What do you think?
Rate this book
Black Tea and Other Tales
(Includes the short story "Black Tea", an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year 2013)
In an apparently abandoned house, time and space work in a peculiar way. Those inside can’t remember why they are there and memories of the time before are beginning to fade. That strange old lady, can she help them or is she a threat? A small sheet of paper in their pocket reminding them who they are and where the danger comes from may be their only hope, but can they use it to escape the house or will they die in the attempt?
A special wine allows dreams to come true. But what happens when a loser like William Fiorucci - divorced, broke, and little more than a drunken hack – gets a sip of it?
Giuseppe is only eleven but he’s a smart kid. He knows that he can avoid the Janara if he just remains still and makes no noise. If he can manage that, she won’t find him hiding in his bed. There are rules she must follow after all. But can he use those rules against her? Can he free himself from the witch’s curse by killing the witch herself?
Three short stories, three dark visions of Milan and Italy from Samuel Marolla, the Master of Italian Horror.
"THE LITERARY QUALITY REMINDED ME QUITE A BIT OF THE AMERICAN WRITER THOMAS LIGOTTI" - Gene O'Neill
"WONDERFULLY DARK" - Grimdark Magazine
In an apparently abandoned house, time and space work in a peculiar way. Those inside can’t remember why they are there and memories of the time before are beginning to fade. That strange old lady, can she help them or is she a threat? A small sheet of paper in their pocket reminding them who they are and where the danger comes from may be their only hope, but can they use it to escape the house or will they die in the attempt?
A special wine allows dreams to come true. But what happens when a loser like William Fiorucci - divorced, broke, and little more than a drunken hack – gets a sip of it?
Giuseppe is only eleven but he’s a smart kid. He knows that he can avoid the Janara if he just remains still and makes no noise. If he can manage that, she won’t find him hiding in his bed. There are rules she must follow after all. But can he use those rules against her? Can he free himself from the witch’s curse by killing the witch herself?
Three short stories, three dark visions of Milan and Italy from Samuel Marolla, the Master of Italian Horror.
"THE LITERARY QUALITY REMINDED ME QUITE A BIT OF THE AMERICAN WRITER THOMAS LIGOTTI" - Gene O'Neill
"WONDERFULLY DARK" - Grimdark Magazine
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
75 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2013
4 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2022
There are three stories here, and they are all good, but the strongest is the title story.
Black Tea opens with a confused man wandering the pathways of a strange mansion. He finds a note in his pocket telling him the old woman who owns the house is trying to kill him and two remaining men. The objective is simple, but incredibly appealing, can he survive and find a way out of Grandma's house? Grandma is enticingly charming, smiling and offering black tea, but pure evil, a terrifying creation. The house, the Villa Bartoli, plays a dark and twisted part also, it has been designed by her dead husband, with windowless hallways are a maze of crimson carpets, and seemingly bleeding arabesque wallpaper.
The second story is Crocodile, which tells of William Fiorucci, a thin, divorced alcoholic journalist living in Milan above an aging prostitute in his Mother’s flat. A long-retired, one-eyed mobster, gives Fiorucci a bottle of his homemade wine in gratitude for not writing a piece that would have tarnished his granddaughter’s reputation. The wine makes dreams, and nightmares come to life.
In The Janara an unseen spirit visits an adolescent boy. The boy refers to her, perhaps in hope, as 'she', and conjures up disturbing descriptions for her. He must follow the rules she makes if he is to survive, as he clutches to his teddy bear, keep the sheets pulled up, and don't make a sound.
Black Tea opens with a confused man wandering the pathways of a strange mansion. He finds a note in his pocket telling him the old woman who owns the house is trying to kill him and two remaining men. The objective is simple, but incredibly appealing, can he survive and find a way out of Grandma's house? Grandma is enticingly charming, smiling and offering black tea, but pure evil, a terrifying creation. The house, the Villa Bartoli, plays a dark and twisted part also, it has been designed by her dead husband, with windowless hallways are a maze of crimson carpets, and seemingly bleeding arabesque wallpaper.
The second story is Crocodile, which tells of William Fiorucci, a thin, divorced alcoholic journalist living in Milan above an aging prostitute in his Mother’s flat. A long-retired, one-eyed mobster, gives Fiorucci a bottle of his homemade wine in gratitude for not writing a piece that would have tarnished his granddaughter’s reputation. The wine makes dreams, and nightmares come to life.
In The Janara an unseen spirit visits an adolescent boy. The boy refers to her, perhaps in hope, as 'she', and conjures up disturbing descriptions for her. He must follow the rules she makes if he is to survive, as he clutches to his teddy bear, keep the sheets pulled up, and don't make a sound.
February 23, 2018
This book was a collection of 3 short stories. Overall, the author's writing style is very rough. I'm reminded of Stephen King a la Carrie. With some editing and effort, I think this author could improve as Stephen King has over the years. However, this author pretty clearly has issues with women and seemed really focused on race (and wallpaper?). Also, the plots seemed very derivative.
The Janara was the only story of the bunch that held it's own (earning an extra star for my rating). Black Tea seemed jumbled and aimless. Crocodiles had a slightly more interesting character (if unlikable, similar to Tropic of Cancer), but the plot reeked of Deathnote fandom and the dialogue as well as the plot became repetitive (note to self: a character who says "heavens to murgatroyd" should be murdered shortly after his/her introduction).
The Janara was the only story of the bunch that held it's own (earning an extra star for my rating). Black Tea seemed jumbled and aimless. Crocodiles had a slightly more interesting character (if unlikable, similar to Tropic of Cancer), but the plot reeked of Deathnote fandom and the dialogue as well as the plot became repetitive (note to self: a character who says "heavens to murgatroyd" should be murdered shortly after his/her introduction).
Read
June 14, 2024Man, Italy sounds terrifying. Imagine if it were real!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews