Ryan’s Reviews > The Map of Lost Places: Stories from Strange & Haunted Realms > Status Update

YOU HAVE EATEN OF OUR SALT by FATIMA TAQVI is a story of a grandmother raising her grandson. She has visions of his death and salt. Salt is her job to gather it where a sea once was. The story was okay. The ending was okay. The story had some good language. 3 out of 5

THE PROMISED VOID by DIMITRA NIKOLAIDOU is a story about a woman compelled to come to a place looking for a mural in her dreams. But when she arrives there is no mural. She feels faint and is injured in the fall. She wakes in a place of healing, or is it. The body hoor was good. The imagery was terrifying. I could have used a little more background to connect more to the character. A strong 4 out of 5.

Some readers could feel lost it is a lot of history about the hollow. The end is good and one you totally see coming. I like Brian Keene and it was the reason I picked up this book. I was interested in the history already. I give this story a low 5 out of 5.

NOTES TOWARDS A HISTORY OF LEHORN’S HOLLOW by BRIAN KEENE is a history of the hollow feature in his novels Dark Hollow and Ghost Walk. It also discusses short story on the hollow. The story connects to his Labyrinth series as well. The story is told in journal form and interview form. The story is long but flowed. I know Keene's works and was entertained. I feel like new readers will be interested.

THE DEATH OF BLACK FATIMA MUHAMMED AWAL AHMED is a story of djinns and enslavement. The djinns used to free then started helping the white man, who saw their power and wanted to enslave it. Fatima is a djinn but they make her bath with black soap to hid it, until she becomes sick with the power and visions. The story had beautiful language. But bounced all over the place and hard to follow. The ending was good. 3

CODEWALKER by G.M. PANICCIA is a story in the future. Where a gamer wants to play games that feel real. There used to me games that could kill you they were so real. He finds a set of games that feel so real, he starts messing with it exposing the flaws. The game resets and player life does to where he can't tell where the game ends. Great ending, very effective. Slow at the start 4 out of 5. Best 4 star story.

CHUCKLE WET, CHUCKLE LOW by R.L. MEZA is a story about a mother teaching her son about a sacrifice and what it will provide. The story is great with a few twist and turns. This is the first story I would want expanded. There's plenty of room and the story left it open. I like that the story is told in two perspectives the mother and the sonOne of the best in this collection. I rated it 5 out of 5.

INVITING THE HOLLOW BONES by OCTAVIA CADE is a story about what it takes to be a legend. The story is more philosophical in nature, until the end. I love the ending of the story. But the way the story was took me a while to understand. I actually read it twice. It is the shortest story so far. I think the story idea is good, and the twist at the end. I rated it 3 out of 5

THE (LOST) TRIBE OF ISHMAEL by MAURICE BROADDUS is a historical/cosmic horror. The follows a student doing a dissertation on a free black community in Indiana in 1860 that disappeared. The tensions in the past echo today as the town wants to get gentrified. The cosmic element came a little out of know where but it worked. The story good but a little slow. I rated it 4 out of 5.

DEVELOPMENT/ HELL by SAMIT BASU is a story about a woman that keeps getting trapped in different bodies about to die from different creatures. The character rolls with it at first, then fights it and finally questions it. The ending is up for interpretation but I have a good idea what is going on. The story flows well and had some good twists. There's a nice bit of humor. I rated it 4 out of 5.