The Other Side of the Door: Dark Stories

by Tyler Miller

A man who believes he got away with his wife’s murder, until years later when her severed fingers is delivered to him in a box. A computer genius melds Mother Nature and technology, and unleashes an otherworldly horror beyond imagining. A small town sheriff haunted by the sins of his past investigates a string of bizarre suicides in which each victim has something in no matter how they died, their lungs are full of water. A newlywed couple moves into one half of an aging duplex, only to find that dark fears and unholy seductions lie in the empty rooms just beyond the other side of the door. In this riveting collection of horror and suspense, award-winning writer Tyler Miller conjures an uneasy world of dark wonders and strange twists of fate. With echoes of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, The Other Side of the Door announces the arrival of a major new talent of the dark fantastic.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 2015

About the author

Mr. Miller lives in Nevermore, Washington with his wife, two children and their dog, Nickelby. He enjoys moonlight walks through abandoned cemeteries.

Reviews

[Debbie Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Miller has been mentioned as the successor to Steven King....well, in my opinion, he COULD be the new Mr. King. I remember reading Steven King just as he was starting out and beginning his reputation. That seems to be the point that Mr. Miller is at. This collection is his second batch of published short stories. I really liked a couple of them...Til Death Do Us, and The Other Side of the Door...are the best. I'm looking forward to deeper character development and a few more plot embellishments as he matures as a writer. I will be keeping this slim volume in my personal collection.

[Summaiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Other Side of The Door (Although I did not care for the other stories that were included in this).

Aside from being a brilliant story in and of itself I loved how it faintly echoed of Stephen King's The Shining.

[Stefani Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the Other Side of the Door. I had to sleep with the lights on, but I loved it. Miller really knows how to inject just enough creepy so that you're looking over your shoulder to make sure you really are alone in your room. I hope to see more from Tyler Miller in the future.

[Karlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from goodreads. I enjoyed The Other Side of The Door. The other stories that were included in this were okay.

[Rusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

I've never written or published a single story in my life, so I have respect for those follow their muse and present their stories to the world at large.

Unfortunately, the collection left much to be desired. I wish that I could ignore the many grammatical and spelling errors that popped up in virtually every story, but these things matter, especially when writers are just starting out to establish themselves.

Most notably, repeated failures to properly use 'their', 'they're' and 'there' in the proper context. Also, improper use of "its" vs. "it's". And, some unfortunate misspellings that took away from a story (e.g., p. 113, "And he would strange (sic) her right there on the kitchen floor amongst the Cool Whip and the Smuckers Strawberry Preserves.").

Regarding the stories themselves:

The first story, 'Til Death Do Us', had its moments, and kept my interest up until the end, but seemed to end with a fairly predictable 'gotcha' conclusion.

I enjoyed 'The Waters and the Wild' most, for its fantasy aspects and humor, although I don't think you'll find many butlers out there named after an interjection. I think the 'tech' could have used a little polish, but I still enjoyed the story.

I also enjoyed 'Not Dead, Not Even Past', although I would have liked the author to have delved further into the sheriff's deputy, whose ambiguous past was to me as interesting as the main plot of the story, but was never expanded.

I was not particularly taken with the title story, which I felt could have been much shorter.

I hope that the author will leverage online resources and other references to improve grammar in future works, and make use of friends and family to proof read and correct spelling and other issues. Some online possibilities:

Instant Grammar Checker
The University of Chicago Writing Program - Grammar Resources
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Grammar

[Nila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy home town stories with a twist, short but good!