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Tales from the Canyons of the Damned
Tales from the Canyons of the Damned: No. 3
This edition of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned consists of four Horrific and Fantastic stand alone short stories - each from a different featured author. Will Swardstrom's Natural Born Alien will give you some insight into the election process. Ernie Howard's Float is a tale of what happens when a man thinks only of himself. Jason Ansbach takes us to the edge of Ledge Town and Daniel Arthur Smith tells of an inmates stay in one of New York's oldest jails in The Tombs.
60 pages, Paperback
Published April 6, 2016
About the author
Daniel Arthur Smith
100 books239 followersDaniel Arthur Smith is a USA Today bestselling author. His titles include Spectral Shift, Agroland, The Cathari Treasure, and a few other novels and short stories. He also curates the phenomenal short fiction series Tales from the Canyons of the Damned and Frontiers of Speculative Fiction.
He was raised in Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University where he studied philosophy, with focus on cognitive science, meta-physics, and comparative religion. As a young man Daniel was a bartender, barista, poetry house proprietor, teacher, then became a technologist and futurist for the Fortune 100 across the Americas and Europe.
Daniel has traveled to over 300 cities in 22 countries, residing in Los Angeles, Kalamazoo, Prague, Crete, and now writes between Manhattan and Connecticut where he lives with his wife and sons.
For more information, visit danielarthursmith.com
He was raised in Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University where he studied philosophy, with focus on cognitive science, meta-physics, and comparative religion. As a young man Daniel was a bartender, barista, poetry house proprietor, teacher, then became a technologist and futurist for the Fortune 100 across the Americas and Europe.
Daniel has traveled to over 300 cities in 22 countries, residing in Los Angeles, Kalamazoo, Prague, Crete, and now writes between Manhattan and Connecticut where he lives with his wife and sons.
For more information, visit danielarthursmith.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 15, 2016
Spectacular Story Telling!
This collection of four outstanding short stories is a delicious blend of horror, science fiction, and dystopia. Each story captivated me and swirled in my subconscious for days. This is a volume I’ll revisit.
"Natural Born Alien" by Will Swardstrom is a timely political satire. The candidate running for the presidency is an alien, but not the kind you’re familiar with. His speeches and ideas for the US are very unique.
"Float" by Ernie Howard is a psychological horror story that let’s the reader reflect on themes such as greed, selfishness, and lack of empathy.
"Ledge Town" by Jason Anspach is an artfully written view of a depressing dystopian future where the concept of good and evil are not black and white.
"The Tombs" by Daniel Arthur Smith is a short yet quite powerful story about how human behavior changes according to the circumstances you find yourself in.
If you like interesting plot twists and variety, get this book.
This collection of four outstanding short stories is a delicious blend of horror, science fiction, and dystopia. Each story captivated me and swirled in my subconscious for days. This is a volume I’ll revisit.
"Natural Born Alien" by Will Swardstrom is a timely political satire. The candidate running for the presidency is an alien, but not the kind you’re familiar with. His speeches and ideas for the US are very unique.
"Float" by Ernie Howard is a psychological horror story that let’s the reader reflect on themes such as greed, selfishness, and lack of empathy.
"Ledge Town" by Jason Anspach is an artfully written view of a depressing dystopian future where the concept of good and evil are not black and white.
"The Tombs" by Daniel Arthur Smith is a short yet quite powerful story about how human behavior changes according to the circumstances you find yourself in.
If you like interesting plot twists and variety, get this book.
May 29, 2016
Natural Born Alien by Will Swardstrom was a humorous tale of our political system and voters willingness to overlook the obvious dangers of their candidate.Ledge Town by Jason Anspach was an awesome glimpse into the Apocalypse Wyrd Universe.This short story wet my appetite and I'm hungry for more.The Tombs by Daniel Arthur Smith offers another glimpse into the frightening future that the Blue Prince wreaks on NYC.
June 24, 2018
Back in the old days, before the Internet and even before television, pulp horror magazines like Weird Tales gave many readers their first glimpse at soon-to-become masters of horror, science fiction, and fantasy like H.P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, and Robert Bloch. Today, traditional magazines of that sort are pretty much a dying breed, but a new generation of digital magazines featuring up-and-coming new writers seems well placed to replace the pulps with horror and sci fi fans. Among these digital magazines is Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, a monthly series that's now up to over 20 issues, available separately on Amazon or in various omnibus editions. This is the third monthly issue from the series, and it shows that the editor Daniel Arthur Smith has finally achieved a digital work that’s a true successor to the pulp magazines of yore.
In the first two volumes of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, Smith relied almost exclusively on his own contributions, understandable owing to the difficulty of getting established authors to provide material for a fledgling product. In this third issue, however, the four stories (the first two issues only had three apiece) include three by other authors and only one penned by Smith himself. That story, “The Tombs,” is a continuation of the Lovecraftian saga Smith began in the earlier issues in which New York City finds itself under attack by … something. Exactly what that something might be isn’t clear in “Tombs” but anyone knowing that the Tombs is the slang expression for the New York City municipal prison, where detainees are held pending trial, can pretty much guess what’s going to happen. Smith is a good, descriptive writer and does a good job establishing the mood, but the ending here is very abrupt, and “Tombs” reads more like a part of a story than a complete story.
Fortunately, the other three stories in this issue are complete. “Natural Born Alien,” by Will Swardstrom was written in 2016 and seems to have been very prescient in regard to our current politics. The title alien is Bob Walters (whose first name is short for something unpronounceable), born after his mother’s ship crashed in Area 51 and now eligible for and running for President and doing surprisingly well on a most unusual platform. Tongue is definitely in cheek here as Swardstrom’s tale is far more very effective political satire than science fiction.
Ernie Howard’s “Float” is a more traditional horror tale, something that might easily have been an episode of Tales from the Crypt. It’s the story of an obnoxious Wall Street up-and-comer named Josh who has a low opinion of pretty much everyone around him who isn’t as well off as he is. The one thing he does cherish is his state-of-the-art sensory deprivation tank located in the basement of his apartment building, where he spends his leisure hours in peaceful solitude. As you might guess, Josh’s snarky disdain for his fellow man comes back to haunt him in a most unusual but fitting way. Once things start to go bad for Josh, the story is quite entertaining, but the ending is a bit of a letdown.
Finally, “Ledge Town” by Jason Anspach can best be described as a post-Apocalyptic supernatural Western. The story takes place 500 years after some great cataclysm devastated most of the United States, leaving much of the West a desert inhabited in part by outlaw gangs. The leader of one such gang is a man named Harris, who knows a good bit about what really occurred a few centuries earlier, thanks to some conversations with a stranger who might be the Devil. Anspach attempts to meld three genres into one 20-page story and doesn’t quite succeed. The Western elements work fine and the author’s writing is quite evocative, but the rest of the story never quite comes together, and it reads as if it were condensed from a longer work.
Overall, this issue of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned contains one excellent story (“Alien”), one very good story (“Float”), and two better-than-average but somewhat flawed stories (“Tombs,” “Ledge”). But the overall magazine is better than the sum of its parts, since you’ve got four different writers with different styles and themes, and the variety of the offerings that Daniel Arthur Smith as editor has assembled captures the feel of a true anthology magazine for the first time. Even more that the first two issues, these canyons are worth exploring for fans of horror and science fiction.
In the first two volumes of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, Smith relied almost exclusively on his own contributions, understandable owing to the difficulty of getting established authors to provide material for a fledgling product. In this third issue, however, the four stories (the first two issues only had three apiece) include three by other authors and only one penned by Smith himself. That story, “The Tombs,” is a continuation of the Lovecraftian saga Smith began in the earlier issues in which New York City finds itself under attack by … something. Exactly what that something might be isn’t clear in “Tombs” but anyone knowing that the Tombs is the slang expression for the New York City municipal prison, where detainees are held pending trial, can pretty much guess what’s going to happen. Smith is a good, descriptive writer and does a good job establishing the mood, but the ending here is very abrupt, and “Tombs” reads more like a part of a story than a complete story.
Fortunately, the other three stories in this issue are complete. “Natural Born Alien,” by Will Swardstrom was written in 2016 and seems to have been very prescient in regard to our current politics. The title alien is Bob Walters (whose first name is short for something unpronounceable), born after his mother’s ship crashed in Area 51 and now eligible for and running for President and doing surprisingly well on a most unusual platform. Tongue is definitely in cheek here as Swardstrom’s tale is far more very effective political satire than science fiction.
Ernie Howard’s “Float” is a more traditional horror tale, something that might easily have been an episode of Tales from the Crypt. It’s the story of an obnoxious Wall Street up-and-comer named Josh who has a low opinion of pretty much everyone around him who isn’t as well off as he is. The one thing he does cherish is his state-of-the-art sensory deprivation tank located in the basement of his apartment building, where he spends his leisure hours in peaceful solitude. As you might guess, Josh’s snarky disdain for his fellow man comes back to haunt him in a most unusual but fitting way. Once things start to go bad for Josh, the story is quite entertaining, but the ending is a bit of a letdown.
Finally, “Ledge Town” by Jason Anspach can best be described as a post-Apocalyptic supernatural Western. The story takes place 500 years after some great cataclysm devastated most of the United States, leaving much of the West a desert inhabited in part by outlaw gangs. The leader of one such gang is a man named Harris, who knows a good bit about what really occurred a few centuries earlier, thanks to some conversations with a stranger who might be the Devil. Anspach attempts to meld three genres into one 20-page story and doesn’t quite succeed. The Western elements work fine and the author’s writing is quite evocative, but the rest of the story never quite comes together, and it reads as if it were condensed from a longer work.
Overall, this issue of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned contains one excellent story (“Alien”), one very good story (“Float”), and two better-than-average but somewhat flawed stories (“Tombs,” “Ledge”). But the overall magazine is better than the sum of its parts, since you’ve got four different writers with different styles and themes, and the variety of the offerings that Daniel Arthur Smith as editor has assembled captures the feel of a true anthology magazine for the first time. Even more that the first two issues, these canyons are worth exploring for fans of horror and science fiction.
February 11, 2017
Horror story with morals
I never thought those words would go together. After reading Float, by Ernie Howard, you have yourself a horror story with morals.
Will's story, of course is one that should be read by all, since we did just have an election.
I'm anxiously awaiting the whole story, for Jason's Ledge Town.
And Daniel. Daniel always leaves me wanting more :)
I never thought those words would go together. After reading Float, by Ernie Howard, you have yourself a horror story with morals.
Will's story, of course is one that should be read by all, since we did just have an election.
I'm anxiously awaiting the whole story, for Jason's Ledge Town.
And Daniel. Daniel always leaves me wanting more :)
April 9, 2016
Volume 3 is a mighty book compared to where it all started with the original volume a single story by Daniel Arthur Smith. Since that first book Daniel has invited other author's to join in on the fun...
This book has 4 wonderfully creepy tales to enjoy... It's always a pleasure to find a new story by Will Swardstrom... Ernie Howard is new to me and wow I'll need to keep my eye on that man... Jason Anspach was already on my radar because of his wonderful novel 'Til Death. And then of course Daniel's story puts us, the reader, back in the dark, but we don't have to wait to long before sh*t gets real!
So pick up your copy now...
This book has 4 wonderfully creepy tales to enjoy... It's always a pleasure to find a new story by Will Swardstrom... Ernie Howard is new to me and wow I'll need to keep my eye on that man... Jason Anspach was already on my radar because of his wonderful novel 'Til Death. And then of course Daniel's story puts us, the reader, back in the dark, but we don't have to wait to long before sh*t gets real!
So pick up your copy now...
May 22, 2016
Interesting and entertaining, although not my favorite issue of these collections. I think that's because the four stories bore no relation to each other at all, where as other issues have had a prevailing atmosphere shared by each group of stories. That's my opinion, anyway, for what it's worth. I liked the stories individually, particularly Ledge Town. I love western science fiction stories, and this one is very intriguing.
So, there's variety in the stories, and each is well-done and enjoyable reading. For any fan of short stories, this series is good stuff.
So, there's variety in the stories, and each is well-done and enjoyable reading. For any fan of short stories, this series is good stuff.
April 8, 2016
Tis' a mighty third volume from Daniel Arthur Smith & his growing number of writer friends!
Natural Born Alien: Now that is a wee bit of a wake up call for the USA. Very current indeed & written cleverly to boot.
Float: Another wake up call, but for the ignorant young & rich!
Ledge Town: A dirty 'n' twisted spaghetti-western @ the end of the world. Cool!
The Tombs: I am scared, but also curious about how/where this one will develop!?
Natural Born Alien: Now that is a wee bit of a wake up call for the USA. Very current indeed & written cleverly to boot.
Float: Another wake up call, but for the ignorant young & rich!
Ledge Town: A dirty 'n' twisted spaghetti-western @ the end of the world. Cool!
The Tombs: I am scared, but also curious about how/where this one will develop!?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews