- Title:
- Spinal Remains: A Collection of Stories
- Author:
- Chad Lutzke
- Release:
- August 9, 2022
- Format:
- Paperback
I’ll be reviewing this collection in my preferred format, where I do mini-reviews of each story and provide my final thoughts on the collection as a whole at the end.
Predisposition and a Box of Crayons
Pages: 1 – 7
Review Date: August 28, 2022
Psychological horror is the best kind of horror. This is basically a shorter version of a story I’ve previously reviewed, A Man in Winter. The imaginary character in this story is seemingly just that, imaginary. But much like with A Man in Winter, the author leaves a spine-chilling question unanswered. Are they though?
Cycles
Pages: 9 – 16
Review Date: September 3, 2022
This story is just an endless exposition. I didn’t know where it was going until it got there. I can relate to the protagonist’s fear of water, as I nearly drowned as a kid, I found the ending eerie and spine chilling, it just felt like it drills the point home a little too much. The ending is what really saves it for me. It’s unsettling and terrifying and I live for moments like that in horror.
I Gave Them the Finger
Pages: 17 – 28
Review Date: September 11, 2022
As I said with Cycles, this story is just endless exposition. Everything is described in endless detail by the lead. It creates a very vivid scene, but there’s not much of a scene. Just a man walking around, trying to figure out where a finger came from. The ending saved it though. It left me on the edge of my seat in terror, and then laughing, oddly enough. Well done.
Note: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a physical review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.