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The Sin Eaters and Other Macabre Tales
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 6, 2026
About the author
Michael R. Collins
25 books31 followersMichael R. Collins was born at a very young age in the wilds of southern Idaho. After a few decades he finally got his fill of all the sagebrush and rattlesnakes he could eat so he struck out into the world. After a long stop in Austin, Texas, he currently lives in Pennsylvania with his partner Mel. He has written three books, scores of short stories, and a few alibis. (Just in case)
As Mick Collins I also published Dick Wiggler and Other Useless Superpowers.
As Mick Collins I also published Dick Wiggler and Other Useless Superpowers.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 11, 2026
A wonderful collection by Collins. I've always enjoyed his writing, and in this collection you get to see just how amazing he is at all the different sub-genres of horror.
The Sin Eaters and it's follow up story, The Healer are my favorites of this collection. The Sin Eaters is a story with a building sense of dread, you wonder just what Daniel and Uriel have in store for Della. But the twist makes the story worth it. The Healer hurt my heart. Della's anxious journey to Daniel and Uriel is all consuming, and the end made me cry.
With a Frozen Dream and A Borrowed Hope That Died is a brutal bloody tale of revenge that was non stop action.
Lucifer's Flowers combines a mafia crime boss with Satanism. Hayes was a fabulous character and I can't believe Collins did him dirty like that!
I Am The Gate a surreal tale that while I was reading I kind of got vibes from that scene in the remake of IT where the kids are in the house and encounter Pennywise. It's hard to explain so if you read this story, and have seen that movie you might just understand what I mean.
No Shelter Here, this was a crazy mind bending story that makes you wonder exactly what is real.
Meat Corridors, whew. Holy smokes was this wild. Terrifying in a that better not ever happen kind of way.
The Loss, what a sad story. It leaves you grieving for the characters.
The Land Fights Back, folk horror mixed with eco horror, I love a good story about the land and it's spirit taking revenge on humans.
Prometheus was another favorite. I really enjoyed the story of a god taking back his gift. This story makes you think and realize that humans aren't as smart as we think we are.
You can't go wrong with this collection. Add it to your TBR STAT!
The Sin Eaters and it's follow up story, The Healer are my favorites of this collection. The Sin Eaters is a story with a building sense of dread, you wonder just what Daniel and Uriel have in store for Della. But the twist makes the story worth it. The Healer hurt my heart. Della's anxious journey to Daniel and Uriel is all consuming, and the end made me cry.
With a Frozen Dream and A Borrowed Hope That Died is a brutal bloody tale of revenge that was non stop action.
Lucifer's Flowers combines a mafia crime boss with Satanism. Hayes was a fabulous character and I can't believe Collins did him dirty like that!
I Am The Gate a surreal tale that while I was reading I kind of got vibes from that scene in the remake of IT where the kids are in the house and encounter Pennywise. It's hard to explain so if you read this story, and have seen that movie you might just understand what I mean.
No Shelter Here, this was a crazy mind bending story that makes you wonder exactly what is real.
Meat Corridors, whew. Holy smokes was this wild. Terrifying in a that better not ever happen kind of way.
The Loss, what a sad story. It leaves you grieving for the characters.
The Land Fights Back, folk horror mixed with eco horror, I love a good story about the land and it's spirit taking revenge on humans.
Prometheus was another favorite. I really enjoyed the story of a god taking back his gift. This story makes you think and realize that humans aren't as smart as we think we are.
You can't go wrong with this collection. Add it to your TBR STAT!
Review of advance copy received from Author
A well-crafted horror collection of ten short stories, mostly supernatural queer horror, with brief author's notes tagged at the end. I'd read almost all of the tales before, since several were published in high quality anthologies, ranging from Gloom House's "We're Here" and "We're Still Here" to Kevin Kennedy's "The Horror Collection" anthology series. Reading them on the occasion of this collection, I was amazed by how fittingly they complement each other, even the ones I hadn't read before: an undercurrent of rage and quiet resolve coexists with a fierce sense of justice and non-negotiable respect for the other, all deeply embodied in tales of high emotional tension and unnerving existential dread.
My favorites were the Sin-Eaters duo of stories, of course ("The Sin Eaters" and "The Healer", each touching on a woman's life on hugely different occasions, both of them, however, of great significance for the shaping of her identity as a survivor); "I Am the Gate," a truly creepy tale of liminal horror growing from the evil neighbor horror trope; "Meat Corridors," a wildly imaginative take on the idea of teleportation, combining gory body horror with sci fi mystery; and "The Loss," a triumph of grief horror and supernatural suspense.
If you enjoy short stories, this is an easy recommendation! Gruesome, yet hopeful when it comes to the really important things.
My favorites were the Sin-Eaters duo of stories, of course ("The Sin Eaters" and "The Healer", each touching on a woman's life on hugely different occasions, both of them, however, of great significance for the shaping of her identity as a survivor); "I Am the Gate," a truly creepy tale of liminal horror growing from the evil neighbor horror trope; "Meat Corridors," a wildly imaginative take on the idea of teleportation, combining gory body horror with sci fi mystery; and "The Loss," a triumph of grief horror and supernatural suspense.
If you enjoy short stories, this is an easy recommendation! Gruesome, yet hopeful when it comes to the really important things.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I rather enjoyed this collection. These stories were unlike anything I have read before which was refreshing. Im really enjoyed the strange twists with these stories. I thought the way this author portrays the main characters gave them good depth and reliability. The land fights back was my favourite story in this collection. It gave me the feeling of creeping dread. I will be definitely will be reading more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews