Tony Tremblay

4.5 stars!

The Seeds of Nightmares is a collection of wide variety and scope. It truly stands above most other collections and anthologies I've read this year, or any other year, really. Rarely is it that I am so impressed with an author with whom I was totally unfamiliar.

Nearly every story in the book worked for me, but these are the ones that made the strongest impressions:

Stardust Amazing, sad and beautiful, this story of twins with an abusive father will stick with you for a long time. Maybe even forever.

The Strange Saga of Mattie Dyer When I met Tony and bought this book last October, he signed it with the warning "Stay away from the holes." I didn't know what the hell he was talking about, but last week, (after a late night book buying spree), I read this story and it all became clear. This tale is definitely in my top ten short stories of all time, just because it's so strange and original. Plus, the author doesn't spoil it all by trying to over explain things. Once you read it, you'll see. In the meantime, stay away from the holes.

The Soldiers Wife I'm not sure why short stories about soldiers work well for me, but they do. At first, I was comparing this story to Robert McCammon's Nightcrawlers, (from his Blue World collection), and then The Soldier's Wife took such a twisted turn, I gasped out loud. Well done!

An Alabama Christmas This was another poignant tale that nearly broke my heart.

Lastly, Husband of Kellie Extremely short, but packing a punch that will knock you right out.

The Seeds of Nightmares made an impact on me due to its originality and the author's skill. It takes a special kind of talent to write stories with staying power, and Mr. Tremblay has that talent, in spades.

You can get a copy here: The Seeds of Nightmares


*I paid for this book with my hard earned money, and Mr. Tremblay did sign it for me. Even though I consider him to be an online friend, this did not affect the content of my review. *… (mere)

I've been reading Tony Tremblay for a few years now, but this is the first time I've read any of his fiction. Most of what I've read previously are his posts on Facebook. Tons of them. Tony has quite the presence on social media and that's a good thing, particularly if you're a fan of literary horror. Tony's support of the genre is nothing short of legendary. If you're a fan of Horror, as I am, he's certainly worth following on Facebook.

When I saw he was releasing his first book of short stories, I had to see what he had to offer, and I'm happy to report it's a book worth getting excited about. The Seeds of Nightmares features thirteen stories, some previously published, many new to this collection, all entertaining in their individual ways.

One of the nice things about this collection is the series of author's notes before each story, giving the reader some insight into how the story came about and it's history.

The Strange Saga of Mattie Dyer - Weird westerns are a lot of fun and when you mix in a bit of H.P. Lovecraft, well, get ready for a wild ride, and just when you think the worst is over...oh, no!

The Old Man - A bit of noir and a clever tale of mistaken identity.

The Burial Board - A burial board, meant to keep the body of a couple's deceased daughter until the ground thaws for internment, seems to have mystical powers.

Something New - A haunting fantasy story of a man who comes home to find his wife in the arms of another man.

Stardust - A melancholic fantasy tale that leads from pain to wonder.

The Soldier's Wife - A powerful ghost story with a gut-wrenching twist.

Tsunami - The author's backstory for this tale is fascinating. When you read The Seeds of Nightmares be sure to read the author's notes. Tsunami is the story of a family torn apart by disaster. It's only natural to grasp at any ray of hope to be together again. But, oh, what a twist.

The Black Dress - "Dash had killed her a little over two months ago." Her revenge is oh, so sweet.

Chiyoung and Dongsun's Song - Another story with a colorful history. A titillating and humorous tale of forbidden love.

Husband of Kellie - Many of Tony's stories have an unexpected twist and this one is a doozy.

An Alabama Christmas - A gruesomely dark tale of an Alabama Christmas.

The Pawnshop - My favorite story in the collection. A fine tale of the lengths we are willing to go for family.

The Visitors - There's a touch of fantasy mixed in with many of the horror stories in this collection. The Visitors is a perfect example.

The Seeds of Nightmares is available as an e-book and is published by Crossroad Press.

Highly recommended.

In addition to being a horror fiction writer, Tony Tremblay is also a founding member and host of The Taco Society Presents, a series of webcasts featuring horror books and the people who write them. You can find the episodes on YouTube and they are definitely worth checking out.… (mere)

A near perfect collection. Buy it now.

5 great big stars from me.

EULOGIES III is a home run derby of horror, with only a solitary miffed shot for me and a couple others that went deep but didn't quite make it into the stands.

I highly recommend this book to any lover of short-form (10—15 page on average) horror fiction. I can't imagine anyone not getting their money's worth (and then some) with this collection, as it's a veritable master-class in the art of short horror fiction.

Beautiful book, love the Keith Minnion art themed with each story it precedes. Not a fan of ragged-right margins, but I'll deal.

Got a little panicked when I started reading the first story, THE STORM by David Morrell, and realized I'd already read it in his collection BLACK EVENING. Good story for sure, but a reprint.

Thankfully, the rest of the collection is recently copyrighted.

I Loved Tim Curran's playfully lyrical MR. MUMBLETY-PEG. Fans of Gregor Xane's THE RIGGLE TWINS should like this one quite a bit.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS, by Violet LeVoit: I fully expected to hate this one, because it looked gimmicky as hell. Instead, I was blown away by the sheer force of its utter awesomeness. Think Douglas Adam gone very dark, and you're in the right neighborhood. Everyone should read this story frequently, and that's probably not a joke. LeVoit is a new-to-me writer, and I will be exploring more of her work.

HATE ME AFIRE, by Thomas Sullivan. Almost-but-not-quite overwritten, Sullivan's story reads like a fairy tale once told in a dream. Unique, dense and satisfying.

THE MOUTH, by Ray Garton. Cute little story. Not much to it, but fun while it lasted.

IN HELL, AN EYE, by Gemma Files. I failed to connect with this story on any level whatsoever, something I haven't experienced in years. Seemed out of sync with the rest of the collection so far. Still scratching my head on this one.

MORGENSTERN'S LAST ACT, by Bracken MacLeod. My first time reading MacLeod, an author I've been intending to try out for a while. This tale was nicely told and rather enjoyable, and I look forward to exploring more of his work in the future.

ONE LAST DROP OF BLOOD TO REMEMBER ME BY, by Matt Moore. Holy crap! This story was a revelation on several different levels, and is written by an author with some serious chops on display. Employing a fairly unique dual-POV, first-person present narrative structure, the tale keeps the reader off-kilter as the plot slowly reveals itself, strategically dropping just enough clues along the way to subtly pull the reader into its web. Take note of the skilled usage of staccato prose to invoke tension during a critical scene. The only thing that prevents this story from being a mini-masterclass in the art of the short story was a needlessly exposition-heavy conclusion, but you can be sure Matt Moore is solidly on my radar going forward.

FLY AWAY HOME, by Elizabeth Massie. I've not read a lot by Elizabeth Massie, but what I've read, I've liked. I didn't dislike this story as it was well-written and set a mood nicely, but I didn't find it to be particularly satisfying, either.

THE HOLE TO CHINA, by John Everson. Not the twisted shock-fest I expected, rather a sweet fantasy about a sad little boy with a shovel. Very nice.

SHE SITS AND SMILES, by Chet Williamson. Beautifully written tale. I really enjoyed the initial concept, not bad as-is but personally think it could've been taken to a different conclusion with superior results. Enjoyable and thought-provoking fiction.

CARRY ON, CARRION, by Paula D. Ashe. I'd argue that six pages is too short a length for a story to fit in well with the rest of the pieces in this collection. This selection works reasonably well as a mood piece, but the narrative is too slight to become much else. Struck me as a repurposed writing assignment for some reason, a bit overwritten but shows promise as seed for a revised and expanded tale.

ONE POSSIBLE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, by Brian Hodge. I love short stories that distill a tale that could have taken an entire novel to tell down to its essence, and pack an entire world and storyline into a crisp 30 to 40 pages. That's exactly what Brian Hodge has done here, and it's the perfect way to end this stellar collection.… (mere)

Review copy

First there was Eulogies: A Horror World Yearbook 2005, then two years ago, HW Press gave us Eulogies II: Tales From the Cellar, and now comes Eulogies III from editors Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta & Tony Tremblay.

The effort here is to shy away from the common tropes used in horror. There are no zombies, no vampires or werewolves, in this new anthology, just a wide variety of stories to make you think and perhaps to haunt your dreams.

The result, for me, was somewhat mixed, although I can't say I totally enjoyed every story, there were enough to make Eulogies III a worthwhile read.

Among my favorites in this collection were David Morrell's, "The Storm." What seems to be a familiar tale takes some unexpected twists and turns resulting in an exciting and satisfying story of a father who tries desperately to save his family from a very strange storm.

"Mr. Mumblety-Peg," from the always entertaining Tim Curran, goes for the jugular when a man who's been known by many names over the years, goes head to head with a mother's love.

Bracken MacLeod contributes a terrific little story about a carnival sideshow that features a psychic surgeon in "Morgenstern's Last Act." I always love a good sideshow story.

Turning the creep factor all the way up to 11 is Chet Williamson with "She Sits and Smiles," an imaginative and entertaining story set in a nursing home.

There were more I really liked, but that should be more than enough to whet your appetite. Although, I didn't care for every story, that doesn't mean you won't love them all. Just like I don't care for brussel sprouts, you may love them. Really, someone must love them

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful interior illustrations from Keith Minnion, one for each story. A very nice touch.

Eulogies III is available now from HW Press in both paperback and e-book formats.

Recommended.… (mere)