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A Plague of Shadows: A Written Remains Anthology
We believe in ghosts. Do you? Expecting the usual? Please don
358 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2018
5 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Reinbold
7 books37 followersJM Reinbold is an award-winning author and editor. She is the author of the DCI Rylan Crowe Mysteries series. She lives in Delaware. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, and on blogs and websites, as well as being nominated and selected for awards, grants, and literary fellowships.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 23, 2020
Sheer class!
This selection of short stories was just enthralling. Absolute heaven! We had the traditional haunted house, vengeful ghosts, grave robbers and Hawaiian gods. This was horror at its very best. Highly recommended.
This selection of short stories was just enthralling. Absolute heaven! We had the traditional haunted house, vengeful ghosts, grave robbers and Hawaiian gods. This was horror at its very best. Highly recommended.
September 13, 2018
A Plague of Shadows is a great anthology extending the tradition of other Written Remains books. It starts and ends with a descriptive short poem, interspersed with nineteen invocative and entertainingly written short stories. All the speculative fiction stories, whether they concern ghosts, engineering malfunctions, post-apocalyptic, cultural beliefs, and crime sprees are exciting and compelling to read. Each story should be read in one sitting to appreciate their twists, turns, and surprise endings.
Five of my favorites of the nineteen excellent short stories include: “Bark of the Dog-Faced Girl” by Maria Masington, “Finding Resolution” by Patrick Derrickson, “To Heart’s Content” by Shannon Connor Winward, “Song of the Shark God” by JM Reinbold, and “The Black Dog of Cabra” by J. Patrick Conlon.
“Bark of a Dog-Faced Girl” by Maria Masington: Story of a ghost who grows up in a young girl, with a misshapen face because of an early childhood fall. The ghost terrorizes the girl with a voice in her ear, telling how ugly and unattractive she is, and that she will never have a boy friend.
“Finding Resolution” by Patrick Derrickson: Serious story, sprinkled with humor of a mission to Mars that malfunctions because of a design flaw. The space craft cannot turn around after its controls are fried by a solar flare.
“To Heart’s Content” by Shannon Connor Winward: A post-apocalyptic tale of a small group, lead by a female witch, who is trying to lead the group north through Pennsylvania into New York, a land controlled by Christian extremists. She follows a spiritual vision to reach her childhood boy friend that turns out badly. Moral, not all visions are beneficial to those seeing them.
“Song of the Shark God” by JM Reinbold: Intriguing story of a boy born in Hawaii, with a native Hawaiian father he is unaware of during his childhood, who he learns about when his wife buys him a DNA test kit. His life is centered on the ocean and his fear of sharks. While kayaking overnight off Rehoboth Beach, he is subject to an attack by two great white sharks.
“The Black Dog of Cabra” by J. Patrick Conlon: Tale of two thieves, John and Thom in Dublin, Ireland who share adventures in their search for the treasure, promised by John’s father. Thom states John’s father is mad and there is no treasure. John believes his father is not mad, but truthful. They experience a series of entertaining capers in search of the treasure.
Five of my favorites of the nineteen excellent short stories include: “Bark of the Dog-Faced Girl” by Maria Masington, “Finding Resolution” by Patrick Derrickson, “To Heart’s Content” by Shannon Connor Winward, “Song of the Shark God” by JM Reinbold, and “The Black Dog of Cabra” by J. Patrick Conlon.
“Bark of a Dog-Faced Girl” by Maria Masington: Story of a ghost who grows up in a young girl, with a misshapen face because of an early childhood fall. The ghost terrorizes the girl with a voice in her ear, telling how ugly and unattractive she is, and that she will never have a boy friend.
“Finding Resolution” by Patrick Derrickson: Serious story, sprinkled with humor of a mission to Mars that malfunctions because of a design flaw. The space craft cannot turn around after its controls are fried by a solar flare.
“To Heart’s Content” by Shannon Connor Winward: A post-apocalyptic tale of a small group, lead by a female witch, who is trying to lead the group north through Pennsylvania into New York, a land controlled by Christian extremists. She follows a spiritual vision to reach her childhood boy friend that turns out badly. Moral, not all visions are beneficial to those seeing them.
“Song of the Shark God” by JM Reinbold: Intriguing story of a boy born in Hawaii, with a native Hawaiian father he is unaware of during his childhood, who he learns about when his wife buys him a DNA test kit. His life is centered on the ocean and his fear of sharks. While kayaking overnight off Rehoboth Beach, he is subject to an attack by two great white sharks.
“The Black Dog of Cabra” by J. Patrick Conlon: Tale of two thieves, John and Thom in Dublin, Ireland who share adventures in their search for the treasure, promised by John’s father. Thom states John’s father is mad and there is no treasure. John believes his father is not mad, but truthful. They experience a series of entertaining capers in search of the treasure.
September 13, 2018
An excellent collection of dark ghost stories which kept me (a professional skeptic) highly interested. The characters were likable and I, as the reader, could relate to them. The stories were detailed and refreshing. The first story captured my attention by being from the perspective of a ghost - an evil one that we've all dealt with. I was hooked from the start. I highly recommend this anthology to anyone who enjoys ghost stories with a dark overtone.
September 12, 2018
Gloriously dark and gripping, the stories and poems in Plague of Shadows will burrow under your skin and make themselves at home. Highly recommended!
July 1, 2019
It's tough to come up with a unique and creepy ghost story. This collection has quite a few to its credit. And like any anthology, a few clinkers. Overall still enjoyable, though.
My favorites: "Bottom of the Hour" - Giunta, "Song of the Shark God" - Reinbold, and tops goes to "Haunting the Past" - Bark.
My favorites: "Bottom of the Hour" - Giunta, "Song of the Shark God" - Reinbold, and tops goes to "Haunting the Past" - Bark.
September 14, 2018
A Plague of Shadows is this year's "don't not miss" anthology. Some of the stories will creep up on you, while others come at you full force. In the end, all of them will lurk in the back of your mind just waiting for the lights to be turned off. Some of the highlights were Billie Sue Mosiman's The Stories We Tell, Jeff Strands Vengeance of Scooter Brown, JM Reinbold's Song of the Shark, Weldon Burge's Vindictive, and Gail Husch's No Good Deed. This one is not be missed.
June 11, 2022
The opening poem in this book sets the mood for the rest of the stories. Makes you not want to read them at night because you may find it hard to fall asleep. Each author brings their own unique, chilling tale to this anthology and their stories will stay with you long after you've read them.
September 12, 2018
Gloriously dark and gripping, the stories and poems in Plague of Shadows will burrow under your skin and make themselves at home. Highly recommended!
May 7, 2020
Solid collection
This was a solid entertaining collection with a good number of fun stories and no real duds. Definitely enjoyed it.
This was a solid entertaining collection with a good number of fun stories and no real duds. Definitely enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews