Book 6 in the Horror Collection contains stories by Tim Curran, Douglas Hackle, Kyle M. Scott, Mike Duke, Zoey Xolton, Natasha Sinclair & Kevin J. Kennedy.
We will take you on a trip through hell, to vampire torn lands, find out the perils of collecting too many books and on many more terrifying adventures.
Kevin J. Kennedy is a Scottish horror author known for his fast-paced storytelling, dark humor, and unforgettable characters. He is also the curator of the bestselling The Horror Collection and Classic Monsters anthology series.
When he’s not writing tales of blood-soaked chaos, Kevin champions indie horror, supports fellow authors, and dreams up new ways to keep readers sleeping with the lights on.
Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you're following me for a longer period, you know that I'm always excited to read a short story horror book by Kevin J. Kennedy. I've reviewed so many of his books already and I'm always amazed by the creativity and originality that the authors show in these stories. This book was exactly like that! Some stories were a perfect hit to me, others not that much, but I had a BLAST reading this book.
This was another great book full of awesome horror stories. I'm sure I'll never get enough of it. The themed short story books by Kevin J. Kennedy are awesome as well, especially if you read them during that same time of year. I just love to get spooky!
The Horror Collection: Pink Edition Presented by Kevin J. Kennedy Contributors: Kyle M. Scott, Mike Duke, Douglas Hackle, Tim Curran, Natasha Sinclair, Zoey Xolton & Kevin J. Kennedy
Genre - Anthology/Horror/Short Story Pages - 126 Publication Information - Independently Published, March 30, 2020 ISBN-13: 979-8632143998, ASIN: B086L79LF4 Format - Digital (Kindle) Reviewed by: William C. Bitner, Jr., https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres... Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Once again Kevin J. Kennedy has put together another creative collection of freakish, ghoulish, and deliciously disgusting short stories from some of the top independent authors in the horror genre and subgenres. Whatever your taste in this genre, you will most assuredly find something within these pages to meet your requirements and whet your horror appetite. So sit back, turn the lights down low and let these seven talented wordsmiths take you on seven different ghoulish journeys into the unknown.
Contents: “That Song I Sing” by Kyle M. Scott, “And the Dead Shall Perish” by Mike Duke, “Are You the Girl with Ribbons in Her Hair?” by Douglas Hackle, “Soft White Underbelly” by Tim Curran, “Steerage Rats” by Natasha Sincair, “Blood for Blood” by Zoey Xolton, “Book Magic” by Kevin J. Kennedy
From the back cover: “Book 6 in the Horror Collection contains stories by Tim Curran, Douglas Hackle, Kyle M. Scott, Mike Duke, Zoey Xolton, Natasha Sinclair & Kevin J. Kennedy.
We will take you on a trip through hell, to vampire torn lands, find out the perils of collecting too many books and on many more terrifying adventures.”
The Horror Collection: Pink Edition is a diverse collection of impactful horror stories, much like other installments of The Horror Collection series. Why would it be called “Pink Edition?” Hmm. Irony? Subterfuge? Representative of the color of diluted blood? Read it and see what you think.
“That Song I Sing” by Kyle M. Scott is a tale of extreme psychological horror with a macabre and twisted ending. This story is reminiscent of the works of Edgar Allen Poe, with a modern flair, of course.
“And the Dead Shall Perish” by Mike Duke is the horrifying tale of a teen boy caught in a vampire apocalypse. Duke’s gift for characterization and terror shines through in this story.
“Are You the Girl with Ribbons in Her Hair?” by Douglas Hackle is the stuff of nightmares and gave me nightmares. This extreme horror story defies reason and sanity.
“Soft White Underbelly” by Tim Curran reads like Stephen King dipped in Edward Lee, with all the best attributes of both. In what way? King’s way of men bringing about the horrors they find themselves in, and the horrors are something Lee would inflict upon them.
“Steerage Rats” by Natasha Sinclair is dark prose turned gruesome terror. It is a complex story of deceit on many levels with a sprinkle of sci-fi horror and garnish of bloody creature horror.
“Blood for Blood” by Zoey Xolton is a story in two parts. The first part is really stand alone in its depth and presentation, a story of historic horrors of humanity. The second part takes the story to another level of completion, a dark imagining of what follows such beliefs and action.
“Book Magic” by Kevin J. Kennedy is a bibliophilic horror told in the first person. This one, of course, hit home with me and sent my mind racing.
The Pink Edition is an excellent installment in The Horror Collection series.
The Horror Collection: Pink Edition is another awesome collection of horror shorts organized by Kevin J. Kennedy. From a haunting phone call to vicious rats the size of small dogs, this one has tales that are spooky, haunting, horrific, gory, and so much more!
This one has two of my all time favorite tales from this series; Blood for Blood by Zoey Xolton and Book Magic by Kevin J. Kennedy.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. I also purchased myself a copy.
This collection was so wonderfully odd! Out of the seven tales included here, I absolutely LOVED three of them, two of which have made my all time favorites list. Unfortunately, one was just not in my horror interest range.
Per usual, here are my quick reactions and rating breakdowns for each story:
That Song I Love Most by Kyle M. Scott – 4/5 Oooh! So spooky! I wasn’t sure where this one was going at first, but I was totally on board when the far away voice called in!
And the Dead Shall Perish by Mike Duke – 4/5 Phew, this one was action packed! I really enjoyed the heroism of the main character in this one. And that poor girl!
Are You the Girl with Ribbons in Her Hair? by Douglas Hackle – Not one for me. If you enjoy gory tales with a sudden sexual twist, this one will be for you!
Soft White Underbelly by Tom Curran – 3/5 Phew, this one was very odd and unsettling.
Steerage Rats by Natasha Sinclair – 5/5 Holy… this one started so hopeful. But once the first rat made itself known, it was a nonstop terror fest! It made me cringe many times. I loved it!
Blood for Blood by Zoey Xolton – 5/5 YES! This one was amazing. Starting off with a burst of revenge and violence, I was immediately rooting for this character. I loved the route this tale took. And the last line!
Book Magic by Kenin J. Kennedy – 5/5 LOVED this one!!! It hit on some major childhood nostalgia before taking a very odd but extremely intriguing turn!
My Final Thoughts Phew, what a collection! This is another awesome series of short stories that you can easily breeze right through in a couple hours, or take your time by only reading one tale every now and then.
If you’re a fan of books and horror, you have to check out the last tale in this collection, Book Magic, ASAP!
I’m a big fan of the Horror Collection books so I was really happy to pick up not just this one but another one which will be coming up soon, for review purposes. Unfortunately the Pink Edition is the one that has gripped me the least so far. That’s not to say there’s nothing good about it, I did enjoy some of the stories, there just didn’t feel like the same drive as I’ve felt in previous editions. It also doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same for you, so, as always let me know in the comments if you felt differently.
As has become routine, I’ve picked out some stories to talk about.
That Song I Love – bv Kyle M Scott.
This was a really good, strong, start to the book. I enjoyed the suspense and I felt that the imagery was brought across well. The whole radio station thing is something that’s been done before in horror, but the story actually addresses this and is aware of it. It’s all brought together very well and I enjoyed this one. I don’t think I’ve read Kyle M Scott before so this will have me looking for another story to check out.
Blood for Blood by Zoey Xolton.
I enjoyed this story, it’s a long time since I’ve read anything that was set in Salem so there was a spot of nostalgia tied to it for me. I wasn’t fully convinced about it at the beginning but I did enjoy the journey and the destination. This one almost has a moral to it and it’s a great little read over a coffee break. The imagery kicks in strongest in what I’ll call the second half of the story, but it’s not lacking in the beginning. Another author I’ve never read who I will be checking out later!
Book Magic by Kevin J Kennedy
This is my favourite story of the book, a story many of us can relate to – a love of books, turning into an obsession with books, turning into something else all together. This one also gave me a little bit of nostalgia because it reminded me of a Goosebumps story! Very enjoyable. I have obviously read Mr Kennedy’s work before since these are his collections, but perhaps I’ll have another look through his back catalogue and see what else he’s put out.
Check it out, let me know if you liked the same ones as me, feel free to discuss in the comments, or find me on Twitter or Facebook under the Rebbie Reviews banner!
I would have to say, I enjoyed this book. I do prefer short stories, as I'm an old man and my attention span has shortened as I've aged.I enjoyed the stories way too much! If you think you may want some short but decent stories, you should definitely give this series a look.
I love the books I love all books and stories and other things with printed words and pages. Keep gathering and publishing theses and tell what you keep writing them and I'll keep reading them sincerely Christine Dunne Harlingen texas
Another of my favorite little Horror Collections, I've probably said it in other reviews at this point, but I do immensely enjoy being able to read a bunch of authors I've never read before, and all the beautiful, horrific little thoughts that are going on in their heads. This collection wasn't the best of the ones I've read, but I still enjoyed it and think that these collections might be the perfect thing to have me at least reading SOMETHING while incredibly busy in college.
Favorite Story: Are You the Girl with Ribbons in Her Hair? by Douglas Hackle. This one was completely goofy right off the bat, with narratives that seemed intended to throw the reader for a loop. The first section of the story seems like the setup for a joke that a middle schooler would have told me. I wouldn't like this type of story in a novel setting, but for a short story, it was a ton of fun.
Honorable Mention: And the Dead Shall Perish by Mike Duke. I think I've thoroughly enjoyed all the stories in these collections that Mike Duke has written. I need to read a full-length novel by this man already. This one was fun, immediate action, and we get the little protagonist who isn't realistic at all, but it's fun to read as a typical man who fantasizes about killing vampire lords and saving the girl of their dreams.
Least Favorite: Steerage Rats by Natasha Sinclair. THE RATS FREAKING AREN'T EVEN IMPORTANT, BUT FOR GORY DESCRIPTIONS OF MUTILATION. ALL THE PEOPLE END UP DYING TO THE FIRE INSTEAD!! What a well-made plan, light the boat on fire, that you, the upper class, need to get away on. The same upper class who seems to have no good reason to kill all these peasants, except for the plot of course. I don't think there's much more I need to say.
I enjoyed most of these stories, even the gruesome ones. But it is a horror anthology, after all. I really liked the final two,"Blood for Blood" and "Book Magic." How many of us would love to exact revenge on those who have wronged us (or others)? And I devour books as much as I can, although not literally!