Darkest Hours by Mike Thorn

I knew this book was going to be something different when I read the first story, Hair. It was totally gross but I couldn't stop reading it. It's been a long time since I have read something so original perplexing and horrific. Mike Thorn can spin a horror tale from any situation.

What's scary about these 15 tales are that the characters are normal people, they could easily be you or me. With each tale you know each one of these tortured souls is going to have something terrible happen to them and half the fun of reading this collection is trying to determine which angle Mike Thorn is coming from.

This is a really diverse collection and packs a very powerful debut drawing on a wide range of influences ranging from academia to science fiction. Each tale is very different in terms of subject matter but each is cleverly thought out and executed. I really liked every one of these, all killer no filler and can't wait to see more from this author in the future. There's a real talent here and its only going to keep getting better.

There's moments of pure brilliance in this collection such as The Auteur in which one guy tries to push his boundaries of experiencing horror. I felt really creeped out after reading this! Some of these tales are so dark because they could so easily happen to anyone, no one is safe.

Stand out favourites for me include; Long Man, Party Time, The Auteur and Sabbatical!

About the Author

Mike Thorn is the author of the short story collection Darkest Hours. His fiction has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, including Dark Moon Digest, Behind the Mask - Tales from the Id and Straylight Literary Arts Magazine. His criticism has been featured recently in MUBI Notebook and The Film Stage, and he co-authors the horror-themed series "Devious Dialogues" with A.M. Stanley for Vague Visages.

http://www.mikethornwrites.com/