'Jon Richter returns to horror with a new collection of short, chilling tales, splicing together his best previously published works with a batch of nerve-shredding new fiction. Encompassing science fiction and fantasy as well as gothic horror and outright weirdness, the anthology is brought twitching and wriggling to life by the brilliant illustrations of David T Wilby.
'Dark Fiction will slake the thirst of anyone who craves original, fiendishly crafted stories with twist endings that cling to you long after you've finished reading...'
Anthology books are a wonderful way to spend your time finding new authors. Sometimes it can be daunting picking up a book with a name on it that you're not familiar with, and you want to test the waters before making the plunge, and so reading a short story is a good way of doing this. But once you've found an author that you like you can easily forget to read their short stories in favour of their novels. Jon Richter seems to be an author who enjoys writing short stories, and has released a number of anthology collections alongside his regular books; and it's not only a lot of fun getting to read these short, shocking tales, but also getting to see how versatile Richter is as a writer.
Dark Fiction plays around with the format a little, and the book begins with you the reader being in the shoes of Jon Richter's literary agent, asked to come out to his remote country home to check out his new work. You see, the Jon Richter of the book needs his agent to come to him, because his new work can't be read, it has to be experienced. Suspecting some kind of weird literary art installation, and wondering how the hell to spin that, the agent enters the massive old home, where they can go from room to room to experience the stories held within them.
The book, which I read in ebook form, offers you a choice as to which room to enter, or if you're don, to go to the final room, with a contents page that allows you to select whichever story you want. This immediately made me think of those 'choose your own adventure stories' where you could pick your own path. And whilst the epilogue does bring this framing story to an end I was slightly dissapointed that each story didn't take the reader back to the hallway to pick a new room, but instead continued in a linear pattern making your way through the list. But that's only a small gripe in what's otherwise a fun way to craft this collection. But now, for the stories on offer.
'Leviathan' tells a historic tale that feels like it could have been lifted from the works of Lovecraft, written through a series of journal entries. It follows a journalist who has been assigned to follow a record breaking deep sea diving attempt, where a scientist and a rich explorer are attempting to descend deep beneath the ocean in a new submersible. Unlike the other stories in this collection, this is written in journal form and between that and its period setting it ended up reminding me books like Dracula, and Frankenstein. I really enjoyed this story thanks to these nods to other literary styles and settings, and found its slow burn thriller style approach to be incredibly engaging; and thanks to some events going on in the real world, it made this story all the more disturbing and unsettling.
'The Thanatologist' is the story that I think surprised me the most. It's a romantic comedy of sorts, and follows a woman who seems to have given up on trying to find a nice guy, and is just trying to enjoy her life as best she can. Whilst going through a list of ten best hidden restaurants in London, she keeps seeing a man, also out for dinner on his own. The two strike up a conversation, and soon realise that they like each other. As the story progresses you see the two of them get closer, and you forger that this is a Richter story, and that something else has to be happening here. We get hints that the man is more than he seems, that he might be something a lot more sinister, and the tension starts to mount. I liked this story a lot thanks to how different it felt to all of the others, and for how it played with my expectations.
'Vengeance', as the description tells us, takes inspiration from East Asian revenge thrillers, and tells the story of a man who went to prison to protect his son after a feud between them and a local business leads to ever mounting hostility, and ends in a death. The story is written from the point of view of the father, talking to the son that he's not seen in years, trying to explain why everything happened, and how they got to this point. Whilst at first it seems like this is perhaps going to be a story of a father and son reunited, you remember what the story was inspired by and begin to suspect that something awful is waiting for you at the end; but you'd be hard pressed to imagine the horror that Richter has planted in this tale.
'Polaris' is a great little monster horror story that was a favourite of mine in one of his previous books, and I'm pleased to see it return here. The intro explains that it's a nod to The Thing, and as a fan of that movie this story really ticked a lot of boxes for me. Set at an abandoned mining station in Antarctica, it's filled with creepy atmosphere and haunting visuals as a small group of explorers attempt to track down a mysterious creature that has been killing local wildlife. Despite not getting long with the core cast of characters they're very quickly and very clearly defined, consisting of a pilot, a tracker, a hunter, and a cryptozoologist. The story relies on slow burn and mounting tension rather than in your face horror, and this makes it one of the creepiest stories in the book. As the story progresses we get a few answers as to what might be happening on this remote island, but never get any definitive answers. By the end of the story I was so fascinated with this thing hunting the main characters and just wanted to know more. Of all the stories in this collection this is the one that I wanted longer with. Not just more to this story, but a whole book to itself. Hopefully this could be something that Richter will revisit one day in the future.
'Something Waits' is a fun change of pace to some of the other stories on offer here. Set in a fantasy world, it feels like the start to a dark Dungeons and Dragons campaign, or an old Fighting Fantasy game book. The story takes us to a kingdom where heroes and warriors can come to try to conquer the deadly labyrinth beneath the city in order to win a grand prize and eternal acclaim. This year the prize is the princess, and the chance to eventually become king. Whilst this has attracted a number of warriors, some little better than criminals, it's also attracted a legendary assassin, who plans to try to free the people of the city from the king's cruel heel. This was a really refreshing story, and one that felt very different to the other stories in the book. I think that Richter has a good style for darker fantasy tales, and I'd love to see him tackle that genre more. Though I will warn potential readers that this story does contain sexual assault.
These are just a couple of the stories on offer in the book, and there are so many great ones here. There's not a single story that was bad or boring, and whilst some will appeal to reader more than others thanks to the varied style and themes on offer it also means that this book has something for everyone. No matter the kind of horror that appeals, whether it's sci-fi, fantasy, the mundane, or disgustingly bloody, this collection has at least one story that you'll love; whilst also giving you the chance to try out something different too. Horror fans should not miss out on this collection, and should definitely also check out Richter's other works too.
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