BOOK REVIEW: BADLANDS BY ALYSON FAYE

​I love collections of short stories...and I especially love scary short stories.  They remind me of when I was a kid and my siblings and I would try and out-scare each other after dark with creepy tales.  Badlands by Alyson Faye is a collection of short stories and flash fiction pieces with lengths ranging from 100 to 1,000 words.  Most of the stories have some element of horror or creep to them.  I don't have much experience reading or writing works as short as flash fiction, but this collection was a flavorful introduction for me.
 
The stories I liked most within this collection were the ones that left me saying, "Whoa..." to myself upon completion.  These were the stories that actually made me pause and reflect upon the feeling of being creeped out.  I’m not easily creeped out, so when something makes me stop to think about it before moving on, I’m very pleased.  These are the stories where if you don't read them all (although I would advocate that you do), you have to read at least these pieces:  "Mother Love" (reminds me of post-mortem photos that were more common in the Victorian era), "Doll Man" (creepy...both creepy and sad), and "Belladonna" (a sweet revenge story).  "Visiting Mum," while not super-creepy, actually made me a bit apprehensive about getting old (I usually don’t think about it too much, myself).
 
Others tugged at my heartstrings, being full of some sort of longing or loss.  For me, these stories include "Each Other's World" (actually kind of zombie-esque), "Treasure Hunt" (essentially about a lost girl, very sad), and "The Last Walk" (starts off hopeful, ends tragically).
 
There were some stories that really did nothing for me.  Not to say that they weren't well-written or original...they simply didn't resonate with me or perhaps I didn't understand them enough to be moved by them.  These stories include "3D Audrey" and "Peacocks."
 
If you are a fan of flash fiction or short story anthologies, give this one a try.  You’ll probably find a story or two that you tell amongst friends at a campfire - maybe they’ll bring you up a notch in your group (if you’re like me and want to outperform the other storytellers in the group).
 
It would be a bonus if there were some really creepy black-and-white illustrations to really cement the creep into my brain.  Overall - well done, Alyson.
 
 
 




 


Become a Patron!

​MY JOURNEY TO THE DARK SIDE- INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATIONS BY ALYSON FAYE