| Title | : | There Are Worse Things |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 23 |
| Publication | : | Published August 13, 2023 |
There Are Worse Things Reviews
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I just got this book in the mail. I was just going to peek inside, but I started readingโฆand I had to finish it. Music, cassettes, mix-tapes, and horror๐ค
It was nostalgia that got me reading in the beginning and curiosity that compelled me to finish. Michael must have put some kind of backwards message in this story because I was completely possessed by this little tale. I wonโt give anything away but I could just picture the entire thing. At times it was humorous, and other times it was gruesome. One things for sure, I want to rewind and play it again. -
Goodwin is just phenomenal at creating these worlds of horror and There Are Worse Things is no exception. My only gripe with his writing specifically when Iโm reading his short stories is I always want more!! If you enjoy 80s horror youโll love this story.
The world youโre dragged into is horrific, brutal and nightmare inducing. I loved it. I really canโt praise Michael enough, if you havenโt read his stories or novellas you are truly missing out. The storyline here is classic 80s while simultaneously being fresh and imaginative. Satanic Panic with a twist. -
Michael is an auto-buy author for me and this one went straight to the top of my TBR. Loved the premise and I thought it was executed really wellโฆespecially the ending!
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This is a journey into sound...
There Are Worse Things is a story single. Michael R. Goodwin has released a few of these along with a few collections. Unlike his other story singles, this one intentionally leaves off a synopsis on the back cover (the cover image being altered with the title, "Monarch Mix Tape" and "master copy" written where the author's name would go). This vague and ambiguous approach adds to the overall allure and sets the tone for the story that follows.
At just 45 pages, there is quite a bit of story involved here. It's fast, mean and creepy.
In this account of analog agony, an unnamed narrator is thumbing meticulously through the cassette bin at a record store (Canal Street Music) while enduring the obnoxious antics of the clerk, who is really into Peter Frampton. Our protagonist carries on with his task: looking for cassettes without context. He is searching for tapes that are dubbed over, especially ones without any writing or indicators on the front. He finds three and goes to purchase them. The clerk hassles him about the tapes, but lets go of the argument quickly. Our protagonist leaves and heads home, not before giving the clerk a taste of his own medicine: he cranks a Mรถtley Crรผe tape up loud and drives past him, leaving a grimace on the clerk's face.
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Arriving home, he makes quick work of the ritual that is testing the tapes. He leaves a blanket over his stereo equipment to avoid dust, inspects the tapes to make sure the screws are tight in the shell and gives them a listen. The first two tapes are duds and he expects the same from the third tape, but is very wrong. The tape has audio of someone speaking backwards, which puts him in a bit of a trance as he clips out of reality.
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Soon, he is being dragged underground and arrives at a cavern (The Cellar) and comes across a box that turns out to be a coffin. A skeleton emerges from the box and takes a seat upon a throne. Lights spring to life as a legion of skeletons approach the center of the scene. They are all focused on a fire that burns in that spot. Our protagonist soon sees a man held in captive repose: the record store clerk. What follows is a tribunal leading to a ritual known as The Ripping. The pleas and anguished cries of the clerk fall upon deaf ears as he becomes aware of his fate. A skeleton, larger than any of the others, enters the cavern, proclaims itself as The Monarch, and claims its seat upon the throne. As the other skeletons bow in reverence, The Monarch allows the ceremony to begin: the horde begins to feast upon the clerk. He is now a bundle of bones that has become a new member of the horde.
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After they feed and return to their places, The Monarch turns his attention to our protagonist and brings him to the center of the festivities. The Monarch sits down again and he gives our guy an ultimatum: find souls to condemn and be consumed by the horde or face the same fate as the clerk and countless others. Before he can make a decision, he is hurled back into his room as if nothing happened. Will he doom mankind to a grisly end or become fodder for the horde?
The entire aesthetic, from the cover wrap to the time period the majority of the story takes place in, is Essentially '80s! Mixtapes are a mysterious and occasionally dangerous thing and this story proves such. The method in which the author uses to reveal the passage of time after the narrator comes back from the Cellar is pretty ingenious and lends itself to a bleak ending akin to Revival by Stephen King. The writing style is far beyond capable and Michael R. Goodwin is an adept storyteller. His work should not be missed.
I'm giving this story single a much-deserved โ ๏ธx5! -
80s Horror with a hellish dub. ๐ค๐ป
This is my first Michael R. Goodwin story and it did not disappoint. As a recommendation from another horror reader I raced to pay .99 cents for the ebook. Especially after reading the plot.
As a product of the 80s/90s and a fond recollection of recording mixtapes from the radio or copying from other friends cassettes this story rang as original and fun for me!
I donโt think this will be for everyone but anyone with an affinity for music, cassette tapes, and bite-sized horror should appreciate what this is.
Michael does a great job setting the stage for unimaginable horrors that spiral into a reveal that is pretty awful and horrifying to think about, it makes one think long after reading this story.
No matter how terrible things get, just rememberโฆ things could be worse. -
HUH?? this is completely my fault bc i didnโt read the blurb i just saw a cassette and said yup im reading this. BIG MISTAKE. i didnโt realise a character i briefly met would be ripped apart in a satanic ritual, gosh.
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โI want to hear music made by people learning how to make their soul sing. I want to hear the humanity that went into the music, not some garbage produced by the big corporate machine after they force their musicians to compromise their visions for the sake of profitability. I want to hear music that was made because it hurt the songwriter to keep the song within them.โ
โMusic without meaning is like an oasis without water.
I want to hear music that makes me feel something, even if what I felt was pain.โ -
Honestly I was confused a tad bit in the beginning. The spin of making a cassette tape scary was an interesting concept but I did feel like something was missing.
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5/5 - โI want to hear music that makes me feel something even if what I felt was pain.โ - epigraph
Immediately invested. Immediately knew I was getting a story that would make me feel something. I wasnโt wrong.
There is a reason Michael R Goodwin is one of my most favorite horror authors - traditionally published or indie - he writes story horror stories that are visceral and immediately consume the reader. This story is no different. From the world building, to the dialogue, to the plot, itโs all perfect in the most horrific kind of way.
MRG always leaves me wanting more of these slick short stories he writes. Not gonna lie I wanna know if our protagonist ever gets SUMMONED. -
I love books that make thrifting unnerving. Fast paced, quick read that will make you think twice about picking up a mystery item.
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What a awesome book,it's a short book but with a full story that grips you. And it's about music,makes reference to songs and bands,I loved that
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WOW!!
Mr. Goodwin never disappoints! This story is great! This is a must read for music lovers and those of us who like to discover new songs. -
๐Gloom Review๐
"The opportunity to experience something new in a world that had begun to feel like a broken record was a unique type of gratification."
This was a quick, fun, and wild ride! I've read numerous Michael R. Goodwin books, and haven't been let down yet.
This short story doesn't take any time before sinking its hooks of curiosity and mystery into your brain. It had the perfect amount of artistic prose, in-your-face gore, and quirky one-liners that I've come to expect every time I read a Goodwin tale. (There is also plenty of nostalgia for any 90's kids)
I read the print version. The design of this little book is ridiculously cool. I'm a sucker for small paperbacks that can easily slide into a back pocket for on-the-go sips of fiction. -
๐ถ Buddy Read time!
I read this today with my good friend Robb Basham.
โA man on the hunt for new, underground music finds an unlabeled cassette tape. Little does he know just how far underground listening to it will bring him.โ
This is only 52 pages and I love the cassette tape cover! Very well done!
๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ, ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐. ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐/๐ ๐๐ง ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ. ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐๐๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐. ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง. ๐ ๐๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ. ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง, ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ. -
Quite creepy considering that the novella takes place in the city of our latest mass murder event. The depravity of human kind knows no bounds.
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3.5โญ
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๐๐๐๐to There Are Worse by Michael Goodwin.
First off I love this cover! Itโs gotta be one of the best covers Iโve ever seen.
Michael Goodwin delivers a short twisted tale here. I loved the descriptions about loving music in this, especially for finding old cassette tapes.
Michael elegantly builds a world here and takes the reader through on unexpected paths. The ending itself was chiefโs kiss good and sharp and thought provoking. I wonโt say anymore because this is a short story and I wouldnโt want to ruin it for anyone.
