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josephvanburen's review against another edition
5.0
I am a little late to this party (TBR list is serious this year), but this issue was worth the wait. Perfect mix of emotional dark fiction with a few informative nonfiction articles, including a helpful piece for writers. The stories are the meat, each seasoned with its own flavor of heartfelt horror and speculative strangeness. Gut punches and tear jerkers, in the best way. Unnerving always introduces me to authors I had no idea I loved, and this issue is no exception. It is my favorite indie horror mag!
thomaswjoyce's review
5.0
A brilliant mix of fiction and non-fiction, Unnerving Magazine continues to go from strength to strength. I was already familiar with Paul Michael Anderson from his wonderful collection, Bones are Made to be Broken, but his story in this issue, Hollowness, is a Weird Western. Something of a departure in subject, but not in style or quality.
A name I've been seeing more and more on social media, Sara Tantlinger, provides an excellent story to open the issue. It's as touching as it is horrifying, not an easy thing to achieve but, when it is done well, it can really stay with the reader.
In Another Side of Gustav Holt, Christopher Stanley explores the idea of alternate realities through music. It is a highly original idea and he handles it very well.
Another brilliant story, It Grows Inside by G.V. Anderson is told from the point of view of an alien invader recounting how it came to inhabit it's human host TO it's human host. Anderson does an excellent job of teasing out little details of the invader's terrifying appearance as well as it's ultimate goal. And, of course, it's growth. Brilliant.
Liz Schriftsteller's Skin Deep examines the human obsession with beauty and how it can affect those blessed with physical beauty, and those who covet it.
Also included are non-fiction articles by Gwendolyn Kiste - another rising star of the genre - (on 60 years of Hitchcock's Psycho), Suspiria actress Jessica Harper and author Sarah Pinborough (each recounting early memories of their own experiences with the horror genre), and editor Eddie Generous, who offers a unique insight into Neil Gaiman's new Masterclass in storytelling.
I cannot recommend this magazine enough to fans of horror fiction. And I'd urge true horror fans to go to the Unnerving website and get their subscriptions directly.
A name I've been seeing more and more on social media, Sara Tantlinger, provides an excellent story to open the issue. It's as touching as it is horrifying, not an easy thing to achieve but, when it is done well, it can really stay with the reader.
In Another Side of Gustav Holt, Christopher Stanley explores the idea of alternate realities through music. It is a highly original idea and he handles it very well.
Another brilliant story, It Grows Inside by G.V. Anderson is told from the point of view of an alien invader recounting how it came to inhabit it's human host TO it's human host. Anderson does an excellent job of teasing out little details of the invader's terrifying appearance as well as it's ultimate goal. And, of course, it's growth. Brilliant.
Liz Schriftsteller's Skin Deep examines the human obsession with beauty and how it can affect those blessed with physical beauty, and those who covet it.
Also included are non-fiction articles by Gwendolyn Kiste - another rising star of the genre - (on 60 years of Hitchcock's Psycho), Suspiria actress Jessica Harper and author Sarah Pinborough (each recounting early memories of their own experiences with the horror genre), and editor Eddie Generous, who offers a unique insight into Neil Gaiman's new Masterclass in storytelling.
I cannot recommend this magazine enough to fans of horror fiction. And I'd urge true horror fans to go to the Unnerving website and get their subscriptions directly.
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