written by Jeani
Rector
published by Graveyard Press
(2009)
ISBN-10: 0615295487
ISBN-13: 978-0615295480
reviewed
by David Guy
07.15.2009
Note to the reader: Formatting of the British VS American version
greatly differs, and affects the reader’s experience. In our opinion, the recently released
Around a Dark corner is a compilation of ten distinctly different stories, all in
the vein of “Tales from the Darkside”, each its own
unique dark, delightfully disturbing tale.
“The Dead Man” explores a jaunt with Karma, and the many forms it may
take in one’s life. “A Medieval tale of
Plague” is a story about the importance of vector control… In this case, it follows the journey of a
little bug called yersinia- pestis-pennantant-flagellants
on the backs of fleas, cats and rats, the instrument of The Great Dying, and
how in one young woman’s perception it came to be seen as a carrier of a well-overdue
season of rest for humanity. Another
yarn titled “The Golem”, describes a tenant of The Old Testament, “And the Lord
God formed a man form the dust of the ground…”
All of Ms. Rector’s work
shows the talents of a well versed writer, capturing many historical
accuracies and expounding upon them to create dark fantastic realms that
lure the reader into wanting more. She
is a virtuoso in her own “write” and we all look forward to her future works.
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reviewed by Jordan M. Bobé
07.05.2010
Jeanie Rector has presented us with a gift worth celebrating. This
collection of short stories is incredibly well written. Rector’s writing is
eloquent to the point of bordering prose. The lavish details carry stories that
typically would fall flat as well as excelling those with genuinely disturbing
ideas.
With each story she’s building up to the climatic ending, a novella entitled “A
Teenage Ghost Story”. While the title of the short novel may not be that
original the writing is. You won’t be able to put it down until the end of the
eleventh and final chapter.
I can’t think of a single story in this book that didn’t have a good hook. Gore
hounds probably will want to pass on this book; it’s extremely high-brow for
the horror genre. I look forward to future, longer works from Jeanie Rector.