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Disasterpieces by Wile E. Young, Wesley Southard

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ericarobyn's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Disasterpieces is a novella that houses two dark and horrific tales from Wesley Southard and Wile E. Young that will have you holding your breath, nervous to see what will come next.

When I first heard that these two were partnering up for this book, I absolutely could not wait to get my hands on a copy! When my order from Wesley’s online bookshop arrived, I started reading the very next day, not looking up once I had begun until I had devoured the book.

Here are my thoughts on each tale!

Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Wesley Southard –

While working in a tall office building, something happens. What was once a nice day has turned into a fight for survival after an explosion occurs, leaving most dead. One survivor, Miguel, is injured, but determined to get out of the building. Along the way, he tries to save any other survivors he comes across.

Set up in a storyline that jumped between the present and his past friendship with a man named Rocky, we really learn who these two are before the big ending.

I absolutely loved Miguel. His sheer determination to help people was certainly something I can relate to. I could also relate to his struggle of letting go of a bad friend. He is clearly a people pleaser. How unafraid he was to stand up and call out hate was admirable. We need more people standing up like that.

But ugh, the reveal of this one made me instantly nauseous. Wesley did a perfect job showing the totally deluded line of thinking and how close-minded people like this are. It’s terrifying!

There’s truly nothing worse than people who only see things from their point of view, absolutely refusing to even try to understand anything from someone else’s perspective.

Rivers Of Mercy by Wile E. Young –

Heading out on a three-day river trip, this grieving woman wishes the time will fly by.

Before even getting into their canoes, there are little glimpses of tension that hint that not everyone wants to be on this trip. Later on, we learn that the women would prefer to take an actual vacation rather than do this annual camping trip. But little do they know, the men have a very different plan this time around.

My gosh! I was already super irked by these men when they kept doing little disrespectful things like splashing the wives or making little jabs at them. When the action starts, I hated them even more with each turn of the page!

That scene in the abandoned cabin… absolutely terrifying.

My Favorite Passages from Disasterpieces –

A severed leg stood up against the wall, as if the owner had left it and hopped away.
— Wesley Southard

Dark blood stained the carpet, gushing out of him rapidly. What bothered Miguel the most was seeing the man’s lower half… which was sitting a few inches away from his upper half.
— Wesley Southard

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, like every bit of reason these two had between them had dried off with their swim trunks.
— Wile E. Young

My reflection stared back at me from the dark water and I didn’t recognize the dirty and dripping thing with empty eyes staring back at me. For all I knew, this was my soul, truly reflected and bared, released into the world, and it wondered how many other dead things were swimming beneath the keel of our canoe.
— Wile E. Young

My Final Thoughts on Disasterpieces –

Covering the horrors of mankind, both of these stories were pure nightmare fuel!

Horror fans, you gotta pick this one up. Just make sure you’re in an okay place mentally before diving in as these authors take us to very dark places. Enjoy!

Content Warnings

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