Just Like Hell / Mr. Gray

by Nate Southard

Dillon has the world on a string. With a record-breaking football season and several scholarship offers in his pocket, he can write his own future.

But Dillon has a secret, something he’s never told the rest of his team. Even his best friends don’t know. They might not understand. They might overreact.

Now the secret is out. Maybe that’s why Dillon just woke up in the trunk of a car.

And maybe that’s why Dillon is about to go through something Just Like Hell.

Includes Nate Southard’s chilling story of demonic possession, torment, and survival, Mr. Gray.

Genres: Horror

185 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 8, 2017

About the author

Nate Southard is moody, shy, lanky, bald, and has bad skin. When he isn’t writing, he’s probably cooking Thai food or fried chicken. Seriously, he has something like fifty fried chicken recipes. It’s ridiculous. He recently discovered coffee-flavored ice cream, and it’s ruling his entire world. Did you know if you mix it with chocolate ice cream, you can kinda make mocha ice cream? Nate does!

Nate lives in Austin, Texas.

He sucks at skateboarding.

Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These two novellas pack a wallop, and I do mean literally.  There is no shortage of rage and violence in these stories.  In Just Like Hell, homophobia and persecution drive five high school students to cross all the lines.  Only one of them is a psychopath, but all five push the boundaries of savagery.  Revenge is a common factor in both of these narratives.  In Mr. Gray, the evil influence is less than human and more cunning than a psychopath.  Mr. Gray targets children, and few survive.  The battle for redemption is brutal.  Both of these stories are as raw and disturbing as they are compulsively readable.  If you are a sensitive reader, proceed with caution.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is two novellas from a usually very decent author occupying opposite ends of the horror spectrum - with one squarely in the realm of the real and the other supernatural in nature. The first, Just Like Hell is a decent revenge thriller that tackles some sensitive subject matter which is designed to get a reaction. And even though it starts out believably, it soon descends into the realm of the extreme as the antagonist slips more than a couple of cogs while getting revenge on his best friend and his lover for keeping their homosexual relationship from him. (Selfish much?)

Mr Gray, on the other hand, is a uniquely told possession story, with Southard managing to maintain an unusual degree of tension through the narrative as events from the past are interwoven with what is happening in the present.

Neither tale breaks any moulds, but both are very readable and the prose flows well. There are a few typos but nothing overly annoying from this Sinister Grin Press edition. Though what the cover image has to do with anything taking place in either story is a mystery only the high-ups at Sinister Grin are likely to be able to answer...

3 Unwanted Dark Passengers for Just Like Hell/Mr Gray.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both novellas where amazing, best thing I have read this year!

[Karl]

Contains the two stories:

"Just Like Hell" (2008) originally published by Thunderstorm Books.
"Mr. Gray"(2011) originally published by Camelot Books

Cover by Matthew Revert.

[Joe Piccoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Like Hell 3
Mr. Gray 4

[Jay Odd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Like Hell / Mr. Gray by Nate Southard from Austin, Texas.

This book contains two novellas, Just Like Hell and Mr. Gray, the former being a violent outpouring in a realistic situation, the latter a more intelligent and original horror piece. I wouldn’t have reviewed Just Like Hell as a standalone because I can tell that it’s well written; I’m just not the right reader for it.

In Just Like Hell, Dillon is a successful, popular high school student. However, he harbours a secret that not even his closest friends are in on. At least, he didn’t think they were.

Even his best friends don’t know. They might not understand. They might overreact.

I’m not a sensitive reader, but I did find Just Like Hell a little over the top, lingering on violent details when it wasn’t always necessary. I favour psychological horror over slasher horror, so perhaps I’m not the intended audience for this one.

In Mr. Gray, the bad guy isn’t even human. He’s some kind of evil spirit with psychopathic, twisted intentions. Mr Gray preys on children and not many of them survive. Can anyone stop him?

I don’t always give books ratings but I’ve decided to score Just Like Hell/Mr. Gray 4/5 stars. To break it down, I give Just Like Hell a 3/5 and Mr. Gray a solid 5/5. I will be keeping an eye out for work by the fried-chicken fanatic, Nate Southard in future. Even if am a vegetarian. Can’t hold that against an author. He’s also bad at skateboarding and I probably would be too if I tried it, so I think we’d get on.

https://examiningtheodd.com/2017/06/1...

[Nate Garfinkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words 😶. This was truly a rollercoaster of emotions and it left me absolutely satisfied by the end.
Some tears may have been shed but it’s not about the journey it’s about the destination as they say. So in love with Nate Southards style of writing and how he seamlessly flips back and forth between multiple perspectives like you’re jumping in and out of everyone’s eyes as they all try to process this nightmare. 10/10

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not care for Just Like Hell, but I'm can't focus on gore-heavy prose.

I did really like Mr. Gray. Good pacing and good reveal.

[Josh Warfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like hell is a superb and heartbreaking story.

Mr. Gray isnt just a tag along trunk story. It's a great take on thepossession, demon tale. Great stuff.

[Well Read Beard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my video review. Hit subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7k7O...