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jdhacker's review
4.0
A solid follow-up to his first collection, Mer Whinery again delivers a set of tales infused with the unique socio-cultural blend of the Little Dixie region of Oklahoma. And if we're talking horror, where better to set a story than the state that ranks #1 in despair (I'm not joking, look it up)?
Several of these stories feel like a bit of a departure from Mer Whinery's typical fare, though are no less satisfying. It feels as though the editor may have intentionally chosen them for this reason. To show more range as the author dabbles in variery of genres and styles, while keeping one foot firmly planted in the (perhaps worm-riden) soil of horror.
The opening story "The Loved Ones" (no relation to the delightfully disturbing film of the same name), would be equally at home in a collection of post-apocalyptic science fiction as it is here alongside bleak horror. Lovers of cats will surely enjoy "The 10th Life", and again, it feels as if this could have easily been included in a collection of darker fantasy stories. The author outright tells us that "Hungry Boy" is meant to be his take on "Twilight", and as true as that feels reading this, perhaps his is what that YA fiction *should* have read like. "The Projectionist" gives us a great tale set in an icon for horror fans and dying small towns alike, the independent movie theatre. Just read it, there's a lot to love there, both familiar and new. For fans of true crime, and natives of Oklahoma, the infamous girl scout murders near Locust Grove get a fabulous black magic treatment in "The Little Red Tent at the Edge of the Woods". And I will leave the keystone piece, "Momento Mori" to the reader to discover, though like many of Mer's stories it seems to have a distincly personal touch connected to his own childhood memories, making it all the more disturbing.
Several of these stories feel like a bit of a departure from Mer Whinery's typical fare, though are no less satisfying. It feels as though the editor may have intentionally chosen them for this reason. To show more range as the author dabbles in variery of genres and styles, while keeping one foot firmly planted in the (perhaps worm-riden) soil of horror.
The opening story "The Loved Ones" (no relation to the delightfully disturbing film of the same name), would be equally at home in a collection of post-apocalyptic science fiction as it is here alongside bleak horror. Lovers of cats will surely enjoy "The 10th Life", and again, it feels as if this could have easily been included in a collection of darker fantasy stories. The author outright tells us that "Hungry Boy" is meant to be his take on "Twilight", and as true as that feels reading this, perhaps his is what that YA fiction *should* have read like. "The Projectionist" gives us a great tale set in an icon for horror fans and dying small towns alike, the independent movie theatre. Just read it, there's a lot to love there, both familiar and new. For fans of true crime, and natives of Oklahoma, the infamous girl scout murders near Locust Grove get a fabulous black magic treatment in "The Little Red Tent at the Edge of the Woods". And I will leave the keystone piece, "Momento Mori" to the reader to discover, though like many of Mer's stories it seems to have a distincly personal touch connected to his own childhood memories, making it all the more disturbing.
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