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The Sound of Fear
A young woman pursues a curious resonance that may be a key to her mysterious lineage in “Echoes.” A man locked in the trunk of a car must puzzle out his location to solve the motive behind his own kidnapping in “Love’s Hard Edge.” In “Perros Fieles,” two Cuban agents use an infrasonic weapon to neutralize their opponents. In the chilling “0:01,” A composer discovers a recent recording from someone he knows to be dead. A team of explorers descend to the ocean floor to investigate an impossibly loud, inscrutable sound known only as The Bloop in “Loki’s Daughter.”The Sound of Fear is a themed collection of speculative horror stories with sci-fi, fantasy and noir elements by one of the most talented new writers of dark fiction. It plunges the reader into twelve lean, mean page-turners with twist endings that pit the living against the soundscapes of the beyond, including four previously unpublished stories (“Kingdom by the Sea,” “0:01,” “Farewell Concert,” and “Love’s Hard Edge”).
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 24, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2020
Twelve stories sharing the theme of sound but otherwise pretty diverse. Some are horror, others are fantasy, and a couple might be considered as sci-fi. The settings are also diverse in time and place - most are set in present day USA, but there is one in a European Castle after WW1 (“Music of the Wild”), one in early A.D. Egypt (“Scripto Inferior” – wasn’t sure on exact time period, but it mentions Jesus and it seems to be before the fall of the Roman Empire), and one that seems to be in ancient Scandinavia (“Echoes”). The stories also vary in length, the majority being 5-10 pages, but a few are longer, a few shorter.
This is a fine collection of short works, most of which are fairly accessible for speculative fiction fans – nothing too gory or extreme on the horror end. The historical/fantasy narratives give enough context clues to build the storyworld, even if it takes a page or two to figure out what exactly is going on. I wasn’t overwhelmed with details about an unfamiliar time/place (as sometimes happens for me with stories removed from my own time/place). The characters are well-drawn, and usually the perspective is anchored to a particular protagonist. References to myth and folklore are sprinkled throughout, especially Scandinavian myth, which gives some of the stories something of an epic feel, despite being short and self-contained.
The most interesting aspect of the collection is the thematic of sound. Whether the story is focused on someone composing music for video games or musicians playing in a band, or some unusual sound drives the story, sound plays a major role. This is interesting to me because while a few works here and there may focus on sound, fiction, even more abstract or experimental fiction, tends to prioritize visual description over other senses. I notice this because I am legally blind, and as a reader sometimes it is difficult for me to get much from lots of visual detail. As a creative writer myself, I am sometimes frustrated by my own inability to describe in visual terms, or by readers’ demands for greater visual detail. Not that these stories lack vivid visual descriptions, but the emphasis on sound was refreshing and didn’t have to play second fiddle to appearances.
“Farewell Concert” is my favorite story, probably because it appeals to my love for cosmic/weird/Lovecraftian horror. It’s got some pretty interesting ideas about how the noise generated by industrial civilization (“the hum”) may be blocking out other realities. When a musical genius figures out how to negate the hum, all hell breaks loose. The narrative is also all told through dialogue, an interesting stylistic choice that allows a selective conveyance of information. Some dialogue may sound a little forced at times, but as with all the tales here, I always appreciated the conceptual and aesthetic risks being taken.
Highly recommended for fans of horror and fantasy, especially if you want something a bit different theme-wise.
This is a fine collection of short works, most of which are fairly accessible for speculative fiction fans – nothing too gory or extreme on the horror end. The historical/fantasy narratives give enough context clues to build the storyworld, even if it takes a page or two to figure out what exactly is going on. I wasn’t overwhelmed with details about an unfamiliar time/place (as sometimes happens for me with stories removed from my own time/place). The characters are well-drawn, and usually the perspective is anchored to a particular protagonist. References to myth and folklore are sprinkled throughout, especially Scandinavian myth, which gives some of the stories something of an epic feel, despite being short and self-contained.
The most interesting aspect of the collection is the thematic of sound. Whether the story is focused on someone composing music for video games or musicians playing in a band, or some unusual sound drives the story, sound plays a major role. This is interesting to me because while a few works here and there may focus on sound, fiction, even more abstract or experimental fiction, tends to prioritize visual description over other senses. I notice this because I am legally blind, and as a reader sometimes it is difficult for me to get much from lots of visual detail. As a creative writer myself, I am sometimes frustrated by my own inability to describe in visual terms, or by readers’ demands for greater visual detail. Not that these stories lack vivid visual descriptions, but the emphasis on sound was refreshing and didn’t have to play second fiddle to appearances.
“Farewell Concert” is my favorite story, probably because it appeals to my love for cosmic/weird/Lovecraftian horror. It’s got some pretty interesting ideas about how the noise generated by industrial civilization (“the hum”) may be blocking out other realities. When a musical genius figures out how to negate the hum, all hell breaks loose. The narrative is also all told through dialogue, an interesting stylistic choice that allows a selective conveyance of information. Some dialogue may sound a little forced at times, but as with all the tales here, I always appreciated the conceptual and aesthetic risks being taken.
Highly recommended for fans of horror and fantasy, especially if you want something a bit different theme-wise.
May 9, 2022
This was incredible
I have to hand it to Victor with these stories. This collection is a strong reminder of how powerful the use of sound can be in writing and the many ways it can be applied. I enjoyed reading this and will definitely be recommending it to others!
I have to hand it to Victor with these stories. This collection is a strong reminder of how powerful the use of sound can be in writing and the many ways it can be applied. I enjoyed reading this and will definitely be recommending it to others!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews