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Pills: 18 Short Stories
Pills by Jack Binding: A Haunting Collection of London's Darkest Tales
Enter the twisted world of Pills by Jack Binding, where gritty realism meets nightmarish surrealism. These 18 short stories unveil the hidden, shadowy underbelly of London, a place where few dare to venture.
From the chilling high fashion horror of FMM — a sinister blend of The Devil Wears Prada and Bret Easton Ellis-style debauchery — to the poignant sorrow of Sleeping Pills, Binding’s tales capture the raw and unsettling. Inspired by masters like Stephen King, Martin Amis, and J.G. Ballard, Binding’s work is a vivid mix of body horror, eerie children, unrequited love, and nocturnal escapades soaked in vice.
Each story stands alone yet weaves into a broader narrative of fear and fascination, making Pills both a cohesive collection and a series of unforgettable, standalone experiences.
For adults 21 and over, take one Pill with alcohol. In case of extreme curiosity, consume the entire collection in one go. Not recommended for children. Possible side effects include tension, excitement, rage, sadness, fear, arousal, elation, repulsion, laughter, and dread.
Pills is designed to captivate and disturb. If you experience boredom, contact the publisher immediately.
Enter the twisted world of Pills by Jack Binding, where gritty realism meets nightmarish surrealism. These 18 short stories unveil the hidden, shadowy underbelly of London, a place where few dare to venture.
From the chilling high fashion horror of FMM — a sinister blend of The Devil Wears Prada and Bret Easton Ellis-style debauchery — to the poignant sorrow of Sleeping Pills, Binding’s tales capture the raw and unsettling. Inspired by masters like Stephen King, Martin Amis, and J.G. Ballard, Binding’s work is a vivid mix of body horror, eerie children, unrequited love, and nocturnal escapades soaked in vice.
Each story stands alone yet weaves into a broader narrative of fear and fascination, making Pills both a cohesive collection and a series of unforgettable, standalone experiences.
For adults 21 and over, take one Pill with alcohol. In case of extreme curiosity, consume the entire collection in one go. Not recommended for children. Possible side effects include tension, excitement, rage, sadness, fear, arousal, elation, repulsion, laughter, and dread.
Pills is designed to captivate and disturb. If you experience boredom, contact the publisher immediately.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
240 pages, ebook
First published June 13, 2017
About the author
Jack Binding
6 books2 followersJack Binding is a London-born author now living in Sydney. He crafts dark fiction that blends horror with sharp, black humor. His short stories, regularly published on Amazon, have garnered critical acclaim (at least for now).
Jack draws inspiration from literary giants like Stephen King, Clive Barker, J.G. Ballard, and Martin Amis.
Jack draws inspiration from literary giants like Stephen King, Clive Barker, J.G. Ballard, and Martin Amis.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 20, 2017
Dark humour, a motherload of Karma and a side dish of fun covered in cynical sauce! This is how I would summarize the whole collection…
Having read four of Jack’s published short stories prior to the collection at hand, I kind of knew what I was getting into, but I ended up receiving a lot more than I expected. The paranormal/horror element was definitely turned up to full volume and … yeah, swines and killers and other general scum of the Earth waltzing about tainting the lives of innocents- those I did expect. I also knew that I was going to receive some quality writing and captivating stories that flow with ease.
You see, Jack Binding is one of those authors who can take the mundane, everyday life observations and make them into a freaking holy-shit-fest! Death, deceit, failures and success, moral of the story- all included. If you wanted to, you can take quite a lot out of each story.. there’s nothing shallow about the content of this collection if you take the time to read and mull over the meaning behind, where and how these stories got life from… Supernatural- yes! Superficial- not at all! There is human soul within each story forming the foundations, but what makes each of these stories truly effective and whole, are the teasings of what lurk in the shadows.
The exploration of each character’s deepest, darkest secrets and desires is entirely honest and sometimes ugly. There is plenty of disgusting, despicable behaviour on display, and you’ll witness weaknesses which many of us carry within… Pills has characters you recognize from your workplace, from your personal life, from within yourself. In the mix, there are also characters only legends speak of… the evil ones who thrive in the night ready to buy your soul (or take your blood), the characters who feed on human greed. What a magnificent mix, all blended together and executed to perfection.
The themes, as well, come straight out of life itself- the bitterness of ageing; how you end up getting fucked over no matter how hard you try and take the higher ground; how your budding, naive soul can be darkened no matter how innocent you are; how losing track of what’s really important will come back to bite you in the butt. With the creative freedom of horror elements, the punch-lines are truly quite genius and horrific and a few of them even hilarious. This makes for really entertaining and twisted outcomes we would never be able to witness in real life.
Horror does not generally scare me… the type of horror that freaks me out is the detailed, hair rising and uncomfortable visual authors create by using human anatomy as playthings, and in Pills, Jack has not been shy at creating the type of graphical descriptions to make your stomach turn, just a bit.
The collection is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea- especially if you’re not into reading horror, BUT if you are into a bit of horror/paranormal, then believe me – you will enjoy this collection!
A cocktail of confident, brutal, deadly and seedy pills! The choice is yours, take a pill or 18! (Not literally, of course!)
Having read four of Jack’s published short stories prior to the collection at hand, I kind of knew what I was getting into, but I ended up receiving a lot more than I expected. The paranormal/horror element was definitely turned up to full volume and … yeah, swines and killers and other general scum of the Earth waltzing about tainting the lives of innocents- those I did expect. I also knew that I was going to receive some quality writing and captivating stories that flow with ease.
You see, Jack Binding is one of those authors who can take the mundane, everyday life observations and make them into a freaking holy-shit-fest! Death, deceit, failures and success, moral of the story- all included. If you wanted to, you can take quite a lot out of each story.. there’s nothing shallow about the content of this collection if you take the time to read and mull over the meaning behind, where and how these stories got life from… Supernatural- yes! Superficial- not at all! There is human soul within each story forming the foundations, but what makes each of these stories truly effective and whole, are the teasings of what lurk in the shadows.
The exploration of each character’s deepest, darkest secrets and desires is entirely honest and sometimes ugly. There is plenty of disgusting, despicable behaviour on display, and you’ll witness weaknesses which many of us carry within… Pills has characters you recognize from your workplace, from your personal life, from within yourself. In the mix, there are also characters only legends speak of… the evil ones who thrive in the night ready to buy your soul (or take your blood), the characters who feed on human greed. What a magnificent mix, all blended together and executed to perfection.
The themes, as well, come straight out of life itself- the bitterness of ageing; how you end up getting fucked over no matter how hard you try and take the higher ground; how your budding, naive soul can be darkened no matter how innocent you are; how losing track of what’s really important will come back to bite you in the butt. With the creative freedom of horror elements, the punch-lines are truly quite genius and horrific and a few of them even hilarious. This makes for really entertaining and twisted outcomes we would never be able to witness in real life.
Horror does not generally scare me… the type of horror that freaks me out is the detailed, hair rising and uncomfortable visual authors create by using human anatomy as playthings, and in Pills, Jack has not been shy at creating the type of graphical descriptions to make your stomach turn, just a bit.
The collection is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea- especially if you’re not into reading horror, BUT if you are into a bit of horror/paranormal, then believe me – you will enjoy this collection!
A cocktail of confident, brutal, deadly and seedy pills! The choice is yours, take a pill or 18! (Not literally, of course!)
Did Not Finish
January 8, 2018I am DNFing this at 18%. I've read the first 3 stories and I just can't get into them. The writing is good and the dialogue is great but the plot of each story bores me, the endings are predictable and the characters irritate me. I think the idea is to have obnoxious and shocking characters that are meant to turn the reader on them, but many of the 'shocking' comments just had me rolling my eyes and disengaging with the story.
Let me confirm, there is nothing wrong with the stories per se - they are not bad by any means, they just aren't for me.
Let me confirm, there is nothing wrong with the stories per se - they are not bad by any means, they just aren't for me.
August 9, 2017
My expectations going into reading these short stories was considerably wrong.
Each story seems to be connected, but it allows for you to read it separately, not needing the others for you to understand. That's great, but what really got me were all the unexpected twists. Twist after twist, I started to find myself trying to figure out what'll happen by the end of the story.
I only guess two right (meh, lol). The other 16 had me in loops. You know when you're reading and anticipating certain things? The reading is all the more enjoyable, right? That's all I'm trying to say here.
What wasn't expected was the dark tone the stories conveyed. If you are prone to be triggered by death, profanity, murder, and more - you might want to steer away. If not, then you'll definitely enjoy this read.
The 5 star rating is very honest; I highly recommend!
Each story seems to be connected, but it allows for you to read it separately, not needing the others for you to understand. That's great, but what really got me were all the unexpected twists. Twist after twist, I started to find myself trying to figure out what'll happen by the end of the story.
I only guess two right (meh, lol). The other 16 had me in loops. You know when you're reading and anticipating certain things? The reading is all the more enjoyable, right? That's all I'm trying to say here.
What wasn't expected was the dark tone the stories conveyed. If you are prone to be triggered by death, profanity, murder, and more - you might want to steer away. If not, then you'll definitely enjoy this read.
The 5 star rating is very honest; I highly recommend!
May 20, 2024
This collection of short horror stories is a bit of a mixed bag. Out of 18 stories there were only a few that I felt missed the mark.
After reading the first one, I was excited. 5 star story! The last sentence left me with my mouth hanging open while my brain was thinking, WTF! I had high expectations after that. Unfortunately the author led with his best story.
After that most were 3.5-4 star stories with a few 3s thrown in. They were still good little stories but most were predictable by the end. Overall I enjoyed this compilation of short stories and I'd be interested in reading the author's other work.
After reading the first one, I was excited. 5 star story! The last sentence left me with my mouth hanging open while my brain was thinking, WTF! I had high expectations after that. Unfortunately the author led with his best story.
After that most were 3.5-4 star stories with a few 3s thrown in. They were still good little stories but most were predictable by the end. Overall I enjoyed this compilation of short stories and I'd be interested in reading the author's other work.
March 15, 2025
I was looking for just this type of read and I definitely got my money’s worth. If short stories and horror/suspense/noir are your thing, I highly recommend. Solid narration and dialogue move the stories along and kept me engaged, even for the few stories that have predictable endings. I would classify Pills as cozy horror. If that isn’t already a genre it needs to be, and I want more.
September 17, 2025
Deeply disturbing shorts that rarely disappoint. All the stories are loosely connected and it ties up well in the end, in my opinion. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys horror that doesn’t hold back. If you don’t like reads with disturbing, licentious, or drug-related people, events, and themes, then this collection is not for you.
March 25, 2025
Dark and imaginative. Weird!
What a delightfully eccentric, twisted, macabre read. I LOVE these wild stories and how they loosely tied together... Jack's mind must be a fascinating place.
What a delightfully eccentric, twisted, macabre read. I LOVE these wild stories and how they loosely tied together... Jack's mind must be a fascinating place.
August 19, 2024
Chilling
This collection is great. I like how all the stories tied together in one way or another. I'd love to read more stories about the denizens of the Nusquam.
This collection is great. I like how all the stories tied together in one way or another. I'd love to read more stories about the denizens of the Nusquam.
November 26, 2024
Good stuff
I’ve been on a “short horror stories” bender for a couple months now. This was one of the better collections. I enjoyed it.
I’ve been on a “short horror stories” bender for a couple months now. This was one of the better collections. I enjoyed it.
January 31, 2025
Great stories
These are some really good short stories. I usually don't read short stories but omg these were really good! Very well written!
These are some really good short stories. I usually don't read short stories but omg these were really good! Very well written!
May 3, 2025
Boring as heck.
Very foolish reads with no rhyme or reason. Waste of time and money. Some of the most dumbest so called stories ever.
Very foolish reads with no rhyme or reason. Waste of time and money. Some of the most dumbest so called stories ever.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews