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A review by horrorbutch
Fever Dreams of a Parasite by Pedro Iniguez
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.
In this horror short story collection, the author explores the horrifying from a marginalized often Latinx perspective. Whether the horror comes from real life, like domestic abuse, racism and poverty, or from the supernatural, like vampires and deep sea creatures, the stories thrive by exploring the emotional states and fears of the various main characters and manage to pull you in quickly no matter which cosmic, strange turns the stories take. The writing is also very well done, building tension often to the point of near-snapping with a very satisfying terrifying end.
I’ve read one of the short stories here before in a cosmic horror collection “Beyond the Bounds of Infinity” and so while I was able to go into this collection expecting great cosmic horror I was still blown away by how much I enjoyed all the stories in here. While there are always some stories I enjoy more than others (in the case of this collection my favs very Feast of the Dreamer, Purveyors and Puppets, The Cellar, The Bottom Dweller, The Last Train out of Calico, Effigies of Monstrous Things and Postcards from Saquaroland), there wasn’t a single story in this anthology I did not enjoy.
All in all this is an anthology I can just recommend any reader interested in horror short stories and as always you can find trigger warnings and more thoughts on every single short story below.
Nightmare of a Million Faces: A woman working in the sex film industry visits a party to try and impress a producer in order to get a new role. But rumors about her abusive ex and her abortion make for an unrestful evening. And it gets worse, when suddenly everybody else disappears. Well written and haunting, I liked how dread was already ever present in the entire story from the beginning.
TW: domestic abuse, murder, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, victim blaming, violence
*FAV* Feast of the Dreamer: A man, formerly working for the mob, has found a new use for the corpses at the dumping sites. He’s literally chasing a dream through ingesting the corpses. During one of these visions, he finds out the grisly way to enter that world permanently. Great gore, great body horror, I loved it!
TW: cannibalism, murder, suicide, unsanitary, vomit
Skin: A young man goes out seal hunting with his uncle, hoping to pay off some gambling debts, but somebody decided to hunt them instead. Very short, but intriguing.
TW: fatphobia, murder
Shantytown: A Mexican Ghost Story: A short story about a young girl, who lives in a Shantytown and the Ghosts that haunt that place. Starts out more heartbreaking than scary, but features an interesting scary end.
TW: death, labor exploitation, racism
*FAV* Purveyors and Puppets: A TV show host with a past of being harassed by racists is invited to debate a rather famous racist TV show host. But once she arrives at his studio, she quickly realizes that something is incredibly wrong. Very dark, very messy, very fun.
TW: murder, stalking
Roots in Kon Tum: An American soldier visits Vietnam trying to find a woman he met there during his trip. Instead he is confronted with the realities of Agent Orange. Satisfying ending!
TW: ableism, chemical warfare, death, murder, (implied?) rape, war
Midnight Frequencies: A food vendor just trying to make a living, always carefully avoiding police attention as he cannot afford the permit costs, finds himself accosted by strange, hungry beings.
TW: murder
FAV* The Cellar: A sister just picked up her brother from prison, when a wildfire forces the two siblings to take shelter in the cellar of an abandoned farm. The shelter however leads to a land called Fantastica and in it they are visited by the people they lost. Haunting and horrifying.
TW: animal death, drunk driving, death, wildfire
The Savage Night: A hunter forced to trail behind his tribe for consorting with dark magic catches up to them in the night only to discover his people slaughtered. When one of them is returned to him he tries his best to carve out a survival for the two of them. But his friend has returned quite wrong.
TW: animal death, death, gore
*FAV* The Bottom Dweller: A man stars his new job at the marine park to clear aquariums. They keep all kinds of interesting creatures here and some of them are hungry. I really find the world building her fascinating and I love a good ocean-based horror!
TW: drowning, injury
Adrift Ebon Tides: A short story about two men adrift on the ocean, the last survivors of their ship. Very cosmic horror and really rather short, but I liked the writing style and again, I love ocean-based horror.
TW: death, drowning, suicide
Midnight Shoeshine: A man is stopped from committing suicide by a young boy offering a shoeshine. This night will change his life! Sweet, with a scary ending.
TW: murder, suicide
*FAV* The Last Train out of Calico: A bunch of aged train robbers decide on one last heist. But what they will find inside the train is far, far different than they could have ever expected. Really gorey, I liked it.
TW: gore, murder
Bad Dogs: A woman is on the way to her dealer, when she finds herself stranded in a phone booth and werewolves begin to circle. Very short, but still interesting character work.
TW: addiction, drugs
Birthday Boy: A young boy is excited for his birthday and his father promised him a pinata! But something else is going on in their house. A fascinating horror story told from the perspective of a child, I really liked the combination of innocence and underlying horror.
TW: murder, implied torture
The House of Laments: A soon-to-be family tries to find some things to decorate their home in a yard sale when they find a camera. The pictures reveal a dark secret that the pregnant woman can’t stop herself from investigating, unable to let it rest out of fear for her unborn child. Haunting and with a really grisly end.
TW: child murder, death
Caravan: A young boy and his mother are travelling, hoping for a better future. But the road is dangerous and food is scarce and when children start disappearing tempers soon flare when accusations of cannibalism are raised. Interesting and with a fun plot twist at the end.
TW: cannibalism, child death, murder
Body of Work; or, The Fever Dreams of a Parasite: A designer has achieved what few manage: fame. But he wishes for something bigger, something that will help him be remembered forever. Dives deep into gore and body horror, but is also kinda touching? I liked it.
TW: death, gore
*FAV* Effigies of Monstrous Things: A story I’ve actually read before in Beyond the Bounds of Infinity, but I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it here. A scathing look at the economical injustice of the world and the horrors of being poor in a world that does not care. The end is both gorey and deeply sad. Very, very well done!
TW: body horror, child death, gore, mold, murder, racism, unsanitary living conditions
The Body Booth: A pregnant journalist is asked to investigate a disturbing art installation only to find that it is much more real than expected. Explores the overlap of motherhood and creation of life and men abusing women to make their art (looking at you Picasso). However, this is one of the less intriguing pieces in this collection to me.
TW: child death, gore, miscarriage, pregnancy horror
*FAV* Postcards from Saquaroland: A man who left his family for the promise of a better future and a place where he can ear money to support them finally asks for them to follow him. He only wants to find a job, but his dream of being possessed by creatures sensitive to sunlight who want darker-skinned vessels haunts him.
TW: flaying, gore
In this horror short story collection, the author explores the horrifying from a marginalized often Latinx perspective. Whether the horror comes from real life, like domestic abuse, racism and poverty, or from the supernatural, like vampires and deep sea creatures, the stories thrive by exploring the emotional states and fears of the various main characters and manage to pull you in quickly no matter which cosmic, strange turns the stories take. The writing is also very well done, building tension often to the point of near-snapping with a very satisfying terrifying end.
I’ve read one of the short stories here before in a cosmic horror collection “Beyond the Bounds of Infinity” and so while I was able to go into this collection expecting great cosmic horror I was still blown away by how much I enjoyed all the stories in here. While there are always some stories I enjoy more than others (in the case of this collection my favs very Feast of the Dreamer, Purveyors and Puppets, The Cellar, The Bottom Dweller, The Last Train out of Calico, Effigies of Monstrous Things and Postcards from Saquaroland), there wasn’t a single story in this anthology I did not enjoy.
All in all this is an anthology I can just recommend any reader interested in horror short stories and as always you can find trigger warnings and more thoughts on every single short story below.
Nightmare of a Million Faces: A woman working in the sex film industry visits a party to try and impress a producer in order to get a new role. But rumors about her abusive ex and her abortion make for an unrestful evening. And it gets worse, when suddenly everybody else disappears. Well written and haunting, I liked how dread was already ever present in the entire story from the beginning.
TW: domestic abuse, murder, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, victim blaming, violence
*FAV* Feast of the Dreamer: A man, formerly working for the mob, has found a new use for the corpses at the dumping sites. He’s literally chasing a dream through ingesting the corpses. During one of these visions, he finds out the grisly way to enter that world permanently. Great gore, great body horror, I loved it!
TW: cannibalism, murder, suicide, unsanitary, vomit
Skin: A young man goes out seal hunting with his uncle, hoping to pay off some gambling debts, but somebody decided to hunt them instead. Very short, but intriguing.
TW: fatphobia, murder
Shantytown: A Mexican Ghost Story: A short story about a young girl, who lives in a Shantytown and the Ghosts that haunt that place. Starts out more heartbreaking than scary, but features an interesting scary end.
TW: death, labor exploitation, racism
*FAV* Purveyors and Puppets: A TV show host with a past of being harassed by racists is invited to debate a rather famous racist TV show host. But once she arrives at his studio, she quickly realizes that something is incredibly wrong. Very dark, very messy, very fun.
TW: murder, stalking
Roots in Kon Tum: An American soldier visits Vietnam trying to find a woman he met there during his trip. Instead he is confronted with the realities of Agent Orange. Satisfying ending!
TW: ableism, chemical warfare, death, murder, (implied?) rape, war
Midnight Frequencies: A food vendor just trying to make a living, always carefully avoiding police attention as he cannot afford the permit costs, finds himself accosted by strange, hungry beings.
TW: murder
FAV* The Cellar: A sister just picked up her brother from prison, when a wildfire forces the two siblings to take shelter in the cellar of an abandoned farm. The shelter however leads to a land called Fantastica and in it they are visited by the people they lost. Haunting and horrifying.
TW: animal death, drunk driving, death, wildfire
The Savage Night: A hunter forced to trail behind his tribe for consorting with dark magic catches up to them in the night only to discover his people slaughtered. When one of them is returned to him he tries his best to carve out a survival for the two of them. But his friend has returned quite wrong.
TW: animal death, death, gore
*FAV* The Bottom Dweller: A man stars his new job at the marine park to clear aquariums. They keep all kinds of interesting creatures here and some of them are hungry. I really find the world building her fascinating and I love a good ocean-based horror!
TW: drowning, injury
Adrift Ebon Tides: A short story about two men adrift on the ocean, the last survivors of their ship. Very cosmic horror and really rather short, but I liked the writing style and again, I love ocean-based horror.
TW: death, drowning, suicide
Midnight Shoeshine: A man is stopped from committing suicide by a young boy offering a shoeshine. This night will change his life! Sweet, with a scary ending.
TW: murder, suicide
*FAV* The Last Train out of Calico: A bunch of aged train robbers decide on one last heist. But what they will find inside the train is far, far different than they could have ever expected. Really gorey, I liked it.
TW: gore, murder
Bad Dogs: A woman is on the way to her dealer, when she finds herself stranded in a phone booth and werewolves begin to circle. Very short, but still interesting character work.
TW: addiction, drugs
Birthday Boy: A young boy is excited for his birthday and his father promised him a pinata! But something else is going on in their house. A fascinating horror story told from the perspective of a child, I really liked the combination of innocence and underlying horror.
TW: murder, implied torture
The House of Laments: A soon-to-be family tries to find some things to decorate their home in a yard sale when they find a camera. The pictures reveal a dark secret that the pregnant woman can’t stop herself from investigating, unable to let it rest out of fear for her unborn child. Haunting and with a really grisly end.
TW: child murder, death
Caravan: A young boy and his mother are travelling, hoping for a better future. But the road is dangerous and food is scarce and when children start disappearing tempers soon flare when accusations of cannibalism are raised. Interesting and with a fun plot twist at the end.
TW: cannibalism, child death, murder
Body of Work; or, The Fever Dreams of a Parasite: A designer has achieved what few manage: fame. But he wishes for something bigger, something that will help him be remembered forever. Dives deep into gore and body horror, but is also kinda touching? I liked it.
TW: death, gore
*FAV* Effigies of Monstrous Things: A story I’ve actually read before in Beyond the Bounds of Infinity, but I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it here. A scathing look at the economical injustice of the world and the horrors of being poor in a world that does not care. The end is both gorey and deeply sad. Very, very well done!
TW: body horror, child death, gore, mold, murder, racism, unsanitary living conditions
The Body Booth: A pregnant journalist is asked to investigate a disturbing art installation only to find that it is much more real than expected. Explores the overlap of motherhood and creation of life and men abusing women to make their art (looking at you Picasso). However, this is one of the less intriguing pieces in this collection to me.
TW: child death, gore, miscarriage, pregnancy horror
*FAV* Postcards from Saquaroland: A man who left his family for the promise of a better future and a place where he can ear money to support them finally asks for them to follow him. He only wants to find a job, but his dream of being possessed by creatures sensitive to sunlight who want darker-skinned vessels haunts him.
TW: flaying, gore