The Scary Reviews

Genre: Speculative Fiction
Length: 184 Pages
Publisher:  Raw Dog Screaming Press
Release date: October 18, 2018
Synopsis:

Master short story author Lucy A. Snyder is back with a dozen chilling, thought-provoking tales of Lovecraftian horror, dark science fiction, and weird fantasy. Her previous two collections received Bram Stoker Awards and this one offers the same high-caliber, trope-twisting prose. Snyder effortlessly creates memorable monsters, richly imagined worlds and diverse, unforgettable characters.

Open this book and you’ll find a garden of stories as dark and heady as black roses that will delight fans of complex, intelligent speculative fiction.

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review

I have so many writers I enjoy reading. Keeping up on all of them is nearly impossible. So, I’m always excited to dive into a new piece of their work. Lucy A. Snyder is on that list, and I was more than overdue when Garden of Eldritch Delights hit my inbox. Her new collection had a wide variety of stories, and it was a lot of fun reading many of these stories.

This collection was off and running before I have a chance to get comfortable in my chair. The first story, That Which Does Not Kill You, told a horrible story filled with metaphors, which I found both cleaver and sad. This was nothing less than the way I expected this book start, and it kept going. The stories are original and chilling, as in Sunset on Mott Island. The end was nigh in many ways, and the race against time was never more urgent. The themes of monsters being awakened, and monsters posing as people were nicely laid threads. Lucy A. Snyder did what she does best here, and killed it on many of the shorts, and I dug each story more than the previous one.

The Gentleman Caller and Executive Functions were damn fine, excellent if I’m honest, and my favorite stories in this collection. Many of the stories touch on entities that exist beyond our world, or in our world, and are told with terrific and utterly scary detail. In addition, the idea that there are things we can not perceive, but also exist, is completely unsettling. Lucy A. Snyder takes the reader on a multitude of mind bending adventures that can be hard to firmly wrap your mind around. I fully recommend giving this book a read. In the world of speculative fiction and weird dark science fiction, this one is a hit.

Link to purchase Garden of Eldritch Delight

Praise for Lucy A. Snyder

“Garden of Eldritch Delights, a horror story collection by a modern master of the form, Lucy A. Snyder, offers explosive tales of trauma and survival.” – Library Journal

“Superbly creepy…” – Publishers Weekly on “Blossoms Blackened Like Dead Stars”

“This story features some serious vampires. Well done.” -Cemetery Dance on “The Yellow Death

“Snyder’s piece subtly lures you in on the waves…Charmingly cryptic to the end.” – Author Glenn Rolfe on “Sunset on Mott Island”

“(O)ne of the best of the anthology…unforgettable.” – The Horror Fiction Review on “The Gentleman Caller”

Lucy A. Snyder Biography-

Lucy A. Snyder is a four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author. Her writing has been translated into French, Russian, and Japanese editions. Lucy was born in South Carolina but grew up in grew up in the cowboys-and-cactus part of Texas. She currently lives in Worthington, Ohio with her husband and occasional co-author Gary A. Braunbeck.

Would you like to feature?

If you would like to review Garden of Eldritch Delights or feature Lucy with an interview or guest article for a media publication, blog, or author blurb, please e-mail Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com.