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A review by spooky_librarian
What Remains When The Stars Burn Out by P.L. McMillan
5.0
A strange apocalypse brought on by honey bees, the rapid spread of a cosmic cult, strange rashes as deadly as they are infectious. If you perked up at the mention of any of those things, that is just a small taste of what’s waiting for you inside P.L. McMillan’s sci-fi/cosmic horror short story collection WHAT REMAINS WHEN THE STARS BURN OUT.
I first fell in love with McMillan’s storytelling when I was introduced to her writing in HOWL Society’s horror anthology HOWLS FROM HELL. The way she builds worlds, develops characters, and harnesses reader interest in just a few pages of each short story are many reasons why I’ve become a fan of hers. You can bet I was over the moon when given this ARC by the author and, without even blinking, dove in eagerly.
Not only was I not disappointed, but by the first story's end--Sanatize, a very disturbing and somewhat triggering tale of infection that will leave you wanting to obsessively wash your hands-- I was equally horrified and enamored. In fact, I thought I could narrow down my favorites in this collection, but I ended up loving every single story! Each one is compelling and disturbing and filled to the brim with all the things I personally love about both sci-fi and cosmic horror!
Should you get your hands on this collection, prepare for worlds to fall and monsters to rise, for dangerous unknowns and the loss of time, space, and sanity, for grotesqueries that will make you squeamish. Prepare for a fantastic 257 pages of horror and wonder.
(Special thank you to P.L. McMillan and Salt Heart Press for this stellar review copy!)
I first fell in love with McMillan’s storytelling when I was introduced to her writing in HOWL Society’s horror anthology HOWLS FROM HELL. The way she builds worlds, develops characters, and harnesses reader interest in just a few pages of each short story are many reasons why I’ve become a fan of hers. You can bet I was over the moon when given this ARC by the author and, without even blinking, dove in eagerly.
Not only was I not disappointed, but by the first story's end--Sanatize, a very disturbing and somewhat triggering tale of infection that will leave you wanting to obsessively wash your hands-- I was equally horrified and enamored. In fact, I thought I could narrow down my favorites in this collection, but I ended up loving every single story! Each one is compelling and disturbing and filled to the brim with all the things I personally love about both sci-fi and cosmic horror!
Should you get your hands on this collection, prepare for worlds to fall and monsters to rise, for dangerous unknowns and the loss of time, space, and sanity, for grotesqueries that will make you squeamish. Prepare for a fantastic 257 pages of horror and wonder.
(Special thank you to P.L. McMillan and Salt Heart Press for this stellar review copy!)