Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales

I met Fran Friel at KillerCon in Vegas this year. And she's a very special person. She's also a fantastic author. If you'd like to learn more about her, you can head over to The Author Spot and check out the interview I did with her for today's post.

But let's get right to the book. Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales is Fran's first short story collection. Mama's Boy was originally published as a novella. The collection made it to the final ballot for The Bram Stoker Awards in 2008. The original novella was a finalist in 2006. Those of you who are horror fans will know what an amazing accomplishment that is!

Synopsis: Nothing good comes of the closest ties in Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales, the new collection from Fran Friel and Apex Publications. Things can go especially awry when the tie in question is the one binding mother and son. This collection contains 14 tales, including the Stoker Award nominated novella "Mama's Boy."

The synopsis is short and sweet and doesn't give away anything good. And there's a whole lot of good in this collection. My personal favorite is probably the darkest story in the book: "Special Prayers." This story is about Mama, from "Mama's Boy." And gives us a glimpse into how she got to be the way she is. It's everything a horror story should be; shocking, dark, horrific and yet encapsulated into only four pages.

My second favorite story was "Fine Print." It's a longer story, and maybe a little slow moving for some, but for me, the pace was just right. There were a lot of details to soak up and I enjoyed having the time to do so, with no rush to the conclusion of the story. The story paints a picture of a world where clairvoyant dreamers are used to a very bad end.

The book is filled with other stories, some very short, and poems, plus the novella which lends the book its name. There's not a single story or poem I didn't enjoy. And many of them left me rolling the idea around in my head for days afterward. "Don't look under the dryer." "How glad am I that I don't have a Siamese twin?" "Potatoes!"And many other strange thoughts that you'll only appreciate after you read the book. Which I highly recommend you do.

The introduction is written by Gary A. Braunbeck and captures the essence of Fran and the book very well. If you enjoy short stories, if you aren't afraid of the dark, and if you've ever wondered what lives under your dryer, look up Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel. Then read at your own risk. You can purchase the book here.

This blog is not technically part of the Coffin Hop. But since I'm feeling generous today, any comments left on this post will get you an entry into my contests over at The Author Spot.

Happy Reading,
♥Spot

And the winners are...

Blaze McRob and Wendy Howard. Bryan and Ruth will be sending you fine folks their respective books in the format of your choice! I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did! Thanks for playing along!

♥Spot

Whispers from the Dark by Bryan Hall

Hello boys and girls! It's blog hop time again and this time it's Vamplit Publishing's Bloody Hearts Valentine Blog Hop. Click on the picture in the sidebar and it will take you to a list of all the participating blogs. And you know what participating blogs means? Contests! Contests to win all sorts of great prizes. To enter my contest, become a follower of this blog and leave a comment (if you are already a follower- a comment will suffice). Bryan has graciously donated an eBook (format of your choice) of Whispers in the Dark to my contest winner.

I met Bryan through Facebook and he asked for a review. You know me- I never turn down a collection of short stories, or any book, EVER. So, of course, I agreed. Bryan also agreed to an interview, so you can read more about this fascinating author over at The Author Spot. Did I mention its also part of the blog hop, so there is a contest for free books there as well? I thought that would get your attention!

On with the review. Synopsis says: What if your hometown hid a terrible secret?

What if the vintage LP you brought home was more than just a record?

What if your neighbor's pond held an evil only you knew about?

What if your dying daughter's only hope lay in a strange shack deep within the Appalachian wilderness?

This collection of fourteen short stories from the author of Containment Room Seven asks those questions and many more. You won't find vampires or zombies here - only pure, dark, unrelenting terror on every page.

"...This guy is scary good!" - Joe McKinney, Stoker nominated author of Quarantine, Flesh Eaters, and Apocalypse of the Dead

"A horror master's sense of scene and scares." - Jonathan Moon, author of Heinous

"... dark, fast and fun...a compelling read." - Nate Kenyon, award-winning author of Sparrow Rock, The Reach, and StarCraft Ghost: Spectres, on Hall's novel Containment Room Seven

Now the problem I find with short story collections is that you are most probably never going to like all the stories in the book. Even in a King collection, I find a story or two that misses its mark. (I know-- blasphemy!) And that was the case with this collection.

The first story, Secrets Beneath, was worth the price of admission. It's a unique take on the small town with closely guarded secret tale. It reminded me, in a good way, of 1950's horror movies- I could almost see it in black and white. But the story is original, has good depth, and some tragic consequences.

Another tale I liked was Throwing Stones. It had a creepy build-up and a surprising ending, not what I expected at all. One more hit was The Swim. This one had a moral and a lesson to it. And Kudzu, was another tale I enjoyed. And then there were a few I wasn't so fond of. All in all, there are fourteen stories in the book. A decent number for the price and we all know that opinions are subjective.

Formatting bugaboos aside, and I'm not counting them because I couldn't even tell you how to format properly and I think it's just something we eBook readers are going to have to learn to overlook, there are few content issues I had trouble with. A little bit more "telling" than "showing." There were a few stories that were good idea, they just failed to develop to my satisfaction.

So I'm giving the book three stars. The reason for this isn't because it's a bad book. It's more so that I have something to upgrade his next book to. Because I believe this author has a lot of promise and with a little work, he's going to be great. So I will eagerly await his next work, to see what he's learned and how much he's improved.

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Whispers from the Dark for free! That first story is calling your name...

Happy Reading,
♥Spot