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In The Shade: A Horror Novelette
Horror meets dark science fiction in this suspenseful tale of two brothers scarred by tragedy, and a terrible secret hidden in the depths of the Louisiana swamp...
Ben has begun to suspect terrible things about his older brother Harold, and after seeing the news story regarding a missing woman with a familiar face, it’s clear he can’t turn his back any longer.
Today he will confront Harold.
Today he will ask for answers.
Today he will learn that sometimes knowledge is a terrible thing. Certain secrets are better left buried.
Ben has begun to suspect terrible things about his older brother Harold, and after seeing the news story regarding a missing woman with a familiar face, it’s clear he can’t turn his back any longer.
Today he will confront Harold.
Today he will ask for answers.
Today he will learn that sometimes knowledge is a terrible thing. Certain secrets are better left buried.
50 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 29, 2017
38 people want to read
About the author
Jacob Stanley
39 books28 followersJacob Stanley is a speculative fiction author from northeast Georgia. He developed an interest in horror and fantasy at an early age, reading everything from old pulp fiction works by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard to horror epics by Stephen King and Robert McCammon. Eventually his interests branched out to include a huge number of writers from all the fantastic genres, including names as diverse as Clive Barker, Octavia Butler, C.S. Lewis, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Anne Rice, and Haruki Murakami.
In his early 20s he became obsessed with cinema and got caught up in the dream of the new indie film boom of the 90s. His first actual attempts to write fiction were all screenplays that he wrote over the next 10 years or so. During that time he watched every movie he could find, from the classic works of masters like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford, to the strange creations of David Lynch and Luis Buñuel. His fascination with extremes eventually made him a fan of numerous cult filmmakers, including Lucio Fulci, Roger Corman, and Russ Meyer.
His books are an attempt to distill all these diverse influences from the worlds of literature and cinema into a rich soup of epic-horror-science-fantasy weirdness.
In addition to writing, he's also been a guitarist since the age of twelve. In his spare time does a lot of reading, and enjoys hanging out with his family and pets.
In his early 20s he became obsessed with cinema and got caught up in the dream of the new indie film boom of the 90s. His first actual attempts to write fiction were all screenplays that he wrote over the next 10 years or so. During that time he watched every movie he could find, from the classic works of masters like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford, to the strange creations of David Lynch and Luis Buñuel. His fascination with extremes eventually made him a fan of numerous cult filmmakers, including Lucio Fulci, Roger Corman, and Russ Meyer.
His books are an attempt to distill all these diverse influences from the worlds of literature and cinema into a rich soup of epic-horror-science-fantasy weirdness.
In addition to writing, he's also been a guitarist since the age of twelve. In his spare time does a lot of reading, and enjoys hanging out with his family and pets.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 20, 2017
This short story by Jacob Stanley was an interesting read. You were sucked into the story from the start and the author didn't take long to get to the crux of the story involving a kind of plant enhanced resurrection procedure.
Although the elder brother character of Harold was a little one dimensional (we have seen this kind of mad scientist in countless horror stories) I got his motivations for the experiments he was performing.
It was just darn short........
There was enough ideas in the 50 pages to fill a full novel. I would love to learn more about the brothers relationship and where the original idea for the 'resurrection' procedure came from. Something akin to 'Revival' by Stephen King where the story builds over the years.
The ending had a nice twist, but with more deeply drawn characters, it would have had much more impact.
I am going to check out more of the authors work as this short was simply bursting with ideas.
Although the elder brother character of Harold was a little one dimensional (we have seen this kind of mad scientist in countless horror stories) I got his motivations for the experiments he was performing.
It was just darn short........
There was enough ideas in the 50 pages to fill a full novel. I would love to learn more about the brothers relationship and where the original idea for the 'resurrection' procedure came from. Something akin to 'Revival' by Stephen King where the story builds over the years.
The ending had a nice twist, but with more deeply drawn characters, it would have had much more impact.
I am going to check out more of the authors work as this short was simply bursting with ideas.
August 17, 2022
This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.
May 31, 2017
I enjoyed this story. It was an addictive and fast read from page one, and satisfying considering the length.
I have read some of this author's other books but never any short stories. I had some worries that I wouldn't like this as much, but he surprised me. This reminds me of something Dean Koontz would write back in his early days when he wrote mostly horror with a science fiction basis, but this story also deals with other things and is not pure science fiction. This author tends to combine and mix different genres together and he did the same here. There are some interesting concepts and some well written descriptive passages. I don't want to make this a spoiler review, so I won't say more, but if you like the cosmic horror writers such as Lovecraft then you will see similarities.
Most other books by this author are much more bloody and violent than this. There was some gore here but not as much as I expected. This is not really good or bad, just something I thought was worth bringing up.
This story has a well conceived surprise ending. I did not see it coming.
DISCLAIMER. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.
I have read some of this author's other books but never any short stories. I had some worries that I wouldn't like this as much, but he surprised me. This reminds me of something Dean Koontz would write back in his early days when he wrote mostly horror with a science fiction basis, but this story also deals with other things and is not pure science fiction. This author tends to combine and mix different genres together and he did the same here. There are some interesting concepts and some well written descriptive passages. I don't want to make this a spoiler review, so I won't say more, but if you like the cosmic horror writers such as Lovecraft then you will see similarities.
Most other books by this author are much more bloody and violent than this. There was some gore here but not as much as I expected. This is not really good or bad, just something I thought was worth bringing up.
This story has a well conceived surprise ending. I did not see it coming.
DISCLAIMER. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.
June 11, 2017
Horror done correctly
"In The Shade" excellent short horror story that does not rely on overwhelming gore or brutality to create the perfect sense of dread and loathing.
Jacob Stanley manages to develop his characters better in just a couple of chapters than many authors do in an entire trilogy.
The tone of the work has echoes of Lovecraft and King.
I am really looking forward to reading more from this author.
"In The Shade" excellent short horror story that does not rely on overwhelming gore or brutality to create the perfect sense of dread and loathing.
Jacob Stanley manages to develop his characters better in just a couple of chapters than many authors do in an entire trilogy.
The tone of the work has echoes of Lovecraft and King.
I am really looking forward to reading more from this author.
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May 4, 2020In The Shade
Creepy fun story about a man whose brother is a scientist performing odd experiments with plants. He sees his brother take a woman to the swamp on their property and later discovers she's a missing person. He confronts his brother, who takes him to the swamp to show him his experiment, and he is horrified at the revelation. This is a short story and a fast read. A different storyline than I've ever read before. Pretty interesting with several twists.
Creepy fun story about a man whose brother is a scientist performing odd experiments with plants. He sees his brother take a woman to the swamp on their property and later discovers she's a missing person. He confronts his brother, who takes him to the swamp to show him his experiment, and he is horrified at the revelation. This is a short story and a fast read. A different storyline than I've ever read before. Pretty interesting with several twists.
November 20, 2017
In the Shade: A Horror Novelette
I enjoyed the concept of this story. Everyone has a beginning. Now they have a second chance. This author has a mind that remind me of an earlier Dean Koontz. Keep up the good work wishing you much success!Enjoy this omelette I RECOMMEND.
I enjoyed the concept of this story. Everyone has a beginning. Now they have a second chance. This author has a mind that remind me of an earlier Dean Koontz. Keep up the good work wishing you much success!Enjoy this omelette I RECOMMEND.
March 6, 2018
Unsure
It's taken a while to consider the amount of stars to award this novelette. Overall, I liked the writing style and the 'Lovecraft' influence, but never really got caught up in the story.
It's taken a while to consider the amount of stars to award this novelette. Overall, I liked the writing style and the 'Lovecraft' influence, but never really got caught up in the story.
June 21, 2017
What can I say !!!
What a book. A very gross book but a great story. How would you think of this, would recommend for horror fans . Great book
What a book. A very gross book but a great story. How would you think of this, would recommend for horror fans . Great book
March 12, 2017
this ...was definitely an interesting concept and had some twists that i didn't expect, but i also felt like the characters were rather two-dimensional and there wasn't really any sufficient explanation for the magic/sci-fi part of the plot so that part of it just seemed a little bit silly to me. i am really picky when it comes to stuff like that though. like you had better have done some relevant scientific research if you want to put things like that in your book or else i'm just going to be taken right out of it. apparently this book has 'subtle ties' to another series this author is writing so i'm not sure if it would make more sense if i read that or not?
[edit]tbh i probably would have enjoyed this more if it was the straightforward story i was expecting. i hate how short stories always seem to think they need to throw multiple twists at you to keep you interested. it's like they're trying to stand out but since they ALL do it, it just gets old
[edit]tbh i probably would have enjoyed this more if it was the straightforward story i was expecting. i hate how short stories always seem to think they need to throw multiple twists at you to keep you interested. it's like they're trying to stand out but since they ALL do it, it just gets old
January 31, 2017
I really liked the concept and I wish it had been made into a full length novel. As it is, the story is definitely different than anything I've read in the past. The story is just too short to develop any connection with the characters. The story leaves a lot to be desired.
June 25, 2017
Not Great
Predictable, boring. Heavily was a rip off of invasion of the body snatchers. Not very original or entertaining. The main character was over the top and unconvincing. Glad it was free.
Predictable, boring. Heavily was a rip off of invasion of the body snatchers. Not very original or entertaining. The main character was over the top and unconvincing. Glad it was free.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews