{Book Review} Steve Stred reviews Crystal Lake Publishing’s ‘Creatures Of The Night: Vicious Vampire Tales’

Creatures Of The Night: Vicious Vampire Tales – Simon Clark, Kevin J. Kennedy & Gord Rollo

Reviewed By Steve Stred

*Huge thanks to Kevin J. Kennedy for sending me a digital copy of this one!*

Over the last number of years, Crystal Lake Publishing has been releasing a series of books that feature three authors contributing a novella each. The books are themed, and in this case, this one is all about vampires.

Now, I typically tend to steer clear of vampire fiction. It’s something I’ve never jived with and often find myself tuning out. Even vampire movies/shows. But, I’ve always heard amazing things about Simon Clark’s writing, have read a lot of Kevin’s work and some of Gord’s work, and knowing the pedigree these three bring to the table, I was more than intrigued to see what each one delivered.

What I liked: I will say, I don’t think any of the three stories stood out as being the superior one of the three, because they were all so solid. Clark opens the book with a story that takes place within his Vampyrrhic series of novels, and though I’ve not read any of them, I felt immersed immediately and read with glee as we see humans having to band together to overcome insurmountable odds. Clark’s writing was thoroughly engaging, and the violence was created perfectly. You’d be surprised that blood was splattered across your chest as you read.

Next up was Kennedy’s story, while similar in aspects thematically to Clark’s, quite different in its approach and cadence. A body ends up at the front doors of a home and with it, our characters’ eyes are opened, and violence soon follows. In this one, Kevin’s writing is far more pedal-to-the-medal than Clark’s opener, and with less humor, which makes for a decidedly darker second story, but one still written with plenty of fangs and gore.

Lastly, we get a story from Gord Rollo that’ll surely give some of you nightmares, because it features one of my favorite tropes, but made vampire. Creatures in a mine. I love anything involving mines – whether active or abandoned/boarded up, but in this case (and kudos for the Canadian setting!) we get to see what happens after an explosion in a mine in Nova Scotia. Rollo gives us some truly frightening moments and takes us on a subterranean thrill ride.

What I didn’t like: I’d say honestly, the only thing that I noticed was that the three stories were of very, varying lengths, with Rollo’s being the longest. It would’ve made for some great pacing overall if each one was the same length – though I do understand the logistical nightmare of having three authors all produce three individual stories, all within the same length.

And of course, I’ll mention it, but these are all vampire-based stories, so if that isn’t your thing, then don’t expect any sort of difference from the norm here.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of any of these authors, you’ll be all over this. Also, if you’re a fan of the series that Crystal Lake is putting out, then this will be another fantastic offering to add to your bookshelf. Or, if you’re just a fan of blood-thirsty fangs, humans doing their best to stay alive, and ultimately how their role affects the fate of the world, then this will be right in your wheelhouse. Three well done, fun novellas that each pack an individual punch, while also heightening the other two within the book, Crystal Lake has a big winner with this release.

Creatures Of The Night was published 9th August 2024