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Ékleipsis
NABE Pinnacle Award Winner for Horror.
Winner of Literary Titan Gold Award.
Reader Views Bronze Award for Short Stories
The sun has finally set on humanity…
What happens when we give in to the darkness?
Ékleipsis is a short story collection that explores the havoc wreaked when ordinary people abandon their humanity to pursue their darkest desires, and questions just how far people will go to follow their baser instincts.
Each story takes a version of a person we've known in our own lives and transforms them into something completely unnerving—yet all too familiar.
These dark, complex characters and twisted tales of the once ordinary will change your perception of humanity forever.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2020
184 people are currently reading
530 people want to read
About the author
Tamel Wino
4 books54 followersTamel Wino is an award-winning, fiction author from resplendent British Columbia. His works focus largely on the erratic facets of sanity and morality. He majored in Health Sciences and Psychology, which only furthered his interest in human nature.
With inspirations including Ray Bradbury, Jack Ketchum, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and Edgar Allan Poe; Tamel’s expositions are strongly grounded in traditions of dark fiction. Yet, with his bold narrative voice and incisive plot construction, Wino is paving a new movement within the space.
When he is not reading or concocting tales, Tamel often indulges in stargazing, rekindling classic shows and unearthing obscure music.
With inspirations including Ray Bradbury, Jack Ketchum, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and Edgar Allan Poe; Tamel’s expositions are strongly grounded in traditions of dark fiction. Yet, with his bold narrative voice and incisive plot construction, Wino is paving a new movement within the space.
When he is not reading or concocting tales, Tamel often indulges in stargazing, rekindling classic shows and unearthing obscure music.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
January 5, 2021
Ekleipsis by Tamel Wino is a collection of 5 short stories each one designed to take an all too familiar reality and turn it upside down.
The stories read easily, which makes for fast enjoyable reading. I was sucked in with the very first story "The Other Son" and before I knew it I was in the middle of the last story conveniently named "All In". To say that I had a favorite story would do the other four an injustice. The stories are all stand alone but they have a commonality, a common thread that binds them all together. This thread, which Mr Wino does a beautiful job of exposing lies in our very fragility, our vices.
The author creates several worlds in which he dares to ask the reader "What If ..". In these worlds the reader will find an uneasy reality somewhat twisted, that down the slippery slope that is life takes a dark and menacing turn.
Using a creative sense of imagination Tamel pulls no punches at all, whether it is in the plot, atmosphere or the characters. He not only wants you to read, to feel, to see the stories, but he wants his book to hit back and it does.
The most chilling thing about these stories for me was I understood them all. I knew how they had been raised, the neighborhood they lived, the people they associated with and I knew their hearts.
To say that Tamel Wino's book is thought provoking is a huge understatement. Reading it I kept thinking I could hear Nietzsche reminding me 'if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back'.
An easy recommendation to anyone who hasn't read this book and an even easier recommend to re-read it for those of us whom have.
The stories read easily, which makes for fast enjoyable reading. I was sucked in with the very first story "The Other Son" and before I knew it I was in the middle of the last story conveniently named "All In". To say that I had a favorite story would do the other four an injustice. The stories are all stand alone but they have a commonality, a common thread that binds them all together. This thread, which Mr Wino does a beautiful job of exposing lies in our very fragility, our vices.
The author creates several worlds in which he dares to ask the reader "What If ..". In these worlds the reader will find an uneasy reality somewhat twisted, that down the slippery slope that is life takes a dark and menacing turn.
Using a creative sense of imagination Tamel pulls no punches at all, whether it is in the plot, atmosphere or the characters. He not only wants you to read, to feel, to see the stories, but he wants his book to hit back and it does.
The most chilling thing about these stories for me was I understood them all. I knew how they had been raised, the neighborhood they lived, the people they associated with and I knew their hearts.
To say that Tamel Wino's book is thought provoking is a huge understatement. Reading it I kept thinking I could hear Nietzsche reminding me 'if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back'.
An easy recommendation to anyone who hasn't read this book and an even easier recommend to re-read it for those of us whom have.
January 16, 2021
The horror that I seem to drift towards the most is human-based horror. Don't get me wrong- I dig Lovecraftian horror, enjoy supernatural horror and a good creature feature here and there. But my favorite always seems to be horror that explores the horror of what it means to be humans.
These stories hit that spot in a major way. Each one explores something within human nature that is horrific. There's no need for ghouls or ghosts here, because the things people do are bad enough. It's explored elegantly and in a way that keeps you wanting to read- I really did have a hard time putting this down! I think my only complaint would be a very minor one that a couple of the endings felt a little too abrupt; they ended in a spot that worked, but I was left feeling like the story could have explored a bit further.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it. I'll be keeping an eye out for more work from this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
These stories hit that spot in a major way. Each one explores something within human nature that is horrific. There's no need for ghouls or ghosts here, because the things people do are bad enough. It's explored elegantly and in a way that keeps you wanting to read- I really did have a hard time putting this down! I think my only complaint would be a very minor one that a couple of the endings felt a little too abrupt; they ended in a spot that worked, but I was left feeling like the story could have explored a bit further.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it. I'll be keeping an eye out for more work from this author in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 13, 2020
I was absolutely thrilled to read and review this debut collection of short stories from Canadian author, Tamel Wino. I did something I rarely do; I selected this novel without knowing anything about the book or the author. It was a real treat to read without any preconceived notions about either.
This book contains five short stories. They all deal with regular people, battling personal issues, placed in precarious situations, and having to make life-altering choices. Throughout the stories, we experience the degradation of the human psyche and the intrinsic battles each of the main characters attempt to navigate through. Addictions, anger management, and PTSD, are serious conditions that many people experience, but what if these lead down a dark and dangerous path? You will need to read this book to find out more.
I have given this book 4.5 stars, as I loved the stories, characters and plot developments, however, I was able to make a close guess as to how each of the stories would end. Also, I am not really a fan of first personal narratives (four of the five stories are told in this manner). I know and understand this is strictly a personal preference, as my wife would tell you first person narratives are her favorite.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. Mr. Wino, you have yourself a new fan.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book contains five short stories. They all deal with regular people, battling personal issues, placed in precarious situations, and having to make life-altering choices. Throughout the stories, we experience the degradation of the human psyche and the intrinsic battles each of the main characters attempt to navigate through. Addictions, anger management, and PTSD, are serious conditions that many people experience, but what if these lead down a dark and dangerous path? You will need to read this book to find out more.
I have given this book 4.5 stars, as I loved the stories, characters and plot developments, however, I was able to make a close guess as to how each of the stories would end. Also, I am not really a fan of first personal narratives (four of the five stories are told in this manner). I know and understand this is strictly a personal preference, as my wife would tell you first person narratives are her favorite.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. Mr. Wino, you have yourself a new fan.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 1, 2021
Aha, that unicorn of a random kindle freebie that’s actually worth a read. There you are. A surprisingly decent short story collection from an unknown though amusingly named author with an excellent, albeit obscure title, referring to a vanishment, especially that of a celestial body.
To be fair, no celestial bodies were vanished in making of this book. The main theme here are men on the verge of tumbling down, where it’s a former athlete powered by self pity who can’t control his rage or a gambling addict or a war veteran with PTSD who gives in to his jealousy. All these characters are driven by desecration in one form or another and all of those rides go off the road as it were.
Genre wise I’d say something along the lines of dark psychological fiction. Each story features a twist and that’s probably my only criticism here, since I found the twists to be completely and easily predictable. But then again, I read a lot of twisted fiction and my mind is trained for this sort of thing. It might be different for different readers. Otherwise this was way above average quality wise. Good writing (dramatic and character both) featuring a very organic sort of storytelling and potently realistic dialogue. The stories were dynamic, fresh and entertaining. The author shows a lot of promise. so much so, I'm going to uncharacteristically rate it up. Overall, a quick, enjoyable read. Absolutely worth checking out. Recommended.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
To be fair, no celestial bodies were vanished in making of this book. The main theme here are men on the verge of tumbling down, where it’s a former athlete powered by self pity who can’t control his rage or a gambling addict or a war veteran with PTSD who gives in to his jealousy. All these characters are driven by desecration in one form or another and all of those rides go off the road as it were.
Genre wise I’d say something along the lines of dark psychological fiction. Each story features a twist and that’s probably my only criticism here, since I found the twists to be completely and easily predictable. But then again, I read a lot of twisted fiction and my mind is trained for this sort of thing. It might be different for different readers. Otherwise this was way above average quality wise. Good writing (dramatic and character both) featuring a very organic sort of storytelling and potently realistic dialogue. The stories were dynamic, fresh and entertaining. The author shows a lot of promise. so much so, I'm going to uncharacteristically rate it up. Overall, a quick, enjoyable read. Absolutely worth checking out. Recommended.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
August 27, 2021
This was a fun and short little collection of dark horror stories. I often find short story collections really help me get out of slumps and I feel like this collection would be just perfect for that kind of situation.
I decided to read this book over a longer period of time so each story didn't merge into one. I liked doing it this way as each story follows the similar themes of building dread and madness and it meant each story stood out by themselves.
The writing in this one was good and engaging. I'm not sure why I didn't expect this one to be filled with quite a lot of violence but I enjoy this feature in stories so I was pleasantly surprised. This is a 'dark collection' of stories, so obviously there were some hard to read themes in this one, but it wasn't too in your face and there wasn't too much of it to really put me off.
I did feel like each story took a reasonably predictable path each time, so there were no stories that particularly stood out in terms of being really shocking or surprising. But despite this, this was still a good collection to read with a couple of stories that stood out over others when it came to enjoyment. I particularly enjoyed the last one which told a story of gambling addiction and a man's choice to gamble to clear his debts over the life of his wife.
Fast-paced and fun. This was an easy collection to boost my number of read books this year and whilst it didn't bring anything new to the table is was still filled with writing I could 'enjoy'.
I decided to read this book over a longer period of time so each story didn't merge into one. I liked doing it this way as each story follows the similar themes of building dread and madness and it meant each story stood out by themselves.
The writing in this one was good and engaging. I'm not sure why I didn't expect this one to be filled with quite a lot of violence but I enjoy this feature in stories so I was pleasantly surprised. This is a 'dark collection' of stories, so obviously there were some hard to read themes in this one, but it wasn't too in your face and there wasn't too much of it to really put me off.
I did feel like each story took a reasonably predictable path each time, so there were no stories that particularly stood out in terms of being really shocking or surprising. But despite this, this was still a good collection to read with a couple of stories that stood out over others when it came to enjoyment. I particularly enjoyed the last one which told a story of gambling addiction and a man's choice to gamble to clear his debts over the life of his wife.
Fast-paced and fun. This was an easy collection to boost my number of read books this year and whilst it didn't bring anything new to the table is was still filled with writing I could 'enjoy'.
January 18, 2021
The Review
What a fantastic and well-written collection of short stories. The author does a brilliant job of delving into the darkest parts of human nature and allowing readers to see into the minds of these ordinary people who find themselves pushed into becoming their darkest selves. Pacing is key to this collection of stories, as each tale while short, does an incredible job of building the suspense until the twist ending comes and shakes the foundation of the narrative to its core.
One story in particular early on that I enjoyed was Closing Costs. The author does a great job of taking readers into the classic affair story gone wrong while getting to see the story from a different perspective of “the other woman”. The author does an incredible job of making these characters feel both vibrant and real all at once and challenges the notion that far too often we see the masks of people they want to show the world, and rarely see the true face beneath the mask.
The Verdict
A powerhouse collection of short horror stories that are both entertaining and enlightening all at once, author Tamel Wino’s “Ekleipsis” is a must-read book. The author truly is able to showcase the dark psychology of those who are pushed to their limits and those who take the plunge into their darkest desires and gives readers a thought-provoking thrill ride.
What a fantastic and well-written collection of short stories. The author does a brilliant job of delving into the darkest parts of human nature and allowing readers to see into the minds of these ordinary people who find themselves pushed into becoming their darkest selves. Pacing is key to this collection of stories, as each tale while short, does an incredible job of building the suspense until the twist ending comes and shakes the foundation of the narrative to its core.
One story in particular early on that I enjoyed was Closing Costs. The author does a great job of taking readers into the classic affair story gone wrong while getting to see the story from a different perspective of “the other woman”. The author does an incredible job of making these characters feel both vibrant and real all at once and challenges the notion that far too often we see the masks of people they want to show the world, and rarely see the true face beneath the mask.
The Verdict
A powerhouse collection of short horror stories that are both entertaining and enlightening all at once, author Tamel Wino’s “Ekleipsis” is a must-read book. The author truly is able to showcase the dark psychology of those who are pushed to their limits and those who take the plunge into their darkest desires and gives readers a thought-provoking thrill ride.
January 30, 2021
The stories in Tamel Wino’s debut collection start in an sinister emotional twilight and peak at what Tennessee Williams’s fans may see as a “lurid nocturnal brilliance”.
All bar one of the pieces in Ékleipsis is written in the first person; most include a scene in a building’s basement and each is reminiscent of an old-fashioned ‘true crime’ melodrama. You couldn’t make them up? Hang on! The new Canadian kid on block just has!
It is always refreshing to discover a new natural-born writer and while Wino makes some mistakes, the stories are a damned good, extremely frightening read. But not at bedtime!
All bar one of the pieces in Ékleipsis is written in the first person; most include a scene in a building’s basement and each is reminiscent of an old-fashioned ‘true crime’ melodrama. You couldn’t make them up? Hang on! The new Canadian kid on block just has!
It is always refreshing to discover a new natural-born writer and while Wino makes some mistakes, the stories are a damned good, extremely frightening read. But not at bedtime!
January 16, 2021
It's a new favorite type of read for me to find short story collections that center on a theme. Ekleipsis is a haunting and horrific collection of stories about individuals who succumb to the worst of who they are. I found each story weirdly thoughtful and thorough in its exploration of each main character. I really enjoyed the writing and style! I would definitely read more from this author. Not in any of the stories could I predict where it was heading. Each one was so twisted and darkly clever.
This book comes with some heavy content warnings, however: military deployment PTSD, alcoholism, gambling addiction. If you or someone near to you has struggled with these, I would strongly, strongly discourage you from reading this.
For horror fans looking for creative writing or just a quick read, I definitely definitely recommend this!
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
This book comes with some heavy content warnings, however: military deployment PTSD, alcoholism, gambling addiction. If you or someone near to you has struggled with these, I would strongly, strongly discourage you from reading this.
For horror fans looking for creative writing or just a quick read, I definitely definitely recommend this!
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
December 22, 2020
Rating averaged from all five stories: 4.25 stars.
I was so excited to read this book of short stories after reading mostly novels this year, and I was definitely not disappointed.
I'm writing this after just finishing the final story, with the emotional build up lingering. I connected with two of the stories more than the other three, which is to be expected, and now I'm sitting here wondering what those two particular stories say about me. Why those two stories? What is it about those two characters? I'll have to ponder four a while, but to me that's the sign of a good book- it left me with something to think about.
I received a free copy of this book, and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.
I was so excited to read this book of short stories after reading mostly novels this year, and I was definitely not disappointed.
I'm writing this after just finishing the final story, with the emotional build up lingering. I connected with two of the stories more than the other three, which is to be expected, and now I'm sitting here wondering what those two particular stories say about me. Why those two stories? What is it about those two characters? I'll have to ponder four a while, but to me that's the sign of a good book- it left me with something to think about.
I received a free copy of this book, and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.
January 5, 2021
Hitchcock I like Stories
This is an excellent short collection of mind bending stories. They are well written and entertaining, in a disturbed sort of way. Take the time. You may be next.
This is an excellent short collection of mind bending stories. They are well written and entertaining, in a disturbed sort of way. Take the time. You may be next.
March 5, 2021
“Ekleipsis” is a collection of five short stories by Tamel Wino that all have one thing in common: Each story explores a character that has met their downfall. Sometimes it’s the narrator, other times it’s the antagonist or a side character. Each story is as dark and gruesome as the description sounds, and “Ekleipsis” will leave the audience eager to see more from Tamel Wino.
The concept of this collection provides a strong hook for any readers interested in the grimmest side of the human psyche. Wino wastes no time in taking his audience into the heads of deeply unlikeable characters and exploring the twisted wants that eventually lead to their downfall.
This short story collection’s weakness lies in its endings. Each one is usually violent and gory (with the exception of the final story, “All In,” where the violence is implied rather than shown). It becomes very predictable and does not offer any variety to the pieces included in this collection. It could be remedied by including a few more stories with subtler endings to balance out the “in-your-face” violence of the first four. Some of the endings are also confusing and difficult to follow.
Of all the stories included in “Ekleipsis,” “The Has-Been” stands out the most. It follows a washed up, former basketball star as he battles with alcoholism and a violent temper. While it does eventually fall into the same violent ending as most of the other stories, Wino utilizes a more discreet darkness for the beginning and middle. The main character tries to manipulate a new rising basketball star into throwing an important game so the main character can continue to cling to the scraps of fame leftover from his glory days. It would have been interesting to see this thread followed further or expanded upon.
Short story collections are a great way for readers to experience an author’s work in bite-sized chunks before committing to finishing a novel, and this one is not an exception. “Ekleipsis” offers an intriguing introduction to Tamel Wino as an author. It will leave readers eager to see what he does next!
The concept of this collection provides a strong hook for any readers interested in the grimmest side of the human psyche. Wino wastes no time in taking his audience into the heads of deeply unlikeable characters and exploring the twisted wants that eventually lead to their downfall.
This short story collection’s weakness lies in its endings. Each one is usually violent and gory (with the exception of the final story, “All In,” where the violence is implied rather than shown). It becomes very predictable and does not offer any variety to the pieces included in this collection. It could be remedied by including a few more stories with subtler endings to balance out the “in-your-face” violence of the first four. Some of the endings are also confusing and difficult to follow.
Of all the stories included in “Ekleipsis,” “The Has-Been” stands out the most. It follows a washed up, former basketball star as he battles with alcoholism and a violent temper. While it does eventually fall into the same violent ending as most of the other stories, Wino utilizes a more discreet darkness for the beginning and middle. The main character tries to manipulate a new rising basketball star into throwing an important game so the main character can continue to cling to the scraps of fame leftover from his glory days. It would have been interesting to see this thread followed further or expanded upon.
Short story collections are a great way for readers to experience an author’s work in bite-sized chunks before committing to finishing a novel, and this one is not an exception. “Ekleipsis” offers an intriguing introduction to Tamel Wino as an author. It will leave readers eager to see what he does next!
June 18, 2021
Pray that you never meet any of these characters when they are having a bad day!
I’m not really sure how I stumbled upon this great little collection of dark stories, but I am glad that I did. Stephen King has called short stories “little kisses in the dark” and if that is so, then this is a pretty good make out session.
Wino (great name btw) writes insightful, engaging prose that pulls the reader into the minds and souls of his characters. What really makes these stories interesting is that these protagonists are not nice people. Or, maybe they once were nice, but life has just beat them down and now they have … changed — crossing over a line marking the point of no return. Just pray you don’t meet any of these characters when they are having a bad day.
This is a fairly quick read, under 200 pages, consisting of five different stories. I would categorize this as true psychological horror because the terror I felt was more in anticipation of what was coming, rather than from the shock of blood and gore. There are a few gory scenes but definitely not so much that it overpowers the subtle uneasiness that builds slowly to a shocking climax in each story.
Pleasantly surprised! Will look for more from Wino!
4 out of 5 stars
I’m not really sure how I stumbled upon this great little collection of dark stories, but I am glad that I did. Stephen King has called short stories “little kisses in the dark” and if that is so, then this is a pretty good make out session.
Wino (great name btw) writes insightful, engaging prose that pulls the reader into the minds and souls of his characters. What really makes these stories interesting is that these protagonists are not nice people. Or, maybe they once were nice, but life has just beat them down and now they have … changed — crossing over a line marking the point of no return. Just pray you don’t meet any of these characters when they are having a bad day.
This is a fairly quick read, under 200 pages, consisting of five different stories. I would categorize this as true psychological horror because the terror I felt was more in anticipation of what was coming, rather than from the shock of blood and gore. There are a few gory scenes but definitely not so much that it overpowers the subtle uneasiness that builds slowly to a shocking climax in each story.
Pleasantly surprised! Will look for more from Wino!
4 out of 5 stars
August 9, 2022
I loved this book. It consists of 5 short stories that discuss the horrors that can occur in everyday people's lives. It was fun to wait and see where the horror would pick up in each story. All of the stories ended with no resolve after the big "decision" or "action" is made.
January 7, 2021
*Spoliers ahead*
Tamel Wino’s 2020 short story collection Ékleipsis offers five long stories. They are independent, but twist together in their thematic focus. Each features characters that are self-destructive in different ways and for different reasons. However, these stories set up shop on common ground: oppressive parents, jealousy, financial instability, never reaching one’s full potential and being pushed around by people with money and power.
The title refers to an eclipse, or colloquially to a state of having been abandoned (according to my Attic dictionary). However, these characters abandon themselves; or rather, they come to see that they were never fully there. This is both the strength and the weakness of this volume. The stories are gripping and their extended play allows for an unusually satisfying build up. However, some of the narratives are clunky; miscellaneous developments and motivations fall onto the pages without warning in some stories. This can be an effective narrative strategy if properly set up, but some of the developments in these stories come off as improvised rather than crafted.
What’s appreciable about these stories if how their effects are rendered. With minimal intervention, we see what we take to be normal human beings left to their own proclivities start to self-destruct. No supernatural intervention pushes these characters into a spiral of evil. Wino is attempting something very interesting: he’s trying to merge dark fiction with character study. Although this collection has some convoluted plot points and a bit of stiff language, overall it generally achieves this goal. For that alone, this collection is worth picking up.
Ékleipsis by Tamel Wino—Amazon. Non-Affiliate.
In “The Other Son,” we get a glimpse into Doug’s life. He’s celebrating his 50th birthday at work watching, as so many of us do, the clock hands tick down the remainder of the workday. His boss Rick is a cartoonish sketch, berating his workers with obscenities—“Time to clean up, ladies. I want the floors and counters cleaner than Mother Teresa’s cunt!” he charmingly shouts to the floor as shift wraps up.
The rest of the story takes place in Doug’s reverie. He walks to store to buy himself a birthday cake. His mother has recently died and he painfully recounts being caught crying at work and made the butt of some cruel teasing. He had lived with her and she had been the only steady presence in his life. As he enters the store, he’s given the stink eye by some miscreant youths. His life is a continuous cycle of cringe. He even stands awkwardly with his palm extended to the cashier after his transaction awaiting his $.01 change, which he drops.
He had a lover once named Angela, but he broke off the relationship at the behest of his mother. His mother is ushered quickly into the limelight. She’s a vengeful, domineering woman. Built in the mold of Margaret White from Stephen King’s Carrie, she is the selfish mother who can’t let go and thereby stunts her offspring, turning him into a monster. She even insists his dog Rocky is put down by the vet.
Doug has found and adopted Charlie, what we assume is his new dog. Doug is allowed this freedom by his mother’s demise, which, Wino abruptly informs us, was no accident at all: Doug pushed her down the stairs. In the final lines, we learn Charlie is no dog, but a small child he has abducted, thus recreating his mother in himself like Norman Bates.
“The Other Son” has all the right ingredients and chef Wino moves briskly enough along, but the execution is a bit lacking. Some of the key elements are, to further the metaphor, a bit undercooked. That he murdered his mother isn’t surprising, although the buildup might have been more effective if there were more references leading up to this. The early pages where Doug is at work seem like a different story altogether. Rick’s outrageousness sees him compete with his mother for tormentor in chief, but that is all left behind quickly. Perhaps I missed some thematic continuity. And what is the significance of Charlie? Pushing his mother down the stairs in an explosion of superego-rebellion works as a story element, but does this impulse transmute into a psychotic parental need? I don’t follow the psychological development here—or perhaps it is enough to know that Doug is crazy and we can leave it at that.
We can say something similar for “Closing Costs.” Jane is an up-and-coming real estate agent. She’s in the midst an affair with Dan, who is handsome, wealthy and quite a frolic in bed. Dan’s husband, the icy yet beautiful Stella, has arranged a supper meeting with Jane to discuss a real estate deal for a close friend. This is, clearly, a hair-raising scenario for Jane. However, Dan insists it is all business and Stella has no idea the affairs is going on.
The story recounts their lurid affair and plunges us into Jane’s psychology. We get a tumultuous sex scene that ignites a red-hot affair. Dan seems perfect, but Jane insists that he is just a stepping-stone on the way to wealth. I wonder how intentional the name “Jane” is—I’m prompted immediately to think of Jane Fairfax of Jane Austen’s Emma, who is an outsider brought into the social elite via her beauty and social charm. However, Dan insists he will leave his wife (despite the inevitable backlash this will cause in polite society) for her. Jane seems torn between potential love and her social climbing.
This has all the trappings of a contemporary romance: luxury, sex appeal, navigating the power dynamics of the social elite, etc. However, Wino switches tracks in the final pages. Dan is a no-show for dinner, leaving Jane to deal with Stella alone. Stella, of course, was aware of the affair. Jane gets a gruesome shock when Stella serves his head for dinner. (In a charming touch, his penis is sewed to his mouth.)
The story reaches its predictable yet well-rendered zenith, but then we’re sideswiped. We learn that Dan raped Stella’s best friend and “soul mate” (meaning lover?) many years ago at a frat party. Dan’s powerful family protected him from prosecution. In vengeance, Stella had her family arrange the marriage with Dan to make his life miserable. This is an interesting detail, especially since his family coerced him to give up the girl he loved and marry Stella. Are these different renderings of the same girl, or is this a red herring?
The story works in so many ways, but this last twist throws everything into confusion. Two different stories collide like trains. For the whole story, we suspect Stella will take vengeance for the social embarrassment this will cause her. But we learn at the end that her hurt is much deeper and more private. In that case, why is she concerned with the affair? If the marriage had been a sham on Stella’s part, why the need to recount the dalliances of the affair? Why play Salome to an audience? What is Jane to her?
These stories are well-conceived and they really bite into you. These characters are desperate and unhinged in ways that grab our attention, but they aren’t streamlined. Story elements plop down out of nowhere, leaving the reader to make sense of competing developments. Is “Closing Costs” about marital jealousy or well-planned revenge?
Wino starts to smooth these snags out in “When in Doubt.” Blake has just left military intelligence and returned home to his wife, Tracey. The service has taken him in and out of the picture for years and he fears that an unbridgeable gap has arisen between them. He jolts easily and struggles to return to civilian life. Everyday occurrences threaten to bring him back to the battlefield.
While he was gone, Tracey has become pally with the neighbors, Suzie and Sam. Sensing marital discontent, he asks Tracey about them. She downplays their relationship (a bad sign), but the more he probes, the more he learns about their involvement. He also learns Sam and Tracey were an item in high school. Sam seems a little too doting, a bit too focused on Tracey for his liking. Then he finds a hidden photograph of Sam and Suzie with “T + S” written.
Blake’s “intelligence work” has been that of *ahem* enhanced interrogation. He lures Sam into the house, ties him to a chair and tortures him for information. Tracey walks in and is predictably horrified. When Blake confronts her, we’re told, “His name isn’t the only one that starts with ‘S.’” Presumably, she has been having an affair with Suzie—or perhaps them both. Jacques Lacan claimed that if a pathologically jealous husband’s accusations of infidelity happen to be accurate, the jealousy isn’t vindicated—it’s still pathological.
The twist is slightly weak without any supporting details. Is it especially damaging to Blake that his wife is sleeping with another woman as opposed to another man? Why does this revelation twist the knife so to speak? However, Wino has a breakthrough in this story: the different pieces put into play finally work together instead of butting up against one another. The indeterminacy this story closes with expands the reader’s possibilities for interpretation, rather than just muddying the waters. It’s clear throughout the story that Tracy is hiding something, but that doesn’t mean that Blake isn’t also starting to fall apart. The effects of the war, the separation with his wife—these things are taking a toll on him. Threatened, he retreats into what gives him a feeling of control, which in this case happens to be torturing people.
If Blake’s is a story of unraveling, “The Has-Been” is one of total self-destruction. Ben is an ex-basketball star. He holds an array of high school records and he just learned the athletic association is going to retire his number. What is more, he’s currently an assistant coach and Mike, his protégé, is on track to break all his old records. Ben’s not only had a great athletic career, he also shows promise as a mentor and coach.
Of course, Wino doesn’t indulge this fairy tale. Ben has serious anger issues and a problem with alcohol addiction. Mike is fired from his job in the opening pages for losing his proverbial shit at a customer. We learn that Mike can’t let go of his former glory. When Mike’s agent asks him to bring Mike up positively at the retiring ceremony (scouts will be there), he scoffs. But he goes further: he pulls Mike aside after practice and asks him to play beneath his potential in the next game so that he, Ben, is still the record holder at the time of the ceremony.
In choosing between grasping at former glory and embracing his role as a mentor, he chooses the former and loses both. Mike loses all faith in him. Ben starts spiraling. He attends his AA meeting bent on self-destruction. He goes on a quasi-philosophical tirade and digs into one of the other members, prompting an altercation. Beaten and bloodied, he throws sobriety out the window and heads to the bar. There we learn what happened to his career. The night before the championship, he picked a fight and destroyed his knee.
As it turns out, his career was a victim of his inability to control his own anger. Drunken, ready to pick a fight with the world, he return to the school to confront Mike. As Mike definitively splits from him, fully disconnecting him with athletic glory, he bashes Mike’s knee in with a tire iron, robbing him of his future career.
Wino has a sophisticated understanding of human evil: like Doug’s mother, misery requires company. Ben effectively brings Mike down to his level, but like evil, he can only approximately reproduce himself. Ben’s unique anger comes from the fact that he destroyed his own life. He has no claim of victimization to fall back on. Responsibility is a heavy burden. His self-directed anger manifests as a force against the world. Dragging Mike into this dark place brings him no comfort. Mike, in the end, hasn’t done this to himself. Ben ends the story as an evacuated consciousness, just passively absorbing stimuli.
In “The Has-Been,” Wino perfects his character study. Characters like Blake and Ben, unsavory as they are, demonstrate strong narrative development: we can see what is driving their self-destructive tendencies. However, in “All In,” we fall back into the void that is Gary Stone. Garry is a gambling addict. Like Blake, he fears the distance that has built up between he and his wife Molly. This is a gap based not on absence, but debt. Garry has just lost big at roulette, but he’s presented with an intriguing offer from a man named Lafayette, the casino’s owner.
Garry is promised forgiveness of all debts if he can provide “entertainment.” He arrives at a specified address, changes into an old suit provided to him. He is given a gun and told to play Russian roulette, which he does once before losing his nerve. Lafayette reveals that he has kidnapped Molly and set her up in an electric chair. Garry is given a panel and told to press a button. One button will electrocute her; the other will not. This will be the gamble of Garry’s life.
Lafayette explains that his own father was a gambler as well as a drunk and an all-around abusive SOB. Garry is wearing his suit. “All In” thus rearranges the thematics of “The Other Son.” Rather than the son becoming the father, the son recreates his own father to torture him. The story ends devilishly with Garry pressing a button and no report of the result.
“All In” is both the most and the least interesting story in Ékleipsis. Developmentally, Garry seems a step backwards. We have next to no insight into this character. He seems like the embodiment of the gambling impulse and little else. We know almost nothing about his relationship to Molly, except that she’s continually upset with him about money. We know even less about Molly herself.
Curiously, we know more about the psychology and motivation of Lafayette. Wino seems to be telling us something, here: the most developed character in the story is the wealthy psychopath. There is certainly something socially relevant to ponder in this, but what sort of a story does this make for?
Despite whatever flaws we find, Ékleipsis remains an unnerving collection. It thrusts the human capacity for self-destruction into center stage by calling human agency itself into question. Why do these characters behave the way they do? We have proximate causes: Doug’s overbearing mother, Blake’s possible PTSD, but these are only foundations. Something ineffable is flaming Blake’s jealousy, just as something uncanny is pushing Jane’s ambition (we learn that she herself came from a wealthy family—whence arises this impulse to come up?).
Perhaps the reason Wino struggles with some of these stories is that he is trying to gesture at something that isn’t easily identified—flaws inherent in the human character. If you’re going to walk in the dark, you have to be willing to stumble. Much of this collection happens at a full gallop, but we should be grateful for the stumbles.
Tamel Wino’s 2020 short story collection Ékleipsis offers five long stories. They are independent, but twist together in their thematic focus. Each features characters that are self-destructive in different ways and for different reasons. However, these stories set up shop on common ground: oppressive parents, jealousy, financial instability, never reaching one’s full potential and being pushed around by people with money and power.
The title refers to an eclipse, or colloquially to a state of having been abandoned (according to my Attic dictionary). However, these characters abandon themselves; or rather, they come to see that they were never fully there. This is both the strength and the weakness of this volume. The stories are gripping and their extended play allows for an unusually satisfying build up. However, some of the narratives are clunky; miscellaneous developments and motivations fall onto the pages without warning in some stories. This can be an effective narrative strategy if properly set up, but some of the developments in these stories come off as improvised rather than crafted.
What’s appreciable about these stories if how their effects are rendered. With minimal intervention, we see what we take to be normal human beings left to their own proclivities start to self-destruct. No supernatural intervention pushes these characters into a spiral of evil. Wino is attempting something very interesting: he’s trying to merge dark fiction with character study. Although this collection has some convoluted plot points and a bit of stiff language, overall it generally achieves this goal. For that alone, this collection is worth picking up.
Ékleipsis by Tamel Wino—Amazon. Non-Affiliate.
In “The Other Son,” we get a glimpse into Doug’s life. He’s celebrating his 50th birthday at work watching, as so many of us do, the clock hands tick down the remainder of the workday. His boss Rick is a cartoonish sketch, berating his workers with obscenities—“Time to clean up, ladies. I want the floors and counters cleaner than Mother Teresa’s cunt!” he charmingly shouts to the floor as shift wraps up.
The rest of the story takes place in Doug’s reverie. He walks to store to buy himself a birthday cake. His mother has recently died and he painfully recounts being caught crying at work and made the butt of some cruel teasing. He had lived with her and she had been the only steady presence in his life. As he enters the store, he’s given the stink eye by some miscreant youths. His life is a continuous cycle of cringe. He even stands awkwardly with his palm extended to the cashier after his transaction awaiting his $.01 change, which he drops.
He had a lover once named Angela, but he broke off the relationship at the behest of his mother. His mother is ushered quickly into the limelight. She’s a vengeful, domineering woman. Built in the mold of Margaret White from Stephen King’s Carrie, she is the selfish mother who can’t let go and thereby stunts her offspring, turning him into a monster. She even insists his dog Rocky is put down by the vet.
Doug has found and adopted Charlie, what we assume is his new dog. Doug is allowed this freedom by his mother’s demise, which, Wino abruptly informs us, was no accident at all: Doug pushed her down the stairs. In the final lines, we learn Charlie is no dog, but a small child he has abducted, thus recreating his mother in himself like Norman Bates.
“The Other Son” has all the right ingredients and chef Wino moves briskly enough along, but the execution is a bit lacking. Some of the key elements are, to further the metaphor, a bit undercooked. That he murdered his mother isn’t surprising, although the buildup might have been more effective if there were more references leading up to this. The early pages where Doug is at work seem like a different story altogether. Rick’s outrageousness sees him compete with his mother for tormentor in chief, but that is all left behind quickly. Perhaps I missed some thematic continuity. And what is the significance of Charlie? Pushing his mother down the stairs in an explosion of superego-rebellion works as a story element, but does this impulse transmute into a psychotic parental need? I don’t follow the psychological development here—or perhaps it is enough to know that Doug is crazy and we can leave it at that.
We can say something similar for “Closing Costs.” Jane is an up-and-coming real estate agent. She’s in the midst an affair with Dan, who is handsome, wealthy and quite a frolic in bed. Dan’s husband, the icy yet beautiful Stella, has arranged a supper meeting with Jane to discuss a real estate deal for a close friend. This is, clearly, a hair-raising scenario for Jane. However, Dan insists it is all business and Stella has no idea the affairs is going on.
The story recounts their lurid affair and plunges us into Jane’s psychology. We get a tumultuous sex scene that ignites a red-hot affair. Dan seems perfect, but Jane insists that he is just a stepping-stone on the way to wealth. I wonder how intentional the name “Jane” is—I’m prompted immediately to think of Jane Fairfax of Jane Austen’s Emma, who is an outsider brought into the social elite via her beauty and social charm. However, Dan insists he will leave his wife (despite the inevitable backlash this will cause in polite society) for her. Jane seems torn between potential love and her social climbing.
This has all the trappings of a contemporary romance: luxury, sex appeal, navigating the power dynamics of the social elite, etc. However, Wino switches tracks in the final pages. Dan is a no-show for dinner, leaving Jane to deal with Stella alone. Stella, of course, was aware of the affair. Jane gets a gruesome shock when Stella serves his head for dinner. (In a charming touch, his penis is sewed to his mouth.)
The story reaches its predictable yet well-rendered zenith, but then we’re sideswiped. We learn that Dan raped Stella’s best friend and “soul mate” (meaning lover?) many years ago at a frat party. Dan’s powerful family protected him from prosecution. In vengeance, Stella had her family arrange the marriage with Dan to make his life miserable. This is an interesting detail, especially since his family coerced him to give up the girl he loved and marry Stella. Are these different renderings of the same girl, or is this a red herring?
The story works in so many ways, but this last twist throws everything into confusion. Two different stories collide like trains. For the whole story, we suspect Stella will take vengeance for the social embarrassment this will cause her. But we learn at the end that her hurt is much deeper and more private. In that case, why is she concerned with the affair? If the marriage had been a sham on Stella’s part, why the need to recount the dalliances of the affair? Why play Salome to an audience? What is Jane to her?
These stories are well-conceived and they really bite into you. These characters are desperate and unhinged in ways that grab our attention, but they aren’t streamlined. Story elements plop down out of nowhere, leaving the reader to make sense of competing developments. Is “Closing Costs” about marital jealousy or well-planned revenge?
Wino starts to smooth these snags out in “When in Doubt.” Blake has just left military intelligence and returned home to his wife, Tracey. The service has taken him in and out of the picture for years and he fears that an unbridgeable gap has arisen between them. He jolts easily and struggles to return to civilian life. Everyday occurrences threaten to bring him back to the battlefield.
While he was gone, Tracey has become pally with the neighbors, Suzie and Sam. Sensing marital discontent, he asks Tracey about them. She downplays their relationship (a bad sign), but the more he probes, the more he learns about their involvement. He also learns Sam and Tracey were an item in high school. Sam seems a little too doting, a bit too focused on Tracey for his liking. Then he finds a hidden photograph of Sam and Suzie with “T + S” written.
Blake’s “intelligence work” has been that of *ahem* enhanced interrogation. He lures Sam into the house, ties him to a chair and tortures him for information. Tracey walks in and is predictably horrified. When Blake confronts her, we’re told, “His name isn’t the only one that starts with ‘S.’” Presumably, she has been having an affair with Suzie—or perhaps them both. Jacques Lacan claimed that if a pathologically jealous husband’s accusations of infidelity happen to be accurate, the jealousy isn’t vindicated—it’s still pathological.
The twist is slightly weak without any supporting details. Is it especially damaging to Blake that his wife is sleeping with another woman as opposed to another man? Why does this revelation twist the knife so to speak? However, Wino has a breakthrough in this story: the different pieces put into play finally work together instead of butting up against one another. The indeterminacy this story closes with expands the reader’s possibilities for interpretation, rather than just muddying the waters. It’s clear throughout the story that Tracy is hiding something, but that doesn’t mean that Blake isn’t also starting to fall apart. The effects of the war, the separation with his wife—these things are taking a toll on him. Threatened, he retreats into what gives him a feeling of control, which in this case happens to be torturing people.
If Blake’s is a story of unraveling, “The Has-Been” is one of total self-destruction. Ben is an ex-basketball star. He holds an array of high school records and he just learned the athletic association is going to retire his number. What is more, he’s currently an assistant coach and Mike, his protégé, is on track to break all his old records. Ben’s not only had a great athletic career, he also shows promise as a mentor and coach.
Of course, Wino doesn’t indulge this fairy tale. Ben has serious anger issues and a problem with alcohol addiction. Mike is fired from his job in the opening pages for losing his proverbial shit at a customer. We learn that Mike can’t let go of his former glory. When Mike’s agent asks him to bring Mike up positively at the retiring ceremony (scouts will be there), he scoffs. But he goes further: he pulls Mike aside after practice and asks him to play beneath his potential in the next game so that he, Ben, is still the record holder at the time of the ceremony.
In choosing between grasping at former glory and embracing his role as a mentor, he chooses the former and loses both. Mike loses all faith in him. Ben starts spiraling. He attends his AA meeting bent on self-destruction. He goes on a quasi-philosophical tirade and digs into one of the other members, prompting an altercation. Beaten and bloodied, he throws sobriety out the window and heads to the bar. There we learn what happened to his career. The night before the championship, he picked a fight and destroyed his knee.
As it turns out, his career was a victim of his inability to control his own anger. Drunken, ready to pick a fight with the world, he return to the school to confront Mike. As Mike definitively splits from him, fully disconnecting him with athletic glory, he bashes Mike’s knee in with a tire iron, robbing him of his future career.
Wino has a sophisticated understanding of human evil: like Doug’s mother, misery requires company. Ben effectively brings Mike down to his level, but like evil, he can only approximately reproduce himself. Ben’s unique anger comes from the fact that he destroyed his own life. He has no claim of victimization to fall back on. Responsibility is a heavy burden. His self-directed anger manifests as a force against the world. Dragging Mike into this dark place brings him no comfort. Mike, in the end, hasn’t done this to himself. Ben ends the story as an evacuated consciousness, just passively absorbing stimuli.
In “The Has-Been,” Wino perfects his character study. Characters like Blake and Ben, unsavory as they are, demonstrate strong narrative development: we can see what is driving their self-destructive tendencies. However, in “All In,” we fall back into the void that is Gary Stone. Garry is a gambling addict. Like Blake, he fears the distance that has built up between he and his wife Molly. This is a gap based not on absence, but debt. Garry has just lost big at roulette, but he’s presented with an intriguing offer from a man named Lafayette, the casino’s owner.
Garry is promised forgiveness of all debts if he can provide “entertainment.” He arrives at a specified address, changes into an old suit provided to him. He is given a gun and told to play Russian roulette, which he does once before losing his nerve. Lafayette reveals that he has kidnapped Molly and set her up in an electric chair. Garry is given a panel and told to press a button. One button will electrocute her; the other will not. This will be the gamble of Garry’s life.
Lafayette explains that his own father was a gambler as well as a drunk and an all-around abusive SOB. Garry is wearing his suit. “All In” thus rearranges the thematics of “The Other Son.” Rather than the son becoming the father, the son recreates his own father to torture him. The story ends devilishly with Garry pressing a button and no report of the result.
“All In” is both the most and the least interesting story in Ékleipsis. Developmentally, Garry seems a step backwards. We have next to no insight into this character. He seems like the embodiment of the gambling impulse and little else. We know almost nothing about his relationship to Molly, except that she’s continually upset with him about money. We know even less about Molly herself.
Curiously, we know more about the psychology and motivation of Lafayette. Wino seems to be telling us something, here: the most developed character in the story is the wealthy psychopath. There is certainly something socially relevant to ponder in this, but what sort of a story does this make for?
Despite whatever flaws we find, Ékleipsis remains an unnerving collection. It thrusts the human capacity for self-destruction into center stage by calling human agency itself into question. Why do these characters behave the way they do? We have proximate causes: Doug’s overbearing mother, Blake’s possible PTSD, but these are only foundations. Something ineffable is flaming Blake’s jealousy, just as something uncanny is pushing Jane’s ambition (we learn that she herself came from a wealthy family—whence arises this impulse to come up?).
Perhaps the reason Wino struggles with some of these stories is that he is trying to gesture at something that isn’t easily identified—flaws inherent in the human character. If you’re going to walk in the dark, you have to be willing to stumble. Much of this collection happens at a full gallop, but we should be grateful for the stumbles.
March 9, 2021
Five good, short horror stories. These characters are real. They are friends. They are neighbors. They are us. They are suffering. Alcohol, gambling, PTSD, anger, infidelity, abuse. Selfishness. All five stories are left open for you to finish out for yourself. Lots to think about.
Well written. Well told.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.
Well written. Well told.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.
December 30, 2020
Bravo!
A new author to feed my appetite for good, short horror stories. Excellent writer, i will definitely be following him
A new author to feed my appetite for good, short horror stories. Excellent writer, i will definitely be following him
February 4, 2021
Thank you to Book Sirens for a review copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
This collection of stories had me on the edge of me seat and kept me up reading much later than expected. The stories, as well as the characters, are surprisingly well developed in the few allotted pages.
Tamel Wino has a definite talent for the creepy and the unexpected. Each of these stories took unexpected turns that gave me goose bumps.
This book was not what I expected, but I enjoyed every page of it.
This collection of stories had me on the edge of me seat and kept me up reading much later than expected. The stories, as well as the characters, are surprisingly well developed in the few allotted pages.
Tamel Wino has a definite talent for the creepy and the unexpected. Each of these stories took unexpected turns that gave me goose bumps.
This book was not what I expected, but I enjoyed every page of it.
December 16, 2020
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
This a competently written collection with a few different styles of story. As is expected with short stories, I enjoyed some more than others. Closing Costs was my least favourite partly due to the style and partly as I found it very predictable. My favourite was When In Doubt which I found gritty and believable and genuinely touching. I was a little confused by not knowing certain American cultural references but it didn't spoil my reading and
it did become clearer a little later in the story. There were bits of real humour and moments of great dialogue but ultimately it's a story of one man's struggle to deal with the cards life has dealt him. A couple of the stories seem to have US and UK language and tone a bit mixed up but it didn't bother me too much. Overall a very decent collection which I think is worth a read and I will definitely look for more by the author. The collection comes across as being by a writer experimenting with different styles and I believe that as his writing develops further he could have the ability to write successfully in a range of genres.
This a competently written collection with a few different styles of story. As is expected with short stories, I enjoyed some more than others. Closing Costs was my least favourite partly due to the style and partly as I found it very predictable. My favourite was When In Doubt which I found gritty and believable and genuinely touching. I was a little confused by not knowing certain American cultural references but it didn't spoil my reading and
it did become clearer a little later in the story. There were bits of real humour and moments of great dialogue but ultimately it's a story of one man's struggle to deal with the cards life has dealt him. A couple of the stories seem to have US and UK language and tone a bit mixed up but it didn't bother me too much. Overall a very decent collection which I think is worth a read and I will definitely look for more by the author. The collection comes across as being by a writer experimenting with different styles and I believe that as his writing develops further he could have the ability to write successfully in a range of genres.
February 27, 2021
4.5 stars. This is not something that I give lightly since it is my 2021 goal to be more critical and lower my rating average lol. But credit where credit is due.
The short stories were very dark and well written. One in particular, The Has-Been, was one of my favourites in the collection. Besides the fact that it was written in third person it reminded me of Camus’s “The Fall” with a little bit of “The Stranger” (two of my favourite books) from its few references to philosophy. I feel like if the author explored this a little bit more he could have written a whole novel about it which I feel may have been quite successful.
The other four stories are written in first person and somewhat remind me of some of the stuff I read by Kafka, but much darker. I liked all of them. If I were forced to give some kind of feedback I would say try to avoid commonly used phrases like “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” when defining insanity. I could see how a character might be apt to think of that phrase but I have always found this one in particular a bit gauche.
All in all I was very impressed by the fact that this is Tamel Wino’s first book. He shows great promise and I look forward to reading his next ones.
The short stories were very dark and well written. One in particular, The Has-Been, was one of my favourites in the collection. Besides the fact that it was written in third person it reminded me of Camus’s “The Fall” with a little bit of “The Stranger” (two of my favourite books) from its few references to philosophy. I feel like if the author explored this a little bit more he could have written a whole novel about it which I feel may have been quite successful.
The other four stories are written in first person and somewhat remind me of some of the stuff I read by Kafka, but much darker. I liked all of them. If I were forced to give some kind of feedback I would say try to avoid commonly used phrases like “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” when defining insanity. I could see how a character might be apt to think of that phrase but I have always found this one in particular a bit gauche.
All in all I was very impressed by the fact that this is Tamel Wino’s first book. He shows great promise and I look forward to reading his next ones.
March 13, 2021
Not what I expected, but oh wow, a really good read for the most part. This is a collection of short stories, with a twist, and by that I mean every story has an unexpected twist to the plot or ending that is totally unexpected, most of them leaves the reader with a sense of "what just happened" or "what did I just read". Not in a bad way, but a good way. The writer takes us into some dark situations where half of the time I wasn't really sure what was going on or what the point was, and then the twist hits you and brings it all together. This is a collection of dark short stories that take the reader deep into the psyche of some very disturbed individuals.
Very well written, I can say that I connected with any of the characters, nor did I really want to, but if your looking for a dark twisted mind game playing story, here are a collection of them. I must give warning there is mention of sex, there is violence and some swearing in this book . I recommend only for adult readers of fiction/thrillers/horror.
I would like to thank the publisher and Book Sirens for the free advanced copy of this e-book, I am giving my honest review in return.
Very well written, I can say that I connected with any of the characters, nor did I really want to, but if your looking for a dark twisted mind game playing story, here are a collection of them. I must give warning there is mention of sex, there is violence and some swearing in this book . I recommend only for adult readers of fiction/thrillers/horror.
I would like to thank the publisher and Book Sirens for the free advanced copy of this e-book, I am giving my honest review in return.
January 5, 2021
Everyone has their "other", the part of them that most don't see.....their hidden lives, secret fears, twisted needs. Everyone has their issues that stem from some trauma. A painful childhood, bullying, abuse, addiction, PTSD. Perhaps you have a hatred that you feed for years to feast on when the time is right. Maybe you deal with loneliness by adopting a pet. It could be that you're tortured by the torture you've put others through. You might be drowning your days of glory away in booze, and not knowing who to hate...those who live in glory now or yourself for throwing it all away. Life is gamble, you say, eventually you'll win big and win it all. You bet your life win....would you bet her life too?
These stories about the many sides of human nature were unsettling and disturbing, and they left me wanting more. The characters were multi-dimensional. They were not good or evil, they were human and deeply flawed. Sometimes deeply flawed translates to very dangerous. Well done. #netgalley #Ekleipsis
These stories about the many sides of human nature were unsettling and disturbing, and they left me wanting more. The characters were multi-dimensional. They were not good or evil, they were human and deeply flawed. Sometimes deeply flawed translates to very dangerous. Well done. #netgalley #Ekleipsis
December 22, 2020
Great easy read..stories pull you in
Wish this book was longer as would loved to have read more.
If your looking for creepy easy read definently pick this one up.
Thanks the the author the publisher, and NetGalley for an early release of this book.
Wish this book was longer as would loved to have read more.
If your looking for creepy easy read definently pick this one up.
Thanks the the author the publisher, and NetGalley for an early release of this book.
January 23, 2021
Love a good short story and these didn’t fail me. You start a story, you think “I wonder where we are going this time” then comes the uncertainty, which leads to the oh my goodness feeling and then....boom! Not happily ever after. Think Tales of the Unexpected. Brilliant.
December 20, 2020
Great stories about men with mental woes such as p.t.s.d anger management and addictions. All are sympathetic still.
December 23, 2020
A great debut novel from the Canadian author. Cryptic, engrossing and complex characters. I'm helplessly drawn into these sinister yet credible worlds right from the start.
March 16, 2021
Ékleipsis, a collection of five short stories, packs nail biting tension and deliciously disturbing images in a tight 176 pages. Each story leaves the reader salivating for more.
“The Other Son” hooked me with a slow eerie burn. It’s was a brilliant pick to start this collection. The creepy factor rated off the scale as the reader is introduced to a social outcast of a man with a secret. This one will give you goosebumps!
“Closing Cost” delivers a bloody revenge story. A woman and married man have an affair. That’s about all I can say without giving away the thrilling climax.
“When in Doubt” tells the story of a soldier with PTSD and his wife. Paranoia coat the pages of this quick paced story. It asks, how far would you go for the truth? Plenty of disturbing moments in this one.
“The Has-Been” is about a former basketball star who is full of resentment for his young protegee. Mix in an intense anger management problem and alcohol and boom!
“All In” completes this collection with a gambling addict who must play the most dangerous game of his life. The stakes are high and his morals are in question. I literally shouted, “NO!” when this one was over because I wanted more.
I didn’t want this collection to end. Any one of these stories could be developed into an edgy relentless horror novel. I can’t wait to discover more from this author. Readers, get ready! This one will have you staying up late (with the lights on) to finish!
“The Other Son” hooked me with a slow eerie burn. It’s was a brilliant pick to start this collection. The creepy factor rated off the scale as the reader is introduced to a social outcast of a man with a secret. This one will give you goosebumps!
“Closing Cost” delivers a bloody revenge story. A woman and married man have an affair. That’s about all I can say without giving away the thrilling climax.
“When in Doubt” tells the story of a soldier with PTSD and his wife. Paranoia coat the pages of this quick paced story. It asks, how far would you go for the truth? Plenty of disturbing moments in this one.
“The Has-Been” is about a former basketball star who is full of resentment for his young protegee. Mix in an intense anger management problem and alcohol and boom!
“All In” completes this collection with a gambling addict who must play the most dangerous game of his life. The stakes are high and his morals are in question. I literally shouted, “NO!” when this one was over because I wanted more.
I didn’t want this collection to end. Any one of these stories could be developed into an edgy relentless horror novel. I can’t wait to discover more from this author. Readers, get ready! This one will have you staying up late (with the lights on) to finish!
January 12, 2021
I went into this not knowing what to expect. Five short stories, all entailing very different plots and scenarios. I found the stories and the writing to get better as they went along, the last two being very descriptive and thought provoking. this author puts you in the mindset of someone who is somewhat unhinged and lacking self control. We see how their actions affect the people around them and the consequences that are the result of their immoral and questionable behaviors.
January 31, 2021
This debut collection of short stories delves into the baser instincts and drives of humans. I liked the complexity of the characters in each story and felt that rather being cautionary tales, they are displays of depravity yet relatable somehow as well. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.
June 29, 2021
I love a short story collection, especially when you're made to think, or squirm. This isn't horror of blood and guts (well, there's some), or unearthly creatures devouring humans. No, this is the horror that exists inside all of us, just waiting to find its terrible way out.
June 28, 2022
There were some great stories in this little anthology. With stories this short it’s hard to build up a connection to the characters and so the driving force behind each story has to be the plot and these stories were punchy. There were some definite twists and ideas that pull at you.
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