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Splinters

Joseph D'Lacey (Goodreads Author)

4.25 · Rating details · 24 ratings · 9 reviews

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Paperback, 200 pages

Published November 3rd 2012 by Timeline Books

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Feb 25, 2017 E.K. Lea rated it it was amazing

I recently received a review copy of Splinters by Joseph D’Lacey published by Timeline Books (0957440502 (ISBN13: 9780957440500) if you’re interested).
Splinters is very well named as a collection of twelve short stories with no connecting theme or style.
It was a very strange experience- reading this book. I suspect the fact that I was listening to Tom Waits – Bone Machine only added to the surreality of the evening. Right from the off it has, shall we say adult themes?

The unnerving sense of voye ...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Nathan Robinson rated it it was amazing

Splinters by Joseph D’Lacey
Splinters is Joseph D’Lacey’s collection of short stories, available for a limited run of 500 copies. Why only 500 I’ll never know. I can’t say they’ll struggle to shift them all. . .
Every story in this chilled me in some way, which is the sign of a very good boo. Each story served up is a different little amuse bouche, ranging from body horror to the imminent apocalypse. Whilst some are dreamlike in quality lulling the reader in with the prose, others are startling an Splinters by Joseph D’Lacey
Splinters is Joseph D’Lacey’s collection of short stories, available for a limited run of 500 copies. Why only 500 I’ll never know. I can’t say they’ll struggle to shift them all. . .
Every story in this chilled me in some way, which is the sign of a very good boo. Each story served up is a different little amuse bouche, ranging from body horror to the imminent apocalypse. Whilst some are dreamlike in quality lulling the reader in with the prose, others are startling and horrific without resorting to graphic descriptions of blood and gut. This is something I admire of D’Lacey, or maybe I’m just not shocked anymore.
Here’s the run down without spoiling too much of what to expect:
Lenses: We’re all nosey, despite our own guarded secrets we long to pry into others lives to compare and contrast our foibles. With more CCTV eying up our movements and our bosses checking on our inner lives on Facebook the gaze of Big Brother is wider than ever. Lenses looks down the depths of the well at how deep humanity’s paranoid natures really go and the implications thereof. Who is watching who, and who is watching them.
Lights Out: At some point we’ve all wondered what lurks under the bed or perhaps in wardrobe. D’Lacey explores this world as a father fears for his son and himself as whatever lurks in the dark starts to become very real indeed.
Altar Girl: Be careful for what you wish for as a mother daydreams of a better life away from her unappreciative family and domestic drudgery, but finds that her problems will still follow her to paradise and back. Your destiny waits wherever you run. This was my first standout story which truly chilled me. The image of a moody faced, naked Kirk Douglas will haunt me forever. . .
The Quiet Ones: A 2nd person account of a determined assassin traipsing through snowy mountains in search for a peaceful group of people. A thoughtful though cold discourse on society’s fear of those that are different and how we hunger to bestow our own beliefs on others, despite its cost of life.
The Unwrapping of Alistair Perry: A slightly Kafkaesque take on our desire to be somebody else, in which the lonely Alistair Perry one day transforms into something far more appealing but not without its consequences. Again I adored this story even though its structure was similar to Altar Girl with its Drudgery, Transformation, Enlightenment, Horror then finally Acceptance. The final twist works horrifically well, giving the tale a further dimension, leaving the reader hungry for more of Alistair’s world and what becomes of it.
The Mango Tree: More of a character piece on our childhood fear of the strange man down the street. I felt a slight haunt of Hemmingway here as D’Lacey conjures up a tropical isle and portrays man and nature co-existing, and fighting one another and themselves at the same time. A wonderful parable summing up the circle of life, while we all take from the world, at some point we have to give it all back.
Armageddon Fish Pie: Another stand out story for me in which a man prepares himself for the apocalypse as society crumbles around him. This was an intensely thoughtful piece which made me question what I’d want to do if the world went to shit and not one of us could escape it. Most horror fans fantasise about surviving the apocalypse and living in a sparsely populated land free to roam and discover all of our neighbour’s secrets. But what if you couldn’t escape the end and what if you knew it was coming? What would you do with your final hours? Would you end it early or end on a bender? I’d spend it with my kids building Lego towers and drinking rum, I don’t know about you.
Kundalini- Another strange transformation piece in which a man turns into a snake after a tad too much heroin, as you do. Not my favourite of the collection, but still it’s short and well written and does nothing to detract from the other stories.
Rhiannon’s Reach: A slow burning tale of the sea which builds up to a dreamlike ending. Even though we fear something, we continue to punish and test ourselves with its presence. Once we’ve tasted death, we have felt a rarely triumphed high and so, thrill-seekers and adrenalin junkies alike gamble their lives on feeling that surge of emotion once again. Perhaps even wishing that the way that we have avoided slipping from the mortal coil is the way we are destined to leave this world. And so we test it until breaking point. Rhiannon’s reach toys with the reader, leading out protagonist into danger and teasing us with his fate.
Son of Porn: A comical though lurid account of a smut kingpin and his exploration of human biology as we evolve into a new reproductive age. One of the lighter pieces of the collection helps balance out the dark/light ratio quite evenly.
What They Want (What Aliens Really, Really Want): Another lighter piece, this time a quartet of snappy light shorts pondering what aliens would really want with humanity and our planet, in which they invade us in different ways.
The Food of Love: A enduring, romantic take on the zombie apocalypse in which death doesn’t mean the end of devotion for one loving couple. The Food of Love was easily one of my favourite pieces in this collection. The chilling government interference got me on this one, showing that D’Lacey really planned this tale of feeder and feedee’ to its eventual bitter end.

Again, I’ll mention that only 500 copies of Splinters will be published, one of which will feature a special little treat in the form of a tarot card that gives one bloody lucky reader a coffin full of Joseph D’Lacey goodies. If you’ve read this right you’ll go and order yourself a copy right now, if not you’d best get wishing that a second print run is announced. I wouldn’t want to leave you disappointed now would I? And remember Splinters is only a book, they’re worse things you could find under your skin. Like yourself.
5/5
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Jun 18, 2020 Monte rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm just gobsmacked. It's incredible.

I had a whole long review ready for this. But I'm not going to use it. I'm just going to say that this is one of the finest collections of short stories I have ever read, ever. And understand, I adore the short story genre. Few writers understand and even fewer practice the short story anymore. Stephen King, Clive Barker, and a handful of others though, they keep it alive. Joseph D'Lacey has published a master work of short fiction here. I will never not have ...more

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Jul 04, 2017 Becky rated it it was amazing

I love short story collections, which is a good place to start from. Each individual story very much has its own style that really draws you in. There were a few stories in this that will really stick with me:

Lenses is a great start, sinking deeper and deeper into itself and is a great way to think about how one might answer the question about 'who watches the watchers' in our surveillance society.

The Mango Tree A really beautiful story with a very sad ending. Poetic and engrossing with a ver ...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Paul rated it it was amazing

Indulge yourself and let Joseph D’Lacey take you on a journey to the deepest recesses of his mind. From the author of Meat and Garbage Man comes a new collection of incredible short stories that showcase one of the finest writers of dark fiction. From the terrifying ‘Food Of Love’ to the haunting and lyrical ‘Mango Tree’, Timeline Books is publishing a Strictly Limited Edition of 500 numbered and signed copies.

Splinters is a brand new collection of short fiction from the l’enfant terrible of dar ...more

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May 14, 2013 Gavin Gates rated it it was amazing

A collection of short stories, some of them not published before now, 500 copies printed and all hand numbered and signed by the author. This little black book has a lot to live up to before even opening the cover. Luckily, the author is one Joseph D'Lacey, and if there is one thing D'Lacey seems to do well it is pen a really some really sharp horror, whether along the lines of creepy, something in the shadows style, through to a little bit out there through to just flat out gruesome. Every sepa ...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Zoey rated it it was amazing

I felt like I was picked up and hurled around like a rag doll reading these stories. From the lulling of Rhiannon's Reach to the depravity of Son Of Porn, in one fell swoop. I was left spent, gasping for air and wanting more.

Isn't that how it's supposed to be? ...more

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Sep 11, 2020 Tex rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads

“Splinters” is a collection of short stories by horror, sci-fi, fantasy writer Joseph D’Lacey.

Like many short story collections there are a few diamonds, a few lumps of coal, and a few that sit somewhere on the scale in between. The twelve collected stories of “Splinters” range from an endearing love story within a zombie apocalypse; to a Hitchcockian noir who watches the watcher tale.

Each of the stories have recurring themes of metamorphosis, warning, observation, nature, fear and desire.

Sta ...more

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Oct 04, 2016 Frances rated it liked it

Shelves: collection, horror, inscription, culled

Beautifully written, well-paced, and weird, but I found myself a bit detached from them; that genre of horror where strange things happen and people tend to be either psychoanalytical or unpleasant. Worth reading, but not my preferred thing.

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About Joseph D'Lacey

Joseph D'Lacey

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Became vegetarian after writing MEAT. Fond of meditation, unfathomable questions and cats.

Repped by Robert Dinsdale.

"Joseph D'Lacey rocks!" Stephen King.
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