B.E. Scully

The Knife and The Wound it Deals is a short story collection by author B. E. Scully, I knew nothing of the author when I began to read and had purposely avoided all the information already available online.

The first story, ‘The Thing Lives’, carried me through a tram ride in an overcrowded carriage into Manchester city centre, causing me to almost miss my stop. Will Aughten is a man who doesn’t live, he merely exists, terrified that he will unleash his closely guarded secret on the show more world. In the end he finds a far more terrifying truth.

In ‘Age Will Be Responsible’, fate comes back to take her revenge against an aged miscreant.

‘Earth Shall Return Them’ is the type of tale passed down from generation to generation, of ancient won epic battles.

‘The Devil’s in the Details’, asks how far would you go, what would you sacrifice in order to achieve success.

There is proper psychological horror here, subtle and sharp, the type that chills you to the bone and makes your heart beat faster, your nerves ache and requires you to check that the front door is double locked one last time, as opposed to ‘Saw gore fiction’, that is meant to turn your stomach. Not all of the stories are meant to induce chills, however, in the sad but sweet,’Animal Undertaking’, an elderly lady takes charge of her own end,’ and in ‘Released’, love finds a way to transcend all barriers.

It is my opinion that someone who can pull off a great engaging short story is probably a better writer than someone who can write a decent novel. There is less room for filler, more need for the sharply observed solid character and tighter plotting required.

Fascinatingly B. E. Scully changes voice in each and every story making it seem as if each one was authored by a different writer. Each voice is as authentic as the last. So many of these stories could have been full length novels.

‘The Suffering Other’, ‘Age Will Be Responsible’ and ‘Lucky 13′ were amongst my favourites, and many of the stories lingered in my imagination for days afterwards.

This is a collection written with a deft hand, best read alone, where the floorboards creak the loudest.

I want to read it again. I will read it again.



I received this collection after being contacted by the publisher on 28th Dec 2013, freely received for an honest review. The only information I had prior to reading was that provided by the publisher. show less

The Knife and The Wound it Deals is a short story collection by author B. E. Scully, I knew nothing of the author when I began to read and had purposely avoided all the information already available online.

The first story, ‘The Thing Lives’, carried me through a tram ride in an overcrowded carriage into Manchester city centre, causing me to almost miss my stop. Will Aughten is a man who doesn’t live, he merely exists, terrified that he will unleash his closely guarded secret on the show more world. In the end he finds a far more terrifying truth.

In ‘Age Will Be Responsible’, fate comes back to take her revenge against an aged miscreant.

‘Earth Shall Return Them’ is the type of tale passed down from generation to generation, of ancient won epic battles.

‘The Devil’s in the Details’, asks how far would you go, what would you sacrifice in order to achieve success.

There is proper psychological horror here, subtle and sharp, the type that chills you to the bone and makes your heart beat faster, your nerves ache and requires you to check that the front door is double locked one last time, as opposed to ‘Saw gore fiction’, that is meant to turn your stomach. Not all of the stories are meant to induce chills, however, in the sad but sweet,’Animal Undertaking’, an elderly lady takes charge of her own end,’ and in ‘Released’, love finds a way to transcend all barriers.

It is my opinion that someone who can pull off a great engaging short story is probably a better writer than someone who can write a decent novel. There is less room for filler, more need for the sharply observed solid character and tighter plotting required.

Fascinatingly B. E. Scully changes voice in each and every story making it seem as if each one was authored by a different writer. Each voice is as authentic as the last. So many of these stories could have been full length novels.

‘The Suffering Other’, ‘Age Will Be Responsible’ and ‘Lucky 13′ were amongst my favourites, and many of the stories lingered in my imagination for days afterwards.

This is a collection written with a deft hand, best read alone, where the floorboards creak the loudest.

I want to read it again. I will read it again.



I received this collection after being contacted by the publisher on 28th Dec 2013, freely received for an honest review. The only information I had prior to reading was that provided by the publisher. show less

The Knife and The Wound it Deals is a short story collection by author B. E. Scully, I knew nothing of the author when I began to read and had purposely avoided all the information already available online.

The first story, ‘The Thing Lives’, carried me through a tram ride in an overcrowded carriage into Manchester city centre, causing me to almost miss my stop. Will Aughten is a man who doesn’t live, he merely exists, terrified that he will unleash his closely guarded secret on the show more world. In the end he finds a far more terrifying truth.

In ‘Age Will Be Responsible’, fate comes back to take her revenge against an aged miscreant.

‘Earth Shall Return Them’ is the type of tale passed down from generation to generation, of ancient won epic battles.

‘The Devil’s in the Details’, asks how far would you go, what would you sacrifice in order to achieve success.

There is proper psychological horror here, subtle and sharp, the type that chills you to the bone and makes your heart beat faster, your nerves ache and requires you to check that the front door is double locked one last time, as opposed to ‘Saw gore fiction’, that is meant to turn your stomach. Not all of the stories are meant to induce chills, however, in the sad but sweet,’Animal Undertaking’, an elderly lady takes charge of her own end,’ and in ‘Released’, love finds a way to transcend all barriers.

It is my opinion that someone who can pull off a great engaging short story is probably a better writer than someone who can write a decent novel. There is less room for filler, more need for the sharply observed solid character and tighter plotting required.

Fascinatingly B. E. Scully changes voice in each and every story making it seem as if each one was authored by a different writer. Each voice is as authentic as the last. So many of these stories could have been full length novels.

‘The Suffering Other’, ‘Age Will Be Responsible’ and ‘Lucky 13′ were amongst my favourites, and many of the stories lingered in my imagination for days afterwards.

This is a collection written with a deft hand, best read alone, where the floorboards creak the loudest.

I want to read it again. I will read it again.



I received this collection after being contacted by the publisher on 28th Dec 2013, freely received for an honest review. The only information I had prior to reading was that provided by the publisher. show less

B. E. Scully is a very talented writer. I read Verland last year (I was a bit late getting around to it) and it was one of my favorite novels that year. I have also read some short stories and was quite impressed. Definitely an author to follow if you enjoy well written and thoughtful dark fiction.

The Eye That Blinds
Very interesting story. In some ways my favorite, more from a narrative standpoint. It was more compelling in the way the story was set up. Much more direct and action oriented. show more More traditional if that has a meaning anymore.
Claustrophobic. Externally deranged yet with internal logic. Madness has many flavors and even the most insane ideology makes sense once you find the core of the maelstrom.

Each Castle its King
Dreamlike story dripping with atmosphere, as you would expect from a story whose primary locale is a residence called “Blood House.” Asks the question of whether buildings can be haunted or even more to the point, can a building be evil. I am not sure if it the building or the people, but this very modern haunted house story is quite well written. I must confess that I was a bit lost by the end but I realize that the ambiguity is probably intentional.

Nostri
I really enjoyed this story. Quite political without taking any real sides. I can imagine reading a story like this in Atlantic of The New Yorker. Not a horror story at all, I found myself stopping and thinking several times. It all comes down to what are we willing to put on the line for our “convictions.” Sure, we all make, and get into, arguments about political and social beliefs, but are these true beliefs, or just taking a side.

As one of the characters describes the way college students will become passionate in ways that is almost impossible later in life when so many “real life” factors enter the equation, I thought that if I had read this story in college I would have taken a lot out of it, although maybe at this time I would have missed the point.

The whole Seneca plot line just made this story even better—I mean, no one would base their entire world view around a philosopher dead for millennium, but is that any less logical than basing it on a political position?

I am worried that I am making this story sound dull. It is anything but. In fact, it is compelling and I was riveted, wondering what the anarchistic group (Nostri) would come up with next—what new political “joke” would bring horrific results in the real world.

Devils in Dark Houses
I was reminded of the end of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” where we see the house described as it falls apart and realize that it is an exact model of a human face. Madness lives not in the house of Usher but in the mind—and such is the case in Devils in Dark Houses.
Each richly drawn character has his or her own devil or devils and their personal stories unwind like onion skins as the overall story develops. I think that a reader will either find this story to be too much in terms of layers or richly rewarding, but isn't that the case with most literary fiction? show less