The Skinless Face

by Donald Tyson, Joe Morey (Editor), S.T. Joshi (Editor)

Fourteen spine-tingling excursions into realms of nightmare in the tradition of H. P. Lovecraft, including two full-length novellas never before published, will leave you longing for refuge. Here hide horrors that burrow under the skin to lay eggs of anguish inside the brain. Waking them may mean never sleeping again … or sleeping forever.

Other worlds exist that press against our own—and sometimes things pass through the edges where sanity has rubbed thin. From the fertile imagination of Donald Tyson, a reading experience that takes you down paths untrodden, through unmarked forests, with no signposts to lead you back home.

Genres: Horror

403 pages, Hardcover

Published February 28, 2020

About the author

Donald Tyson is a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early in life he was drawn to science by an intense fascination with astronomy, building a telescope by hand when he was eight. He began university seeking a science degree, but became disillusioned with the aridity and futility of a mechanistic view of the universe and shifted his major to English. After graduating with honors he has pursued a writing career.

Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice. His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.

Reviews

[Godzillareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SKINLESS FACE contains 14 stories including 2 full length novellas and they all are absolutely wonderful! Donald Tyson's rich descriptions really draw you in and make you feel like you could be reading a tale of fact and not fiction.
A few of my favorites:
VIRGIN'S ISLAND - The journal of Rev Jeremy Neeley tells a story of exploring a strange island off the shores of Nova Scotia.
THE ALCHEMIST'S ASSISTANT - A monster that decides she no longer wants to be a monster.
THE ORGAN OF CHAOS - A post-apocalyptic world where almost everyone has gone insane.
I most definitely will be keeping my eyes open for more from Donald Tyson.
I received a free copy of Donald Tyson’s new collection, THE SKINLESS FACE in exchange for a honest review.

[Mike Mclatchey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've found Donald Tyson's Lovecraftian stories to be some of the finest in anthologies such as the Black Wings series or a Mountain Walked. My favorite of them, included in this volume and originally from the latter, is "Virgin Island," but the title story and "The Organ of Chaos" are also really fine. It was on the strength of the former that I bought this collection. Tyson doesn't tend to lean on the usual litany of book naming or directly mythos references; however, many of the stories tend to be fairly familiar, such as the recent arrival to the village with the weird cult ("The Lament Horror"), the dumb teenagers dig up something with a warning on it ("The Thing on the Island"), or there's a weird idol on the overseas voyage ("Forbidden Passage"). But hey, a lot of these sorts of plots are why I dig cosmic horror anyway, so why none of these reach classic or individual status, they're still a lot of fun. Occasionally a bit of the exposition can be a little rough, but mostly in the previously unreleased shorts. For the most part Tyson goes for suggestive horror, but I have to say the climax of "Womb of Evil" was absolutely horrifying in the best sort of way. Most of this collection are previously unreleased stories, so if you've read a few then these are mostly at around the same level or a little under.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I "purchased" this volume on spec based on the quality of the title story which I read in another anthology. When Tyson is on point, he's truly on point. Unfortunately the rest of the stories aren't quite up to snuff.

Another issue is the way the book is sold: right now one may only purchase the volume through the Weird House site, and they've got issues that probably have not been resolved: there's no contact information anywhere on the site and their credit card processing drops orders inexplicably. It took me months to get my copy, but only after tracking down the publisher and enduring a string of miscommunications. To Joe Morey's credit, he finally he in the end comped me a free copy, but it should not have ended like this.

[David Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Mr. Tyson's "The Red Stone of Jubbah" I discovered I had a copy of "The Skinless Face" (also from Weird House Press) so I decided to try his short fiction.

Writing short fiction, I am told, is very different from writing longer formats. While that may be the case, it is clear Mr. Tyson is adept at both. The 14 stories here (including 2 novellas) are clever and engaging.

From Lovecraftian tales to psychological horror, Mr. Tyson's writing is precise and thoughtful. I enjoyed all of the stories and the title story set the tone for the entire collection.

[Alan Loewen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Collection

The collected stories are solidly located within the world of the Cthulhu Mythos and it is a very satisfying collection. Unlike many stories that deal with the theme of cosmic horror, there is no nihilism here, but solid storytelling with excellent plots and fully flashed out characters.

And sometimes, the good guys win.

[Richard Christou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly Horrible

A really grisly collection of horror stories. This is not splatterpunk, although there is plenty of blood and mayhem. The usual horror clichés are absent. Tyson's horror is well written, thought provoking and truly horrible. As he says, after reading the stories they still linger in your mind.