| Title | : | Splinter and Other Stories |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 238 |
| Publication | : | Published May 31, 2020 |
Splinter and Other Stories Reviews
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Alex Wolfgang’s debut collection of horror shorts features ten tales of terror that focus on everyday people and the weird and larger than life situations they find themselves in.
In Splinter you will find stories of;
• A young insomniac who thinks he’s found relief in a revolutionary new clinic owned by a secretive doctor, finds that there is a terrible price to pay for his restful slumber.
• A teenage boy living in the woods with his family begins to question his memories as aspects of his life that were once kept secret begin to come to light.
• A down on his luck junkie is offered a second chance when he is offered a job at an exclusive hotel, where he soon finds that the clientele of this particular establishment are not your typical tourists.
• A devastated couple move to an isolated cabin in an attempt to escape their grief but find themselves the centre of a miraculous event with seemingly unexplainable origins.
• A planned burglary goes horribly wrong when a pair of wannabe thieves find more than they bargained for at a religious leader’s remote home.
From the books opening tale of a body horror romance to the closing story of a mind-bending cosmic hellscape, ‘Splinter’ is not a book content to serve up the predictable. Each story is distinct from what precedes it and the tones, subjects and themes of each tend to be unique to that story. It makes for an unpredictable and engrossing read and, despite the variety on offer, there isn’t a single story that stood out as a weaker link. Diversity is a great quality for a collection, but a diverse offering of stories that is also consistent is not an easy thing to pull off, but Wolfgang manages it in style.
Stories like ‘Travel Bug’ and ‘Splinter’ offer a fun but contained reading experience while others (‘Faces in the Darkness’ and ‘The Desolation Gardner’ to name but a few) hint at a wider unexplored world, one which we are just being granted a glimpse of, leaving much unsaid. My favourites tended to fall into the latter category. ‘Vegetation’ keeps the reader on their toes, presenting an idyllic and tranquil setting that soon turns surreal and nightmarish whereas ‘Rainfall’ is more downbeat and contemplative, focused on the characters even as incredible things are happening around them. Picking a favourite short is impossible when every single one resonated with me and while all ten offer a very different reading experience, each one is a potential favourite in its own way.
Alex Wolfgang is an undeniably talented writer and ‘Splinter’ evidences a strong and distinctive voice and style that is made all the more impressive for the fact that this is a debut collection. Every story is a stone-cold winner, many of which leave tantalising questions unanswered, giving them free rein in your head as you complicate the unsettling suggestions long after you’ve put the book down. -
Alex Wolfgang might be the next big writer to break into the horror market. If you choose to explore this impressive debut collection, you’ll bump into flawed amnesiacs despairing for candid truths. You’ll trip over cursed bodies bursting with insectoid manifestations. And you’ll slip on surfaces dripping with mucilaginous ooze. For all the complex horrors and doomed protagonists of these ten stories, Wolfgang relates his tales as matter-of-factly as Thomas Ligotti, yet he does so while presenting tangible human characters reminiscent of the works of Stephen King. And don’t be fooled by the few stories set in the mundane world—the weird and supernatural creep in with a subtlety almost unnoticed before delivering a punch to the gut that will leave you as damaged and disconcerted as the tortured characters in the stories themselves. The sooner you check out this collection, the harder you can brag to your friends. Years from now, you’ll be telling them about how you read Wolfgang’s debut before he started topping the bestseller lists. So what are you waiting for? Grab your first-edition copy of Splinter before the secret’s out.
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I took my time with this one as I often do with collections. I allowed each story to bounce around my tongue and teeth, savoring the flavor as long as I could. Wolfgang writes with a distinct clarity. Most of these stories’ narration come across as neutral and clinical which adds to the overall creepiness. He’s also very good at spritzing the reader with just enough oddity and clues to keep the mystery alive and the pages turning.
All ten stories were thoroughly enjoyable, but as with any collection, a few stood out for me more than the rest.
VEGETATION — I really enjoyed the grit of this story, the mystery. And how the ending gets flipped.
MANDIBLES — What the fudge! What a captivating story. Dripped with mystery until the last page. How disgusting, too. Haha!
SPLINTER — What a fun trip. I loved the POV of this story and the concept. It reminded me of a short by Brian Evenson but with much more detail and exploration.
THE OIL MADE FLESH — I read this story from start to finish this morning as my girlfriend still lay asleep in our hotel. I powered through it because I needed to know what was going on. Mystery, terror, horror, all wrapped up in a pretty package. What a great way to end his collection.
In addition, his inclusion of a “story notes” section at the end was a smart move. I’ve seen some collections include these but not many of them do. I think it offers a fun, small peek into the mind and ideas that came together to create the stories. I’m a sucker for behind-the-scenes features of my favorite movie, because I love seeing how they made it to the screen from the drawing board. More collections should do this.
Overall, SPLINTER AND OTHER STORIES is a force to be reckoned with. Alex Wolfgang is on his way up the horror fiction staircase and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next! If you’re on Kindle Unlimited, give this collection a shot. Why not? And even if you’re not, the Kindle edition is only $2.99 at the moment. Paperback is $10.99 and a steal I might add. I own both! -
When it comes to self-publishing, there’s always a voice in the back of our minds that’ll ask: are you sure? This is a voice, surprisingly, that both the reader and the author share. The reader holds their breath and dives in, hoping for an unknown talent—along with cultural currency to show to their friends. And the author? Well, the author hopes to not fuck it up.
Self-publishing can be controversial in the world of writing. Nay-sayers point to the lack of quality associated with the form, proponents point to the bucking of gatekeepers. But both sides can agree that self-publishing takes a lot of work.
Horror, it seems to me, could benefit more from self-publishing than others. There’s the long history of indie film in horror, so why can’t there also be a long history of indie books?
As a genre that’s become more and more self-consciously literary over the years, most horror has been relegated to the in-between world of lovingly dedicated small presses. But, in recent years, new voices have begun to emerge—unique voices—and they’re doing it through self-publishing.
Matthew M. Bartlett and J.R. Hamantaschen come to mind as two authors with at least one stellar self-published book. But there are more, because well—of course there are. Splinter and Other Stories by Alex Wolfgang represents a still relatively new phenomenon—the indie horror that can be taken seriously by the literarily self-conscious. It’s not written to market, it’s not meant to be devoured in a series of six. Instead, it mimes horror’s most lauded and personal format—the single-author short story collection—that also happens to be its least profitable. Wolfgang’s Splinter is a self-published book with ambitions toward a greater sphere. It also, mostly, meets those ambitions.
Wolfgang is a young author from Oklahoma influenced, according to his bio, by the likes of Thomas Ligotti, Stephen King, Brian Evenson, Laird Barron, and more. While these influences paint his fiction as seemingly weirder than it actually is, you can see the hands of these weird masters shaping his approach to prose and storytelling, even when his supernatural conceits are lifted straight from EC Comics. What I see most in Wolfgang’s fiction is an interest in people. Each story in this collection features people in unique circumstances, and it’s these circumstances that give each story its sense of life. Sometimes these people are world travelers, sometimes they’re insomniacs, and sometimes they’re self-replicating beings from outer space. The one constant is that they are depicted with care and a close empathetic eye.
Opening story “Travel Bug” tells a story that is almost too classic—a man has sex with a woman who is actually a monster—but does so with sharp, vivid language and ooey-gooey grossness at its climax. “The Dream Dealer” follows an insomniac who’s sleep-doctor has a rather strange solution to his ailment. And then stories like “Mandible” feature a surreal, grotesque, and dystopian vision of moving on up through the company ladder. These stories and more, form the backbone of what Splinter is, and while it doesn’t quite make good on its influences by finding the uncanny in its subjects, it is competently written and pretty damn fun.
While Splinter feels more influenced by weird, rather than being weird itself, the strangest stories were my favorites of the collection. “Vegetation” has a mid-story twist that had me scratching my head at the sheer ballsiness of his execution—a story of a family living off the land, until it’s not. When Wolfgang gets weird, bold, and crazy, his fiction better encompasses his stated influences. Another highlight of the collection is “God of the Complex,” which takes the reader on a journey through a dystopian apartment complex of locked doors and strange callings. In this story, Wolfgang flexes his penchant for absurdity and carnage, and it’s without a doubt one of the most successful stories in the collection.
The title story may be Wolfgang at his best though. “Splinter” is told from an alien perspective that begins to spread itself among members of a family. It’s one of the weirdest tales Wolfgang has to offer, and it accordingly works as a highlight. The idea at its core is very clever, and the ending feels both earned and revelatory. “Splinter” hints at unsettling consequences that spread far beyond its finale, an inevitability that most horror fans will relish.
Wolfgang’s collection has a number of highlights, but there are moments where the newness of the author is apparent, most notably in the concepts of his stories. Many of them follow along rote conceits that are the bread and butter of Tales From the Crypt and Goosebumps. The aforementioned hook-up gone wrong in “Travel Bug,” the evil sleep therapy of “The Dream Dealer,” the cult and narrator-ascendance of “The Desolation Garden.” There was a strong sense of deja vu reading some of these stories and I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that some of these tropes are so well-worn they’re hanging on by a thread.
It should also be mentioned that on the whole, many of the stories were too long. When dealing with tropes like these, punchier stories tend to do better. Here though, Wolfgang lives within his character’s lives, and at worst, ends up extending the experience to the point it borders on tedium. Which isn’t quite fair either, because Wolfgang’s character work and precise prose is one of Splinter’s best qualities, but it’s sometimes not enough to elevate stories with more well-trod tropes.
Still though, no story is outright bad. And the ones that suffer, really do so in comparison to the ones that are excellent. When Wolfgang finds his footing, he gets close to standing toe-to-toe with the best. And these stories, when they are good, are great. They’re also distinct from each other, empathetic, and show a sense of craft-appreciation from its author. Splinter and Other Stories is a young author’s swing for the fences, and while it may not leave the stadium, Wolfgang still can round the bases with the best of them. -
I'm not going to lie - I tend to avoid independently published fiction (whether out of negative experience or internalized snobbery, who can say?). Yet positive word of mouth for Alex Wolfgang's debut traveled quickly through my circles, and so I decided to give Splinter a chance; it paid dividends.
What stands out most in this collection of tales is the imagination at play here. Alex isn't afraid to get weird, and for those readers receptive to something a little new, a thrilling roller coaster ride awaits you. It's not that there are no unfamiliar tropes - evil scientists, parasites, and a heist gone wrong all await you in this book. But so too does the strangest hotel housekeeping in fiction, a lake that falls from the sky, and a title story about which the less that is said, the better. And all these beats anchored by heartbreak and characters you quickly grow to love.
Standout stories include "Vegetation" (the strongest tale in the collection), "Splinter" (again, shh), and "Rainfall," a very human meditation on the experience of grief. (I also have a soft spot for "The Desolation Gardener" - though I guessed where it was going, something about the lonely yearning contained within resonated strongly with me.) -
Alex Wolfgang knocked it out of the park with his first collection. He takes the brain of Lovecraft and adds his heart. Part Stephen King, part Clive Barker. From beginning to end, these stories thrilled, chilled, and killed, keeping me constantly guessing and turning each digital page with bated breath.
TRAVEL BUG hits you with a tonal change that knocks your socks off and made me audibly gasp.
MANDIBLES showed me the difference kindness makes to someone down on their luck, then almost made me barf.
RAINFALL is tender, mysterious, and all too relevant when you live in a Bible belt.
I can rave about every story in this collection, but SPLINTER itself takes the cake. It starts at a hundred and doesn't quit. Such an original concept, executed to perfection. How Wolfgang made me care about every single one of these characters (barring a certain therapist) is beyond me.
I'd recommend this collection to any fan of horror. -
Read the paperback. This was a phenomenal collection of horror stories, all completely unique and gripping. When I read collections of short stories, I often like to take my time - I'll read one at a time, and allow myself to think about and process each story. I did my best to do this with this collection, but it was very hard to put down at times - I always wanted to read just one more!
The beauty of each of these stories is that the reader never really gets the full story. When each one ends, I would sit and question so many aspects of the story, yet this never upset me like it has in the past. Just enough was explained to leave me satisfied. The lingering questions make for great discussion!
Some of the standouts for me, in order of appearance:
- The Dream Dealer
- Mandibles (seriously, Wolfgang, wtf??)
- The Desolation Gardner
- Faces in the Darkness
Highly recommend this collection to fans of horror/weird fiction. -
**Note: I was provided a copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.**
You can also read my review over at HorrorTree.com:
https://horrortree.com/epeolatry-book...
There’s nothing like reading a complete story in one sitting from start to end that leaves me feeling dread, disgust, shock, and/or amazement. And so, I think horror works best in short form, and I’ve had many agree.
Alex Wolfgang does a stupendous job delivering on all of these feelings throughout Splinter and Other Stories. Whether you’re looking for a gross out (‘Mandibles’), or a sci-fi thriller (‘God of the Complex’), or even something in the vein of Weird fiction (‘Vegetation’, ‘Splinter’, ‘Travel Bug’), it’s all here.
Based on the range of Alex’s freshman collection, I know he has an awesome career in horror ahead of him. I’ll purchase anything he puts out in the future. -
Splinter and other stories is one of those rare collections where there isn’t a weak link. Each one of the stories here is strong and offer up something different to the reader. As well as being filled with horrors, there is some sci-fi and, in my opinion, there are some moments which could be classed as bizarro.
First up is ‘Travel Bug’, which sets the tone nicely. There were a few moments were I loudly exclaimed ‘What?’ and ‘Ew!’, much to the amusement of my son. Sadly, I couldn’t tell him what it was that had made me react that way!
When I was reading reviews for Splinter, one story seemed to be standing out and getting more mentions.
That story is called ‘Mandibles’.
Yep. That stood out alright!
That has to be one of the weirdest slices of icky body horror that I’ve ever read. The imagery throughout this tale just gets more bizarre and gross. I absolutely loved it.
Like I said earlier, this book is without fillers. Each story had something that appealed to me, and I enjoyed each and every tale.
While it is a little hard to pick a favourite, I’m going to go with the title story.
Yep, ‘Splinter’ is one hell of a ride for sure. Absolutely brilliant.
Something else I really liked about this book was the inclusion of the Author’s notes on the stories. It was a nice little touch and something I’d like more writers to do.
No negative comments from me, this one hit the spot and ticked all the boxes.
Bravo, Mr. Wolfgang. -
I decided to read this collection after really enjoying Wolfgang's novelette "The Heads of Leviathan" in
Bloodlines: Four Tales of Familial Fear, and I'm glad I did. Much like his novelette, these are interesting, thoughtful stories that don't always hit the mark but are each enjoyable in their own way.
Wolfgang is very fond of introducing a narrative that is endowed, naturally, with a great deal of mystery. The strange, or the unexplainable, often makes an appearance early on, a little tease of what's to come. Fans of closure, or open-and-shut narratives will not find satisfaction with this collection: many of the stories feel as though they end before their time, or, when they do end, there's a general sense of the story slowly running out of steam before making a hasty exit.
Often, there's an implication of more to the narrative than what's been set up in the story. Some of the deaths, and some of the horror, feel unearned, and some of the protagonists do feel as though they're just stand-ins, largely without agency, to combat the creeping horror - which is by a large margin the centerpiece of each of these stories. These are not, generally speaking, stories about humans - they're stories about monsters who come into contact with humans.
However, the ideas, the concepts, are all mostly unique and fresh, and the writing is bold and assured. Wolfgang has a voice, and he has a twisted imagination, and he's not afraid to unleash it. If you're a fan of black, chitinous, squishy things with mandibles and compound eyes, you will find much to delight you in these pages.
Right out of the gate, "Travel Bug" sets up the collection with a specific tone. It's a wise choice to open with this, as it's indicative of Wolfgang's general style - a narrative is introduced, and a great deal of mystery has its answers slowly parceled out until we see the real story underneath. In this case, the central mystery is a mystery which haunts many of us: attraction. Why are we attracted to others? What set of criteria, spiritual, physiological, or otherwise, satisfies this primal need? The setup for this story is a meet-cute that rapidly turns into a meat-gross. This was a fairly straight-forward, unsurprising story, but even as I said "Yuck," I was kind of enjoying myself.
"The Dream Dealer" stuck with me for a few days afterwards, even if I'm not entirely sure what was going on in this story. It was a bit longer than a standard-length short story, I think, as it sort of slowly switches perspective from one character to another (which happens in a nice sleight-of-hand that you barely recognize, so kudos to Wolfgang for this technical prowess) to reach its horrifying conclusion. I wanted more from this story - when it ended, I felt like I'd had a plug yanked out of the wall, and I felt a little disappointed. I felt like this could very easily be lengthened into a longer story, with more defined character arcs for both of the protagonists, as well as (perhaps?) one for the antagonist, as well.
"Vegetation" is a really interesting take on the stolen-child theme, as from the get-go, it's pretty obvious that what you're reading is not the actual story. Wolfgang likes the bait-and-switch technique when telling a story, which doesn't always work in one's favor, but here, it works quite well. It's gross, too, in the best way possible. And again, this felt like a longer short story than a usual length, and I could easily see this going to a longer-form narrative, but this is one of the few times that the ending did actually feel earned, where the story did come full circle and accomplish its hideous goals. It's written in first-person, too, from the perspective of the child (teenager, I think), which is a really cool way of presenting this very traumatic event, and Wolfgang does it without too much histrionics, giving his protagonist agency and determination.
"Mandibles," the next story, is ostensibly about addiction - a man who is trying to get clean is offered a new chance at life. And what a chance it is! But what strange things are going on. Is it worth ignoring? Or is it, maybe, worth investigating? I felt that this piece relied a bit too heavily on the gross-out and the descriptions of the monsters, once revealed, but there's a really smooth lead-up to the eventual "unveiling," as it were, and the horror is dialed up by degrees that is really effective for the reader. This is a true page-turner, and definitely one of the stronger pieces in the collection, but I felt like the ending needed just a little tweak, or something, to bring it back home. There's a lot of mystery, followed by a lot of graphic, hideous -phagy and -philia, and then a bit of a denouement - but the ending, to me, just needed that one last little button to bring it all home.
As described in his Story Notes, "The Desolation Gardener" is ostensibly about purpose, and self-actualization. There's a lot going on in this. As in many of these stories, religion, or at least, the community of faith and belief, is central to this narrative. I was confused by a great deal of what went on in this, as the world that the reader is asked to believe is only barely sketched in, and the doings of the characters are shrouded in mystery for the entire story - right up until the very end. This one was one of the weaker entries in the collection, for me, though there are some really nice descriptions. It felt as if there was much more swimming in the depths than made it to the surface of the page.
"God of the Complex" is a short, slight story that has its roots in the old Twilight Zone, or Outer Limits days. It reminds me a bit of the movie "Cube," as well. Our protagonist is in an unknown place, a sort of Panopticon, and klaxons blow every time an action is to be discouraged. Somehow, this noise is enough to correct the characters' behaviors, jarring them in strange ways to commit strange acts. The theme of violent death, whether at your own, or someone else's hands, is explored in great detail here, and though there really probably only can be one ending to this kind of story, I still felt left a little cheated by the conclusion of this one.
"Rainfall," my favorite of these stories, is a piece of magical realism that veers, tips over, and ends up in the realm of horror. I think it would have been a much stronger piece if it had stuck with the primary narrative (and elided a late-story flashback), but with some modifications and revisions, this story could have come right out of Nathan Ballingrud's "North American Lake Monsters." What a concept! The set-up of parents who have suffered a terrible loss has been handled before, but the element that Wolfgang introduces here to force them to confront their sorrow is genuinely interesting and weird enough that I laughed out loud when it happens - thankfully, early on in the story. The actual exploration of the event felt a bit awkward, but this concept is definitely going to linger with me - the writing is cinematic, and the characters feel fully realized and three-dimensional. Despite this, I'm sure this is the one that I'll think of the most when I recall this collection in the future.
"Splinter," the title story, is maybe my second favorite. I really wanted this story to go even further into the maddening weirdness that Wolfgang is bringing to the table. A bit of awkwardness, syntactically, in the beginning (it can't be helped, if you read it, you'll see why) is cleared up quickly, and I found myself eagerly anticipating the next horrible thing about to happen. This one had the opposite effect as the prior story, for me - the exploration of the central conceit was by far the most interesting thing about the narrative. It's not often that you see a non-hostile First Contact story through the eyes of the alien, and even rarer still to see the effects of that collision spin out of the alien's control. This one is original and exciting, and I loved a great deal of the story Wolfgang spun, even if the characters felt a little two-dimensional. (Though that could have been intentional, given the 'puppeteering' nature of this story.)
"Faces in the Darkness" I won't spoil, because the entire story is reliant, hinges on, the late-story twist. Much like "God of the Complex," this is one of those old-school Twilight Zone stories where what you think is real might not be. This wasn't one of the stronger entries in the collection for me, though I did enjoy the attention paid to the tertiary characters - at times, they felt more real than the protagonist, which may have also been intentional.
And finally, "The Oil Made Flesh" returns to the gross-out category of Wolfgang's collection. There was a lot of set-up in this one, but not very much actual narrative, I thought, beyond an extended chase scene and a strange turn into what may have been cosmic horror, of a sort. Again, as is central to most of his stories in the collection, religion - or at least zealous faith - is introduced as a major plot point, here. It'd be curious to see if all these disparate religions (from all the stories) have something in common, if Wolfgang is creating some kind of Dark Mythos behind his work. If so, I'd be interested to know more about it, and beyond just the black chitin and the squishy viscera.
In his story notes for "The Oil Made Flesh," Wolfgang mentions that "a lot of the fun comes from just getting a quick peek in through the window of something sinister and sprawling," which definitely is a theme for all of these stories, but for me, sometimes the window is a bit too filmy to really grasp what's on the other side.
By and large, I have to say that I enjoyed myself with this collection, and definitely will continue to seek out Wolfgang's work in the future - not only for the caliber of the writing itself, but in eager anticipation for the next concept he'll investigate.
Perhaps one of them will be an extension of one of these stories. Myself, I'm hoping for more of a glance into the world of the title story, "Splinter," or maybe "The Dream Dealer."
Tread with caution, though, if you enter this book: it's not for the squeamish. Whether or not these stories are "finished," or just windows on the hideous and unspeakable, if Wolfgang's aim is to unsettle, he's hit the mark directly. -
We all know the classic idiom, "Don't judge a book by its cover" and as Goodreads patrons, many of us are apt to use the phrase quite literally. If Alex Wolfgang's debut collection Splinter is any indication (which coincidentally has an awesome cover), then we may have to update the phrase to "Don't judge a book by its self-publishing status."
Most of the times when I finish a short-story collection, I'll thumb through the copyright page to see where the stories first appeared. I was shocked to see that page a blank for this collection; they were all debut stories, never before published, specifically written for this collection! I was shocked because the sheer writing quality and professionalism of the book conveyed otherwise. Surely there must be a mistake?
The writing on here is on par with other published horror writers I've read, if not better. The prose is clear and drives the narrative and doesn't bother with wasting words. In some instances there are some unique stylistic choices.
One thing to be sure of is that these stories are straight-up weird. I mean this in the best possible way. I see the inspiration of Bentley Little and Lovecraft and David Cronenberg in these stories. Many are built upon a foundation of a mythos that is hinted at and begs to be further explored, but sufficient enough to be satisfying.
Here are some favorites:
TRAVEL BUG - The initiation of a one night stand turns into an unholy and unhuman union.
MANDIBLES - A struggling drug addict takes a job at a strange hotel. Something seems off with the clientele and customers and it isn't long before we find out what.
GOD OF THE COMPLEX - A man is imprisoned in a spartan and minimalist apartment room with no hope of escape. A deadly game is initiated. Will he do what it takes?
SPLINTER - A story of multiple viewpoints, compounded.
THE OIL MADE FLESH - Two friends set off on a mission to foil some religious fundamentalists and of course they wind up with more than they bargained for. -
Will make your skin crawl. "Travel Bug" and "The Desolation Gardener" are faves.
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Alex did a great job with this. Particular highlights for me are Mandibles and Faces in the Darkness.
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Mandibles was the one story in the collection that made me cringe the most. I do not particularly like insects and yeah that one made it worse. The Travel Bug was freaky too. Overall the stories were very original and freaky.
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“Splinter” took me by surprise and hooked me immediately. Each story has it’s own vivid personality, and I found myself saying “this one is my favorite” with each one. It is rare to find a short story collection in which every story is enjoyable. I will read anything by Alex Wolfgang in the future and can’t recommend this title enough if you’re looking for a new and fresh voice in horror.
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Ten wonderful short stories put together in one book. Each of the stories are brilliantly written so the reader gets a horrifying, strange and frightful read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. -
I haven't experienced for a while the strong desire to finish a book on one sitting until today."Splinter and Other Stories" was a great collection of weird,mysterious and frightening stories.Soon as I finished each story I was curious about the next.All of them were unique and never bored me.My favorites were Vegetation and The Desolation Gardener as even when I finished them I still had many questions as to what just happened.However,all the stories in this collection have to give something to the reader.I really liked how the truth is slowly revealed and how normal situations turn bizarre towards the end.I am not a big fan of horror and I am glad that in the end I stumbled upon something so good!
I would like to warn though beforehand the other readers that some stories begin with or deal with some heavy and dark subject matter.
