Dead Ends and Sharp Bends

by Angela Meadon

A collection of 9 dark fiction short stories including Her Harlequin Baby, which won the Inkitt End Game horror competition in August 2015.

The collection includes the following stories:
Her Harlequin Baby
Asanbosam - An African Vampire Legend
Khayalami Hospital
Letters From The Devil
The Patient
Tribulation
Intrepid Dawn
A Broken Rainbow
Havoc Unchained

Praise for Her Harlequin Baby:
"Angela Meadon delivers a dark, visceral, deeply human story. In very few words, she manages to convey the pain of what should be a joyful moment turned horrific and sad. The ending, while heart-wrenching is inevitable and perfect. Well done."
-Ken MacGregor

"...Meadon did an extraordinary job here. The tie-in with the disease and the tiger is compelling, frightening, and sad. This is a very memorable story, and told well."
-Sydney Leigh

206 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2015

About the author

Angela started writing stories when she was 8 years old. Her first story was about Indiana Jones and she wrote it on pages she tore out of her school books. She has come a long way since those early days. She invents her own heroes now, but she tries to keep the sense of passion and wonder that infused her early forays into the craft.

When she’s not herding her three children through the garden of their Johannesburg home, Angela surrounds herself with words in all their glorious forms. She is the submissions editor for an online magazine, the lead technical writer for a fast-growing software company, a dedicated author and a voracious reader.

She tends to write darker stories, and enjoys experimenting with genre. Horror and fantasy will always be her first loves (yes, she can have two), but she also enjoys science fiction and thrillers.

Reviews

[Kaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Here is my honesty:

It has been a long while since a book of short stories has caught me in its grasp so I could not put it down. I was very angry at my iPad when I had to send it away for repairs and so I had no choice. There was only one story in it, "Tribulation," that did not take my attention as fully as the rest, but at the same time, that is more of a genre preference for the type of horror it provided. Definitely, this is not a reflection of Meadon's writing style that still left me grasping and wanting to find more about what happened after the crux.

This book is full of spinetinglers and sudden ends that leave you wondering "when, what, how?" Other stories leave you on the edge of your seat wishing it was a not-so-short story; always a good sign. This book is highly original in its content and a few of my favourites and why were (no spoiler alerts I don't think):

- "Her harlequin baby" - possibly manifesting the fears we may all harvest inside and creating a new spin on a starting story

- "A broken rainbow" - definitely my favourite and so relatable as to the steps we may be willing to take and the choices we may be willing to make - not so much a horror as a tingler and a human story that leaves you thinking "Wow" in a happy and sad way

- "Havoc unchained" definitely felt like the opening of an interesting book, the way Meadon writes so you want to keep reading and ends with an abrupt, but satisfying ending is perfect!

- "Khayalami Hospital," "The patient" and "Letters from the devil" made me reminisce to Goosebumps stories and the horrors we think of just before we go to sleep after watching a scary movie too close to dark

- I loved Jackson Cook in "Asanbosam" and "Intrepid Dawn." It felt like in these two, Meadon brought out horror and humour in a way that broke out and prepared you for the next gripping thrillers in line!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book in exchange for a review.

Short stories are tricky things – the author has very little time to get the reader sucked in, in harmony with their writing style, and understanding everything that is not said as well as that which is. And as the reader, you have to be able to get the author immediately to fully appreciate the story. There is no ‘it gets better after the first 100 pages’ with a short story. Liking or disliking a short story really is about how well and quickly the author and reader mesh.

All of that being said, I found this anthology of short stories a bit of a mixed bag. I really liked some of the stories, while I thought others had great potential not quite realised. There were also some which I didn’t get at all, and some which felt a little forced.

But that is not to say I don’t think it is an anthology worth reading – I certainly think it is. Meadon has some interesting ideas and twists, and sometimes I put my kindle down at the end of a story and actually physically shuddered saying ugh because the story was so vivid.

The book could have done with a slightly tighter edit – little things like using a character’s name twice in a sentence when he is the only participant, instead of using ‘he’ is an editorial thing, not an author thing. And it jars unnecessarily.

If Meadon produced another anthology I’d read it too because, for all the little things and the few stories which didn’t work for me, I think she is an interesting author.

[Angelique Pacheco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of horror tales. Having said that, let me tell you this – I could not put this book down. I think it’s incredibly difficult to write short stories as you have to engage your reader so quickly and you don’t have the time to ease into character development. There were stories I liked and stories I didn’t based on my own personal preference, not on the writing itself. I found the book well written with good flow. I love the title of this book. It’s so apt for how Angela wrote the stories. A really good read!