Sales Link: No Happily Ever After
Hi everyone, I hope you’ve been happily reading great books since last we spoke. Speaking of wonderful books, I’d like to talk to you today about this short story collection from Phil Sloman (who you might know from such prestigious awards as ‘The Best Legs in Horror’), which is brand new and was released just last week. Let’s start with a quick summary of my thoughts on each of the 7 stories…
The Teddy Bears’ Picnic: You wouldn’t think that a story full of teddy bears and an adorable little girl could get so dark. Sloman, how could you? How dare you?!
The Debts We Owe: This is my favourite in the collection because it really scared me. I will never look at an ice cream van the same way again. It inspired a very particular kind of fear in me and the only time I have ever felt this particular brand of creeping terror was when I read Salem’s Lot.
Samantha, Stop: A story of not quite marital bliss. I think the writing is great in this one.
The Girl With Three Eyes: I couldn’t decide whether or not this was supernatural or even beastly in nature, but it doesn’t matter. It’s horrific!
Not Simon: This is like an episode of Black Mirror crossed with an episode of Tales from the Darkside. I will forever be looking around my own home suspiciously.
Gifts: This was super creepy and I love the direction the story goes in. Be careful who/what you accept gifts from!
Dust: This has a great concept. Have you ever wondered what would happen to someone who survived the apocalypse, but has dementia? It’s sad but sort of lovely.
Overall, this is an extremely strong collection, both in the writing and in the mix of stories. Each one tackles a different angle of horror, from supernatural, to psychological, to apocalyptic, to mysterious creatures. I’d imagine that most fans of the genre will find something to love here (I basically loved all of it).
I think my favourite thing about the book as a whole is that Sloman consistently delivers really tight plotting and endings – his stories are so well-rounded. I also loved the few stories here that give you just a snippet of a much larger, scary world.
I’d definitely recommend this to horror fans who enjoy short stories – it’s one of the strongest short story collections I’ve read in a long while.
If you’d like to get your own copy (go on, treat yourself!), or check out the author, the links you need are below. And remember to review it! Every review helps.
Happy Goat Horror 
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