DEMONS AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES - 2010
by Dan Dillard
CreateSpace
327 Pages - Trade Paperback
ISBN: 1-45282611-0 |
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DEMONS AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES is collection of short stories by newcomer Dan Dillard. The tales are connected only by a demon theme. Some are inner demons people can relate to, such as obsession, conformity or sorrow. Others are those monsters lurking in the dark, such as vampires, werewolves, even a Pig Man.
In "The Trash Menagerie," a woman who had previously been neat and tidy suddenly finds herself no longer able to part with her trash. She keeps all of her garbage as well as collecting other people's junk. As her hoard grows, she realizes it is alive. It begins to growl when hungry, and once the woman's pets go missing, she knows she must feed it before it turns on her. I myself am obsessed with hoarding, so this story was one of my favorites.
"Anticipation" is a very short war story with a nifty twist ending I didn't seen coming. "Geometry" is another short-short that's about every parent's worst nightmare.
"Unlucky in Death" is a humorous tale of a man bitten by a hippie vampire trying to adjust to his new life by seeing a therapist.
My favorite story in the collection was "Pig Man." A little girl sees what she calls a "pig man" in her house while her father is away on business. Her mom, of course, just thinks her daughter is dreaming, especially since the dog doesn't alert her to anything odd in the house. But the night before her husband comes home... This story really creeped me out!
All told, DEMONS AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES is a great collection of stories with something for everyone, whether you are into zombies, murderers or even just Death himself. I highly recommend this book.
Look for Dan's second short-story collection, WHAT TANGLED WEBS, to be published later this year. If this collection is as good as the first, it will be a joy to read.
Four Bookwyrms!
This review copyright 2010 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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