Paper Cuts: Tales of Horror & Fantasy Horror Book Review

  Seek out the mythic and the macabre in this collection of tales about Gods & Monsters, Angels & Demons, and the humans caught somewhere in the middle.  From a college party to the outer rims of reality, inside are tales of subtle terror, visceral nightmares and epic encounters.  Journey along side characters as they experience quiet dread, horrific abominations and divinity in flesh. This slim volume by Brian Fatah Steele will attempt to haunt you, thirty-two quick stories into the furthest depths of imagination…   

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  01. Sandalwood And Vanilla   02. The Years Of Dusk   03. A Voluntary Kingdom Of Fools   04. Sorely Missed   05. In Love And Dread   06. The Stuff Dreams Aren’t Made Of   07. Remember   08. Job Security   09. Once, Twice, A Third Time   10. Lessons From The Flesh   11. With The Abolition Of Days   12. Staring Contest With The Sun   13. A Walk In The Park   14. Again With The Blood   15. The Ocean Sighs Serenity   16. Beer, Blood And Bull[**]  17. Disintegration   18. Velvet On The Inside   19. A Love Like Decay   20. The Last Moments Of Katy   21. The S’allow Man   22. House On October Hill Road   23. As I Sat Sadly By Her Side   24. A Cure For Mankind   25. If God Did A Kegstand…  26. Alma Gray Matter   27. A Blacker House   28. Autumn In Ohio   29. The Flesh Suit Whispers   30. In Twilight Country   31. The Ocean Sighs Regret   32. Far House, Deep House

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FROM “A VOLUNTARY KINGDOM OF FOOLS”...  “What Doctor?  This madness?  Is that what you want to call it?”  asked Essex, now spinning around in circles as he walked.  “No, Aaron Kincaid… it’s enlightenment!”  “Brutally murdering others and then defecating on the floor?  This is your nirvana?” spat Kincaid.  Without warning, Essex reached over and grasped the smallest of the escorts.  Showing little effort, he snapped the patient’s neck and dropped the limp body to the tile floor.  The remaining escorts cackled in response to this.  Connley let out a tiny shriek as Kincaid could only watch a trail of blood trickle out of the deceased´s mouth.  “It’s about release, about truth and understanding yourself,” stated Essex as if speaking to a child.  “Once our Lord speaks to you, you’ll come to terms with this.”  “Lord… what?” asked Kincaid in confusion as he stumbled over the fallen body.  “Did you think this all just happened, just a freak accident?  Haven’t you wondered why no one has come to ‘save the day?’  No Doctor, we the Awakened have a King.” Essex’s face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning as he finished.  “A glorious and righteous Messiah.”      FROM “THE STUFF DREAMS AREN’T MADE OF”...  He stood outside the pale blue tent and coughed twice, as per the custom.  Garcia bade him enter and David flipped back the fabric, walking in.  The Mexican sat on a broken wooden crate, a wobbly card table set up next to him.  Upon it and on the floor beneath sat piles of cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes.  Crumpled cigarette packs, toy containers, food packages - all types.  “You’re back soon,” said Garcia in his usual slow voice.  “I’d like another,” David said evenly.  “You can barely stand.  I’m surprised you made it here,” replied Garcia.  “I’m fine.”  “Do you even have a place left to take it?” asked the Mexican dealer.  “I have a place,” said David.  Garcia chuckled.  “If you say so.  What were you in the mood for this time?  Maybe a little bit of a…”  “Something around ten years old,” interrupted David.  “Now that,” smiled Garcia, “Is gonna cost you.  You’re not gonna have much left after our little transaction here.”  David said nothing and just held out his arm.  Garcia shrugged.  He stood up and rummaged around in his crate for a moment until he pulled out an old Gatorade bottle.  It was half filled with a thick reddish-brown substance.  The rusty scalpel was already in his right hand.    FROM “WITH THE ABOLITION OF DAYS”...  Moving perpendicular through the Space-Time Continuum, it rolled.  This was something beyond such feeble words as “E