Aurel and Zora Schwartz are a married couple trying to make a modern relationship work. But an old secret is going to affect them in ways neither of them can imagine. And Zora’s daughter Livie may find herself caught in a trap built long before she was born. The ending will leave you stunned and speechless. Get ready to scream. We’ve all been envious of another person at some point in our lives. You’ve looked at someone and thought “They’ve got it all sorted. They have the perfect life, the perfect family”. No doubt, part of you has wanted to be just like them. The thing you must remember is that the socially acceptable face of a person is little more than a thin veneer of civility. Inside, in the dark recesses of the human psyche, everyone is just as screwed up as you are. Everyone has issues, has skeletons in the closet. The character of Aurel reads like a prime example of this. On the face of it, he has it all. He loves his life. He is in a stable marriage, and even gets on with his step daughter. On the flip-side of that however, you quickly realise…

Amaranthine and Other Stories serves up nine schlock horror slices, sprinkled with quirk and humour. Forget vampires. Forget werewolves. Forget ghosts. Humans are the ultimate grotesques. Variant flavours of woe sift through these pages. The results are sometimes hilarious, sometimes outright hair-raising! From time to time I like to dip my toes in the waters of short fiction. Horror always lends itself well to this particular format, so when the latest collection from Erik Hofstatter arrived in my mailbox who was I to refuse? So sit back and relax as we enjoy nine different interpretations of the purest evil. The Birthing Pool – Sean suffers a horrible break up. He becomes obsessed with filling the void that has been left behind. First story in the collection and were already in utterly gross territory. Those with a delicate constitution, beware. This one is proper nasty! You’ll never look at undercooked food in quite the same way again, I can guarantee it. Tristan’s Equation – More obsession, but this time it is a mathematical problem that plagues Tristan’s every waking moment. What does it all mean? Where are his family and why has he been left utterly alone? Amaranthine – How best…

Kamil, a thirty-something medieval weapons trader resides in the notorious Red Light District in Prague. Despite his hatred for prostitutes, he accepts an offer from Ginny – a local sex worker. As their unusual friendship unfolds and Kamil witnesses several bizarre scenarios, he begins to suspect that Ginny might not be an ordinary prostitute… Having read Moribund Tales and The Pariahs, I jumped at the opportunity to take a look at Erik Hofstatter’s latest, Katerina. What begins as a relatively straightforward transaction, quickly evolves into something completely different and unexpected. Kamil comes across, as least initially, as cocky and self-assured while Ginny is far more cautious. As their relationship develops, it feels like there is a complete one eighty in this dynamic. Ginny grows in confidence while Kamil feels less and less certain of exactly what is going on. I’d like to tell you the reasons why these changes occur, but I fear this would be rather spoilery. Suffice to say, if you decide to read the novelette, more detail will be revealed. For me, it’s the interactions between both characters that are the highlight of the piece. There is an air of hesitation and distrust as Kamil and Ginny…

Two disfigured siblings are torn from their beds at night by The Government and transported into an isolated stronghold, hidden in the deepest and most hostile parts of Siberia. Friendships will be formed and loyalties tested as the siblings struggle to locate one another, but tragedy lurks within the stronghold and blood relation does not always mean family. Last year I read Moribund Tales by Erik Hofstatter, and there were a couple of standout stories in the collection. When the opportunity arose for me to read more of this author’s work, a novella in this case, I was more than happy to do so. I was particularly keen to see how this would compare with his short fiction. Demyan and his sister, Akilina, have been different since birth. They were born victims of radiation and have had to live with their disfigurements for the whole of their short lives. Without warning, they are taken from their home and placed in a remote facility deep in the heart of Siberia. Their story is split into three separate parts and each part focuses on the perspective of a different character. The first part follows Demyan, the second on Akilina and the final…

I like to include the odd anthology in my reading schedule from time to time. I find short story collections a perfect way to fill the gap if I have a spare five/ten minutes with nothing to do. Moribund Tales is a short anthology from author Erik Hofstatter. It collects together ten tales that mix urban legends with gothic horror. Internal Abduction – Things kick off with a retelling of one of my favourite urban legends. We’ve all had a night on the tiles and then woken up with a memory like Swiss cheese. The question is do you really want to fill in those gaps? Last Straw of Humanity – What does it mean to be merciful? George’s brother thinks he knows but will he have the strength to grant that mercy? Chaperone – A man wakes up with no memories. As flashes of his past life start to return, he begins to realise where he is and more importantly who his mysterious guide may be. A moment of horrific realisation captured in short fiction Tears of Repentance – Grigor meets Ingra and they fall in love. What follows explores the breakup of their marriage and Gregor learning the…