*Book received in exchange for honest review*
It has been a long while since we looked at Anthony Renfro’s work. Consider me very sorry about it since its beem sitting in my inbox for at least a few months. However, such a fitting time to read an anthology of horror short stories. To keep things moving, I will link back to reviews for some of these that I have written about before. One thing is for sure is that you should head over and check out Anthony’s blog HERE.
Nightlight Tales 2
by Anthony Renfro
The Headless Fountain Man
Fun fact: This story was inspired by a picture that I posted on Avenue of Daydreams.
There is something so fun about The Headless Fountain Man. I would have to say that he nailed it on the head with the “monster” in this one. Not to mention the main character is called Kim so it could be my biggest nightmare. The details and description for this short story is really well done. I had this slight feeling of one of the scenes from Gerald’s Game in there. It kind of creeped my out and also explains why I don’t normally take human figures or sculptures often. 100% awesomeness for this short story on all angles especially for creativity. I may have taken the picture to inspire it but it sure went off in an unexpected direction.
Fear of the Scarecrow
Revenge, scarecrows, incantations, pumpkins, creatures and some bloody moments pretty much sums up Fear of the Scarecrow. Its a story about revenge and how far to go for it. But its even more than that because there are layers to this story more on a physical level as the events and revenge gets more intense with how it turns outs. I’ve read this one before and rereading it is still pretty fun.
It Sleeps At Dawn – Review
The Dead of Winter – Review
Gluten-Free
Unexpected is how I’d describe this story. I think this highlights why I like reading Anthony’s short stories a lot. I’ve talked about his creativity before but I wouldn’t have imagined on using gluten as a central way to commit suicide. Extreme, gruesome and very well described. Gluten-Free is one of the shorter short stories but one that is fully engaging because of how its presented. Its unique and that is what makes it stand out for myself.
The Lot – Review
The Dragon
In our current landscape, technology is everywhere. A lot of people ignore the horrors that come with it. Of course, we’ve also been seeing a lot of movies that reflect this especially with the new wave of screenlife horror and thrillers. The Dragon mimics something of the dangers of when something like Alexa is a lot more sinister. Its clever to use technology as the background but what I like a lot about it is the vivid description of how things go down. Its great to be able to picture every moment that happens.
Webs
I was wondering when spiders would be the central horror in one of the stories. A completely fresh setting compared to previous stories also gives it a nice little change. At the same time, the story paces itself quickly and takes a quick change for a fairly bloody turn of events. Using curses and spider webs and looking for ancient idols being the center makes for a fun adventure. It only focuses on the main event but could definitely be something that I’d read a full story about from the whole research to the horror in the cave or tomb or whatnot.
Gas Station of the Dead
One of the longer (is not longest) story of this collection is a story that comes back to what I think Anthony does a great job at: Zombies. I’ve always been more of a fan of the short stories, this one is more fleshed out. It gives us a more complete story with the main character. Its definitely not a bad thing and this one packs a lot of the hero and having the positivity to move forward and be smart about how to get out of each situation. It is a tamer novel as a while but with a commendable end goal for our main character as we watch him hatch his plan while not exactly knowing what exactly his plan is until we get there. I can’t say its my favorite mostly because if we were looking at commendable characters from this collection, Mike Beem Chronicles, which is a series that I’ve read all of and features as the final four stories does an incredible job at with both building a memorable main character. I guess this one fell short a little for myself.
Mike Beem Chronicles:
A Zombie Christmas – Review
A Zombie Christmas 2 – Review
Flesh of the Zombies – Review
Zombie Beach – Review
Overall…
Nightlight Tales 2 shows a diversity in what Anthony Renfro can create. While he has an obvious love for writing about zombies, there are other aspects of horror that he dives into using different avenues to share the depths of his creativity. This collection is definitely a fun read and is packed with page turning stories, which are perfect for the Halloween season or any horror craving you may be having.
Where to find it:
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CJTDK66
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CJTDK66
Tranquil Dreams 