| Title | : | The Horror Collection: Sapphire Edition (The Horror Collection, #13) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 |
| Publication | : | First published December 14, 2022 |
Thirteen is unlucky for some — KJK Publishing has put together a memorable Horror feast for the mammoth thirteenth book in this series. It’s perhaps our favourite number!
From rising indie talent to authors who have been in the industry for decades. Your appetite is guaranteed a veritable smorgasbord of styles and subgenres to feed the pallet. Join us between the pages of this bestselling horror series for the thirteenth time
The Horror Collection: Sapphire Edition (The Horror Collection, #13) Reviews
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Stories Included:
The Oak by Steve Stred
The House on Royal Street by Tom Deady
The Noose by Nick Roberts
Cursed by R.E. Sargent
The Last Meal by Veronica Smith
Enjoy Your Show by Christina Bergling
The Upstairs Neighbor by David Sodergren
Blueprint by RJ Roles
Anti-Claus by Graham Masterton
In Search of the Blue Footed Booby by Eric Butler
Christine and Tracey by Matty-Bob Cash
Skin Flick by Shaun Hutsen
Lost in Ephemera by M Ennenbach
Letters to Santa by John Durgin
The Long Con by P.J. Blakey-Novis
The Blood-Witch by Nicola Bombardi
A Disturbed Sleep by DE McCluskey
All That Glitters by Gord Rollo
Blood on the Road by Mike Duke
Quote from "The Long Con" by P.J. Blakey-Novis:
"She had always been a 'pen and paper' type of person, forever making lists and organising what she called her 'overstocked mind' with notes and thoughts written out clearly."
Just by looking at the line up of author's there was no doubt in my mind that I would be reading something entertaining and quite special. These author's have a way of getting inside your head, making you reflect and think, and sometimes even getting inside your heart.
Having so much diversity also provided an even more entertaining read, like a mixed up box of chocolates, a complete surprise. There are stories of hauntings, supernatural entities, ancient creatures, extreme horror that unsettles the mind, psychological, and suspenseful. Often times creepy, disconcerting, and spine chilling.
Each author's unique writing style shines through like a bright shining star, or delves you into a dark night filled with terrors.
A tantalizing experience sure to please anyone that enjoys an escape while reading! -
Twisted Short Stories!
There are 19 short stories that are in this book. I am going to list the title of the story and the author with a cryptic statement next to it so that you will have a sample of what lies within.
The Oak by Steve Stred: A boy gets help from a tree.
The House on Royal Street by Tom Deady: A ghost saves the day.
Noose by Nick Roberts: Revenge on bad men.
Cursed by R.E. Sargent: Stealing something is bad karma.
The Last Meal by Veronica Smith: Death arrives painfully.
Enjoy Your Show by Christina Bergling: Shadow lurking within movie theatre.
The Upstairs Neighbor by David Sodergren: Misunderstood situation turns bad.
Blueprint by R.J. Roles: Wishes do come true.
Anti-Claus by Graham Masterton: Bad Santa!
In Search of the Blue-Footed Booby by Eric Butler: Bird watching goes south in a bad way!
Christine and Tracey by Matty Bob Cash (a/k/a Mathew Cash): Witches get more than they bargained for.
Skin Flick by Shaun Hutson: Twisted doppelganger.
Lost in Ephemera by M. Ennenbach: Comic book hero lays down carnage!
Letters to Santa by John Durgin: Justice is served in a twisted way.
The Long Con by P.J. Blakely-Novis: Ghosts do exist.
The Blood Witch by Nicole Lombardi: A vampiric creature won't let go.
A Disturbed Sleep by DE McCluskey: A creature takes over the human host.
All That Glitters by Gord Rollo: A golden monster.
Blood on the Road by Mike Duke: Chaos and mayhem of a werebear.
Thoughts:
All the stories in this anthology were impressive! Lots of horror, gore, carnage, twisted tales romp through this book and I felt that I was in the midst of all the stories as the authors within this book brought these stories to life on the pages of this book!
Another great anthology put out by KJK Publishing and lots of great horror lies within the pages of this book! If you want to step into blood and guts with mind twisting thoughts then go grab this book and be prepared to not leave your cozy chair as you will be pulled down into the depths of all these authors minds! Giving this book five "Screaming Horror" stars!
For digital images of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/... -
The Horror Collection: Sapphire Edition offered up 19 separate diverse horror stories, ranging from monsters, very bad people doing very bad things, and creepy haunted things. I had not read anything by KJK Publishing before and I was grateful to get the chance to get short samples of a lot of writers new to me. This is the thirteenth edition of Kevin J. Kennedy’s Horror Collection series. Within its pages are the following:
It starts with The Oak by Steve Stred. Here we have a bullied kid trying to cope and seeks out protection and revenge.
The House on Royal Street: This tale by Tom Deady has all kinds of wild elements to it, including
The Noose: Nick Roberts took us back to a supernatural take of the Old West. As a huge fan of Deadlands Reloaded I really liked this one. I liked the ending even more. This one was a stand out.
In Cursed, R.E. Sargent offers up an example of what can happen when
The Last Meal: Yikes! Another gag reflex testing method by Veronica Smith. This is a clever and very well thought out revenge tale.
Enjoy Your Show: Christina Bergling gives us a slasher tale when all the MC wanted to do was just have a few minutes in a theater. Don’t you just hate it when a murderer interrupts a movie? Some people are just so rude Can we get some security in here to protect this poor moviegoer? Yeesh.
And speaking of enjoyment The Upstairs Neighbour by David Sodergren was a great supernatural tale. I loved the Scottish feel and language with this one.
RJ Roles’ Blueprint takes you on a very different kind of scavenger hunt and went places I didn’t think it would, which I always appreciate.
Anti-Claus: In this one, Graham Masterton has a harrowing take on
In Search of the Blue-Footed Booby: Eric Butler did the color of this collection proud with a multi-layered monster mashup that was gory and left me wondering which group was actually the “monster” because a bunch of them were doing bad things, but if they are doing it for a justifiable reason, is it really a “monster”? Hmmmm…..
Christine and Tracey: This tale by Matty-Bob Cash offered up one of two “witch” tales in this collection. They were both quite creative and a new take on what it meant to be a witch. It was cool since I had been reading one of Anne Rice’s witch books simultaneously with this book. I particularly loved the Britishness of this one.
Skin Flick: I’ve got a pretty high gag-reflex tolerance, but this was up there. I was wondering as I read this one, was that 1,000 year old egg really all that nasty to eat, when I compare it to this one? Hmmm… But I loved the concept and execution of this so I’ll take a Shaun Hutson story over a black hardboiled egg with an intensely bitter runny yolk any damn day of the week. Nicely done Hutson.
Lost in Ephemera: The collection makes an abrupt turn in this trippy and violent superhero tale by M. Ennenbach. What would happen if Supes wasn’t exactly who you thought he was.
John Durgin’s Letters to Santa: Now this is how you surprise me with the ending of a short story. It has a nice, hauntingly, oh damn, so that’s… moment that I really crave in a short story. Nice done.
The Long Con: This one, by P.J. Blakey-Novis, gives another haunting take on and will—for sure—get you thinking about who the bad guys really might be. This one gave me a great ending and a twist which I always love.
The Blood-Witch: Nicola Lombardi gives you another deliciously creative take on witches. Another stand out.
D.E. McCluskey’s A Disturbed Sleep was haunting and offered up
All That Glitters: Gord Rollo tells us what can happen when you mess with the supernatural. Spoiler alert -- Still, it was kind of cooly creative.
Blood on the Road: Another creature feature by Mike Duke that’ll satiate your cravings for violence and blood and guys.
I liked some more than others. There were some that I thought I wanted more out of the ending. They are all pretty quick paced and pretty easy to read. I loved the Scottish and Britishness of the tone and content of a lot of these stories.
I had a lot of fun discussing these stories with the fine people over in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes group. It was great sharing the reading experience with them. -
Reading this in March with the fine folk over at Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
Individual ratings in reverse order, most recent at top.
26Mar2023: 5: The Last Meal by Smith: Up Next ...
26Mar2023: 4: Cursed by Sargent: Grim story worthy of the title, but more told then shown. 3.5 'Beware the Ring,' stars.
07Mar2023: 3: The Noose by Roberts: A brilliant mix of western and horror. An outlaw discovers redemption. 5, 'Ghost Boys Rule OK?' stars.
02Mar2023: 2: The House on Royal Street by Deady: House renovations uncover an unexpected house guest proving that some houses are best left alone. Loved how the father and daughter protected each other. 4, 'Sometimes the past doesn't stay dead,' stars.
26Feb2023: 1: The Oak by Stred: Divine intervention always comes with a price. I thought the boy got off lightly in this case. Easy to read and surprisingly thought provoking and pungent. I keep thinking about this story. 4 'Pay the price,' stars. -
A nice mix of horror stories from authors both familiar and new to me. This was a group read over with the fine folks at Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and the book was available on Kindle Unlimited, so I was pretty happy.
And I was pretty happy with the mix of stories as well. There were only a few that fell a little flat for me, but overall the selection was an impressive array of talent. My favorites are the folksy horror story of "The Anti-Claus" and the tale of the two witches, "Christine and Tracey." "Enjoy the Show" was another winner, a creepy stalker story, and the last story, "Blood on the Road," was just straight up awesome. I loved the side story of the tough cop unable to tell her partner "I love you" until the were-monster comes charging the Tahoe. Good stuff. -
This was my first time reading any of The Horror Collection books by KJK Publishing. There is an incredible line-up of authors here. Some I’ve read before and many that are new to me. I think there is something in here for pretty much any horror lover. Many different writing styles and subject matter that will entertain you. I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites below.
The Oak by Steve Stred
Dan is bullied and can no longer deal with it. He gains the help of The Oak to teach his bullies a lesson. Such a heartbreaking story with a shocking ending.
The House on Royal Street by Tom Deady
Charles and his daughter Fiona suffered a terrible loss. Now Charles is remodeling a house with some interesting history. He was hoping to surprise Fiona with the house but instead it surprised them both. Great chilling tale. I loved the dark creepy vibes.
The Last Meal by Veronica Smith
Gary is serving time on death row and about to enjoy his final meal. Execution time is drawing near, and Gary’s final hours will be worse than he ever imagined. Such a brutal story!
Christine and Tracey by Matty-Bob Cash
Robert has some questionable neighbors always making rude remarks about his autistic son. I thought this made them awful people, but things get so much worse when Christine and Tracey perform a certain ritual. My mind was blown! I’d love to read more from this author.
Letters to Santa by John Durgin
Chris grew up poor with an abusive dad. Like every other year, there would be nothing under the Christmas tree for him. For once, he decided to ask Santa for a few things. When his requests are answered, everything changes for Chris. This was a great revenge story.
"When he started feeling better, his dark passenger got better as well, once again making me live in fear most of my waking hours." -
A fun collection. Lots of creative stories and some definite surprises. Definitely recommended.
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Supernatural horrors, ghosts and spirits, creatures from ancient lore, psychological horror, suspense, torture, two tales of Christmas themed terror, and an extreme horror story—“Lost in Ephemera” by M Ennenbach—that defies any other subgenre label, any other label at all, but manages to be brutal as well as making statements about both relationships and hero-worship. The Horror Collection: Sapphire Edition is a powerful and brilliant anthology full of diverse authors and stories.
There is not a story in here I didn’t enjoy. The first one, “The Oak” by Steve Stred, is especially impactful, a wrenching tale about a ruthlessly bullied boy who inadvertently seeks help from an ancient power. And the last one, “Blood on the Road” by Mike Duke, is a masterfully crafted and bloody story with action, tension, and a shocking, mysterious monstrosity.
Between those two is an incredible collection of brilliant horror and dark fiction, such as the disturbing and chilling “Enjoy Your Show” by Christina Bergling, the riveting and mind-blowing extreme folk horror “In Search of the Blue-Footed Booby” by Eric Butler, and the intense and poignant “A Disturbed Sleep” by DE McCluskey. But there’s more; 19 stories in all!
The Horror Collection: Sapphire Edition is a highly recommended read for anyone and everyone who enjoys intense, well-crafted horror that stimulates your mind and twists your insides. -
I would have finished this book much sooner, but wanted to wait for my physical copy to arrive. This anthology is full of incredible stories from veterans of the genre, to up and coming names people are excited about. KJK Publishing did a great job of mixing up the types of stories in this book. There is literally something for everyone. Christmas horror? Check. Body horror? Check. Western horror? Yep! I really enjoyed each story in this book right from the very first one, The Oak, written by Steve Stred. This is a mammoth of a book too. Be sure to check it out!
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A new collection of horror stories was released recently by KJK Publishing. This is the Sapphire edition. It features many familiar writers as well as some new authors I haven't read before. All of them are great little nuggets of horror.
I honestly didn't expect to enjoy some of these stories. Initially, they were dull, but quickly picked up and became entertaining. Several of them teach a valuable lesson about life, but in a grim way. There is a cursed object, the supernatural, apocalypse, revenge, and so much more. There is something very unique and different about each of them. -
Excellent stories! Sometimes I just want to read short stories, and this book was perfect!
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It can be hard for horror fans to scratch the itch. One good campfire story always leads to another and before long each storyteller is trying to outdo the other. The Horror Collection Sapphire Edition joins a long list of anthologies published by Kevin J. Kennedy. When it comes to good stories, he knows how to pick em! From new indie authors to those with decades in the industry, there is something here for every fan of horror.
This book is massive. In fact, the whole Horror Collection series of books may be the largest running anthology of its kind I know about. After reading a couple of stories by Author and Editor Kevin J Kennedy, I was curious about what he was reading. This cross-section of his personal taste in horror literature is better than visiting his home library.
"The Oak" by Steve Stred reminded me of that uncomfortable period in my youth when it seemed I was the butt of every joke and target of every bully. The story is about finding the bravery to confront those bullies. Stred also rounds out the coming of age short by exploring the confidence to talk to the prettiest girl in school and to not shy away from friendships with other people. This is a good story with plenty of creepy fantasy elements to keep readers intrigued.
“The Noose” by Nick Roberts evokes memories of Roland and the wastelands, and Rudy Ruiz’s Valley of Shadows. The tale builds western theming through each and every word choice. Readers are transported to dusty streets and wide-open planes below towering mountain ranges. The dark western motif explores guilt and punishment for a gunslinger’s rash execution of a young boy and the potential for his redemption.
“Lost in Ephemera” by M Ennenbach is a superhero story. Which is not the standard character type for horror. A hobbyist’s beloved collection drives a wedge between his relationship, and when push comes to shove… Well, let’s just say that the special effects budget for this short would be out of this world. The story reminds me of the movie “Weird Science” but with a Dark Superman twist!
“All That Glitters” by Gord Rollo is a well-developed story that feels like an old pulp fiction that just keeps raising the stakes. When a liquid gold mine is discovered, a hitman is hired to remove the one obstacle preventing the gold from being moved. There is a very cool and satisfying twist waiting at the end of this noir-pulp-meets-science-fiction-horror that readers will enjoy.
“The House on Royal Street” by Tom Deady covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time but failed to move the needle on my terror scale. Overall, there was too much exposition and narrator's voice. It would have been a great story to employ deep point of view - to get inside the head of the teenage female lead character. Readers will appreciate the strong use of character sadness to develop a ghost who plays an important role in resolving the story.
“Cursed” by R.E. Sargent starts strong with the discovery of a mysterious ring on a dead body at a construction site. However, once Danny reaches his bug-out cabin, the story thread unraveled and may leave readers feeling lost. One other missed opportunity is that the true power of the ring is never demonstrated. What reason did the antagonists have for doing what they did to Danny? The reader is left wondering and there aren’t many clues to provide a clear answer.
“Letters to Santa” by John Durgin may be the best story in the bunch. A young boy and his mother live under the daily terror of an abusive father. Not to mention crushing poverty. It is Christmas time, and the boy understands well that Santa won’t be making a stop at their drafty trailer. Circumstances push him to awaken old magic by sending a letter to the Jolly Old Elf, and visceral believable terror ensues. Readers will take more away from this coming-of-age holiday-themed tale than a sack full of St. Nick’s best bobbles.
Read more from Kevin J. Kennedy at
https://www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk and find him on social media at Facebook(@authorkevinjkennedy), and Twitter(@KevinJKennedy01). -
Man I love a good horror collection! And this one is fantastic! A bunch of stellar work from some of my favorite authors and some equally spectacular stories from some authors that are new to me. Usually, when I review an anthology, I pick a couple of favorites to highlight the best of the book. That's going to be a struggle this time because they were all so good. There weren't any that I disliked completely and very few that would get less than 4 stars if rated individually. So I'll start with the first story, skip to the last story, and heap some praise on a few of the bangers from the middle.
The Oak by Steve Stred started us off. I'm starting to Steve has a supernatural ability to write a terrifying creature that feels familiar yet is unique and almost endearing. I loved the main character in this one, was really rooting for him. And the ending...was startling and unexpected. Well done! Blood on the Road by Mike Duke had two of my favorite characters in the book, Casey and Chewy. I'm a sucker for a human-canine partnership, and this one was awesome. I was glued to my Kindle reading this one, terrified for the characters and imploring Mike Duke to get them out of this situation! And Mike, if you're reading this, thanks for the representation man. It's appreciated.
Some of my other faves, Anti-Claus by Graham Masterton (because of course it's great, it's Masterton), Lost in Ephemera by M. Ennenbach (new author to me, but I loved this so much I messaged him on Facebook and bought his new book Dreamwhispers immediately), Letters to Santa by John Durgin (I'll be writing to Santa next Christmas for sure) and A Disturbed Sleep by DE McCluskey (it has this amazing quiet dread throughout, love that).
I had a blast reading this and absolutely recommend it. We'll be Buddy Reading this one in March over in our group Nightmares and Dreamscapes and I'm super excited to talk about these stories with everyone! -
Wow
Short stories are just the best. If you don't have much time to set and read a whole book, at least you can enjoy a quick short scary story, then off to your next project. -
Some duds, some good ones, and some in between. Worth a read.
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It was extremely average. Some of the stories were just shit. There were a few standouts but I can't say it was worth it to read the entire book
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The first time I have read a short story book and loved every single story 😃
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Most of the stories were amateurish, some of them were borderline illiterate. The lack of editing and proofreading was obvious.
