Oculus Sinister: An Anthology of Ocular Horror

by C.M. Muller, Brian Evenson, Shannon Scott

An anthology of ocular horror, featuring 20 "visionary" Seán Padraic Birnie, Brian Evenson, Elana Gomel, Douglas Ford, Shannon Scott, Timothy Granville, LC von Hessen, Mark Howard Jones, Rhonda Eikamp, Charles Wilkinson, James Pate, J.A.W. McCarthy, Christopher K. Miller, Selene dePackh, M.R. Cosby, Michael Kelly, Rebecca J. Allred, John Langan, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Sam Richard.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

Hardcover

First published October 21, 2020

About the author

I live in St. Paul, Minnesota with my wife and two sons—and, of course, all those quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore. I am related to the Norwegian writer Jonas Lie and draw much inspiration from that scrivener of old. My tales have appeared in Shadows & Tall Trees, Supernatural Tales, Vastarien, and a host of other venues. In addition to writing, I also edit and publish the annual journal Nightscript. My debut story collection, Hidden Folk, was released in 2018.

Reviews

[Des Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We reached the end. We reached something, I couldn’t see it. Or maybe I could, but it won’t stay in my brain; like I only know of it when I’m staring directly at it.”

…and I seem to feel the same as that final quotation about this whole book, with its wondrously pervading gestalt: its Eyedom upon the separate paths of our lives, our dislocated and poignant hopes and fears ….all now focusing together. A synergy, too, of horror with something else unseeable that transcends it, transmutes it, even enhances it. Starting with the optics of photographs and ending with them.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is its conclusion.

[Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant collection, sadly underappreciated due to a horribly inauspicious release early in the pandemic.