Nothing But The Willows & Other Things That Are Not There

by J.D. Buffington, Stina Patton (cover_art)

Perception is reality. But how much can you trust with only two eyes? Cracks in the fabric of the universe reveal facets of a prism. Worlds where gods and monsters are real, houses are haunted, and time is a malleable thing. Familiarity falls when the cosmos teleports us far from home to face nature beyond understanding. In Nothing But the Willows & Other Things That Are Not There, glimmers of limits broken and endless worlds are just out of sight, just a breath away.

156 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2024

About the author

J.D. Buffington lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife, daughter, a capricious cat and two devious dogs. He seamlessly weaves vivid nightmares and haunting anxiety together to immerse readers into a state of fright and wonder.

Reviews

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

well crafted

This is an excellent collection of well crafted stories with good variety. These are compelling and thought provoking. I’d recommend this both to readers and to anyone studying the craft of short story writing.

[Mother Suspiria]

An enjoyable collection tinged with eerieness, ambiguity, and unease, NOTHING BUT THE WILLOWS... whispers about the Things that live in the shadows, fringes, periphery- and what we do when confronted by the inexplicable- whether it's otherworldly or distressingly human.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading and reviewing J. D. Buffington's work. Previously, I read and enjoyed his take on the Medusa myth: Come Hither, No Malice. So, when he was looking for people to review his short story collection, I happily volunteered, and was not disappointed.

Buffington's stories are unique and varied. Many are told in first person narrative, but he also experiments with screenplay format and second-person. I would classify the stories generally under horror, but many have strong elements of sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and inspire more emotions than fear. Buffington's author bio states, "He seamlessly weaves vivid nightmares and haunting anxiety together to immerse readers into a state of fright and wonder," and I believe that this collection demonstrates that.

The best stories in the collection offer up a sense of wonder along with the fears. A few of my favourites that best showcase Buffington's storytelling skills are Warning Cry, Pane, Nothing But the Willows, and Something in the Way.

Warning Cry: One day, a woman screams but has no memory of it. It's caught on tape and soon goes viral. Eventually, people all over the world start experiencing "The Scream", but no one can remember why they screamed or even doing it at all, until some scientists develop a way to make someone remember. The main character's revelations from experiencing and remembering a Scream are chilling, but also invoke that feeling of wonder I mentioned. This one left me with a shudder.

Pane: This story starts as a simple meet-cute where a young man buys a purse he does not need so he can talk to a cute girl. The scares in this one start slow and caught me off guard, and there is a twist that completely transforms the narrative. I'll leave it for you to discover on your own.

Nothing But the Willows: The titular story follows a ghost haunting the woman who accidentally killed her. With that premise, I expected a revenge story, but what I received instead was a deep reflection on forgiveness of others, one's self, and how to move forward from trauma.

Something in the Way: Poverty plagues our main character, who is doing his best to exist. The world Buffington describes in this story is bleak, but rich and well constructed.

I recommend this collection for anyone who likes a variety of storytelling techniques and enjoys a little awe with their terror.

[Kev Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this a horror collection? A book of philosophical thought experiments? A multi-angled view of the many facets of existential dread?
The answer to all these questions is yes.
From hauntings which make you think about what hauntings even are, to dystopian prison nightmares, to found-footage-style excerpts of journals, and much more, this collection is so smartly, tightly written. Every story has nuggets of humour, even when dealing with utterly horrific or dread-inducing themes, which I loved. But more than anything, every story had a living, beating heart, and every one made me stop and think.
More than once it brought to mind the work of Vonnegut, which is praise I rarely lavish on anything. Highly highly recommended.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read anything of J.D.'s before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up really liking his collection of short stories. Not every single story was for me, but that doesn't mean they weren't good! My favorites were: the "title track" Nothing but the Willows, Camping (loved loved loved this one!), The Shadow on Pitch, and Belligerent Madness. I like how he tells a story. He's got a great way with words that make you feel like a part of the story itself, which is nice--not everyone can do that. Definitely going to be adding some of his other works to my TBR pile.

I was provided an advanced reader copy of Nothing but the Willows for free in exchange for an honest review.