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Dark Faith

by Maurice Broaddus (Goodreads Author), Jerry Gordon (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Richard Wright (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), J.C. Hay (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Eliyanna Kaiser (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Rain Graves (Contributor), Nick Mamatas (Contributor), Lavie Tidhar (Contributor) , more…

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 92 ratings · 20 reviews

The destructiveness of passion, both earthly and supernatural, makes cities bleed and souls burn across worlds, through endless time. Experience the spiritual side of the zombie apocalypse in "The Days of Flaming Motorcycles" and transcend both hell and nirvana in "Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnation." Look into "The Mad Eyes of the Heron King" to find the beautif...more

Paperback, 375 pages

Published May 1st 2010 by Apex Publications

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Oct 15, 2010 Monster rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthologies-collections

Dark Faith is loaded with thirty-one new stories and poems on faith and spirituality in all of its forms. I’ve always loved the marriage of faith and the horror genre, going back to books like The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, and this anthology doesn’t disappoint.

Among my favorite stories in the collection are “Good Enough” by Kelli Dunlap, about a relationship that goes wrong, a history of bad choices, and a serial killer who doesn’t fit the usual profil...more Dark Faith is loaded with thirty-one new stories and poems on faith and spirituality in all of its forms. I’ve always loved the marriage of faith and the horror genre, going back to books like The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, and this anthology doesn’t disappoint.

Among my favorite stories in the collection are “Good Enough” by Kelli Dunlap, about a relationship that goes wrong, a history of bad choices, and a serial killer who doesn’t fit the usual profile—it’s a nice twist on the Frankenstein tale; “Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects” by Lucy A. Snyder, about a woman who decides to finally get her revenge on a respected member of the family and community; and “Ghosts of New York” by Jennifer Pelland, about a woman who keeps reliving her death in the Twin Towers, and finding others just like herself. I also thoroughly enjoyed Wrath James White’s “He Who Would Not Bow”, about a small group of people who find out they can kill God while He is on earth; Althea Kontis’ “The God of Last Moments”, about a young man who begins feeding on the power of the dead’s last moments; and Tom Piccirilli’s “Scrawl”, about an average writer who finds inspiration one night during a writers’ convention.

Other notable stories include ”For My Next Trick I’ll Need a Volunteer” by Gary Braunbeck, about the strange trip Detective Emerson is taken on by his friend the Reverend; “A Loss for Words” by J.C. Hay, about a writer who pays a prostitute (who happens to be a Muse) to write his words all over her body; “Go Tell it on the Mountain” by Kyle S. Johnson, which tells about a man’s meeting with a hippie-like Christ just after a global apocalypse; “I Sing a New Psalm” by Brian Keene, which tells of a man who finds faith in God only to have that faith leave him again; and “First Communions” by Geoffrey Girard, a touching story about suicide, love and God. I also want to mention the beautifully dark poem “Lilith” by Rain Graves, and the opening poem, The Story of Belief-Non by Linda D. Addison, which looks at the endless possibilities of life.

While there are always a few misses in anthologies, the bulk of the stories in Dark Faith are great reads. Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon did a fantastic job of editing it all. There are many more excellent stories I didn’t mention above, so I encourage all horror fans to pick this one up—I highly recommend it.

Contains: Gore, blood and some sexual themes
Review by Colleen Wanglund(less)

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Jul 08, 2010 Brainycat rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of horror, dark fiction and anyone questioning their relationship to the cosmos

Shelves: read_in_2010, horror

I'm a big fan of Apex Publishers, and this collection of short stories and poetry did not disappoint. I cannot recommend it highly enough to fans of horror and dark fiction.

The theme of the collection is faith of all types: having faith or losing faith or finding faith; faith in higher powers, faith in the goodness of people and faith in the ugliness of people; faith in yourself and faith in the cold, uncaring machinations of the world around you.

Like the other Apex anthologies I've read, there...more I'm a big fan of Apex Publishers, and this collection of short stories and poetry did not disappoint. I cannot recommend it highly enough to fans of horror and dark fiction.

The theme of the collection is faith of all types: having faith or losing faith or finding faith; faith in higher powers, faith in the goodness of people and faith in the ugliness of people; faith in yourself and faith in the cold, uncaring machinations of the world around you.

Like the other Apex anthologies I've read, there were a few pieces that were a little too abstract my unsophisticated brain to wrap around. "The Mad Eyes of the Heron King" by Richard Dansky, "First Communions" by Geoffrey Girard and especially "To the Jerusalem Crater" by Lavie Tidhar were too obtuse and deeply allegorical for me to connect with. I leave it to more educated and widely read readers to extract higher purposes from them. I did enjoy reading them at a purely technical level, the writing is superb even if the greater meaning eludes me.

The real standout stories will each sit with me for a long time. I especially liked "Ghosts of New York" by Jennifer Pelland, a story about acceptance, remembrance and the tragedies we relive in our heads every day. "He Who Would Not Bow" by Wrath James White has a protagonist I identify with deeply and expores the space between your own awareness and that of omniscience. The next story in the anthology also hit me deeply, "Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnnation" by Douglas F. Warrick, another allegory on acceptance, focuses on humility and the way we create our own hells for ourselves. I related this story to my own relationship to alcohol.

"Mother Urban's Booke of Dayes" by Jay Lake covers the same territory as "He Who Would Not Bow", but from an entirely opposite angle. For the first few paragraphs, I thought it was rehashing a lot of common characters and scenes, but Jay brings them all to life and makes the story feel vivrant with a freshness and vigor I truly found inspiring. J. C. Hay's "A Loss for Words" is an excellent study of the classical Calliope tale, set in the modern world. As someone who just decided to be a writer it struck a cord and made me question my own creative process. "The Choir" by Lucien Soulban uses Cthulu-esque imagery and plot to show that the best of humanity can come through in the face of the worst horrors. The final story, and a perfect choice for ending the book, "For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer" by Gary A. Braunbeck is a tale of redemption with strong overtones of "A Christmas Carol" and "It's A Wonderful Life", though it's clearly dark fiction.

There are several other stories I didn't mention, please don't thing that because I'm a lazy reviewer that they aren't worthy. There wasn't any weak piece in this book; reading it in order like I did is the heroes journey. It starts out in an unhappy place, goes through hell, fights monsters and finally comes out at the end on a positive note. As a collection of stories, it's one of the best anthologies I've ever read.(less)

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Jun 12, 2010 Nick Cato rated it 5 of 5 stars

These 31 all-new stories and poems explore not just religious, but several kinds of faith from many different angles.

After Linda D. Addison's opening psuedo-Genesis poem, Jennifer Pelland's 'Ghosts of New York' gets things off to an intense start; this one tells the tale of a woman who continually finds herself jumping from a skyscraper, soon to learn she's among those who were killed on 9/11.

Brian Keene's 'I Sing A New Psalm' is like a religious version of Steve Gerlach's novel RAGE (with an en...more These 31 all-new stories and poems explore not just religious, but several kinds of faith from many different angles.

After Linda D. Addison's opening psuedo-Genesis poem, Jennifer Pelland's 'Ghosts of New York' gets things off to an intense start; this one tells the tale of a woman who continually finds herself jumping from a skyscraper, soon to learn she's among those who were killed on 9/11.

Brian Keene's 'I Sing A New Psalm' is like a religious version of Steve Gerlach's novel RAGE (with an ending that's equally as depressing; while not my cup of tea it does make a strong point); Wrath James White's judgment day story, 'He Who Would Not Bow,' deals with a group of people who learn they might be able to kill God who is now here on earth; the ending took me by surprise. In 'Zen and the Art of Dratch's Damnation,' Douglas F. Warwick takes a disturbing look at one man's suffering in the afterlife (along with the sarcastic beings who taunt him).

I always thought most pictures of Jesus made him look like a California Surfer Dude. Kyle S. Johnson pictures him that way in his apocalyptic 'Go and Tell it on the Mountain,' where--to the surprise of a man who lived a good life but didn't follow any religion--Christ appears as a bored, cigarette-smoking, disobedient man who has returned to tell some people the truth (that there's nothing after this world) and various lies (He takes pleasure in telling former religious people all kinds of weird theories). Eliyanna Kaiser brings the goods with 'Different From Other Nights,' where a young Jewish girl takes her seder and passover a bit more literally than her rabbi. Another short & (un)sweet poem by Rain Graves doubles as an intro of sorts to Nick Mamatas' dazzling 'The Last Words of Dutch Schultz Jesus Christ,' which explores the effects of an obscure movie known as The God Film.

In the bizarre 'To the Jerusalem Crater' by Lavie Tidhar, a young boy goes on a journey of spiritual awakening, while Matt Cardin's 'Chimeras & Grotesqueries' deals with someone who becomes a bit too influenced by their favorite author. Ekaterina Sedia's 'You Dream' is a gloomy (and absorbing) faith-hunt set in Moscow while Jay Lake's 'Mother Urban's Booke of Days' gives a young man the ability to control his surroundings.

'The Mad Eyes of the Heron King' is one of the creepier entries here as Richard Dansky delivers a morbid tale of judgment. D.T. Friedman's entertaining 'Paint Box, Puzzle Box' features an artist who manages to escape death through the worlds he creates in his paintings, while J.C. Hays' 'A Loss for Words' looks at an author who pays a prostitute by writing original stories on her flesh (and, yes, this one goes deep); in another author-themed story, the always-reliable Tom Piccirilli strikes with 'Scrawl,' about a nerdy-looking erotica writer who finds inspiration with a mistress during a convention.

Kelli Dunlap's 'Good Enough' is a May/Pieces-ish serial killer/suicide yarn that more than lives up to its title, while Geoffrey Girard's 'First Communion' (another one dealing with suicide) takes a dark look at missed love. In 'The God of Last Moments,' Alethea Kontis explores an icon and a (literal) inner demon, then Mary Robinette Kowal's Norse God fable 'Ring Road' will surely leave you heart-broken.

Chesya Burke's impressive 'The Unremembered' is a richly-symbolic take on miracles, culture, and the importance of oral tradition, then SS-bred slug creatures mix with an acceptance-based theme in Lucien Soulban's 'The Choir.'

What would any modern horror anthology be without a zombie story? Thankfully, 'The Days of Flaming Motorcycles' by Catherynne M. Valente is a fresh, funny, and creepy take on them. Lucy A. Snyder's 'Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects' will surely knock some readers for a loop, while Kurt Dinan's 'Paranoia" turned out to be my favorite poem of the lot.

'Hush' by Kelly Barnhill manages to sneak in a fine haunted house story while Richard Wright's 'Sandboys' explores the faith of a father who truly believes he'll again see the son who was taken from him again.

Gary A. Braunbeck provides the end piece with another Cedar Hill story titled 'For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer.' This study on good and evil features Detective Bill Emerson contemplating a violent child abuse case, being taken on a surreal journey by The Reverend. With Gary's trademark roller-coaster-ride of emotions and ideas on display, those eagerly awaiting his next Cedar Hill novel will find this to be quite the fix.

At times surprising, scary, humorous and almost always thought provoking, DARK FAITH is a must read for fans of religious horror and those seeking some chills of a deeper nature.(less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Deanna Knippling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Note - I read slush for Apex; this is an Apex book.

A collection of short stories related to faith. Some of them went for the cheap tricks, but here were some of my favorites:

The Mad Eyes of the Heron King - Richard Dansky. All herons are the Heron King.
Scrawl - Tom Piccirilli. About a humble writer of porn. Cracked me up.
The Days of Flaming Motorcycles - Catherynne Valente. Borders on the edge of hipsterism but still shines.
Sandboys - Richard Wright. Two boys made out of sand on the seashore.

It'...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Gef rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, short-stories, e-books

Try bringing aspects of religion into your horror writing and see what kind of reaction you get from the God-fearin' folks. Or, you could just ask Maurice Broaddus about it. Maurice, himself a devout Christian, has no qualms in recognizing the darker elements of faith, as well shining a little of that gospel of the terrifying. And considering the caliber of authors he coerced into contributing to this anthology, the guy knows how to strike a balance. It's just kind of funny to hear how such a ni...more Try bringing aspects of religion into your horror writing and see what kind of reaction you get from the God-fearin' folks. Or, you could just ask Maurice Broaddus about it. Maurice, himself a devout Christian, has no qualms in recognizing the darker elements of faith, as well shining a little of that gospel of the terrifying. And considering the caliber of authors he coerced into contributing to this anthology, the guy knows how to strike a balance. It's just kind of funny to hear how such a nice, talented guy gets such strange looks from others when they find out the kinds of stories he writes. We've all been there, I suppose.

Dark Faith amasses thirty-one authors with short stories, and a couple poems, that all deal in one way or another with faith. From that one starting point, each author goes off on their own path, each story following its own north star, as it were. Now, I'm still a guy who doesn't shine towards poetry, so my focus was on the fiction.

Two short stories immediately jumped out at the beginning of the anthology with disparate tones, but equally rending effect. Jennifer Pelland's "Ghosts of New York" is a sad portrait of a woman's afterlife in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. As I recall, Jennifer was a bit hesitant about how this story would be received by readers, given its setting, but I thought it was tragic feat of beauty. Then, there was Brian Keene's "I Sing a New Psalm," with a hard-bitten tone that practically jumps off the page and dares you to hit back.

From there, the anthology carries on with stories like Ekaterin Sedia's "You Dream", a story I liked despite its use of second-person POV which I rarely enjoy; Catherynne M. Valente's "Days of Flaming Motorcycles", which was already a favorite of mine after reading it online in a couple other venues; plus Tom Piccirilli's "Scrawl" and an increasingly creepy stroll through fetishism and self-loathing.

The book is just about the furthest thing you can get from a religious screed designed to convert or dissuade people from God. If you're thinking that, you can knock it off. This anthology is a bit like a confessional, but more like a open-ended prayer uttered to no one god in particular. Whatever ear the song falls on, it is hopefully a friendly one. For an atheist like me, it was kind of nice to see horror and faith meet with a more sophisticated approach than evil priests and generic zealotry posited as villains. What villains there are in this book are ourselves, more or less. Our frailties. And no matter which god you believe in, Westboro Baptists not withstanding, you ought to see that the book may be dark, but it does shed some light on the idea of faith.

With thirty-one stories and poems packed into one book, you are bound to not like all of them, but--by gawd--you should like most of 'em.

There's a Dark Faith 2 in the works, and I think it's set for release sometime in the latter half of 2012, so you can bet that I'll be keeping my eye out for that one when the time comes. I may not be a good little Christian soldier, but I am a satisfied customer.(less)

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Jun 12, 2011 Misha marked it as will-come-back-to-later-no-really · review of another edition

I bought this for Jennifer Pelland's Nebula-nominated short story "Ghosts of New York," but I'm finding it a strong anthology overall thus far.

After a poem, "Ghosts of New York" leads the anthology with a discomfiting story of the ghost of a woman who jumped from the North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, and must relive the fall again and again. The story ends on a surprisingly positive note of acceptance and peace. The subject matter is difficult, but the story is thought-provoking and very well-writt...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthologies

A collection of horror short stories about faith, kind of. I had a hard time getting into this anthology (the first story that really worked for me was “Different from Other Nights” by Eliyanna Kaiser), but the latter two-thirds had some winners. Here are a few of my favorites:

“The Mad Eyes of the Heron King” by Richard Dansky - Out of all of the stories, this one has really stuck with me. I'll never look at a heron in the same way.
“Paint Box, Puzzle Box” by DT Friedman - Loved the layered world...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, ordered

This was an interesting anthology featuring stories exploring different aspects and kinds of faith.

The stories varied in tone and theme much more than I might have expected which kept the experience of reading it feeling 'fresh' right up to the end.

While I liked almost all the stories and poems but my personal favourites were:

'Ghosts of New York' by Jennifer Pelland,
'Go and Tell It on the Mountain' by Kyle S. Johnson,
'To the Jerusalem Crater' by Lavie Tidhar,
'You Dream' by Ekaterina Sedia,
'A Lo...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Alytha rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is not light fare. If I tell you that the most cheerful story in a collection is about the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, I guess you can imagine the big picture. The predominant colour is red.

All in all, most stories are pretty good, and have degrees of creepy varying from halfway comfortable frisson to holy-shit-I'll-be-over-there-hiding-under-my-blanket.

So, if you like dark and creepy, go for it ;)

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Aug 12, 2010 Scott Nicholson rated it 5 of 5 stars

A diverse group of viewpoints, at times hard-hitting and other times poignant. A great exploration of spirituality, one of my favorite subjects.

Scott Nicholson
www.hauntedcomputer.com

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Mar 16, 2012 Tamahome marked it as to-read

Horror and religion. Jenn Pelland's Ghosts of New York is in it. It's online somewhere too.

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Mar 19, 2012 Rrain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, speculative-fiction, horror

As with any book of short stories, I liked some more than I liked others, but in general it's a very strong collection with a number of standout pieces.

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Aug 29, 2011 Lashawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Creepy, but hard to put down. Loved how the nature of faith, where it be Christian or otherwise, was explored in this book. I'll add more to the review when I get home but the first story, "Ghosts of New York" really struck home with me, whereas "Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch's Damnation" had me curled in a corner, whimpering in fright. There was a couple of stories that made me wonder what it had to do with faith, whereas I started off "Sandboys" thinking it was heavyhanded and over-dramatic...more

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Nov 10, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, fiction, six-essentials, shu

A wonderful collection of stories containing unique perspectives on how faith affects our lives. Faith is a powerful force in our lives in ways we rarely understand, and these stories demonstrate the many faces of faith. Absolutely brilliant. My personal favorite is "Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch’s Damnation” by Douglas F. Warrick -- a wonderfully written story about exploring and embracing personal belief even in the afterlife. Kudos to Maurice Broaddus, Apex Books, and all of the contributi...more

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Jan 23, 2011 A. R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Only about half of these stories are good. A lot of the tales don't have anything to do with faith, so I don't know why they're in here. The pieces that do rock make it worth reading, though.

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Apr 04, 2011 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mixed bag. Some excellent stories, some merely okay. Nothing really bad.

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Jun 26, 2011 Ron Turner rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first few stories were great, but then the rest petered out.

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Dec 17, 2012 Ricardo López rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Most of the stories are fun. Some are quite imaginative and gave me new perspectives on what a horror short story could be. In that sense, I found several of the stories refreshening and engaging. Only a few failed to capture my interest.

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Jul 13, 2011 Kari rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting mix of styles and subject matter with the "faith" thread running throughout. As in all anthologies, loved some stories and hated some, but overall I enjoyed the book.

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Jun 21, 2010 Skip Novak rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great book with amazing stories by some great writers.

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May 14, 2013 Legato Darksummers added it

Shelves: daddy-dark-s-baby-warrior-list

May 13, 2013 Jason Manford marked it as to-read

May 10, 2013 Angela marked it as when-hell-freezes-over

May 04, 2013 Pagetranquillity is currently reading it

Shelves: anthologies, from-library

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Apr 04, 2013 Alexandra Stoenescu rated it 3 of 5 stars

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