Confirmed Sightings: A Triple Cryptid Creature Feature by P.L. McMillan

Confirmed Sightings: A Triple Cryptid Creature Feature Reviews

• 
  Tabitha -

  Okay this? 🤌🤌🤌 Three novellas all woven together under one theme. They fit perfectly together, while keeping their own voices. And the third one? Bigfoot as a detective? Yeah. Yeeeeeeeah. Excellent. 🤣 This was so much fun!
• 
  Sherry Fundin

  I love that each novella started with a full page illustration and the cover, along with Mothman set the hook. This is a different, yet the same, Mothman I have come to know, except now he is hooking up with a human, going to outer space and being involved in a murder. If you have a love of creature features, supernatural creatures or Mothman, Confirmed Sightings would be a great addition to your reading list.
  
  A Piasa for Christmas by Bridget D Brave was a walk on the wild side. Mothman killed with impunity, bodies falling by the wayside. Kaycee was enthralled by him, but little did she know what his ultimate goal was. I almost laughed at the gruesomeness. What does that say about me? If you read it and can visualize as easily as I did, you will understand.
  
  eyeofmoth.exe by P L McMillan was my first trip to space with Mothman. P L McMillan kept me captivated with mystery and suspense. I loved the story…and the ending…so sad, yet appropriate. Could it have ended any other way?
  
  Once Upon A Time by Ryan Marie Ketterer is a murder mystery with so many creatures I couldn’t keep track of them all, and I couldn’t figure out who did what to who, until Ryan Marie Ketterer filled me in.
  
  I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Confirmed Sightings.
  
  
  
• 
  DA

  Such an unexpectedly awesome collection of cryptid stories. Each one takes the cryptid and tells a unique version of the creatures we all love.
  
  A Piasa For Christmas
  What started as a cute love story morphed into a harrowing tale of love gone wrong.
  
  eyeofmoth.exe
  Honestly I wasn't really into this story, but as the main character of Pharo grew I found myself desperate to know what was going to happen. The ending had me in tears.
  
  Once Upon a Time in Turu
  All the love for this one. It would have gotten five stars on it's own. A city full of cryptids? Fantastic! I need this to become a series!
• 
  Patrick Barb

  There’s no mystery when it comes to the writing prowess of the trio behind Confirmed Sightings, the evidence is out in the open. Brave, McMillan, and Ketterer combine their distinct, yet complementary talents, interests, and senses of humor for a cryptid collection that fans of horror genre mash-ups will want to hunt down.
• 
  Marina Garrido

  When I found out there was an anthology about cryptids written by three incredible horror authors, I knew I had to read it. On top of that, I discovered the stunning full-page illustrations inside (one for each story) and yall know by now how much I love that. The novellas were great reads: these authors have such distinct voices and styles that as you go from one story to another, it feels like jumping between different worlds. Being Brazilian, I’m only familiar with the more ‘mainstream’ cryptids and so this anthology also introduced me to a few creatures, especially Ketterer’s story, which made the reading experience that much more fun.
  
  A Piasa for Christmas by Bridget D. Brave - I thought it was a little ironic that my favorite story featured a cryptid that I’d actually never even heard of. I adore stories that are written in different formats and the second I saw this was structured as blog posts, it grabbed my heart. The beginning was laugh-out-loud funny, it had me giggling almost every paragraph and it lured me into a false sense of security. Now, I won’t tell you how or why in order to avoid spoilers, but this takes story takes a turn and it will take you for a ride. I was blown away by how subtle Brave was with the progression of this tale and it will certainly stay with me for a long time.
  
  EYEOFMOTH.EXE by P.L. McMillan - No one can write engaging science-fiction quite like P. L. does, it was hands down an incredible story (and this is coming from someone that’s not a huge scyfy fan). I LOVE Mothman with all my heart and was so excited to read a novella about them, what I was not expecting was for the said novella to take place in the future (and in space!!!). McMillan did a phenomenal job, she gave an unexpected spin to the Mothman lore we’re familiar with and her original characters have complex personalities and backstories. I held my breath almost the whole time I was reading this (Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit here), the tension was high and I couldn’t put it down until I was finished.
  
  Once Upon a Time in Turu. Ryan Marie Ketterer - I’m sorry, but if you think that a murder mystery that takes place in a city full of cryptids is not one of the coolest plots ever, then we cannot be friends. Ketterer blesses us with two compelling protagonists: Orli the Bigfoot and Malse the Jersey Devil. Together they’ll investigate a notorious Turu killer and as we join them for the ride, we’ll be introduced to the politics and social hierarchy of this cryptid city (I’ll not apologize for rhyming). It was incredible how many creatures were featured in this novella and I loved how the author explored the lores behind them while also making sure that those creatures are not just cardboard cutouts and have distinct personalities. This was highly entertaining and, as a bonus, I got to learn more about US cryptids that I didn’t even know existed.
• 
  Mother Suspiria

  The three novellas in CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS are a fun, varied assortment of creature features: a seriously creepy tale of a possessive Piasa, a sci-fi horror story with Mothman mayhem, and a cryptid crime caper. Monster fans, hunt it down.
• 
  Horror Reads

  This cryptid inspired trilogy of novellas are something you didn't know you wanted until you've read it!
  
  What a fantastic collection this is. All these novellas contain the Piasa as a linking factor yet all three are very different in style and tone.
  
  The first one was such a pleasure to read. It's about a girl who falls in love with a cryptid and details their various struggles between a human woman and an ancient, blood thirsty, unkillable beast. It's told with humor in some places and some very horrifying gruesome depictions in other places. I absolutely loved this novella!
  
  The second is an epic sci-fi adventure set in the far future and it involves the Mothman. This one is brutal as our human characters on a seemingly abandoned space station soon become hunted. As the bodies start piling up, it's a cat and mouse game with a literal Mothman as we begin to discover the deep secrets of how this came to be and what it means for humanity and the world as a whole. Frightening, gory, and fast paced, this novella will be a hit for those into dark science fiction/horror.
  
  The final story is a murder/mystery...but it's set in a town full of nothing but monsters and cryptids. A Bigfoot is the police woman, and we have mothmen, jackalopes, merwomen, aloots, and even a werewolf. And it's a damn good mystery, holding it's secrets until the end, but with the weirdness of having all the characters as various legendary creatures. This one was a lot of fun, kept me guessing, and if you've ever wondered what would happen in a fight between a Mothman and a jackalope, this one has you covered!
  
  I absolutely loved this trilogy and I highly recommend that you pre-order your copy. This review is voluntary. I received an ARC without consideration.
• 
  Syn

  This triple creature feature awaits you with weird and liminal stories ready to transport you to strange places. I loved all three stories, I do have a fascination with cryptids so I was easily drawn in. All three authors pen highly addictive writing that takes your mind on a interesting journey within the pages of this book.
  
  My favorite story was eyeofmoth.exe and if you know me, you may know that my favorite cryptid is Mothman. So this story may have had an unfair advantage. I really thought the emotional quality of it was fantastic, as well as the carnage, and all the messed up craziness of what happens when people view the program eyeofmoth.exe.
• 
  Brandy Brusseau

  Absolutely loved this fantastic collection. A trilogy of stories that have common factors but are different in style. I would definitely recommend pre-ordering your copy!
• 
  Emily

  I really enjoyed reading all three of these stories. When I read the synopsis of each story I was intrigued by all three, and they definitely didn’t disappoint. I’ve written down my thoughts about each story below:
  
  A Piasa for Christmas by Bridget D. Brave:
  I liked how the story was told through Kaycee’s blog posts. It really kept the story moving, and it was a great way to show the progression of Kaycee and Piasa’s relationship. I loved the ending; I wasn’t ever too sure on how this story was going to play out!
  
  eyeofmoth.exe by P.L. McMillan:
  Another great horror ScFi story by P.L. McMillan! I loved the mix of cryptids and space. I couldn’t imagine being trapped on a space station with a creature, and I felt the characters’ fear. I would love to see this story as a TV show and/or movie.
  
  Once Upon a Time in Turu by Ryan Marie Ketterer:
  This story would be great as a TV show and/or movie as well. I loved Policefoot Orli! This was a great murder mystery with some twists. I would definitely love to read more about Orli and her solving murders, and just more about the town of Turu. So many interesting characters.
  
  I’d recommend this to anyone interested in cryptids who also love a bit of horror.
  
  Thanks to Salt Heart Press and P.L. McMillan for the ARC copy.
• 
  Joey Powell

  Now this... THIS is something I wished I'd read much sooner. I didn't realize I was such a nerd for cryptids until I read this "triple creature feature."
  
  Speaking of the triple feature format, some might call this an anthology, but it's really a collection of three novelette-/novella-length pieces, all of which are entirely distinct, save for the running theme of cryptids. And these three authors clearly had an absolute BLAST putting this together. The love for cryptozoology is evident on every page (especially in "Once Upon a Time in Turu", where our lead detective can't stop running into cryptids).
  
  With "A Piasa for Christmas" by Bridget D. Brave Kaycee, we have a take on the Piasa, which I'd honestly not heard of until reading this book. I loved the format, as we basically have a Hallmark movie romance between a human and a transdimensional creature told in the style of blogposts. A quick turn near the middle goes to some very dark and disturbing territory in a way that really got under my skin.
  
  "eyeofmoth.exe" by P.L. McMillan is my favorite of the collection, but I'm also a sucker for all things space horror. I'd describe this story as Aliens meets Event Horizon, with all of the interesting themes that come with both of those films. Humans trying to contain power they don't understand, corporate greed, etc. This one has great characters, great turns, high emotional stakes, and some truly chiling scenes.
  
  "Once Upon a Time in Turu" by Ryan Marie Ketterer reads like what would happen if Raymond Chandler were dropped into a fantasy world full of cryptids. We follow our lead character "Policefoot" Orli (a Bigfoot--Get it?) as they investigate a murder in the town of Turu. This story is so much fun. It has all the noirish twists and turns you'd expect, but with the added twist of constantly name dropping cryptids. Seriously, every time the characters mentioned a "mothman fight" I giggled.
  
  Fantastic collection of stories-I can't imagine any genre lover not enjoying this.
• 
  Caleb Stephens

  Look, plain and simple, I just had a lot of fun reading this one.
  
  In A Piasa for Chrismas, Brave experiments with a fresh narrative style and a story you have to read to believe. This one had me cracking up...and hit me in the feels by the end. Oh, and Brave writes with a ton of voice that instantly pulled me in. This story was fantastic.
  
  EYEOFMOTH.EXE by P.L. McMillan brings the sci-fi, space-opera heat with plenty of gore and a few troubling questions about technical progress that, in many ways, mirrors the current discussions about the rising dangers of A.I. progress. Plus, you know, it's a cryptic story set in space. How can you beat that?
  
  Forget focusing on a single cryptid with Once Upon a Time in Turu. Ryan Marie Ketterer dumps you into a city full of them (Turu), primarily as seen through the eyes of her Bigfoot investigator, Orli, hot on the trail of a notorious Turu killer. This one was a blast, and I'd honestly love to read a full novel with these characters.
  
  In short, I say pick up a copy and enjoy the ride.
• 
  Jessica

  I'm not usually a fan of short stories. I feel like they don't have quite enough meat to sink my teeth into, to really become attached to the story or the characters. These three stories were are a definite exception.
  -The first story is about a vlogger/influencer and her relationship with a mythical being. At first I wasn't all that interested. I was previously not familiar with what a Piasa was and found the MC annoying and out of touch... Things definitely took a turn and got DARK. Nice. :)
  -Second story is Sci-Fi horror with one of my favorite (and underutilized!!) monsters of all time, a Mothman. In addition to having one of the best monsters, the story was really well written. I really enjoyed the story and the characters were enjoyable and believable.
  -Third story about a murder in a monster town. It was a fun read. I enjoyed the setting very much. I did find the writing not terribly great. The characters were very simple, very.
• 
  Horror DNA

  Cryptids hold a very special place in horror: mysterious creatures in the wild, by their very nature unknown. It seems inevitable so many horror writers are drawn to writing about them. In Confirmed Sightings: A Triple Cryptid Creature Feature, three writers bring their best to produce a trio of linked novellas united by a common theme.
  
  You can read
  Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by
  clicking here.
• 
  Sam Rebelein

  A love-blog about the Piasa, a cyborg mothman IN SPACE, and a Bigfoot/Jersey Devil duo solving a murder?? Yes please!
• 
  J.W. Donley

  RTC
• 
  melisbooked

  Such a fun, quick read! The imagination that went into these stories is incredible!
  4.5 ⭐
• 
  E.F.

  A delightful collection of novellas that imagine cryptids in three distinct genre habitats. Brave's brilliant tale twists the rom-com format into a nightmare vision that echoes the cycle of violence in abusive relationships, delivering an intensity that chilled me to the bone.
• 
  Just James Horror

  This Cryptid themed horror book was such a fun read. Each story took me on a completely different journey and had me checking the night skies for mothmen and jersey devils, and wondering if that noise outside my window could be a yeti or a Piasa. New fears were unlocked as I discovered new cryptids such as the giant ape bat the AHOOL! 
  
  One story had me on the case of a high profile murder alongside a YETI gumshoe; another had me running for my life on a ship full of crazed lunatics and cultist fervor in endless space; while the other kept me glued to socials to watch a trainwreck of a relationship come to it’s inevitable close.
  
  You can hear my full spoiler free review on Just James Horror Review Podcast NOW on Spotify, anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and youtube! Episode 19.