I really wanted to like this. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read other things by the author. I can’t be sure. Half the stories I read seemed to be unfinished, or ended just as they were beginning. I DNFed at 35%.
——-
Thanks to NetGalley and Crossroad Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page. Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page. Wonderful! Passionately written and just felt like someone laid their heart on the page.

Okay. I completely DNF’d this. I tried but this is not doing anything for me. Sorry!

Thanks to Netgalley! Hoping for a better read next time!

This book was not really for me. I think I went into this book with a little more expectation then I should have honestly. The writing was the main drag for me. Sometimes I just do no vibe with someones writing at all.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A collection of short stories will always be hit or miss. Some are good, some are ok and some aren’t great. I am a fan of short stories though because there’s always something for everyone.

I will definitely try this author again!

2.5 stars.

This collection marks the ninth book by Fangoria / Dread Central writer, Thom Carnell. In this volume, we present fourteen tales—some old, some new—designed to mesmerize and astonish. From “high adventure” to quiet stories detailing the darkest corners of the human experience, Thom Carnell presents them all with an unflinching eye toward both terrifying and entertaining the unsuspecting reader.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in to this one as I am still unsure how big a fan I am of short story collections. However, I have to say that this one was quite good. I loved how the stories were all completely different and original in theme, style, pace and length which left me excited to see what the next one would bring.

I would say that I am now a fan of Carnell’s overall writing style and enjoy the witticism and intrigue in his stories. I will def be checking out more of his work. My particular favs in this series were: Homecoming, Esurience, Happy Together, Tomb of the Living Dead
and Hypoxia.

I kind of struggled with this one, to really understand it. From the title I was expecting individual short horror stories, what I got was not that.

Whilst the stories were good, more on those shortly, it just felt incredibly misleading to be called Horror Book and then not feature anything that would be classed as horror. I appreciate that some of these stories did feature some very scary and very real world horrors, but I was expecting more make you scared horror, make you sit on the edge of your seat horror, make you scared to look in the mirror horror... That kinda thing.

There is no denying though that some of the individual stories were well written and cleverly produced.

Family Matters was one that was well written, but I did struggle to see how it was horror related. It was an excerpt from a book so I didn't want to judge it too harshly as the rest of the book could well have been full on horror.

The Promise again had really good writing, I couldn't fault that. But it was very mundane and very same old.

The Appeal really stood out to me. I enjoyed this one a little bit more and liked how they used such a happy holiday to try and create some horror.

Homecoming. Now this was more like it! It was exactly the sort of story I was expecting to read in this book. While it was a little samey, it was definitely creepy!

Esurience - Trigger warning for discussions of food and extreme fasting and disordered eating.
I had to stop reading this one as I didn't feel like I could continue with the topic the story was discussing, especially without a prior trigger warning to prepare myself.

Happy Together just wasn't really horrifying at all, it felt really obvious and I guessed what was going to happen with it pretty much straight away.

Sovereignty was a DNFR.

Tomb of the Living Dead was another highly predictable story. I just felt it lacked any originality and was packed with a lot of unnecessary stuff that didn't add value or bring anything to the story.

The Dagger of Golgotha I was excited about! And I did enjoy it, it had the makings of a thoroughly good story but it just went on for a bit too long. It was well written and certainly grabbed my interest but I felt it dragged out just a bit too much and would have benefitted from being wrapped up sooner.

Hypoxia was a DNFR.

Anamnesis should have been another DNFR, it was possibly the most copied tale of the bunch...

Just overall this book was not what I thought it would be and because of that I did really struggle to enjoy some of the stories within it.

Horror Book by Thom Carnell was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I have never knowingly read this author before and I was excited about diving into this book. That being said, it was kind of a let down. I agree with other reviewers that no single story in this book stands out and I did a lot of skimming to get through some of the stories. I will read more of this authors book to see if this one was an oddity or if maybe he is just not a "horror" author that I like, i.e. not enough blood and guts.

3 Stars

Thanks Netgally for letting me read. I liked this book. Loved the stories. Can't wait to buy a copy. Loved this book so much.. a must read if you like things that go bumb in the night

Horror Book

[Blurb goes here]

This is the first book I've read by Thom Carnell, and while the man writes like an expert, all stories in this collection are, if anything, derivative.

There's nothing awe inspiring, there's nothing truly new. You've read this stories over and over again in different books. The setting and characters might change, but the rest is just same old, same old.

No matter. I still enjoyed Mr. Carnell prowess at the keyboard, even though, half of what I read was a bit stagnant.

I will certainly read more stuff by the author in the hopes that this anthology, was a just a minor fluke.

Thank you for the free copy!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Amazing collection of horror stories to read and absorb. As with any collection there are some that are extreme standouts however overall I found myself enjoying all of them and the entire book. Recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In this collection of horror, the author has written 14 stories. He has written frightening and innovative tales that made me want to keep reading. Horror fiction can reveal truths that in reality often obscures. You will be plunged into surreal domains. Reading these stories take me away temporary from the real world. If you are a psychological horror fan, read this book.

If you have read more of this author's work, then you'll probably get more enjoyment out of this. That's not to say I didn't like a few of the stories. One story I outright didn't finish, but that is a personal trigger that is kind of niche. For those who may have the same trigger it has to do with the Achilles' Tendon. A few of my favorite stories though were:
The Appeal
Homecoming
Esurience
Tomb of the Living Dead
The Dagger of Golgotha

I didn’t think much of this book, I’m afraid. I think if you’re a fan of this author and have read all his other books, this one might appeal - but otherwise, there’s not much to enjoy. It seems to be cut scenes from his novels, or stories he abandoned years previously then decided to pull out of a drawer. I wouldn’t recommend this.