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ladybedivere's review
5.0
Matt Spencer’s stories are disturbing. They’re not in your face about it though, they’re more that quiet kind of disturbing that smiles at you as you pass it in the train station and then sneaks up on you and knifes you in sleep. Shadow Ballads is a collection of seven of these disturbing little nuggets, all previously published and now collected in one place expressly for the purpose of making you check your closet before you go to sleep.
The collection includes:
“Formal Dinner and Demon Dreams” – The first story in the collection is a glimpse into the world of Frederick Hawthorne, a bar tending gentleman bastard of Victorian London’s East End with a few supernatural tricks up his sleeves. In this installment, Hawthorne suits up in his formalwear for a dinner with some of London’s high society…and a few of their personal demons. Literally. This was my first introduction to Spencer’s Hawthorne mythos back in the day (which, by the way, was a Wednesday). Bits of it can be a little unclear, but in a way that only serves to whet your palate for more. Think of this one as an appetizer for the delicious main course that you’ll get later.
“Have Some Dragon’s Blood” – A disabled veteran visits an antique store and picks up some incense that transports him to an ancient mythical world. This one may be a little hard to track with for newcomers to the Spencerian mythos, but there’s some great imagery nevertheless.
“Lambs of Slaughter in Blue and Gold” – Creepy little ghost story about a pained spirit stalking his reincarnated lover in hopes of revenge. Delightfully eerie.
“The Face in the Flame” – A man dodging a drug bust meets a bum in the woods who convinces him to help open the portal into another dimension, more or less. Bizarre, drug-fueled, and a great cautionary tale about not wandering into the woods at night alone.
“Voice of Reason” – A little neighborly concern can go a long way…sometimes longer that you really want it to. The twist ending is a little predictable, but that doesn’t detract from the anticipation of what might happen at the end.
“Useful Instincts” – This one has a slight nouveau-noir vibe to it. A man awakes one morning with a sense of impending danger, and a chance encounter with a woman who seems a little too familiar leads to a test of just how accurate his instincts are. Probably one of the best-crafted stories in the collection.
“The Two Dragons of the East End” – The second Frederick Hawthorne yarn, which makes a nice bookend to the collection. While a rash of murders and a strange “angel” haunt the East End, Hawthorne teams up with a dangerous little beauty names Bethany to destroy an ancient evil that stalks London. Deliciously creepy and wrong.
The collection includes:
“Formal Dinner and Demon Dreams” – The first story in the collection is a glimpse into the world of Frederick Hawthorne, a bar tending gentleman bastard of Victorian London’s East End with a few supernatural tricks up his sleeves. In this installment, Hawthorne suits up in his formalwear for a dinner with some of London’s high society…and a few of their personal demons. Literally. This was my first introduction to Spencer’s Hawthorne mythos back in the day (which, by the way, was a Wednesday). Bits of it can be a little unclear, but in a way that only serves to whet your palate for more. Think of this one as an appetizer for the delicious main course that you’ll get later.
“Have Some Dragon’s Blood” – A disabled veteran visits an antique store and picks up some incense that transports him to an ancient mythical world. This one may be a little hard to track with for newcomers to the Spencerian mythos, but there’s some great imagery nevertheless.
“Lambs of Slaughter in Blue and Gold” – Creepy little ghost story about a pained spirit stalking his reincarnated lover in hopes of revenge. Delightfully eerie.
“The Face in the Flame” – A man dodging a drug bust meets a bum in the woods who convinces him to help open the portal into another dimension, more or less. Bizarre, drug-fueled, and a great cautionary tale about not wandering into the woods at night alone.
“Voice of Reason” – A little neighborly concern can go a long way…sometimes longer that you really want it to. The twist ending is a little predictable, but that doesn’t detract from the anticipation of what might happen at the end.
“Useful Instincts” – This one has a slight nouveau-noir vibe to it. A man awakes one morning with a sense of impending danger, and a chance encounter with a woman who seems a little too familiar leads to a test of just how accurate his instincts are. Probably one of the best-crafted stories in the collection.
“The Two Dragons of the East End” – The second Frederick Hawthorne yarn, which makes a nice bookend to the collection. While a rash of murders and a strange “angel” haunt the East End, Hawthorne teams up with a dangerous little beauty names Bethany to destroy an ancient evil that stalks London. Deliciously creepy and wrong.
librarianelizabeth's review
3.0
This collection of tales has a seriously Lovecraft bent. The kind of stories that will have you checking under your bed (or your deck chair) for very nasty monsters. Matt Spencer shows himself equally at home with a ghoulishly atmospheric 19th century setting and more modern tales of terror. The contemporary scares in "Lambs of Slaughter in Blue and Gold" and "Voice of Reason" particularly gave me delicious shivers. And the quiet Vermont setting for "The Face in The Flame" gave the supernatural events of the tale that much more scary oomph!
Full disclosure- I've known Matt Spencer since we were both 16, at a writer's workshop at UVa. Even then, I knew he had a talent for the chilling tale, and it's great to see it getting a wider audience.
There are some hitchy spots in the text- a few typos that I wish a proofreader had caught, mostly. The vagaries of starting out in self publication.
So I see this as a collection with some very strong stories, and a definite guide to the potential Matt Spencer brings to the spooky tale- can't wait to see what he writes next.
Full disclosure- I've known Matt Spencer since we were both 16, at a writer's workshop at UVa. Even then, I knew he had a talent for the chilling tale, and it's great to see it getting a wider audience.
There are some hitchy spots in the text- a few typos that I wish a proofreader had caught, mostly. The vagaries of starting out in self publication.
So I see this as a collection with some very strong stories, and a definite guide to the potential Matt Spencer brings to the spooky tale- can't wait to see what he writes next.
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