Short Story Review: "Who Mourns for the Hang Man?"

Author: S.A. BOLICH
Author Website: www.Sabolich.info 
Published: September 2009 by Damnation Books LLC

‘Who Mourns for the Hangman?’ is a short story about a hangman John Barton who goes by the name of Scraggy. He made a deal with a witch to make sure he wouldn’t hang an innocent. Throughout the story scraggy reminisces on how his wife Meg left him because of his job. To Scraggy, his job as a hangman is more important than anything. He refers to his crosspiece as “Jezebel."

The author portrays Scraggy as a man so consumed with his job as a hangman that it makes him see "Jezebel" glowing and shining. Scraggy soon begins to have nightmares with people he has hung and his ghastly love affair with his work soon comes to an end when he learns the identity of the next person he will be hanging.

Although the story is short, it is a little hard to keep up with at first because of so much dialogue in the beginning and the speech used. It is sort of a western dialect or medieval speech. Once you get used to it you really start enjoying the writing. The author really showcased the characters,gave them substance and brought them alive. Once you finish the story you will feel like you have stepped out of an old folklore dark tale. The ending was really surprising.

There isn’t anything bad to say about the story except it left us wanting more. We would love to read more from this author. This is more a dark fantasy, but it does have its dreadfulness, and that we enjoyed very much.

To View an excerpt or to purchase the e book click here
Also Available on Kindle

About the Author: "S.A. Bolich lives in Washington State, works a day job only enough to keep the muse fed, and spends the rest of her time writing or immersing herself in the 19th century in pursuit of the alternate history series she is currently writing. A large family, three horses,six cats, and a huge dog keep her sane. Her work so far has appeared in On Spec,Beneath Ceaseless Skies,Pangaia and Science Fiction Trails, with an Honorable Mention from Writers of the Future to her credit as well."

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Book Review: Apartment 14F. An Oriental Ghost Story.

Author: Christian Saunders

Author Website: Myspace.com/valleyboy74

Published: September 2009 by Damnation Books, LLC

Apartment 14F is an Oriental Novella surrounding (Jerry) the main character. He leaves his old life in London to teach in Beijing. Upon arrival, he discovers that the previous tenant in apartment 14F has disappeared.

All throughout making sense of things he starts having nightmares with a woman. He seeks the help of a well known psychic to help him understand the occurrences. He is warned that death, loneliness and fear follow him. He then discovers that the woman that follows him is a supernatural being ---a ghost that will lead the reader to wonder if it’s good or evil.

In this short story the author tries to illustrate what most humans are afraid of. We fear death and at times we are afraid of dying alone. Saunders also points out a belief of many, that when we die there is another side whether it’s good or bad. The author also does a great job in showcasing the Chinese culture, their beliefs and traditions.

The book is sort of parallel to Drag-me-to-hell,The Ring and or the Grudge. But, it definitely isn’t the same just a slight comparison. Apartment 14F is not by any means scary, but it has points where you will find your stomach feeling a little queasy. For example, while in his state of sleep, Jerry is dreaming with the woman and all of a sudden hes being chocked with long black hair. Another point in the story that we liked was when Jerry arrives at the psychic. she's an old blind woman that reminds us of the old lady from 'Drag Me to Hell' when she starts licking Jerry's hand. Overall, it’s a short story and every scene played out one after another not leaving room for much suspense. If you’re into Oriental Ghost stories give it a try, it won’t take up much time to finish it and you won’t be wasting your time if you read it.

To Read an Excerpt or to Purchase click here


About The Author:

Hailing from the ex-mining village of New Tredegar, south Wales, Christian Saunders began writing in 1997. His early fiction appeared in titles such as Asphalt Jungle, Raw Nerve, Roadworks and several anthologies. His first book, Into the Dragon's Lair – A Supernatural History of Wales was published in 2003, shortly before he moved to Southampton, England, to study at Solent University. After graduating with a BA in journalism he worked extensively in the freelance market, contributing features on a range of subjects to numerous international publications including Fortean Times, Bizarre, Urban Ink, Beyond, Enigma, Record Collector, Chat, Maxim and Nuts, and a regular column to the Western Mail newspaper.

Since his return to the fiction fold he has had a story run in Screams of Terror e-zine and another featured in the EA Poe-themed anthology Return of the Raven. In May 2009 he was inducted into the Writers of Wales Academi (http://www.academi.org/list-of-writers/i/134429/). He currently teaches English in China, whilst traveling the long road to enlightenment and still fostering ambitions to become a world-famous rock journalist...

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