Weird Review: For When the Veil Drops
Title: For When the Veil Drops
Publisher: West Pigeon Press
Style: Anthology
Number of Pages: 187
Format: Print (Paperback)
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars Aligned
West Pigeon Press is honored to present its newest anthology, a collection of resonant, unbridled dark fiction. Unburdened by genre and disparate in subject, these stories find common cause in their emphasis on mood, style, intelligence, and emotional depth. West Pigeon is proud to release these stories under its banner, and is proud to have you as a reader.
As unorthodox as it may be to admit this on a back copy, the less revealed about these stories – and the more left to the reader to discover – the better.
Once again the folks over at West Pigeon Press are out to strip you of your hopes and sanity with a brand new anthology. That’s right, those who released unto the world, J.R. Hamantaschen’s You Shall Never Know Security
Not all of the stories are great, and some definitely outshine others, but something that I will admit is every story at some point made me uneasy, or left me feeling freaked out. A couple on my favorites list include Doug Murano’s savage “The Chopping Block,” Michael Wehunt’s epically evil “A Coat that Fell,” BV Lawson’s revenge tale, “Beside Still Waters,” and Samuel Minier’s horrific holiday fable, “The Third List.” I was impressed with the opening story by Christian A. Larsen, “724,” which certainly puts the reader in the mood, and is just how a West Pigeon Press anthology should start, with a big “WTF!?” moment. And wrapping up the anthology is, “Still Life” by Michael Trudeau, with a poignant reminder that the horror is everyday life.
724, by Christian A. Larsen
The Chopping Block, by Doug Murano
The Persistence of Fondu, by Yarrow Paisley
Bless You, by C. Bryan Brown
A Coat That Fell, by Michael Wehunt
The City Underneath, by Robin Wyatt Dunn
Beside Still Waters, by BV Lawson
The Condition She’s In, by Nick Medina
St. Mollusks, by Paul L. Bates
Thicker Than, by Lydia Peever
The Third List, by Samuel Minier
Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened Here, by A. A. Garrison
Oh Abel, Oh Absalom, by J.R. Hamantaschen
Misery Don’t Wait on Me?, by Joshua Clark Orkin
Still Life, by Michael Trudeau
Over all it was a good read. Most of the stories aren’t too long, and some are written smoothly enough to carry you through. I suggest giving it a look if you’re having too many sunny days and you feel like life is great and nothing can go wrong. Because after you read this, you won’t feel the same.
“Does anyone really know the true cost of evil? Or to take it a step further, is the loss of innocence a cause or effect of darkness in the human soul.” – BV Lawson
If you have checked out For When the Veil Drops
People who enjoyed For When the Veil Drops
H.P.Podcraft.com – Episode #97/98 – Out of the Aeons, with Hazel Heald
Its been a while kids, but were back. I know I skipped the first of the two-part episode covering “Out of the Aeons” by H.P. Lovecraft
Well when you know Hazel Heald is involved your going to get a few things; changing to stone, museums, and second-hand accounts of a terrifying story. Though the tales penned by Hazel and Lovecraft are extremely pulpy, most people seem to think that they are some of Lovecraft’s best collaborations. Yes, Lovecraft has been known to say anything but good things about the people he ghost wrote for, but as Ken Hite(and yes this link takes you to the Wikipedia page for Mr. Hite. Just for you Ken!) said, “Lovecraft slacking off is still loads better than virtuously anyone else working seriously”.
Out of the Aeons, basically a dumbed down re-write of “The Call of Cthulhu”, is a tale based around the events that transpire at the popular Cabot museum when a strange mummy exhibit begins to gather too much awkward attention. Using a little of his own mythos, Lovecraft spins a fictional web of stores, like “The Call of Cthulhu”, that connect in the end. I don’t want to give too much away, and that’s why you should head over to www.HPLOVECRAFT.COM and read this story along with so many more!
Something cool as well is that the past two weeks the show has been sponsored by J.R. Hamantaschen’s book, “You Shall Never Know Security”. We like this guys work, and if your interested you can check out our review of the book we did about a month ago.
This week we give episode 97/98 of the H.P. Podcraft Literary Podcast 3 out of 5 stars in alignment.
The Drabblecast ~ #222 ~ Rules For Living In A Simulation
Art by Mike Dominic
Hello again kids, here is your weekly review, of your favorite weird fiction podcast. The Drabblecast episode #222 – Rules for Living in a Simulation, by Aubrey Hirsch. A great one this week folks, and it was once again brought to you by J.R. Hamantaschen’s anthology of dark fiction called “You Shall Never Know Security “, check this one out people. The drabble this week was “Duck Hunt”, by John Murphy, a clever little 8bit tale to surface old memories of wanting to kill that damn giggling dog.
Finally we got a grand tour/introduction to the newly improved, for about a month now, official Drabblecast site. Norm named off a list of generous people who were responsible for how incredible the site looks now. Everything from switching servers, new site design, new episode art, and new information for each episode, has been updated for your pleasure. A lot went into updating everything, and like any good transformation, The Drabblecast came out looking like a mutated moth hatching from a greying cocoon hidden behind the eyes of an old man. See what I did there? If not, check out Trifecta XII.
Rules for Living in a Simulation, our feature story, is exactly what it sounds like. The world is as you assumed, a massive simulation designed to fit our needs. Really enjoyed this one. As a rattling list of what not to do’s and other guidelines, I felt as if I was being told how to live my life, which is exactly how some people feel about our government. An entity that if figured out, recognized, takes notice of those who are aware, and deals with those who have too many questions. If only Neo listened to this before swallowing that damn pill. Yep I just made a crappy Matrix reference… come on! You had to see it coming.
Great art work this week by, Mike Dominic, as well as an amazing reading done by, George Hrab. This one came together nicely, I wasn’t a big fan of the past couple episodes, not disappointed, I just didn’t think they were up to the snuff that DC usually produces. This one gets 3 out of 5 stars in alignment
You Shall Never Know Security, By J.R. Hamantaschen
Upon receiving my copy of J.R. Hamantaschen’s
This collection of thought-provoking literature is part of a new turning point in modern fiction. The world is no longer yearning for horrific old pens to cover the same feeling of dread paragraph after paragraph. No, even though one must not forget the classics, we must also understand this is not a new ballpark ready for the same players; this is a different game altogether.
A young writer from Queens, NY, Mr. Hamantaschen
A spectrum of emotions are covered throughout this book and span from social awkwardness, jealousy, ignorance, determination, desire, hate, pain, embarrassment, and love. These are emotions that as new adults fuel our needs and motivate us to grow up confused and hurt, because it never turns out as we wish.
When I sat down to write this review, I opened the book and looked at the table of contents trying to decide which story was my favorite. To be honest, I can’t even properly decide. Each story has a specific feeling that overtakes me as I read them. As a
must I would suggest the last three stories of the anthology. These tales are some of the best thought out dark fiction that I have read, and all share a tangential theme. For those on a quick track to see if you like this work, any of the first five stories will lube your brain and get you thinking.
I review a weekly fictional podcast called, The Drabblecast, in which the host, Norm Sherman, has been featuring work from J.R.
it.” and “I must say this book is a must to have tucked under the pillow, you know, to have something to clench when you wake with unease in the middle of the night. Yeah, it will do that to yah.” And it will folks, it will.
The anthology is available through Amazon.com
Furthermore, if you are extremely satisfied with this anthology, and wish to contact the author, you can reach him at, JRtaschen@gmail.com. He answers every email.
The Drabblecast ~ #220 ~ Trifecta XVIII
Art by Liz Pennies
So, I have been having problems with my computer, as well as my iPod/iTunes. But im sure these problems mean little to those who may have been looking for any insight into the recent world of Drabblecast. So, here we go, and sorry for the delay. As I write this up Drabblecast is in the process of releasing their Halloween special, so shortly after this post (like tomorrow) I will give you the lowdown on those digs.
Now to this weeks episode, we get Trifecta XVIII, which means 18 for those who don’t know how to count letters. A trifecta is an episode featuring three stories, by three authors, but sharing a similar theme. Thank you for that free explanation Norm, and thank you for letting me know that this episodes theme was about rejection and abandonment. Before the stories began we were treated to hear once again about J.R. Hamantaschen’s
The first story, “Bad Habit” by Richard Weems, was my favorite out of the three. It featured a naked hobo, a crime fighting nun, naked tussling, but mainly it made me laugh. Story number two, “Tags” by Andrew Gudgel, took a futuristic/voyeuristic route, and touched on something I mentioned about last weeks episode, “The Big Splash“. That being a loss of emotion toward each other through technology. And closing tale, “A Happy Family” by Nathaniel Tower, which follows a family through its trials and tribulations in rasing a boot. Only on Drabblecast.
I’m not going to lie, this wasn’t my favorite episode. In fact, my favorite part, besides the first story, was getting the chance to hear Mr. Hamantaschen talk about his masterpiece and explain is style of writing. I am currently on the last story of his book, “You Shall Never Know Security
Anyway, I might have to give this one a few more listens to go let it grow on me, they usually do, literally. But for the time being this Gibberer is throwing up 3 out of 5 stars in alignment.
The Drabblecast ~ #219 ~ The Big Splash by George R. Galuschak
Art by Jonathan Wilson
Hey kids, took my iTunes awhile to snag this one out of the aether, but I finally got a chance to listen to The Drabblecast’s newest episode, #219 The Big Splash. Great episode all around, but then again what else would you expect from good ol’ Norm, host of The Drabblecast. This week we got a little extra treat as Norm presented an excellent abridged reading from The Drabblecast’s sponsor J.R. Hamantaschen’s book “You Shall Never Know Security”
A seriously creepy book that everyone should buy, borrow, and beg to read it. Skipping the drabble this week, Norm dove right in to the feature story.
The Big Splash, writen by George R. Galuschak, was a story that I had to listen to three times just to figure out if I simply liked it for the “space-lord spliffs”, or if the emotional tug from recently losing a family dog to illness. Something that I didn’t much care for was the sex scene that manifested out of thin air. Emotion was a strong thing in this story and I wondered if there was a reason the author seemed to leave a lot of that emotion out of the two kids hooking up. I wasn’t sure if the author was trying to get across that as we progress into the future with our social networks, that maybe we will lose our sense of emotion with each other. Going to have to mull this one over and maybe giver her another listen, I can never get enough.
Closing up the episode was the announcement of this weeks twit fic winner~ Sgt. Crispy~ “Please, oh please, make the barking stop. I’ve tried everything. Playing with it, feeding it, petting it, drowning it.” Nice
Unspeakable Gibberer 