Twenty Twenty: A Horror Celebration of the Roaring Twenties (BHP Writers' Group Special Edition, #3) by Ben Thomas

Twenty Twenty: A Horror Celebration of the Roaring Twenties (BHP Writers' Group Special Edition, #3) Reviews

• 
  K.B.

  Up-front disclaimer: I am one of the contributing authors to Twenty Twenty and have a vested interest in promoting it...but also want to be honest so my reviews are taken seriously and will hopefully help readers make an informed decision.
  
  Twenty Twenty is a delightful collection of dark tales about the 1920s, mostly centred on themes of speakeasies, mobsters and vampires, but with some refreshingly different stories crammed between its pages.
  
  A few spelling mistakes and grammatical issues snuck their way through the editing process, which was unfortunate, and the beautiful designs on each page unluckily intersected with the text (I was reading the paperback version), but overall the book is beautiful quality, with a soft cover and heaven-like pages. Seriously, feel them. Any other book will feel like sandpaper afterwards.
  
  There are some excellent tales in there, from the drabbles to the short stories, each author capturing the feel and fear of the '20s in works which will chill you to the bone. So if you feel like delving into tales of speakeasy massacres, literal bathtub gin, the secrets of Tutankhamun's tomb or flapper femme fatales, look no further!
  
  Some personal shout-outs to the stories I enjoyed the most:
  -Clean Sneak by Matthew A. Clarke, for instantly transporting me to the 1920s with his atmospheric piece. The lingo, the descriptions...it was all very well done!
  -The Week of Black Thursday by N. M. Brown, for feeling a little too real, even 100 years later...
  -The Guns Still Sound by Will Christian, for building so much background and a shocking twist in only 100 words.
  -Straight to the Bone by Gabriel Hart, for standing out among the crowd with something a bit different.
  -The Surrealist Painting by Michael Kellichner, for a story I thoroughly enjoyed and found myself hooked by.
  
  And my overall favourite was A Flood Bigger Than the Ritz by Jack Lothian: a well-rounded and well-written story that was engaging and suspenseful and bore a great ending: tied off, but not finished.
  
  Kudos to all authors: Twenty Twenty is well worth a read!
• 
  L.T.

  There are more than 60 short and flash stories in this book and I was surprised that I enjoyed each of them. Some more than others, but there wasn't one that left me bored or annoyed. In a short story collection, that's a hard task to pull off.
  
  Where this book stands out is that there is a huge variety to the stories. All are set in the 1920's, but it was a decade with many historical moments as well as flavors to life. Flappers, mobsters, Prohibition, King Tutankhamen's tomb, the stock market crash, poverty, wealth. Name it and there was a story about it.
  
  Adding to the 1920's theme of the collection is the horror element. Vampires, mummies, gangsters, aliens, psychological thrills. They're all there. Whatever leaves you unsettled, you'll find at least one, if not many, stories in this book to satisfy your craving.
  
  I would note which stories stood out to me, but it's a completely subjective opinion. What's not is that all of the stories are well-written and interesting. There's a wonderful diversity and I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Jerry

  Very cool book.