Michael C Cluff

This is such a fun collection, and the variety of theme and monster is fantastic. Many of the stories do strike something of the same tone, so I suspect wandering through this rather than binging through story after story might make it an even more enjoyable read, but I think my only real complaint may be that the very first story--"Root Rot" by Sarah Read--is simply so fantastic that it sets an awfully high bar, and while I enjoyed the stories that came immediately after it, none of them show more quite lived up to Read's story, and that slowed me down quite a bit as I got into the collection. But, all that said, I think the hallmark of a great anthology is twofold: 1) You don't feel like you're reading different variations on the same stories/themes/characters over and over again (which happens far too often), and 2) You find some fantastic favorites as you read, and though every story/poem can't be a favorite, even the ones you don't love feel worth reading, barring one or two at most. And by those standards, this was absolutely a great anthology well worth the time.

And along with the aforementioned "Root Rot", I definitely found some other favorites along the way--most notably "Woof" by Patrick Barb, "On This Side of the Veil" by Gabino Iglesias, "Epic Troll" by Auston Habershaw, "The Man of Seaweed and Reeds" by Corey Farrenkopf, "The Blanch" by Dominick Cancilla, and "My Friend Nessie" by J.H. Moncrieff.

Recommended for readers who love horror shorts. show less