Doomsday Furnace by Brent Michael Kelley- book review

I should have realized this would be a good book as soon as it cursed me. If I’d heeded Brent Michael Kelley’s warnings at the beginning of the book, I would have been living a safe, boring life. But, I ignored it and jumped right into Doomsday Furnace. And you know what? I’m glad I did. The 12 stories in here are some of the best, most twisted, cruel-smile inducing tales of woe and misery I’ve read. It’s an absolute blast and I’ll gladly pass this curse on to you just so you can experience Kelley’s book with me.

We get a bit of everything with this collection. There are ancient beings, space stations, people facing the end of the world, and just about everything in between. Kelley jumps from funny yarns about drunks on a voyage to a supply ship, to a doomed group of old people trekking across the country in search of a tower that’ll help them die. His ability to mix humor with horror will lead you down some unexpected paths. I had no idea where Kelley was going to take me next, but I quickly learned to trust him. No matter how much dread his ideas brought to me, he always threw in a laugh or two just for fun. He mixes humor with horror to keep you on your toes.

 Even though the stories varied in tone and concept, I definitely picked up on a theme carried throughout the collection. Now, you are probably going to say, duh, it’s called Doomsday Furnace for a reason. Not so fast there friend, only a few of the stories are actually set during a cataclysmic event. I’d posit that the collection is more about someone facing the end of something. So, yes we do have a story like The Eighth of June, where a Doomsday Cloud is coming toward Earth. And while we don’t get to see it actually hit, we do get to witness how humanity would react knowing the date the of the end of the world. There is also A Friend in Paga which is about a membrane that has encased the world, infecting everyone’s dreams. But, the rest of the stories focus on things like a group of children stopping the semi-regular sacrifice of their own. Or a parent willing to do anything to end the looks people give his child. Doomsday could have many different meanings, depending on who you ask. In Kelley’s collection we get to see he that he has some amazing answers.

One thing I picked up quickly while reading the book is that Kelley loves torturing his characters. And I almost hate to say it, but as I worked my way through Doomsday Furnace I had fun watching him do it. He finds some really creative ways to turn the screws. Maybe it’s putting an intelligent scientist into a spaceship full of idiots then forcing her to work out what an insane captain is trying to do. The frustration she faces oozes off the page and it is wonderful to witness. Or, in probably the best story of the lot, The Randy Dream, we get to follow poor old Randy try to deal with the fact that the entire world dreamed about smashing his head in with a rock. It’s so diabolical. The guy is just a loser that loves corn dogs, drinking, and playing board games, yet half the world wants to kill him and the other half wants to ask why. His reactions are hilarious even if we know this can’t end well. All of these bad things are happening due to Kelley, but he’s crafted each story so well that we kind of forget we are witnessing a tragedy.

Each of Kelley’s tales in Doomsday Furnace pack a mighty wallop hidden behind a mask of humor. There are some truly great horror stories in here, covering the end of the world, sacrifice, and monsters. It’s the perfect collection to read when you want to be scared but also want to laugh while it is happening.
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Now, will you please go read this so that the curse can leave me alone? 

DOOMSDAY FURNACE BY BRENT MICHAEL KELLEY