A World War One fighter pilot tortured by guilt, a New York mobster desperately counting the hours until his execution, an elderly man losing his mind in a decrepit nursing home… all must face their regrets and the notion that we build our own Hell, brick by brick.
Richard Clive’s chilling debut collection features eleven twisted tales, varying from Lovecraftian cosmic horror to fast-paced supernatural thrillers. Strange Frequencies oozes with splatterpunk gore, ghostly revenants, and hellish monsters that will linger in your memory long after you turn the final page.
Dark bleatings, everyone! I’m here this week to rave about this short story collection from Richard Clive, an author who is completely new to me. This is my first read by him and it won’t be my last. I’ve read so many short story collections this year and this is right up there amongst my favourites. I had high hopes going in because Ramsey Campbell – an author I absolutely love – wrote the lovely and eloquent foreword, and I tend to just trust Ramsey’s recommendations! Let’s go right ahead with a little bit about each story:
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME: Loved it! A sad and spooky story about time, palindromes, and parallels. A gorgeously written story.
ROTTEN TO THE CORE: I’ve always thought those Catholic confession booths were perfect horror story fodder…
THE GOD WHISPERER: This reads like the love-child of Clive Barker and H.P. Lovecraft. Also, ew…. fungus.
THE FEVER AND THE THAW: This story reminded me of my favourite season of AHS (New York). There’s a gnawing sense of inevitable disaster about it.
MADE IN HELL: What. A. Story. Just when you think it’s going to zig, it goes all loopy on you. One of my favourites. Mafia mayhem crossed with something that I won’t spoil but it’s awesome.
LITTLE LOST LAMBS: Aliens, apparitions, good old human evil?! WHO KNOWS?! Well, I think I do, but you don’t, so you should read it.
ON AIR: A weird, sad, scary gothic tale in a perfect setting, with perfect characters.
RIDE THE NIGHT: Old people with sketchy pasts. I think?
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: If you could travel in time, what would you do with the ability?
IT REMAINS: Lesions…. in the most unexpected place ever. Possibly my favourite in the book because it’s so unsettling!
THE LAST GIFT: A story that spans lifetimes and a great end to the collection.
Overall, this is an absolutely rock solid collection of stories with a good mixture of tone and subgenres. Clive’s writing style really appeals to me and I found myself lost in each and every one of these stories. If you’re someone who enjoys dipping in and out of a short story collection, this is a great one to pick up.
If you’d like to get your own copy or look up the author, the links you need are below:
Happy Goat Horror 
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