Filter

by Jason Gehlert

From Black Sheet Books Website: From the haunting story of an alienated young boy yearning to be understood to the brutal bloodbath invoked by a satanic excuse for a small town preacher to the creepiest birthing center you've ever imagined, Jason Gehlert's debut release will astound, horrify and delight you – sometimes all at once.

Gehlert's style is muscular, even brutal on occasion, as he batters at your brain with a collection kicks off with a gleeful hat tip to our Twlightesque past and then digs down deep for more bloody, visceral thrills that will leave bloody trails in your nightmares for weeks to come.

Poetry is intertwined, some of it featuring characters from the stories, some of it freestanding and ferocious in its sexuality.

A shock to the brain, the nervous system, that fight or flight warning bell that goes off just before the knife slices down, a promise of great things to come. Keep an eye out for Mr. Gehlert. With all that frenetic, maniacal imagination bursting out of his head, if he doesn't become a fantastically popular author, he's got a promising career as a serial killer ahead of him.

– Deb Hoag, author, Queer and Loathing on the Yellow Brick Road from Dog Horn Publishing

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2015

About the author

I am a 31 year old author from Poughkeepsie, NY and I write horror and sci-fi. I currently have three books out entitled Quiver, a werewolf trilogy. I also have several other works coming out the next three years as well. My publisher is a small press out in California, and I frequently do book tours and signings across the NY Hudson Valley area."

Reviews

[Zakgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realise this book was an anthology and I hooked in ready to read a 200 page novel only to be surprised and after the shock of realising it wasn't a novel delighted by the fact that it was in fact a collection of short stories intermingled with poetry and creative illustrations depicting the works. Not particularly fussed about poetry but some of the poetry was good. This book can only be described as gruesome. Reminds me of a Brothers Grimm for grown ups though definitely not fairy tale genre. The story that particularly appealed to me was, The Nursery; grotesque in the extreme and yet somehow fascinating and I couldn't stop reading. I didn't enjoy, The Box or Burial, and although I liked it, The Conversation, was good but I didn't particularly appreciate the ending. Gravedigger was particularly enjoyable but again the ending somehow didn't quite come off for me. I do enjoy Gehlert's older male characters. They always seem plausible and you want to know more about them. I do prefer his novels especially, Jerimiah Black, and, Red Triangle, but it was nice to read a mix of smaller, shorter and more quickly quenchable stories. I will be reading more of Gehlert's works. Being a King fan, this type of writing does appeal to me. Gehlert's is somewhat darker and no holes barred than King's which is a good and a bad thing. I look forward to reading more :)

[Dona Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filter, the latest release by Jason Wolfgang Gehlert is dark, dangerous, and intoxicating. The rich pages are surely steeped in a velvety red wine. Gehlert’s Filter is filled with so many stories, poems and unsettling drawings, I can’t begin to give you a synopses of each, rather I can only impart the feeling I had as I consumed the book. For instance, as I read one dark story I swear I could feel soft, chilling touches that must have come from strange hands that could only have belonged to the likes of an ardent vampire. I refused to look up from Gehlert’s book, the tales intrigued me-held me fast. Then I felt warm breath on the back of my neck–completely caused by the poem I was reading. Called to dinner, I was asked why my eyes shined so bright, why my neck was so red. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as I whispered, “I’m reading Filter, by Jason Wolfgang Gehlert.”