Iron Maidens by Sarah Jane Huntingdon

 


A 13 story collection of twisted tales, all featuring killer women. Supernatural creations hell-bent on revenge. Cosmic terrors form beneath the surface. Women with unusual afflictions. The kind housewife with a collection of pickling jars. The beginnings of a serial  killer and more.

Villains, Vigilantes, Voyeurs and Vengeance. You won't forget these women in a hurry


Straightaway I knew I would love this collection of short stories when I read the introduction. Particularly in the horror genre it is always the women who suffer the most particularly when faced with being the final girl but here in this anthology the women rise up and take their revenge against the world, taking down the patriarchy one by one!

In Iron Maiden we meet women who are broken down but then they rise up stronger than ever returning the hate dealt out to them. Sarah Jane Huntingdon is an incredibly powerful story teller. Very quickly the reader is completely absorbed into the mind of a predator. In each story I really felt like I had gone through the sufferings of each character. Each tale is really different and unique I really enjoyed the ride!

There wasn't one tale I didn't like in here. There's many different styles of horror, occult, cosmic and much much more. My favourites included; 

Gods and Monsters - Ida Lambert is a lonely schoolgirl sent away to boarding school. A group of girls decide to make her life hell, but Ida has a very unusual talent that she uses on them. A really heart breaking tale.

Women of Fire and Vine - This is a story unlike anything I've read before! This is a really ambitious tale executed brilliantly.

Headaches - A tale of darkness rage and survival. This is the first tale of the collection and starts with a bang. A young woman recently released from prison starts to experience headaches that quickly take over her life.

Father Dearest - I found this tale so heart breaking. A young girl is desperate to protect her siblings against their abusive father.


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