A Sliver of Darkness

Product Information

I was immediately drawn in by her introduction to this book of short stories where she shared the health challenges of her parents during the pandemic. I am ready and waiting for Tudor's next book (which she spoke about briefly in this author's note and described as a passion project coming to fruition) as also exploring her back catalog. In “The Lion at the Gate,” a strange piece of graffiti leads to a terrifying encounter for four school friends. Another of my favourites, Final Course is the story of a group of college friends who come together for a reunion meal, but the world has gone dark and is in the midst of something very bad.

Each story has quite a bit of intrigue, scares, and immersion that I think just about everyone can enjoy.The Lion at the Gate, in which a group of teens find a giant lion’s head graffitied on a gate, and the graffiti seems to be able to move. There is really something for everyone in A Sliver of Darkness and I loved the mix of horror and mystery, as well as the dash of revenge for good measure.

With many of these imaginative tales written during the pandemic, this lends a dystopian and end of the world vibe to them. Description of the book: Join a group of survivors who wash up on a deserted island only to make a horrifying discovery. This one was not one of my favourites and although the plot was interesting, it was nothing new or special. Personally, I have never gotten through a King novel or managed to sit through a television or film version of his work (it’s not polite to boo), so I can’t compare.In Gloria we are reunited with a couple of characters we previously met in Tudor’s other books, The Taking of Annie Thorne and The Other People. The author sheds some light on the background behind this decision in her opening notes to this collection of short stories - and it was very moving reading her account. There was definitely a deeper meaning behind it of greed and honesty which could have been expanded on. First of all, after reading the introduction I applaud the author for writing this collection at what must have been a difficult time.

Story 7 | "I am not Ted" - A case of mistaken identity might just leave the bloke in this story in a bit of hot water. Story 3 | "Runaway Blues" - A couple loves going to the Pink Flamingo to see their favorite blues singer. Story 1 | "End of the Liner" - A post-apocalyptic world where we follow a group of people stuck on a cruise ship for decades. I have practised patience, dipping in to books and accepting the resistance, waiting for this to pass - And have been rewarded and rescued this Christmas with this genuinely incredible collection of macabre tales by the excellent CJ Tudor! Though I some of these stories went on a tad too long and others lacked solid endings, hearing their individual origin stories was fascinating and honestly made this a fulfilling reading experience from start to finish.

From spine-tingling tales, to ones that will bring a twisted smile to your face, there are one or two you just might not want to read with the lights turned off. I did like this because it was fun and the idea behind it was good as it shows the darker side of wanting more and is quite ambiguous, which is something I enjoy in stories. The Block reminded me of Stranger Things but that could be I was reading as my husband was watching it?

I cannot recommend this more passionately - Here's to January and the release of her latest novel, The Drift. I normally stray far from short story collections, and even though I've been dying for an excuse to check out this author, I was a bit hesitant to pick this book up. I have read quite a few short stories or story collections by various authors and often there are a fair number of bad stories in each but for me, this book contained nothing but good solid work. You can tell that the author is having quite a bit of fun writing these stories, and the passion shines through. A Sliver of Darkness succeeds in dodging the cardinal sin of most short stories collections, that is the unevenness.From the possible links to other dimensions, to stories of the apocalypse, some strange and somewhat terrifying graffiti, and a quick catch up with a name from the past (easily recognisable if you have read the author’s back catalogue), CJ Tudor delivers with each story. That said, these are well written and engaging stories, and the introduction to the collection, plus the introductions into each story were eye opening and unique, and I loved getting the insider glance into the inspiration behind each one. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of A Sliver of Darkness in exchange for an honest review. In Dust we are welcomed to the Villa de las Almas Perdidas in Gran Canaria where the Calima wind blows through every crevice. It was simply that I wanted to see more of characters like Gloria and to learn more about the bleak future worlds with their hints of cataclysm and desperation.