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The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces
We live in anxious times, you and I, desperately uncertain times. An era in which governments behave irrationally. Diseases ravage the populous. And internet culture threatens to change who we really are. Modern life, for many, is one giant trigger warning. You need a place of sanctuary, a refuge from the chaos - so follow me now, into The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces. In the Zone nothing is what it seems. Houses defy the laws of nature while bodies become portals to impossible worlds. Viruses harbour mystifying enigmas and technologies incite the most subversive of desires. Unfathomable encounters lurk both beneath the waves and between the stars. Even birth and death, once knowable certainties, are here warped beyond all recognition. In his debut collection, Tom Over pushes the boundaries of genre storytelling into startling new realms. From transgressive weird fiction to 80s-inspired splatterpunk, from surreal dreamscapes to body horror nightmares. Exploring both earthbound fears and uncharted cosmic terror, these stories will lure you into spaces that, upon inspection, may prove not safe after all...
247 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2020
7 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Tom Over
19 books108 followersTom Over is a reptilian limbic system currently manipulating a hominid cortex somewhere in Manchester, UK. The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is his first book. He is not on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 27, 2024
Bring It On...
The Weirder, The Better...
THE COMFORT ZONE AND OTHER SAFE SPACES
by Tom Over
No spoilers. 4 stars overall. This is a collection of 12 bizarre stories that I've rated individually...
TUNNELS
The man was a loner since his mother's passing, but had Mother solved the mystery of the light at the end of the tunnel after death? And could it be replicated?...
(4 stars)
THE WETNESS
Callum has been ejaculating in bed late at night, and he doesn't know what stimulated him. All he could recall was a dream of being smothered. Could that perpetual puddle in the roadway he passed every day to and from work have something to do with his nightly sexual exploits?...
(3 stars)
THE VEGETARIANS
Sean watched from his bedroom window as infected people attacked and disemboweled clean people without eating them. It was ironic that the infected had plenty to eat while the clean went hungry...
(5 stars)
THE CEASELESS WAVE
The submarine dropped down through the depths until the dark water looked like outer space. On board were 4 marine biologists who hoped to discover a new species of predator that had killed the previous crew...
(3 stars)
PHYSICAL MEDIA
In the near future, a couple arrives home with a new state-of-the-art television. It was a brand called FUN (Forming Utopia Now), a truly smart TV called Daisy that has a surprise in store for the couple...
(5 stars)
A MURMUR OF SHADOWS
Young Rayan had a troubled home life, which caused him to steal matches and start fires:
Four little chickadees,
Sitting in a tree
One flew away,
And then there were 3
A true Hitchcock-style story...
(5 stars)
THE HAPPIEST THOUGHT
The young man saw it through his bedroom window. It streaked across the sky like a comet. Afterward, he forgot all about it until strange things started to happen inside the family home...
(3 stars)
PHYLUM
Space. The final frontier. In the year 2089, Jacob was an engineer for a colony on Mars. He has a primal need to escape the bloodbath slaughter of his coworkers and return to his colony living quarters where his pregnant girlfriend waits...
(5 stars)
THE EMBARRASSED LANDSCAPE
A young woman squeezed into a hotel elevator and asked the hotel attendant, who was also on the elevator: Have you ever felt as if the choices you've made have already been made?
He answered: There's no such thing as free will. Our brains make decisions for us seconds before we become aware of it. It's like fate...
(5 stars)
THE PORTABLE HUM
Dad was a practical joker. He was always pulling pranks and trying to jump-scare everyone. But now that Dad was older, butt-dialing was his new gig.
One day, Dad forgot to lock his phone, so he was unaware that he had made a call to his surprised son...
(5 srars)
THE COMFORT ZONE
A dirty bomb had gone off in the city. As Robert drove the streets looking for his son, he noticed strange graffiti on buildings and billboards. If you look at the graffiti too long, it'll do strange things to you and don't speak the words aloud...
(4 stars)
MILLIPEDE DREAMS
Without knowing how he got there, the young man found himself in the middle of a wetland swamp shimmering with neon colors. He doesn't know much, but he knows he's being chased through the bog by Him, but who is He?...
(4 stars)
This collection features some of the weirdest stories I've ever read. The stand-out stories were THE VEGETARIANS, PHYSICAL MEDIA, A MURMUR OF SHADOWS, PHYLUM, THE EMBARRASSED LANDSCAPE, and THE PORTABLE HUM.
If you like off-beat horror, you'll probably love this collection. My only complaint was that most of the stories leave the reader hanging without a clear-cut ending.
Warning to some readers: Borders on extreme horror with explicit sexual content and some animal cruelty.
The Weirder, The Better...
THE COMFORT ZONE AND OTHER SAFE SPACES
by Tom Over
No spoilers. 4 stars overall. This is a collection of 12 bizarre stories that I've rated individually...
TUNNELS
The man was a loner since his mother's passing, but had Mother solved the mystery of the light at the end of the tunnel after death? And could it be replicated?...
(4 stars)
THE WETNESS
Callum has been ejaculating in bed late at night, and he doesn't know what stimulated him. All he could recall was a dream of being smothered. Could that perpetual puddle in the roadway he passed every day to and from work have something to do with his nightly sexual exploits?...
(3 stars)
THE VEGETARIANS
Sean watched from his bedroom window as infected people attacked and disemboweled clean people without eating them. It was ironic that the infected had plenty to eat while the clean went hungry...
(5 stars)
THE CEASELESS WAVE
The submarine dropped down through the depths until the dark water looked like outer space. On board were 4 marine biologists who hoped to discover a new species of predator that had killed the previous crew...
(3 stars)
PHYSICAL MEDIA
In the near future, a couple arrives home with a new state-of-the-art television. It was a brand called FUN (Forming Utopia Now), a truly smart TV called Daisy that has a surprise in store for the couple...
(5 stars)
A MURMUR OF SHADOWS
Young Rayan had a troubled home life, which caused him to steal matches and start fires:
Four little chickadees,
Sitting in a tree
One flew away,
And then there were 3
A true Hitchcock-style story...
(5 stars)
THE HAPPIEST THOUGHT
The young man saw it through his bedroom window. It streaked across the sky like a comet. Afterward, he forgot all about it until strange things started to happen inside the family home...
(3 stars)
PHYLUM
Space. The final frontier. In the year 2089, Jacob was an engineer for a colony on Mars. He has a primal need to escape the bloodbath slaughter of his coworkers and return to his colony living quarters where his pregnant girlfriend waits...
(5 stars)
THE EMBARRASSED LANDSCAPE
A young woman squeezed into a hotel elevator and asked the hotel attendant, who was also on the elevator: Have you ever felt as if the choices you've made have already been made?
He answered: There's no such thing as free will. Our brains make decisions for us seconds before we become aware of it. It's like fate...
(5 stars)
THE PORTABLE HUM
Dad was a practical joker. He was always pulling pranks and trying to jump-scare everyone. But now that Dad was older, butt-dialing was his new gig.
One day, Dad forgot to lock his phone, so he was unaware that he had made a call to his surprised son...
(5 srars)
THE COMFORT ZONE
A dirty bomb had gone off in the city. As Robert drove the streets looking for his son, he noticed strange graffiti on buildings and billboards. If you look at the graffiti too long, it'll do strange things to you and don't speak the words aloud...
(4 stars)
MILLIPEDE DREAMS
Without knowing how he got there, the young man found himself in the middle of a wetland swamp shimmering with neon colors. He doesn't know much, but he knows he's being chased through the bog by Him, but who is He?...
(4 stars)
This collection features some of the weirdest stories I've ever read. The stand-out stories were THE VEGETARIANS, PHYSICAL MEDIA, A MURMUR OF SHADOWS, PHYLUM, THE EMBARRASSED LANDSCAPE, and THE PORTABLE HUM.
If you like off-beat horror, you'll probably love this collection. My only complaint was that most of the stories leave the reader hanging without a clear-cut ending.
Warning to some readers: Borders on extreme horror with explicit sexual content and some animal cruelty.
June 3, 2020
Make room for a fresh new name in dark and weird fiction. With a talent for writing exciting, often gruesome and always imaginative short stories, Tom Over has presented us with a collection that promises a scare for every horror lover. These stories should be read in the order in which they are presented.
Subjects are varied and keep the reader both tense and engaged. A young man swallows objects to restore them to perfect working order. Until he finds something too big to digest...
An unusual plague drives victims into savage states of violence. Animals fly into killing frenzies, and survivors of this strange plague resort to chilling methods of survival.
Monsters are born both in the deep sea and amongst a human colony on Mars, all with surprising and questionable origins.
A man has erotic dreams that have ties to both an early tragedy and an always present puddle of viscous water outside of a car park. How real are the dreams that threaten to engulf the sleeper?
Television technology has advanced so far that it literally controls lives. With a simple earbud, prurient desires can become sentient. They can also prove embarrassing when witnessed by others.
An entire household undergoes unnatural changes, affecting both architecture and human occupants. The results are nightmarish and dizzying.
These are only some of the situations that are encountered in this smart and innovative collection. It is difficult to believe that this is Tom Over's first book. I for one look forward to all of his future offerings.
Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book. My opinions reflected in the above review are honest and unbiased
Subjects are varied and keep the reader both tense and engaged. A young man swallows objects to restore them to perfect working order. Until he finds something too big to digest...
An unusual plague drives victims into savage states of violence. Animals fly into killing frenzies, and survivors of this strange plague resort to chilling methods of survival.
Monsters are born both in the deep sea and amongst a human colony on Mars, all with surprising and questionable origins.
A man has erotic dreams that have ties to both an early tragedy and an always present puddle of viscous water outside of a car park. How real are the dreams that threaten to engulf the sleeper?
Television technology has advanced so far that it literally controls lives. With a simple earbud, prurient desires can become sentient. They can also prove embarrassing when witnessed by others.
An entire household undergoes unnatural changes, affecting both architecture and human occupants. The results are nightmarish and dizzying.
These are only some of the situations that are encountered in this smart and innovative collection. It is difficult to believe that this is Tom Over's first book. I for one look forward to all of his future offerings.
Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book. My opinions reflected in the above review are honest and unbiased
October 18, 2023
Thoughts to come later, I'm tired now.
Later:
From marine horror to cosmic horror to zombie apocalypse to various science fictional catastrophes and apocalypses, to top tier weird – Tom Over's writing definitely has a wide range and it's outright scary how effortless and at home he can write in each one of those directions.
In each of Over's stories the reader is lead through astonishingly consummate universes within only a handful of pages to a meaningful and striking punchline crowning a breathtaking climax. So much so that it's well possible to imagine making a full-sized novel out of each story, no exception at all.
I was so impressed by Over's writing that I recommended his work to my former workplace, which is a bookshop and we were crushed to find out it's not deliverable here to Germany. So here I go - what is a rave review without a good rant in the middle part? A rant about the publishing industry because here we have exactly the sort of originality which should be supported and promoted with prestigious awards. But instead those awards go to the same few authors who keep on writing about the same things and shops can't even sell the good stuff. I really hope there'll be a reissue soon!
But anyway, it was hard to pick favorites (honestly it would have been easier to cite the stories that are not favorites), but here we go:
Tunnels – think in terms of bodily functions, would waste still be waste if your body didn't excreted it, but did something else? What might appear silly, turns into a philosophical meditation once you further Over's idea and stop thinking in terms of physical functions and think economic functions. I could lose myself in this shocking story, and an excellent choice for an opener.
The Vegetarians – Even more shocking, a story which questions, or rather plays with our moral limits and how far we could stretch them when in need. A breath-taking finale.
Physical Media – Talking about limits and borders not be crossed, what borders are there between our technology and us and should we start worrying about that? The couple in this story definitely should have worried about exactly that in order to avoid much painful shame... A painful shame which will make you laugh out loud nevertheless.
The Happiest Thought – I love this kind of story, really low key science fiction, low key horror, the story behind a family portrait.
Phylum – I'm not much of a fan of apocalyptic scenarios, but this one really kept me glued, and again the glorious ending destroyed all doubts I might have.
Millipede Dreams – Gorgeous psychedelia to close a gorgeous short story collection.
Tom Over did send me a review copy, for which I am grateful, but that didn't affect my review at all. I didn't know him or his writing before so I'm positively surprised to have discovered this author! If you know and more or less agree with my taste in books, you must try this.
Later:
From marine horror to cosmic horror to zombie apocalypse to various science fictional catastrophes and apocalypses, to top tier weird – Tom Over's writing definitely has a wide range and it's outright scary how effortless and at home he can write in each one of those directions.
In each of Over's stories the reader is lead through astonishingly consummate universes within only a handful of pages to a meaningful and striking punchline crowning a breathtaking climax. So much so that it's well possible to imagine making a full-sized novel out of each story, no exception at all.
I was so impressed by Over's writing that I recommended his work to my former workplace, which is a bookshop and we were crushed to find out it's not deliverable here to Germany. So here I go - what is a rave review without a good rant in the middle part? A rant about the publishing industry because here we have exactly the sort of originality which should be supported and promoted with prestigious awards. But instead those awards go to the same few authors who keep on writing about the same things and shops can't even sell the good stuff. I really hope there'll be a reissue soon!
But anyway, it was hard to pick favorites (honestly it would have been easier to cite the stories that are not favorites), but here we go:
Tunnels – think in terms of bodily functions, would waste still be waste if your body didn't excreted it, but did something else? What might appear silly, turns into a philosophical meditation once you further Over's idea and stop thinking in terms of physical functions and think economic functions. I could lose myself in this shocking story, and an excellent choice for an opener.
The Vegetarians – Even more shocking, a story which questions, or rather plays with our moral limits and how far we could stretch them when in need. A breath-taking finale.
Physical Media – Talking about limits and borders not be crossed, what borders are there between our technology and us and should we start worrying about that? The couple in this story definitely should have worried about exactly that in order to avoid much painful shame... A painful shame which will make you laugh out loud nevertheless.
The Happiest Thought – I love this kind of story, really low key science fiction, low key horror, the story behind a family portrait.
Phylum – I'm not much of a fan of apocalyptic scenarios, but this one really kept me glued, and again the glorious ending destroyed all doubts I might have.
Millipede Dreams – Gorgeous psychedelia to close a gorgeous short story collection.
Tom Over did send me a review copy, for which I am grateful, but that didn't affect my review at all. I didn't know him or his writing before so I'm positively surprised to have discovered this author! If you know and more or less agree with my taste in books, you must try this.
May 29, 2024
I need to stop reading this author over my lunch, his stuff is not particularly graphic or gross (compared to other stuff I read at least) and yet the moment I sit down with food, I'll read something foul.
I really enjoyed The Vegetarians (that progression, that ending, chef's kiss) and Physical Media (horror comedy about a smart TV). The imagery was generally pretty solid. The first 5 stories in the collection were all really strong and would recommend this collection even if it was just for these.
There's also a couple of stories I didn't particularly like such as the one where the child main character read more like a teenager than like the 6 year old he was supposed to be (which was too bad because the idea behind the story was really cool) and the 2 stories that were more on the bizzarro side (though for these 2 I think it was more because I wasn't in the right headspace to enjoy them).
I really enjoyed The Vegetarians (that progression, that ending, chef's kiss) and Physical Media (horror comedy about a smart TV). The imagery was generally pretty solid. The first 5 stories in the collection were all really strong and would recommend this collection even if it was just for these.
There's also a couple of stories I didn't particularly like such as the one where the child main character read more like a teenager than like the 6 year old he was supposed to be (which was too bad because the idea behind the story was really cool) and the 2 stories that were more on the bizzarro side (though for these 2 I think it was more because I wasn't in the right headspace to enjoy them).
February 28, 2021
From the achingly ironic title onwards Over’s collection of shorts embraces a sophisticated sense of mischief. Taking on genre and enthusiastically turning it inside out, the author introduces a set of tales proud of their influences and not afraid to tear those influences apart and make them anew in their own image. Part of the charm of this collection is the variety of, and broad sweep through, different horror subsets, including aspects of weird fiction, cosmic horror, body horror, retro horror, horror in space, creature horror, bird horror, horror horror, urban unease, the uncanny, the surreal, the absurd, and the most potent of British horrors—humiliation and embarrassment. Over manages to inject his stories with a thick sense of atmosphere—sometimes brooding, at others times anxious or exhilarating or gross, and at still more times darkly amusing.
Many of the tales are filled with terrific volumes of viscera and gore, vividly described. Over’s use of language excels in these descriptive moments, economically and imaginatively expressing the multitude terrors on display. Many of the stories are connected, strange events taking place in a recognisable contemporary reality, a threatening force suddenly making its presence felt in the world.
Hugely enjoyable and recommended.
Many of the tales are filled with terrific volumes of viscera and gore, vividly described. Over’s use of language excels in these descriptive moments, economically and imaginatively expressing the multitude terrors on display. Many of the stories are connected, strange events taking place in a recognisable contemporary reality, a threatening force suddenly making its presence felt in the world.
Hugely enjoyable and recommended.
February 27, 2021
Best book I've read in awhile!
The author of this book comes highly recommended and I've thanked the person who recommended it. Twice.
Now it's time to thank the author.. If I could give more than five stars, I definitely would!
This book is one of those rare ones where each story is just as good, if not better than the last. I can't even pick a favorite, they were all great. Definitely a fan and will be following the author and reading more.
The author of this book comes highly recommended and I've thanked the person who recommended it. Twice.
Now it's time to thank the author.. If I could give more than five stars, I definitely would!
This book is one of those rare ones where each story is just as good, if not better than the last. I can't even pick a favorite, they were all great. Definitely a fan and will be following the author and reading more.
November 5, 2020
Nice!!!!!
This collection of stories was fucking awesome. Every story there was at least one part that makes you either go what the fuck or ask yourself what the hell is going on. This book took longer to read than I thought it was going to because there were passages I had to read multiple times because of the what the fuck factor. Look forward to reading more of Tom Over for sure
This collection of stories was fucking awesome. Every story there was at least one part that makes you either go what the fuck or ask yourself what the hell is going on. This book took longer to read than I thought it was going to because there were passages I had to read multiple times because of the what the fuck factor. Look forward to reading more of Tom Over for sure
November 20, 2020
This is a collection of dark and expertly gross transgressive horror written in chillingly cold prose that are so British that every copy of the book comes with a crumpet and an unsuccessful attempt at world domination. Highly recommended.
June 16, 2020
“Inventive, transgressive, and bristling with dark life, Tom Over’s The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is an auspicious debut—it’ll have you turning on all the lights, laughing, wincing, asking yourself if he’ll Go There and discovering with gratitude that Yes, he will in fact Go There… There and Beyond.”
- Matthew M. Bartlett, author of Gateways to Abomination
“Discomfiting. Unsafe. Grotesque. Night after night, these stories invaded my dreams."
- Gregor Xane, author of The Hanover Block
“...Safe Spaces is conclusive evidence that Tom Over is the new heir to the throne of nihilism and chaos. A future transgressive classic!”
- Chris Kelso, author of The DREGS Trilogy
“Tom Over shows no bounds in how far he’s willing to go with the absurd and grotesque and I love him for it. He is a tightrope walker of a writer, balancing horror and pitch black humor with literary flare. Reading this book was the most fun I’ve had in a while. I loved these stories. I love this collection.”
- Philip LoPresti, author of The Things We Bury
- Matthew M. Bartlett, author of Gateways to Abomination
“Discomfiting. Unsafe. Grotesque. Night after night, these stories invaded my dreams."
- Gregor Xane, author of The Hanover Block
“...Safe Spaces is conclusive evidence that Tom Over is the new heir to the throne of nihilism and chaos. A future transgressive classic!”
- Chris Kelso, author of The DREGS Trilogy
“Tom Over shows no bounds in how far he’s willing to go with the absurd and grotesque and I love him for it. He is a tightrope walker of a writer, balancing horror and pitch black humor with literary flare. Reading this book was the most fun I’ve had in a while. I loved these stories. I love this collection.”
- Philip LoPresti, author of The Things We Bury
September 24, 2023
Tom Over was nice enough to send me a review copy of this fantastic collection of stories, so thank you Tom so much for allowing me an opportunity to read your work!
The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is a collection of 12 short stories. Ranging from bizarro & transgressive to splatterpunk-esque gorey scenes, paired with great writing and descriptions, this collection definitely is worth attention.
My favorite stories were Murmer of Shadows and Millipede Dreams, but The Comfort Zone and Phylum were also fantastic.
Tom has a wicked imagination and shows it through his work in an intelligent and engrossing way. Highly highly recommend this read.
Read my full review on my blog by clicking this link!
-----
five fuckin stars, amazing. review to come!
The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is a collection of 12 short stories. Ranging from bizarro & transgressive to splatterpunk-esque gorey scenes, paired with great writing and descriptions, this collection definitely is worth attention.
My favorite stories were Murmer of Shadows and Millipede Dreams, but The Comfort Zone and Phylum were also fantastic.
Tom has a wicked imagination and shows it through his work in an intelligent and engrossing way. Highly highly recommend this read.
Read my full review on my blog by clicking this link!
-----
five fuckin stars, amazing. review to come!
November 2, 2020
This collection is enjoyable all around. Totally unthought of scenarios in here, some that really threw me for a loop. Excellent writing style, along with twists you can't see coming, adds this to the short list of this year's favorite reads.
August 10, 2022
Really bleak speculative fiction done the dry and grave way that the British excel at. I enjoyed the treatment of grisly subject matter from the “detached witness” standpoint, the way the stories have a muted vibrance to them. “The Vegetarians” was my favorite.
April 16, 2024
Tom Overs The Comfort Zone and Other Things is a short story collection filled with the most creative interesting and beautiful stories i’ve ever read. The imagery in these stories is unmatched. His bizzaro works are not only stunning but captivating. Although every one of these stories were amazing I did have some favorites!
Phylum- A story of survival on a different planet with the creepiest creatures.
The Ceaseless Wave- A group of people in a submarine voyage to find missing persons.
The Comfort Zone- A man on a hunt to find his son after the towns been plagued with personality altering graffiti.
All of these stories were phenomenal and a must read for everyone’s list!
Phylum- A story of survival on a different planet with the creepiest creatures.
The Ceaseless Wave- A group of people in a submarine voyage to find missing persons.
The Comfort Zone- A man on a hunt to find his son after the towns been plagued with personality altering graffiti.
All of these stories were phenomenal and a must read for everyone’s list!
August 15, 2022
The cord trails away and disappears into the wall of this fluid-filled sac. Then I am gone, I see nothing more. But the sounds grow louder.
The screaming makes the liquid around me tremble.
“. . . Breathe . . .”
The voice I hear remains calm.
“. . . Push . . .”
The screaming makes the liquid around me tremble.
“. . . Breathe . . .”
The voice I hear remains calm.
“. . . Push . . .”
June 4, 2020
'Safe Spaces’ is conclusive evidence that Tom Over is the new heir to the throne of nihilism and chaos. A future transgressive classic!
August 24, 2021
Tom Over detached his hands and drilled a hole into my skull, filling it with images of scum and death and an exhausting, delirious selection of weird tales.
Incredible collection.
Incredible collection.
June 24, 2020
Top/Best of 2020
Wow. I went into this sweet fat baby with a positive attitude. Tom was new to me, completely. But I wasn’t scared, as he’s a BAMF. You’re gonna find out why.
I knew, seriously, by the middle of the third paragraph of the very first story, that Tom Over is truly someone very, very special. So very talented. Absolutely original. Massively creative, and told with such an economy of language, not a single word wasted or overused.
This baby also contains my now ALL TIME FAVORITE short story of 2020, probably of all time really. Prepare yourself for “Phylum” trust me.
Every tale was hand crafted and brewed with only the finest, all-natural ingredients.
I loved this book.
I love this book.
These stories WILL release serotonin into your brain. It’s absolutely wonderful.
5/5 Skulls
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
Wow. I went into this sweet fat baby with a positive attitude. Tom was new to me, completely. But I wasn’t scared, as he’s a BAMF. You’re gonna find out why.
I knew, seriously, by the middle of the third paragraph of the very first story, that Tom Over is truly someone very, very special. So very talented. Absolutely original. Massively creative, and told with such an economy of language, not a single word wasted or overused.
This baby also contains my now ALL TIME FAVORITE short story of 2020, probably of all time really. Prepare yourself for “Phylum” trust me.
Every tale was hand crafted and brewed with only the finest, all-natural ingredients.
I loved this book.
I love this book.
These stories WILL release serotonin into your brain. It’s absolutely wonderful.
5/5 Skulls
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
August 3, 2024
The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is a really fun, playful, dark, and weird collection. I honestly didn't know what to make of it at times, which is a good thing. I mean that in a good way. And even though I think I liked the sci-fi-tinged or serious stories more than the others, I was always pleasantly surprised by how unpredictable the subject matter or tone could be. Hopefully Tom is putting together something new, because I'm really curious about where he can go from here.
October 28, 2020
Woah. Couldn't get enough of Tom Over's shorts. A major talent is rising.
December 28, 2022
"The violence we're seeing is merely symptomatic of a more fundamental urge—
(...) The infected suffer intense compulsion to, well, escape the world"
This book will make you cry, it you make you laugh, it will make you go to bed earlier only to spend hours staring at the ceiling wondering about tiny organisms that live inside our bodies in abject symbiosis. It's true, I had much fun reading Tom Over's debut collection The Comfort Zone. However this is not a book lacking in depth, the characters in it feel very much alive in their complexities and motivations. From the very first story, the eerie and absurd portrait of a son's grief, Tom Over successfully sets the overall tone of the collection. In the following pages we see a reflection of our anxious times, the longing for comfort and assurance exposed, it's only human to give in to our most primal instincts in our search for survival and affection. Despite its gruesome scenarios, this is a book about human connection, a chaotic ode to the safety of familiar bonds, to the warmth of a lover's embrace. Over takes the best of humanity and juxtaposes it with the worst circumstances.
Written in a deceptively conventional structure, most of these stories provide a sort of safety-net for the reader, it's far too late when you realize just how far from safety you really are. When the plot twists, when the light fades, when the knife turns, when the deformed alien baby tries to profanate your body... only then you understand the degenerate nature of these horrifically inventive tales.
Over is not afraid to throw you right into the middle of the pandemonium, he excels in the madness that infiltrates into his characters lives. This sense of urgency that permeates most of the stories, especially the longer ones (my favorites), made it very difficult to put this book aside. I could only take a break from reading it when I finished a whole story. They read almost like mystery adventures, bleak journeys into the unknown (a perception endorsed by the shared universe of some tales). That narrative focus when associated with sensible character development works to create a truly engaging reading experience. I do think I'm gonna miss this book.
June 24, 2020
My god, this collection. Dark, intense and unspeakably weird, these are some of the most messed up stories I’ve ever read. As insane as these horrific tales get, they are also gripping, funny and tightly plotted, each one sucking you in and not letting go until the ghastly and inescapable conclusion. Every one has a truly wtf pay-off ending that both thrilled and repulsed me in equal measure. I had a blast reading this debut work and will drop everything to pick up whatever this new author writes next. 5 throbbing gore-slick stars from me!
May 31, 2025
sad that I only just got round to reading this.
What a fantastic horrific collection. Each little story found a way to suprise and surpass all expectations of the genre. Even when you think they might be going in a predictable way they switched and flipped the whole thing round. Good stuff. I was especially keen on the last story with that wonderful lil millipede, more weird and psychedelic than the grotesque body horror of most of the other stories. It really made me feel as if I was in some strange hidden PS1 survival horror. Which is meant as the greatest complement I promise. More of this sorta stuff please.
What a fantastic horrific collection. Each little story found a way to suprise and surpass all expectations of the genre. Even when you think they might be going in a predictable way they switched and flipped the whole thing round. Good stuff. I was especially keen on the last story with that wonderful lil millipede, more weird and psychedelic than the grotesque body horror of most of the other stories. It really made me feel as if I was in some strange hidden PS1 survival horror. Which is meant as the greatest complement I promise. More of this sorta stuff please.
January 10, 2021
Not as edgelord as the description makes it sound. Otherwise very good splatter horror.
March 9, 2022
Well-written, imaginative, and gory. Excellent collection.
September 25, 2024
When a book can potentially cause a phobia (or several), you know it's good.
February 27, 2023
Tom Over has the range of an opera singer who dabbles in death metal. Got hooked on his slangy Covid drug party piece in Stories Only a Mother Could Love and now this bleak but interesting intro tale of a boy swallowing his late mother’s trinkets to protect them from robbery o my to find out they pass him brand new. This writing style twinkles like it’s from another era w/ Victorian gables and Romantic experimentation you’d find in Frankenstein. This story ends as quickly and magnificently ugly as the next one begins: A man aroused and stalked by strange puddles puts away his past w/ an ice drowning victim. This story becomes creatively perverse in a way only horror could deliver and would transfer well to the silver screen. The next story is a bit of a crawler like the zombie-ish humans called “veggies.” A girlfriend w/ missing parents during the outbreak subsists on dough. Something about psychedelic graffiti seems to stir the birds and cannibals. A good passage: “The policeman, deranged with infection, pulled the child from the guts of its mother and held it aloft. Yellow high-vis now awash with scarlet, the bug-eyed veggie studied its gore-slick possession at arm’s length—like some luminous midwife from hell, or monstrous new father, full of equal parts awe and uncertainty.” Darkly funny end.
Next story is about a submarine, giving Alien vibes with coed researchers who know the last crew mysteriously disappeared, leaving nothing but a haunting help message. Has some cheesy dialogue like such but this type of horror has never been my thing—nor the high-brow, stuffy stuff. I prefer the next piece with a nod to Brave New World w/ life-enveloping TVs though they start more benevolent. They diffuse a couple’s fights by playing “their” song, offering advice, read their minds to find the perfect movies, but soon it puts them against each other by convincing them to watch stuff separately. A very modern, funny tiff. This snowballs fast into the best revenge ever.
Next story harkens back to colorful graffiti playing an unexplained part in odd happenings spotted on a drive—this time w/ an evil but unlying little boy. Some good horror scenes but the adults don’t make sense in cardboard responses just to serve plot or not being able to smell blood right under their noses. Another story is about a passing comet turning a family’s home into a funhouse where time and gravity are Interstellar-like. Space is a big theme, like with the gay couple who terraforms Mars until they strike water that revitalizes then nearly kills its drinkers. Enter supreme gore and Lovecraft creatures made more mealy. Ends gross on another level. A subsequent story has the nice change of screenplay setups and brevity though the dialogue is very stiff and not of the ‘90s/life outside of movies.
Another piece contains the phrase “Somebody or something was savagely fucking my father, and the sudden realisation of this buckled my stomach.” So. I’ll leave it at that. Haha. The Comfort Zone is the penultimate destination even though it’s a callback to the kid/bird story and ship/ w/ old flames w/ extra complex relationships (pregnancies, dead spouses, side pieces, and current ones) searching for their teens as soon as news breaks about animal attacks, hypnotic graffiti, and human corpses that appear pawed. For the finale: Someone in PJs racing through water and forest for the customary twig trip to meet their fate w/ a beast. Or is it? There’s something doppelgänger-like about them. I find this story more cute than scary with names like Bubble and since I have a penchant for millipedes.
Next story is about a submarine, giving Alien vibes with coed researchers who know the last crew mysteriously disappeared, leaving nothing but a haunting help message. Has some cheesy dialogue like such but this type of horror has never been my thing—nor the high-brow, stuffy stuff. I prefer the next piece with a nod to Brave New World w/ life-enveloping TVs though they start more benevolent. They diffuse a couple’s fights by playing “their” song, offering advice, read their minds to find the perfect movies, but soon it puts them against each other by convincing them to watch stuff separately. A very modern, funny tiff. This snowballs fast into the best revenge ever.
Next story harkens back to colorful graffiti playing an unexplained part in odd happenings spotted on a drive—this time w/ an evil but unlying little boy. Some good horror scenes but the adults don’t make sense in cardboard responses just to serve plot or not being able to smell blood right under their noses. Another story is about a passing comet turning a family’s home into a funhouse where time and gravity are Interstellar-like. Space is a big theme, like with the gay couple who terraforms Mars until they strike water that revitalizes then nearly kills its drinkers. Enter supreme gore and Lovecraft creatures made more mealy. Ends gross on another level. A subsequent story has the nice change of screenplay setups and brevity though the dialogue is very stiff and not of the ‘90s/life outside of movies.
Another piece contains the phrase “Somebody or something was savagely fucking my father, and the sudden realisation of this buckled my stomach.” So. I’ll leave it at that. Haha. The Comfort Zone is the penultimate destination even though it’s a callback to the kid/bird story and ship/ w/ old flames w/ extra complex relationships (pregnancies, dead spouses, side pieces, and current ones) searching for their teens as soon as news breaks about animal attacks, hypnotic graffiti, and human corpses that appear pawed. For the finale: Someone in PJs racing through water and forest for the customary twig trip to meet their fate w/ a beast. Or is it? There’s something doppelgänger-like about them. I find this story more cute than scary with names like Bubble and since I have a penchant for millipedes.
October 5, 2025
"The biggest, wettest orgasm of his life is accompanied by the most horrifying sense of panic he's ever experienced."
This is a pretty diverse collection of stories. Some venture into the absurd, such as Physical Media, which is about a malevolent AI wreaking havoc on a married couple in hilarious ways. The Vegetarians, on the other hand, is just straight up depressing, depicting a more realistic way in which one would cope with a zombie apocalypse. Though these stories range across different genres, they all include vivid descriptions, especially for the climactic moments.
"Suspended in nothingness she appeared horrifically elongated, stretched apart and smeared along the orbit’s edge. Her spaghettified limbs and torso blossomed with crimson plumes. The son’s sobs produced tears which lifted instantly off his face and whipped away into the chaos."
Many of the stories I think can be qualified as splatterpunk, but they never feel too extreme in their gore or erotica, which gives each story room to breathe without relying too heavily on shock value. Other writers of splatter should take notes here: show restraint, and gain an intuition for when to include ridiculous lines like the ones shown below.
"Between its sinewy legs dangled a grotesque parody of a human penis. The length and girth of a regular child's arm, it wagged from side to side, leaking a constant stream of milky fluid."
Rumor has it that Tom’s not just a writer of short stories, because his “debut novel is fully formed, hatched, and waiting to crawl into the light.” Well, whenever this abomination decides to introduce itself to the world, I will gladly read it.
This is a pretty diverse collection of stories. Some venture into the absurd, such as Physical Media, which is about a malevolent AI wreaking havoc on a married couple in hilarious ways. The Vegetarians, on the other hand, is just straight up depressing, depicting a more realistic way in which one would cope with a zombie apocalypse. Though these stories range across different genres, they all include vivid descriptions, especially for the climactic moments.
"Suspended in nothingness she appeared horrifically elongated, stretched apart and smeared along the orbit’s edge. Her spaghettified limbs and torso blossomed with crimson plumes. The son’s sobs produced tears which lifted instantly off his face and whipped away into the chaos."
Many of the stories I think can be qualified as splatterpunk, but they never feel too extreme in their gore or erotica, which gives each story room to breathe without relying too heavily on shock value. Other writers of splatter should take notes here: show restraint, and gain an intuition for when to include ridiculous lines like the ones shown below.
"Between its sinewy legs dangled a grotesque parody of a human penis. The length and girth of a regular child's arm, it wagged from side to side, leaking a constant stream of milky fluid."
Rumor has it that Tom’s not just a writer of short stories, because his “debut novel is fully formed, hatched, and waiting to crawl into the light.” Well, whenever this abomination decides to introduce itself to the world, I will gladly read it.
July 13, 2020
You know how they say the best horrors are the ones which make you think about it a few days afterwards, well that's how I feel about the stories in this book! There were definately bits in the majority of the stories where it sent a chill down my spine or I thought I might have been sick...
If you like the realm of the weird and grotesque with some dark humour sprinkled on top this book is the one for you. It's got such good little stories in it, covering zombies, evil computers, alien lifeforms etc but don't think this is just standard horror, oh no, this is something special.
Stand out stories for me, Tunnels, The Vegetarians, Physical Media, Phylum(which you could totally see being made into a film)and The Comfort Zone.
This is Tom Over's first collection of short stories and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I can't wait to see what he does next...
If you like the realm of the weird and grotesque with some dark humour sprinkled on top this book is the one for you. It's got such good little stories in it, covering zombies, evil computers, alien lifeforms etc but don't think this is just standard horror, oh no, this is something special.
Stand out stories for me, Tunnels, The Vegetarians, Physical Media, Phylum(which you could totally see being made into a film)and The Comfort Zone.
This is Tom Over's first collection of short stories and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I can't wait to see what he does next...
December 3, 2023
A series of twelve zones where the comfort of what we once knew becomes alien and untenable. A liminal zone where the erotic is both repulsive and compelling. At one point a character in Physical Media, confesses how he is “unable to believe how good it feels to fuck his television.” The uncut version of Videodrome. Threaded through the orifices of Tom Over’s comfort zones are his many film influences: Cronenberg, Carpenter’s The Thing, The Birds, Brian Yuzna’s Society. Yet his scalpel-clear prose strikes a tone both resonant and expansive. The Vegetarians reads like a cannibalistic retelling of Ballard’s High-Rise, the title story The Comfort Zone follows the Situationist diagnosis of media as mass hypnotism to its chilling endpoint. The stories are filled with grotesque scenes of womblike burrows, episodes of interdimensional births, taking one to Julia Kristeva’s idea of the maternal body as both abject and erotic, a site of blistering rupture. In The Portable Hum, the narrator listens on the phone as “somebody or something was fucking my father” with the soothing detachment of an ASMR video. Freud’s primal phantasy of witnessing a sex act between parents, a millipede lost in a maze of pink entrails. A horror occurring in the next room. It feels so safe in here. Why not stay a little longer?
July 9, 2024
I received an ARC from the author, in the group Horror Haven, for my honest review.
When I find books like this one, I really wish I was better at writing reviews. I typically only really enjoy half the book when it's a collection like this. I have a hard time finishing, love some, hate others... I even went through my Absolute Favorites List and there are only 3 on there out of my current 145: His Hideous Heart, The Beast You Are: Stories and now this one. I can't explain how much I enjoyed this collection. Every story was interesting and offered something unique, but these are my absolute favorites:
The Vegetarians
The Ceaseless Wave
Physical Media
A Murmur of Shadows
Phylum
The Portable Hum
The Comfort Zone
If you love Horror and don't mind taking a walk with Bizarro, then this is a must! I highly recommend this and look forward to more from this very talented author. Bravo, Tom Over! Bravo!
When I find books like this one, I really wish I was better at writing reviews. I typically only really enjoy half the book when it's a collection like this. I have a hard time finishing, love some, hate others... I even went through my Absolute Favorites List and there are only 3 on there out of my current 145: His Hideous Heart, The Beast You Are: Stories and now this one. I can't explain how much I enjoyed this collection. Every story was interesting and offered something unique, but these are my absolute favorites:
The Vegetarians
The Ceaseless Wave
Physical Media
A Murmur of Shadows
Phylum
The Portable Hum
The Comfort Zone
If you love Horror and don't mind taking a walk with Bizarro, then this is a must! I highly recommend this and look forward to more from this very talented author. Bravo, Tom Over! Bravo!
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