Book Review: Dark Messages by Daniel J Weber
A Review by Lenora
Daniel J Weber is a Canadian writer of horror fiction, and something of an international man of mystery. You can find our more about what makes Daniel tick on our Indie and Proud page.
Dark Messages a short story anthology by Daniel J Weber
Dark Messages is small volume containing 6 tales of horror, fantasy and allegory many addressing issues of self-esteem.
The first thing I should say is that this is a very short collection, coming in at only 42 pages, but oh what pages! Weber takes the reader on a rollercoaster of a ride, intense, surreal, visceral even visionary at times. Yes, he uses some visceral horror, but a lot of the horror stems from the mind, how people perceive themselves, how they react to each other and their environment.
The first story, Undying Memories, depicts a grieving mother trapped in side her own grief and memories. She appears as lost as her dead son, lying trapped beneath the waters of a lake. The forest setting and the allegorical and yet dangerous wolf that stalks her, and the timeless quality of this story, created the atmosphere of a claustrophobic fairy tale where there would be no happy endings.
A Mile in My Shoes was another almost surreal tale of a man who inherits a collection of shoes and finds he can ‘feel’ the lives of those who wore them. From the emptiness of his grandfather and his dead-mans’ shoes, to the shoes of a lost and dispossessed boy, until he finds the shoes that really fit, and brings the story full circle.
My favourite story was Master of Death. This was a surreal story where the narrator/observer watches a tattered man struggling through the desert in a final battle of wills with death. The story is as wild and intense as the desert wind that whips through it, with Breughel-esque imagery repleat with lakes of blood. My other favourite tale was They Know Not What they do, an emotional re-imagining of the crucifixion complete with warring demons scenting victory as the failed Saviour doubts himself on the cross. Doubt, fear, redemption – it’s all there!
In fact as well as self-esteem, one of the predominant themes in this collection was the power of death, always stalking you, seldom bested – a suitably dark message.
Occasionally the stories were a little over-blown, and occasionally a bit opaque in their message, but overall I think this represents a very strong, thoughtful and gripping collection of tales, told in a very vivid and at times quite moving style. I was quite disappointed that there were only 6 stories in the collection – I could easily have read more.
All in all a great short read!
Dark Messages by Daniel J Weber is available on Amazon:
