3 AND 1/2 STARSThis is my first experience reading Simon Strantzas and I'm very impressed. An avid horror reader, I decided to branch out a little and try this new 'Weird Fiction' movement. I have read many authors that write like this but the stories were not necessarily label 'Weird', they were just lumped into horror or dark fiction. Essentially, 'Weird Fiction' is really a sub-genre of horror, like the supernatural, and it works well for readers who would rather have their dark fiction more

This was a great introduction for me to Simon Strantzas' work. To this point I have heard excellent things and was ultimately compelled to track down this not-so-easy to find collection from Tartarus Press. So here is the thing, I gave this one 5 stars because as a collection, it is closer to 5 stars than to 4 stars. I can't really say that there was a single story in the collection that left me blown away, but story for story, this may be one of the strongest collections I have read in some tim...

A solid book of short stories in an excellent psychological style. I preferred "Beneath the Surface" most likely due to its Lovecraft/Ligotti influence, but this one is excellent as well.

it was the first book read by this author of whom i Always heard talking about in quite a supoerb way. Rumours were confirmed and i wasn't let down:this collection scared me more than a nightime, contaminating my dreams as only old Hammer horror movies did. Have to read else, especially in the more recent production. 5 stars. undoubtedly.

October 2: finished. Review of the other stories coming as soon as I have time to write them.September 11, 2014:"Under the Overpass":About that defining moment when you lose your innocence as a child. I liked the sombre tone. A good start for the collection.September 12:"The Other Village" + "The Uninvited Guest":The first is a fine little story of leaving negativity behind, with some great, atmospheric scenes. The latter was ok but in my opinion not quite as good as the first two stories.Septem...

I'm particularly fond of weird fiction - especially short stories - so was pleased to discover Simon Strantzas. He has a straightforward storytelling manner that made me feel that I was sitting and listening to someone telling me about an odd experience he or she had had. No lengthy explanations or justifications, or attempts to understand or rationalize the experience, and in weird fiction terms, this is excellent! Let the reader decide, or dream, or shudder and lie sleepless accordingly. I par...

This book is full of very well written strange tales. If you appreciate literary dark and weird stories then read this book!

A diverse collection of thirteen dark tales that shows off Strantzas varied and controlled range of characters, tones, styles and settings. There’s a strong opening sequence of perfectly formed short stories rich in dread and atmosphere; ‘Under the Overpass', 'The Other Village', 'A Seed on Barren Ground’, each with nods to King, Aickman and Ligotti respectively. Strantzas’ writing is deceptively simple, and draws the reader in before he twists the narrative into unsettling, weirder places. I en...

Simon Strantzas is the author of two twisted collections of strange tales and horrific adventures. His first book was Beneath the Surface published by Humdrumming Press. (I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this collection yet, but I hope to track it down.) The second book is entitled Cold to the Touch. (According to his website – a third collection is being created – I will keep my eyes peeled.) When I did my first book review on SNS I spoke about the great masters of the short story, like Po...

With an appropriate 13 different stories to deliver Simon Strantzas has delivered horror stories at all levels and from all angles. All the stories are bite size and thus develop quickly. Characters are sketched out and are flushed out as the story proceeds.Horror is a visceral feeling and what is a horror to you may not be to another person. However Stranzas approaches the genre from so many different angles that he pretty well has horror stories fully embraced and ready for the reader to enjoy...

A very good collection of horror/paranormal short stories. Reading this book reminded me of the old television series The Twilight Zone. I couldn't wait to see how each story ended, what the twist was. The past is never the past. Sometimes monsters are real. Sometimes we are the monsters. 4.5 stars.

There is more contamination in this story; it gives you more than just a hacking cough. Could that be caught from this story, by getting too close it? There is another Uninvited Guest, from Cecil’s point of view, and she (Vivian) gets too close to him. A Joel Lane-like shaping up with wings. This is a massive story. I can only dwell on its smaller preciousnesses. It’s a sweetest song, Lyra’s song. Even if that’s not true, it’s better than to face this story’s real truth head on. The detailed re...

A fine collection of horror short stories which are light on the grue, heavy on the existential dread. At his best—as with tales like “Pinholes in Black Muslin”, “Fading Light” and the title entry—Stranzas’ narrative voice reminds me strongly of a young Ramsey Campbell, though he can also be a bit too Kafka-esque for his own good, trading pleasant obliqueness for total unintelligibility.

Its Simon Strantzas! Of course its going to be good!

I read Strantzas' collection Burnt Black Suns last year and thought it was among the best weird fiction collections I read all year. I can't give this one less than FOUR stars and it makes me think I should go back and give that one FIVE! I can't say I've read anything by Strantzas that I didn't enjoy, and I am glad there's another two collections by him, because I intend to read them all.A couple of the best stories are downright scary -- "Fading Light" and the title story "Cold to the Touch,"

This was a hard book for me to rate. It is not the book I thought that it was, and I am not sure if that colored my thoughts as to whether or not I liked it. I knew that it would be a more subtle horror book before I started reading it from the reviews and general information about the book, not one filled with obvious threats like Cthulhu-like monsters, zombies, or werewolves. That’s fine, a more subtle horror story, perhaps one that was a bit more atmospheric than monstrous, would be enjoyable...