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Tracy Robinson's Reviews > Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
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by
4.5 stars! This review will be up on www.scifiandscary.com on 4/9 - release day!
Here's the full review:
This collection contains five previously published stories and one brand new novella: “The Atlas of Hell” (2014), “The Diabolist” (2014), “Skullpocket” (2014), “The Maw” (2017), “The Visible Filth” (2015), and “The Butcher’s Table” (2019). Note: prior to reading this collection, I hadn’t previously read any of these pieces.
“The Atlas of Hell”
Jack is just a sweet used book seller who used to deal with some unsavory characters…or is he? This story is so much fun – Jack is roped into helping out some thugs “just one more time” as they search for the atlas of Hell. Don’t worry, that isn’t a spoiler, I’m always quite careful. I really enjoyed this one; a sense of adventure combines with hellish terrors, tentacles, and plenty of deception and gore. It left me hurrying to turn the page to see what else Ballingrud had in store for me.
“The Diabolist”
After this one, I really started to see the thread Ballingrud uses to weave these stories into a comprehensive collection. This time we hear the story from an unlikely narrator. Who this is is revealed early on, but I won’t tell you here…this is a fun discovery to make. I really enjoyed this one, I liked “Atlas” a little better, but again I found myself tearing through to the next one.
“Skullpocket”
Oh my goodness – when I finished this one I KNEW I had found one of my favorites. It is bizarre, unique, and just a beautiful story. This one deals with ghouls who have their own “city” and annual fair; the tale deals with explaining how things came to be and where they might go from here. This one? I’d read an entire novel or novel series built around this world. Loved every piece of it.
“The Maw”
This is a quiet tale of love and loss in a world gone to Hell. Literally. One of the shortest tales, it still packs a punch and is a strong middle to the collection. Sometimes in collections I find the stories kind of lag in the middle, not so here. Ballingrud also cements his ability to write as if one is experiencing his story on the big screen. No horrific detail is spared and he truly is able to build entire worlds in just a few pages. Definitely tugged at my heart strings.
“The Visible Filth”
Ohhhhh. This one. This one is right up there with “Skullpocket” for me. A more realistic world, to be certain, wonderful characters, and a premise that is at once familiar yet completely fresh. Will is just a bartender who wants to live his life in series of unplanned moments – just a laid back guy. He reminded me of some of the people I hung with in my own college years. Things go down in the bar one night and he ends up with a cell phone that is not his own. A cell phone he REALLY should’ve left alone. I’ll leave it at that. This story is also being developed for film; I am curious to see how they will interpret the nuances of the story.
“The Butcher’s Table”
As noted above, this novella is previously unpublished. It takes place years ago in a time of pirates and darkness. Of the six, I didn’t connect with this one as much. This is definitely just down to personal taste – the writing is still beautiful, the premise unique, and the characters are developed. One of my favorite parts of this one was the content – meaning Ballingrud goes dark here – darker (I think) than any of the others in the collection.
All of these stories deal with, in some way, the veil or border between this reality and Hell, as noted in the title. But it’s more than just throwing together some stories about hellish things and travelling, the author uses similar themes, some intriguing “easter eggs”, if you will, throughout almost every story. In fact, the last story (and a few others) do this quite well and I thoroughly enjoy the elegant way in which these discoveries are presented.
Looking for a few gripping tales to enjoy this spring and summer? This one fits the bill if you like your horror smooth, visceral, and altogether hellish.
Here's the full review:
This collection contains five previously published stories and one brand new novella: “The Atlas of Hell” (2014), “The Diabolist” (2014), “Skullpocket” (2014), “The Maw” (2017), “The Visible Filth” (2015), and “The Butcher’s Table” (2019). Note: prior to reading this collection, I hadn’t previously read any of these pieces.
“The Atlas of Hell”
Jack is just a sweet used book seller who used to deal with some unsavory characters…or is he? This story is so much fun – Jack is roped into helping out some thugs “just one more time” as they search for the atlas of Hell. Don’t worry, that isn’t a spoiler, I’m always quite careful. I really enjoyed this one; a sense of adventure combines with hellish terrors, tentacles, and plenty of deception and gore. It left me hurrying to turn the page to see what else Ballingrud had in store for me.
“The Diabolist”
After this one, I really started to see the thread Ballingrud uses to weave these stories into a comprehensive collection. This time we hear the story from an unlikely narrator. Who this is is revealed early on, but I won’t tell you here…this is a fun discovery to make. I really enjoyed this one, I liked “Atlas” a little better, but again I found myself tearing through to the next one.
“Skullpocket”
Oh my goodness – when I finished this one I KNEW I had found one of my favorites. It is bizarre, unique, and just a beautiful story. This one deals with ghouls who have their own “city” and annual fair; the tale deals with explaining how things came to be and where they might go from here. This one? I’d read an entire novel or novel series built around this world. Loved every piece of it.
“The Maw”
This is a quiet tale of love and loss in a world gone to Hell. Literally. One of the shortest tales, it still packs a punch and is a strong middle to the collection. Sometimes in collections I find the stories kind of lag in the middle, not so here. Ballingrud also cements his ability to write as if one is experiencing his story on the big screen. No horrific detail is spared and he truly is able to build entire worlds in just a few pages. Definitely tugged at my heart strings.
“The Visible Filth”
Ohhhhh. This one. This one is right up there with “Skullpocket” for me. A more realistic world, to be certain, wonderful characters, and a premise that is at once familiar yet completely fresh. Will is just a bartender who wants to live his life in series of unplanned moments – just a laid back guy. He reminded me of some of the people I hung with in my own college years. Things go down in the bar one night and he ends up with a cell phone that is not his own. A cell phone he REALLY should’ve left alone. I’ll leave it at that. This story is also being developed for film; I am curious to see how they will interpret the nuances of the story.
“The Butcher’s Table”
As noted above, this novella is previously unpublished. It takes place years ago in a time of pirates and darkness. Of the six, I didn’t connect with this one as much. This is definitely just down to personal taste – the writing is still beautiful, the premise unique, and the characters are developed. One of my favorite parts of this one was the content – meaning Ballingrud goes dark here – darker (I think) than any of the others in the collection.
All of these stories deal with, in some way, the veil or border between this reality and Hell, as noted in the title. But it’s more than just throwing together some stories about hellish things and travelling, the author uses similar themes, some intriguing “easter eggs”, if you will, throughout almost every story. In fact, the last story (and a few others) do this quite well and I thoroughly enjoy the elegant way in which these discoveries are presented.
Looking for a few gripping tales to enjoy this spring and summer? This one fits the bill if you like your horror smooth, visceral, and altogether hellish.
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Reading Progress
April 5, 2019
–
Started Reading
April 5, 2019
– Shelved
April 7, 2019
–
Finished Reading
