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michaellouisdixon's review
5.0
THE SLUMBER PARTY by Chelsea Asher. Sarah is a little girl who's had enough of her friends shit and things get brutal.
SATANIC PANIC ATTACK by Joshua Chaplinsky. Not only is the title fantastic, but this is a great story! DMD frequently publishes stories that challenge conventional formats, like this one does. Excellent choice!
SWOLLEN DRY SOCKETS by Andrew Hilbert. Ah, Andrew. How can it hurt so good? Alternating laughing and cringing. Holy shit!
PROSPECT NOWHERE by Red Lagoe. This was a fun story. I think it would make a great short film.
FINGERS ON GLASS by Matthew B. Hare. Good story!
HUNTIN' THEM HILLS WITH JOEL AND BIG HOWIE by Jonathan Raab. Once again this magazine presents a great story in a creative style. A description of a public access show that goes Cosmic Horror.
SATANIC PANIC ATTACK by Joshua Chaplinsky. Not only is the title fantastic, but this is a great story! DMD frequently publishes stories that challenge conventional formats, like this one does. Excellent choice!
SWOLLEN DRY SOCKETS by Andrew Hilbert. Ah, Andrew. How can it hurt so good? Alternating laughing and cringing. Holy shit!
PROSPECT NOWHERE by Red Lagoe. This was a fun story. I think it would make a great short film.
FINGERS ON GLASS by Matthew B. Hare. Good story!
HUNTIN' THEM HILLS WITH JOEL AND BIG HOWIE by Jonathan Raab. Once again this magazine presents a great story in a creative style. A description of a public access show that goes Cosmic Horror.
thomaswjoyce's review
4.0
You have to admire a publisher that not only continues to publish a horror fiction magazine these days, but does such a damn good job of it as well. PMMP have been consistently delivering with every issue, and the latest is no exception. Each story had its merit, but my favourite's were by Joshua Chaplinsky, Andrew Hilbert, Red Lagoe and Elizabeth Strong. I'm familiar with the work of Chaplinsky and Hilbert, to a slight extent, and all I can say is fans of their writing will love each of their stories.
Chaplinsky has really impressed me with his ability to successfully experiment with narrative structure without sacrificing the quality of the story. He always seems to find a way to make it not only work with the story, but enhance it as well. His take on the early Command Line Only video games was tremendously entertaining.
In his own inimitable style, Hilbert doesn't shy away from the crazier elements of his story. There are certain characters who are just bat-shit crazy and, instead of playing it down, he dials it up to 11. He has a knack for delivering a funny line without detracting from the unfolding horror. His story was so much fun.
I'm completely unfamiliar with Red Lagoe's work. But, based on this story, I'll be keen to read more. While not completely unique (it must have been done in a Twilight Zone episode at least), the way Lagoe delivered her tale was truly horrifying and very well done.
Part of what makes PMMP so great is their willingness to innovate. They ran a writing contest in their local library and the winner had their story published in this issue of DMD. It was Elizabeth Strong's very first published work of fiction. And what a debut! A child protagonist can be problematic if not done right, but she handled it so well and really made it work. It was creepy, it had emotion, and the characterisation was brilliant. I hope winning the contest is just the start for Strong; I hope to read more in the future.
Fiction wasn't the only area PMMP innovated with this issue; there was a new column highlighting the "Unsung Maniacs" of the horror industry. Granted, I'd never heard of William Girdler before. I'm not normally into schlock horror. But the way author Jacob Knight told Girdler's story, I was hooked from start to finish. It was fascinating. As was Jay Wilburn's take on the best short story collection by Stephen King. Whether you agree or disagree with Wilburn's outcome, you can't fault his style during his examination. It's clear he loves King's work.
It's also clear PMMP love their magazine. The effort and dedication put in by Max Booth III and Lori Michelle is as clear as ever with their latest issue. From the expertly-curated content, to the wonderful art and design on display, this is a must-read for me. If you've read this far, I bet you too will agree.
Chaplinsky has really impressed me with his ability to successfully experiment with narrative structure without sacrificing the quality of the story. He always seems to find a way to make it not only work with the story, but enhance it as well. His take on the early Command Line Only video games was tremendously entertaining.
In his own inimitable style, Hilbert doesn't shy away from the crazier elements of his story. There are certain characters who are just bat-shit crazy and, instead of playing it down, he dials it up to 11. He has a knack for delivering a funny line without detracting from the unfolding horror. His story was so much fun.
I'm completely unfamiliar with Red Lagoe's work. But, based on this story, I'll be keen to read more. While not completely unique (it must have been done in a Twilight Zone episode at least), the way Lagoe delivered her tale was truly horrifying and very well done.
Part of what makes PMMP so great is their willingness to innovate. They ran a writing contest in their local library and the winner had their story published in this issue of DMD. It was Elizabeth Strong's very first published work of fiction. And what a debut! A child protagonist can be problematic if not done right, but she handled it so well and really made it work. It was creepy, it had emotion, and the characterisation was brilliant. I hope winning the contest is just the start for Strong; I hope to read more in the future.
Fiction wasn't the only area PMMP innovated with this issue; there was a new column highlighting the "Unsung Maniacs" of the horror industry. Granted, I'd never heard of William Girdler before. I'm not normally into schlock horror. But the way author Jacob Knight told Girdler's story, I was hooked from start to finish. It was fascinating. As was Jay Wilburn's take on the best short story collection by Stephen King. Whether you agree or disagree with Wilburn's outcome, you can't fault his style during his examination. It's clear he loves King's work.
It's also clear PMMP love their magazine. The effort and dedication put in by Max Booth III and Lori Michelle is as clear as ever with their latest issue. From the expertly-curated content, to the wonderful art and design on display, this is a must-read for me. If you've read this far, I bet you too will agree.
josephvanburen's review
4.0
Dark Moon Digest is one of my favorite horror fiction magazines, and this issue delivers everything I've come to expect without any filler! The stories chosen for this issue run the gamut of emotions and moods: creepy, disgusting, funny, holy sh!t, and wtf. Some of them get innovative with narrative forms that resemble old school text games or cable access show scripts, which I loved. There are also a few nonfiction articles that are like cleansing the palate after some of the stories. Overall, this issue is a great read for fans of horror and related weird genres.
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