first communions

by Geoffrey Girard

Geoffrey Girard first appeared in Writers of the Future and has since written and sold more than sixty short stories of dark fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Collected here, for the first time, are sixteen of his best, and darkest, tales.

The man who collects chips of bone from his willing victims... A legendary evil is adopted by a small, and thankful, village... The doomed girl invited to take part in a deliberate tragedy... A horrific church choir assembled after the zombie apocalypse... The boy who harvests spiders for a shadowy woman of magic... A fearsome town where the children’s nightmares are all real... The pain, price and beauty of blood and first loves...

From the curse of ancient evils to futuristic retirement homes where the dead still rule, haunted graveyards, planets of torture where all are equal, hockey-playing demon hunters, dark sorcerers battling in Algeria, and even voodoo-cursed pirates. Explore the darkest, and most majestic, extremes of us all in sixteen unique tales that will entertain, horrify and keep you thinking long after the last page is turned.


Let the communion begin…

“At times chilling, disturbing and even poignant, Geoffrey Girard’s debut collection, first communions, is satisfying and rich. Will leave you breathless, shocked and ultimately dying to read more of his work.”
—Chesya Burke, author of Let’s Play White and The Strange Crimes of Little Africa


“A collection of stunning breadth. Girard knows just where to stick the knife, when to start digging, and when to ease back and let you catch your breath.”
—Jennifer Pelland, two-time Nebula-nominated author of Unwelcome Bodies and Machine


“A masterful trip to the dark side of the street, and Geoffrey Girard is your experienced, spellbinding tour guide.” —Matt Wallace, author of Envy of Angels and Lustlocked


“Geoffrey Girard peels back the ordinary world to reveal the darkness underneath. His stories, a tour of literary voices, compel the reader to think... with images and ideas that will haunt. first communions showcases the breadth and power of Girard's work.”
—Maurice Broaddus, author of the Knights of Breton Court trilogy

Genres: Horror

267 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction. Simon and Schuster published two Girard novels simultaneously in 2013: CAIN'S BLOOD, a techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a companion novel for teen/YA readers which was nominated for a Bram Stoker award for "Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel."

Girard's short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Prime Codex, Aoife's Kiss, The Willows, Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology.

Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio and is the English Department Chair at a private boys' high school. He has a BA in English literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University.

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nitty-gritty: A bunch of stories that will make you very uncomfortable. And that's a good thing!

God watches as you bring another into the room. He does not take his eyes off you. Sits in his LifeChair exactly where you parked him two days before. White beard and tubes. His cartridge core throbs, like his eyes, with the dim glow of something still clutching at life. You will do him last.

I had my first taste of Geoffrey Girard’s unique brand of dark horror a couple of years ago when I read his YA novel Project Cain, which dealt with the not-so-young-adult subject of serial killers. When I ran across his short story collection, first communions, I immediately requested a review copy from the publisher. Not all authors can write both novels and short fiction well, but Girard, in my humble opinion, is one of those that can. first communions includes sixteen tales that span over twelve years of published short fiction. He got his start as a Writers of the Future winner in 2003 (and that story, Dark Harvest, is part of this collection) and he hasn’t looked back since.

first communions is a solid collection that shows just how weird and wonderful short stories can be. I was alternately horrified, sick to my stomach, creeped out, or close to tears as I was reading, so bravo to Girard for eliciting so many emotions. As strong as the collection is, though, not every story worked well for me. One in particular just seemed silly (H.E. Double Hockey Sticks) and a couple were almost too disturbing (Collecting James and Universal Adaptor). But I loved the fact that each one felt different from the last, and I applaud Girard for taking risks and trying different styles of storytelling.

I was pleased to see notes for each story at the end of the collection, something I wish all writers would include. I find I can easily read a novel without having to know much about the author’s inspiration, but when it comes to short stories, I’m much more curious about how the story evolved. My most common reaction while reading first communions? Where the hell did that idea come from? Luckily, some of my questions were answered, as Girard gives us at least one healthy paragraph per story, answering the “whys” and the “hows” and yes, the “wheres.”

What sets this author apart from other short story writers is that his story endings, for the most part, completely took me by surprise. There’s a certain comfort in knowing where a story is going, but Girard takes that comfort away by not going in the direction you’re expecting.

Below are my top six favorite stories: (Why six? I don’t know, I just really loved these!)

Unto the Lord a New Song – This was my second time reading this story, which first appeared in Apex’s anthology Appalachian Dead. It took me a few pages before I realized I had read it before, and it was just as good the second time around. In a zombie infested future society, a boy maintains a very, er, unusual church choir. Zombies. Choir.  I’ll let you put the pieces together.

What You Know – I’m quite sure this tale came directly from Girard’s experiences with teaching. A third grade teacher tells her students to “write what you know,” only to discover that their stories of monsters and crazed killers are coming true. The story is interspersed with short paragraphs instructing the teacher on how to evaluate the assignments. This one made me laugh and gasp in horror at the same time.

For Restful Death I Cry – One of my favorites, this story takes place in the future, where a contraption called the LifeChair can extend a person’s life to hundreds of years. But in the wake of an apocalyptic event, crews of demolition teams are tasked with dismantling the nuclear cartridge cores that keep these creatures alive and demo-ing the concrete “retirement homes” where thousands live. This is one of those endings that came out of nowhere and floored me.

Dark Harvest – In a small village, townsfolk discover the body of a Witchman, a creature who is a virtual killing machine. But this one isn’t quite dead, as they soon discover after dragging it to a barn and standing watch. I loved the way the people in the village start out terrified of the Witchman, only to become braver after an unexpected shift of power.

Crawl – This was the only story in the bunch (if I’m remembering correctly) that didn’t have any supernatural elements. But that doesn’t mean it was horrifying! Are you scared of tarantulas? How do you feel about going out in the middle of the night in the desert and hunting them, drawing them out of their holes in the ground? As much as I hate creepy crawlies of all sorts, what drew me to this story were the three young boys who hunt the tarantulas. Set in Mexico, Girard not only scares us, but gives us a poignant tale of a struggling class of people with less than ideal family lives.

Translatio – A man with an unseen “master” is compelled to write about future horrors in his journals. Can he see into the future, or is he actually making these things happen? The story starts with the man describing the odd, balloon-shaped alien creatures that hover over houses and randomly grab people when they need to eat. At first I thought that’s what the story was about, but we soon discover that there is so much more to fear.

If you’re in the mood for something short, stories that will shock and horrify and make you think twice about what’s really out there hiding in the shadows, then first communions is a great choice. You may not get exactly what you are expecting, but I guarantee those unexpected moments will stay with you long after the stories are over.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Check back next week for my interview with Geoffrey, as well as a giveaway of a signed copy of first communions! This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy

[Kawther · Rating 3 out of 5]

review copy from LibraryThing

This is my first time reading an anthology
This book is a collection of short horror stories , they are all different from each other .I didn't think they were that scary or exciting, but i loved some of them, they had a touch of science fiction and Fantasy and can be seen as YA and Adult stories.
Here are my thoughts on each one:

"Translatio " _ a strange story of black balloon shaped aliens and a man with a gift of seeing future horrors.

"Collecting James "_ a man who collects chips from people's skulls...it was fun to read.

"For restful death i cry _ people are kept alive longer thanks to technology and a man who has to remove them. I found this one confusing yet enjoyable.

"Dark Harvest"_ a monstrous black creature and it's story with the town's people who kept him. Not one of my favorites.

"Not fade away " _ a young girl working at a nursery home and when a misfortune happens, she sticks with them . I liked this one .

"Unto the lord new song _ one of the best , who doesn't like Zombies? Yet it was so much more.

"Release Me "_ a ghost story of a giant woman, this one was my number one in this book ,it's dark and keeps you interested.

"Psychomachia" _ a story about working in coal mines, i didn't quite get it , it's confusing.

"Universal adaptor "_ i don't know for sure , but i didn't enjoy it and had a hard time getting into it.

"Misdirection"_ i absolutely loved it! It's a story of a young Algerian boy and a French wizard , i understood all the references because I'm Algerian , Maybe that's why i loved it!

"What you know "_twisted and fun to read .

"H.E double hockey sticks "_ dark and funny! A story of two demons and a bad hockey team..

"Where the shadow ended"_ it's about a young boy and demons of shadows , overall it's good , not my favorite though.

"Dead in the water" _ Pirates , Zombies and Action.. do i need to say more?

"Crawl "_not my best read , Only if you like spiders?

"First Communions"_ i felt like it was nice way to end this collection .

Those notes at the end were a nice addition.

I really enjoyed reading this book , some stories were fun and wonderful, others , not so much. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy horror and creepy stories.

[Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best short story collections I have read to date. Girard does an excellent job navigating the lore of cultures both modern and ancient and navigating the minds of men and women, boys and girls. He masterfully turns every creature and every object into objects of horror.

[Frank Errington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy

Although most of the stories in first communions: a collection of dark horror have been previously published, this is my first exposure to the writing of Geoffrey Girard. I'm so glad I got to read this varied and mostly entertaining collection.

Translatio - This as not my favorite story in the collection, but even it had it's moments. "Fleshy tentacles had shot out, snatched some middle -aged mother and an old man into the air; one of the woman's shoes flung out over an adjacent roof. Then, the balloon creature had fed, and blood rained again from an overcast sky."

Collecting James - A rather disturbing story of a most unusual and somewhat perverse collection.

For Restful Death I Cry - A future where medical advances have kept folks alive well past what would be considered a normal life expectancy. What happens when it becomes a healthcare norm to disconnect them all?

Dark Harvest - One of a number of favorites for me in this collection. A Dark Lord. Revenant. Witchman. A story which rarely gives the readers what they expect or what they want, but it is genuinely entertaining.

Not Fade Away - A strange, yet enjoyable story of a teen-aged girl working in a nursing home, yet it's so much more.

Unto the Lord a New Song - A wonderfully original story. One of the best I've read this year. Yeah, it has zombies, but it's the uniqueness of the tale that makes it so special.

Release Me - The stories get better and better. This one, a classic gothic ghost story with a touch of Lovecraft.

Psychomachia - A story of working in the coal mines in the early twentieth century.

Universal Adaptor - An interstellar musical diversion.

Misdirection - A wartime battle of magic-men.

What You Know - Loved, loved, loved this story of a Third grade writing assignment gone horribly wrong.

H.E. Double Hockey Sticks - My favorite title in the collection and it's prefect for this story of demonic twins on a Fifth Grade hockey team.

Where the Shadow Ended - The story of a young chimney sweep who gets caught up in his work.

Dead in the Water - Pirates who encounter a ship of the dead.

Crawl - I love the opening line. "In a large dirt field, three boys hunted for tarantulas." Another excellent tale.

First Communions - The title story and a wonderful coming-of-age tale to wrap up the collection.

It took me some time to adjust to Geoff Girard's style of literary horror, but overall the tales were original, fantastical, twisted, dark, and ultimately enjoyable. The stories vary in themes and writing styles. Some I liked more than others, but it's a good bet you'll like the ones I didn't and vice versa. There really is something for everyone.

At the end of the book you'll find Story Notes for each of the works in the collection. I always enjoy these little peaks into the writing process and where the story ideas come from.

first communions: a collection of dark horror is published by Apex Books which is appropriate since many of the author's short stories have appeared in Apex Magazine over the years. This collection is available in paperback and e-book formats.

Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, young adult novels, and short speculative fiction. First appearing in Writers of the Future in 2003, Geoffrey has since sold more than sixty short stories. His novels include Cain's Blood and the Stoker-nominated Project Cain. He is the Department Chair of English at a private boy's school in Cincinnati where he teaches literature, horror, and creative writing.

[John Considine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girard really shows his ability to explore different genres of short stories, science fiction, dystopia, zombies, ghost stories and more. Each story included its own surprises. Girard was able quickly establish the feeling of the story; you knew right away about suspense, drama and evil. The evil was rarely graphic; he left us to our own imaginations. Only rarely did I think he was playing with the reader, but be careful, because that's when you're in for a surprise. Many times the character is not complete until the last paragraph.

Girard helped remind me how powerful short stories can be. These stories may be too much for some, but they are a treat for those who enjoy a good thoughtful scare.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

This is a nice mix of dark, short stories. All have an element of horror, but some incorporate humor, others mystery, gore, adventure, mysticism, etc. Not all of the stories were to my taste, but they are diverse enough that I think at least a couple would resonate with any reader. The ones that I liked really stuck with me. My favorite, and the scariest for me, might be Not Fade Away, where you get to contemplate the horror of your own mortality.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Communions is an anthology of short stories by Geoffrey Gerard from Apex Book Company. It includes 16 short stories and, at the end of the book, a nice commentary from the author about the inspiration and circumstances surrounding the stories. The stories are all dark fiction with some extending into horror, science fiction, and even fantasy. Here are the short and long versions of my review.

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love horror stories and things that make you really think. I really enjoyed this book. I love how there are a bunch of different stories. They are short and to the point. Some will scare you to no end. Creepy,exciting and worth reading. I am very appreciative to review this book for LibraryThings.