Cerberus Rising: Ennenbach, Harrison, Miller
Reviewed By Steve Stred
Big thanks to Chris Miller for reaching out to see if I’d be keen to tackle this new release. I’d previously read ‘The Damned Place’ by Miller and enjoyed it, but I’ve not read anything from Harrison III or Ennenback before.
What I liked: ‘Cerberus Rising’ has a fantastic premise. Three authors, three prompts and each deliver a novelette/novella from each prompt. Each section is introduced by a poem, which in each case, deftly set up the mood for each part.
For me, personally, the opening three stories were the strongest.
Set under the prompt ‘Cabin Fever,’ Harrison III gets us rolling with ‘Insides Out.’ This was a completely bonkers story about a family gathering gone wrong when the sky takes a turn.
Miller comes up next with ‘Into the Light,’ a claustrophobic story of life in a fallout shelter. It had shades of ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ and the ending was superb.
The strongest story for me was Ennenbach’s ‘Fifty Words For Writer’s Block – A Decline.’ This story was fantastic. We follow a poet who retreats to a cabin to finish his next collection when things go off the rails when a moose visits his place. Just superb.
What I didn’t like: While the rest of the stories were great, I’m personally not a fan of epistolary storytelling, which part two, ‘Letters,’ was based on, and I found part three ‘Chaos’ to be completely filled with potential, but I was unable to fully engage with the stories due to characters named not only after the authors, but a lot of authors who also frequent both Books of Horror and Books of Horror – Author Central Facebook pages. A first name could’ve been manageable but the first and last names completely detached me. A minor issue for me, which may be perfect for others
Why you should buy this: All nine stories are well done and cover a ton of ground. That opening section of three novellas would be worth the price of admission alone, but the other two sections keep the bar high.
These were a blast to read and if you’re looking to support three great writers, here’s a great way to do that.
Cerberus Rising
A poet, a master of horror, and a master of suspense join forces as Cerberus. With three prompts–Cabin Fever, Letters, and Chaos–the three-headed beast dishes out nine novelettes.
Cerberus Rises with their unique styles to take you on a journey through nine different levels of Hell.
You can buy Cerberus Rising from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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