Cemetery Dance, September, 2023 

Click to set custom HTML

Review by R. B. Payne

Never Wake: An Anthology of Dream Horror
Edited by Kenneth W. Cain and Tim Meyers
Cover Art by Don Noble

Featuring an introduction from Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann and stories from Philip Fracassi, Eric LaRocca, Gwendolyn Kiste, Todd Keisling, Kristin Peterson, Laurel Hightower, Lee Murray, Michael Bailey, TJ Cimfel, Angela Liu, Michelle Tang, Jara Nassar, Pedro Iniguez, Joe Koch, Anaea Lay, Steve Rasnic Tem, Cynthia Pelayo, Lyndsay E. Gilbert, and Catherine McCarthy.

Crystal Lake Publishing
 
Review
 
All the stories in this anthology are let-me-horrify-you good. Some are visceral, some are psychological, some are spiritual, and some are simply LET ME GIVE YOU A TOUR OF MY NIGHTMARE.
 
I enjoyed every single story in the anthology, which is rare for a tome of this size. Kenneth W. Cain and Tim Meyer are to be complimented for curating a thematic set of stories that can universally throw fear of sleep into every reader. 
 
Whether it’s a malevolent spirit, a haunted house, or an abusive familial dream, we expect stories by Philip Fracassi, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Steve Rasnic Tem to deliver superbly crafted tales, which they do with force and fury. 
 
However, I want to call out four of my favorites in NEVER WAKE, and these are not in any order. They all deserve 5 out 5 shrieks!
 
PRAYERS TO CHTHONIC GODS by Lyndsay E. Gilbert
 
Eldritch horror, yes, bring it on. This well-crafted and disturbing tale begins with the ethereal, and yet disquieting, sentence ‘Somnus grows his own harem’. And the concept of the ‘butterfly girls’ would have roped me into this narrative even if the first sentence hadn’t already accomplished its goal.
 
In this dream/story, we are observers in a nightscape, where an ancient ritual is taking place. All will not go as planned. This is a tale worthy of Lovecraft… had he been born 30 years ago and had modern-day sensibilities. Or, mythically, it might have been told around a sparking fire in ancient Greece. It’s a dark tale with a shred of light. It flows and grows and twists and turns; the imagery is strong, the language unique. PRAYERS TO CHTHONIC GODS will stick with me for years and years.
 
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING by TJ Cimfel
 
In this tale, a sleep-challenged man volunteers for the Gardner Empirical Institute’s Sleep Study (perhaps you’ve heard of it? Or perhaps you’ve participated? If so, did you submit your survey on time?) 
 
Reminiscent of the stories of David Ely, this narrative horrifyingly zigzags between a dream-state waking-nightmare and our very own real-life experiences with corporations and customer service. The tension in this story escalated until I wanted to dial up and scream at every call center and customer helpline I’ve ever been put on hold by. Survey by survey, this story is a puzzle which turns into a chiller. It’s a slow burner, getting hotter than hell minute-by-minute, and the resolution will blow your mind.
 
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING. 
 
ARMINGGRABBER by Joe Koch
 
In this wickedly horrid little story, a group of post-blast survivors try to find salvation when they activate a machine they don’t understand. Like all bad choices, there are terrifying consequences.
 
I loved ARMINGGRAABER and I’m not sure I get it completely. You know, just like those dreams that chase you to waking only to have you go ‘what the f--- was that all about?’ This little tale is full of nightmarish shifts and gruesome imagery, all which swirl in the madness that is dreaming. It’s original and dares to stay within its paradigm. 
 
LABYRINTHINE by Michael Bailey
 
And, finally, with a full disclosure that I know and have worked with Michael Bailey in the past... and striving to eliminate any and all favoritism, his story rang a bell for me and I wanted to overlook our friendship and simply say that he wrote a hell of a good story.
 
To me, thematically, this subtle tale is about the difficulties of creating art – in this case, music. Lacking direct action, LABYRINTHINE demands that you read and think, and then assemble the terror yourself. I don’t want to say more other than I would like to have a copy of the finalized sheet music… especially if dotted with blood if blood it was.
 
In summary, all of these stories weave seamlessly together in a fantastic compendium of ‘if you can dream it, well, it will probably happen to you.’ 
 
Kudos to Crystal Lake for another excruciatingly horror-fueled anthology. If I were a horror fan (and I am), I’d order NEVER WAKE immediately and stay up all night to read it. Because you’ll never want to dream again. Or worse yet… you may never want to wake. Or be able to.
 
 (c) 2023 by R.B. Payne, All Rights Reserved