Fantasy meets horror, humor and history in these nine strange tales of The Other... * A British Intelligence officer visits the trenches of the Somme. Do the fantastical reports from there stem from some mass insanity amongst the troops ... or have the Germans developed a monstrous secret weapon? * The grandson of the gods attempts to repel an unwelcome—and beautiful—visitor to his mountain retreat. * A pauper is led to his execution where Evil awaits at the end of the lash. Or will he find Redemption instead? * A young woman waits by a graveside with her lost love. * And a washed up musician's passion for music and for life is revived by four strangers, strangers who prefer speaking from the shadows—strangers who begin to show an unhealthy interest in his son. For fans of gripping short fiction comes a collection for the train, for the plane, or for days where it rains. Nine Tales — from the author of BLACK MARKS and DOOMSDAY'S CHILD.
Pete Aldin is the author of Black Marks (2017), and the Doomsday's Child series (2017-22). As Peter J Aldin, he is the creator of the CUSET-DCHC universe with novels including Eventide and Third Contact (2020).
Pete's short fiction has appeared in publications including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, the acclaimed ABC Anthologies and Niteblade. His non-fiction has appeared in parenting and business magazines.
He is a fan of alcoholic ciders and rum, the FIFA franchise on xBox and board games. He don’t like pina coladas nor taking walks in the rain.
I have had the pleasure of reading some great collective works over the past couple of years. Nine Tales by Pete Aldin certainly had its work cut out for it, and it had put up the fight and came through strong. Aldin provides you with nine worlds of the terrible, the fantastic, and the supernatural. My favorite piece in this collection was 'Mud', regarding the mysterious emergence of an unimaginable monster in the trenches of WW1. This story is a 'must-read'. Others were 'The Whipping Tree' and 'Custodes'. All of the stories were strong, but the above three really sang to me. The great little feature in this book, is that you get a taste of what else Aldin has out there for you to read. There are two powerful excerpts from his novels 'Doomsday's Child' and 'Black Marks'. If you enjoy reading collective works, then I really recommend Nine Tales.
The first story was interesting as you don't really know who is who or what, right till the end. But I was a bit afraid that the whole book would be really short if all nine tales would be only a few pages. Luckily, the other tales are longer. Unfortunately, the „Mud Monster“ didn't evoke in me this tremendous terror like the characters in the book feel, it hardly scared me. The best one was „Hunting“, described from the view of a wolf-boy. The most eerie one „Night Music“. This has potential to go full length novel. Also the setup of „Custodes“ is rich and could be made into a complete series. I personally liked the author's Doomsday's Child more because as a full novel, there was more time for development. But if you want some quick reads, „Nine Tales“ it is.
Solid collection through and through. I had read the story "Mud" before, but it was great to read it again, it remains one of my all time favorite horror shorts. "Twelnight" is an excellent piece I don't think I have read before, but is brilliant in its brevity and ability to deliver a taste of a world where it seems like there's so much more going on.
Nine Tales ist eine Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten geschrieben von Pete Aldin. Größtenteils fallen die Geschichten in die Kategorie Fantasie mit einigen Sub-Genren wie historische Fantasie und Dark Fantasie aber auch Sci-Fi. Durch die Kürze ist dieses Buch perfekt für eine Zugfahrt oder einen regnerischen Tag.