A review by readbydusk
The Passengers You Cannot See by The Behrg

4.0

The Passengers You Cannot See is a strong collection of short stories! The characters here don’t realise the weight of others that they carry, and in turn the devastation they leave behind. This is illuminated in the first story, Driven, and it’s a theme that flows throughout the book. Both One Star and Kill Your Darlings deal with the dark side of book publishing. Parenthood at its most devastating appears in Still Born, and a horrifying version is shown in the gory fest Reborn.

What sets this collection apart is the way it deals with mental illness as part of its stories. The horror of not knowing what’s real is evident in These Concrete Walls, Patterns and Happiness Is A Commodity. My favourite stories are Scabs, a beautiful love story set during a plague invasion and Amado, a straight up nasty creature horror.

I have to admit that I wouldn’t describe this book as entertaining, as the stories are really bleak and raw. This is purely my personal preference though. I do appreciate the Author’s Notes at the end, it’s always nice to get a look at the original ideas behind the stories.

CW: mental illness, suicide attempts, infant loss, graphic violence

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital review copy.