Review
Editor Liz Grzyb presents the reader with fourteen tales of the macabre loosely based around the paranormal romance theme. When I say loosely based I mean you don't get anything remotely as bad as Stephenie Meyer's schlock but definitions of what constitutes PR may differ. Actually definitions of what constitutes dark writing are pretty loose as a couple of the stories are definitely more in the fantasy camp than the horror hoe down at midnight realm. Regardless, you get fourteen stories set to nail you by the heart. Have I become pedantic or what? Normally in a review I would simply talk about the prose and point out my favourite yarns but with Scary Kisses I really have to take time out of my busy schedule of procrastination to pay due homage to the look and feel of the actual book. Ticonderoga have kicked a major here with Amanda Rainey's design being simply awe inspiring. It's simple, eloquent, and captures the mood of the collection exactly right. Think art deco meets 1950s wallpaper with a cat that looks like it might have hit the catnip with a vengeance. I have to stay stunning overall package. Notable by it's omission is an editorial to kick things off. I would have liked to read why Ms Grzyb went with the overall concept and how she decided on which stories to include. On the bright side we do get author bios at the back of the collection but no write up of how individual stories came to exist. So if after one of those books that spends time explaining itself then you are in the wrong lane here. To the actual stories themselves, and after all we're here for tales to amaze us, I have to say you get a mixed bag. I found some of the pieces to be pretty poor while others were excellent giving the reader full value for money. There's a couple of tales that are going to be held up to be classics of Australian dark fiction, and I have to say a couple that make me wonder how on earth they got published in the first place. There's enough meat on the bone here for a few missed drives through the covers so no foul move it along, stop complaining. It's pretty hard with a collection to talk about pace, themes, and style of writing as by it's very natural a collection will vary by Author. Overall though Scary Kisses doesn't contain anything badly written with the majority of stories getting where they are going without diverting off the garden path. There are no out and out clangers and different readers will no doubt adopt different stories as their favourites, as long as they agree with me everything is going to be kosher. There's no denying this collection is a must have for you bookshelf as it contains a couple of classics Okay to my stand out tales, and by the way I do this to avoid boring the hell out of the reader with descriptions of each and every story. Astrid Cooper surprisingly shocked the hell out of me with The Hidden One, how on earth she got a mummy tale to work is beyond me. If you like certain books by Anne Rice you are in good hands here. The Valley by Martin Livings left an indelible mark on me long after reading the story, talk about your haunting tale. Heat by Donna Maree Hanson brought something new to the staid vampire tale, and was worth the price of admission alone. And finally Pride and Tentacles, D. C. White, brought a smile to my dial and in my worthless opinion was a nice way to round the collection out. The jewel in the crown of Scary Kisses however is Bread and Circuses by Felicity Dowker. I've been joking for quite a while that what I want to see is a paranormal romance tale featuring zombies, what with pieces dropping off that's got to take some talent to pull off. Well take a bow Ms Dowker, a PR story with a flesh eating zombie as one of the paramours. Actually thinking about it one of the Masters of Horror movies hit that as well. Moving along, Felicity Dowker presents a sensationally good story that I would compare to Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, yes it's that good, that works on a multitude of levels. Post apocalyptic society reduced to surviving in graveyards and inventing something to divert citizen attention, you have to love that sort of stuff. A sensational piece of writing that highlights the talent Felicity Dowker brings to the table. Can someone please get a Felicity Dowker collection happening right here right now! Don't let the paranormal romance concept put you off Scary Kisses as there's some down and dirty dark genre writing going on between the covers and a couple of not to be missed stories that make the collection a must purchase. I had a lot of fun between the covers and am more than happy to have dived in. If after a copy then dial up Indie books online in your favourite browser. The collection will set you back $25 plus postage. Hey you don't even have to take my opinion on the collection, Scary Kisses at time of writing is indiebooksonline.com's top seller.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... A hard 7 on a decent must have collection.
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.