Kenneth W Cain, Embers review

Written by Paula Limbaugh

A dark collection indeed! Kenneth Cain has put together quite a collection of short stories for your reading pleasure. In Embers, the tales are varied and themeless, this makes for a collection that gives everyone a taste of Cain’s creative story telling. Some of these tales take on a poe-esque quality, while others a more Lovecraftian tone, and then we find those that bestow upon us the moral musings of Rod Serling. Yeah, these stories are good!

I am not going to try a give a synopsis of each story as there are too many to cover (25), but I would like to mention a few of my favorites.

Valerie’s Window shows us sometimes welcoming death can be preferable to staying in an abusive relationship. Not that I would recommend that path, but it gives us insight to a sad situation.

A Window to Dream By is a bit like a Lovecraftian love story. A dark and desperate gloom hangs over the reader as we see what unrequited love can do to one.

Love is blind as we see in Desolate. It makes it hard to see the monster one has become until it’s too late. Love can also be fatal.

In To Save One Life we hear the narration of a witness to a serial killer’s dark deeds. How long can he stand by, without acting?

Peer pressure is a nasty thing. We so much want to trust our instincts, but sometimes we cave-in and the results can be dire. Breathing Cave is an example of what happens when you follow along.

Water Snake is a bit of classic 60’s horror fun. With monsters out to get you, someone needs to be the hero!

Oh, there are so many more stories that I love, but I will end this here, and hope that this is enticing enough to encourage you to purchase this book. But, before I go, this is the 2^nd time this week that I must give kudos to Ben Baldwin for another outstanding book cover!

Available both in e-book and paperback format, you can pick up a copy HERE!!

 

5/5