| Title | : | Forbidden Magic: The Cellar Door Issue #2 (The Cellar Door Anthology Series) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 170 |
| Publication | : | Published April 4, 2023 |
With stories by: Patrick Barb, Michael Harris Cohen, Serena Jayne, Ryan Marie Ketterer, Gwendolyn Kiste, Lynne M. MacLean, Ville Meriläinen, Scotty Milder, Jaye Nasir, and Michelle Tang. Compiled and edited by Aric Sundquist. Cover artwork by Mikio Murakami.
Embrace the dark, and join the coven...
Forbidden Magic: The Cellar Door Issue #2 (The Cellar Door Anthology Series) Reviews
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This collection was AMAZING. Every single story hit hard. Loved them all. Please check this book out. It's a fast read and one you won't be able to put down. My favorites were Born in a Tomb and My Church is Black. Though I could go into detail on what is great with every story here.
CONCLUSION: FIVE STARS - All around another entertaining and scary anthology from Dark Peninsula Press. Highly recommend! -
An exciting, wildly divergent group of stories - from the deliciously vile and hilarious (Serena Jayne’s “On Pins and Needles”) to the bitterly elegiac (Michael Harris Cohen’s “The Glory of Our Flesh”) to the twisty crime thriller (Michelle Tang’s “Hex and Sandy”) to the all-out dread-inducing (Scotty Milder’s “The Black Church”), there’s something here for fans of dark fantasy, witchcraft, medieval horror, and all points in between. Couldn’t remotely point to a favorite story as that’d be comparing apples to oranges to black daggers to practical magic to hexes and curses!
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“We were just two strange girls, pretending to believe in witchcraft. Until the day came, and the witchcraft believed in us.”
These ten tales take on different aspects of forbidden magic.
HEAR, HEARTH, HEARTBEAT by feature author Gwendolyn Kiste
A class reunion and a secret spell bring former friends together. The poisonous setting adds to the tension as Ella finds herself back at the town she tried to forget.
ALL THE OTHER TOYS FACED THE WALLS by Patrick Barb
Lyra’s freaky phobia about her toys looking at her kicks off this disturbing story. I dug Barb’s unexpected choice of point of view character.
FIRE DANCE by Lynne M. MacLean
In the process of helping a pair of girls with the ingredients for a specific spell, she gains a new perspective on her relationship with an elemental.
LOVE POTION by Jaye Nasir
A woman discovers the true source of her feelings for her live in boyfriend. The addictive quality of the love potion and protagonist’s sleuthing made the story a home run for me.
ON PINS AND NEEDLES by Serena Jayne
In the cut throat world of office politics, a cube dweller turns to her last resort—black magic.
BORN IN A TOMB by Ville Meriläinen
Gravetender Mendahl’s special relationship with the deceased allows him to grant second chances at life. But such magic requires sacrifice.
BUNA’S PATTERN by Ryan Marie Ketterer
A folk tale provides the basis for this Easter horror story.
HEX AND SANDY by Michelle Tang
Demi gets the opportunity to help the lover who betrayed her. The backstory of Sandy and Demi’s relationship is revealed brilliantly.
THE GLORY OF OUR FLESH by Michael Harris Cohen
A group of women executed for witchcraft haunt a cemetery until a tour group offers a magical hope for a new kind of life.
MY CHURCH IS BLACK by Scotty Milder
A seance in an abandoned church taps into an ancient source of knowledge.
FORBIDDEN MAGIC is a fun and spooky read. -
The Cellar Door: A Themed Anthology Series Issue #2 Forbidden Magic was another amazing anthology! I really can’t believe how well the stories were picked out. Each fit the theme perfectly. The creepy “forbidden” witch-like theme, the title, and the cover, which is beautiful, was all pieced together so well.
This book had such a great selection. So many stories were immersive, to where I swear, I had my nose in the book a few times. Everything was edited nicely with terrific prose. The ending for each story was perfect. I was pleasantly surprised with everything.
A few things that the stories did for me:
A few tied things up nicely but still found a way to make the story linger.
One gave a really cool perspective from a toys point of view.
Each took me straight into another world and basically drowned me in it.
My favorite story was “Love Potion” by Jaye Nasir. I felt all the feelings and all the struggles. It was very real with very high stakes, also very relatable. -
Forbidden Magic: The Cellar Door Issue #2 is a collection of captivating tales of magic that ranges from fun magic to some very real-world terror where magic is involved.
I had such a blast with this collection! There is such a fun variety here. With each one, I couldn’t wait to see how strong the magical elements would be and what the overall topic would be.
Fantasy and horror fans, this collection is definitely one you're going to want to pick up! This one gave me a wicked book hankering. All I'm craving is more stories with magic now!
Check out my full review here:
https://www.ericarobynreads.com/forbi... -
I had thought the first issue in The Cellar Door series was my favorite release by Dark Peninsula Press thus far but “Forbidden Magic” is now in the number one spot for me. When I first saw they were going with a witchy/magic theme, I was pumped and this did not let me down. I was very happy with the collection of stories they went with.
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A great collection of stories. I love the cover art too!
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Dark Peninsula Press is known for its anthologies. Their first Cellar Door book deals with woodland stories; the second book in the series, Forbidden Magic, involves—well, you can figure it out. A collection of eleven shorts, it includes stories by both Partrick Barb and Gwendolyn Kiste. But there’s plenty of other standouts serving up some of the creepiest stuff I’ve read in a while.
No surprise: Barb and Kiste both offer fantastic tales. Both are quick, tight-plotted gems with imaginative concepts. Barb’s “All the Other Toys Faced the Wall” slowly grows to a sick, cankerous horror that leaves the reader gobsmacked—this anthology’s worth the cover price for that and Kiste’s “Hear, Hearth, Heartbeat” alone.
But you’re getting more than that. Forbidden Magic also serves up some especially delicious talent from Lynne M. MacLean (“Fire Dance”), Jaye Nasir (“Love Potion”), Ryan Marie Ketterer (“Buna’s Pattern”) and oh Jesus Christ, Ville Meriläinen (“Born in a Tomb” packs a stellar slow burn you won’t soon forget). Like any good anthology, this one offers something for everyone’s tastes: some of the stories weren’t my jam, but they will be yours (they’re well-written; I just didn’t vibe with them).
This little gem of an anthology slings some serious dread. It deserves a slot in your endless TBR: you’ll enjoy it. Editor Aric Sundquist did a great job with these selections; pick one up from Dark Peninsula Press.
