Quietus 13 (Pandemic, #2) by Ben Thomas

Quietus 13 (Pandemic, #2) Reviews

• 
  McKenzie Richardson

  For more reviews, check out my blog:
  Craft-Cycle
  
  A fascinating collection that asks how the world of fantasy creatures is doing during the current pandemic. From vampires seeking creative solutions to finding their next meal to ghosts that need a break from their humans during lockdown, these stories explore how the speculative fiction world is dealing with current conditions, each in only 100 words.
  
  This collection features my stories, “A New Reign”, “A Spring Meal”, “The Change”, “The Ghost That Pushes You Down”, and “The Service and Care of Humans”.
  
  This book is filled with interesting tales. Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.
  "Shoreline" by
  G. Allen Wilbanks
  "Helloflesh" by
  Nicole Little
  "A Trick Too Far" by
  David Green
  "Blessed Be" by
  Raven Corinn Carluk
  
  I also really enjoyed
  Nicola Currie's humorous tale, "Hoard", and
  Zoey Xolton's linked stories, "The Quiet", "The Pale Horsemen", "The Seven", "The Chaos," and "The Infernal Kingdom".
• 
  K.B.

  Up-front disclaimer: I am one of the contributing authors to Quietus 13.
  
  Quietus 13 was a fun one-sitting read that I hesitate to call "pleasant" because frankly, the drabbles within its pages are terrifying. From zombies to wendigo, gods to demons, Quietus13 tells of how the supernatural world is faring during the harried times of COVID (spoiler: generally much better than us humans).
  
  The predictions aren't good. The rise of ancient beings, the extinction of humanity, the pleas for help falling on witches' deaf ears. But hey - at least we're making vampires' lives that bit harder by not letting anyone into our homes, right?
  
  While the book has a dark tone, there are several hilarious moments - the mummy running away from the toilet roll hunters, the serial killer quarantine love, and the superhero with the isolation munchies.
  
  In order of appearance, my top five favourites are:
  -Hoard by Nicola Currie, for what I can genuinely say was my favourite drabble of all. It stuck with me throughout the book, and had me in stitches. Simple idea, but effective impact, and beautiful writing - "...spilling away into disparate infinites...
  -Leftovers by Dean Kershaw, for making me realise that I'm not as effed up as I thought I was, because it took me two read-throughs to get it. Blegh! I loved the circular nature of the tale.
  -It Must Be by J. M. Ames, for doing what I've wanted to do for ages, and go full meta! I'm not going to spoil it for you...go read it! Now!
  -The First Zombie by Hari Navarro, for a beautifully chilling tale. It was nicely written, with so much content crammed into its 100 words. "...drowning in cold, floundering, fingers numb..."
  -Captain Armchair by Nicole Little, for a light-hearted little piece that I didn't see coming. A great mini story!