Well, I’ve not freaked out this way over an indie author’s book since Mona Kabbani’s The Bell Chime. That’s not to say those I’ve digested in the interim have been of any less quality, but something about The Bell Chime just resonated so deeply with me, and Jeremy Megargee’s collection of shorts, Stained and Starless Places, has hit another dusty corner of my soul with equal intensity.

As you know, I’m always hesitant to give too much away about the writings of my peers, and I’ll be equally hesitant this time around. Without telling you the names of the particular entries in question, there’s a full on Lovecraftian oceanic nightmare, a familial episode with Greek tragedy overtones, and – my favourite – a creature feature that blends Cronenbergian body horror and Barker-esque demonic subjugation.

It’s obvious that the ideas presented in this volume were born from an imagination capable of the very finest contributions to the genre we could hope for. I, for one, will be keeping an eye on Megargee. Dude knows how to horror.

-GG