Dissonant Harmonies: Bev Vincent & Brian Keene
Reviewed By Simon Paul Wilson
Mixtapes, don’t you just love them?
I used to spend hours making tapes in my younger days. Let me tell you, compiling one is a true art form. You have to get the flow right, and make sure each track is a killer. There can be no fillers. A mix tape has to be perfect, from start to finish.
And that’s what Bev Vincent and Brian Keene went and did. They made two killer playlists that are fantastic listens. Then, they went and used these playlists to inspire each other. It’s a great idea, and the pair of them nailed it. Both stories are excellent.
Dissonant Harmonies starts with Vincent and Keene talking about the tracks they chose for this project. As a total music geek, I loved this introduction. Personally, I could have read an entire book’s worth of them chewing the fat about their favourite artists and songs!
Anyone who knows me will be aware how big a Brian Keene fan I am, so I was very excited to read this novella. As for Bev Vincent, this was my first time to read some of his work. I can safely say, it won’t be my last.
The Dead of Winter by Bev Vincent is great stuff. This story follows brothers Joey and Frank, as they investigate disappearances in the small town of Bayport. Add a blizzard, spooky tunnels, and something monstrous and hungry to the mix, and you’ve got one hell of a read. Highly enjoyable.
The Motel at the End of the World by Brian Keene is one of those stories that will make you think, make you laugh. and make you worry about your sanity.
This short story about The Mandela Effect was just brilliant. It also made me rewatch a certain scene from The Empire Strikes Back. I’m sure some of you will do the same.
Dissonant Harmonies gets two thumbs up from me. I highly recommend folk give this a read, as well as giving the playlists a listen.
I hear there’s a Dissonant Harmonies 2 in the making.
Now, that’s music to my ears.
Dissonant Harmonies
Inspired by specially curated mixtapes, Bev Vincent and Brian Keene present two new spine-chilling novellas…
As a blizzard descends upon the sleepy town of Bayport, Rhode Island, brothers Joey and Frank Shaw investigate the mysterious disappearances of several townsfolk. After the discovery of strange tunnels, tunnels that only Joey can see, the trio suspect something is lurking beneath the snowbound town. Something burrowing. Something hungry. And it looks like Joey might be next in The Dead of Winter.
Did you imagine the world vanishing to a flood or a comet, the hand of God or nuclear war? What if it started with something as innocuous as the Berenstain Bears, and something known as the Mandela Effect? Barricaded in a seedy motel room, one man makes sense of love, loss, and life as the end of the world looms. Do you see what he sees? Do you know what he knows?
You can buy Dissonant Harmonies from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Simon Paul Wilson
Simon Paul Wilson is a U.K. based writer of horror and science fiction.
He is currently writing a cyberpunk horror trilogy, the first of which is GhostCityGirl and was published by Not A Pipe publishing in 2020.
Click this link for more info: Ghost City Girl
There now follows a list of writers who have influenced his reading tastes and writing style:
James Herbert. Stephen King, Shaun Hutson, Clive Barker, China Mieville, Haruki Murakami, Carlton Mellick III, Brian Keene, and Adam Nevill.
Simon lives somewhere in the middle of England with his wonderful family. He likes to listen to post-rock and progressive rock at loud volumes. He also plays a mean air bass.
Follow him on Twitter: @spwzen
Looks like I’ll have to get a copy of this 🙂 I’ve only ever read a short story by Bev Vincent (Aeliana) but I really enjoyed it. Meant to get more of their stuff and this has reminded me.