Hyperobscure

by Tor-Anders Ulven

Delve into the Hyperobscure, a fringe existence in the puke black darkness of your own fractured mind. You know it is there, just beyond the reach of your consciousness, the horror, the nightmares, the shapes and the shapeless, writhing, begging, clawing. Are you ready to let them out? Something new is found under the sun. A mysterious pop-up restaurant haunts the silent streets. A book uncovered in a dusty attic unveils dark secrets. A deal is struck during a life-threatening surgery. All snippets of lost realities within the Hyperobscure. Unleash them. If you dare.

Genres: Horror

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2020

Reviews

[Ladyhawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a treasure on Reddit

I first started reading Tor-Anders Ulven’s short stories on the Short Scary Stories subreddit and became an instant fan.

Character development within a short story format isn’t easy to do, but yet Tor-Anders manages it within a 500 word limit. His stories are well plotted, well written and the twists have caught me by surprise more times than I’d care to admit.

So naturally when I found he’d published this book, I had to read it. My only regret is that it’s done and I’m back to scouring reddit until the next volume is published.

As with his Reddit stories, the characters are well developed and even common tropes are given a new twist. He’s carefully inserted the devil in the details and written endings that can not always be predicted.

I don’t often write book reviews, so hopefully I’ve done Hyperobscure justice.

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange and wild collection of short stories veering between horror and sci-fi. Each story leaves the reader wondering how the story took that turn and how to unpick the ending.

I loved this collection and I appreciated the author’s talent to surprise the reader with the strange, but also with the events itself, keeping the reader on their toes and just baffling them with unexpected endings! The majority of the stories in this collection lull the reader into a false sense of comfort, tricking them into expecting what’s coming next, but then turning completely the stories in itself, without warning.

The narrator Geoff Sturtevant was very good as well, especially at interpreting the characters and the vibe of the stories.
If you want to scratch the horror short story itch, this is a great collection, especially as the length of the stories vary, so you can fit them in with whatever amount of time you have.

Thanks to the author and Velox Books for the audiobook and this is my honest opinion.

[Christy Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great anthology

I love reading all things horror related. I really enjoyed this collection because each story held my interest and had me wanting to read more. I highly recommend to all fans of horror.

[Chris Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, trippy, & shrouded in grief

This was an incredible collection of short stories. I found out about Ulven on the subreddit r/shortscarystories and could tell that he had some serious skill. When I saw this collection I knew I needed to check it out.

He paints a beautiful picture of grief that connects better than anything that I can remember reading on the subject. Some of my favorite stories were the ones that seemed as if they were taking place in an acid trip or some kind of fever dream. Some of these like the one that was about a certain drug reminded me of Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five. There was also a cool recurring element with a deal with the devil type figure that has emerald eyes. In a collection of short stories it was nice to have that element of something to come back to.

As far as shock factor, there is plenty to go around. He is definitely not afraid to push the limits and take it past the line that the squeamish might draw in the sand. So reader beware, but if you are like me and that sounds right up your alley, then saddle up and dig in!

[Michael Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved those short story collections Goosebumps released around the holidays when I was a kid, and reading Ulven produces those same thrills but with vastly more gruesome and twisted horror. Reading his words and wrapping my head around his monstrosities makes me giddy with imagination; his prose dances on the page so much I sometimes read out loud to myself, doing voices for characters and everything. Staying away from Reddit benefits me a lot, but the loss is not running into new stories by u/hyperobscure.

[Lola Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disturbing. Unhinged. AMAZING!

I've read quite a few of Hyperpbscura's stories on Reddit. Every single one is disturbing and thought-provoking. This collection is no different. Pick it up. Give it a read. You won't be disappointed.

[Andrew B Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found thru Reddit

Just some good old classic horror thriller. It reminds me of the old anthologies in the best way. Keep up the great work and thank you for creating this book.

[Jordan Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection of horror shorts. Nothing super memorable but nothing to complain about either. If this is your thing they’re worth reading.

[Janelle Halstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a few good stories. Most didn’t keep my interest. I’ll save a try to listen again another time.