Welcome to the world of survival horror…
A nurse wakes up in a hospital basement surrounded by the bodies of her coworkers and finds herself waging a desperate battle for survival against an unseen enemy. An introverted artist’s hermitage upon a private space station is interrupted by a multi-limbed alien intent on absorbing him. A woman stalked by a sadistic killer through an apocalyptic landscape decides to make one last defiant stand against her tormentor, or become his next work of living art.
And many more stories…
Featuring works by: Scotty Milder, Michelle Tang, Amelia Gorman, S.R. Miller, Jude Reid, Maggie Slater, J.C. Martinez, Richard Beauchamp, P.L. McMillan, M.J. Mars, Jay Wilburn, Eric J. Guignard. Compiled and edited by Aric Sundquist. Cover artwork by Mikio Murakami.
Dark bleatings, my survivalist tribe. An anthology for you today, full of blood, screaming, and splatterpunk goodness! The idea behind the theme of this anthology is survival horror inspired by games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. As an avid fan of both, this had me practically foaming at the mouth. I think that this anthology was particularly well edited in that none of the stories are similar. This is pretty difficult to achieve with a themed anthology, as great minds think alike, and there will inevitably be similar ideas submitted from various authors. The story choices and the order they’re arranged in makes for a great time.
My 3 favourite stories are:
LUMINESCENCE – BY SCOTTY MILDER
Sea creature apocalypse! I can’t believe I’ve managed to get so far through life without ever reading this particular type of apocalypse story. It was a very welcome surprise, not least because of how well executed the idea is.
Clay and Jonah watch from an island beach as sea creatures take down a boat (we also get the perspective of the people on the boat, which is absolutely horrifying). The sea, worldwide, is no longer a safe place for humans, no matter how big your boat is. It’s a great, snappy short story that thematically touches on issues like climate change, isolation, and apathy through what becomes the new normal.
THE WHALE HUNTS – BY P.L. MCMILLAN
This is also a sea themed story, but is absolutely nothing like Luminescence, I assure you. The only thing these stories have in common is the general watery setting.
This reads like an out-of-the-box, extreme retelling of Moby Dick. We’re in The Black Sea – an almost alien body of water, where only certain people – whale hunters – are permitted to go. This is because of the high likelihood of death. People are hunting a “whale” but wtf the whale even actually is, I still don’t know! I loved this one, it was really scary and the idea is haunting.
THE ARTIST AND THE MUSE – BY JAY WILBURN
The late, great Jay Wilburn wraps up this anthology with a truly nightmarish, Barker-esque tale about a woman fleeing an “artist”. She is forced to run past a considerable amount of his art, which consists of strung up human entrails and swinging, severed body parts. It’s honestly sleep paralysis night terror fuel.
Overall, I think this is a really strong and enjoyable anthology, with great variation, and I’d recommend it to general horror fans. If you’d like to get a copy or check out the press, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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