Dark Magic: Dark Fantasy Drabbles of Magic and Lore

by A.E. Hellstorm, Dale Parnell (Contributor)

Dark Magic is a collection of over two hundred bite-size drabbles of dark fantasy and horror.

Enter a world of curses and creatures, the hideous and the hexed, where love is cruel and victory is tainted. Where gods and demons hold sway over mortals, senses are enticed and spirits ensnared. Angels fall, dragons rise, shadows hide secrets and power comes from blood and bone and death itself.

There is darkness in magic, and we have given life to that darkness.

Genres: Horror

376 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2021

About the author

I'm a writer and a photographer, and thus I walk in my late father's foot prints. However, instead of involving myself with the mafia, I do some less exciting things with my life than what he did. I do fun things - and less fun things - with my children, I take care of my four cats, I dance in this life long dance together with my husband, and even in the dark times I'm happy to be alive.

Reviews

[K.B.]

This is a collection of dark fantasy drabbles about all the terrible ways in which magic can go wrong (or right for the wrong people). I've learnt to beware the pretty girl and the enticing visage of the dead spouse, the siren's song and the suspicious shopkeeper, the hermit witch and the beast at your door...basically I learnt from this book just to stay away from everything and anything, and you may potentially perhaps kind of be okay.

The calibre of the drabbles was generally excellent, and it's amazing to see the diversity of writers who were attracted by the submission call, from the just-starting-out to the award-winning-books-translated-into-multiple-languages kind of impressive people. Eerie has done a fantastic job in collating and organising the tales such that while there were recurring themes, they didn't clump up.

Featuring three of my own drabbles, which unlike the rest of the stories in this book are all rainbows and sunshine. If maggots were rainbows and phlegm was sunshine.

My favourite tales are (in order of appearance):
-Sleep! The Tooth Fairy's Coming by Callum Pearce, for the corruption of my childhood and a truly gruesome scene that was so well described.
-To Raise the Dead by McKenzie Richardson, for the gratification of following through on the threat of bringing someone back to life "so I can kill you myself", and the horrific implications of such a thing.
-Return Policy by Dustin Walker, for offering a hilarious and practical perspective on a dark form of magic.
-Just a Little Company by Peter VanGelderen, for a heart-warming (but still creepy) little twist.
-The Shadow by Chrissie Rohrman, for making a 100 word story seem like a full novel. Well-written and scary...perfect!
-The Siren's Symphony by EZ Whitney, for its gorgeous language and imagery
-Hell Broth by Emma K. Leadley, for a great little tale that telleth of Pride cometh.
-The Cost by L. T. Emery, for a disturbing story that has incredible depth and intelligence, another drabble which packed so much punch that it felt longer than its 100 words.

[McKenzie Richardson]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Another fantastic drabble collection from Eerie River Publishing. Featuring a variety of tales that explore the dark corners of fantasy, there's a bit of something for everyone. Magic spells, evil sorcerers, curses, revenge, summonings, sacrifices, fairy tales, mythical creatures, and more.

Packed with over 200 hundred stories, each reader is sure to find something that especially resonates with them. A great variety of authors included, some I've had the privilege of reading previously and some new talent to add to my list. Each takes their own approach to the dark fantasy genre with splendid results.

A few of my personal favorites in this collection (in order of appearance) were:
- "Sleep! The Tooth Fairy's Coming" by Callum Pearce
- "Return Policy" by Dustin Walker
- "The Destroyer" by Charlotte Langtree
- "Not a Witch" by A.E. Hellstorm
- "Caught Between" by Kimberly Rei
- "Faerie Fruit" by Georgia Cook

This anthology also features my tales:
- "The Sleep Farm"
- "The Last Lullaby"
- "Eternal Darkness"
- "To Raise the Dead"
- "Shadows of the Earth"

A great read for fans of dark fantasy, drabbles, or those hoping to fit a bit more reading into their day. One hundred word stories are perfect for reading on the fly and this collections provides the reader with many to explore.

[Elizabeth Nettleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy drabble collections. With only 100 words to use, the authors must choose every single word in their story with care, unable to waste even one. The result are stories that pull absolutely no punches. Drabbles are so much fun to read, and with about 200 stories in this book, there's plenty of variety to suit every fan of dark fantasy. I enjoyed this anthology a lot!

[Christian Boustead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a great Drabble collection! Each dark fantasy not including mine was inhaling!

[Jodi Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never read or heard of drabble before I opened this book. I found it surprisingly interesting and fun to read.
A great anthology by completely new authors to me.

[Eliana]

Dark Magic mafia, read on chapters, don't know If It is the right book.