this was a really well done horror novel, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the storyline in this book.

A sadistic blogger gleefully documents the murders of Hollywood celebrities.
I have to admit, even as distasteful as the reviewer's actions were, the story was kinda funny. I know it was meant to be scary, but maybe because he chose to kill a few "celebrities" that I don't particularly like, it amused me. Not for the easily offended, and I'll leave it at that.

A journalist infiltrates a sex club for the physically impaired, finding he has more in common with them than he first assumed.
This was just weird. A sex club where missing or damaged body parts are a sexual turn-on. I didn't exactly care for this one.

A soon-to-be-dad gets seduced by a water spirit, which questions everything he thought he could impart as a father.
While well written, this one left no impression on me at all. I had to go back to the book to see what it had been about even though I know I read it.

The best of the lot is the final story, a novella bout A primary school teacher who finds himself haunted by gruesome ghost children. They want something from him and try to use scare techniques to get it. In order to rid himself of the ghastly ghosts, he tries to help them find peace, even though he refuses to face his own inner demons. Every character is complete, and you have to feel something for each of them. The joy of a short story or in this case, a novella, is seeing the true mastery of the craft to fit so much in so small a box.
This was not only the best of the bunch but also the most powerful. If you've ever lost someone you love, no matter how, and also lost yourself, this story will touch you. Yes, it's disturbing, kinda scary, but lord does it hit the mark for giving you the "feels"!
In these stories, ordinary people must confront their biggest flaws and deepest fears in worlds eerily similar to our own. Because the worst horrors are the real ones we create for ourselves.
I really did enjoy this book. I'm not familiar with the author but I would read his work again in a heartbeat. I really like the fact that most of the main characters were gay. And a good LGBTQ horror novel is very hard to find. Well, here is one that satisfies on all levels.

Thanks to @Netgalley and Unnerving Publishing, and Leo X. Robertson for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased and honest opinion.

I would like to say thank you to NetGalley, Unnerving Publishing, and Leo X. Robertson for my complimentary copy of "Unfortunates: Stories". I quite enjoyed this book as I love the horror genre. I have not really read a lot of short story anthologies in the past, but within the last year, I have started reading them a lot more and this book did not disappoint.

This book had some creepy and disturbing stories and although I did not find them necessarily scary, I still really enjoyed their "chill" factor. I was intrigued with the majority of the stories. There were a few that I liked less than others but overall there were none that I would say were terrible. I usually find that when I read short stories I will find a few that weren't for me, so I was not surprised, but as I stated, none were terrible.

I particularly liked two stories and I couldn't decide which one was my favourite so I have decided to like them equally as they both kept me engaged from start to finish. The two stories were "A Sensational Star-studded Blood Feast" and "Blu-Ray My Life". These two stories were awesome and gruesome! I would also like to give a shout out to the following short stories as well: "The Cool Kids", "Kelpies", "Lackers", and "Unfornates".

The stories were unique and creative and I am interested in reading Leo's other published works and have added a few of them to my TBR. If you enjoy the horror genre and anthologies I would give this book a chance.

“Life’s inherent plotlessness can be a good thing. You can make up your own story, and reinvent it if you stop liking it.”*—foreword

These eight short stories and one novella nicely spotlight Robertson’s unique voice and wonderfully weird worldview.

For me, the stand out piece is “The Unfortunates,” a fully realized novella which appears last in the collection. The grade school teacher protagonist finds himself haunted by a group of gruesome children. In order to rid himself of the ghastly ghosts, he tries to help them find peace while attempting to hide from his own inner demons. The story includes a delightful romantic subplot and a memorable cast of characters. I’m amazed at the way the author packs so much punch in such a small container.

Other favorites include:

“Mr. Sleepy,” which has cool AMERICAN PSYCHO vibes when a man’s dating app hookup goes off the rails.

“The Other Half,” which looks at the toxic side of marriage when a wife’s contempt of her husband has a sister ours consequence.

“The Art is Absent,” a disturbing peek into the sacrifices one makes for art and love.

“Lackers,” a story that delves deep into what it means to be whole and one’s perceived imperfections.

The stories tackle some serious themes in a horrific yet heartfelt manner. I dug Roberton’s novella, THE GRIMHAVEN DISASTER, and enjoyed THE UNFORTUNATES even more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Unnerving for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.

I was approved to receive an e-Galley ARC of Unfortunates: Stories, authored by Leo X. Robertson, from the publisher Unnerving and NetGalley, for review consideration. I could not find a cover artist listed from my kindle copy at time of my review. What follows below is my honest review, freely given.

This collection was hard for me to rate, I will try to explain better in the body of my review. My top favorite story is Lackers, I would rate 5 stars. My 2nd favorite stories were Kelpies and Unfortunates, which I would both rate 4 stars.

THE ART IS ABSENT
What I appreciated about this story was the reader could take it literally, and as a metaphor for handling a traumatic relationship event, or both simultaneously, the lines between reality blurred by an erratic narrative voice.

THE COOL KIDS
My eldest son was bit several times by a boy in day care. We thought he would remember the name Robert into adulthood, and the grievance done to him by that poor boy. This story is an example to the nth degree of what that could look like. Karma’s a b*tch anyone?

A SENSATIONAL STAR-STUDDED BLOOD FEAST
This is a campy over the top, gore filled story. I would have enjoyed it more if it was shorter, the narrative voice grated on me after a bit, which to be fair was the point (I think).

THE OTHER HALF
This story frustrates me because no matter how many times I try and figure out what the “resentment” the wife is feeling for her husband is, I can not. The imagery is wonderfully morbid and gross. But that incomplete feeling just picks at me.

MR SLEEPY
I shudder to think of all the stupid times I have blindly trusted people on dates. We joke about everyone in the ‘70’s barely surviving all the serial killers, but we all still risk it all in meeting up in the hopes of finding love.

BLU-RAY MY LIFE
My least favorite of this collection. An underlying emotion through most of the stories is anger, here it is strongest but the story around it is the weakest. At the end of the review I go into more detail about my feelings on the collection as a whole.

LACKERS
As I said at the very top, this is my favorite in the entire collection. There is desire, sorrow and acceptance all tied into this tale of horror; most great stories are more than just one thing. Neil’s desire for the last leads him to dangerous places.

KELPIES
Folktale horror is a personal joy to read. The opening half of this tale felt just how an encounter with a kelpie would be in modern times. This timeless creature of myth adapting to their environment to hunt us pitiful humans seamlessly. We never stand a chance do we?

UNFORTUNATES
Out of all the shorts, this one I could easily see being expanded into a novel length endeavor, or be visited again in another collection as another short. I do wonder why there were no female child ghosts, but maybe that fact slipped by me. I did very much like that the author brought home the fact that sometimes, as unfair as it seems, death just is; even to the early departed, there is no one to blame.

In the foreword the author mentioned only having one pro-publishing before this, and I think part of it might be that if the work is marketed differently it would attract different expectations from readers. As I said, I felt most of the stories had an undercurrent of anger. I think most general horror readers may not know how to interpret strong emotions directed off the page towards them and beyond. I have read some of the reviews others have written, and they also seem confused by the subject matter. To me, some of it is similar to early Poppy Z Brite’s, or Clive Barker’s short stories. Angst ridden and full of relationship messiness, gore and pain, betrayal and anger; these all have a place and an audience to read them. I’m hoping to see more of Leo X. Robertson’s work, with Unnerving publishing at his side maybe better branded so the right readers pick up his work.

A book of bizarre stories, some of which are a bit too bizarre for my liking.

Thanks you to publisher and author for the ARC.

I requested Unfortunates because it was listed as horror (and some of it truly is), but this just missed the mark. There are definitely some stories that were inventive and engrossing, though! I have to be able to disappear into a book and this just wasn’t one that worked for me. It’s 3 stars from me since some of the stories were legitimately good.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first book I have read from by Leo X. Robertson, these stories are well written, and easy to read.

I found some of them very interesting, but the rest was just ok for me, there was too much relationship drama in some of the stories for my liking.

I loved so many of the stories in this anthology. I’ll highlight a few of my favorites.

Mr Sleepy was a tale about the horrors of online dating. What’s terrifying about this is it happens...all the time.. if you’re single you are pushed into this world where you never know who’s going to show up as your date.

Kelpies was a siren song to all those cheaters out there. Great revenge tale and had a surprise twist ending!

But what gave this 5 stars for me was the title story, Unfortunates. A tight story and plot, a likable, yet flawed main character amid a ton of horrific descriptions of the little dead boys haunting this poor man. You wanted him to help them and thus help himself. I could have read more about Simon, Mickey and the whole ghostly crew.

So, I feel a little disappointed with this book, Tales + Terror = exactly what I like, but this book was on the curb for me.
Some stories were interesting (but none got to be 5 stars) and the rest was just ok down, which rounded up 3 stars.

Summarizing some of the tales:
The art is absent (3.5): the first in the book, it had a confused development but from what I understood it was pleasant, kind of melancholy
The others Half (4.5): The best of the book, I loved the metaphor and thought-provoking storyline
Mr. Sleepy (2): predictable, that's what I thought of the end, it didn't surprise me at all

Lackers and Kelpies were also some that I liked but nothing too big, the rest of the stories were boring ...

Thank you for NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! / Obrigada NetGalley pela oportunidade em troca de uma resenha honesta :)

Thanks to NetGalley and Unnerving for the ARC.
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As a person who enjoys horror, and has a strong stomach, I wasn't bothered by this book, but it's fair to say that others definitely would be.

Some of these stories felt like I was wading through mud trying to understand them. Others were fast paced and dark, and I really enjoyed them. It's always interesting reading a new writer's take on horror.

The Cool Kids was something that could arguably be a full novel, and I would happily read it. Mr. Sleepy was also really enjoyable, and something I could see being more developed.

Overall, I thought it was an eclectic collection, and enjoyable to read.

Interesting collection of stories. I enjoyed The Art is Absent and The Other Half. I wish there was more to The Cool Kids. Some were disturbing and this collection is not for everyone.

Unnerving Books and Leo X Robertson have had a long history together, starting in 2017 with their release of his novelette, "Bonespin Slipcase". After the success of the Unnerving's Rewind or Die series of novellas (every single one of them worth reading), they are set to release Robertson’s short story collection Unfortunates, and hopefully more readers will read it due to attention Unnerving is receiving for publishing great books.

Unfortunates is a collection of nine stories, all of them giving a different feel. Some of them, like “The Art is Absent” and “A Sensational Star-Studded Blood Feast!” push against the borders of extreme horror, whereas others range from revenge, serial killer mystery, and the title novella, “Unfortunates”, which could have been written into a Stephen King collection. Each of these stories bring variety, but there is a common thread through all of these stories. The main characters in each of them are haunted, are trying to find or escape from something, and whether it be revenge or smoking weed and playing video games, all of them are trying to find a solution. The mood of many of these stories and characters is heavy with grief, anger, and frustration. At the end of many of these stories, Robertson’s conclusions are more interested in the development of the character and heart than in jump scares and horror, and this makes The Unfortunates one of those collections that should not be lumped into genre horror but will be.

Of course there is some great horror in here as well. One story that sticks out is “Lackers” a reprint of his contribution from The New Flesh?: A Tribute to David Cronenberg. This story is about a report who is going to a secret sex club where everyone is deformed in some manner. The idea alone is enough to make me talk to my friends about it, but again, the heart of the story is about longing to belong and to be understood.

All of these stories are impressive, and this collection is one that will make me seek out more of Leo X. Robertson’s works. He is definitely writing horror that is loaded with emotion and feeling, and when someone can make you cringe and make you empathize with the attacker at the same time, then this is writing that deserves our attention.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Requested to read this book as thought it was a horror.... found the short stories confusing and not scary in the slightest