Well, I would give this book 3.5 to be precise. This is the first time I am reading a work of this author. 'The passengers you cannot see' is a collection of 15 horror stories. While some of them were bone-chilling gems, others were not so captivating and flat. My favorite stories are One Star, Scabs, Still Born and Happiness is a Commodity. Especially, happiness is a commodity which is the longest story in this collection. I mostly tend to not like collection of stories but this book was above average for me. Themes included in this book are dystopia, horror, mental health etc. The book ends in a happy and positive note while also retaining the horror factor of it.

This book is a collection of fifteen horror short stories. This collection is an exploration of the author's own mental health, and at the end of the book the author goes into detail explaining each of the stories. My thoughts and ratings come from my experience of the book before I read the notes at the end, because I find that the actual text is more important than later explanations, but the notes at the end do provide interesting context. These stories cover many different topics, but I noticed that horror to do with writers and writing stories showed up several times. Ghosts, loss of control, and battling with suicide are also common topics.

A lot of the ideas explored in this collection are very clever and interesting. Lots of the stories really make you think, and make you look at things in a different way. There are also plenty of twists and turns, many that took me completely by surprise. Sometimes the horror is in the twist of the story but often it is in the gruesome details. There are lots of graphic descriptions, some of which are pretty gross. As a horror fan I really liked that. There are also some seriously creepy stories in this collection. There's something for every different kind of horror fan.

The main issue I had with this collection is that most of the stories just feel too short. Some are so short that I felt like I didn't have time to really get into them, to really care about the characters and the outcomes. I would prefer a lot of the stories if they were longer, with more time to build suspense and develop the ideas. There were also some heavy handed metaphors in a few of the stories that pulled me out of the immersion.

Here are my ratings for each of the stories in this collection:

Driven 2/5

One Star 4/5

Every House Is Haunted 3/5

The Trophy Thief 3/5

Kill Your Darlings 4/5

Patterns 2/5

Reborn 3/5

An Ugly Resurrection 2/5

Scabs 4/5

The Lines 2/5

These Concrete Walls 3/5

Still Born 4/5

Amado 2/5

Happiness Is A Commodity 4/5

Reluctance 3/5

Overall, this collection is a bit of a mixed bag, with some real gems and others that just fall a little flat. My favourite story overall is Happiness Is A Commodity, which was the longest story in the collection. I found the dystopian/speculative approach really intriguing, and I liked the way it was written in blog entries.

As an exploration of mental health, this collection ends on a positive note, whilst still keeping the horror aspect. It's worth a read, if you're a fan of horror short stories. I'm definitely interested in reading some of The Behrg's full length novels, because as I said, my main issue with this was feeling like I wasn't getting quite enough from the very short stories.

It seems I did not receive a review copy so unfortunately, I have yet to review this book. I will have to request directly from publishers

The Passengers You Cannot See is full of different short stories. I normally reach for these types of books because I'm short on time. However, these stories didn't captivate me like I had hoped they would. I really wish I could say I loved it, but in the end it was okay. I wouldn't necessary recommend it to my friends with similar tastes.

Review for 'The passengers you cannot see' by The Behrg

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Pricks Like Thorn Media

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I would probably pick up more books if I seen them in the library.

This book contains 15 short stories of horrror. I will review each of the stories individually before giving a final rating to the overall book. The reviews for each story will be short due to there being 15 of them.

🚙 Driven : Approx 4 pages. It was OK and had excellent descriptions. More thought provoking than horror. Rated 3/5 (It was OK).

🌟 One star: Very thought provoking, some gore. Rated 3/5 (It was OK)

🏡 Every house is haunted: Creepy and disturbing. Nice twist. Rated 5/5 (I loved it).

🏆 The trophy thief: Tense and suspenseful but disappointing ending. Rated 3/5 (It was OK).

💀 Kill your darlings: Thought one part was gruesome. Unique story but didn't really 'click' with it. Rated 2/5 (I didn't enjoy it).

🧮🧬 Patterns: Bit of a twist. Well written. Rated 3/5 (It was OK).

🤱 Reborn: A creepy gory horror. Makes you think!! Rated 5/5 (I loved it).

⛼ Resurrection: Quite Gruesome and very short. Rated 3/5

🧟‍♂️ Scabs: Very gruesome. Power of love. Rated 3/5.

⚟ The Lines: Bit of a long winded one, slightly creepy towards the end. 2/5 (Didn't enjoy)

🧱These concrete walls: Didn't get this one at all unfortunately, just didn't seem a point to it 🤔 2/5 (Did not like)

🍼 Still born: Sad, creepy and scary. 5/5

🚚 Amado: Creepy, good descriptions, suspense, horror. 5/5

😁Happiness is a Commodity: Shame the back story wasn't given to why the world went thay way. Very interesting and thought provoking. The end was also a bit confusing but overall the most interesting story. Rated 5/5

🧠 Reluctance: Another short author based story. 3/5

Most of the stories are based on writers and authors. I decided to read this book as it was written by an esteemed horror author. However, I must say I would only count a few of these short stories as horror.

My top 3 favourite of the short stories are 'Still born', 'Every House is haunted' and 'Reborn'. It is also these that I would classify as horror more than the others.

Some stories sadly felt a bit 'pointless' whereas others really got me thinking and others were creepy.

I like the fact that the author based a few of these on authors as it makes me wonder if some of the things that he wrote about has gone through the minds of writers.

THE descriptions throughout were excellent and in some cases graphic nd the writing in most of the stories was very well done.

After working out the average of all the short stories the rating is 3.4 but due to not being able to give half ratings I will be rating this book as 3/5.

209 pages

£2.38 to purchase or free on kindle unlimited. I think this is a good price for this book.

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I really enjoy horror stories. This had a mix of vibes I can't quite explain. There's some I enjoyed & some I didn't. Overall if you enjoy short horror I'd recommend you give it a try. Just didnt suck me in as other horror authors have.

Behrg’s collection of short stories is a rare commodity within this subgenre of books that there is not a weak tale amongst the lot. This is quite an achievement.

Most short story collections, there is normally one or two weak that tends to pale when placed against greater stories. Behrg has done something that even Stephen King or Clive Barker has failed to do with their collections. He has produced a strong collection of stories that go from cover to cover. I am well and thoroughly impressed.

Starting out with a strange twilight zone type of story that slowly opens the door of what is to come, Behrg shows off different styles, genres whilst at the same time being able to keep the reader on their toes as you are never quite sure what to expect next. Of course, I do have my favourites in the collection which stand out above the others which are The House is Always Haunted, Still Born, and These Concrete Walls stand out for me but this is a very difficult list because in fact, they all stand out.

The reader is offered a cornucopia of tales to choose from. Behrg never misses a mark or takes his finger off the pulse. He is also able to install emotional resonance within each story and his handling of the horrific against the beauty is very impressive.

Overall this is an impressive book and one that has turned me into an instant fan of The Behrg. I will be looking at his back catalogue and I will be delving into this very soon. As an extra bonus, the Afterward gives us a glimpse into the background of each story. This is a definite must read for people who love their fiction dark and thrilling.

The Passengers You Cannot See by The Behrg
Genre: Horror and Literary Fiction
Publisher: Pricks Like Thorn Media
Publish Date: 30 April 2020

Star Rating 5/5

What a fantastic book and one that I will be reading again. This is my first encounter with The Behrg and I'm disappointed in myself that it's taken me this long to discover him.

The Passenger You Cannot See is a book of short stories. Usually, when I read books of this nature, I'll find stories that I like, stories I love and others I wish hadn't been included but this collection is consistently brilliant!

I was completely adsorbed with the description of the book
Every story has its beginning and end. But some stories won’t let go. Some stories dig their claws into you. They infect your dreams. They carve out a residence in your mind. They become passengers . . .
What could be better, unforgettable stories! Each story is different and the twists were unforeseeable to me. The Behrg, delves into parts of modern society and shines a very bright light on it highlighting the dark we take for granted as normal. Not only is the horror on top form there are many different types going on, something for every horror lover.

A highly recommended read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is a collection of short stories that range from chilling to those that make you wish you didn't read it at night! If you are a horror fan, this collection is right up your alley. There is something for every type of horror fan. You will definitely find something that you will enjoy.
I would recommend this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love short stories and horror but this just didn't hit home for me. Most of the stories felt quite 'Black Mirror-esque,' and I was hoping for something a bit more traditional. However, I really enjoyed Still Born.

Well, first of all, let’s talk about that author name, shall we? Behrg – or, as his website says, ‘The Behrg’. It shows a certain kind of confidence (arrogance?) to go by a single name, doesn’t it? Madonna. Cher. Bono. Prince. So my first thought on seeing this book was: Let’s see if this guy lives up to his own implied hype.

The Passengers You Cannot See is a collection of fourteen short stories and a novella. I’m not generally one to give trigger warnings, but if mental health issues and specifically suicide are your personal triggers, then approach this book with extreme caution. Behrg (THE Behrg?) takes us up one dark and twisted road within the human mind and down another, the overarching theme of mental disorder like a streak of silver through the colletive rock of the stories.

The book starts off with the story “Driven”, from which the title line derives. Immediately I was struck by the haunting style of writing, a sadness and helplessness carrying through from one sentence to the next. Then there are stories like “Reborn” and “Amado”, which reminded me of certain 1970s horror classics in all their gory splendor. Also included are the stories “Every House is Haunted” and “One Star”, with surprise endings that just almost have you laughing at the genius of it. And if you really want to laugh, “An Ugly Resurrection” puts a hilariously horrific spin on a classic Christmas song.

There are grotesqueries aplenty here, from sucking walls to cancerous scabs ((shudder)), but underneath it all there is a deeper vein of the awareness of the darker emotions: sadness, grief, despair, loneliness, desolation, helplessness. The one story I had a difficult time getting through was “Still Born”, having personally experienced the crippling grief of infant loss in my own life. Even nine years after the fact for me, it seemed too soon to breach this particular wall. So perhaps an extra trigger warning there.

The novella of the collection, “Happiness is a Commodity”, mixes a dystopian future with a side of conspiracy theory and a heaping helping of questioning-everything-in-life for dessert.

So, back to my original question. Has this author earned the right to title himself simply ‘The Behrg’? Well, I don’t know that he’s quite reached the status of ‘King’, ‘Barker’, or ‘Koontz’ just yet…but he’s definitely one to keep an eye on. Final conclusion: The Passengers You Cannot See is a collection of the horrifying and heartbreaking, and I recommend it to anyone with the mental strength to survive it.

“Every novel results in death. The deaths of every character within the story – including those who survive. For regardless of whether there’s a happy ending, or a denouement with promise of more to come, the character’s lives – their stories – come to an end.”
{‘One Star’}

This review was posted to Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, and my personal blog.

‘Light and darkness. Hope and despair. Depravities and humanity. These passengers and more await. And they’ve been sharping their claws for you.’

THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE, a collection of dark horror stories is the first book that I have read by The Behrg, and one that I highly recommend.

Some of my favorite short stories from this collection are:

‘Driven’

‘One Star - Loved It!

‘The Trophy Thief’

‘Kill Your Darlings’ - Loved It!

‘Patterns’

‘Reborn’

‘An Ugly Resurrection’

‘Scabs’

‘The Lines’

‘Still Born’ - My Heart!

‘Amado’

‘Reluctance’

Thank you, NetGalley and Pricks Like Thorn Media Publishing, for loaning me an eBook of THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank you to Net Gallety, The Behrg and Pricks Like Thorn Media for this #gifted copy.

"The Passengers You Cannot See" is a haunting collection of short stories that plays on the idea of "passengers" - tales that enter our lives and never quite leave, creating a lingering sense of unease.

I was extremely excited to read this collection of short stories, being a big fan of horror. However, I must admit that I found the writing style difficult to get into, and three stories in, I wasn't feeling the "scary vibes" that I had hoped for. The premise of the short stories were intriguing - a live suicide brought on by a negative online review (One Star), and the realisation that your friends who visit everyday may actually be ghosts (Every House is Haunted) - yet the way in which these were written lacked the gravitas to create a strong, eerie and suspenseful mood. It is rare that I DNF books, especially ones that are in my favourite genre, but this was a pass for me.

The passengers you cannot see is a collection of 14 short stories and a novella by The Behrg. All ranging from a plethora of out of the box and mind bending topics, but mostly with an aspect of horror in it, though sometimes very subtle. There is psychological horror, body horror, somewhat vampirish, cannibalistic creatures and town folks, haunted houses, ghosts, murderous authors, and crazy book reviewers (yes you read that right!). So, basically there is something for everyone, if you have a taste for crazy, and trust me none of it is clichéd or anything like you’ve ever read before, these stories are so out there. What’s incredible is that all these stories have an underlying emotion very subtly hinted and told between the lines that kind of explains why the characters did what they did, despair and depression being on top of that list.

There wasn’t a single story that I didn’t take something from and liked something about it. That said, some of the stories were beyond me and I couldn’t make much sense of where they went with the snap of a finger, the ideas they are based on however, are definitely very intriguing and the writing is just fascinating. Most of these stories have quite an open ending and it takes quite a bit of imagination and your own ability to join links and to understand what might have happened at the end and where it’d have gone from that point. Recommended if you like short stories that speak to your imagination and turn the gears of your mind.

There is also a kind of a behind the scenes, heartwarming note by the author at end of the book, sharing whys and hows of these stories, and what inspired him to write these, his struggle with depression one of the major contributing factor. He also calls out anyone struggling with depression to feel free to reach out to him if they need help.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the review copy.

I vaguely recall hearing about The Behrg from some of my customers and they urged me to read him. I'm embarrassed to say, I quickly dismissed their recommendations, thinking "what kind of name is The Behrg"? It was my loss! I'm so happy I finally took the plunge.. and you should too!

This book holds a collection of truly scary stories. I never get scared while reading, but I have to admit, I didn't want to read this right before bed. The writing was alluring. It sucked me in and wouldn't let go. These stories were so unique, they are hard to describe.

All I can say is.. if you enjoy the horror genre.. you must read this!

I received this book for an honest review.
Unfortunately I couldn't get into the short stories.
Only a couple really grabbed me, but the rest seemed tedious and I just didn't enjoy them.
They are well written, that is true, they were just not something I could sink into.

A good ones for fans of horror and short stories.. Recommend to horror fans. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy.

If you ever enjoyed a show called "channel zero", then this is the book for you.
I taught most of the stories were mainly creepy more than scary, but then again my fright threshold is a little too high.
I had mixed feelings about this book, but I have to admit that some stories were really brilliant. My favorites were "stillborn" and "reborn".
I'm not a big fan of short stories, so my general feeling was the same: me wanting more, either from the characters or the ending.
I'm going to give it 3.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my electronic copy, in exchange for an honest review

3.5 STARS

Every story has its beginning and end. But some stories won’t let go. Some stories dig their claws into you. They infect your dreams. They carve out a residence in your mind. They become passengers . . .Ones that never leave.

Light and darkness. Hope and despair. Depravities and humanity. These passengers and more await. And they’ve been sharpening their claws to greet you.

.
.
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First off I want to point out that by no means am I typically a fan of short story anthologies. (I think I still have flashbacks to high school English and being forced to read them!) However, the synopsis of THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE drew me in and made me take the short story plunge.

This anthology gave me massive "Black Mirror" vibes - so many of the stories went in completely unexpected directions and I actually went back and re-read a few of them to really savour and enjoy the dark, twisted nature of Behrg's writing. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE does not rely on gore or jump scares to capture your attention. Instead, the stories creep under your skin and cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise. They are a look into the dark psyche of human nature and underneath all the poetry and prose an exploration of what it means to struggle with mental health and addiction.

The reason this anthology didn't gain a higher rating from me was less about my aversion to short stories and novellas and more the fact that some of Behrg's stories were well written and interesting,...and some were not. If you choose to pick this one up I highly recommend "Driven", "One Star" and "Kill Your Darlings" and the longer novella "Happiness is a Commodity" as I felt these were the most thought provoking of the anthology.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC copy. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE is out now!

I had such hopes for "The Passengers You Cannot See" but, this short story collection fell flat for me. I was expecting creepy, dark stories, however the first 10 short stories didn't do it for me. Kind of a bummer, since I am obsessed with short stories and this book was highly recommended to me. Not terrible, just not worth the hype.