Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction No. 1, Jan-Feb 2022, Hobb’s End Press.
I often groan about authors who overreach and can’t sustain plots or that whole “character development” thing -- definitely overrated, yes? -- over multi-volume magnum opii. Short stories like these, though, are good reminders that there’s a ton of effort that goes into crafting something high quality in the confines imposed by a short story. I thought these were all fairly strong, and even lesser ones had compelling parts.
This compilation opens with “The Burning Cathedral of Summer” by Wayne Kyle Spitzer. This starts with kids torturing a caterpillar as a prelude to a trip to the local lake which ends with visions, an alien and murder. That’s standard summer memories from growing up, right? Kurt Newton’s The Hornet Priest is a bit of cross-cultural wish fulfillment gone sideways. In The Silhouette Shop, M. Kari Barr explores how trying to capture something best left uncaptured can boomerang. Growing Season from Davin Ireland illuminates the dark side of “giving back” to nature, as well as why you might not want to go into someone’s house if one of the first things they ask you is if you’re there alone. The centerpiece is the first installment of a longer story from Bill Link exploring the inner (non-) life of a ghoul, appropriately titled A Whisperer Among The Graves.
The folks at Hobb’s End did a lovely job of compiling this slim volume, and I’m looking forward to reading more from them!*
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (Only 1 smirk in 96 pages, used to describe a facial expression)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 8/10 (4 stars)
* Which is good, since I bought the whole run of them — thanks, Amazon one-click! ( I think.)