Tales of the Mysterious & Macabre

Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre

Written by Simon Parker

Independently Published - Kindle

Available Now   Price: £2.10

Author Simon Parker pens thirteen stories for his volume of Tales of the Mysterious and Macabre, available through Kindle books. The majority of the tales are concerned with people who make unfortunate life decisions or take actions based on primal urges or feelings. Parker has a no nonsense, “just the facts, ma’am” writing style which I appreciated. His characters show the ugly underbelly of humankind, and some of the stories are downright creepy. My favorite was the final entry, “The Red Devil”, which is based on a true story.

A few issues that I noticed as a relatively new author myself (having previously made the same mistakes) were few and ones that will most likely disappear as the author’s experience continues. The issues were minor, things such as extra commas and a few similar opening lines to different stories. The first three stories, for example, all begin with the main character’s name. Unfortunately the title of the book is the same as a book collection of Algernon Blackwood’s short stories. (My first book also shared a title with another book.) I think a more appropriate title may have been chosen considering the nature of most of the stories. A title such as Tales of Mayhem and Madness or something along those lines might be more appropriate considering his subject matter.

Experience is the best teacher. I honestly felt that the stories got better as the book progressed. “The Red Devil” is a period piece and is extremely well-written in my opinion. I think the author may have real potential in alternative fiction, especially if it was horror or cryptozoologically based. I enjoy reading the work of independent author’s precisely because every once in a while I run across a little gem like this. I sincerely hope the author continues writing and I look forward to his next book. He has the ability to frighten a reader without being graphically disgusting; many authors don’t understand that this is possible. Parker does understand and his imagination and motivation to continue can only mean that he has nowhere to go but up; with a little polish, he could go from a pretty darn good writer to a great one.