Review: Four excellent stories.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 22, 2012
The Malcontents is a collection of four extremely disturbing, unique and addictive novellas that I found hard to put down. Each one has its own identity and flavour but all of them are well written and fascinating. I have never really been a fan of the short story/novella anthology but this collection has managed to turn my head.The first, Howler by Randy Chandler, is about a Wolf Girl who runs away from a brothel and finds home in a travelling freak show. There she becomes obsessed with a demon's head in a glass that drives her on to murder. Set in 1930's America, Mr. Chandler manages to mix the depression and misery of that time with the horror of the main character's situation into a great read that I ate up in one session... in fact I read all four stories in four different sittings.The Mushrooms by Gregory L. Norris is for me the most disquieting story. A celebrity chef, a mad woman, an isolated cottage and a new line in fungal curses and oversized crabs, I don't want to say more but it really gripped me.Choose by Ryan C. Thomas sees a family man being put into a position that no family man should ever have to face; who should he kill, his wife or his daughter? Fast paced and filled to bursting with angst, desperation and inexplicable deaths, I found myself thinking for the main character and muttering, "No" out loud when he made a decision I thought was wrong. A top story.Finally, The Outsider Trio by David T. Wilbanks. It starts off in the world of orchestras and famous cellists and ends up through the power of magic in another dimension of monsters, old Gods and casual brutality. By far the most distinctive of the four, it had me gripped from the first word and I loved the way the person who I thought was the bad guy at the beginning... no, I won't spoil it.I gladly endorse The Malcontents and hope that other readers enjoy it as much as I did.Go for it.