Negative Space: An Anthology of Survival Horror by Aric Sundquist

Negative Space: An Anthology of Survival Horror Reviews

• 
  Alex | | findingmontauk1

  Negative Space is an anthology of survival horror inspired by video games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Each story has drops you right in the middle of the horror as if you are a character waking up in one of these iconic games. However, you do not have to be a fan of these video games, or games at all, to enjoy or understand the stories in this anthology. Each story possesses its own gripping quality and haunting twist or morose ending. The stories presented here are solid and there is not one that I skimmed or wanted to DNF (you never know when it comes to anthologies or collections). These pages are loaded with suspense, action, monsters, foreboding, and straight up dark terror.
  
  My favorites include "The Collectors," "It's Inside," "Rhapsody In Flesh Minor," and "The Whale Hunts."
  
  Thanks to the editor/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!
• 
  Brennan LaFaro

  Dark Peninsula Press greets the indie horror scene with an anthology of survival horror. If, like me, you have a vague idea of what that could mean, but aren’t quite sure what you’re getting yourself into, editor Aric Sundquist pens a not-to-be-missed introduction on the subject. This introduction details how the main inspiration is taken from video games such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil, to name just a couple, the themes are present throughout the history of horror literature and film. For those still on the fence, I’ll paraphrase Sundquist. Survival horror usually focuses on the story’s protagonist in an unknown environment facing down an unfamiliar evil, typically making use of elements in their environment.
  The isolation necessary for stories of survival horror to work is evident on the cover artwork, done by Mikio Murakami, and it really sets the tone for what you’re about to read. This anthology could’ve contained a myriad of stories that were so similar in tone or substance that the reader taps out a little ways in. Sundquist did a stellar job of curating the table of contents, giving the reader a variety of settings, monsters, types of protagonists, and even varying story lengths to keep the reader coming back for more.
  Some stories work well, others didn’t ring the bell for me, so allow me to share some favorites I discovered in Negative Space:
  “Luminescence” by Scotty Milder - Kudos to this one for two reasons. Allowing this story to bat leadoff assures the reader that this collection is going to contain the unexpected. Reason number two - I have never before, nor do I ever expect to again, read a story where the main antagonists are cuttlefish.
  “The Collectors” by Michelle Tang - I’m not a big video game person, but I felt as though this story really captured the aesthetic the book was going for. It’s written in a way that feels like you’re trailing just behind the character as they advance down dark hallways, unsure of what might jump out at them from around the next corner.
  “Black Tongue” by Richard Beauchamp - I’ve mentioned before that this anthology does a good job of splitting up familiar tropes. That being said, survival horror leaves itself open to a lot of zombie stories. This was my personal favorite in the bunch, incorporating elements of Native American lore and ritual magic.
  “The Whale Hunts” by P.L. McMillan - I’m not sure why, but I didn’t expect to like this one. Maybe it’s the distant future, sci-fi elements, but either way, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this cosmic version of Moby Dick.
  “Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail” by Eric J. Guignard - I’m a sucker for that whole idea of some kind of entity jumping from body to body, so the characters are never entirely sure who to trust and who not to. Going the length of the story not sure if you’re going to have to turn on a friend, or have them turn on you is unsettling at best, and makes for great tension. Add Guignard’s dialogue to the mix, and I’m sold.
  I’m loving the way Dark Peninsula seems to be putting their focus on quality themed anthologies, one at a time in order to produce the best possible product for horror readers. The next offering, though no release date is available yet, will be Violent Vixens: An Homage to Grindhouse Horror. The care that went into the packaging and contents and curation of Negative Space tells me this is a press whose anthologies will need a home on my shelf.
  
  I received a copy from the publisher for review consideration.
• 
  Ben Long

  If you’re a fan of the survival horror sub-genre then this book is definitely for you! But even if you’re just a fan of horror in general I guarantee you’ll find things you like here.
  
  Editor Aric Sundquist (also owner of the publisher Dark Peninsula Press) writes in the introduction how he loved the glory days of survival horror video games and was wondering if the sub-genre would translate well to story form. Well, I’m happy to report it very much does!
  
  There are twelve stories here, all fairly different in terms of plot and horrors (aliens, sentient robots, monsters, murderers, the apocalypse, etc). Honestly I don’t think I rated any story less than four stars, but here are some stand outs for me:
  
  ⭐️”Luminescence” by Scotty Milder (@scottypotty2317)
  A few months into a sea monster apocalypse; beautifully descriptive, unnerving, and gory cosmic-type horror
  
  ⭐️”Puzzled Pieces, Locked-in Places” by Amelia Gorman
  A woman trapped alone in a blizzard fights for survival against beings made of ice and light; terrifying in its imagery and incomprehensibility
  
  ⭐️”Rhapsody in Flesh” by Maggie Slater
  A woman is trapped in the sleeping quarters of a space station while a ghastly, multi-limbed alien tries to get in; traces of The Thing
  
  ⭐️”Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail” by Eric J Guignard (@eric_j._guignard)
  Three friends cross the wrong old lady in the remote nighttime woods; a fast-paced and vicious possession story
  
  ⭐️”The Artist and the Muse” by Jay Wilburn (@amongthezombies)
  In a post-apocalyptic setting, a mysterious “artist” is leaving “gifts” for a woman in the form of horrifically mutilated (and often intertwined) human and animal bodies; like the most disturbing of Clive Barker tales, it’s a story so vividly unsettling you just have to read it yourself to fully understand
  
  From looking at the number of reviews online I can tell this book is grossly underrated and unread by many, and I’m hoping this changes over time. Seriously, check it out! There are stories here that will haunt me for years to come 🤘🏻
• 
  Elsa

  As someone who reads dark thrillers but avoids gratuitous gore and violence, I really enjoyed reading this anthology. The stories embody the survival horror genre well, but are tasteful, diverse and well-written. The cover artwork sets the theme, evoking a hardcore version of 1960’s juvenile mysteries. I loved the variety of stories: they range from dark & unsettling, to sci-fi inspired, to completely unexpected (the fantastic “Puzzled Pieces, Lock-In Places”). I liked that so many of them surprised me with their conclusions—it was never a long slog to the inevitable ending. Many of the stories impressed me with the level of writing but among my personal favorites were “The Collectors,” “It’s Inside,” “Curiosity’s Child,” “Sacs” and “Six Weeks,” all for much different reasons. This is a truly enjoyable introduction to twelve talented writers with distinctive writing styles. I am excited to read more of their work, as well as future Dark Peninsula Press publications.
• 
  Jennifer Lammi

  This well-curated collection of horror tales from Dark Peninsula Press is reminiscent of Stephen King’s Night Shift, where the reader never knows until the end if the main character will survive, or if they survive, they will be … changed. Each writer’s voice adds a unique element to the collection, from the slow build of Puzzled Pieces, Locked in Places, to the racing pace of Six Weeks. I could not read Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail by Eric J. Guignard fast enough! From surviving in the hostile environment of space, to post-apocalyptic wastelands, to the dark recesses of the disturbed mind, this collection covers it all. Highly recommended reading for horror fans.
• 
  Justin Lewis

  I will never forget the first time I played Resident Evil. I was home alone out in the country and it was the middle of the night. The character I was playing as was slowly walking down a hallway and- SMASH!! The window shattered and zombie dogs gave chase. I screamed out loud, turned off my game console, and put on a comedy. That was enough for the night. 20 years later, I still remember that.
  
  As a gamer AND a huge horror fan, this anthology is a perfect combination of the worlds you'd find in games and fantastic story-telling. These tales aren't set in any particular survival-horror universes you're familiar with (which is a huge plus in my book...and this one), but the hallmarks are there: characters are in survival situations with no good options, are almost completely defenseless, and they (and you) have to fill in the blanks as you go. Nowhere is safe- the ocean, a college campus, the icy tundra, space...these charters can't hide.
  
  All of the stories in this collection worked for me on some level (no pun intended), which is rare. Of course, I had my favorites:
  
  CURIOSITY'S CHILD by Jude Reid: Seemingly abandoned space station on Mars. That's it. That's the tweet. No, but really, I love space horror and this one had an original idea in it I don't want to spoil.
  
  THE WHALE HUNTS by P.L. McMillan: In the future, convicts are sentenced to hunt a deadly whale. There was a scene near the end of this story that is going to stick with me for a while.
  
  THE ARTIST AND THE MUSE by Jay Willburn: This one leaned into the video game angle hard and I loved it; it felt like I was reading/playing a level. Truly some disgusting stuff in this one.
  
  Do you have to like or play video games to enjoy this book? Absolutely not. These stories stand on their own as terrifying little worlds where things have gone amiss for our cast of survivors, but it is fun to see occasional nods to gaming (or maybe I imagined them because I was looking for them. Give your TBR an extra life and find out if these characters make it to the next level or if it's GAME OVER.
  
  4 out of 5 stars
  
  *Thanks to Ben Long for hosting this read along!
• 
  John Lynch

  Negative Space, from Dark Peninsula Press is an anthology of survival horror. What you ask, is survival horror? Well, it’s a term coined from ps1 era games such as resident evil. It’s about atmosphere, dread, scavenging supplies. Hoping to hell that last bullet takes down that creature.
  
  If the video game inspiration doesn’t sell you, that’s fine. I’ve read the book, I can tell you the stories stand on their own. They embody what survival horror is about and make it their own on these pages. Hell, I’m sure you’ve read survival horror without realizing that’s what you read.
  
  I really enjoyed this collection and there wasn’t much here in the way I could have done without. All of the stories did what they set out to do, and did it quite well. A few of my favorite here were
  
  Luminescence by Scott Milder
  The Collectors by Michelle Tang
  It’s inside by S.R. Miller
  Curiosity’s Child by Jude Reid
  Midnight, off Arkansas River Trail by Eric J. Guignard
  
  This is one of the better collections I’ve read this year. I had a good time with it. There are some good scares, good monsters and well done action sequences within the pages. I’m looking forward to seeing what Dark Peninsula does next.
• 
  Erica Robyn Metcalf

  Negative Space: An Anthology of Survival Horror edited by Aric Sundquist is a collection of twelve short tales that will make you extra grateful for the comforts and safety of home that surround you while you read through these terrifying worlds.
  
  The organization of the tales within the collection itself was perfect. I loved that the introduction was pleasant and lighthearted and then first tale has a bit of morbid humor mixed with the darkness and terror to ease us into things. But take a breath there! After that, it’s just full blown terror.
  
  Each story in Negative Space was absolutely horrific! I mean, just thinking about being in a survival situation is scary enough, but then add in the extra layers that appear here within these stories it just bonkers!
  
  This is a must read for horror fans! These stories are all so unique, action-packed, and absolutely chilling. Go pick this one up today!
  
  
  More here:
  https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-...
• 
  Joshua

  Humans are such fragile, tiny things. You rush through your lives trying to make yourselves happy, but deep down, you're terrified of being alone.
  
  - Luminescence Marine apocalypse anyone? I thought this'd be your usual creature feature, but once the story started delving into how shitty human beings can be to each other it got much more interesting. 4*
  
  - The Collectors A woman tries to escape an hospital infested by disturbing creatures. This felt way more video game-y than many books inspired by video games, which is both its major strength and weakness. It ends up being a fun, straightforward but slightly plain romp in the dark. 2,5*
  
  - Puzzled Pieces, Lock-in Places The caretaker of a remote island soon finds out what's causing some strange disturbances. I appreciated the sense of isolation and strange happenings, but the rest (what's causing the disturbances, why it does what it does and how it can affect others) was very weird, perhaps a bit too much. 3*
  
  - It's Inside A woman goes searching for her missing brother in an abandoned mine. Great stuff! The cramped, unknown setting turns the tension up to eleven and once the action starts the story fills with foul horror and hopelessness. 5*
  
  - Curiosity's Child Machines on a Mars colony suddendly turn rogue. This was a pretty suspenseful page-turner for me, there's little to no pause as you're carried from a threat to another and I really liked the final conversation. 4,5*
  
  - Rhapsody in Flesh Minor A solitary painter on a space station is trapped in their room by a monster. Very short, a good mix of body horror, suspense and genuine funny moments. 4*
  
  - SACS A family takes shelter inside a strange abandoned house after fleeing from war. There isn't much happening overall and the diary format is strange considering the circumstances, just like the "why are they still filming while shit happens?" trope found in many horror movies. There's some decent sense of despair but the rest felt a bit bland. 2*
  
  - Black Tongue A hunter and his dog are hired to find out what's causing disappearances in the wilderness. The first half has lots of tension and creepy moments, the revelation and final confrontation felt a bit less robust though. The man-dog relationship is told really well and makes you care for both. 4*
  
  - The Whale Hunts In the future convicts serve out their sentence by hunting "the Whale" in a sea turned black. A great take on the "Moby Dick" story, this one is truly unsettling and tragic; the setting and its environmental cataclysm are really compelling. 5*
  
  - Six Weeks A group of students tries to survive a monster invasion. What a shame, this one starts off truly creepy, tense and sports interesting creatures. Sadly the second half turns into a bland, forgettable sequence straight out of a videogame that squanders its strong opening. 2,5*
  
  - Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail A new take on gipsy curses. Oh boy, this one was terrific! The curse is relentless and truly disturbing, the story picks up right away and never lets go. I got Evil Dead vibes from this one, minus most of the comedy. 5*
  
  - The Artist And The Muse A woman has to navigate gruesome art exhibits while trying to survive and escape. A very strange tale that seems very in love with its own "body horror art" but isn't very interested in explaining its setting, characters or creatures. It was ok but too flimsy and vague to reel me in. 2*
  
  Final thoughts: A great collection with lots of variety and an interesting concept. A few stories didn't really click with me as they simply push the "survival horror game" angle so hard that they wander off into "been there, done that" territory. But the rest was great with many smart, fresh and uncanny takes on how to survive when faced with true horror.
  There's a good amount of body horror done in a clever, gruesome way that will satisfy fans and many nail-biting moments that'll push you to finish the story you're reading before putting the book down. Well worth its price and your time.
• 
  A. Blumer

  This was an excellent collection of (survival) horror! The stories throughout were well-balanced with their settings--ranging from sci-fi, apocalyptic, historical, and modern--so it never felt like the point was being dragged out in anyway.
  
  I found myself enjoying the sci-fi stories the most ("Curiosity's Child" and "Rhapsody in Flesh Minor"...still not sure if the narrator is male or female but that just made it more engaging) just because of personal preference, but "Black Tongue" by Richard Beauchamp sucked me right in. Early 20th century bounty hunter and his dog caught on the wrong hunt, on the wrong mountain...whew. It was very well written and the winter setting honestly adds a foreboding chill to the story. Maybe it has something to do with where I live, knowing how deadly the cold can be, that makes it sink so deep, but I felt the same way about "Puzzle Pieces, Lock-in Places" by Michelle Tang--another very well written story set in a cabin during a Minnesota winter. I also found "The Whale Hunts" by P.L. McMillian clever as hell. Even the title could have a double meaning.
  
  It's honestly hard to pick out favorites from this collection because they all have their own charm, but I will say the monsters do NOT disappoint. They come in a healthy (deadly?) variety so nothing feels over-played, and even the survival rate of the characters is well-spaced to keep you guessing.
  
  Highly recommend this one if you're into suspense and creatures! Plus, you could help support a new, small press that is showing some real promise already. Very excited to read their latest release, Violent Vixens: An Homage to Grindhouse Horror!
• 
  Elizabeth Gonzalez-Collazo IG - Shereadswithcoffee

  If you are familiar with or enjoyed Silent Hill and Resident Evil, then you’ll definitely get the entertainment factor of this anthology. The 90’s video games into the mainstream; most of which I truly enjoyed but Silent Hill was my favorite. Much to my surprise, I had no idea that two decades later, I would be reintroduced to this genre in page form! The introduction by Aric Sundquist tells us that survival horror is a subgenre of horror in video games in which the “protagonist(s) must face dire situations in locations far off the beaten path by using the environment or items found in the environment to survive” The 12 horror stories depict just that; cadaver-filled hospitals, sadistic artists, caves and long-limbed alien creatures and leviathans.
  
  This is my first survival-horror sub-genre and I can say without hesitation that I truly appreciate the chilling and catastrophic feel of being stuck someplace and using whatever is at your disposal to survive!!
  My favorites include:
  It’s Inside – a woman delves deep into the caves searching for her long-lost brother. To her surprise, she finds his video camera and suddenly all bets are off as to what is lurking in the shadows.
  The Whale Hunts – Three prisoners surviving the capsizing of this boat by a horrid sea creature and the will to survive.
  Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail - After hitting a seemingly innocent old lady, a cursed man, runs into the wilderness
  The Artist and the Muse – a woman needs to navigate her way out of a maze or else the sadistic artist will use her as his muse!
  
  There were many good scary moments and relentless monsters. I really love anthologies and it only proves that a story need not be too long to appreciate the horrific and haunting vibes the authors intended! Definitely a fun and unsettling read!
  
• 
  Escapereality4now

  I stayed up late last night to finish “Negative Space: An Anthology of Survival Horror”, by Aric Sundquist. Staying up late to finish a book always seems like a good idea at the time. Then I have deep regrets in the morning because waking up for work is so difficult. Anyway, I digress…
  
  When I first read survival horror in the title of “Negative Space” I was not completely sure what that term meant. Aric Sundquist eloquently describes in his introduction the definition of survival horror and its presence in entertainment. He also explains his motivations behind this anthology. Each story drops the reader into the middle of a video game
  
  The book contains 12 stories that range from robots to aliens to monsters and more. Each story is extremely different than the one before it. Short story collections are, usually, mixed bags for me. On occasion, I will find one anthology or collection that hits it out of the ballpark. In “Negative Space”, there were some stories that I really liked more than others.
  Some of my favorite stories included
  1. Luminescence by Scotty Milder
  2. The Collectors by Michelle Tang
  3. Black Tongue by Richard Beauchamp
  4. It’s Inside by S.R. Miller
  
  3.5 ⭐️
  
  Thank you for hosting the read along @Readingvicariously.
• 
  Julie

  I've not read many short story works before but this was an easy/fun read and I want to grab more horror anthologies now because of it, as well as check out other works by the authors within!
• 
  Sean Sanford

  Negative Space is a collection of horror stories all written in the vein of a video game’s backstory. You get to join the characters as they are introduced to a Holy Shit kind of situation, and try to manage survival.
  
  I haven’t been all that into video games in a moon’s age, but I loved the hell out of several when I was a youngin.
  
  DOOM comes to mind; and some of the stories in this book held a similar steeze and suspense, which had me amply tickled.
  
  I enjoyed all these stories, to varying degrees of course, but I had a good time reading them all. Every story has a pretty bonkers set-up, like a lot of video games in general, and each one had me thinking, ‘How in the eff is this gonna go down?’ Which again is how I feel pretty much every time I play a video game (I suck at ‘em).
  
  Some that I really liked were Puzzled Pieces, Lock-In Places by Amelia Gorman, in which a woman staying in a snowbound isolated cabin by herself comes face to face with physically jumbled creatures who drive her out into the elements.
  
  Curiosity’s Child by Jude Reid, in which scientists who are living on Mars get, for example, mashed into cubes the way a haggard-ass car might at a junkyard.
  
  Stoked to read this as part of a group read put on by @reading.vicariously Ben Long, the discussion of which I very much enjoyed. Even though I don’t play video games, I sensed nil judgement.
  
  I big time recommend this collection. It also comes in analog book form. Just blow on the cartridge before you read it.
• 
  Cass (only the darkest reads)

  If I'm goin to play a video game you bet it's going to be scary.
  
  There are twelve unique stories in this collection that range from body horror to space terror, zombies to aquatic monstrosities, each essentially a micro level of a video game.
  
  As with all short story collections there are hits and misses, among my favourites were:
  
  The Whale Hunts - P L McMillan (Prisoners work off their sentence on a ship hunting a gigantic "whale" that's killing the ocean and everything in it.
  
  Six Weeks - M J Mars (Cryptids invade a college campus leaving students to survive while isolated in their dorm.)
  
  Midnight, Off Arkansas River Trail - Eric J Guignard (Bad guys make bad decisions and face extreme consequences.)
  
  Thank you to Aric Sundquist and Dark Peninsula Press for my review copy.
  
  3.5 rounded up.
• 
  Lilyn George

  Review to come.
  
  We received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.