Dead Of Winter – Kealan Patrick Burke

Reviewed by Steve Stred

Kealan Patrick Burke is one of the leaders in writing bleak horror, and having now read a number of his works, it’s apparent he is the one to catch. I finished off 2018 with Kin, Sour Candy and Blanky from KPB and to say he set the bar high would be a massive understatement. Those three alone would create a long-standing literary career for most, yet KPB has produced a massive, stellar bibliography to match.

Dead of Winter first caught my eye when KPB announced a new, updated cover for the book. Simply put, the new cover featuring the aerial view of the forest, is one of THE best horror covers ever produced. Once I saw that, I knew I needed to check this collection out.

Burke opens up the collection with a foreword he wrote, where he describes the origins of the tales included. He says that for a number of Christmas’ he would send out a short story via email. How I wish I would have been on that list back then!

This collection opens with the decidedly bleak ‘Snowmen’ which really sets the tone for the entire collection. This is cold, ice crusted horror done to the n-th degree.

As KPB weaves his way through further snow-filled horror we get to finish off with ‘They Know.’ This jewel at the back of the book follows a man and his friend searching for people in a frozen town. Just superb storytelling overall and really does cement why Burke is so revered.

I can’t recommend this enough and will be jumping into his other ‘seasonal’ offering I have, Dead Leaves, shortly!

Star Rating (out of 5): 5 Frosty *

Winter isn’t coming…it’s already here, and with it comes a horror no door can keep out.It’s there in the yard, in the faces of the snowmen a young boy doesn’t remember building. It’s in the oddly empty streets below Santa Claus’s crumbling sleigh. It’s in the unnatural movement of the snow that suffocates a widower’s town, and in the cold eyes of a lonely man’s estranged children.

Here, there is no holiday cheer, only spine-chilling fear, in the DEAD OF WINTER.

You can buy Dead Of Winter from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve has a new book out will ALL PROCEEDs going to charity!

You can buy Dim The Sun from Amazon US & Amazon UK

Steve Stred is an up-an-coming Dark 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.

Steve also has a number of works on the go and enjoys all this horror, occult, supernatural and paranormal.

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