Genre: Horror
Length: 223 Pages
Publisher: Black Spine Books
Release date: October 29, 2019
Synopsis: Fear is a place, and to get there it’s as easy as looking in the mirror.
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart returns to the horror arena with his second collection of twisted and unsettling tales featuring monstrosities of both the occult and human nature. In “Down In The Valley” a young fire service member discovers the horrifying truth regarding the missing persons in the lonely state park his fire tower watches over. A man whose entire life has been haunted by a hideous childhood event gets a second chance to make things right in “You Can Never Go Back”. And a young woman’s tragic mistake while driving and texting literally comes back to haunt her in “More”. Written in Hart’s hypnotic and unnerving style, Something Came Through features ten new terrifying stories that peel back the surface of everyday life to expose the darkness waiting beneath.
Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review
Something Came Through is filled with 11 stories of horror, and I dug most of them quite a lot. The collection kicks off with Trestle. This short was an entertaining, a slight twist on an urban legend. A creature that exists on the train tracks and is behind mysterious deaths. I’ve read a few variations of this before. But I still had a good time and dug the vibe of this one. More was heartbreaking and seeing guilt eat someone from the inside out was brutal. “guilt is a hungry thing, and no matter how much we forgive, some things always need more.” Holy hell that sentence ripped me apart, and Joe Hart doesn’t stop here, he’s just getting started.
Down in the Valley was one of the longer stories and possibly my favorite. The atmosphere Joe Hart developed along with the characters had me scared and gave me chills. Again, Joe Hart stabs us with his writing as we follow the ranger in search of missing persons in the state park. “…it was the beginning of a long and torturous trek through the desert of grief…” Again, holy hell, that just ripped my insides. The title story, Something Came Through, was another favorite and creepy as all hell. The laws of physics and rational thinking were removed as we watch a man become unhinged, not knowing what is real or what is solid.
Faceless was eerie and what isn’t seen is as scary as what is in other stories. I dug the way Joe Hart used the unknown, unseen, and what is in the blurry edges of our vision to scare us. Untethered was without a doubt one of my favorites. The suspense, tension, and mix of science fiction was perfection. This was one of the shorter stories and I loved every minute of this space adventure gone wrong as the ship’s computer went rouge. I can easily recommend this collection from Joe Hart. I’ve read most of what he has published and always dig his work.
Link to purchase Something Came Through
Joe Hart, biography-
Joe Hart is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eleven novels that include The River Is Dark, Obscura, and The Last Girl. When not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising, exploring the great outdoors, and watching movies with his family. For more information on his upcoming novels and access to his blog, visit his Author site.
The Scary Reviews 