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Horrorscopes: Twelve Short Stories of Astrological Anguish
Twelve tales of astrological anguish! What’s your Horroscope read?
A haunted Manor. An energy drink with horrific side effects. Proof it’s possible to be too popular. Horrorscopes is a collection of short stories about the darker side of the Zodiac.
The first short story collection from the macabre mind of P.W Hillard. Dark and twisted, Horrorscopes is a look at how fortunes can be more far more sinister than they first appear. Featuring twelve short stories, each representing one of the signs of the Zodiac; Horroscopes is a cavalcade of strange creatures, violent spirits and fountains of gore.
Stories include
- Jason and his crew plan a burglary, eager to take advantage of a now empty home after its owner passed. What they experience will teach them that the dead are best left alone.
- A young girls dreams hint at something terrible. Scared of her abilities the truth proves something far more shocking and bizarre.
- A woman experiences the most horrific thing known to man. A Job interview! Charlie soon learns her habit of judging people can come back to bite you.
“Well worth your time. I'm looking forward to more from this author.” – C Usborne
Hillard’s first horror collection Horrorscopes contains a selection of solid, fun stories that’ll appeal to body horror fans especially those who like their horror to come with a side of weird. - abmostfiction.wordpress.com
A haunted Manor. An energy drink with horrific side effects. Proof it’s possible to be too popular. Horrorscopes is a collection of short stories about the darker side of the Zodiac.
The first short story collection from the macabre mind of P.W Hillard. Dark and twisted, Horrorscopes is a look at how fortunes can be more far more sinister than they first appear. Featuring twelve short stories, each representing one of the signs of the Zodiac; Horroscopes is a cavalcade of strange creatures, violent spirits and fountains of gore.
Stories include
- Jason and his crew plan a burglary, eager to take advantage of a now empty home after its owner passed. What they experience will teach them that the dead are best left alone.
- A young girls dreams hint at something terrible. Scared of her abilities the truth proves something far more shocking and bizarre.
- A woman experiences the most horrific thing known to man. A Job interview! Charlie soon learns her habit of judging people can come back to bite you.
“Well worth your time. I'm looking forward to more from this author.” – C Usborne
Hillard’s first horror collection Horrorscopes contains a selection of solid, fun stories that’ll appeal to body horror fans especially those who like their horror to come with a side of weird. - abmostfiction.wordpress.com
- GenresHorror
95 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 23, 2019
4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
P.W. Hillard
18 books22 followersCurrently living in South Wales with his beautiful wife and two cats, P.W Hillard is a writer of horror and dark urban fantasy. His major influences are Stephen King, Clive Barker and especially the works of John Carpenter. As well as horror, he reads fantasy and science fiction, and is a voracious consumer of novels.
Outside of fiction, his other obsessions are tiny toy soldiers and giant monster movies. He also spends far too much time playing video games when he should be writing books.
Outside of fiction, his other obsessions are tiny toy soldiers and giant monster movies. He also spends far too much time playing video games when he should be writing books.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 7, 2019
One of the (many) positives of being involved with the book and writing community is getting to meet and know new and upcoming writers. I was thrilled when P.W Hillard asked me if I would read and review his new collection Horrorscopes which he has just published on kindle.
What I Liked...
Straight away I liked the idea and theme of this collection; each story is named after one of the zodiac signs and begins with a recognisable prediction as if you were reading your horoscope right from a magazine.
This sets each story up nicely and makes you wonder how the cliche statement is going to be subverted and of course they always are using - what I came to know as - Hillard's brand of humour and body horror.
The stories themselves take place in range of locations and across various scenarios, one covers a haunted house, another begins its journey on a boat, and there's even one that takes place during a job interview. Even if you think you know where the story is going, there will still definitely be a surprise or two waiting for you.
One of the strengths of this collection is that each story can stand on its own and doesn't need the others to be read or enjoyed. There are some shared characters and a fed nods for those who devoured the collection (like I did) but that doesn't take away any enjoyment for those that don't pick up on them.
It's sometimes difficult to convey new characters in short fiction, but Hillard is quick to give you a sense of each one right from their introductions as well as presenting a varied host of protagonists, each different from the previous.
As mentioned there's a vein of humour that runs throughout the majority of stories mostly shown through the dialogue of quirky characters. That is until that vein is cut and Hillard releases the gore, which is well-described and should be plenty grisly enough for horror fans.
What I Didn't Like...
With any short story anthology there are going to be some stories you prefer to others, and that's no different with me and this one. Some of the stories took a step too far onto the weird side of the horror/sci-fi spectrum for my personal tastes and I wouldn't rush to read again (but then there were others I would read again.
Unfortunately there were some errors in the version I had, which were a bit distracting at times but could easily be corrected.
TL;DR
Hillard's first horror collection Horrorscopes contains a selection of solid, fun stories that'll appeal to body horror fans especially those who like their horror to come with a side of weird. Like a majority of debuts there are some tweaks and tightening needed, but this doesn't distract from the overall satisfied feeling each story brings and I look forward to reading more.
4 Stars
What I Liked...
Straight away I liked the idea and theme of this collection; each story is named after one of the zodiac signs and begins with a recognisable prediction as if you were reading your horoscope right from a magazine.
This sets each story up nicely and makes you wonder how the cliche statement is going to be subverted and of course they always are using - what I came to know as - Hillard's brand of humour and body horror.
The stories themselves take place in range of locations and across various scenarios, one covers a haunted house, another begins its journey on a boat, and there's even one that takes place during a job interview. Even if you think you know where the story is going, there will still definitely be a surprise or two waiting for you.
One of the strengths of this collection is that each story can stand on its own and doesn't need the others to be read or enjoyed. There are some shared characters and a fed nods for those who devoured the collection (like I did) but that doesn't take away any enjoyment for those that don't pick up on them.
It's sometimes difficult to convey new characters in short fiction, but Hillard is quick to give you a sense of each one right from their introductions as well as presenting a varied host of protagonists, each different from the previous.
As mentioned there's a vein of humour that runs throughout the majority of stories mostly shown through the dialogue of quirky characters. That is until that vein is cut and Hillard releases the gore, which is well-described and should be plenty grisly enough for horror fans.
What I Didn't Like...
With any short story anthology there are going to be some stories you prefer to others, and that's no different with me and this one. Some of the stories took a step too far onto the weird side of the horror/sci-fi spectrum for my personal tastes and I wouldn't rush to read again (but then there were others I would read again.
Unfortunately there were some errors in the version I had, which were a bit distracting at times but could easily be corrected.
TL;DR
Hillard's first horror collection Horrorscopes contains a selection of solid, fun stories that'll appeal to body horror fans especially those who like their horror to come with a side of weird. Like a majority of debuts there are some tweaks and tightening needed, but this doesn't distract from the overall satisfied feeling each story brings and I look forward to reading more.
4 Stars
August 21, 2019
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I really liked the approach to this one! A different horror tale for each astrological sign. Some very new and interesting ideas are enclosed in this book! Some scary, some mythological, some were a bit of dark humor. I found some reminded me of the twilight zone. I enjoyed this one alot!
Overall four stars.
Narration was well done.
I really liked the approach to this one! A different horror tale for each astrological sign. Some very new and interesting ideas are enclosed in this book! Some scary, some mythological, some were a bit of dark humor. I found some reminded me of the twilight zone. I enjoyed this one alot!
Overall four stars.
Narration was well done.
September 17, 2020
I really enjoyed listening to these stories. They were creepy, original and overall different. I'm looking forward to reading more by P. W. Hillard. I was given an Audible copy of this book by P.W. Hillard for an honest review.
April 1, 2020
This series of short stories, narrated by Matt Jenkins, is based on each of the astrological signs. Whether it's the sign itself or that which the sign represents becomes the focal point for each horror story. It's rare that I will like every story in an anthology and this one is no different. P.W. Hillard reminds me a lot of H.P. Lovecraft in the style of writing. Although, I did like enough of them to be able to recommend the book to horror lovers.
Matt Jenkins lends his talent really well to this genre of stories. I love the different voices he uses, even sounding like he was on a walkie talkie. I've listened to other books narrated by him and his abilities are fairly consistent across the board. I do enjoy listening to him.
Matt Jenkins lends his talent really well to this genre of stories. I love the different voices he uses, even sounding like he was on a walkie talkie. I've listened to other books narrated by him and his abilities are fairly consistent across the board. I do enjoy listening to him.
September 6, 2019
This was an interesting batch of short stories. I felt like most of the stories really needed to be longer. I know readers/listeners always say that if they liked a short story, but while I’m one of those people, it just didn’t feel like there was enough story to really give a good review/rating.
I noticed there were a lot of stories relating to a character changing into something else. Because of that, I wish the stories would have been a smidgen longer so the reader knew how that came about. As in, one character changes into a scorpion creature but how? Why? I guess I was just left with too many unanswered questions.
I liked the idea from “Libra” in which the “bad” female was forced to judge others for a job. I also liked “Virgo” that had authors being killed by their own creatures/characters. That was a unique idea that I’ve never come across with all my reading. Overall, I think I like all the stories ( I did find the first one kind of boring though and was confused by “Sagittarius” and “Leo.”)
The narrator did a really good job overall. I’m usually not a fan of the special effects a narrator adds into an audiobook. On that note, minus the talking demon effect in one of the first stories, I liked the special effects added in.
I was given a free code in exchange for an honest review.
I noticed there were a lot of stories relating to a character changing into something else. Because of that, I wish the stories would have been a smidgen longer so the reader knew how that came about. As in, one character changes into a scorpion creature but how? Why? I guess I was just left with too many unanswered questions.
I liked the idea from “Libra” in which the “bad” female was forced to judge others for a job. I also liked “Virgo” that had authors being killed by their own creatures/characters. That was a unique idea that I’ve never come across with all my reading. Overall, I think I like all the stories ( I did find the first one kind of boring though and was confused by “Sagittarius” and “Leo.”)
The narrator did a really good job overall. I’m usually not a fan of the special effects a narrator adds into an audiobook. On that note, minus the talking demon effect in one of the first stories, I liked the special effects added in.
I was given a free code in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2020
This is a solid collection of short horror fiction. I have seen many anthologies use a theme for the collection of short stories, but I think this was the first time I’ve seen a single person author do it.
Overall, the stories were nice, sharp pieces of short fiction, that tickle the mind and shiver the heart. A couple of the stories I felt had a bit of a tenuous connection to their astrological sign, but it didn’t detract from the enjoyability of the stories at all.
For fans of short horror fiction, this may not be the best collection you will read this year, but is well worth giving a spin.
Overall, the stories were nice, sharp pieces of short fiction, that tickle the mind and shiver the heart. A couple of the stories I felt had a bit of a tenuous connection to their astrological sign, but it didn’t detract from the enjoyability of the stories at all.
For fans of short horror fiction, this may not be the best collection you will read this year, but is well worth giving a spin.
August 10, 2019
Horror stories based around astrological sines
From straight up horror to dark humour you get a nice eclectic mix
Well narrated and creative if you enjoy horoscopes your gonna get a kick out of this one
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
From straight up horror to dark humour you get a nice eclectic mix
Well narrated and creative if you enjoy horoscopes your gonna get a kick out of this one
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
August 29, 2020
audible:I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection!I think Libra was my favorite.Excellent writing with great characters. Matt Jenkins was a very good narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
October 23, 2019
These stories are twisted in a H.P. Lovecraft way. Dark menacing beings. People messing with the occult and regretting it in horrible ways.
July 6, 2025
Loved it
This was a great read, I loved the stories and the characters. You won't be disappointed,the stories in this book don't disappoint you
This was a great read, I loved the stories and the characters. You won't be disappointed,the stories in this book don't disappoint you
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews