| Title | : | Other Voices, Other Tombs |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 343 |
| Publication | : | First published July 23, 2019 |
Other Voices, Other Tombs Reviews
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* The Second Hand - Kealan Patrick Burke: 4 ⭐️
* The Governess - Ania Ahlborn: 5 ⭐️
* Urban Moon - Mercedes M. Yardley: 5 ⭐️
* A Circle That Ever Returneth - Kevin Lucia: 3 ⭐️
* Bury Me In The Garden - Mike Duran: 3 ⭐️
* This is How It Goes - Gemma Files: 5 ⭐️
* Comfortable Gods - Michael Wehunt: 3 ⭐️
* Fly Away, Little Fledgling - Michelle Garza & Melissa Lason: 5 ⭐️
* Forget The Burning Isle - Michael Whitehouse: 4 ⭐️
* Three Lanes Deep - Gemma Amor: 5 ⭐️
* The Switch - Cameron Chaney: 4 ⭐️
* The Red Rose - Caytlyn Rose: 4 ⭐️
* Can We Keep Him? - C.W Briar: 3 ⭐️
* Alone In The Dark - J.D McGregor 5 ⭐️ -
what a great cover and clever title, i see what you did ;) i bought this book for that cover and Ania Ahlborn and Kealan Patrick Burke's stories. I'm glad i did because not only was their stories good but all of the stories were good. my favorites are-Bury me in the Garden by Mike Duran, Forget the Burning Isle by Michael Whitehouse and Can we keep him by C.W. Briar.
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3.5 Stars
This anthology had such an amazing lineup of horror authors including so many of my personal favourites, like Kealan Patrick Burke and Michael Wehunt, along with many renowned authors that I have been meaning to read for years.
Since there is no theme for this anthology, there was quite a range of stories within the collection that showcase different facets of horror. Naturally, as with every anthology, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Yet, there was not any noticeable weak stories in the collection. The stories all felt well written and well edited.
Anthologies are also the perfect way to sample new authors without committing to a full length novel. Personally, I found several new-to-me authors that I would love to read more from in the future.
My two favourites stories were:
The Governess by Ania Alhborn
As a new mother, with an infant son in the “SIDS danger zone”, I really related to anxieties of the mother in this story. My own video monitor has had similar “glitches” to the ones in the story, which was very unnerving. In my opinion, this was the creepiest story in the collection.
The Switch by Cameron Chaney
This is the horror version of The Parent Trap. I loved that premise and the actual story was so much fun. This one had a fantastic ending!
Other standout stories were:
Three Lanes Deep by Gemma Amor
The situation in this story made me feel so uncomfortable and claustrophobic. I love an author that can stress me out!
The Red Rose by Caytlyn Brooke
I adore stories involving body horror and this one had some wonderfully toe-curling descriptions.
I would highly recommend this collection to any horror reader. With so much variety, there is guaranteed to be something for every horror reader.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. -
Have you ever picked up a book expecting it to give you a good time, not much more, and then it proceeds to blow you out of the water and you're pretty much flabbergasted at the experience you just had?
This might be just highly personal, but this anthology was insanely good you guys. I've read quite a few horror anthologies and short story collections, been around the block, and especially with the Kindle Unlimited crowd, I know that there's good ones & bad ones & some just in between. But Other Voices, Other Tombs really surprised me with how much I was connected and glued to each story.
Here we have: a woman stuck an hour deep into traffic, an abandoned pool and some rebellious teens in 1989, a man struggling with the soul-sucking circle of unemployment, a new mother dealing with every anxiety that comes with. Each story was memorable and rooted in some kind of deep-seated fear that touched me personally.
And oh! What I love best about horror is all here! The pull to connect with the characters is here, and every author appearing in this has absolutely mastered the art of foreboding and suspense! The most delicious part of horror is the feeling right before the fright- the anticipation of fear. I love that these authors are all skilled enough to pull this off with each story.
I initially read this on Kindle Unlimited, but have just picked up a physical copy to hold & cherish. This is one to read, horror fans. Even if these stories don't hit you as personally as they did me, they're all well-crafted. There's no doubt you're in the hands of some very talented authors. -
Rounded up from 2.5 stars.
Unfortunately, this is an overall unimpressive anthology. The writers I already like (Kealan Patrick Burke and Michael Wehunt) I still like; the writers about whom I’m ambivalent (who shall remain nameless) didn’t have anything here that changed my opinion; and, for the most part, the writers I hadn’t read before didn’t show me anything to make me want to read more (two happy exceptions are Gemma Amor and C. W. Briar - I’ll definitely be looking for more by them).
Meh. -
It’s so difficult for me to rate and review anthologies because some stories are 5⭐️ amazing and some... aren’t or don’t click with me in particular.
I’m giving this collection a 3⭐️ rating on goodreads but there are a few stories in it that deserve all the stars.
The Second Hand by Kealan Patrick Burke is eerie and nostalgic. I’m a huge KPB fan and I think he’s the absolute master of horror short stories.
The Governess by Ania Ahlborn was SO spooky! Can you imagine some malevolent entity haunting your child?! 😱 The ending gave me goosebumps!
Urban Moon by Mercedes M Yardley perfectly captured the fear of trusting a stranger and provided a poignant insight into rape culture.
A Circle That Ever Returnith by Kevin Lucia spoke to me. I think it will touch any person who took a job just to get by and/or support their families. The use of second person narrative makes it even more powerful.
The above fantastic stories start this collection off with a 5⭐️ bang but from there I failed to connect with the following stories (hence the fewer stars for the collection overall). All this being said, I’m still totally recommending this book and I am totally going to read more from the four authors above. -
A mixed bag here with established authors and some who are new to me. It's not an exceptional collection but I did enjoy nearly half of the stories, so that's something. I could get overly critical, but what's the point? You'll know good writing when you see it. Go in with expectations lowered and you just might come at me, bro, with a rebuttal to my lack of enthusiasm for this book.
Let me end on a high note: Stories by Mercedes M Yardley ("Urban Moon") and JD McGregor ("Alone in the Dark") are standouts, along with spooky tales by Kealan Patrick Burke ("The Second Hand") and Mike Duran ("Bury Me in the Garden"). -
Spine-tingling collection of incredible stories by amazing authors! I loved this anthology, especially because each story had its own unique voice. All of them were so different and so creepy! My two favorites were Fly Away, Little Fledgling and The Governess! Fantastic writing that made me feel like I was seven years old jumping into bed to avoid the monsters salivating beneath!
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Some stories were excellent, some were just meh, and one was particularly terrible.
1 “The Second Hand” - Kealan Patrick Burke ⭐⭐⭐
Burke's writing is always captivating.
2 “The Governess” - Ania Ahlborn ⭐
Not that bad, but as an anti-natalist, I find it hard to care about babies.
3 “Urban Moon” - Mercedes Yardley ⭐
4 “A Circle That Ever Returneth” - Kevin Lucia ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Existentialism mixed with pessimism... A thought-provoking story. Loved it!!!
5 “Bury Me in the Garden” - Mike Duran ⭐⭐
6 “This is How it Goes” - Gemma Files ⭐⭐
7 “Comfortable Gods” - Michael Wehunt ⭐
8 “Fly away, little fledgling.”Michelle Garza & Melissa Lason ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The saddest story in this book and also my favorite!!! 💗 Hard to forget!!!
9 “Forget the Burning Isle” - Michael Whitehouse ⭐⭐⭐
Such an interesting story, but I feel it should have been a full length novel. I need answers!!!
10 “Three Lanes Deep” - Gemma Amor ⭐⭐
11 “The Switch” - Cameron Chaney ⭐⭐⭐
12 “The Red Rose” - Caytlyn Brooke ⭐
This story is the worst!!! It's not just bad, it's laughable. No medical knowledge whatsoever!!! People shouldn't be allowed to write about 💩 they know nothing about.
13 “Can We Keep Him?”C.W. Briar ⭐⭐
14 “Alone in the Dark” - J.D. McGregor ⭐
Also, STUNNING cover!!! The artist deserves a cookie!!! 💗 -
I’ll fully admit that I was drawn to this particular anthology because of the amazing cover art and Kealan Patrick Burke’s inclusion in it. And like most anthologies, there’s a lot of fluctuation in quality here. Let’s go through each story, shall we?
The second hand by Kealan Patrick Burke
This opener is the prototypical “one very very bad thing happened to me when I was younger” coming of age chiller involving the narrator and his friend going to an abandoned pool and making a horrifying discovery on a hot summer day. Burke is an old hat at these brief chillers, but the actual threat, once revealed feels weirdly toothless. Still, there’s some nice atmosphere and buildup to the climax, even if it does follow the coming of age horror story formula pretty closely.
“The Governess” by Ania Ahlborn
One of those stories that very much showcases how, when done right, common cliches and tropes can still be effective. Following a new mother and her rising paranoia surrounding her son, she buys a baby camera and starts seeing weird things in the night. It’s been done before, but is executed with skill, making it a fun, creepy story.
“Urban Moon” by Mercedes yardley
Bar none one of the worst published short stories I’ve ever read, and easily the low point of this whole anthology. It’s about a young woman who, one night at the club, is gang raped and the subsequent mental and public ramifications of that event. That’s definitely a scary premise based in a terrible reality, but none of it is presented as even slightly horrific. It’s told almost entirely through disconnected exposition, and what little dialogue there is is laughably bad (the line “you scratch your name into her beak with claws, with your fingernails, with screwdrivers” comes to mind). I truly don’t know what it’s doing in this collection because even ignoring the fact that it’s blatantly not a horror story (it very briefly dips it’s toes into magical realism at the very end) it is just not a good short story period. There have been great horror tales about this subject matter and this ain’t one of them. It reminded me of when I was a TA in a freshman writing class, and I do not mean that as a good thing.
“A circle that ever returneth “ by Kevin Lucia
Thankfully, the worst story in the collection is followed by this, one of its highlights. It’s a second person tale of a disgraced person who turns to a bottle and can redemption center as a means of paying the bills before finding better employment. Coworkers frequently pay visits to “personnel” and the You of the story struggles to remember them. A master class in uneasy, below the surface dread, this story starts as one thing and becomes something uniquely terrifying depending on your occupation. Plus, my hometown of Baldwinville New York gets a shout out which is always cool.
“Bury me in the garden” by mike Duran
Folk horror has to be done in a specific way to appeal to me personally, and this one, a story of a kid realizing his dad is involved in something nefarious, felt like it was merely going through the motions and as such I don’t have much to say about it beyond the fact that the flowery diction kind of annoyed me. I can see others enjoying it, but I just kind of shrugged at the end.
“This is how it goes” by Gemma files
This almost feels like a Junji Ito story. It’s an apocalyptic tale about something called the Split, a phenomenon where people produce an exact double of themselves and then the two versions try and kill one another. The structure and plot is basically apocalypse 101 but the sheer bizarre nature of the phenomena might be enough to make this one stand out.
“Comfortable gods” by Michael wehunt
Probably my favorite of the bunch, this is an opaque and challenging story of marital troubles boiling over into sheer cosmic dread on a vacation. It can be very tough to follow at times, but is filled with such bizarre images and weird scenes that it still manages to terrify. It feels like you’re losing your mind along with the protagonist, and is a shining example of how the written word can be used to be uniquely scary.
“Fly away, little fledgling” by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason
More depressing than anything else, this story of a hospice worker whose patient is seeing a coughing woman no one else does has a few moments of real dread but ultimately comes across as serviceable and not much else.
“Forget the burning isle” by Michael whitehouse
A zombie story without zombies, this is about a kid whose neighbors on an island start to burn up in the sun. They stay inside and soon the military comes in to clean up what’s left of the survivors. This one did nothing for me, and is entirely forgettable.
“Three lanes deep” by Gemma amor
A very strange story of twins stuck in seriously bad traffic, it’s tough to talk about without getting into spoilers. It’s a shockingly dense story in its second half, with several surprising twists that mostly go unexplained, and the ending is a serious case of shark jumping. It’s definitely memorable for its seemingly disconnected and odd twists, but I don’t know how well it works. Maybe I need to give it another go. Maybe I missed something.
“The switch” by Cameron Chaney
A strange, trashy story that feels like a 90s thriller, this is about two long lost twins reuniting at summer camp. They decide to switch places in order to get their families to let them stay together, and the second half descends pretty quickly into extreme bloodshed. Memorable for its sheer audacity
“The red rose” by Caytlyn Brooke
Like the previous story, this one gets points for its sheer gruesomeness and audacity. It’s about a very jealous girl named Ava who will go to extreme lengths to get what her best friend Charlotte has, including her beautiful face. It’s gory and has more than one plot hole but gets by because it’s going to stick with me for a while.
“Can we keep him?” By CW Briar
A sort of cautionary tale about listening to your parents and being a good kid, this story, which follows a girl who brings home a seemingly normal cat while she’s grounded, is overlong and leads absolutely nowhere even remotely interesting. Its my second least favorite in this collection behind “urban moon.”
“Alone in the dark” by JD Mcgregor
Thankfully, this final story ends the anthology on a high note. Like “the governess,” this is a prime example of taking what’s come before and executing it with skill, with it riffing on one of my favorite twilight zone episodes. It’s about a young woman who drunk drives through a very bad snow storm and winds up seeing a mysterious dark figure along the edges of her vision. I’ve driven through many similar late night snow storms, and this very effectively captures the extreme feelings of claustrophobia that come with those kinds of drives. It’s simple, but horror is often at its best when it’s simple, and here it’s a creepy, unnerving tale that serves as an effective closer to this anthology. -
individual stories were all in the “okay” to “good” spectrum but the collection as whole lacked identity. There was no common theme or content I can see in this collection, the stories are not even the same types of horror. I think this did a disservice to all the individual stories. Particularly Urban Moon which is a story of a graphic and realistic sexual assault. There is nothing inherently wrong with it and certainly I can see why it’d be classified horror (personally I wouldn’t read this story at all if I knew going into it but that’s another matter) but it’s particularly strange to see it sandwiched between stories of body horror or “Parent Trap but if the kids were, like, evil dude!”. It gives the impression the subject matter isn’t taken seriously through no fault of the author herself.
My favorites were This is How it Goes by Gemma Files and Three Lanes Deep by Gemma Amor though there were no real duds (besides the story that I mentioned above which I don’t think should be in this collection) but I also doub’t even my favorites among them will stay in my memory for long. -
3.5/5⭐
A couple of these were plain awful and some of them had some atrocious grammatical errors. On the other hand, most of them were incredibly groteque in the best horrific way. I cringed and even felt a little sick at times. For horror lovers, this is a positive comment. It's hard to find stories sometimes that truly horrify the reader. Each story clearly pinpointed specific fears that people have and took it to a very dark and far off place. It's hard to rate a book of short stories when they're all so different, but overall this was put together fairly well. -
Please read the kittens review on instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_BLYtPAa... -
The Second Hand - Kealan Patrick Burke 2.5
* The Governess - Ania Ahlborn: 5
* Urban Moon - Mercedes M. Yardley: 5
* A Circle That Ever Returneth - Kevin Lucia: 4
* Bury Me In The Garden - Mike Duran: 5
* This is How It Goes - Gemma Files: 5
* Comfortable Gods - Michael Wehunt: 4.5
* Fly Away, Little Fledgling - Michelle Garza & Melissa Lason: 5
* Forget The Burning Isle - Michael Whitehouse: 5
* Three Lanes Deep - Gemma Amor: 4
* The Switch - Cameron Chaney: 4.5
* The Red Rose - Caytlyn Rose: 4.5
* Can We Keep Him? - C.W Briar: 3.5
* Alone In The Dark - J.D McGregor 2 -
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
I rarely leave comments or reviews, but this anthology is by far one of the best I've ever read. If you enjoy short horror stories, this collection is a MUST READ.
I gave the book 4 stars only, because I never give anything a perfect score. In my book, 4 stars are as close to perfection as you can get.
**********READ THIS BOOK********** -
Thoroughly enjoyable anthology. This one is definitely quality over quantity and it doesn't disappoint. The stories here go from the ghastly ghosts to the esoteric existential dread. It might not be for everyone but if you like the bizarre and the creepy, it might be for you.
Favorite stories: The Governess, A Circle That Ever Returneth, and The Switch. -
Super solid horror anthology!! Some of these really had me spooked.
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At least one glaring error in each story save one. In an anthology collection I’m used to forgiving one or two but this was egregious, and that’s on top of the middling quality of the selections.
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These writers are all familiar to me. I've read their novels/short stories/novels & novellas & anthologies, individually and collaboratively. NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED! (Thanks from the horror reading horde for being a part of the forward movement of the horror genre.) I was ensconced in these tales from when I opened the book, which I didn't close until the last page was read and Amazon thoughtfully showed me MORE from these amazing authors. Thereafter, I spent the rest of the early, dark hours of the morning perusing TONS more material I WAS GOING TO READ! And attempting to stop thinking there was more to my bedroom than I knew..lol!
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When you pick this up, you read some of the best voices in horror today. These are stories that are genuinely creepy and unsettling, and stick with you longer after you put it down. As with Cemetery Gates Media's other collections, not a single tale should be skipped. If you're a horror fan, don't skip this one!
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You can find my full review (and others) at:
https://mediadrome.wordpress.com
My lowest rating for any of the stories in this book was 3/5, so...it's good! Every story was at the very least pretty good!
Overall, this is a really solid collection of stories. -
almost every story in this anthology was a winner. i found some great new authors and revisited old favorites. i can't ask for more from an anthology!
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Love little horror stories, some stick with you and some are just there to make you jump. A couple of the stories definitely got me thinking and had the creep factor.
