The Carvings Collection

by Drake Vaughn

The Carvings Collection: A selection of ten shocking tales from the crinkled mind of Drake Vaughn. The short stories span every arena of horror - from psychological tales of imagination gone wrong (“Dolls” and “Carvings”), to supernatural monsters (“Master Key,” “Sales,” and “Flatheads”), to realistic crime (“In The Chair,” “The Test,” and “Driver’s Seat”), along with a new spin on old tropes (“Trip to V-Town” and “The Garden”). All are bite-sized chunks for fans of horror and dark pulpy fiction.

Genres: Horror

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2013

Reviews

[Dez Nemec · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be a great collection, but I didn't really find anything I liked in it.
Oh well.

[Frank Errington · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 Stars Review Copy

A little over a year ago, I read and reviewed The Zombie Generation by Drake Vaughn. A different take on zombies and worth a look.

This time it's a collection of 10 stories on a wide range of subject matter. No two have any similarities except for one. They all seem to lack an ending. True, this is a fairly common literary device where the outcome is left to the reader to imagine, but as a steady diet, it's less than palatable.

Drake is apt at developing some original stories and at fleshing out characters, but when it comes to closure, it's just not there.

The collection started, promisingly enough, with "Dolls." Evil doll comes to life, talks to little Ella. Creepy, in a Child's Play kind of way. Plus it was told from the child's point of view, which I found entertaining. But, then it ended. It was a natural place to end, but so much was left unresolved.

On to the next story, "Driver's Seat." A protagonist, named Minji, who has Amaxophobia. She's afraid of cars. In the telling of the tale, we learn the root cause of that fear and I'm finding the story interesting...and then it ends with much left untold.

There's a pattern developing and for most of the book the pattern is consistent. Great story, original concept, but with a vague or abrupt ending.

Some stories are better than others, for example, "In the Chair." A novelette length tale, disturbing and cringe-worthy, is about a man forced to remain in a chair for days on end as punishment for allowing his mother to die in a similar manner.

"Tests," was another longer short story that held my interest. Just a taste of horror, more of a coming of age story and one of the stronger entries in the collection.

"Trip to V-Town" is an interesting take on prejudice as seen through a treatment on vampires or piners as they're refered to in the story.

At the end is "Flatheads." For me, this was the most complete story of the bunch. A futurustic tale where people are surviving in high-rise apartments above flood levels and water is both a danger and a precious commodity.

In all, I found The Carvings Collection to be entertaining and unfulfilling at the same time. The stories were good enough to grab my interest and keep me reading, but each one left me wanting more.

The Carvings Collection is available now, through Amazon.com, for the Kindle and is FREE if you subscribe to Amazon Prime and want to make it your current selection in the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

[LibraryGirl2008 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A self-righteous vigilante determined to punish a man for a mercy killing. A giant flying cockroach that terrorizes and decapitates hapless high school stoners. A salesman who puts his marketing skills to the test when confronted by a cannibalistic rockstar diva of Faustian proportions. A gang of bullies that run amok in a vampire brothel. All this, and more, can you find in Drake Vaughn’s new short story collection, The Carvings Collection.

Sound varied? It is. It’s kind of like your little chocolate box o’ horrors: it simply runs the gamut when it comes to the genre. It opens with the nursery-time tale of terror, “Dolls,” and follows up with the high school slasher story, “Master Key.” Next, is a Hostel-like tale of revenge and captivity (“In the Chair”), a tale or two of black magic (“Carvings,” “Sales”), a cautionary tale for young people about trespassing (“The Garden”), a few surprising pieces of social commentary (“Driver’s Seat,” “The Test,” “Trip to V-Town,”), and last but not least, the parasite-ridden sci-fi creepfest, “Flatheads.”

While I certainly savored some stories more than others, this is, overall, a strong, diverse collection of horror and psychological intrigue. I would recommend it for any fan of the horror genre, and for fans of Vaughn’s earlier novel, The Zombie Generation.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was asked to read this collection of stories and found each one to be well written and immersed in some form of darkness.

The horror varied but I always prefer the more psychological stance rather than gore...it has it all.

However, without spoilers, I will say that for those who enjoy the thrill of the chill, this collection is for you.

A very good read.

[mad mags · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Mixed Bag of Horror Stories

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review at the author's invitation. Also, trigger warning for rape and animal abuse.)

The Carvings Collection contains ten horror stories from the "crinkled mind" of Drake Vaughn. The stories range from conceivably true crime (fundamentalists do the darnedest things!) to the supernatural/fantastical (vampires, werewolves, and giant cockroaches, oh my!) and "psychological tales of imagination gone wrong."

Dolls - A young girl's menagerie of dolls begins to act out scenes of abuse on each other - and on Ella, their owner. In this story, it's the adults who are the real monsters.

Driver's Seat - A woman dealing with apparent PTSD in the wake of a carjacking/murder spree reconnects with her husband through violence. (Or regains control by embracing her darker impulses? I don't know, I was both confused and somewhat disturbed by this point.)

Master Key - A quartet of teens find more than they bargained for when they cut class to light up and happen upon the nether regions of their high school, which was built on the ruins of a (supposedly!) abandoned paper mill.

In the Chair - When a man is tried and acquitted for allowing his cancer-stricken mother to die at home, one especially concerned citizen decides to enact some righteous Biblical revenge, Old Testament style.

Carvings - Ryder is plagued by strange dreams, which become stranger still when he awakes to find occult symbols freshly carved into his walls. Things go from bad to worse when people - people who resemble those who have hurt or otherwise wronged Ryder in life - start dropping dead, the victims of violent murders. Left behind at the scene are the same symbols Ryder feels compelled to carve in his sleep.

Sales - A especially skeezy guerrilla marketing-cum-mercenary salesman meets his match when he's contracted to break into a celebrity's penthouse, ostensibly to ransack the place. The question is, who's the bigger bloodsucker of the two?

The Garden - In which two precocious preteens decide to vandalize some old guy's vegetable garden, only to unwittingly stumble upon the boy he's got caged up in his basement. Not everything is as it seems, however - though I'm still a little puzzled as to why he didn't just let them have their fun and move on, rather than threaten them with a shotgun, attempt murder, and ultimately kidnap them. Were a few upturned turnip plants really worth it?

The Test - A homophobic prank gone wrong (well, not as though it could have gone "right") leads to a friend's suicide.

Trip to V-Town - In what sometimes feels like a heavy-handed reference to immigration and xenophobia, a group of friends venture into the vampires' side of the tracks for a night on the town. Their version of a good time? Beating V-Town children senseless and raping and torturing sex workers.

Flatheads - In the most enjoyable story of the bunch, "Flatheads" imagines a post-apocalyptic world in which climate change has led to massive flooding as well as seasonal droughts. In contrast to humans, water-bound flathead worms have thrived in their new environs, growing to massive lengths and learning how to launch their eggs into the sky so that they can be carried to human hosts on even the smallest drop of water. Headed by reluctant leader Iago, the survivors in the Company (really just an old apartment building, the flooded bottom floors of which have been left to the flatheads) must deal with an infection and possible infestation. City living, ugh.

Of the ten, I especially enjoyed "In the Chair," "The Test," and "Flatheads." Since two of my elderly relatives begged to die for months - even years - before they passed away (my grandmother, of a hunger strike while in hospice care), to no avail, I can relate to Owen Vogel's anguished predicament in "In the Chair." "The Test" veers in an unexpected direction, and "Flatheads" is a flat-out fun piece of dystopian horror/science fiction.

"Dolls" and "Driver's Seat," less so: both are rather disturbing, and not necessarily in a good way. The worldly, un-supernatural explanation for "Dolls" is that Ella is reenacting her physical and sexual abuse with her dolls, while "Driver's Seat" ends with a not entirely (or obviously so) consensual sex scene in which the protagonist's homicidal-suicidal husband threatens her with a gun...which she then all-too-happily fellates.

Likewise, "Trip to V-Town" includes some especially sadistic scenes of rape and torture. In a passage that's eerily reminiscent of animal rapists who cut off the heads of chickens so that their dying bodies will convulse mid-rape, one of the young men describes burning a vampire with a light ("beaming") as he's raping her: "It's one thing to bucking bronco a girl, but a piner is an entirely different experience. While doing her doggie style, you beam her in the face and hold on as she thrashes. The spasms create the most amazing sensation." (page 173)

Since rape and sexual violence are ubiquitous in our culture - women, many of them rape survivors, are assaulted by rape jokes, rape scenes, comparisons to rape, rape apologism, etc. on the daily - authors need a really good reason to add to the pile of violent imagery. Rape isn't a form of entertainment. The only story that evokes sexual violence only to condemn it is "Trip to V-Town" - and here, I don't feel like the payoff is great enough (or nuanced enough) to justify the gamble.

Can we just have a moratorium on men writing rape scenes? Pretty pretty please?

(This brings to mind Kevin Smith's much-circulated quote in This Film is Not Yet Rated: "If I were to create a rating system, I wouldn’t even put murder right at the top of the chief offenses. I would put rape right at the top, and assault against women. Because it’s so insanely overused and insulting how much it’s overused in movies as a plot device, a woman in peril. That, to me, is offensive, yet that shit skates.")

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/01/20/...

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drake Vaughn is the author of the book The Zombie Generation which took the reader into a unique look at the Zombie genre. It was a book that had readers wanting to “sink their teeth” into other books by the author.

Vaughn has come out with another full book called The Carvings Collection but this book is different. It’s not a full tale but instead a collection of short stories you could believe were “carved” out of the man’s mind. Stories that go deep into different genres of horror from real life to the paranormal can be found within the pages.

The book has ten different and distinct stories that will surely find an audience for the genre covered. It is more impressive that the stories are done in such a manner that they will appeal to different readers and some may have you asking for more.

The book starts with the story, “Dolls”, which fittingly talks about a young girl and her dolls. The story introduces the reader to a girl who has an interesting life. She lives with her father, his grandmother and her father’s new girl. A seemingly innocent arrangement till you read how the young girl has been treated. So is it any wonder that suddenly a doll starts speaking to her? The fact the doll has seemed to learn some of the things the young girl has seen cannot be too healthy and well the story will have to tell the rest.

The reader then can read a story about a woman afraid of cars in the story, “Driver’s Seat”. You learn why she’s afraid of cars and the problems that came from that event. The reader then finds out about the dangers of skipping class to get high and running from authority in, “Master Key”.

The story, “In the Chair”, will be the next entry into the book. This one tells the story of a man persecuted for fulfilling the dying wishes of his mother. Those wishes are to help her dye after treatment for her cancer seems to have not worked. The problem after the news breaks of what he has allowed, and the court is done with him, someone else feels justice needs to be done. This person will take, what seems to be pleasure, in distributing his own justice. This involves tying the “killer” to a chair and slowly starving him much as his mother must have felt. Does he escape, or does justice get done?

The book follows with “Carvings”, where a man’s dreams may be coming to life as those who have harmed him begin dying around him.

“Sales” is the sixth entry in the collection and deals with a salesman who may have bit on more than he can chew. He is hired to break into a penthouse apartment and may find out he may have under estimated the owner and is going to be, well read to find out.

“The Garden” tells of how it’s not nice to destroy and vandalize a man’s garden. You never know what could be hidden within all those plants, and how the owner will react. You could find out that some take their “gardens” very seriously.

“The Test” is one story that seems to be perfect for today’s world. It could almost be said it was somewhat ripped from the headlines. A prank goes very bad and someone ends up dead after the prank.

The reader will then get to “Trip to V-Town” which is a story of how the poor kids want to visit the upscale tracks of town. The problem this cities other side is that which belongs to Vampires. Those involved in evading V-town will create some just horrific acts on those who live there. Some of these are not safe for little children, just as they children are not safe in V-Town.

The final story is one called “Flatheads” and has nothing to do with a screwdriver or a haircut. The story instead talks about the flathead worm. The worm can get up to 4 to 10 inches in length depending on the type of flathead. In this story they get to be a bit longer in size. No they don’t get to 2 feet in length, you got to think BIGGER. Try imagining so large they are now the dominant life form. They are so dominant that in this new world they use humans as hosts for their infants. This of course does not look well for humanity and this story takes you into a small group who is trying to survive. The problem they share their home with the flatheads and this cannot be a good thing.

Just as the titles of the stories the subjects are just as diverse. The stories range from the scary to the just down right creepy. They are not always safe for children so I suggest parents take a moment to read the stories before giving them out to their children. They are not overly to dangerous for a young mind, but enough it could bring up some uncomfortable questions.

The simple truth is that The Carvings Collection is a book of tales that will keep any reader interested. You may find yourself skipping a story to jump to another but you must make sure to read them all. I say that as this is a carved collection from Drake Vaughn that no matter how you fell is a great full meal for the mind.

[Rich Stoehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's start with the word "crinkled" - something a little out of true, not twisted or warped, but off somehow. That's a good word to describe this collection of ten stories: crinkled.

The Carvings Collection is something of a mixed bag, like most short story collections, but most of the stories are at least interesting, psychological, slightly disturbing ("crinkled") and in a couple cases refreshingly imaginative. Here's the breakdown, as I read them.

"Dolls" is a quick and simple story of a girl and her dolls, and one particular doll who speaks to her, and says some pretty foul things. There's not too much to chew on here, but it's a fairly effective little number.

"Driver's Seat" was a hard story to like, but as suspense goes it was well put-together, with a nasty twist.

"Master Key" is an old-school teenage monster story, complete with secret passages leading to dank tunnels under a school - the kind of thing I was deeply into when I was in my teens and twenties, but now seems a little tired. Still, like all the stories here, it works for what it is.

"In the Chair" is a serious nail-biter - a man trapped in a basement, fastened with duct tape to a chair as he is tortured and berated by "Skullet" for something he did to his mother. Who "Skullet" is and what our victim did to enrage him so is something worth reading about.

"Carvings" is a short-but-sweet story of a man struggling to control a deadly power he doesn't fully understand - and then coming around to the idea that he might be able to use it to his advantage.

"Sales" is a cool twist on an old idea - a secret deal gone wrong, a hidden agenda with a supernatural undertone.

"The Garden" also seemed like a familiar trope, with two brothers who go sniffing around a neighbor's garden and discover that he's not very happy about it. A taste of forbidden fruit can lead to awful consequences, even with good intentions, and Vaughn plays it out very nicely here.

"The Test" was on of the longer stories, one I could actually sink my teeth into, and it was worth it. Framed by the tense discussion of a struggling married couple, what "the test" is comes at us in the form of a recollection of the husband to his wife, when he tells her that "one dead body is enough." The strained friendship at the core of this story comes across very well, as does the motivations of what happens to tear two old friends apart. "The Test" was one of the high points of The Carvings Collection.

"Trip to V-Town" is an experiment in imagination, and a mostly effective one. As a new spin on the vampire story, it's not too hard to picture the world Vaughn describes, and the hard questions he poses about who is the true monster hit rather close to the bone.

And finally, the real gem of this collection, "Flatheads." The title doesn't tell you much, but gives name to the creatures that have brought the human race to its last breath in this post-apocalyptic nightmare. Told through a trial of a man who fears he has become infected with the creatures, we learn of the last vestiges of humanity on the brink, sealed up in a quarantined building and holding on to scraps of civilization and every drop of clean water they can get. The heart and soul of the story is the leader of the group, haunted by his past and struggling with his own demons as the residents of the building bicker around him. The imagination and storytelling chops on display in "Flatheads" alone make The Carvings Collection well worth reading.

That said, all the stories in this slim volume have merit, and while clearly borrowing from the likes of King and Bradbury for some ideas, Drake Vaughn stakes out his own claim on the crinkled landscape he spins. The ten stories in 'The Carvings Collection' are smart, effective, efficient, and well-written, with moments of true inspiration.

Proof positive that sometimes "crinkled" can be a good thing.

I received a copy of The Carvings Collection from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

[David Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Carvings Collection by Drake Vaughn is a mixed bag of stories that covers true crime, paranormal and psychological horror. The first story was one of my favorites called Dolls. It’s about a girl who has a doll that talks and doesn’t act like other dolls. I liked how the relationship the girl has with her dolls closely mirrors her parents relationship. I thought the end was a little confusing but it was a good creepy story to start the anthology. The next story was called Drivers Seat and is about a woman who is afraid to drive. I liked how the story was told, it had a great idea behind it but the ending was disappointing.

The third story is Master Key which is a creepy tale where some kids enter a secret passage in a school and learn about the school’s dark history. The next one is In The Chair which is about a man who killed his mother and then gets kidnapped and held prisoner by someone who believes he is doing gods will. I liked how the author shows who the real villain is. The descriptions of the man trying to escape from the chair were gruesome and really made you feel empathy for the character. He made a decision to end his mother’s suffering but had to suffer himself. I thought where the man was being held seemed a little far-fetched but it was still an entertaining story.

Another good story in this collection is called Sales. it’s about a man named Conner who is hired by a firm to harass a female singer in order for her to hire more bodyguards. The singer is much more than she appears, men who go to her apartment come out changed and it may take more than an ability to talk to save Conner.My favorite part of this story was hearing all of Conner’s observations about the people he meets. He is good at reading people but still doesn’t see the situation that he is walking into, great ending.

The Garden is another supernatural story which is about two boys who steal some vegetables from an old man’s garden and find out about a horrifying secret in the man’s basement. I liked how one of the boys shows his loyalty to his friend despite his fear. Next up is The Test. It’s about a man who tells his wife how a friend of his died. This story was one of the longer ones and had a lot of depth to it. There was a scene in a restaurant that was funny and sad at the same time. I also liked how its shown that a past relationship effected the man’s present relationship.

One story in The Carving Collection that I would like to see expanded on is Trip to V-Town. The story gets into a group of men’s journey into the vampire side of town to have sex in a vampire whorehouse. This was a really short one that managed to say a lot. I liked how one character is changed at the end from what he has seen and I felt the author was making a good point on how one group of people looks down on another group from the wrong side of the tracks. The Carvings Collection is an anthology for anyone who likes a good story and I hope to see more from Drake Vaughn.

[Madelon · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE CARVING COLLECTION, by Drake Vaughn showcases an author with an excellent command of the English language, and a good grasp of the short story form. I was most impressed with the way the language in each story is crafted to fit the tale.

An author can use a common word in very different ways, especially when writing speculative fiction, so that its meaning may not be totally clear at first. When this is done, it is necessary for the author to clarify the meaning as the story proceeds. Drake Vaughn does this well.

Why am I putting so much emphasis on language? Too many authors today are grammatically sloppy, so it was refreshing to read without having to transpose sentences that end in a preposition, or mentally correct incorrect usage of homonyms.

I am an avid reader of horror and speculative fiction. I like my tales epic in length, with beautifully developed characters, and with a plot line that doesn't fall apart. THE CARVING COLLECTION runs the gamut of genre fiction. Each story managed to meet both my need for devloped characters and a good plot.

I am always tempted to read a collection of short fiction the same way I read a novel. In many cases this method works. Not so much with THE CARVING COLLECTION. At the end of each story, I had to put my Kindle aside and digest what I had just read before moving onto the next.

I highly recommend THE CARVING COLLECTION to anyone who enjoys a good read!

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories. When I only have a few minutes to read I can sit with a good short story and get my reading fix. This book is filled with great stories. I must tell you that some of the language is a little rough in a couple of the stories. However, if you can just jump over those words you will thoroughly enjoy the book. The first story “Dolls” held the utmost creep factor. When I read stories like this it makes me wish I could spend the day getting to know the author, just to see how they really think. “In the Chair” reminded me of one of those great movies you see on TV where you think the criminal is going to get caught only to have things spun around in some weird twisted way that catches you by surprise. I mean this in a good way. “The Garden” was one of those stories that took me by surprise. It leads you to think one thing and then you get to the last page only to have it be something completely different than what you thought. I would have to say my favorite of all of the stories was the one the book was named after, “The Carvings”. Once again the author leads you down a path only to surprise you at the end. I have to say that this was one ending that completely surprised me and I completely agreed with. You really need to read this book to see what I am talking about because I’m not going to say anything more that I have said.

[Jenny Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, all I have to say starting out is, Stephen King, eat your heart out!! I was amazed and entranced by the author's ability to write these short stories in a way that knocked my socks off, kept me on the edge of my seat, and scared the living daylights out of me. This is not a story to read before bed in the dark. This book is absolutely phenomenal and will keep you scared but screaming for more. Twists, turns, horror, suspense, and intensity is the words that come to mind when describing my feelings for this book. It's an absolute recommended read that will intrigue and suspend you in the world of horror that this talented author is able to capture.

I received a paperback copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Drake Vaughn has given us ten tales, a variety involving everything from regulation monsters to those a bit different to the most horrid monsters of all: real human beings.

We get the teenage cliques that have ruined many a life over the generations, we've all seen them, those immature minds that think they know it all. We see people interacting with creatures and making us wonder just who's the monsters here.

Even a science fiction piece of a flooded world infested with parasites and folks trying to survive, some out for themselves, some noble in their desires to safeguard those around them.

Quite an enjoyable set of stories.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where there is no imagination there is no horror. - Arthur Conan Doyle

I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories. There aren't that many authors that can do credit to the genre.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I started reading "The Carvings Collection." Ten stories and not a clunker in the batch.

Straight out horror, psychological suspense, post apocalyptic...author Vaughn has gathered together a super assortment of shorts.

My favorites were "Trip to V-Town," which is a better-than-average vampire tale, and "Flatheads," since I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic worlds.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming up soon...