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Decayed Etchings
In his first collection, Brandon Ford delivers 18 brand new, never before published tales of the dark, twisted, and macabre. Buried within these gnarled pages, you’ll discover jilted lovers, cheating spouses, bizarre fetishes, acid trips, and roaming sleepwalkers. You’ll meet noisy neighbors, struggling writers, vengeful females, and even a monster or two.
With DECAYED ETCHINGS, you’ll dive headfirst into a world of ghoulish delights that will surely satisfy even the most jaded gorehound. In this world, there is always something lurid hiding beneath. You need only scratch the surface.
With DECAYED ETCHINGS, you’ll dive headfirst into a world of ghoulish delights that will surely satisfy even the most jaded gorehound. In this world, there is always something lurid hiding beneath. You need only scratch the surface.
- GenresHorror
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Brandon Ford
39 books39 followersBrandon Ford (b. August 28, 1981) grew up in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started writing at the approximate age of 8 and spent a lot of time testing the waters with various genres. He wrote dramas, comedies, essays, plays, and, of course, thrillers. There were few things he took pleasure in crafting more than a good old-fashioned scary story. Throughout grade school, as well as high school, he continued to build his portfolio with various works (mostly short stories and novellas, but a few plays here and there). He’d pass around these manuscripts to friends and teachers for feedback. Knowing others enjoyed his work and craved more inspired him to keep going.
A few months shy of 23, he sat down to pen his first novel, which became Crystal Bay. Arctic Wolf Publishing, a small press based in Georgia, picked the book up a few years later. Shortly thereafter, he completed Splattered Beauty, an ode to his favorite Scream Queens. In 2009, he teamed up with Alan Draven and Jessica Lynne Gardner for Creeping Shadows (Pixie Dust Press), a collection of three short novels. Ford’s contribution, Merciless, was heavily inspired by a real-life kidnapping that took place in California in 2002. In March 2010, Arctic Wolf released his third novel, Pay Phone. Ford has also contributed works of short fiction to several anthologies, including Abaculus 2007 and Abaculus III (Leucrota Press), Sinister Landscapes (Pixie Dust Press), Raw: Brutality As Art (Snuff Books), and The Death Panel (Comet Press). Some of his biggest influences have been writers like Jack Ketchum and the late Richard Laymon. In his spare time he enjoys reading, watching bad TV, and all things horror. He still resides in South Philadelphia.
A few months shy of 23, he sat down to pen his first novel, which became Crystal Bay. Arctic Wolf Publishing, a small press based in Georgia, picked the book up a few years later. Shortly thereafter, he completed Splattered Beauty, an ode to his favorite Scream Queens. In 2009, he teamed up with Alan Draven and Jessica Lynne Gardner for Creeping Shadows (Pixie Dust Press), a collection of three short novels. Ford’s contribution, Merciless, was heavily inspired by a real-life kidnapping that took place in California in 2002. In March 2010, Arctic Wolf released his third novel, Pay Phone. Ford has also contributed works of short fiction to several anthologies, including Abaculus 2007 and Abaculus III (Leucrota Press), Sinister Landscapes (Pixie Dust Press), Raw: Brutality As Art (Snuff Books), and The Death Panel (Comet Press). Some of his biggest influences have been writers like Jack Ketchum and the late Richard Laymon. In his spare time he enjoys reading, watching bad TV, and all things horror. He still resides in South Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 4, 2020
Well written
Pretty good stories. Well written . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Would recommend.
Pretty good stories. Well written . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Would recommend.
February 28, 2021
A series of short stories. Overall, pretty good. The writing was nice, with different character perspectives, different issues, and resolutions.
I wish it was more horrific (die-hard or die trying) and I definitely wish it was more creative.
I wish it was more horrific (die-hard or die trying) and I definitely wish it was more creative.
July 30, 2011
I don’t read many short story collections. That might be because I prefer novels or simply because I don’t find an interest to pick up any particular collections in general (save the few of King’s I have.) However, when I was given the chance to read Brandon Ford’s new collection, Decayed Etchings, I immediately jumped on it not only because I’d always been interested in Brandon’s work, but because I knew him to be a talented writer in his own right.
If Decayed Etchings is any a start into his writing, this one should be it.
The collection itself is possibly not what many will expect. I in particular was expecting something more along the paranormal lines of horror or stories featuring the things that go bump in the night. However, there are few monsters here (at least, not monsters we normally associate the word with,) but the people within who can be described as such are aplenty. It is this primary factor which immediately strikes Brandon Ford’s writing as sharp—visceral, even, as he paints pictures of ordinary lives and situations gone haywire due to events of insanity or even the balancing tip of human nature. Stories like Goodbye Elise, Band of Gold and Sledgehammer are a few of these tales, and do well to represent the act of people losing their minds to either their heightened consciences or even from outer forces, and it is for this reason that I say that many of the stories in Decayed Etchings are masterfully crafted in terms of mood, setting and overall execution.
There are other stories, however, that superbly outrank the others by far and show Ford’s true talent—which, I believe, is in pacing, execution and dramatic buildup. Such tales like A Walk in the Part, Camera Shy, I’m Up Here and Famous Last Words are all stories which I can immediately pick out of the bunch and say are possibly the strongest works in the collections. The first tells of a man who deals with sleepwalking and the girlfriend who is worried about it, the second of a man filming a woman with a video camera to judge her reactions. Both stories, as vastly different as they may be, are written superbly and build up slowly. It’s as if the writer himself is dragging a knife across your throat as you’re reading. You’re expecting the killing blow, but it doesn’t come until you least expect it.
However, I will say that with such triumphs, there are a few shortcomings in this collection, though this has nothing to do with the writing itself or the overall execution of the stories. As a reader I found myself saddened by the fact that particular stories seemed to end too abruptly (Cat Call being one of them, as well as Uninvited.) Though stories like these are few in this collection fiction, I would have appreciated more fleshed-out and drawn endings. That may be only as a ravenous result of the massive greed I had for the fiction, but it did jolt me out of the story when there were unnecessary halts in the narrative leaving few answers to the questions that had been building up throughout the entire review.
As a whole, Decayed Etchings is definitely something any horror or crime fiction fan should consider reading. Its bold, fast-paced writing, incredible tense and pacing, imaginative writing and superb executions within the stories themselves are reasons alone to buy this work, but if you’re like me, Decayed Etchings will leave you begging for more of Ford’s work.
If Decayed Etchings is any a start into his writing, this one should be it.
The collection itself is possibly not what many will expect. I in particular was expecting something more along the paranormal lines of horror or stories featuring the things that go bump in the night. However, there are few monsters here (at least, not monsters we normally associate the word with,) but the people within who can be described as such are aplenty. It is this primary factor which immediately strikes Brandon Ford’s writing as sharp—visceral, even, as he paints pictures of ordinary lives and situations gone haywire due to events of insanity or even the balancing tip of human nature. Stories like Goodbye Elise, Band of Gold and Sledgehammer are a few of these tales, and do well to represent the act of people losing their minds to either their heightened consciences or even from outer forces, and it is for this reason that I say that many of the stories in Decayed Etchings are masterfully crafted in terms of mood, setting and overall execution.
There are other stories, however, that superbly outrank the others by far and show Ford’s true talent—which, I believe, is in pacing, execution and dramatic buildup. Such tales like A Walk in the Part, Camera Shy, I’m Up Here and Famous Last Words are all stories which I can immediately pick out of the bunch and say are possibly the strongest works in the collections. The first tells of a man who deals with sleepwalking and the girlfriend who is worried about it, the second of a man filming a woman with a video camera to judge her reactions. Both stories, as vastly different as they may be, are written superbly and build up slowly. It’s as if the writer himself is dragging a knife across your throat as you’re reading. You’re expecting the killing blow, but it doesn’t come until you least expect it.
However, I will say that with such triumphs, there are a few shortcomings in this collection, though this has nothing to do with the writing itself or the overall execution of the stories. As a reader I found myself saddened by the fact that particular stories seemed to end too abruptly (Cat Call being one of them, as well as Uninvited.) Though stories like these are few in this collection fiction, I would have appreciated more fleshed-out and drawn endings. That may be only as a ravenous result of the massive greed I had for the fiction, but it did jolt me out of the story when there were unnecessary halts in the narrative leaving few answers to the questions that had been building up throughout the entire review.
As a whole, Decayed Etchings is definitely something any horror or crime fiction fan should consider reading. Its bold, fast-paced writing, incredible tense and pacing, imaginative writing and superb executions within the stories themselves are reasons alone to buy this work, but if you’re like me, Decayed Etchings will leave you begging for more of Ford’s work.
October 9, 2019
Many people say variety is the spice of life. In Brandon Ford's Decayed Etchings, the short fiction is a celebration of variety. While darkness is the underlying element of cohesion that brings the story collection together, Ford throws in everything from gore and depression to noir humor and absolute weirdness. The result of all this variety is a very engaging and a truly entertaining collection of short horror that contains something for everyone.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
June 30, 2020
A collection of 18 dark, suspenseful stories.
Each story ended with a twist, some more surprising than others. While most of these stories were straight horror, there were a few dark humor pieces mixed into the bunch as well.
My favorites in the collection were:
The Suiter: A one-night stand goes horribly wrong.
Sledgehammer: A solider fed up with the sounds of construction work takes matters into their own hands.
Camera Shy: A hitman with a habit of recording his victims prior to the kill.
The narration brought every story to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
Each story ended with a twist, some more surprising than others. While most of these stories were straight horror, there were a few dark humor pieces mixed into the bunch as well.
My favorites in the collection were:
The Suiter: A one-night stand goes horribly wrong.
Sledgehammer: A solider fed up with the sounds of construction work takes matters into their own hands.
Camera Shy: A hitman with a habit of recording his victims prior to the kill.
The narration brought every story to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
September 28, 2020
Great collection of short stories.
August 25, 2011
In this collection of 18 stories you'll be amused, shocked and satisfyingly haunted by tales of the dark, gory and sinister side of life.
Brandon Ford endeavors to push the envelope and go beyond some of the common accepted boundaries in a few of his tales and in doing so he tears down the wall that would normally hold a lot of other writers back.
For instance, one of my favorite stories in this compilation was Band Of Gold where a wayward husband involves himself with a hooker and in the process, loses something of value to his marriage, in a place where he realizes he probably shouldn't have gone to in the first place. It was a gross but amusing tale that had me chuckling because I could see this happening in real life.
Another one of my favorites was My Sacred Slumber. This story resonated with me as being very dark and disturbing and one that many may find hard to get through. The horror and courage must have swelled within the author when he wrote this one, but the mechanics of his writing are superb.
The only thing that held this book back from being a 5 spider rating was the "chopped off" endings of a few too many of Brandon Ford's stories. I thought some of the tales could have been developed further and gone farther than they did but this seems to be all part of the authors style and it certainly doesn't take away from my appetite to want to read more from Mr. Ford. I would equate my experience with some of his work as having a bowl of ice cream taken away from me when there's still a few more delicious spoonfuls left in the bottom of the bowl. It was very good but I wanted more from that bowl, and from that story.
My other "top picks" in Decayed Etchings were Trippity Doo-Da, Cat Call, Bookends, Camera Shy and Famous Last Words.
I’m giving Decayed Etchings a 4 spider rating.
T.Riddell
Brandon Ford endeavors to push the envelope and go beyond some of the common accepted boundaries in a few of his tales and in doing so he tears down the wall that would normally hold a lot of other writers back.
For instance, one of my favorite stories in this compilation was Band Of Gold where a wayward husband involves himself with a hooker and in the process, loses something of value to his marriage, in a place where he realizes he probably shouldn't have gone to in the first place. It was a gross but amusing tale that had me chuckling because I could see this happening in real life.
Another one of my favorites was My Sacred Slumber. This story resonated with me as being very dark and disturbing and one that many may find hard to get through. The horror and courage must have swelled within the author when he wrote this one, but the mechanics of his writing are superb.
The only thing that held this book back from being a 5 spider rating was the "chopped off" endings of a few too many of Brandon Ford's stories. I thought some of the tales could have been developed further and gone farther than they did but this seems to be all part of the authors style and it certainly doesn't take away from my appetite to want to read more from Mr. Ford. I would equate my experience with some of his work as having a bowl of ice cream taken away from me when there's still a few more delicious spoonfuls left in the bottom of the bowl. It was very good but I wanted more from that bowl, and from that story.
My other "top picks" in Decayed Etchings were Trippity Doo-Da, Cat Call, Bookends, Camera Shy and Famous Last Words.
I’m giving Decayed Etchings a 4 spider rating.
T.Riddell
December 30, 2012
One of the best collection of short stories I've ever read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews