A wonderful collection of macabre stories, equally great narration. Thomas is a hell of a writerand should be on everyone's bookshelves. Spontaneous Human Combustion sparks a new rule at The Eyes of Madness: Any book featuring a yo-yo appearance gets an instant 5⭐️ rating. In this case it’s the book itself, not the yo-yo cameo, that earns it.

If you love super creepy scary short shorts get this book. Audio had great narration and the stories were unforgettable.

I didn’t love this as much as I thought. I think this just wasn’t the type of horror I enjoy, but I thought the writing was great. I also didn’t connect too much with the narrator so maybe try this as a physical book if you want to pick it up.

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for a review audiobook of Spontaneous Human Combustion!

I am a huge sucker for short stories that follow up with an author's note to explain their thinking & inspiration for that piece & I think that's what I loved most about Spontaneous Human Combustion. As usual, there were some stories I liked better than others & some that I don't find memorable at all. But it was a decent collection and Richard Thomas can clearly write. I think one of the things that took me out of this one is the audiobook; each story is narrated by someone different. Some of these narrators had me under their trance, while others had me zoning out. Definitely a collection worth checking out though!

Had issues with the audiobook playback. Will read on my own when I can purchase the audiobook. Already own the physical copy, just want the audiobook to listen and read along

This stated off strong for me, but it was middle of the road. I think I will need to give it another listen when I am more in the mindset for this type of book.

This book is an anthology of dark horror stories all written by the same author. There are a variety of kinds of stories with the horror being more obvious in some and more in the background in others. There are a wide variety of stories including two about a clown, one about an uprising against an alien invasion/takeover, a very good Lovecraftian story, and a man at a mysterious mining/research station. I listened to the audiobook version of this.

I absolutely loved this book. This has to be one of the best short story compilations I’ve ever read. I listened to it in its entirety in one day. I just couldn’t put it down. Each story has a creeping ton of dread that just gets under your skin. Most of the stories are exactly long enough to accomplish what they set out to which is a rare feat in my opinion. My favorite stories were Ring of Fire (amazingly well written. I loved the relationship between the two main characters of the story. I would watch a movie based on this but only if it kept the tone and ending of the story), Undone (this was deeply upsetting and unsettling. I hated/loved it), Nodus Tollens (loved the looping aspect of the story and the main character is one of my favorites), In His House (I love Lovecraftian stories and this was just amazing), and Requital (repetitive nature of the story adds to it instead of taking away, Would watch this as a short film). I didn’t hate any of the stories but my least favorite were Repent (well written but confusing), Hiraeth (loved the bill of the story but confused by the ending), and The Caged Bird Sings in the Darkness of Its Own Creation (well written but I spent most of the story having no idea what was going on).

Overall I highly recommend this story for horror fans of most ages. (Some of the stories get graphically sexual and therefore not appropriate for younger readers).

Really really enjoyed this collection of 14 short stories, I am an reader that loves dark fiction/ scifi/horror and this was the perfect combination of all 3. An author who can deliver amazing stories that are able to terrify/creep out/intrigue readers in a short amount of time are the best.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good narrations, poor stories.

It wasn't much of a horror book-just unsettling. It felt very surface-level and not immersive. A lot are just all over the place and not clear. All-in-all, I would rather pick something else out that has been reviewed and obviously worked on.

3.5 stars

A solid collection of stories: the strange, the macabre, the dystopian, & the subtle ache of human longing. Good prose, intriguing premises, & nice variety.

[What I liked:]

•The tone & style of the stories have a good continuity that holds the collection together, while the variety of topics & settings keep the collection from feeling repetitive.

•The tone of the writing is dark and provocative without falling into cheap sensationalism for shock factor. The stories made me think about issues beyond the scope of the narratives themselves.

[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Some of the subject matters are quite dark, & I would’ve appreciated more specific content warnings.

CW: murder, child abuse, animal abuse, cannibalism, slavery, substance abuse, terminal illness, sexual assault

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

In this collection, Thomas presents fourteen short works of speculative fiction which blend science fiction, fantasy, and horror together in intriguing ways.

It’s hard to write this review because of the diversity of the tales. The stories touch upon a plethora of genres and themes, including familial relationships, transformation, and atonement. A common device he uses is cyclical time loops, which often lends a dream-like quality to the story that is enhanced by his deft prose.

One thing I really liked about the collection was how hopeful many of the stories were despite the dark subject matter – they fall under the genre of hopepunk in many ways, as the author himself notes once, with a view of human nature that is not quite positive but but looks upward to the future anyway.

I did think some of the stories were sometimes difficult to follow in what was going on at times, with how surreal they were. The author commentary was really helpful in this regard, but I did wish that a few stories were a little more explicit about what was happening, especially “The Caged Bird Sings In A Darkness Of Its Own Creation.”

I read this book in the audio format, which I really enjoyed. There were a number of narrators, with each narrator reading one or two stories, which gave the stories a nice variation in the way they were performed.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this collection. My favorite works were “Battle Not With Monsters” and “From Within,” two very different stories that demonstrate the author’s range.

This was something I wasn’t prepared for but man did I enjoy the spooky vibes it gave. I felt really intrigued by most of the stories in this anthology. Each chapter was a unique story of horror. I really enjoyed the twin story almost a twisted tale of good vs evil.

They chapters were short and the narration style I really enjoyed. There were several different narrators which I also liked since I didn’t get bored with just one voice actor.

The last story was the longest and most elaborate. It reminded me of THE THING and any sci-fi thriller. It was a Mind Game for sure, it made me dizzy but I enjoyed it the most.

If you enjoy creepy podcasts or stories. This anthology is for you, it had a little something for every thriller/horror fan.

Spontaneous Human Combustion is a short story collection that is a wild ride with these story’s not leaving my mind.This collection of dark fiction was amazing the story’s were descriptive and immersive as well as entertaining. Usually with short stories I find myself wanting more this collection left me feeling like the story was complete and really left me thinking about these stories. This is not your jump scare slasher horror this is more introspective horror that really gets in your head. I did listen to the audiobook on this one and I can honestly say this is one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to . Each narrator made me feel like I was listening to their story in ways it felt more theatrical than narrative but it made the tales very immersive. I can honestly say I plan on listening to this book many times in the future and looking into more books by this author . I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I enjoyed this set of horror short stories. Some more than others but I liked them all. Some were gross or creepy and some were scary. I liked the endnotes at the end of each story. I loved getting to know more about each story. Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Audio for this audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of the best produced audiobooks I've ever heard. The quality was PRISTINE. As for the stories, I found that I really enjoyed most of them. There were a couple that were so-so or didn't feel complete but is definitely a solid short story collection. The clown story was sooooo creepy--with the amazing audio production it just added a whole other layer was creepiness.

Thank you for this review copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you like short stories and horror, science fiction, and fantasy, I highly recommend this book by Richard Thomas.

𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.

If you’re on the fence with audiobooks and love dark fiction this book will convert you. Each story was so perfectly matched with a narrator it felt as if it was written specifically for them. I honestly don’t have a negative thing to say, each and every narrator breathed life into their story with exquisite perfection.

Now, on to the stories themselves. Spontaneous Human Combustion is a collection of short stories that will challenge the way you view dark fiction. With a vast array of genre-bending themes, these thought-provoking stories will burrow deep inside of you and linger hours, days, and weeks later… Needless to say, they are best consumed one day at a time – as the more you think about them the more you love them.

I’ve been sitting on this review for almost a month. Yet I still cannot think of how my review can give this book, these stories, the fabulous audiobook production justice, yet everything I come up with comes up short. So I am just going to leave you with this – If you love dark fiction you will be serving yourself a great injustice by not picking this book up.

📚ADVANCED READER REVIEW📚⁠
⁠
Spontaneous Human Combustion by Richard Thomas

Thank you to #dreamscapemedia and #Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of #SpontaneousHumanCombustion by #richardthomas

Somewhat weighty for an anthology, I highly recommend reading it rather than listening to it, as you can go at a different pace. On audio, I found myself skipping back to try to catch what I had missed. It also thoroughly gave me the creeps. Nicely done.

@Netgalley
#AdvancedReaderCopies ⁠
#book #bookstagram #reader #reading #booklover #instabook #booksofinstagram

this reminded me of why i often avoid books written by men and clearly for the audience of men. this book was genuinely awful.

Unfortunately,, this one wasn't for me, but that's partly my fault. I always have such high expectations for short stories, and I'm always disappointed. I'm not sure why I always think short stories are going to deliver so much more than they ever do. I constantly get angry with myself because of that.

Even so, I just couldn't get into these stories. I felt that most of them lacked any kind of point or cohesive plot. I could tell in some instances that the author was likely inspired by Lovecraft and King, but he fell flat every time. Honestly, I just couldn't remain interested in them. I listened to all but the very last one (I'm about halfway through it). And none of them held my attention. In fact, I zoned out so much in them that that's probably why I lost the thread of the plot.

The only one that I really enjoyed was the very first one. (I think it was the first one. The one about the card game. It was fun and well-written.)

The narrators were fine. I had no problem with them. I just didn't like the stories themselves. I always hate leaving a bad review for a book I've received for free, but in this case, I just can't leave anything good. This collection absolutely was NOT for me.