Monstroddities: Edited By Ben Walker
Reviewed By Simon Paul Wilson
Firstly, this book has a cool name. It’s one of the reasons why I stuck my hand In the air when Monstroddities came up for review.
Secondly, the cover art truly rocks. That sure is one eye-catching creature!
So, with two boxes ticked, I crossed my fingers and hoped the contents wouldn’t disappoint.
Happily, they didn’t. All was well and good, and the horror within made this reader more than happy.
Monstroddities is a great collection of stories and poems about the monstrous and odd. There were a lot of names I didn’t know in this book, and I was excited to check out some new writers. It’s always cool to stumble across someone who then becomes one of your favourite authors, and I have definitely found some horror heads that I want to read more from.
More about those in a moment!
When it comes to anthologies, there are often one or two stories that don’t appeal. It’s all a matter of taste, of course. I mean, you can’t please everyone all of the time, right?
In Monstroddities, while there were a couple of tales that didn’t quite hit the mark for me, there was nothing I wouldn’t rate as ‘good’ or give 3 stars too. This anthology boasts a varied range of horrors of different styles, and I reckon it has something for most folk. The quality of writing overall is very good, and there are some stories that I thought were absolutely brilliant.
While I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, I have to say I thought the prose in Monstroddities was marvelous, especially Sticky Sweet by Caitlin Marceau, which I thought was grotesquely awesome. After reading that, I decided to stay away from the local woodlands for a while.
The anthology starts in fine form with A New and Different Hunger, written by Tiffany Morris. This one went dark very quickly, and I may never look at a horse in the same way again. There was something about this tale that really got under my skin and creeped me out. Wonderful stuff.
The Devil’s Footprints, by Tabatha Wood, was another winner for me. Set in a small town in Devon, this story of demonic goings-on had strong Hammer Horror vibes, which I absolutely loved. Definitely one of my favourites from this collection.
Cul-de-Sac, by Stephanie Rabig, must win the award for best final lines! Wow, what a way to end a story. Very nasty and rather excellent.
And last but not least, I must mention Detachment. This slice of body horror by Andres Menendez was my absolute favourite. I loved every gore-soaked sentence. Just bloody brilliant.
So, in conclusion, is Monstroddities worth your time?
Yes, it is. Absolutely. There’s some cracking horror to be found within this anthology. I really enjoyed reading this book, and am very happy to have discovered some new writers to follow. I’m sure many of you good folk will feel the same as I.
Two thumbs up from me and recommended. Go get a copy.
Monstroddities
Sliced Up Press proudly presents twenty-two visions of peculiar monsters and weird phenomena from around the world, and beyond. Familiar or not, you’ll soon learn to fear what lurks within, whether it’s music stolen from the dead, ravenous beasts of burden, inexplicable bodily growths, or dreadful things slipping through your letterbox. Plus much more!
With all-new poetry & prose from: A. Katherine Black, Die Booth, Lorenzo Crescentini, Maxx Fidalgo, Maija Haavisto, Eve Harms, Pedro Iniguez, Ai Jiang, Joe Koch, Basile Lebret, Sam Lesek, Caitlin Marceau, Avra Margariti, Andrés Menéndez, Tiffany Morris, H.V. Patterson, Sarah Peploe, Stephanie Rabig, David Sandner, Lorraine Schein, Angela Sylvaine and Tabatha Wood.
You can buy Monstroddities 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
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