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mgarr95's review
5.0
Having read Mike Thorn’s film criticism for years, it comes as no surprise that this collection of two chilling stories is suffused with a cinematic level of description, where the stories within feel ripe for short-form adaptation, brimming with an anxious tension. Both tales are clearly aware of an expansive body of horror analogues, but Thorn’s work never falls to cliché, nor do they feel derivative. Rather, one gets the sense that they’re reading a novel classic, replete with unforgettable moments of frightening revelations that double as shocking and cutting. Thorn’s work is so entertaining because he conjures the images in your head and sustains their potency through the story. After Darkest Hours and this, count me among the eager to absorb Thorn’s long-form novel coming next year.
ladilira's review
4.0
I cracked open this short collection of two stories. One is about two sisters looking for familial closure. The other involves a family funeral.
The first one, Dreams of Lake Drukka, was most intriguing to me. I felt a connection with the sisterly theme, as well as I was hooked on the mystery of their adventure. Family secrets are always a gossip worthy experience and I found myself enjoying this dark and scary story.
The second story, Exhumation, was gory and nose wrinkling. For all the readers out there who enjoy blood and guts this one is for you, not so much for me.
Thorn is a compelling and engaging writer and I look forward to seeing more standard size writing from him in the future (I hope). For horror lovers out there, Thorn is worth taking a chance on.
If you are looking for a quick snack of fright induced shivers, then check out these two short stories by Thorn. But you might want to wait on snacking on real food until after you are done reading.
The first one, Dreams of Lake Drukka, was most intriguing to me. I felt a connection with the sisterly theme, as well as I was hooked on the mystery of their adventure. Family secrets are always a gossip worthy experience and I found myself enjoying this dark and scary story.
The second story, Exhumation, was gory and nose wrinkling. For all the readers out there who enjoy blood and guts this one is for you, not so much for me.
Thorn is a compelling and engaging writer and I look forward to seeing more standard size writing from him in the future (I hope). For horror lovers out there, Thorn is worth taking a chance on.
If you are looking for a quick snack of fright induced shivers, then check out these two short stories by Thorn. But you might want to wait on snacking on real food until after you are done reading.
robert_bose's review
5.0
If you’re looking for someone to deliver impactful short sharp shocks, you’ve come to the right place. Mike Thorn has crafted two delightfully dreadful stories demonstrating that family secrets are best kept buried and once you leave home, there’s no going back.
Dreams of Lake Drukka: Two sisters return to the scene of a sinister family mystery and learn the true price for success.
I loved the sister’s strained, yet connected, relationship with both each other and their father, and the atmosphere built up as they discover what’s waiting for them in that cold, grasping lake.
Exhumation: A man returns home after many years to attend a family funeral – and gets way more than he bargained for.
This one is creepy as hell and reminded me why the next funeral I’ll go to is probably my own. Really. Don’t go to funerals and talk to people you don’t remember. Don’t!
Mike impressed me with his fabulous collection Darkest Hours, and these two tales are a solid addition to his body of work. Well worth your time! (and while you’re at it, check out the rest of the Short Sharp Shock’s series – great stuff)
Dreams of Lake Drukka: Two sisters return to the scene of a sinister family mystery and learn the true price for success.
I loved the sister’s strained, yet connected, relationship with both each other and their father, and the atmosphere built up as they discover what’s waiting for them in that cold, grasping lake.
Exhumation: A man returns home after many years to attend a family funeral – and gets way more than he bargained for.
This one is creepy as hell and reminded me why the next funeral I’ll go to is probably my own. Really. Don’t go to funerals and talk to people you don’t remember. Don’t!
Mike impressed me with his fabulous collection Darkest Hours, and these two tales are a solid addition to his body of work. Well worth your time! (and while you’re at it, check out the rest of the Short Sharp Shock’s series – great stuff)
howlinglibraries's review
5.0
I loved Mike's Darkest Hours collection a while back, so when he reached out asking if I'd be interested in reviewing more work from him, I couldn't possibly say no. Mike Thorn has this incredible talent for delivering atmosphere, backstory, and chills in as few pages as possible, and these two short stories were no exception to that rule.
Dreams of Lake Drukka follows a young woman whose mother passed away years ago in a drowning accident, and something has been drawing her back to the incident ever since, never letting her rest — always convincing her that something about that terrible, fateful night was not what it seemed. In a desperate need to know more about what happened, she drags her sister along as they return to the infamous lake of their nightmares, and what they find there is downright awful. I had literal goosebumps reading the descriptions in one scene because it was so immersive and easy to lose myself in imagining how petrifying it would be to be a fly on the wall of that scene.
Exhumation takes a very different note; in it, a young man visits home to attend an estranged family member's funeral, but is stunned when another family member not only accuses him of something particularly sordid, but even manages to prey upon repressed memories that had long since been buried. This one is bizarre and I wasn't quite sure where it was going or how it connected to Drukka at first; after I finished it, though, not only were the parallels clear (unresolved family traumas and otherworldly evils, most of all), but I found myself remarkably satisfied with the direction its ending took.
All in all, Mike's writing is concise and powerful, and his descriptions left me with a spine-chilling sense of "wrongness" that lingered for a few days after — and that's truly one of the best compliments a horror author can receive from me. I can't wait to see what he does next!
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author & publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
→ content warnings: violence, gore, drug abuse, murder
Dreams of Lake Drukka follows a young woman whose mother passed away years ago in a drowning accident, and something has been drawing her back to the incident ever since, never letting her rest — always convincing her that something about that terrible, fateful night was not what it seemed. In a desperate need to know more about what happened, she drags her sister along as they return to the infamous lake of their nightmares, and what they find there is downright awful. I had literal goosebumps reading the descriptions in one scene because it was so immersive and easy to lose myself in imagining how petrifying it would be to be a fly on the wall of that scene.
Exhumation takes a very different note; in it, a young man visits home to attend an estranged family member's funeral, but is stunned when another family member not only accuses him of something particularly sordid, but even manages to prey upon repressed memories that had long since been buried. This one is bizarre and I wasn't quite sure where it was going or how it connected to Drukka at first; after I finished it, though, not only were the parallels clear (unresolved family traumas and otherworldly evils, most of all), but I found myself remarkably satisfied with the direction its ending took.
All in all, Mike's writing is concise and powerful, and his descriptions left me with a spine-chilling sense of "wrongness" that lingered for a few days after — and that's truly one of the best compliments a horror author can receive from me. I can't wait to see what he does next!
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author & publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
→ content warnings: violence, gore, drug abuse, murder
ania_star's review
5.0
What happens when you dig too deep.
She couldn't get over her mother's death. She dies by apparent suicide many years ago, but her death wayed heavily on her. After a particularly vivid dream, she asks her sister to accompany her to the Lake Drukka, when their mother dies. She hopes to get some answers. When they arrive they get a lot more than they hoped for.
A man comes to the funeral of a relative. His only goal is to pay respects and leaves, but one cousin, who he has no memory of, keeps bugging him. They finally step out to talk, but instead of going away, they capture him. As he is taken the memories start to come back, finally putting the story together, moments before it's too late.
Both stories very different, but very good in their own way. I was hooked right away. :)
received from Author
She couldn't get over her mother's death. She dies by apparent suicide many years ago, but her death wayed heavily on her. After a particularly vivid dream, she asks her sister to accompany her to the Lake Drukka, when their mother dies. She hopes to get some answers. When they arrive they get a lot more than they hoped for.
A man comes to the funeral of a relative. His only goal is to pay respects and leaves, but one cousin, who he has no memory of, keeps bugging him. They finally step out to talk, but instead of going away, they capture him. As he is taken the memories start to come back, finally putting the story together, moments before it's too late.
Both stories very different, but very good in their own way. I was hooked right away. :)
received from Author
wellwortharead's review
4.0
These two freaky stories share a theme of unusual death and estranged families.
In Dreams of Lake Drukka, a daughter is alienated from her father after her mother's death. She and her reluctant sister take a road trip and discover a dangerous truth. In Exhumation, a man arrives at his cousin's funeral to find something otherworldly waiting to welcome him home. Both stories had a fun creature feature kind of vibe and were quick and creepy reads.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
In Dreams of Lake Drukka, a daughter is alienated from her father after her mother's death. She and her reluctant sister take a road trip and discover a dangerous truth. In Exhumation, a man arrives at his cousin's funeral to find something otherworldly waiting to welcome him home. Both stories had a fun creature feature kind of vibe and were quick and creepy reads.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
candacerobinsonauthor's review
5.0
Loved the writing in this one and the fact that there wasn’t one short story but two inside! The first one was probably my favorite though. And I read through the author’s words quickly since the stories were so addicting!
brennanlafaro's review
4.0
Mike Thorn's pair of stories, Dreams of Lake Drukka and Exhumation, served as my introduction to Demain Publishing's Short Sharp Shocks series. Although the two stories featured contain different characters and situations, there are some overlapping themes including the supernatural and unresolved family conflict.
Dreams of Lake Drukka follows the journey of two sisters traveling to the lake where their mother drowned. As they travel, there is tension and conflict as we learn a bit more about the reason for their journey. Once the sisters get to the title lake, the story throws any sense of subtlety out the window and things get a bit grim. The ending to this story almost seemed a bit rushed, but I did like the dynamic it conveyed.
Exhumation follows a man, Abel, attending his cousin's funeral. The first part of the story hints more at psychological and tense horror as a man Abel doesn't know hints at events that the two of them, as well as the deceased, participated in when they were younger. Abel begins to have flashes and then, like Lake Drukka, we are catapulted into the action of the story. The vivid descriptions of one of the characters in this story just might give you a little trouble falling asleep at night, and Thorn crafts an ending we're not going to forget.
The two stories here, along with word of mouth regarding Mike Thorn's other book - Darkest Hours, will have me keeping an eye out for what comes from this author in the future. Both stories in this collection are worth checking out and are available on September 27th.
Dreams of Lake Drukka follows the journey of two sisters traveling to the lake where their mother drowned. As they travel, there is tension and conflict as we learn a bit more about the reason for their journey. Once the sisters get to the title lake, the story throws any sense of subtlety out the window and things get a bit grim. The ending to this story almost seemed a bit rushed, but I did like the dynamic it conveyed.
Exhumation follows a man, Abel, attending his cousin's funeral. The first part of the story hints more at psychological and tense horror as a man Abel doesn't know hints at events that the two of them, as well as the deceased, participated in when they were younger. Abel begins to have flashes and then, like Lake Drukka, we are catapulted into the action of the story. The vivid descriptions of one of the characters in this story just might give you a little trouble falling asleep at night, and Thorn crafts an ending we're not going to forget.
The two stories here, along with word of mouth regarding Mike Thorn's other book - Darkest Hours, will have me keeping an eye out for what comes from this author in the future. Both stories in this collection are worth checking out and are available on September 27th.
brinocheeze's review
3.0
Thank you to the author, Mike Thorn, for giving me the opportunity to read his two new short stories. I read Mike Thorn’s Darkest Hours and LOVED it. I couldn’t wait to read his future work so this was a treat.
The first story, Dreams of Lake Drukka, was definitely my favorite one of the two. It was suspenseful and intriguing. The family’s secrets were juicy enough to keep me entertained and wanting to know more. The ending of the story was a bit disappointing and felt rushed.
The second story, Exhumation, was strange and confusing. The main characters had similar names and I had to re-read the sentences to figure out who was who. Once the story was finished, I didn’t remember what happened. The story, unfortunately, wasn’t memorable.
In my opinion, both stories could’ve been longer and have better timelines. I do love the ideas of the story but probably would’ve loved them more if they were longer with more depth.
The first story, Dreams of Lake Drukka, was definitely my favorite one of the two. It was suspenseful and intriguing. The family’s secrets were juicy enough to keep me entertained and wanting to know more. The ending of the story was a bit disappointing and felt rushed.
The second story, Exhumation, was strange and confusing. The main characters had similar names and I had to re-read the sentences to figure out who was who. Once the story was finished, I didn’t remember what happened. The story, unfortunately, wasn’t memorable.
In my opinion, both stories could’ve been longer and have better timelines. I do love the ideas of the story but probably would’ve loved them more if they were longer with more depth.
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