Review: Three quite good, short horror stories
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2011
The description and cover of this ebook really piqued my interest, so I decided to give these stories a shot; and as it turns out, they were actually very good.I'm going to first talk about each of the individual stories, then I'll discuss the overall writing style.STORIES:1. The Dancing Water - When Anton was a child, he loved to play imaginative adventure games with his grandfather and twin sister Elena.  One day, during one of these games, his grandfather gives him a vial of "Dancing Water" that he claims will cure any sickness that Anton or Elena may have.  As the years pass, their community becomes a toxic wasteland; and Anton and his sister end up far away from home.  Many more years pass and Elena becomes deathly ill; Anton must venture back to the toxic wasteland, once called their home, in order to retrieve the "Dancing Water" he left there and attempt to save his sister.There are so many more aspects and details added to the story that I'm not giving, simply because I don't want to give away the entire story.  I would have to say, though, that I found this story to be more fantasy or science fiction rather than horror.  It was still a very adventurous plot that I enjoyed very much.2. Breaths in Winter - Wesley Smith's life seems to be slowly falling apart.  His job has him sitting in front of a window that looks out to a bridge where people commit suicide frequently; also, his partner has slipped into depression after having his sister die.  As Wes witnesses these suicidal jumpers, they push him over the edge, and he becomes confused as to what is real and what is not.This was my least favorite of the stories.  I don't really enjoy reading homosexual themes; and although it's just a personal preference, I would have appreciated being warned about it somewhere before I read.  Also, I just didn't feel like this story had enough of a horror element to it.  I never felt like any of the story was particularly creepy.  Despite these areas that I didn't enjoy, it's still a well-written story that kept my interest the entire time.3. Awake, Ghost Song - Tom doesn't like his wife's psychic friend; she irritates him.  When she insists on "relaxing" him by bringing back his childhood, she brings back much more.  He is suddenly being followed everywhere by his brother who has been dead for many years.In this story, which just happens to be my favorite, we get to look at two different time periods.  The first time is when Tom was just a boy, and the horrible tragedy that occurred then.  The readers get a look (through flashbacks and dreams) at what life was like for Tom as a child.  We also get a look at Tom's adult life with his family, and how this new ghost affects his well-established life.  This story was definitely crazy and twisted, which I loved!WRITING STYLE - All three stories were written very well.  I didn't spot a single typo, and once I started one story, I couldn't stop, because they all drew me in fully.  All of the characters and locations are developed very well, which can sometimes be an issue with short stories.  Also, the fact that this was a compilation of three short stories that weren't sold separately was amazing.The only complaint that I would possible have is that with the first two stories just did not have enough of a horror aspect; they were a little too fantasy/sci fi.  They were still good, just not as creepy as I would have liked.  However, this is a minor flaw that isn't much of a big deal at all.WARNINGS - Language, Violence, Sexual Scenes, Homosexual ThemesOVERALL - These three stories were very, very good.  I can definitely recommend them with the warning that they aren't going to be as creepy as you might think.  Also know that there are some rather mature themes in them.  Otherwise, they are quite interesting to read.