the payoff sting—because the characters aren’t villains twirling mustaches. They’re human. They want relief. They want an advantage. They want a shortcut. They want to stop feeling small. They want to be right.
What I enjoyed most is how the collection treats desire as the engine of horror. The fear isn’t always “something is chasing you.” Sometimes it’s “you got what you asked for and now you can’t un-know it,” or “you’ve been handed power and you’re learning your own limits,” or “you tried to outsmart fate and discovered fate doesn’t negotiate.” That’s a more intimate kind of dread, and it tends to linger longer than a jump-scare plot.
Because these are short stories, the author has to do a lot quickly: build a believable everyday baseline, introduce the twist, then escalate to the point where the ending feels inevitable rather than random. Špiljak is strong at that baseline. The characters usually start in familiar territory—work pressures, social awkwardness, jealousy, loneliness, the quiet resentments people pretend they don’t have. The writing doesn’t spend pages explaining who everyone is. Instead, it drops a few telling details—an offhand thought, a petty impulse, a defensive joke—and you understand the person well enough to anticipate what they’ll do when the world hands them a temptation.
Then the speculative element arrives, usually with a deceptively simple rule. That simplicity is important. The more straightforward the “gift,” the more brutal the story can be, because the reader doesn’t get lost in mechanics. You’re not busy diagramming how the magic works; you’re watching someone choose badly, or choose selfishly, or choose out of fear. The tension comes from watching the character justify themselves one step at a time.
One of the most effective examples of this “simple rule, big fallout” approach is the mind-reading concept teased in the collection’s marketing: a pepper that lets you hear other people’s thoughts. It’s such a sly idea because it’s funny at first. You can picture it as a party trick, a prank, an insecure person’s secret weapon, an anxious person’s worst nightmare. And once you do that, the story can knife right into questions like: Would you still like your friends if you heard their private opinions? Would you ever stop testing people? Would you become addicted to certainty? Would you start performing for the thoughts you want to hear? That concept is inherently psychological, and it’s the perfect example of how the collection uses “cool premise” as a doorway into something more uncomfortable: the realization that privacy is a kind of mercy.
Another recurring pleasure in Dark Chronicles is how it uses modern anxieties without turning into a lecture. A story concept like a radio show that predicts your fate sounds playful until you think about it for five seconds. People already outsource decisions to algorithms and social feeds. They already scan for signs, reassurance, certainty. Drop a “trusted” voice into that ecosystem—a broadcast, an authority, a ritual that feels credible—and you have a recipe for obsession. Even without spoilers, it’s easy to see how that scenario can spiral: you start listening “just to know,” then you start adjusting your life to match what you heard, then you start panicking when the prediction doesn’t come with enough detail, then you start looking for ways to force the outcome or avoid it. And suddenly the story isn’t about a spooky radio station. It’s about control, addiction to certainty, and the way fear can become self-fulfilling.
The collection’s humor deserves its own paragraph because it’s not “comic relief.” It’s more like a blade that’s been polished. The jokes don’t cuddle you. They sharpen the irony, highlight the hypocrisy, or underscore how ridiculous a character’s logic becomes when they’re desperate. That kind of humor is hard to pull off without breaking the mood, but it works here because it comes from character and situation rather than from the author winking at the reader. It’s the humor of watching someone step on their own rake while insisting they’re being clever—and then realizing you might do the same thing.
Stylistically, the prose is efficient. This isn’t the kind of collection that luxuriates in long scenic descriptions. It favors clarity, momentum, and the emotional temperature of a scene. The writing tends to zoom in on the moment a character crosses a line—sometimes knowingly, sometimes with the casual thought that it “doesn’t count” or “won’t matter.” That focus makes the stories feel brisk, but not thin. You still get atmosphere; it’s just delivered through mood and implication rather than decorative language.
The endings are where short fiction often disappoints readers. Either they feel abrupt, or they feel like a gimmick, or they twist so hard they snap believability. Dark Chronicles leans into twisty outcomes, but what makes the twists satisfying is that they’re usually seeded by the story’s moral physics. In other words, the story teaches you its rules, shows you a character’s weak spot, and then lets those two things collide. When you hit the final lines, you can trace the chain of cause and effect—even if you didn’t predict it. That’s the difference between “gotcha” and “oh no.”
That said, not every story will land equally for every reader, and that’s normal in collections. If you prefer your speculative fiction to be deeply character-driven with big emotional catharsis, you may find some entries more concept-forward than heart-forward. A few pieces prioritize the punch of the idea and the sting of the consequence, and they move on before lingering in grief or aftermath. Personally, I don’t mind that pace in short fiction—sometimes the lack of comfort is the point—but it’s worth noting depending on your taste.
Also, because the tonal range stays fairly consistent (dark, twisty, slightly menacing, often ironic), readers who want dramatic variety might wish for one or two softer stories as a palate cleanser. The cohesion is a strength, but it can make the whole experience feel like an extended night walk: thrilling and tense, yet intentionally short on sunshine.
Where the book really shines is in the way it makes consequences feel personal. The “punishments” (for lack of a better word) aren’t always cosmic justice; they’re often a direct reflection of what the character wanted most. If someone craves certainty, the story punishes them with too much knowledge. If someone wants power, the story shows them how brittle they become when that power comes with a price. If someone wants to be seen, the story can turn visibility into a trap. That mirror-like quality is what gives the collection its bite. You don’t finish thinking, “Glad that wasn’t me.” You finish thinking, “If I were them… what would I have done?”
This is a great fit for readers who like:
1. speculative premises that can be explained in one sentence,
2. dark humor that doesn’t soften the mood,
3. twists that feel earned rather than random,
4. stories that end with a little mental echo, the kind you carry into the next room.
It’s less ideal for readers who want:
1. long, cozy immersion in setting,
2. gentle optimism,
3. horror that’s primarily about monsters rather than people’s choices,
4. endings that wrap up neatly.
As a blog read, I’d describe Dark Chronicles as a collection that respects your intelligence and your tolerance for discomfort. It doesn’t overexplain. It doesn’t apologize. It sets up a temptation, watches a human being reach for it, and then follows the fallout with a calm hand and a sharp smile. The result is entertaining in the moment—and oddly unsettling later, when you catch yourself thinking about what you’d wish for if someone offered.
Rating: 4.5/5 for readers who enjoy short, dark speculative fiction with consequences that actually stick.
Review of advance copy
I can't wait to read more from Spiljak in the future this was such a great collection of speculative fiction.
Each short story takes you to somewhere dark and disquieting reminiscent of The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits.
My only niggle was that several of them do finish quite abruptly, there's me thinking 'This is getting good', then boom it was all over before it even got started...
Favourites were The Reply and For a Good Price.
3.5 🌟
Each short story takes you to somewhere dark and disquieting reminiscent of The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits.
My only niggle was that several of them do finish quite abruptly, there's me thinking 'This is getting good', then boom it was all over before it even got started...
Favourites were The Reply and For a Good Price.
3.5 🌟
November 21, 2025
A good and diverse collection of short, moderately horror-ish stories. They were easy and fun to read!
- - -
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for my honest review!
- - -
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
EDITORIAL REVIEW
13th December 2025
TITLE: DARK CHRONICLES
AUTHOR: KARMEN SPILJAK
Star Rating: 5
“A creepy, often chilling set of shorts, perfect for a dark, wintery night. A Wishing Shelf ‘recommended read’.” The Wishing Shelf
REVIEW
The best word to describe this set of shorts is ‘suspense’. Which, of course, is exactly what you need when you are attempting to shock your reader. Well, the author, Karmen Spiljak is excellent at doing just that. And I enjoyed every page of it. Of course, it helps if the reader is a fan of The Twilight Zone – which I am, and, according to the Foreword, so is the author. In fact, I’d say, if they were still making The Twilight Zone, many of the shorts in this book would be the perfect fit!
So, what did I enjoy the most? Firstly, the pacing is excellent. This author in no way suffers from ‘purple prose’ – which is vital when writing a short story. It’s ‘all go’ from the first paragraph with a good balance of descriptive prose and speech. Secondly, I enjoyed how different the shorts were. I particularly enjoyed the ghostly suspense in A THOUSAND SMILES AWAY, a story where Dana is trapped in a house – but with what!? And thirdly, the author is very talented with dialogue, using it to not only develop her small cast of characters, but also the plot.
I’m delighted to recommend this book to anybody who enjoys horrors, thrillers, or even a good mystery. Fans of Stephen King or Anita Krishan’s Ghosts of the Silent Hills – love that book – will particularly enjoy it. I think most readers will enjoy curling up with this book on a wintery night, and they’ll be rooting for the characters to escape whatever it is that’s after them – in the full knowledge, they probably won’t!
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
EDITORIAL REVIEW
13th December 2025
TITLE: DARK CHRONICLES
AUTHOR: KARMEN SPILJAK
Star Rating: 5
“A creepy, often chilling set of shorts, perfect for a dark, wintery night. A Wishing Shelf ‘recommended read’.” The Wishing Shelf
REVIEW
The best word to describe this set of shorts is ‘suspense’. Which, of course, is exactly what you need when you are attempting to shock your reader. Well, the author, Karmen Spiljak is excellent at doing just that. And I enjoyed every page of it. Of course, it helps if the reader is a fan of The Twilight Zone – which I am, and, according to the Foreword, so is the author. In fact, I’d say, if they were still making The Twilight Zone, many of the shorts in this book would be the perfect fit!
So, what did I enjoy the most? Firstly, the pacing is excellent. This author in no way suffers from ‘purple prose’ – which is vital when writing a short story. It’s ‘all go’ from the first paragraph with a good balance of descriptive prose and speech. Secondly, I enjoyed how different the shorts were. I particularly enjoyed the ghostly suspense in A THOUSAND SMILES AWAY, a story where Dana is trapped in a house – but with what!? And thirdly, the author is very talented with dialogue, using it to not only develop her small cast of characters, but also the plot.
I’m delighted to recommend this book to anybody who enjoys horrors, thrillers, or even a good mystery. Fans of Stephen King or Anita Krishan’s Ghosts of the Silent Hills – love that book – will particularly enjoy it. I think most readers will enjoy curling up with this book on a wintery night, and they’ll be rooting for the characters to escape whatever it is that’s after them – in the full knowledge, they probably won’t!
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
Review of advance copy received from Author
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this short story collection in exchange for an honest review.
Dark Chronicles is Karmen Špiljak’s self-published, speculative short story collection. As the name implies, the stories thread the needle between horror and suspense with interesting premises based in fantastical and sci-fi elements.
My favourite story of the bunch is hands down Against the Grain Line! It’s not just because of the fantasy elements, but also because of how well they’ve been woven into the writing. In this story, Špiljak’s style is very much like a fairy tale, making it so very charming. There’s also an indulgence here, like with the way that “Daniel Bragal” is always mentioned as such ― full name, like he can’t stand to be just Daniel or Mr Bragal. No, even the narrator insists on “Daniel Bragal” and you just know the character is feeling himself the whole time! I also quite liked the hopeful ending though I will be the first to say that it felt a bit thrown in there with no build-up.
I also quite liked A Thousand Smiles Away for its evocative imagery and scary end and The Feast for its truly unsettling premise.
Considering I’m in a slump and I managed to finish it in about a week, Dark Chronicles is definitely readable. In fact, if you are in a slump, like myself, I do recommend it for its novel premises and interesting twists. However, I can’t get over the issues in the writing from poor pacing to unfinished stories to clichés to poor execution. Also, there was a weird thing I came to realise: Most of the main characters are rich and the one notable one that wasn’t in A Seed of Truth gets a brutal ending ― but the rich ones get got too, so it’s… just weird.
Dark Chronicles is Karmen Špiljak’s self-published, speculative short story collection. As the name implies, the stories thread the needle between horror and suspense with interesting premises based in fantastical and sci-fi elements.
My favourite story of the bunch is hands down Against the Grain Line! It’s not just because of the fantasy elements, but also because of how well they’ve been woven into the writing. In this story, Špiljak’s style is very much like a fairy tale, making it so very charming. There’s also an indulgence here, like with the way that “Daniel Bragal” is always mentioned as such ― full name, like he can’t stand to be just Daniel or Mr Bragal. No, even the narrator insists on “Daniel Bragal” and you just know the character is feeling himself the whole time! I also quite liked the hopeful ending though I will be the first to say that it felt a bit thrown in there with no build-up.
I also quite liked A Thousand Smiles Away for its evocative imagery and scary end and The Feast for its truly unsettling premise.
Considering I’m in a slump and I managed to finish it in about a week, Dark Chronicles is definitely readable. In fact, if you are in a slump, like myself, I do recommend it for its novel premises and interesting twists. However, I can’t get over the issues in the writing from poor pacing to unfinished stories to clichés to poor execution. Also, there was a weird thing I came to realise: Most of the main characters are rich and the one notable one that wasn’t in A Seed of Truth gets a brutal ending ― but the rich ones get got too, so it’s… just weird.
Review of advance copy
Dark Chronicles by Karmen Spiljak is a collection of the author’s short stories. I was excited to get this review copy, as I have always been a fan of both short stories and science fiction, the genre to which most of these stories belong. In the author’s forward, they explain that they were a fan of the Twilight Zone and similar shows growing up, and the stories we have been provided in this book certainly are reminiscent of the old half-hour weird tales that have existed since the advent of entertainment media, with all the addictive quality and pull to want to learn how the story ends.
Each short story, at least according to my Kindle, takes about half an hour to absorb, and so you aren’t spending a great deal of your time taking on a long trip through complicated stories. They are quick frollocks through disturbing locations that may leave you wondering how the end will come about. Even the few with expected tales manage to keep a reader interested up to the end. Not to say that you can tell how the stories will end, some surprise you, and some end in the dramatic fashion expected of the genre.
Characters are hard to build in short stories, but for each tale Spiljak gives us fascinating people to follow, characters who a reader will either want to root for or is hoping will meet an end that suits them. I have to say I was never disappointed by the results, even when I did not get what I really wanted. But that is a sign of a good writer, a person who can leave you interested and grasping for more, no matter how the story ends. If you are looking for some fascinating tales to start your year off with. I suggest you pick up Dark Chronicles by Karmen Spiljak. Take your time and enjoy this short, excellent read.
Each short story, at least according to my Kindle, takes about half an hour to absorb, and so you aren’t spending a great deal of your time taking on a long trip through complicated stories. They are quick frollocks through disturbing locations that may leave you wondering how the end will come about. Even the few with expected tales manage to keep a reader interested up to the end. Not to say that you can tell how the stories will end, some surprise you, and some end in the dramatic fashion expected of the genre.
Characters are hard to build in short stories, but for each tale Spiljak gives us fascinating people to follow, characters who a reader will either want to root for or is hoping will meet an end that suits them. I have to say I was never disappointed by the results, even when I did not get what I really wanted. But that is a sign of a good writer, a person who can leave you interested and grasping for more, no matter how the story ends. If you are looking for some fascinating tales to start your year off with. I suggest you pick up Dark Chronicles by Karmen Spiljak. Take your time and enjoy this short, excellent read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Dark Chronicles leans into sci-fi/fantasy with some vague elements of quiet horror and when reframed as such, is a very well-written collection of ten stories with some intriguing premises. The author excels at characterization. Pacing is good, though I would not describe the stories as suspenseful per se (with a couple of exceptions including The Reply). I enjoy short stories that give you a good bite to enjoy, yet still leave you with enough lingering mystery to contemplate which these did. I don’t need all the blanks filled in. Within the context of short (fantasy/sci fi fiction), I found each tale complete enough to satisfy me and open ended enough to allow my imagination to roam. Managing reader expectation, I believe this one would do better with a bit of a different cover to capture its more authentic fantasy vibe, as the current face of it suggests more horror than it contains. Even when framed in a Twilight Zone perspective which is mentioned in the Foreword as an influence and one of mine as well, it’s not hitting horror notes. The concept and imagery in Against the Grain was excellent. It was my favorite tale in this collection . I would quickly grab a novel with this type of storyline; there’s so much possibility there. I will certainly read more by this author in any genre.
January 28, 2026
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and like all collections of short stories, it gives an excellent introduction to her writing talents. The ten stories are all very different with dark and chilling themes and a touch of the macabre. Examples include, ‘A Celebration’, where a businessman tunes into a strangely insightful radio show that presents a no-holds-barred look at his own life. In ‘A Thousand Smiles Away’, Dana encounters some disturbing issues in a house that appears to have a mind of its own. An advertising campaign in ‘Make a Wish’ taunts its creator, throwing his own slogans back at him. However, my favourites from this collection are ‘The Feast’ and ‘Andy’. Told from the point of views of each of the participants, the host in ‘The Feast’ coaxes a series of stories from unwilling guests Dee and Finn at a dinner party that takes a strange turn. In ‘Andy’, Frederick’s plan to use AI to share some of his workload begins to impact his life and relationships in ways he’d never imagined.
Karmen Spiljak has a talent for coming up with unusual and witty stories that hark back to TV programmes like Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, dishing up a host of tales with unexpected endings. If you enjoy twisted tales and creepy characters, this book will serve them up in spades.
Karmen Spiljak has a talent for coming up with unusual and witty stories that hark back to TV programmes like Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, dishing up a host of tales with unexpected endings. If you enjoy twisted tales and creepy characters, this book will serve them up in spades.
Review of advance copy
Dark Chronicles is a fantastic little collection of short stories revolving around modern or technological horror. Špiljak mentions The Twilight Zone in the foreword as the inciting incident for her interest in speculative fiction, and these stories really have the essence of Twilight Zone episodes.
For the most part, Špiljak did a brilliant job of crafting characters that readers can appreciate, even if we can't necessarily relate to, for example, a businessman scamming his way to a life of fame and riches. This is really hard to do with short stories, especially with tales as short as these, but Špiljak does a great job.
My favourite stories were 'The Feast', a unique take on a predator; 'Andy', about automated assistants in a future that seems closer and closer each day; 'The Seed of Truth', an experiment with a shock ending that chilled me to the bone; and 'The Blaze', about the price of fame. Though these were my stand outs, every story in the collection was completely different and presented a compelling and occasionally nausea-inducing scenario for the characters.
Though these stories are short, they pack a punch, making Dark Chronicles a collection not to be missed.
For the most part, Špiljak did a brilliant job of crafting characters that readers can appreciate, even if we can't necessarily relate to, for example, a businessman scamming his way to a life of fame and riches. This is really hard to do with short stories, especially with tales as short as these, but Špiljak does a great job.
My favourite stories were 'The Feast', a unique take on a predator; 'Andy', about automated assistants in a future that seems closer and closer each day; 'The Seed of Truth', an experiment with a shock ending that chilled me to the bone; and 'The Blaze', about the price of fame. Though these were my stand outs, every story in the collection was completely different and presented a compelling and occasionally nausea-inducing scenario for the characters.
Though these stories are short, they pack a punch, making Dark Chronicles a collection not to be missed.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you like dark mirror you will also like this one.
A collection of 10 imaginative stories and I very much enjoyed 7 out of them with the other 3 stories not being my cup of tea . The endings might feel a bit rushed but we also have to keep in mind that the average story has around 10 to 30 pages, which is not enough to avoid loose ends or simplistic plots. I felt like the stories were creative and entertaining enough to keep the reader engaged, the author giving us a glimpse into an idea without being too info dumpy . The stories are a mix of supernatural, sci fi and fantasy I do not think these should necessarily be categorised as horror but more as suspense. This is a good pick if you are starting getting into short stories as it has a good range of genres. Overall great read and will keep an eye out for Karmen's next book.
Thank you NetGallery, Victory Editing and the author, for my ARC.
Actual Rating: 3.75
A collection of 10 imaginative stories and I very much enjoyed 7 out of them with the other 3 stories not being my cup of tea . The endings might feel a bit rushed but we also have to keep in mind that the average story has around 10 to 30 pages, which is not enough to avoid loose ends or simplistic plots. I felt like the stories were creative and entertaining enough to keep the reader engaged, the author giving us a glimpse into an idea without being too info dumpy . The stories are a mix of supernatural, sci fi and fantasy I do not think these should necessarily be categorised as horror but more as suspense. This is a good pick if you are starting getting into short stories as it has a good range of genres. Overall great read and will keep an eye out for Karmen's next book.
Thank you NetGallery, Victory Editing and the author, for my ARC.
Actual Rating: 3.75
Review of advance copy
The stories don’t all feel the same—which I loved. Some are creepy, some are funny in a dark way, and a few are just so close to real life. The author has this knack for taking one small “what if” and letting it spiral just enough. Not pages and pages of explanation—just enough for you to go, “Yep, that would end badly,” and then you keep reading anyway and enjoying it more and more.
The writing is straightforward, so the weird parts hit harder. And the endings? A lot of them have that last little twist or last line that makes you stop for a second and replay the story in your head. I finished a couple and immediately thought, “That’s messed up… okay, next.”
I’m glad I picked it up, and I’ll be checking out more from Karmen Spiljak.
The writing is straightforward, so the weird parts hit harder. And the endings? A lot of them have that last little twist or last line that makes you stop for a second and replay the story in your head. I finished a couple and immediately thought, “That’s messed up… okay, next.”
I’m glad I picked it up, and I’ll be checking out more from Karmen Spiljak.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I’d never come across Karmen Špiljak’s work before Dark Chronicles, but based on this collection, I’ll be looking out for more from her in the future.
While I’m not sure I’d class the majority of the stories in this book as out-and-out horror - although The Seed of Truth delivers quite the sucker punch in that regard, I did find it interesting that the author mentioned in the foreword enjoying The Twilight Zone when she was younger, as the stories reminded me of that to an extent, and perhaps of Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, if you squint.
This is a very solid, well-written, and diverse collection of stories.
Worth a look.
With thanks to the publisher for the ARC.
While I’m not sure I’d class the majority of the stories in this book as out-and-out horror - although The Seed of Truth delivers quite the sucker punch in that regard, I did find it interesting that the author mentioned in the foreword enjoying The Twilight Zone when she was younger, as the stories reminded me of that to an extent, and perhaps of Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, if you squint.
This is a very solid, well-written, and diverse collection of stories.
Worth a look.
With thanks to the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I thoroughly enjoyed all the stories in this book, so much so that I found myself wishing I knew what happened next for each one. The writing is very strong and easy to read. While it isn’t a terrifying horror collection, it has just the right amount of suspense to keep you on your toes.
I had the opportunity to read this book through NetGalley, and I’d like to thank the author and publishers for the chance to read it prior to publication.
I had the opportunity to read this book through NetGalley, and I’d like to thank the author and publishers for the chance to read it prior to publication.
November 28, 2025
I didn't find a majority of the stories to.be suspenseful, much less horror. The stories themselves are well written, but I did expect them to be darker overall. Most of the stories end abruptly, with you having to imagine the ending/progression.
January 26, 2026
10 short stories with suspenseful atmosphere. I enjoy the cover with it's dark gritty texture and the sinly silhouettes running around. The Seed of Truth is my favorite, but I also love botanicals and flowers in most media.
February 6, 2026
A couple stories were absolute standouts—tight, smart, and mean in a fun way—while I enjoyed all of them. Still, it’s a quick read with plenty of sharp moments, and I’d try another book from this author.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Some of the Dark Chronicles are indeed Dark Chronicles, but I did know what I was letting myself in for, as I've read Karmen's Pass the Cyanide short story collection too.
Each of these short stories offers something a little different, from the Smart House, which might be more ghostly than Dana would like, to the joy of getting your heart's desire (or not), these tales are intriguing and often thought-provoking as well.
I don't often read short story collections, but when I do, I remember the joy of them. Grab this collection of dark tales and scare yourself, just a little bit.
Each of these short stories offers something a little different, from the Smart House, which might be more ghostly than Dana would like, to the joy of getting your heart's desire (or not), these tales are intriguing and often thought-provoking as well.
I don't often read short story collections, but when I do, I remember the joy of them. Grab this collection of dark tales and scare yourself, just a little bit.
Review of advance copy
This was an easy to read collection of short stories.
Each one was a little different but most had a dark theme running through it. Like any collection I liked some stories more than others and wished that some were a little bit longer.
Each one was a little different but most had a dark theme running through it. Like any collection I liked some stories more than others and wished that some were a little bit longer.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews