davemusson85's review
4.0
“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside! Oh I do like to be beside the sea!” Yeah, you might be rethinking that once you’ve read this sublime anthology from DarkLit Press - one half of their debut offering. Slice of Paradise pulls together a bunch of stories that want to take your beach body, inflict acts of terrible horror and violence on it, then rip it apart and toss it away. And, wow, is it a fun experience!
The quality in this collection is high - impressively high, in fact - and it just goes to show how much quality there is out there in the wide, wild world of indie horror writing. Any fan of scary and gruesome stuff will find something they enjoy here, but I wanted to take a few words to pick out my favourites…
Three of my highlights were all stories twisted my gut, got under my skin, and made me feel a bit queasy; Phosphorescence by Denver Grenell has put me off the idea of night swimming for life, Paradise Lost by Sheri White was a timely reminder of why I don’t like the heat, while Misery Guts by Craig Wallwork was absolutely vile in the very best way. I also enjoyed the cruelty of Aiden Merchant’s Beach Snakes, and was impressed by how much the micro fiction of Kelly Brocklehurst and Jack Harding (Of Murder and Mermaids, and She Waits respectively) chilled me with so few words.
But, my top pick was They Eat People You Know? by Rowan Hill - a terrific slow-burner with a very cool twist that I kind-of saw coming, only to brush off thinking it too daring, only to then have my little sunburned mind blown when it actually happened. It got pretty nasty towards the end and I was all for it!
It’s worth noting that, because DarkLit received so many high-quality submissions for this call, they doubled-down and put out a *second* collection at the same time as this one. It’s called Beach Bodies and it has been bumped towards the top of my TBR. As for Slice of Paradise? It’s excellent. Ideal for a holiday read, chilling on the sand with the sun in the sky and the waves lapping at your feet? Hell no! Are you insane??
The quality in this collection is high - impressively high, in fact - and it just goes to show how much quality there is out there in the wide, wild world of indie horror writing. Any fan of scary and gruesome stuff will find something they enjoy here, but I wanted to take a few words to pick out my favourites…
Three of my highlights were all stories twisted my gut, got under my skin, and made me feel a bit queasy; Phosphorescence by Denver Grenell has put me off the idea of night swimming for life, Paradise Lost by Sheri White was a timely reminder of why I don’t like the heat, while Misery Guts by Craig Wallwork was absolutely vile in the very best way. I also enjoyed the cruelty of Aiden Merchant’s Beach Snakes, and was impressed by how much the micro fiction of Kelly Brocklehurst and Jack Harding (Of Murder and Mermaids, and She Waits respectively) chilled me with so few words.
But, my top pick was They Eat People You Know? by Rowan Hill - a terrific slow-burner with a very cool twist that I kind-of saw coming, only to brush off thinking it too daring, only to then have my little sunburned mind blown when it actually happened. It got pretty nasty towards the end and I was all for it!
It’s worth noting that, because DarkLit received so many high-quality submissions for this call, they doubled-down and put out a *second* collection at the same time as this one. It’s called Beach Bodies and it has been bumped towards the top of my TBR. As for Slice of Paradise? It’s excellent. Ideal for a holiday read, chilling on the sand with the sun in the sky and the waves lapping at your feet? Hell no! Are you insane??
n0rmann's review
4.0
This has reinforced me not wanting to go on tropical vacations. Very good anthology with a couple of excellent stories, mostly good stories and a couple that fell flat for me.
readingvicariously's review
Full disclosure: this is one of two beach vacation horror anthologies that I edited for DarkLit Press. So while I played a role in this release, as a reader I also stand behind it as an entertaining and diverse collection of horror. I hope everyone enjoys this offering, and I appreciate DarkLit for allowing me to work on this project!
Anyone interested in reading Slice of Paradise will be happy to know that this is just one of TWO beach vacation horror anthologies. Be sure to check out Beach Bodies as well!
Add to TBR -> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60193796-beach-bodies
Anyone interested in reading Slice of Paradise will be happy to know that this is just one of TWO beach vacation horror anthologies. Be sure to check out Beach Bodies as well!
Add to TBR -> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60193796-beach-bodies
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