I received a free ARC from NetGalley, and this review is voluntary

Right out of the gate it's blood-soaked, featuring a deranged small gas station store owner that collides with the local sheriff. The rest of the anthology series is chalk full of fresh ideas and plotlines. Not much in the way of tropes were recognized or used - rather, there was reinforcement of the plot through character development. Each character served a purpose, the reader being made to feel something for them, hoping they survive as we reach the last page.

This is an amazing compilation of stories. I also appreciate the shout out of Ames department store. Little bit of retail history interwoven between the skull-cracking, and dread.

I did not find myself enjoying most of these stories. They all seemed too familiar like I have read similar stories before. I was hoping for something more original or exciting. I know from short stories you cannot expect to get a lot of depth but I felt like these were all so rushed and shallow. I just did not enjoy my time reading it...

If you enjoy short horror stories, then this is the book for you! I found it to be entertaining, enjoyable, horrific, and well done! Glenn Rolfe came on my radar when I read It Came From The Lake and I was excited to get my hands (and eyes) on this short story collection. With short story collections, there will be ones that readers enjoy more than others. In this book, I can say that I enjoyed all of them; there are no stinkers. OUT OF RANGE and MOLLY were my favorites out of this collection.

If you have not read a book by Glenn Rolfe before, what are you waiting for???

Well written, entertaining, creepy, and horrific!

Not entirely a fan of the splatterpunk subgenre of horror, but I did enjoy some of this anthology. There's a little something for everybody in this collection, from the mundane to the supernatural, so I suggest giving it a go as long as you're not too squeamish.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Another great collection by Rolfe. I enjoyed all these stories , and it would be hard to pick a favorite as they all were amazing.

This is my second book by Rolfe, and it was fun. I enjoy reading and talking about horror, and Rolfe writes some in the style of splatterpunk. I didn't like all the stories as much, but honestly, I liked some of them more after I read his comments on how he came to write them. Short story collections are often hot or miss and this set of stories will probably have something for most horror fans. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Nocturnal Pursuits covers a nice amount of horrifying subjects across its various short stories. My favourites were “Something in the Water,” which is about a gruesome lake fungus, “Out of Range,” a classic alien invasion tale, “Comfortably Numb,” which is set in a spooky forest, and “The Dead Brother Situation,” a werewolf story.

As with all short story collections, not all of the stories can be hits. I liked how short and sharp the tales were, but I did think a few of them could have benefited from a couple more pages to add more depth and impact. I think only a handful of the stories packed enough of a punch to really linger in my mind.

Got this for review on netgally.

It was a good variation of horror short stories some I liked more and one that I liked less but it was a very solid collection. I don't know which is my favorite but the one with the sick child and about grief hit the hardest even if the whoete no gore. The one with the lake was cool and creepy.

3 stars

This was a pretty decent collection. I put in to the average category . There was nothing overly stand out, but it was an entertaining read, so I’m happy with my experience.

Glenn Rolfe (Blood and Rain and August’s Eyes) is back with a new collection of deliciously frightening, thought-provoking horror. Whether dealing with werewolves in “The Dead Brother Situation”, a vicious cult in “The Devil’s Kin”, an evil doll in the Splatterpunk Award-nominated “Molly”, or gut-wrenching loss in “Gone Away”, these fifteen dark tales promise to entertain, cause your skin to crawl, and make you feel a little more.

Probably not my favorite Glenn Rolfe book, as I usually don't click with short story collections as much as full novels, however I did have a lot of fun with this one. It was a quick read, low commitment, and I would recommend it to any horror fan looking for a good collection of scary stories:)

Before I get into my review of this anthology, let me be honest about my thoughts on the Splatterpunk genre of horror.

I am unfamiliar with both the point of and conventions of the genre beyond that it is excessively gory horror.

I liked the variety here. From aliens to werewolves to more natural horrors, it's a nice mix. I just wished they were used in more productive and innovative ways.

I wish there was more risk though, I feel like there isn't much new usage of horror conventions. It's often only elevated in the amount and detail of violence, which is only novel for a little.


I was not scared. Not even a little. Maybe grossed out one or two times? Curious as to why these stories were written? But never scared.

I think there is too much light in these stories to be called Nocturnal Pursuits.

The highlight for me had to be "Mourning Pictures", the most unique and unconventional story of the bunch. It does a remarkable job at capturing the panic of losing what should be permanent, digitally preserved memories.

This was a very interesting mix of short horror stories, and my first foray into Glenn Rolfe’s writing. There were so many differences in each entry; from splatter to cosmic to supernatural, etc. This kept things fresh and interesting as I read through.

I did find some of the stories a little abrupt in their endings, I would’ve loved to see a bit more development and resolution. “Orson’s Gas N’ Go” bothered me a bit, as I felt it needed to be a bit more grammatically fine tuned- but that’s just my problem.

My favourite by Glenn were “Something in the Water”, “Out of Range”, and “Comfortably Numb”. “Molly” was also super creepy, but I felt the characters were a bit too flat.

Grab this collection if you like a variety of horror sub genres, there’s definitely something for everyone in this book.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Encyclopocalypse Publications for a copy!

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-copy to review.

2.75 stars

Nocturnal Pursuits is a collection of snappy horror shorts that cover a wide variety of horror sub-genres, including the supernatural, aliens, murderous sentient dolls, werewolves, serial killers, a devil worshipping cult, and more. The amount of variety between the stories is enough to keep you hooked and want to move onto the next instalment – in fact, I read most of this pretty much in one sitting! Due to the short nature of each story, there's not much character development or time to get to know the characters but instead, dives right into the gory action. Rolfe absolutely does not shy away from some of the body horror descriptions either, which is excellent for splatterpunk fans.

Some of the stories standout more so than the others and there is one among the horror, Gone Away, that is based on the grief of a parent that is just utterly heartbreaking.

My main gripe is the some of the female characters in the stories were way too overly sexualised in multiple stories, which had me rolling my eyes.

A very middle of the road collection of shorts. Nothing really caught my attention too much but at least there was enough variety throughout as to not be repetitive.

I couldn’t connect with these horror short stories, it felt disappointing. The writing lacked depth in general, much of the dialogue very crude, and it was difficult to feel a sense of cohesion when the stories were all quite different. I wasn’t captivated, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, I just felt dreary forcing my way through the pages. Some stories didn’t make any sense where sacrifices were just made abruptly without explanation into the reasonings. The endings also just didn’t feel satisfying. The ending of The Amazing Alex Cucumber was a bit confusing. The new cover (as viewed in Netgalley) is gorgeous, and gave gothic or cerebral vibes, yet unfortunately it failed to visually represent the horror stories in this book.

The only stories that were okay, were “Orson’s Gas N’ Go” and “The Guide”. I think my horror preference leans into more cerebral, atmospheric, mysterious and psychologically cutthroat. So it could just be that this writing style doesn’t suit me. I’d read Kealan Patrick Burke’s ‘Kin’ and freakin’ loved it. Perhaps the stories just need to be fleshed out a little, or the order of stories could benefit from blending them together with some linking themes. But very likely suited to other horror readers.

Thank you to Netgalley, Encyclopocalypse Publications and Glenn Rolfe for this advanced readers copy.