Two Fisted Tweets - Twitter Fiction James Hutchings

     I had heard of tweet length fiction before, and actually had tried poorly to write some of my own.  This was an interesting exploration of some better examples of the "genre".  Its not all with dark undertones but some of them definitely are so I don't feel like it doesn't belong here.  Each of the 30 stories contains enough information to provide a story setting and some sort of conflict.  It is definitely amazing what can be done in such a short amount of space, I must admit I am a fan of this style of microfiction and that James Hutchings did a solid job of writing it.  4/5 because some of them are weaker than others, but in terms of the limited space a few of the individual entries would be worthy of top marks.  Recommended to anyone with at least 2 minutes to kill and an open mind.

The Gentleman with the Lamp - Andrew Grillet Short Story

     So one day I came across this being free on amazon and decided to pick it up because I've been in a short story mood for a while now.  It is written in the same way as an old fashioned ghost story and is just short enough to give it that same feeling where not a whole lot of questions are answered.  I read it in about 10 minutes but I must say that those were pretty enjoyable times because the author did a good job of describing the setting and the scenery which is where it really excelled.  The descriptions of the characters were short but still gave enough information to make it functional.  The ghost part was pretty generic as was the ending however and I understand that it might be generic because people know that's a good way to do a story but I would be looking for something a little more innovative.  I will give it credit for leaving a bit of questioning for the reader as well in the way that those old classic stories often would.  I would give it a 3.5/5 considering the above points, but because the time investment is so minimal to read it I'd recommend it to almost anyone who wants a little bit of spookiness. 

Gore Magazine Volume 4 Ultraviolence Edited by Matt Demers

    This one was available for free on amazon, and as a sucker for extreme horror I decided I would see how a magazine entirely based around the subject would turn out.  I didn't figure it'd be as disgusting as Genital Grinder, and as I'd read some Edward Lee in the past I'm ok with most anything else.  So here goes nothing.

Breaking Point - Astro Klutz
     This is probably one of the more enjoyable experiences with this kind of literature I've ever had.  Its short and to the point, and in the end manages to make you happy despite the horrific turn of events.  Sometimes there are really annoying people and sometimes you feel like taking out all your anger on them.  I really commend Astro Klutz on making such a taboo subject into a story where you were rooting for the outcome the whole time.  Easily 4.5/5 especially considering how short it was and how little room there was to add in a whole lot of information, I got everything I had to in the short period of reading it.

My Name is Dave and I am Dead - Matt Demers (The editor)
     Not really a gory story, but the editor did mention that fact in the introduction and as such I really wasn't too disappointed to find it.  As the title informs, its about a guy who is dead but still has the capability of speech, hence the telling you he's dead.  I enjoyed the interesting take on being a dead guy in the kind of world we live in.  Honestly it really hit a chord with me because I've felt kind of like the dead guy did even while I'm still being alive.  It had a pretty nice ending as long as the reader has empathy with the dead guy and honestly I found it pleasant and enjoyable.  4/5

Craigslist Cannibal - Matt Demers (yet again =P)
     An interesting story of how the ability to communicate with people all over the world so easily has changed a lot in the way things work.  Now you really can find someone wanting to do anything within a couple days.  I had been familiar with a real story somewhat similar to this one before reading it and was not disappointed.  I must say that it really wasn't that gory, but in a sense that almost made the story better because it had a lot more of the mental side of the situation.  I would definitely recommend this to basically anyone who's interested in weirder parts of the human psyche.  The ending brings the main arc of the story full circle and gives it a satisfying ending as well.  4/5

Designer Dentata - Sean Avery
     This was kind of a disappointment to be quite frank.  The characters were flighty and tacky and uninteresting except for the doctor, and the gore wasn't compelling enough to save it by that merit alone.  I suppose part of this came from the fact that the subject matter lent the characters to being unlikable, but they were just caricatures in the worst way.  I will give it 3/5 though because the main character had an interesting perspective in everything, and the ending made it definitely better as you start to realize that there is something else going on as well.

Saw Erotica - Luke Lafferty
     Kind of worried when starting this because it becomes clear that this is something that mainstream media does not want people to be able to read.  Then of course I realized that that wasn't really a deterrent cause it'd have to try awful hard to go too far for me.  So it was off to the reading.
     Ok that was a slightly unexpected story for such a name.  It really wasn't too disgusting or anything, and just entirely talking about the sexual side of things.  There were some kind of bizarre ritualistic mentions that weren't explained too well so the reader was left to wonder what caused the perpetrator to do what he was doing.  I guess I didn't really take too much out of this, once day one was over the rest of them seemed fairly formulaic.  It did have an ending with a bit of a twist which made it significantly better because when you're reading a short story that is where you can make the most impact.  I still give it a 3/5 because of the previous downfalls.  I'd be interested in whether someone who was unaccustomed to such stories would react however. 


Overall 3.7/5 and recommended to anyone who was possibly interested in pursuing extreme horror but not really ready to jump in head first.  The last story was the only one I could see being really disturbing to anybody. 

The Demon Version - Caleb Casey Short Story

     So I have decided as a part of this blog that I will also do some reviews for stories that were free on Amazon to give them recommendations such that people can check out the authors work and eventually work up to buying their other works.  This obviously is the first of said looks at a work and its at this short story by Caleb Casey, who via some exploration on amazon is revealed to have quite a number of stories on Amazon, so getting an idea of what his writing is like was pretty high on the list.
     As the story is such a quick read there isn't a whole lot of plot points, basically its an exploration of the effects of demonic possession set against the every day grind on a college campus.  I enjoyed the story because despite the coverage of heavy subjects such as possession it never lost the inherent humor that was still there.  The three main characters were identifiable and their friendship dynamic was the type that someone could legitimately see as being realistic.  The rest of the characters are relegated to bit parts basically as there isn't a whole lot of time to build them up but they are still given enough persona to keep the book moving alone. 
     I definitely enjoyed the author's writing style as well.  It wasn't bogged down by being overly wordy or anything, and flowed very well.  For such a short story you wouldn't expect it to take a long time to read regardless but I was done a lot faster than I expected because I still wanted to see the kinds of situations that would happen next.  In terms of the paranormal aspect I enjoyed the means of the possession and the way that it eventually was removed, it was a short part of the story that didn't really leave anything up for discussion.  Its nice when plot devices can be so simple that they are easily understood without spelling everything out.
     I would certainly recommend this story to anyone who is interested in getting their feet wet with a new author without spending a whole lot of money on it.  I am personally going to keep an eye out for any more of his stories that go on sale because I enjoyed this one quite a bit.  4.5/5

Mortician - Chainsaw Dismemberment - Theatrical Brutal Death/Grindcore

     Not going to do a song by song critique of this album because they have songs that are fairly formulaic.  Generally each of them begins with a clip of a fairly well known horror movie, though not all of them do.  That kind of sets the tone for the album as it's working to be like a horror movie.  After that it goes into fast playing with detuned buzzsaw guitars and ferocious rhythm sections.  The drumming can certainly hold its own as well.  The bass keeps up as well but is slightly overshadowed in the mix by the other instruments.  While most of it is at a relentless rate of speed there are also some very deliberate slower parts, such as the opening instrumentation on mauled beyond recognition.  The vocals are very low growls that are barely audible over the rest of the music.
     If you're looking for a very technically sound band, or one where there are a lot of variations throughout the music, this is not likely the one for you.  This recording is fairly old so the problems with the mixing might've been repaired by now so at least there's that.  What it does manage however to do is give you a really fun brutal death metal band.  With the horror intros and gore lyrics its very theatrical, and the guitars being downtuned past the point of no return in combination with vocals nearly outside the realm of human hearing only advances that point.  They are a fun band that has a cheesy focus and go all out towards creating their vision.  I personally am sometimes in a mood for something like that and will likely listen to this periodically.  I am also interested in looking into their newer recordings to see if some of the issues I had seen were dealt with.  However even looking at this project I will give it 3/5 because though it doesn't do much, its pretty good at what it tries to do.

Prowler in the Yard Inspired Flash Fiction Ideas

Prowler in the Yard Flash Fiction Prompts

Jennifer:  The exhibit sickened him to his very core, depraved acts of sadism frozen in time and space, on display for all to see.  Come see an extreme art presentation, the flier he had received under his door had said.  Internet reviews he had perused promised things that no one would imagine, a perspective from an artist with an eye for the obscure, and the obscene.  This on the other hand, this neither was art nor contained any comparable qualities to it, his nausea building as his eyes darted amongst the figures.  “This is sickening, this is pornography of the worst kind,” he complained to no one in particular as he began to turn away.  Out of the corner of his eye one of the figures in the display detached himself from the machine that was seen dismantling him piece by piece.  His skin hung in tatters off of the open wounds, but the stark conviction in his eyes revealed a determination that was disturbing to the onlookers.  “This is art,” he stated plainly, no sense of derision in his voice.  “This is what I and my companions volunteered to live, and to die for.”

Cheerleader Corpses:  “They’ll be back on their knees in no time,” Kyle joked as he saw two girls in cheerleader uniforms maneuvering in matching wheelchairs.  He had always held contempt for that particular vein of people, their wanton sexuality and his inability to achieve sexual relations with any of them creating a conflict of interest in his head most teens wouldn’t bother to deal with.  A pair of pops rang through the busy shopping mall as an armed gunman shot the two of them through the head.  Kyle scoffed, they’d never live to meet their depressing adulthood, and perhaps it was better that way.

Scatology Homework:  I love the color purple, not the movie but the actual color.  It’s the color of my room and all of my favorite clothing.  Whenever I visit a new place I attempt to gain a souvenir of purple to add to my collection.  I wrapped a purple scarf around my boyfriend’s neck.  I think I need a new one, he’s a wonderful shade of blue, but purple is what I really want.

Trojan Whore:  I empty the vessel into my bloodstream to feel the rush once more.  The drug hits my bloodstream and reignites my fire.  And yet I feel the unseen soldiers rush towards my vital organs once again.  It’s difficult to knock the comparison, it’s the horse to my Troy, and one day it’ll be my undoing.

Ghost of a Bullet:  Angel wings sprouted from my shoulders as I looked on in amazement.  Beautiful in design with pure white feathers and strong musculature underneath there was no doubt I could fly away right then.  No question I’d be able to lift off and leave this situation behind.  I almost forgot the bullet lodged in my heart, the quick countdown to my death.

Heart and crossbones:  I always liken chlorine and acid together in my mind.  Both take dirty things and make them clean and spotless again.  I asked my girlfriend if she’d like to go swimming.  She got the acid and I got the chlorine.  I can’t wait to see how clean we both are together.

Strangled with a Halo:  Religious practitioners continue on attempting to find some purpose, some role they can play in the grand design of their particular God.  To receive eternal blessings they burn their life savings on forgiveness.  Who could know their savior is busy elsewhere and not listening.  The fish tank has been left behind and the filter is broken, it’s only a matter of time before we all suffocate in the dirty water.  Keep praying father.

Intimate Slavery:  He had grown up bad, in a terrible neighborhood marred by violence and drugs, and in a family suffering tragedy on a nearly regular basis.  His father had once told him that he would tell him everything he knew, unfortunately that was exactly the case.  25 to life doesn’t sound as scary when you’re 18 and invincible.  Where did he get the idea to do that to that poor girl?

Mapplethorpe Grey:  Everything in the name of progress.  They don’t feel, they don’t see, they don’t talk, or listen, the subjects are cattle, they are fodder, and they are nothing.  Emotions are unnecessary when all you have is to eat, sleep, and fuck.   Taking the choices away sure limits the coordination headaches.  I just hope they learn to go fat and complacent… and tasty.

Evacuating Heaven:  The revolution was never going to be televised, it was explained away, it was nothing.  The rolling black outs came as a surprise to no one.  Even in a world with no light the blind were subservient.  The meek never inherited the earth, they remained unnecessary bothers. 

Tickets to the Car Crash:  The car was going too fast, just the way she liked it.  Wind whipping through her golden locks and blowing her dress askew to reveal just one perfectly shaped shoulder.  She expertly guided the vehicle through the numerous twists and turns, knowing full well who was watching.  Her laptop with webcam set up to display the journey and she the actress of all the viewers dreams.  She never saw the 18 wheeler until it was too late, her perfect body exploding into the firestorm with the rest of the crash.  Ratings skyrocketed, trauma is sexy.

1 Shot 100 Word Micro Fiction Inspired by In Flames

                Werewolves had long since been a fixture in the local lore and legend, even to the point at which the mayor had hired the cleverest scientific minds to create a moonshield over their entire shire.  “It’s working just fine,” the young scientist said as he transformed before the mayor’s eyes.

                The rhythmic movements were unlike any previously seen in all the lands of his empire.  He knew that the jester was just a man in a mask, but during the dance he was much more.  He was so distracted; he didn’t notice the knife’s blade plunge into his chest.

                The floods came without any notice, water black as pitch raining from the heavens onto the sleeping figure of Earth below.  Its imperfections giving it preservative qualities as eventually it filled everything freezing them in twisted faces of death.  Perverse artifacts left for extraterrestrial perusal, everlasting in their looks of agony.

                The plague struck overnight, in the morning hundreds lay dead where they’d been sleeping.   She knew she was the last remaining survivor, a tremendous sense of dread washed over her consciousness as she began coughing up blood.  In the distance the last remaining flower of December started wilting and dying.