Head-Broken And Heartbroken (Collections Book 1): Eddie Generous

Reviewed by Steve Stred

If you’ve seen my review of Something in the Water, Eddie’s other collection released at the same time, you’ll know that I’ve yet to read anything by Generous prior to these two releases. I do have Radio Run, but still have not fit it into my hectic reading schedule, although looking at my TBR it is slotted in to be devoured in May! (KR: You can read what Ben thought of Radio Run here)

Much like the titles make it known beforehand, the tales within this second collection focus a lot on what the title leads you to believe. Whereas in Something in the Water, Generous focused on more paranormal/creature type stories (a poor description but the best I can do!), this collection is more introspective, more personal, at least I found. More grounded in real life and real fears.

Now, in the review of the other collection ‘Something’ I did my best to remain generic on the collection as a whole. It really was a superb collection and for the most part, I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite story. Each tale had stellar merits and kept me guessing.

With Head-Broken and Heartbroken, Generous opens the collection up with two of the best PTSD inducing tales of struggle and claustrophobia, and I just wanted to take a second to note that these stories will stay with me for some time.

‘Flying the Mercury,’ is such a simple tale. Two early teen brothers live on a ranch. When mom and dad leave for the day, they decide to drive the old farm truck. As boys often do, they decide to see how fast they can go and then eventually what they can jump. Generous created such a great atmosphere in this tale that I was almost hyperventilating while reading it.

‘Nathanial’s Time,’ does delve into the realm of supernatural, but Generous crafts such a well-spun tale that you don’t lose yourself in that aspect of it.

Two truly remarkable tales and two must-reads by every horror fan.

Much like the first collection, I did find a few tales run a few pages longer than I liked which knocked it down a half star, but overall a truly impressive feat for Eddie Generous to release 26 tales, 13 in each collection and not have a dip in quality.

Looking forward to getting to Radio Run and seeing what else Generous has in store for us!

Star Rating (out of 5): 4.5*

Head-Broken and Heartbroken (Collections Book 1)

From the dusty country fields of FLYING THE MERCURY and NATHANIAL’S TIME, to the heartless urban landscapes of JOHN, AMY, AND THE LONG WAY DOWN and THE REMATCH, Eddie Generous, author of the monstrous adventure stories Radio Run and Great Big Teeth, and the haunted hotel novel Camp Summit, offers up twisted and suspenseful tales of monsters, demons, witchcraft, beasts, horrible people, and all the magic of the spaces between. 
Head-Broken and Heartbroken is a collection of horrific and thrilling stories set on striking what’s on the surface and what lies beneath. Binge read all 13 tales…if you dare.

You can buy Head-Broken and Heartbroken from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve Stred is an up-and-coming Dark, Bleak Horror author.

Steve is the author of the novel Invisible, the novellas Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick, the dark poetry collection Dim the Sun and his most recent release was the coming-of-age, urban legend tale The Girl Who Hid in the Trees.

On June 1st, 2019 his second full-length novel, The Stranger will be welcomed to the world.

Steve is also a voracious reader, reviewing everything he reads and submitting the majority of his reviews to be featured on Kendall Reviews.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred

You can visit Steve’s Official website here

The Stranger

Ahhh… nothing like the annual summer family camping trip, right?

Malcolm, his wife Sam and their two kids have been staying at the same cabin, at the same campground for years now. Heck, Malcolm’s been coming to the campground since he was a kid.

Miles and miles of groomed trails, hiking, kayaking on the pristine lake. What’s not to like?

But this year… well this year’s different. You see, roof repairs have caused them to have to change their plans. Now they’re staying at the cabin at the end of season, in fact they’re the last campers before it closes for the winter.

While happy to be spending time with the family, Malcolm feels a shift.

The caretaker next door makes it known he hates him.

The trees… move and dance, as though calling him, beckoning him.

Then on a seemingly normal kayaking trip, the family makes a discovery.

YOU TAKE FROM ME

I TAKE FROM YOU

Something’s out there, just on the other side of the fence. Malcolm’s positive it’s just the caretaker trying to scare him, teach the family a lesson.

But what if it’s not…

What if there is something out there?

The Stranger is the second novel from Steve Stred and 9th release overall. The Stranger is another offering following in the footsteps of similar books Invisible, YURI and The Girl Who Hid in the Trees. As Steve describes his works; “dark, bleak horror.”

With this release, Steve has decided to look deeper into what makes humans tick. He confronts two key elements of mankind; bigotry and our environmental footprint.

Featuring stunning cover art by Chadwick St. John (www.inkshadows.com), The Stranger will be a story that will leave you feeling uneasy and have you looking at the trees differently.

Maybe it’s not the wind making the branches sway…

Maybe…

It’s…

The Stranger. 

You can buy The Stranger from Amazon UK & Amazon US