I'm somewhat wary when I'm contacted by an author asking if I would read his or her work and provide and honest review. Partly because I nearly always have a TBR list that's longer than a country mile and I know it's going to take me a long time to get around to reading it.
Fortunately, Erik Hofstatter caught me at the right time with a novella-length collection of short stories which I was able to squeeze in between some other books.
Amaranthine and Other Stories was a bit of a mixed bag for me. A good number of the stories were very short, sort of the flash fiction variety. I'm not a big fan of the style, I prefer to read tales with a bit more meat on the bones, rather than "Bam. Boom. Bang. Next." I guess you could say I prefer to savor the story. That being said, Erik's tales of horror, although quick, certainly provided some punch.
The Birthing Tub - An unexpected sexually deviant and violent story of a pet parasite coming into the world in a most unusual way.
Tristan's Equation - A rather strange little story about a brilliant boy locked in a room and asked to solve a complex mathematical equation.
Amaranthine - "What if cremation wasn't the only method of keeping your loved ones with you?"
The Wandering Pilgrim - A somewhat erotic tale which came from the author's fascination with Rasputin.
The Deep End - One of my personal favorites in the collection happened to be the author's least favorite story. You just never know.
Eucalyptus Grove - A virgin who likes to hang with a group of guys trying to be a heavy metal band. Oh, they're also into satanism. What could possibly go wrong?
Akona - A quick yet terrorizing story of every parent's worse night mare.
The Green Tide - Ever read a news story and think, "Wow. That would make a good horror story." That's precisely how this tale came about. Makes me want to rethink my next trip to the beach.
Pins and Needles - A viscous tale of racism and voodoo.
Nine quick tales of terror. Great for reading right before bed...if you enjoy inducing nightmares.
Amaranthine and Other Stories is published by Creativia and is available in both e-book and paperback formats. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this book at no additional charge and if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.
Erik Hofstatter is a schlock horror writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. He lives in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work has appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary Hatchet, Sanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show.
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