I’m a fan of Cate Gardner’s writing so when her latest anthology was recently released, I figured it was high time that I dipped my toes back into the waters of short fiction. These Foolish and Harmful Delights features eight tales that explore the darker side of the human condition. Here are a few thoughts about some of the book’s many highlights. This Foolish & Harmful Delights – Imagine Punch and Judy are real. Now imagine that they have been sent to Hell because, it turns out, both of them are more than a little unhinged. The opportunity finally arrives for them to escape their endless torment and wreak some havoc of their own. In this first story, Gardner has morphed the already creepy traditional puppets into a pair of sadomasochistic grotesques who delight in making each other and everyone else suffer. It’s delightful alright, in a deliciously nasty way. A Bleeding of Ink – A dark exploration of mental health seen through the eyes of Alice. I think this is my favourite story in the entire collection. I loved how the boundaries between fantasy and reality smudge and overlap. There is a sense of ambiguity to Alice’s predicament that…

2011 has been another great year for books. First off a few stats – I have managed to read eighty-two novels which works out at over six and a half books a month. After a swift and very rough calculation that works out at approximately 6,150000 words. Some were bad, some were good and some were even great. I thought it would be nice to round off this festive season with a little bit of review. Firstly, my books of the month January – December 2011. There is a mixture of new releases and others that have been around for a while. Each and every one was a genuine pleasure to read, and I recommend them all heartily. Jan  – Point by Thomas Blackthorne Feb – Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck Mar – The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie Apr – Vampire Warlords by Andy Remic & Serial Killers Inc by Andy Remic – I dont feel too bad about a tie here as both books are by the same author (prolific sod that he is) May – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Jun – The Watchers by Jon Steele Jul – Tourniquet by Kim Lakin-Smith Aug – Outpost by…

Daniel Cole wants the world to end. Returned home from the Great War, his parents and brother in their graves, Daniel walks a ghost world. When players in a theatre show lure Daniel and his friends, fellow soldiers, into a surreal otherworld they find themselves trapped on an apocalyptic path. A pirate ship, helmed by Death, waits to ferry some of them to the end of the world. Already broken by war, these men are now the world’s only hope in the greatest battle of all. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to read the short story Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner. I enjoyed it a great deal, and when the chance to read more of her work arose I jumped at it. Like an expertly crafted piece of classical music, Theatre of Curious Acts has many layers to explore, and it works very effectively on multiple levels. It can be read as a straightforward horror story, and there is certainly enough startling imagery to please the most hardened horror fan, but there is also a psychological element in play that is just as effective. Are the events unfolding all in Daniel’s head? Are Daniel and his comrades alive or already…

We want to live… In the ballroom, wallflower mannequins stretch their fingers towards Ron. He can’t ask them to dance. He’s already waltzing with other ghosts. Someone stole the world while Ron contemplated death. They packed it in a briefcase and dumped him in the halls of the ruined hotel–The Vestibule. A nowhere place. Last weekend I felt the urge to read another short story and who better to provide that necessary fix than Spectral Press. I’ve previously reviewed their first two releases – What They Hear in the Dark by Gary McMahon and Abolisher of Roses by Gary Fry. I enjoyed both so I was looking forward to reading the latest release, Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner. When the reader is first introduced to Ron Spence he is standing at the edge of the road contemplating jumping in front of oncoming traffic. In a split second the moment passes but Ron is still plagued with doubt and anguish.  There is a real sense here that this is someone who is dying by degrees. Ron finds his way into foyer of a hotel called The Vestibule. As he roams the building he is faced with opulence on one hand and abandoned shell…