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Breath of the Void: A Collection of Horror Stories
Horror awaits within this collection of nine tales.
A man in search of his co-worker on a strange planet, haunted by an even stranger being who has no physical attributes other than a maddening buzz. An unyielding queen of fire defending her kingdom. Two teenagers exploring the abandoned woods that house a primordial power. A conflicted alien at the center of a mission to murder mankind. A young boy confronting a sinister lake deity. Kids venturing to a witch's door on Halloween and getting something they didn't ask for. A slayer hellbent on protecting his family against all odds. A love-stricken man falling for a supernatural entity who knows no love. A forgotten god rising from the oceans to erase governments and spread its dark reign on our world once more.
Leave a light on before beginning to read. You've been warned.
Fans of Stephen King and Clive Barker will devour this book, if the void doesn't swallow them first.
A man in search of his co-worker on a strange planet, haunted by an even stranger being who has no physical attributes other than a maddening buzz. An unyielding queen of fire defending her kingdom. Two teenagers exploring the abandoned woods that house a primordial power. A conflicted alien at the center of a mission to murder mankind. A young boy confronting a sinister lake deity. Kids venturing to a witch's door on Halloween and getting something they didn't ask for. A slayer hellbent on protecting his family against all odds. A love-stricken man falling for a supernatural entity who knows no love. A forgotten god rising from the oceans to erase governments and spread its dark reign on our world once more.
Leave a light on before beginning to read. You've been warned.
Fans of Stephen King and Clive Barker will devour this book, if the void doesn't swallow them first.
Kindle Edition
Published November 23, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 29, 2019
Overall review:
As a whole this collection is a varied mix of ideas that spans from the Sci-Fi intro to works that evoke fantasy and surreal elements of horror. I enjoyed reading the journey it takes you on and somehow I wanted it to be longer. The speculative creations of Aditya Deshmukh paint vivid landscapes and imagery that encapsulate different forms of horror and mysticism in a provocative way. I look forward to reading more work and await eagerly the release of his upcoming anthologies where he features as editor. I’d recommend this collection for anyone who likes strange tales as a snapshot of what is afoot from the author. Detailed review of each story is below:
Void (POEM)
A Dark poem to open the collection. I don’t really do poetry, but it works well as an opener and sets the general tone.
A Plain Nameless Buzz 5/5
An intriguing sci-fi horror. The characterisation of each is sublime as the MC goes in search of a woman he is very fond of as he feels her own search for their captain, her husband, has ended in horror. The love triangle creates a sad ending to an otherwise horrifying reality of predator and prey in nature. This encapsulates not only our assumption of being the higher species due to human emotive states, but highlights what we consider a higher species when faced with a predator that uses them against us. A harrowing start.
A Dance of Flames 5/5
This snapshot of a kingdom about to fall as the usurper enters the throne room to face the last obstacle of the kingdom could be easily expanded to novel length. The tension of the conversing between the queen and her captor is clever, but so are the skilled active sentences that depict the desperate fight. It leaves the question for the reader on what is left to fight for, which might give reason for the grisly, yet somehow heartfelt ending.
The Red Tree 4/5
A short, but dark tale of two young kids who venture to a tree in the woods where supposed friends were last seen before their disappearance. There is something a bit H.P Lovecraft about this entry that goes a little mother Earth from the stars, but it works all the same. Descriptive clarity works well despite its short narrative which could serve as a window to a whole new mythos.
Daughter of the Sky 3/5
This tale didn’t quite fit for me. Technically it’s well written, well voiced and the narrative could be extended into something bigger. The emotive relay of the characters is strong as it involves plenty of tragedy and atrocity. It’s also quite gory in places, which doesn’t retract from the character development. A superior alien race plans to overthrow mankind on Earth until one of their number falls in love with a human and sabotages the plan, a great concept. However, the spiritual and technical elements do not blend so well for me as a personal preference. I felt this story swayed into both whereas it should have planted more in one or the other.
Breath of the Silver Lake 5/5
An excellent narrative involving two brothers and an incident at Lake Silver causes shockwaves with their parents. Not only does it affect their own lives but the presence of a far more sinister being within the lake is brought to light. This story flows well and has nice touches throughout, especially the mystical introduction of the ‘crone’ who claims an untrustworthy handle on things early on. It builds from domestic speculation to a battle finale that evokes Stephen King’s, ‘The Mist’ and contains elements that could be connected to Lovecraft’s ‘aligning of the stars’. An enjoyable story that keeps you guessing from different perspectives.
All Hallows Eve 3/5
Two kids trick or treating stumble across the neighbourhood witch who holds a surprise for them. This story, although not my favourite, isn’t as linear as it may seem and is well written from the kids’ perspective.
The Dragonpearl 5/5
A good old fashioned fantasy with brutal swordplay, treachery, a hidden love story and a search for the Dragonpearl. The MC, cocky and headstrong, is likeable and doesn’t mince his words, yet the fact he is respected/feared enough by other characters makes it work better. It’s possibly the longest story here so has space for a slight love story within the action packed sword wielding and magic casting. Fans of Lord of the Rings or The Witcher would enjoy this one and I certainly did. My only judgement of this story is that some of the grammar was lacking with minor mistakes throughout and the odd simple sentences could have been fused together to make compound ones. Despite this, it doesn’t take away from the epic imagery Dragonpearl provides.
A Reapers Love 5/5
A short but gut wrenching tale where a man loves a reaper. The reaper tried to understand his passion, but cannot divert from her passion of killing and reaping in the most vivid and gore splattered way. It’s a contrast that can find no solution for either character but works well as a snapshot.
Seamouth 4/5
This story temporarily drags the reader back to the real world, or more of the one we know at least, before it then becomes a surreal and strange creature, much like the one that features within it. A believable setting of a married woman who has a strong connection with the art world is thrown into chaos as a sculpture she has had for a long time sends her metaphorical warnings from a discovery she made as a child. This story is very odd and intriguing but serves well as an outro to this collection. (spoiler)* The lack of emotive turmoil of her husbands death somewhat drives the strange steps it takes thereafter. The scene at the cinema is particularly well done. It evokes age old stories like the Blob, but has elements of the odd events of Twin Peaks.
As a whole this collection is a varied mix of ideas that spans from the Sci-Fi intro to works that evoke fantasy and surreal elements of horror. I enjoyed reading the journey it takes you on and somehow I wanted it to be longer. The speculative creations of Aditya Deshmukh paint vivid landscapes and imagery that encapsulate different forms of horror and mysticism in a provocative way. I look forward to reading more work and await eagerly the release of his upcoming anthologies where he features as editor. I’d recommend this collection for anyone who likes strange tales as a snapshot of what is afoot from the author. Detailed review of each story is below:
Void (POEM)
A Dark poem to open the collection. I don’t really do poetry, but it works well as an opener and sets the general tone.
A Plain Nameless Buzz 5/5
An intriguing sci-fi horror. The characterisation of each is sublime as the MC goes in search of a woman he is very fond of as he feels her own search for their captain, her husband, has ended in horror. The love triangle creates a sad ending to an otherwise horrifying reality of predator and prey in nature. This encapsulates not only our assumption of being the higher species due to human emotive states, but highlights what we consider a higher species when faced with a predator that uses them against us. A harrowing start.
A Dance of Flames 5/5
This snapshot of a kingdom about to fall as the usurper enters the throne room to face the last obstacle of the kingdom could be easily expanded to novel length. The tension of the conversing between the queen and her captor is clever, but so are the skilled active sentences that depict the desperate fight. It leaves the question for the reader on what is left to fight for, which might give reason for the grisly, yet somehow heartfelt ending.
The Red Tree 4/5
A short, but dark tale of two young kids who venture to a tree in the woods where supposed friends were last seen before their disappearance. There is something a bit H.P Lovecraft about this entry that goes a little mother Earth from the stars, but it works all the same. Descriptive clarity works well despite its short narrative which could serve as a window to a whole new mythos.
Daughter of the Sky 3/5
This tale didn’t quite fit for me. Technically it’s well written, well voiced and the narrative could be extended into something bigger. The emotive relay of the characters is strong as it involves plenty of tragedy and atrocity. It’s also quite gory in places, which doesn’t retract from the character development. A superior alien race plans to overthrow mankind on Earth until one of their number falls in love with a human and sabotages the plan, a great concept. However, the spiritual and technical elements do not blend so well for me as a personal preference. I felt this story swayed into both whereas it should have planted more in one or the other.
Breath of the Silver Lake 5/5
An excellent narrative involving two brothers and an incident at Lake Silver causes shockwaves with their parents. Not only does it affect their own lives but the presence of a far more sinister being within the lake is brought to light. This story flows well and has nice touches throughout, especially the mystical introduction of the ‘crone’ who claims an untrustworthy handle on things early on. It builds from domestic speculation to a battle finale that evokes Stephen King’s, ‘The Mist’ and contains elements that could be connected to Lovecraft’s ‘aligning of the stars’. An enjoyable story that keeps you guessing from different perspectives.
All Hallows Eve 3/5
Two kids trick or treating stumble across the neighbourhood witch who holds a surprise for them. This story, although not my favourite, isn’t as linear as it may seem and is well written from the kids’ perspective.
The Dragonpearl 5/5
A good old fashioned fantasy with brutal swordplay, treachery, a hidden love story and a search for the Dragonpearl. The MC, cocky and headstrong, is likeable and doesn’t mince his words, yet the fact he is respected/feared enough by other characters makes it work better. It’s possibly the longest story here so has space for a slight love story within the action packed sword wielding and magic casting. Fans of Lord of the Rings or The Witcher would enjoy this one and I certainly did. My only judgement of this story is that some of the grammar was lacking with minor mistakes throughout and the odd simple sentences could have been fused together to make compound ones. Despite this, it doesn’t take away from the epic imagery Dragonpearl provides.
A Reapers Love 5/5
A short but gut wrenching tale where a man loves a reaper. The reaper tried to understand his passion, but cannot divert from her passion of killing and reaping in the most vivid and gore splattered way. It’s a contrast that can find no solution for either character but works well as a snapshot.
Seamouth 4/5
This story temporarily drags the reader back to the real world, or more of the one we know at least, before it then becomes a surreal and strange creature, much like the one that features within it. A believable setting of a married woman who has a strong connection with the art world is thrown into chaos as a sculpture she has had for a long time sends her metaphorical warnings from a discovery she made as a child. This story is very odd and intriguing but serves well as an outro to this collection. (spoiler)* The lack of emotive turmoil of her husbands death somewhat drives the strange steps it takes thereafter. The scene at the cinema is particularly well done. It evokes age old stories like the Blob, but has elements of the odd events of Twin Peaks.
December 12, 2019
I love really horrific short stories of horror and creepiness. This collection of stories is very horrific and creepy! I love this! Every story has something that grabbed me immediately and kept me reading to the end and then, I just had to read one more story. This is a great collection for horror fans!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 11, 2019
If you like horror, this is a must have. These stories are amazing, and the variation in length gives you a quick read or time to sit down. I'll definitely be looking for more of his work.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews