BOOK REVIEW: THE ABYSS BY TAMEL WINO

1/3/2022

The Abyss is a small collection of fairly long short stories. All of which end on a cliffhanger, with at least one of the main characters teetering on the brink of something, a realisation or some form of pivotal action or sometimes death. Each story is very different, but each story creates some of the most effective suspense I have ever read and it was read on tenter hooks, compelled to find out what was going to happen next, a growing sense of dread stalking throughout the pages.

The stories are all set in the real world with no or almost no supernatural elements. What would you do if you came home to find out that your wife had been replaced? What do you do if you are picked up by a creep whilst hitch hiking? How do you give life meaning and reach the ultimate high when nothing else will do? These questions are all answered within this unique anthology. The characters are largely realistic, unpleasant in various ways but human. Both the female and male characters are well rounded and complex.

   Some stories I liked better than others, in fact, I found that I liked the 1st two stories to the least. Still compelling and suspenseful with a growing sense of dread. But ‘Marlene’ the first story felt too Fifty Shades (except more compelling) and the main character in No Place Like Home and the family were just infuriatingly annoying. It is hard to pick a favourite story from the other four, they are all so amazing and different and I won’t spoil it.

   This is an amazing anthology and certainly one of the most suspenseful pieces of work I have read in a long time. It is expertly written to add depth and intrigue to every story and you should definitely give it a try.

Ékleipsis: the Abyss
by Tamel Wino

The seed of evil has been planted …

What will happen when its roots take hold?

Ékleipsis: The Abyss is the second short story collection by the award-winning author.

Tales of depravation and insanity are woven together with unrelenting style and depth, scrutinizing human nature’s degeneration when compromised by tragic, vicious circumstances.

These complex, wretched individuals and the irremediable conditions they are desperate to claw out of—or into—invoke the unfathomable question: What devastation are we truly capable of when left with no way out but down . . . into the obscurity of the abyss?