Boneyard Tales: Michael Carter
Reviewed By Sarah J. Huntington
Boneyard Tales is a book of speculative flash fiction and contains plenty of stories organised into set categories which are as follows.
Magical, Real. My personal favourite from this was Yetimaker. That one had an ending I did not expect.
Out West. Liver Eater was, for me, the most compelling.
Crime, Correction, and Rehabilitation. Monster Inside Me was the one I loved.
The End. The Ordinary or My Interview For The People Removal Position hooked me the most.
Each category begins with a quote that fits well, is a nice touch, and lets the reader know what they’re in for.
Generally, I don’t buy flash fiction or read much of it. I think that is a mistake on my part because Boneyard Tales was very impressive. I began with the intention of reading one or two pieces and ended up reading the whole book in one sitting. Before I knew it, the whole evening was gone and I love that kind of escapism and mental transportation elsewhere. Some of the stories do leave you intentionally wondering, some have humorous parts that made me laugh, and a few are unsettling and chilling.
To me, the book was like binge-watching The Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone and I adored the strangeness and twisty parts. Not one story was out of place and none were fillers, each one was clever in their own right and while the tales are vastly different, the book does work that way and it’s genuinely great.
The only negative thing I have to say, which isn’t really negative at all, is that quite a few of these stories would also be suitable as longer pieces or even adapted into a novella.
The reader feels as if they are jumping into the lives of others at crucial moments and I would have liked to have read more before I moved on to the next dark tale.
Regardless, this is an excellent collective and the cover is worth mentioning too because it’s stunning in my opinion and really draws a person in.
I will definitely be buying this and anything else the author has written or will write in the future.
Boneyard Tales
Take a journey through Michael Carter’s boneyard by way of thirty-five bite-sized flash fictions.
All with a speculative bent, the tales explore the magical and the real, outdoor life and the American West, delve into the psychology and horrors of crime, correction, and rehabilitation, and provide a glimpse of the end of the world as we know it.
What else is waiting to be uncovered in the boneyard?
There’s only one way to find out.
Proceeds will be donated to the Shriners Children’s Hospitals in Spokane, Washington, and Galveston, Texas, USA.
You can buy Boneyard Tales from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Sarah Jane Huntington
I am the author of several short horror story collections, Paint it Black, Iron Maidens, Between light and shadow and Waves of Mutilation.
Cabin Terror is my first full-length novel.
My stories have appeared in a few anthologies so far.
I am a nurse, currently working in hospice care.
You can follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahJaneHunti1
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