Bound In Blood edited by Johnny Mains
I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Titan
Published - Out Now
Price - £18.99 hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook
A chilling anthology of over 20 stories of cursed and haunted books; featuring malevolent second-hand books, cursed novelizations, unsettling journals and the end of the world.
From award-winning authors including Eric LaRocca, Charlie Higson, Kim Newman and A. G. Slatter. Perfect for fans of When Things Get Dark.
You find it hidden in the dark corner of the bookstore; tucked away in a box in the attic, desperate to be read; lurking on your bookshelf, never seen before. Crack the spine, feel the ancient pages. Read it aloud, if you dare.
This anthology brings together horror’s best and brightest to delve into the pages of cursed books, Eldtritch tomes and haunted bookstores.
Now readers we love books, libraries and authors - safe to say if you’re reading this. As well as the source of all great stories they bring comfort, warmth and happiness. Book are joy! Well unless you’re entering the genre of horror. Then books can be cursed, libraries may be damned and authors can be unearthly (the latter is often true) and you should meet the reviewers only if you can resist temptation. Johnny Mains has assembled a stellar cast of authors in the anthology Bound in Blood to explore the darker side of the written page. It’s a very enjoyable collection taking the reader on a variety of dark trips.
Among the many stories I enjoyed were
From The Sea by Charlie Higson - we get off to a superb start with this tale told largely in emails about a horror movie being produced. Normally a story that has Lovecraft in its cosmic horror makes me a litttle jaded but this was an excellent take of a production artist being tormented by strange visions after seeing a particular book. It has one of the best one line scares that changes a whole letter you’ve just read. Very dark but excellently delivered.
Footnotes by AK Benedict is a tale of a student without any real direction in life being offered amazing power. As well as a fascinating tale about prophecy and the cost of magic there are some excellent observations going on in the footnotes adding strange commentary on events. A gorgeously dark read!
The House Witch by Alison Moore - a mysteriously dark tale of a woman where particular book seems to have a strange impact on reality. The whole tale has the feel of a nightmare as we watch our lonely main character Ruth navigate a family that wants her to be responsible for all and a job that sucks the life out of things. A need to escape in a book, outside or more can be both entrancing and dangerous. The story is wonderfully ominous without any major scary reveals. Very enjoyable.
Choose Your Own Adventure by Nadia Bulkin - a young couple not sure of their future sees fortune teller who has a book that tells you a story that explains your future. But the couple find their stories are very different. It’s troubling though what some people will accept for a happy life - eerie!
Broken Back Man by Lucie McKnight Hardy - a lovelorn student working in a grimy pub is troubled by a man reminding him of his worst nightmares apparently now reading his diary at the bar. A fascinating tale combining great character work with the reader seeing what the unlucky character has in their future until it’s just too late.
The Witch’s Pillowbook by Priya Sharma - This sets a fascinating exploration of fractures in a relationship that builds with a wider magical focused plot. A middle aged couple in a new village try to repair their relationship. Estelle though wants passion back in her life. Strange new shops Seem to be able to awake new feelings and powers that may change things for good. Really well told exploring the feeling of lost love and the need for desire cleverly tying all the plotlines very satisfyingly. One of my favourites.
Book Work by Isy Suttie - another favourite as a young child tells us about the time they were hired by a strange neighbour to manage a library. There is under all of this a darker childhood being explored. A mother who leaves her kids left to fend for themselves due to alcoholism and while a library getting created seems joyous there are themes of obsession, grief and mental illness hiding in the tale only the adult reader will grasp. A really powerful tale. The love of books can be dangerous.
Bell, Book and Lamp by AG Slatter - a really horrible young man (and we find out he is far worse than he appears) inherits a fortune from his great-aunt who seemed to support his life choices. We watch him go to his new estate and read in the library her last letter to him. Two dark tales for the price of one coming together to show no love is ever without a cost.
The Wretched Tome by Jeremy Dyson - a neat old school tale within a tale of a very dangerous book. It neatly raises the stakes and the reader is keen to know what happened next - it’s a bit gruesome in all the right ways!
Beneath The Diaphragm, The Gut Itself by Robert Shearman - My favourite take in the collection is possibly the strangest in it too. Shearman imagines a world where everyone gives birth to a book be it a high praised Austen or a lowly textbook. It is a story about the way culture is prized, genre gets dismissed and the need to create stories but it also has moments of weird horror, tension and an unsettling final ending that is also strangely hopeful. A truly gorgeous thoughtful read.
Bibliette by Guy Adams - a short tale imagining someone lost in a bookshop. The cunning way book titles and figures come alive is matched by a sense this shop as so many second hands are is way bigger than you expect. A very fun tale!
Near Zennor by Elizabeth Hand - the biggest story in the collection totally deserves its place here. A wonderful layered tale starting with a man grieving the loss of his wife the opens up layers and layers. A tale of her and her childhood friends meeting a beloved author who was later accused of terrible crimes is mixed with a very weird encounter on a field at night. The final act is the husband tracing his wife’s steps and finding the Cornish countryside strange and bewitching with an even weirder and spikier encounter to come. A journey that reminds us of darker childhood tales and as an adult what isn’t understood as a kid can be far more frightening when we don’t believe in the impossible any more.
Pending Licensor Approval by Adam Cesare - a fun conclusion awaits here where a writer for hire is doing a tv tie in of a notorious Japanese horror film being remade for the US. Our frustrated author gets the chance to entrance a bartender who is a horror fan but he has an NDA. A tale that explores the love of horror, that you really should mean what you say and don’t break promises. Gruesome and thoughtful is a great mix!
Bound in Blood is a very interesting, varied and hugely interesting collection. Full of stories in dialogue with books, writing and reading plus exploring many other subjects. A very suitable anthology to sit down and enjoy on these dark and colder nights. Highly recommended !
