The haunting stories in Embrace the Darkness and Other Short Stories delve deep into dreams and nightmares, witchcraft, paganism, and death. Listening to them made cooking and the rather boring task of cleaning my kitchen entertaining and thrilling. The deep voice of David Sweeney-Bear is perfect for narrating these haunting stories. My only complaint is that the book came to an end way too soon.
All of the stories were well-written. Once I began to listen to them, I was hooked. I found the audiobook so entertaining that I bought the Kindle version of the book as well. I wanted to see the words, not just listen to them.
“Abandonment” – Alice feels betrayed, abandoned by everyone. She is clinging desperately to the hope that Marcus will be the one that one that won’t leave her behind. I guess you could say that Alice’s dream is to find someone who won’t abandon her. But did all of those people really abandon her? Or is it all in her mind?
“Betrayal” – In a place where the ability to tell the future is looked upon as witchcraft, what do you do when you have dreams where you see what is going to happen? This is a story of love, yet it is also a story of betrayal. Or was what happened meant to be?
“Dream Catcher” – This story sent cold chills down my spine. Paul, a lover of fitness and gadgets, is selected to beta-test a new style of sports watch. Besides all the normal functions of a sports watch, this one will also record your dreams and play them back for you if you want. But do you really need to see the dreams you don’t remember having? Maybe there is a good reason we aren’t able to recall them.
“Embrace the Darkness” – A repetitive childhood nightmare terrifies a young boy and follows him throughout his life no matter where he lives. The creature in his nightmare—is it real?—turns what should be a fun camping trip into a terrifying experience.
“Opened Up” – This story, my favorite one from this collection, is even more chilling than “Dream Catcher” but in a different way. A woman goes to the doctor to have a cyst on her foot checked out because it has begun to bother her. This story isn’t about dreams, but it is rather about the stuff that nightmares are made of.
“The Devil’s Pocket Watch” – It would be an honor to receive an heirloom that had been handed down for generations, wouldn’t it? Tess believes so too, until she learns what the watch she has been given is capable of doing.
I was sent a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. And, as I said above, I enjoyed it so much that I bought the Kindle version as well. If you would like one or both versions of this book, the Amazon links for them are below.
Amazon Links:
Embrace the Darkness & Other Short Stories: Collection 1 (Kindle)
Embrace the Darkness & Other Short Stories: Collection 1 (Audiobook)
Favorite Sentences:
The joy of Marcus promising her forever began clashing with her determination to leave this world, culminating in only one possible course of action.
There is a thin line between prophecy and witchcraft.
Her head was covered by a mask of some sort, similar to the kind worn at nineteenth-century dances.
It had engulfed them with such force that they had been bent and twisted, limbs contorted at angles which were not usually possible, one of their heads suddenly facing the wrong way.
The doctor had seemed more concerned about the lump than I had, having just shown it to her on the off-chance that it warranted taking action.
Safety was not the main reason for her mother’s rules and whenever a disagreement ensued, it was made perfectly clear that if Tess did not follow her mother’s directions, then her soul would be spending eternity in a fiery pit.
About the Author:
P.J. Blakey-Novis lives with his wife and four children in a small town in Sussex, England. As well as being a keen cook and wine enthusiast, Peter has been writing poetry and short stories for almost twenty years. It had always been an ambition to complete a novel and, after the success of his debut, The Broken Doll, it has been fantastic to have the opportunity to turn a hobby into a new career. Since the release of The Broken Doll in February 2017, Peter has released the follow-up novel, Shattered Pieces, as well as three collections of short horror stories, and a children’s book. Peter has had work published in a number of anthologies, is the Editor-in-Chief of Indie Writers Review, and is the co-founder of Red Cape Publishing.
