pickAmong the 11 stories, 8 were outstanding. The remainder was ok. There were no bad stories. Though I adored a few shorter pieces, such as: "Radio Free Nowhere," "The Otherland Express," "Saving Granny from the Devil," & "Human Resources," Keisling shines with longer fiction. Among the longer pieces, "The Final Reconciliation," is my favorite. Next is, "The Harbenger," "When Karen Met Her Mountain," & "House of Nettle & Thorn." Highly recommended!
From here, the horrid doll was gifted to Maggie. Following this gift, the town's children have all been slaughtered, Maggie has become a successful producer of dolls, and the townsfolk has prospered. Not until Felix meets Maggie and her disciples in a darkly sacrilegious end, does Felix realize why he's really here.
The true horror doesn't begin until he meets the town drunk, Henry. This is when the dark underbelly of the town is revealed. Henry explains the town & its success was built on evil. Giving backstory, he elaborates that a long time ago, an ancient evil was uncovered in one of the mines. This evil was formed as a grim doll that appeared to be an infant with coal for eyes. Despite its grotesqueness, Maggie's dad took it home. *continued*
Upon his arrival, everything opposes his expectations of the quaint town. For one, everything smells like pig feces. Also, he is overnighting in a rundown motel where the owner, Jerry, treats a doll named, Noah, like his son. Last, he is denied the opportunity to meet Maggie due to her workers explaining that no one ever meets her. Still, determined to write a report, he gathers what info he can & purchases a doll out of politeness. *continued*
Read "The Harbinger" last night and it was fairly creepy. The story opens with Felix, who has arrived in a small town named Dalton. Here, he is supposed to interview the town's bread and butter, Maggie, who is the creator of Dalton Dollworks. Their meeting has been set up by her publicist and he has been told that Maggie has well sought him out and has demanded his presence. *continued*
Just finished, "When Karen Met Her Mountain." Told in a non-linear fashion, Karen has been seeing a therapist due to a suicide attempt following her miscarriage. After being dedicated to the sessions, her father dies & her husband, Martin, drives her to the funeral. On their way home, they come across a staged wreck. When they pull over to help, they are kidnapped by a family of occultists. From here, Karen must do the unthinkable to survive.
When there's a mountain in your way, you either climb over it, or find a way around it. There ain't no in-between.
I finished "The Final Reconciliation" and it was probably the strongest story in the book. By the time Reggie warns The Yellow Kings not to perform their album live, it is too late. In a bloodbath that claims 234 people, Aiden is the sole survivor.
Although Aiden lives to tell, the reporter, Miles, has some grim news regarding the albums 30th anniversary.
Camilla admits to Aiden she has been exiled from Carcosa and the goal of his band's debute is to cause a final reconciliation between our world and hers. All everyone has to do is take off their mask.
Aiden is detailing his experience from when he and his band created their only album. He admits that the album was inspired by grimoires that Camilla provided them. Also, when they recorded the album, Johnny orchestrated where each band member stood while playing. The floor in which they stood was marked by occult symbols and while they played, they were astral projected to the gates of a hellish world called Carcosa.
After the Kings in Yellow are enticed to gangbang Camilla in a ritualistic orgy, things really begin getting weird. Much like the rape scene in "Rosemary's Baby," the kings are now experiencing occult phenomena that Camilla is orchestrating.
During this time, Johnny has completed the first of his two contracted albums, "The Final Reconciliation," which each track forms together into a story filled with subliminal messages of pure evil.
After Camilla worms her way into being Johnny's girlfriend, The Kings in Yellow begin experiencing success. Yes, this could be due to their gigs and their manager providing them with merch sales. However, Camilla is becoming a puppetmaster to the music group, especially to Johnny, who she has weaved a strand of her own hair into his scalp.
Aiden describes her act as looking like a binding ritual.
Nonetheless, they have landed 2 record deals.
Starting the book's novella, "The Final Reconciliation."
The story features an entertainment journalist named Miles. In the opening, Miles interviews retired rockstar, Aiden, an ex-member of The Kings in Yellow.
In Aiden's retelling of his life, he speaks of how the lead singer, Johnny, met a woman named Camilla after finishing a dive bar gig. Aiden describes her as a Yoko Ono type.
I imagine their manager, Reggie, won't be happy.
Just read "The House of Nettle and Thorn."
Frat bro, Nick has been speaking with a girl online who has invited him to her sorority house for a party. Accepting her invatation, he & his friend, Jim, arrive at her address to find there isn't a party. Still, they approach the front door, knock, & is greeted by beautiful sorority sisters known as the Daughters of Demeter.
As the bros step inside, they don't realize they are to be part of a harvest.
Just read "Human Resources." Written as an email from human resource director, Alex Nawmarth. He confesses to his company that he has killed his assistant. He continues by explaining senior programmer, Charles Boid has used company software to build an evil deity, known as, He Who Lurks Beyond the Code. As Alex resigns, he explains the correct incantations and procedures necessary for staff members to sacrifice themselves to the digital god.
Just read "The Darkness Between Dead Stars." The tale focuses on a Deep Space Shuttle named ODESSA. Told in first person from a mission control tech, the story reveals how they are looking for a volunteer for a one way ticket to Mars. They select a guy, Maxwell. Once Maxwell goes into space, he develops cabin fever. However, not all of his delusions are fake. Perhaps the most gruesome story this far.
Just read "Saving Granny From the Devil." This story asks, What if the devil was a mirror rather than an enemy? This tale features a young boy named Toddy, who enters the devil's debt after being rescued. Eventually, Toddy believes the devil is coming for his great grandma. In desperation, Toddy offers the devil his soul, which the devil declines. Instead the devil bargains that Toddy will belong to him as long as his granny lives.
Just read "The Otherland Express." Gregory has ran away from his drunken, abusive dad. Although he was hoping to live with his online boyfriend, Tommy, his hopes are shattered once he is rejected. Now homeless, Greg believes he has arrived at a dead end, until he meets John. After little persuasion, Greg follows John onto a bus where he meets "The Nobodies". Here, he learns a gory & valuable lesson. One that suggests you can't run from yourself.
Just finished "Radio Free Nowhere." In this tale, Ash and her boyfriend, Connie, are vacationing in the mountains. During their drive, the radio lacks a good frequency, which prevents them from hearing music. However, to Ash's surprise, she finds a channel that features a serenading voice. While Connie sleeps, Ash is lured by the beautiful melody into a nearby body of water where she becomes confronted by the lethal singer that enticed her drive.
Just read "Show Me Where the Waters Fill Your Grave." The story focuses on Jonathan, a widower whose wife, Glenda, died 6 days ago. On the 6th evening, a storm occurs. While Jonathan is sleeping, a knocking comes at his front door. Once opening the door, he becomes confronted by his wife's animated corpse. Not until she luers him out into the storm does he realize the thing posing as Glenda is a sinister being hoping to lead him to his demise.
"A Man in Your Garden" is short & psychological. This text speaks directly to "You." As the reader is home alone on a stormy night after drinking & partying, the reader sees a stranger standing in their garden. This stranger appears with a clown mask & a hatchet. Although this tale speculates who this stranger could be, it's open end allows for the reader to draw their own conclusion. Is the reader being stalked? Are they drunk? Or are they crazy?
Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors | 
