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divinesprout's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
aksel_dadswell's review
4.0
Wow. This is the first I’ve read of Simon Strantzas, and what an epic collection of weird fiction it is. The stories here inspired by Ligotti or Lovecraft or Chambers are all fantastic and unsettling, but it’s the more distinctly Strantzasian (if this isn’t already a word, I’m coining it; it really rolls off the tongue) narratives that really made my skin crawl and my eyes widen and kept me reading till the early hours. Strong as a Rock reminded me of playing one of the early Silent Hill games and had a brilliant, understated ending. Emotional Dues was a very raw, desperate, beautiful story that made my skin crawl from start to finish — plus all the characters had awesome names. The title story, Burnt Black Suns, is a gruelling, sweaty nightmare of a thing that chokingly conveys the nauseating heat and hostility of the setting, and the protagonist’s monomaniacal search for his lost son. It builds slowly and with an increasing sense of queasy unease until the climax that leaves you breathless and in awe. So yeah, overall a brilliant collection – and with fantastic cover art by Santiago Caruso.
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