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kleonard's review
2.0
This collection is full of stories about bargains: is the thing I desire worth the life of a child? Can I make a deal with god? In this way, the collection lives up to the blurb that it's very Shirley Jackson-esque. But many of the stories fail to thrill or horrify or even retain interest. Honestly, I'd say skip buying this one (get it from the library) and just go read Shirley Jackoson--or M. R. James--again.
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
4.0
Beyond the Veil is the second volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.
I will admit I didn’t know many of the contributing authors but I’d had such a fabulous time with After Sundown, the first volume in this anthology series, that I jumped at the chance to read Beyond the Veil. I have no regrets: like its predecessor, Beyond the Veil is an eclectic collection of stories, tackling many of the horror subgenres.
I love short stories, but I’m very particular about them: I need them to tell me a full story in a limited number of pages, the ideal short story is a novel told in a fraction of the pages it would normally take to tell. There is not one short story in this collection that doesn’t meet that requirement, which made me a very happy reader.
I had a great time with this anthology! It’s perfect for reading back to back, which I did when I started it on a Sunday, but also for dipping into when you have a limited amount of reading time available, which I did when I continued reading it during the workweek.
For those of you who like to know exactly what they’re buying, here’s an overview:
THE GOD BAG by Christopher Golden: the first story in this anthology and boy what a story it is. The narrator’s mum is dying, her mind is going, honestly that’s a scary story all on its own, but there is one thing she refuses to let go of: her God bag. When the narrator and the reader find out what exactly that bag contains… well, it might not have been the hugest of surprises for this reader but I sure as hell hoped I was wrong. A full story in few pages, The God Bag is possibly my favourite story in this collection. Golden will have a new book out early next year, Road of Bones, that was on my radar before but it has just climbed to the top of my wishlist.
CAKER’S MAN by Matthew Holness: so creepy, birthday cake is ruined forever.
THE BEECHFIELD MIRACLES by Priya Sharma: an understated piece of psychological horror that is weirdly thought-provoking and ends with a bang that made me hungry for more.
CLOCKWORK by Dan Coxon: short but sweet. A tad disturbing, with the sting in its tail.
SOAPSTONE by Aliya Whiteley: the aftermath of the death of a friend.
THE DARK BIT by Toby Litt: a chilling slice of body horror that made me cringe in a very good way.
PROVENANCE POND by Josh Malerman: from the author of Bird Box comes an atmospheric story about a girl, a pond and imaginary friends, or are they?
FOR ALL THE DEAD by Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten: in a small coastal town, the people are subject to a sea that is a fickle mistress: “she may hear you but never does she obey”.
THE GIRL IN THE POOL by Bracken MacLeod: an unsettling tale about a burglar who interrupts his thievery to save a drowning girl from a pool, but where did she come from and does she really need to be saved?
NURSE VARDEN by Jeremy Dyson: a trip down memory lane can be dangerous… An addictive story whose ending left me craving more.
IF, THEN by Lisa L. Hannett: a gardener and a lady’s maid and ifs leading to thens. To be honest, I’m still not sure what this was about, I have a theory, but am I right? I’ll never know and there is a certain charm in that.
AQUARIUM WARD by Karter Mycroft: blue-eyed bugs that are watching and waiting, superpowered meth, feds in hazmat suits: a dystopian tale told with a certain urgency, I loved it.
A MYSTERY FOR JULIE CHU by Stephen Gallagher: a hugely entertaining – if not that scary – story about a girl with a knack for finding treasure among junk.
AWAY DAY by Lisa Tuttle: I had no idea where it would go but I loved where I ended up with it, one of my favourites in this anthology.
POLAROID AND SEAWEED by Peter Harness: Christ on a cracker, what the hell did I just read?! A story that brought out many emotions in me, from pity to disgust and pretty much everything in between.
DER GEISTERBAHNHOF by Lynda E. Rucker: a tragic and unsettling story set in Berlin.
ARNIE’S ASHES by John Everson: Arnie is dead and his friends have the ashes to prove it. But then why are there people knocking on the door wearing Arnie’s face? A bit yuck, but very entertaining!
A BRIEF TOUR OF THE NIGHT by Nathan Ballingrud: one that pulled on my heartstrings quite unexpectedly and one I definitely will revisit.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HOUSEHOLD GODS by Frank J. Oreto: simply excellent! The suspense left me breathless and I’m still not sure what it says about me that I felt such relief at the denouement…
YELLOWBACK by Gemma Files: a horrific, terrifying and nauseating story, seriously I was so happy I wasn’t anywhere near food while I was reading this. 100% eww but a great way to finish this collection.
I will admit I didn’t know many of the contributing authors but I’d had such a fabulous time with After Sundown, the first volume in this anthology series, that I jumped at the chance to read Beyond the Veil. I have no regrets: like its predecessor, Beyond the Veil is an eclectic collection of stories, tackling many of the horror subgenres.
I love short stories, but I’m very particular about them: I need them to tell me a full story in a limited number of pages, the ideal short story is a novel told in a fraction of the pages it would normally take to tell. There is not one short story in this collection that doesn’t meet that requirement, which made me a very happy reader.
I had a great time with this anthology! It’s perfect for reading back to back, which I did when I started it on a Sunday, but also for dipping into when you have a limited amount of reading time available, which I did when I continued reading it during the workweek.
For those of you who like to know exactly what they’re buying, here’s an overview:
THE GOD BAG by Christopher Golden: the first story in this anthology and boy what a story it is. The narrator’s mum is dying, her mind is going, honestly that’s a scary story all on its own, but there is one thing she refuses to let go of: her God bag. When the narrator and the reader find out what exactly that bag contains… well, it might not have been the hugest of surprises for this reader but I sure as hell hoped I was wrong. A full story in few pages, The God Bag is possibly my favourite story in this collection. Golden will have a new book out early next year, Road of Bones, that was on my radar before but it has just climbed to the top of my wishlist.
CAKER’S MAN by Matthew Holness: so creepy, birthday cake is ruined forever.
THE BEECHFIELD MIRACLES by Priya Sharma: an understated piece of psychological horror that is weirdly thought-provoking and ends with a bang that made me hungry for more.
CLOCKWORK by Dan Coxon: short but sweet. A tad disturbing, with the sting in its tail.
SOAPSTONE by Aliya Whiteley: the aftermath of the death of a friend.
THE DARK BIT by Toby Litt: a chilling slice of body horror that made me cringe in a very good way.
PROVENANCE POND by Josh Malerman: from the author of Bird Box comes an atmospheric story about a girl, a pond and imaginary friends, or are they?
FOR ALL THE DEAD by Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten: in a small coastal town, the people are subject to a sea that is a fickle mistress: “she may hear you but never does she obey”.
THE GIRL IN THE POOL by Bracken MacLeod: an unsettling tale about a burglar who interrupts his thievery to save a drowning girl from a pool, but where did she come from and does she really need to be saved?
NURSE VARDEN by Jeremy Dyson: a trip down memory lane can be dangerous… An addictive story whose ending left me craving more.
IF, THEN by Lisa L. Hannett: a gardener and a lady’s maid and ifs leading to thens. To be honest, I’m still not sure what this was about, I have a theory, but am I right? I’ll never know and there is a certain charm in that.
AQUARIUM WARD by Karter Mycroft: blue-eyed bugs that are watching and waiting, superpowered meth, feds in hazmat suits: a dystopian tale told with a certain urgency, I loved it.
A MYSTERY FOR JULIE CHU by Stephen Gallagher: a hugely entertaining – if not that scary – story about a girl with a knack for finding treasure among junk.
AWAY DAY by Lisa Tuttle: I had no idea where it would go but I loved where I ended up with it, one of my favourites in this anthology.
POLAROID AND SEAWEED by Peter Harness: Christ on a cracker, what the hell did I just read?! A story that brought out many emotions in me, from pity to disgust and pretty much everything in between.
DER GEISTERBAHNHOF by Lynda E. Rucker: a tragic and unsettling story set in Berlin.
ARNIE’S ASHES by John Everson: Arnie is dead and his friends have the ashes to prove it. But then why are there people knocking on the door wearing Arnie’s face? A bit yuck, but very entertaining!
A BRIEF TOUR OF THE NIGHT by Nathan Ballingrud: one that pulled on my heartstrings quite unexpectedly and one I definitely will revisit.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HOUSEHOLD GODS by Frank J. Oreto: simply excellent! The suspense left me breathless and I’m still not sure what it says about me that I felt such relief at the denouement…
YELLOWBACK by Gemma Files: a horrific, terrifying and nauseating story, seriously I was so happy I wasn’t anywhere near food while I was reading this. 100% eww but a great way to finish this collection.
guarinous's review
4.0
Beyond the Veil is a workmanlike collection of horror short stories all collected within the same "post-2020 syndrome" framework revolving around sickness, loss, grief, and community fear. While there isn't anything here that's overtly spectacular (in fact, the best story in my opinion is unfortunately the very first), there aren't any that are horrendous either so it's a nice steady read all of the way through. There are some familiar names in here (Josh Malerman, Gemma Files, etc) but the majority are newer names to the scene which is a nice touch as well. Give it a try!
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press**
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press**
bigbeardedbookseller's review against another edition
4.0
I love a good collection of short stories and when I saw this on NetGalley I jumped at the chance of reading it.
You often find that an anthology of short stories will often have several good ones, a couple of outstanding stories, and a couple of mediocre or, even, poor stories. Fortunately this collection is ’all killer, no filler’ from start to finish.
My personal favourites were;
‘A Mystery for Julie Chu’ by Stephen Gallagher about a woman who can detect magic in ordinary things, a Mr. Disco robot that channels the dead, and midnight auctions.
‘Yellowback’ by Gemma Files, a stunning piece of cosmic horror, mutating women, and changing worlds.
‘Polaroid and Seaweed’ by Peter Harness, another piece with a lot of creeping horror and metamorphosis, loved the Polaroid Mum bit.
Overall though I enjoyed all of the stories but for me these three shone out.
Got a few of these authors on watch now for anything else by them to read
You often find that an anthology of short stories will often have several good ones, a couple of outstanding stories, and a couple of mediocre or, even, poor stories. Fortunately this collection is ’all killer, no filler’ from start to finish.
My personal favourites were;
‘A Mystery for Julie Chu’ by Stephen Gallagher about a woman who can detect magic in ordinary things, a Mr. Disco robot that channels the dead, and midnight auctions.
‘Yellowback’ by Gemma Files, a stunning piece of cosmic horror, mutating women, and changing worlds.
‘Polaroid and Seaweed’ by Peter Harness, another piece with a lot of creeping horror and metamorphosis, loved the Polaroid Mum bit.
Overall though I enjoyed all of the stories but for me these three shone out.
Got a few of these authors on watch now for anything else by them to read
kristenmay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ljwrites85's review
4.0
Last year I read and enjoyed the previous short story collection from Flame Tree Press, After Sundown, last year, so I was eager to see what was on offer this year.
Beyond The Veil is a collection of short horror stories with something for every type of horror fan, from classic monster tales to mind bending sci-fi to gruesome body horror.
I will just put a trigger warning here before I go any further. This novel contains themes of grief, suicide, child abuse, and the death of an animal.
In all honesty, most of the authors were unknown to me, so it was nice to find some new authors to add to my must read list.
Like most types of collections, I found it a good mix of styles. Of course, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others.
My standouts were:
God Bag. The story that followed a man and his dying mum who was in the last grips of dementia. She carried around a strange little God bag containing prayers that started off innocently enough until he started digging. It was both heartbreaking and creepy at the same time.
For All The Dead. A historical story about a young woman who lived in a small fishing village, where life and death were controlled by the sea. There was almost a fairytale-like quality to this one that I found magical.
The Girl In The Pool. A thief breaks into a house planning to rob the place, instead finds a young girl dead in the pool. This was a gripping tale of monsters and morality.
A Mystery for Julie Chu. A young woman has a knack for finding strange artifacts, but when she picks up an old radio from a car boot sale, she gets more than she bargained for. I loved the mix of mystery and spookiness of this one.
The care and feeding of household gods. This is a story about a stay at home dad who makes household gods to help him get everything done. This one took me by surprise, starting off innocent enough, then got more and more sinister. I still can't stop thinking about this one!
I would highly recommend Beyond The Veil if you're looking for a variety of short, sharp and shocking stories.
Beyond The Veil is a collection of short horror stories with something for every type of horror fan, from classic monster tales to mind bending sci-fi to gruesome body horror.
I will just put a trigger warning here before I go any further. This novel contains themes of grief, suicide, child abuse, and the death of an animal.
In all honesty, most of the authors were unknown to me, so it was nice to find some new authors to add to my must read list.
Like most types of collections, I found it a good mix of styles. Of course, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others.
My standouts were:
God Bag. The story that followed a man and his dying mum who was in the last grips of dementia. She carried around a strange little God bag containing prayers that started off innocently enough until he started digging. It was both heartbreaking and creepy at the same time.
For All The Dead. A historical story about a young woman who lived in a small fishing village, where life and death were controlled by the sea. There was almost a fairytale-like quality to this one that I found magical.
The Girl In The Pool. A thief breaks into a house planning to rob the place, instead finds a young girl dead in the pool. This was a gripping tale of monsters and morality.
A Mystery for Julie Chu. A young woman has a knack for finding strange artifacts, but when she picks up an old radio from a car boot sale, she gets more than she bargained for. I loved the mix of mystery and spookiness of this one.
The care and feeding of household gods. This is a story about a stay at home dad who makes household gods to help him get everything done. This one took me by surprise, starting off innocent enough, then got more and more sinister. I still can't stop thinking about this one!
I would highly recommend Beyond The Veil if you're looking for a variety of short, sharp and shocking stories.
stephnixon's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
barb4ry1's review
2.0
Once again, Morris has assembled an impressive line-up of the top names in the genre. Beyond The Veil contains 20 original horror stories. Sixteen stories have been commissioned from established authors. Four have been selected from the stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.
I found Morris' previous anthology, After Sundown, more exciting and more consistent - I enjoyed most stories it featured. In Beyond The Veil I loved some of the stories, disliked more than a few, and didn't care about a few.
My favorite story is, without a doubt, Alita Whiteley's Soapstone. It starts as a mundane tale of grief but turns into something else and ends up giving you shivers.
Gemma Files' Yellowback is an interesting take on cosmic horror with a surprising ending and fun story.
Beyond The Veil is a solid horror anthology. Every fan of horror short stories will find something to terrify them.
ARC through NetGalley
I found Morris' previous anthology, After Sundown, more exciting and more consistent - I enjoyed most stories it featured. In Beyond The Veil I loved some of the stories, disliked more than a few, and didn't care about a few.
My favorite story is, without a doubt, Alita Whiteley's Soapstone. It starts as a mundane tale of grief but turns into something else and ends up giving you shivers.
Gemma Files' Yellowback is an interesting take on cosmic horror with a surprising ending and fun story.
Beyond The Veil is a solid horror anthology. Every fan of horror short stories will find something to terrify them.
ARC through NetGalley