Artificial Artifacts by John Fennec

Artificial Artifacts by John Fennec
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over Feb (our first readalong)

Pages - 308

Publisher - We Are White Fox

Source - Review copy for a readalong

Blurb from Goodreads

A visionary debut collection of eleven loosely interconnected short stories explores the rise of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, revealing their profound impacts on human existence. This is not your typical sci-fi - it's an intricate puzzle. Can you solve the mystery that is Peter Byrell?



My Review

So I always say I am not overly a fan of short stories so it isn't often I will pick one up let along agree to read it. However the theme of AI absolutely drew me in, I blame Terminator and Sci Fi for getting into these types of themes. That, old horror movies and how reliant we are on technology these days like look how much our homes/lives use! Anyways back to the book. We kick off this debut meeting Peter Byrell via a memo or email to the company. Whilst Peter pops up in some of the eleven stories all have a theme linked in one way or another.

I think this would be a great book club/book group discussion as there is so much to unpack whether you go individually or as a collective whole. One that hit home was the newer type invention for a type of Fitbit if you like, no spoilers. That being said look how many of us use Fitbits, guilty here, what if we were offered something a bit more invasive, medical style. What if music and technology did more to our very beings, what if we were manipulated and didn't know the whole impact and or control?

The book raised a fair few questions, for me anyway and as I said we had a readalong with this one, our first ever doing that. The questions I posted on our Instagram so you can nosey yourself but it gave a bit more pause for thought for some of the stories. I got a wee bit Terminator vibes in some of them, others you couldn't help but question your own dependence/usage of technology. I did enjoy conspiracy themes, I love a good conspiracy theory myself so watching how characters reacted to situations, tech and even each other in these stories reeled you in!

I am finding the AI & advanced tech in stories are becoming more popular, art imitating life? A strong debut with a new take, characters woven into individual tales with some interloping - I found the last story nodding to the rest of the book was a nice touch, 4/5.

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A Sliver Of Darkness by C J Tudor

A Sliver of Darkness by C J Tudor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 days in and out

Publisher - Michael Joseph Publisher

Pages - 329

Source - Netgalley and Waterstones

Blurb from Amazon

PREPARE TO BE TERRIFIED THIS HALLOWEEN WITH C. J. TUDOR'S BONE-CHILLING COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

'All hail the queen of scream. C.J. Tudor at her spine-tingling, nightmare-inducing best. Read it if you dare . . .' CHRIS WHITAKER

'This unsettling collection of stories from a writer often called the 'British Stephen King' deftly inverts the banal and unremarkable to reveal their underlying horror' METRO

'Beautifully barbaric, creepy as hell and crammed with barbed wit' JOHN MARRS

A creak of the floorboard, a shiver down your spine, the feeling that you're not alone . . .



My Review

I am the first to say I am not a huge fan of short stories, other than Stephen King but I do enjoy Tudor's stories so gave this a go. Described as Eleven Twisted Tales of the Macabre, short, quick to the point & I actually liked and enjoyed most of them.

End of the liner - a story set on a cruise ship, sounds like bliss yes? You would be wrong, dead wrong.

The Block - A block of flats, abandoned, how many of us have been drawn into abandoned buildings? This one gives us pretty good reasons NOT to go in, no matter how tempting.

Runaway Blues - A man who plays amazing blues despite being out of place, a woman he loves very much and some creepy repercussions/revelations.

The Completion - I can't say really much about this one, I didn't love it and don't really know what to say about it, estate agents and meh.

The Lion At The Gate - how many times in horror movies/creepy pictures have we felt they moved or a bit of danger, this one is creepy/fab.

Gloria - We have met before and I could do with a hole story more of her. Righteous and dare I say vigilanty justice.

I'm not Ted - temptation :D that is all I am gonna say

Final Course - a reunion of friends, a fancy manner and secrets, everyone has secrets, some deadly

The Copy Shop - This reminded me of something but I can't think what. How many times have we wanted something fixed well now you can and anything goes

Dust - actions and consequences with echoes of Hotel California :D

Butterfly Island - Butterflies are the most beautiful little creatures, but what if they weren't, what if they were but imagine a world, a place where they became a thing to fear.


What is different and what I personally liked (I read the tree book version) - she gives us an intro at each story to what sparked/prompted the story that follows. I love that, sometimes you read a book and think how do they come up with this stuff, well Tudor gives us just that with these, 4/5 from me this time.

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Unbelievable Crimes Volume One: Macabre Yet Unknown True Crime Stories by Daniela Airlie

Unbelievable Crimes Volume One: Macabre Yet Unknown True Crime Stories by Daniela Airlie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 104

Publishers -

Source - Insta rak

Blurb from Goodreads

Step into some of the most heinous (yet relatively unknown) crimes ever committed and delve into twelve twisted tales of murder in Unbelievable Crimes.

From the deplorable abduction and imprisonment of young women by James Jamelske, who kept his victims in his basement, to the tale of charismatic charmer Charles Schmid who boasted about his savage murders, each story in this anthology dives into pure evil.

In one case, I’ll take you back to 1993, to the city of Houston, where two teenage girls, Jennifer Ertman, and Elizabeth Peña, were brutally raped and murdered. This crime can only be described as barbaric and senseless, especially when you factor in the young ages of the killers.

I’ll delve into the bizarre and twisted story of Carl Tanzler, a man who becomes fixated on a beautiful young woman. After her untimely death, he kept her as a mummified corpse in his home for years, with a genuinely inexplicable outcome.

You’ll also be introduced to the gruesome story of Omaima Nelson, an Egyptian-American woman who killed her husband before cooking and eating parts of his body.

While most people know about the incomprehensible acts of Ted Bundy or the wicked crimes of the “killer clown” John Wayne Gacy, there’s an underbelly of true crime that has been left untouched over the years. These crimes had a fleeting news story or a 30-second snippet on a local news station and have since been long forgotten. I believe we should remember these crimes to ensure the victims - and their ordeals - don’t get wiped from true crime history.

Discover the dark side of humanity as I delve into some of the most shocking and twisted little-known true crime stories in Unbelievable Crimes Volume One. To most, the senseless acts of violence and pure evil depicted in these cases are simply unimaginable. But, they’re all somebody’s reality.

Please note, as with all true crime content, this book contains details that cover real-life murders and violence.



My review

So whilst these as put as "yet unknown "true crime stories I would say lesser known, not the same ring to it I know. I know a few of them recently from true crime on Tiktok but they are lesser known for sure.

If you like stories that don't go around the houses before getting to the story then these will be right up your street. They are each only below or just over ten pages each.

Not for the faint hearted, some of these are truly horrific/evil/unnerving, the depravity and depths some of these killers go to, usually for their own personal sick kicks.

Some of the stories go beyond just taking someone's lives and the suffering and deviancy of some of these perps is jaw dropping. I have read and watched a ton of true crime and you don't think people can get worse but sure enough there is always another, 4/5 from us.

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Home For Christmas by Jan Ruth

Home for Christmas by Jan Ruth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 112

Publisher -

Source - Bought (I think)

Blurb from Goodreads

An emotive trio of stories with festive themes.
Rudolph the Brown-Nosed Reindeer Rick isn't looking forward to his lonely corporate Christmas, but it's the season of goodwill and magic is in the air. An off-beat love story. It's time Rick wore his heart on his sleeve, or is it too late? Lessons in love from an unlikely source.
Jim's Christmas Carol Santa and Satan pay a visit. One brings presents, the other an unwelcome presence. Paranormal reality. Jim's played with fire it's time he got his comeuppance, but from who?
Home for Christmas Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la-la la-la, la-la la-la. Tis the Season to be jolly... Romantic-comedy. Pip might accidentally find her true vocation, but the folly of her fibs are about to catch up with her.


My Review

The blurb says three emotive stories with festive themes, I didn't find emotive really in any of them, maybe it is just me. The characters aren't exactly the nicest people (not all of them to be fair). The first one a guy goes through the motions and copes with what his relationship was/is whilst away on a work trip over the festive. Alcohol, self explorations/what is important to them plus maybe a wee bit of personal growth.

Story two has infidelity (extra martial affair) the guy is not a very nice chap and mayhap a bit of Karma is on the cards, see what I did there lol. A spiritualist, family, festivities and maybe a bit of comeuppance once can but hope.

The third and final is Pip, returning home from the big city and not wanting to come clean to just about anything and trying to keep the face/imagine she projects. Of them all I think this may well be my "fave" of the trio.

I liked they have Christmas vibes/theme weaved, I liked the visuals the author creates, wasn't a huge fan of many of the characters (not very nice people), I am the first to admit though short stories aren't my first pic. This was my first dance with this author and I am sure I have actual novels of hers so looking forward to trying them but for me, this one was 3/5. So many folk loved them, I liked them so absolutely check them out for yourself.

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The Haunting Season - short stories - multiple authors

The Haunting Season: Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights by Bridget Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Sphere

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings.

Now eight bestselling, award-winning authors - master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre - bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.

From a bustling Covent Garden Christmas market to the frosty moors of Yorkshire, from a country estate with a dreadful secret, to a London mansion where a beautiful girl lies frozen in death, these are stories to make your hair stand on end, send shivers down your spine and to serve as your indispensable companion to the long nights of winter.

So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of The Haunting Season . . .



My Review

I am the first to admit I am not a fan of short stories but the names of the authors featuring in this one definitely drew me in. Some stories are creepy/eerie, some ghostly, a few with animal harm which is always a no for me and one or two left me wondering what I had just read.

Perfect for the spooky season or if you just want a bit of a chill/creep. A few of the authors are more skilled in creating the gothic, chilling vibes than others.

I can't say any one story stood out for me but absolutely some were more enjoyable (if that is the right word) than others. Macabre, spooky, weird and just a mix bag of the auld creepiness. 3/5 for me this time, maybe dipping in and out instead of trying to read them so close together may well have made it more palliative for me. Still plenty of folk loved/enjoyed these so absolutely check out the book and see how you get on.

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The Rivals of Dracula Stories from the Golden Age of Gothic Horror

The Rivals of Dracula: Stories from the Golden Age of Gothic Horror by Nick Rennison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 288

Publisher - OldCastle Books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, still the most famous of all vampire stories, was first published in 1897. But the bloodsucking Count was not the only member of the undead to bare his fangs in the literature of the period. Late Victorian and Edwardian fiction is full of vampires and this anthology of scary stories introduces modern readers to 15 of them. A travel writer in Sweden unleashes something awful from an ancient mausoleum. A psychic detective battles a vampire that has taken refuge in an Egyptian mummy. A nightmare becomes reality in the tower room of a gloomy country house. Including works by both well known writers of the supernatural such as M. R. James and E. F. Benson and less familiar authors like the Australian Hume Nisbet and the American F. Marion Crawford, The Rivals of Dracula is a collection of classic tales to chill the blood and tingle the spine.


My Review

Firstly let me say i am not a fan of short stories in general, I always find I am left unsatisfied and left hanging with them. For that reason alone I generally tend to avoid them, unless you are master King of course. This wee book offers up 15 short stories with vampires or some kind of vampiric theme. The very first story reminded me of old school vamp, like the movies I grew up with, I was picturing Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, it just set me off on a high with this book.

Each chapter gives us a brief history on the author and their work as well as the year of birth and death. Some of these guys and gals were the 1800s so not familiar authors for me. I absolutely am taking note of their names and will be tracking down pretty much all of their works because even those I didn't love I still enjoyed and liked. A Medusa type character with a different spin to her, a few dodgy old houses, love love love them and the eerie gothic creepy spin to the stories. Sometimes an old house is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, some of these authors bring that setting right to life, I wanted them all made into movies! There is a tree one that whilst not my fav by far but I loved the different spin and you get a back story, you don't often get that in vampires stories let alone a short story one!

Each author has a very different style yet all manage the eerie creepy vibes and feel you used to get with the black and white movies on a Saturday night. This book is a wee gem and it is a shame it lay on my shelves for so long. I kind of want this to be a keeper but I also want to share it with folk so I think I may put it up as a giveaway on my blog. I will for sure be checking out more of these authors, all of them. If you are a vampire fan, even if you don't like short stories, please check this book out guys it is a great read, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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Nothing Is Strange by Mike Russell

Nothing Is Strange by Mike Russell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - less than 1 hour

Pages - 146

Publisher - StrangeBooks

Blurb from Goodreads


20 mind-expanding short stories.
Inspiring, liberating, otherworldly, magical, surreal, bizarre, funny, disturbing, unique... all of these words have been used to describe the stories of Mike Russell so put on your top hat, open your third eye and enjoy: Nothing Is Strange



My Review

I could have read this in twenty minutes, but for the fact pretty much after each story I sat and pondered what I had just read. Bizarre, different, strange to say the least, certainly thought provoking. After reading them I wondered did the author have other levels to the stories to provoke thought, or was I reading the stories of someone under the influence? You know sometimes when you read, say Irvine Welsh or the like and you just think what did I just read there and even go over it again? Kind of like that.

Sometimes with short stories I will try and do a wee bit of commentary on each, however they are so short and few pages, not to mention bizarre I don't feel I can here. Some definitely highlight morality I would say, how choices and actions have consequences that we then must live with. Some are just bat crazy and even after going over them twice I genuinely don't know what to say or think about them. There is small content of sex, love, relationships, a wee bit of swearing and a whole mixed bag of crazy, you can dip in and out of the book as the stories are so short. I have never read this author before but I would read him again, would be interesting to see a novel and longer narration rather than just short sharp bites from him. If you like a book that is a bit trippy, mind bending and throws you a wee bit then this is absolutely the book for you, 3/5 for me this time.

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They Move Below by Karl Drinkwater

They Move Below: & Other Dark Tales by Karl Drinkwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 398

Publisher - Organic Apocalypse

Blurb from Goodreads

Horror lives in the shadows.

It exists under the earth’s surface in ancient caves; below the vast sea’s undulating waves; under dense forest cover; within a storm’s thick, rolling clouds; downstairs in our homes, when we hear the knife drawer rattle in the night. Even our minds and bodies harbour the alien under the skin, the childhood nightmares in our subconscious.

In this collection of sixteen tales Karl Drinkwater sews flesh onto the bones of our worst fears whilst revisiting some of horror’s classic settings, such as the teen party, the boat in trouble, the thing in the cellar, the haunted museum, the ghost in the machine, and the urban legends that come true. No-one is safe. Darkness hides things, no matter how much we strain our eyes. And sometimes those things are looking back at us.


My Review

I never pick up short stories as a first choice, it is very rare I like them although master King is always the exception. However, I read a Drinkwater novella before, a few years ago, and as he is horror/spooky this collection fits perfectly for my October reads so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Sixteen creepy short stories that will have the hair on the back of your neck standing, holding your breath and listening out for things that go bump in the night. I didn't love all sixteen, one or two I found only ok however the majority of them left me creeped out and back to how I felt back in the days when I first read horror. I love when an author recommends or mentions another author's work within a story, he did this with Koontz and I bought the book as I want to know the rest of the tale.

I would be had pushed to pick a favourite however of the lot I think "Just Telling Stories" two 'friends' in a hotel room freaking each other with scary tales which is something we used to do as kids. And "Claws Truth Forebear" a story that will have you feeling claustrophobic whilst the characters struggle through enclosed spaces and examining the consequences of ones actions. Some of the others are quite dark too but these two stuck out for me.

Drinkwater has the knack of creating a tense and terrifying atmosphere that draws in the readers and creeps them out almost from the get go. Some of the stories are only a handful of pages long whilst others have a bit more meat. I have read this author before and I will read him again, if you like a bit of freak and a good scare this is the book for you, 4/5 for me this time.

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Review - The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories by Tim Burton

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories by Tim Burton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 15 minutes

Blurb From Goodreads

From breathtaking stop-action animation to bittersweet modern fairy tales, filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance -- witty and macabre at once. Now he gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children -- misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds. His lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and the tragedy of these dark yet simple beings -- hopeful, hapless heroes who appeal to the ugly outsider in all of us, and let us laugh at a world we have long left behind (mostly anyway).

My Review

It is hard to really review such a wee short book like this. It is basically tiny short stories that are really poems about weird and wonderful characters. Funny & morbid at the same time. This is my first encounter with the written word of Time Burton (I have seen some of his movie collaborations). So whilst short I did like it but without going into and ruining the wee poems (or rather stories) I can only say if you like poems and weirdness then this is perfect for you. It also only takes a tiny amount of time to read (there are illustrations throughout) and the text is short. 3/5 for me.

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June's Pre-Loved Giveaway is Children Of The Night by David Stuart Davies

This book is in near perfect condition with just a few light ruffles in the cover, the spine itself is uncreased. A fairly thin book of short vampire stories.

Blurb From Goodreads

Vampires, those dark children of the night, who rise from their coffins to suck the blood of the living, continue to hold a strange fascination and dread. In this unique collection of vampire stories you will find some of the earliest depictions of these fearful creatures as in John Polidori's The Vampyre and James Malcolm Rymer's Varney the Vampyre, a tale which held readers in thrall when it was first published in the mid-nineteenth century. As well as these rare stories and those featuring the more well known bloodsuckers such as Le Fanu s Carmilla and Stoker s Dracula, there is a clutch of lesser known but equally frightening tales written by expert practitioners in the art of raising goose pimples. Children of the Night is a volume filled with the rich blood of chilling vampire fiction.

As usual the competition runs to the end of the month, you can enter by using the contact link Click here to contact me via my email link

and for an additional chance just leave a comment on this post.