Perpetual Motion Blues from Timelines
A good anthology like this places me in a difficult situation of having to choose my personal favorites to rave about.
'Perpetual Motion Blues' by Harper Hull explores the importance of loneliness and the tasks some would do to secure familiar company. A group of tired travelers go through a series of trials in the pursuit for survival. Narrated in fragments like that of a journal log, it gains strangth of realism, while the dates prepare the reader with a quite interesting puzzle.
Northern Frights Publishing, once again, releases a solid anthology that delivers well and beyond expectations.
- Deadman's Tome
Terminal Sunday
Harper Hull's apocalyptic short story Terminal Sunday is a glimpse into a couple's last hours together.
the characters are unnamed and are referred to only as "I" and "you." the true nature of their relationship - whether married or not, how long they have been together and how old they are are left to the reader to surmise.
while the world outside erupts in chaos, the couple go through their domestic life seemingly unperturbed. madness and desperation mark the world beyond the couple's home. from within, there is simply order.
this play of contrasts is woven throughout the story. i find this technique effective in bringing out in the reader varied emotions as well. i have read this story more than a couple of times and i could not help being emotional each time. at a turn of phrase, a mention of a word or in the description of a scene, i often find something new to mull over. i think about the lives of the people i care about and of those i do not know. i question myself if i have been a good person or have tried to be a better one.i reflect on the abundance of nature and its gifts and how we use or abuse them. i ponder at the ways we have treated one another and at what we have achieved in making this world a better place. and yes, i wonder what would it be like for each of us should the world designate tomorrow as its demise.
this well-written story has certainly moved me in so many ways. it is chilling in its realism, frightening in its possibility yet profound in its underlying message.
- aobibliosphere
Amy-Lou's Ice-Cream Parlor from Night Terrors
But what fresh nightmare is this? Not all is lost for NIGHT TERRORS. Harper Hull’s shocker “Amy Lou’s Ice Cream Parlor” is an absolute sucker punch to the gut. The tenderness of Hull’s text is a trap that catches the reader in a swift six pages. By beginning with the all-too-familiar, painting a portrait of a pleasant ice-cream shop, Hull drags us down into the spectral depths of his protagonist’s heartbreaking depravity—and never brings us back. Discovering this story at the tail end of the collection is just about enough to justify the entire purchase price.
- Fangoria Magazine
I always like to mention a few of my favorites in each anthology I review so here goes: Harper Hull really shook me up with "Amy Lou's Ice Cream Parlor". It was the perfect balance of creepy supernatural horror and realistic characters.
- Adrian Ludens, author
Amy Lou’s Ice Cream Parlor by Harper Hull is a tragic yet interesting read. It’s about a woman who owns an ice cream parlor and gets her new flavor ideas from her daughter. There is an interesting twist to this story that I would rather not ruin.
- Horrornews.net
Last of the Kjett/Red Ice
How can you go wrong with a story that involves Vikings, werewolves, and a Yeti snow god? Well, I’m sure you could.There are, after all, crappy writers out there (keep trying, though!).Thankfully, Harper Hull is not one of them.
“Last of the Kjett” is a chapbook, so it’s easily readable in one sitting… unless you’re me, who reads about half as fast as I type…Anyway, it’s pretty short.The thing about it is, this book packs a punch on nearly every page.
The scene with the female sacrifice, where she comes face to face with the yeti and her fate, is pretty intense, although fairly quick.The battle at the end of the book is awesome.
4 1/2 bloody mops out of 5!
- Matt Nord, My Undead Mind
A good anthology like this places me in a difficult situation of having to choose my personal favorites to rave about.
'Perpetual Motion Blues' by Harper Hull explores the importance of loneliness and the tasks some would do to secure familiar company. A group of tired travelers go through a series of trials in the pursuit for survival. Narrated in fragments like that of a journal log, it gains strangth of realism, while the dates prepare the reader with a quite interesting puzzle.
Northern Frights Publishing, once again, releases a solid anthology that delivers well and beyond expectations.
- Deadman's Tome
Terminal Sunday
Harper Hull's apocalyptic short story Terminal Sunday is a glimpse into a couple's last hours together.
the characters are unnamed and are referred to only as "I" and "you." the true nature of their relationship - whether married or not, how long they have been together and how old they are are left to the reader to surmise.
while the world outside erupts in chaos, the couple go through their domestic life seemingly unperturbed. madness and desperation mark the world beyond the couple's home. from within, there is simply order.
this play of contrasts is woven throughout the story. i find this technique effective in bringing out in the reader varied emotions as well. i have read this story more than a couple of times and i could not help being emotional each time. at a turn of phrase, a mention of a word or in the description of a scene, i often find something new to mull over. i think about the lives of the people i care about and of those i do not know. i question myself if i have been a good person or have tried to be a better one.i reflect on the abundance of nature and its gifts and how we use or abuse them. i ponder at the ways we have treated one another and at what we have achieved in making this world a better place. and yes, i wonder what would it be like for each of us should the world designate tomorrow as its demise.
this well-written story has certainly moved me in so many ways. it is chilling in its realism, frightening in its possibility yet profound in its underlying message.
- aobibliosphere
Amy-Lou's Ice-Cream Parlor from Night Terrors
But what fresh nightmare is this? Not all is lost for NIGHT TERRORS. Harper Hull’s shocker “Amy Lou’s Ice Cream Parlor” is an absolute sucker punch to the gut. The tenderness of Hull’s text is a trap that catches the reader in a swift six pages. By beginning with the all-too-familiar, painting a portrait of a pleasant ice-cream shop, Hull drags us down into the spectral depths of his protagonist’s heartbreaking depravity—and never brings us back. Discovering this story at the tail end of the collection is just about enough to justify the entire purchase price.
- Fangoria Magazine
I always like to mention a few of my favorites in each anthology I review so here goes: Harper Hull really shook me up with "Amy Lou's Ice Cream Parlor". It was the perfect balance of creepy supernatural horror and realistic characters.
- Adrian Ludens, author
Amy Lou’s Ice Cream Parlor by Harper Hull is a tragic yet interesting read. It’s about a woman who owns an ice cream parlor and gets her new flavor ideas from her daughter. There is an interesting twist to this story that I would rather not ruin.
- Horrornews.net
Last of the Kjett/Red Ice
How can you go wrong with a story that involves Vikings, werewolves, and a Yeti snow god? Well, I’m sure you could.There are, after all, crappy writers out there (keep trying, though!).Thankfully, Harper Hull is not one of them.
“Last of the Kjett” is a chapbook, so it’s easily readable in one sitting… unless you’re me, who reads about half as fast as I type…Anyway, it’s pretty short.The thing about it is, this book packs a punch on nearly every page.
The scene with the female sacrifice, where she comes face to face with the yeti and her fate, is pretty intense, although fairly quick.The battle at the end of the book is awesome.
4 1/2 bloody mops out of 5!
- Matt Nord, My Undead Mind