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At The End Of It All: Stories From The Shadows
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116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 16, 2023
Have you ever, while reading a collection of stories, jotted down your favorites to mention in a review? And when you finish the book, you realize that you just jotted down the entire table of contents? That’s this book.
Craig-Whytock is a marvelous writer of short stories, and I couldn’t wait to read her new batch. I wasn’t disappointed. Each offering packs a powerful punch, especially if you’re looking for skillful storytelling, lots of variety, and a dark twist. The 27 stories in this collection are short, some closer to flash fiction, and the book is a little over a 2-hour read which I inhaled in one sitting.
The stories have a mesmerizing touch of darkness, but this isn’t necessarily horror, at least not the gory kind. There’s a mixture of creepy paranormal tales like “Amphitrite,” which ends poorly, and “Night Terrors,” which ends well.
The impact of chaos on children and their disordered thinking is evident in a number of stories, and my favorites were “Misophonia” and “Resurrection.” Revenge is satisfying in “The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep." And madness rears its head in “Shelf Sitter.”
There are wrenching tales of indifference as well as those that reflect deep empathy, such as “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” and “The High Seas.” Then there are tales of death and loss that pull at the heartstrings like “Fist Full of Dirt,” and the intense (tissue-alert) tear-jerker that I just loved: “Heading for Shore.”
The author also includes a three-part story “Nomads of the Modern Wasteland.” I wouldn’t have minded if this dystopian story had a lot more parts! And finally, one that left me chuckling: “Mr. Death comes to Town."
See what I mean? So many stories to enjoy. Highly recommended.
Craig-Whytock is a marvelous writer of short stories, and I couldn’t wait to read her new batch. I wasn’t disappointed. Each offering packs a powerful punch, especially if you’re looking for skillful storytelling, lots of variety, and a dark twist. The 27 stories in this collection are short, some closer to flash fiction, and the book is a little over a 2-hour read which I inhaled in one sitting.
The stories have a mesmerizing touch of darkness, but this isn’t necessarily horror, at least not the gory kind. There’s a mixture of creepy paranormal tales like “Amphitrite,” which ends poorly, and “Night Terrors,” which ends well.
The impact of chaos on children and their disordered thinking is evident in a number of stories, and my favorites were “Misophonia” and “Resurrection.” Revenge is satisfying in “The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep." And madness rears its head in “Shelf Sitter.”
There are wrenching tales of indifference as well as those that reflect deep empathy, such as “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” and “The High Seas.” Then there are tales of death and loss that pull at the heartstrings like “Fist Full of Dirt,” and the intense (tissue-alert) tear-jerker that I just loved: “Heading for Shore.”
The author also includes a three-part story “Nomads of the Modern Wasteland.” I wouldn’t have minded if this dystopian story had a lot more parts! And finally, one that left me chuckling: “Mr. Death comes to Town."
See what I mean? So many stories to enjoy. Highly recommended.
July 11, 2023
An eclectic mix of uncanny episodes that played out in my mind’s eye like a popular supernatural mystery show I used to watch.
A few of the endings were quite self-explanatory and neatly wrapped. Many had the enticing quality of suggestive outcomes or causations which appealed to the writer in me. As a fan of horror, but not gore, this book fed my appetite for goosebumps and unsettling perspectives.
The writing style is engaging and lured me straight into the scenes. Suzanne manages to model everyday life while injecting a measured dose of the extraordinary in a manner that seems plausible. That’s no easy feat.
I recommend this book for those who crave a reprieve from the ‘wash the dishes’ and ‘mow the lawn’ humdrum to unleash their imaginations!
A few of the endings were quite self-explanatory and neatly wrapped. Many had the enticing quality of suggestive outcomes or causations which appealed to the writer in me. As a fan of horror, but not gore, this book fed my appetite for goosebumps and unsettling perspectives.
The writing style is engaging and lured me straight into the scenes. Suzanne manages to model everyday life while injecting a measured dose of the extraordinary in a manner that seems plausible. That’s no easy feat.
I recommend this book for those who crave a reprieve from the ‘wash the dishes’ and ‘mow the lawn’ humdrum to unleash their imaginations!
March 8, 2023
It takes a skilled writer to craft a short story. Craig-Whytock is a craftsperson at this. Her stories, most being only 2-3 pages long with some a few pages longer, and a couple which fills just a single page. Yet every one of them is a complete story which captures the reader.
Her stories run the full range of emotions, thoughtful, scary, unnerving, gothic, psychological, and a few which I chuckled at. Mysophobia, Revenge of the Juggernaut, and The High Seas were a few of my personal favourites, while I found Nomads of the Modern Wasteland Part Three to be the perfect story to end the 27 story collection.
For nights of unsettled reading, I highly recommend this..
Her stories run the full range of emotions, thoughtful, scary, unnerving, gothic, psychological, and a few which I chuckled at. Mysophobia, Revenge of the Juggernaut, and The High Seas were a few of my personal favourites, while I found Nomads of the Modern Wasteland Part Three to be the perfect story to end the 27 story collection.
For nights of unsettled reading, I highly recommend this..
May 5, 2024
This is a collection of two dozen short, sharp stories. Some are vignettes of intense situations; others gradually lead the reader to unthinkable conclusions. All are written in clear, direct prose. My three favourites are: "Into Thin Air," "No Strings Attached," and "Mr. Death Comes to Town." The three-part tale, "Nomads of the Modern Wasteland," of which each part is from a different character's point of view, could be expanded into a novel reminiscent of Stephen King's The Stand. Indeed, if I have any complaints about these stories, it's that some of them seem to demand expansion and extension. Reading them was like opening a door just a crack, catching a glimpse of something intriguing, and wondering about it afterward.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews