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Blood for a Cambium Heart
In Nick Harper's second collection of short horror stories, BLOOD FOR A CAMBIUM HEART, dreadful creatures abound, revenge comes gory and savage, and the dead rise...
Are you afraid? You will be.
The robbery of a precious artefact goes horribly wrong in CAMBIUM HEART. There's an awful new darkness in IT'S WEARING YOUR CLOTHES -and it looks just like you. NIGHT OF THE FROGS pays tribute to pulp horror and THE PROMETHEUS BOX brings a fresh face to the genre, quite literally.
If you can stomach all nine twisted tales in this collection, read on for a bonus epilogue that revisits THIS LONELY CARCASS SONG - as well as setting up all-new horrors to come...
NINE ILLUSTRATED STORIES
NINE NEW NIGHTMARES
BE This is a heart that can't be broken...
Are you afraid? You will be.
The robbery of a precious artefact goes horribly wrong in CAMBIUM HEART. There's an awful new darkness in IT'S WEARING YOUR CLOTHES -and it looks just like you. NIGHT OF THE FROGS pays tribute to pulp horror and THE PROMETHEUS BOX brings a fresh face to the genre, quite literally.
If you can stomach all nine twisted tales in this collection, read on for a bonus epilogue that revisits THIS LONELY CARCASS SONG - as well as setting up all-new horrors to come...
NINE ILLUSTRATED STORIES
NINE NEW NIGHTMARES
BE This is a heart that can't be broken...
323 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2020
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 4, 2021
ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌ
Blood for a cambium heart - Nick Harper
It’s been a hot minute since Nick Harper released his impressive debut horror collection, The lonely carcass song.
I’ve recently finished Nicks second collection ‘Blood for a cambium heart’ which was released last year and for me, this collection tops his debut.
Nick shows more maturity to his game without skimping on any of the blood and gore - always described in such detail you almost feel the pain being inflicted upon the stories characters.
I appreciated the trip down memory lane, with connections to previous stories in the debut collection.
My favourites, Cambium Heart (image inspiration), It’s wearing your clothes, Snow Grizzler, Maisie Gibson remembers Hell and the nod to Pulp horror Night of the frogs.
Nick hints that we might read more from Maisie Gibson, which I’d be hyped to read.
Sorry it’s taken so long Nick! Great collection.
Blood for a cambium heart - Nick Harper
It’s been a hot minute since Nick Harper released his impressive debut horror collection, The lonely carcass song.
I’ve recently finished Nicks second collection ‘Blood for a cambium heart’ which was released last year and for me, this collection tops his debut.
Nick shows more maturity to his game without skimping on any of the blood and gore - always described in such detail you almost feel the pain being inflicted upon the stories characters.
I appreciated the trip down memory lane, with connections to previous stories in the debut collection.
My favourites, Cambium Heart (image inspiration), It’s wearing your clothes, Snow Grizzler, Maisie Gibson remembers Hell and the nod to Pulp horror Night of the frogs.
Nick hints that we might read more from Maisie Gibson, which I’d be hyped to read.
Sorry it’s taken so long Nick! Great collection.
October 23, 2020
A solid follow-up to Harper's first collection, THIS LONELY CARCASS SONG. I particularly enjoyed the fact that there were a couple longer, novella-length pieces this time around. Personal favorites include "It's Wearing Your Clothes," "Ringworm Moon," and "The Prometheus Box." I particularly enjoy how the author is creating his own interconnected universe of characters, with quite a few people and things from CARCASS SONG coming back to give the reader a deeper peek into their world. Highly recommended to horror fans, though I strongly suggest reading CARCASS SONG first to get the full effect.
December 9, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this set of stories, coming hot on the the heels of his first collection. Although both books were released this year, there is a more noticeable & welcome sense of fun & humour amongst the horror this time.
“Cambium Heart”. This is a great opener. It sets up the mythology of the titular Heart nice & quickly & then let’s it loose on our unsuspecting characters. Tense & bloody.
“Ringworm Moon”
A tense & grisly bit of body horror meets hoodie horror. I love how Nick takes vampires or werewolves etc & twists them (literally) into new & intriguing forms.
“It’s Wearing Your Clothes” is a great little doppelgänger story with hints of Jordan Peele’s “Us”. It’s thrilling, fun & darkly humourous & might be my favourite so far.
“The Snow Grizzler” is a gnarly piece of Arctic horror with a nice sense of place and pace. For fans of The Thing, rampaging snow beasts and lots of red amongst the white.
“The Red Sisters” is a nasty & bloody tale of an order of nuns trying to prevent the brith of the Antichrist. This story wasn’t really for me (mainly due to the sensitive subject matter) but it is excellently written & breaks more than a couple of taboos.
“Maisie Gibson Remembers Hell” was a fantastic excursion into the more cosmic corners of the Harperverse. Here the author takes us ‘beyond Hell’ & puts his own unique spin on the afterlife. Think The Dark Tower meets Clive Barker.
‘Night of the Frogs’ is a slime & blood filled tale about nature fighting (eating) back, this time featuring 🐸 & a hint of Aliens (you’ll know it when you get there). Another great read & indicative of the varied breadth of stories in this collection.
“The Drowned” is a cracker of a tale, filled with the creeping dead & people meddling with dark forces. Harper has a knack for leaving you completely satisfied but also wanting more. These stories all contain mythologies & ideas that you yearn to see him expand on. Dark & dank horror of the highest order.
“The Prometheus Box”
This story has a dark & grisly mystery at its core which builds to a suitably crazy finale & a twisted punchline. Another great story & a nice capper to an excellent collection.
“Cambium Heart”. This is a great opener. It sets up the mythology of the titular Heart nice & quickly & then let’s it loose on our unsuspecting characters. Tense & bloody.
“Ringworm Moon”
A tense & grisly bit of body horror meets hoodie horror. I love how Nick takes vampires or werewolves etc & twists them (literally) into new & intriguing forms.
“It’s Wearing Your Clothes” is a great little doppelgänger story with hints of Jordan Peele’s “Us”. It’s thrilling, fun & darkly humourous & might be my favourite so far.
“The Snow Grizzler” is a gnarly piece of Arctic horror with a nice sense of place and pace. For fans of The Thing, rampaging snow beasts and lots of red amongst the white.
“The Red Sisters” is a nasty & bloody tale of an order of nuns trying to prevent the brith of the Antichrist. This story wasn’t really for me (mainly due to the sensitive subject matter) but it is excellently written & breaks more than a couple of taboos.
“Maisie Gibson Remembers Hell” was a fantastic excursion into the more cosmic corners of the Harperverse. Here the author takes us ‘beyond Hell’ & puts his own unique spin on the afterlife. Think The Dark Tower meets Clive Barker.
‘Night of the Frogs’ is a slime & blood filled tale about nature fighting (eating) back, this time featuring 🐸 & a hint of Aliens (you’ll know it when you get there). Another great read & indicative of the varied breadth of stories in this collection.
“The Drowned” is a cracker of a tale, filled with the creeping dead & people meddling with dark forces. Harper has a knack for leaving you completely satisfied but also wanting more. These stories all contain mythologies & ideas that you yearn to see him expand on. Dark & dank horror of the highest order.
“The Prometheus Box”
This story has a dark & grisly mystery at its core which builds to a suitably crazy finale & a twisted punchline. Another great story & a nice capper to an excellent collection.
October 25, 2020
🩸Spoiler Free Book Review🩸
•
This is the first book I’ve read by Nick Harper. I knew he could draw. I’ve seen his illustrations in other books and on Instagram and they’re impressive, but it turns out he can write too. What kind of bargain did he have to make to get both of these talents while other poor souls (i.e., me) have neither? Maybe he’ll share than in a future story, but in the meantime I’ll just be over here hiding my jealousy and using my meager skills to give this review.
•
Blood for a Cambium Heart is a short story collection with 9 tales, plus an Epilogue, all unique and all horror. Nick has a great writing style, easy to read but filled with vivid details and plenty of gore. I was reading yesterday, while waiting for friends to arrive at a restaurant, and my boyfriend said, “You’re really into that one huh? I can always tell when a book grabs you because you read it every chance you get, even if it’s just a couple minutes.”
•
I can’t think of a better description; this book grabbed me and I didn’t want to put it down. I’ve since found out that some of the characters that appear in this collection were also featured in The Lonely Carcass Song, so I look forward to reading that one at some point, as well as Hide, his debut novel.
•
I enjoyed all 9 stories in this one, but as with most anthologies, some made a better impression. I think this often varies by the reader, but the stand outs for me were: It’s Wearing Your Clothes (my favorite), The Snow Grizzler, Night of the Frogs, and The Prometheus Box.
•
This is a solid collection of stories any horror lover would appreciate and trust me, splurge to get the paperback copy. It’s reasonably priced and these illustrations deserve to be appreciated in person.
•
This is the first book I’ve read by Nick Harper. I knew he could draw. I’ve seen his illustrations in other books and on Instagram and they’re impressive, but it turns out he can write too. What kind of bargain did he have to make to get both of these talents while other poor souls (i.e., me) have neither? Maybe he’ll share than in a future story, but in the meantime I’ll just be over here hiding my jealousy and using my meager skills to give this review.
•
Blood for a Cambium Heart is a short story collection with 9 tales, plus an Epilogue, all unique and all horror. Nick has a great writing style, easy to read but filled with vivid details and plenty of gore. I was reading yesterday, while waiting for friends to arrive at a restaurant, and my boyfriend said, “You’re really into that one huh? I can always tell when a book grabs you because you read it every chance you get, even if it’s just a couple minutes.”
•
I can’t think of a better description; this book grabbed me and I didn’t want to put it down. I’ve since found out that some of the characters that appear in this collection were also featured in The Lonely Carcass Song, so I look forward to reading that one at some point, as well as Hide, his debut novel.
•
I enjoyed all 9 stories in this one, but as with most anthologies, some made a better impression. I think this often varies by the reader, but the stand outs for me were: It’s Wearing Your Clothes (my favorite), The Snow Grizzler, Night of the Frogs, and The Prometheus Box.
•
This is a solid collection of stories any horror lover would appreciate and trust me, splurge to get the paperback copy. It’s reasonably priced and these illustrations deserve to be appreciated in person.
November 6, 2020
I read this book as part of an Instagram read-along, as I did with This Lonely Carcass Song.
Just as I said regarding Nick Harper's first book, this was another I could have easily read in a single sitting. The stories were gripping, the writing wonderfully descriptive, and with plenty of gore that is very quickly becoming something of a trademark for his books.
I don't think I have a single negative thing to say about this. Instead, I'm just left wanting more. There was so much in the background of these stories, interconnecting them as well as the stories in the previous collection.
Harper also put his imagination of full display, giving us monsters, alternate planes of existence, and varied and realistic characters. No ideas felt recycled, and he masterfully presented excellently ominous endings that promise more gory stories in future.
Furthermore, each story is accompanied by phenomenal illustrations that wonderfully evoke the feeling of the stories.
I cannot choose a favourite from this collection. Hell, I'm struggling to even make a shortlist. I guess you'll just have to read it and decide for yourself.
Though...I will say this. If we get a full novel spinning out of Maisie Gibson Remembers Hell, I will be snatching that up immediately.
If you're undecided on reading this, I urge you to read it and Harper's other work immediately.
Just as I said regarding Nick Harper's first book, this was another I could have easily read in a single sitting. The stories were gripping, the writing wonderfully descriptive, and with plenty of gore that is very quickly becoming something of a trademark for his books.
I don't think I have a single negative thing to say about this. Instead, I'm just left wanting more. There was so much in the background of these stories, interconnecting them as well as the stories in the previous collection.
Harper also put his imagination of full display, giving us monsters, alternate planes of existence, and varied and realistic characters. No ideas felt recycled, and he masterfully presented excellently ominous endings that promise more gory stories in future.
Furthermore, each story is accompanied by phenomenal illustrations that wonderfully evoke the feeling of the stories.
I cannot choose a favourite from this collection. Hell, I'm struggling to even make a shortlist. I guess you'll just have to read it and decide for yourself.
Though...I will say this. If we get a full novel spinning out of Maisie Gibson Remembers Hell, I will be snatching that up immediately.
If you're undecided on reading this, I urge you to read it and Harper's other work immediately.
October 25, 2020
Wow.
I absolutely loved the first collection of stories by Nick ''This lonely carcass song" and this follow up collection is just as brilliant. The book opened perfectly with a tense, creepy heist! I loved this idea and it kept me wondering what was going to happen. Ringworm moon definitely grossed me tf out lol, anything worm related is never pleasant to read and Nick did that justice ahaha. My favourite stories in this have to be it's wearing your clothes, red sisters, Maise Gibson remembers hell and night of the frogs anddddd all of them? It is super hard to pick because all of the stories are amazing and very well written. Nick has a disgusting but creative imagination and some of these stories I could easily read a full novel. Btw what is your problem with frogs? jheeeeez. I couldn't recommend these collections enough and think everyone should read them! The addition of his own illustrations is a perfect touch! Looking forward to the next book he releases :)
I absolutely loved the first collection of stories by Nick ''This lonely carcass song" and this follow up collection is just as brilliant. The book opened perfectly with a tense, creepy heist! I loved this idea and it kept me wondering what was going to happen. Ringworm moon definitely grossed me tf out lol, anything worm related is never pleasant to read and Nick did that justice ahaha. My favourite stories in this have to be it's wearing your clothes, red sisters, Maise Gibson remembers hell and night of the frogs anddddd all of them? It is super hard to pick because all of the stories are amazing and very well written. Nick has a disgusting but creative imagination and some of these stories I could easily read a full novel. Btw what is your problem with frogs? jheeeeez. I couldn't recommend these collections enough and think everyone should read them! The addition of his own illustrations is a perfect touch! Looking forward to the next book he releases :)
November 12, 2020
Harpers second collection of short horror stories once again has blown me away with creatures, gore and savage descriptive writing. Harper has stepped up his game as his story telling is on the next level as there was a lot more character driven plot and dialogue and thankfully there was still the gory blood shed which Harper does best. Harper is cleverly creating his own horror world as he left easter eggs throughout the novel of characters from his previous and upcoming books. These stories will leave your stomach churning and skin writhing from heists gone wrong to tapeworms, from doppelgangers to revengeful frogs this book has it all. I'm really struggling to pick a favourite as Blood for a Cambium Heart goes from strength to strength as Harpers suspenseful blood baths of short stories will leave you wanting more.
October 23, 2020
Nick got a bit brave in this one, with certain themes (the red sisters for sure) and a format choice or two (the drowned). Prometheus Box was an intruiging concept, night of the frogs too, the drowning is completely relevant to themes that are highly used at the moment but with a twist in its development that I've not seen anywhere else.
The nods to this lonely carcass song were not lost on me having devoured that book too; the snow grizzler and bloodless...
These short stories are so easily consumed and the descriptive writing is incredible. Some how, it feels like Nick stepped up his game here and the addition of illustrations just takes it to a whole new level In his own hand no less...
"This is a heart that can't be broken..."
The nods to this lonely carcass song were not lost on me having devoured that book too; the snow grizzler and bloodless...
These short stories are so easily consumed and the descriptive writing is incredible. Some how, it feels like Nick stepped up his game here and the addition of illustrations just takes it to a whole new level In his own hand no less...
"This is a heart that can't be broken..."
October 28, 2020
In this second horror collection by Nick Harper, you get nine terrifying tales, full of blood, guts and gore.
From stealing hearts, murdering nuns, killer frogs to losing your face, this collection does not disappoint.
As well as horror, there's an air of the supernatural too, it reminded me of Dean Koontz at his best.
As with "This Lonely Carcass Song" Cambium Heart is expertly written, with incredible, sickening detail.
And, if your imagination wasn't fractured enough, there's some delicious artwork drawn by the author to make each story that little bit more real.
From stealing hearts, murdering nuns, killer frogs to losing your face, this collection does not disappoint.
As well as horror, there's an air of the supernatural too, it reminded me of Dean Koontz at his best.
As with "This Lonely Carcass Song" Cambium Heart is expertly written, with incredible, sickening detail.
And, if your imagination wasn't fractured enough, there's some delicious artwork drawn by the author to make each story that little bit more real.
April 28, 2021
3.5 stars
Decent collection of short stories that I read over a fairly long period of time for me. This may have lead to the low score as none of the stories really stuck out when trying to review.
I enjoyed the authors style a lot and the books illustrations are really good.
I will definitely read more by Nick Harper and feel maybe a novella would pull me in a little more than the shorts.
Enjoyable and recommended to anyone that wants a horror collection of short stories to read in between longer reads.
Decent collection of short stories that I read over a fairly long period of time for me. This may have lead to the low score as none of the stories really stuck out when trying to review.
I enjoyed the authors style a lot and the books illustrations are really good.
I will definitely read more by Nick Harper and feel maybe a novella would pull me in a little more than the shorts.
Enjoyable and recommended to anyone that wants a horror collection of short stories to read in between longer reads.
October 21, 2020
Blood for a cambium heart is a collection of pretty well written, entertaining horror stories.
English is not my first language but I feel the stories were easily readable nonetheless.
Though entertaining, I never really got scared while reading, which is something I generally look for in horrors. But I did like it enough to be curious about more of Nick Harpers writing and I would recommend this to other horror fans!
English is not my first language but I feel the stories were easily readable nonetheless.
Though entertaining, I never really got scared while reading, which is something I generally look for in horrors. But I did like it enough to be curious about more of Nick Harpers writing and I would recommend this to other horror fans!
November 8, 2020
This was my first foray into Nick Harper, and it WILL NOT BE THE LAST. This book was fantastic. The only downside is the short stories were so good, I just wanted them to be longer!!! The stand out to me was "Maisie Gibson Remembers Hell" and I honestly could have read an entire book just surrounding that. I'll definitely be picking up more of his books because OBVIOUSLY I've been sleeping on his writing.
August 1, 2022
Solid collection from Nick Harper. I can't write more of a review than that because I read it when I was recovering from surgery, so I don't remember anything other than I loved it.
May 18, 2025
Absolute Rubbish, Not even Good enough to clean James Herbert,s Shoes.
James John Herbert, OBE was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity.
James John Herbert, OBE was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity.
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