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DARK CITY
Years before she became a New York Times, USA Today and Amazon Top 50 bestselling author of erotica (under the pseudonym Aphrodite Hunt), this Malaysian writer published a dozen scary, macabre and juicy contemporary stories.
Originally titled Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales, this collection has been out of print for almost a decade. It now returns to shock and thrill a new group of readers.
"I have come to realize that nothing I wrote thereafter would ever be as good as those Dark City stories that I painstakingly crafted, wrote, and rewrote. Dark City was a true labor of love. Dark City was not a sellout in any way. Dark City was about an author who loved horror stories, who wrote what she really loved without once ever thinking about the money and what was ‘hot’ on those US bestseller charts." -- Xeus
Originally titled Dark City: Psychotic and Other Twisted Malaysian Tales, this collection has been out of print for almost a decade. It now returns to shock and thrill a new group of readers.
"I have come to realize that nothing I wrote thereafter would ever be as good as those Dark City stories that I painstakingly crafted, wrote, and rewrote. Dark City was a true labor of love. Dark City was not a sellout in any way. Dark City was about an author who loved horror stories, who wrote what she really loved without once ever thinking about the money and what was ‘hot’ on those US bestseller charts." -- Xeus
- GenresFiction
281 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 29, 2017
Disturbingly spooky, mysterious, plot twisting, surprising moment and quite surreal. I love how all stories seem quite alike to each other (the suspense and such) but yet have their own mystery and bizarreness.
A good collection, gonna be one of my favorite short stories book now. Recommended!
A good collection, gonna be one of my favorite short stories book now. Recommended!
July 7, 2021
The book is deliciously disturbing. I cannot believe I didn’t pick up this earlier and left it untouched for months. Shame on me :(
*****
This book is a collection of 12 short stories that tells the darkest, hard-hitting storylines that seem to share the same universe. I love it when an anthology does that—the connection makes it more surreal and gives me the “hey, I know you from the previous story” moment, which kind of alludes the similar theme of dreadfulness enfolding in some of the stories.
I really love all the stories. It’s hard to choose which one I like the least because every story has its grotesque charm but I do have several favourites that, I can assure, are slowly creeping up to this list of “short story I go back to when I feel the world is weighing me down”. Sort of.
The writing is consistently great. I was hooked starting from the first short story until the final leaf of the book, wishing that there were more writings. I can’t seem to get enough!
If you are horror lover, you need to read this. I do recommend One If By Land, Session One, The Scarlet Woman, Trashcan Child, The Maid and Monster because these steal the show for me.
*****
This book is a collection of 12 short stories that tells the darkest, hard-hitting storylines that seem to share the same universe. I love it when an anthology does that—the connection makes it more surreal and gives me the “hey, I know you from the previous story” moment, which kind of alludes the similar theme of dreadfulness enfolding in some of the stories.
I really love all the stories. It’s hard to choose which one I like the least because every story has its grotesque charm but I do have several favourites that, I can assure, are slowly creeping up to this list of “short story I go back to when I feel the world is weighing me down”. Sort of.
The writing is consistently great. I was hooked starting from the first short story until the final leaf of the book, wishing that there were more writings. I can’t seem to get enough!
If you are horror lover, you need to read this. I do recommend One If By Land, Session One, The Scarlet Woman, Trashcan Child, The Maid and Monster because these steal the show for me.
April 18, 2018
My personal favorites are Psychotic and Monster. Both reflect social reality today; the reality of what is and the reality of what can be if we continue to live in denial. Fiction it may be but both stories engage with crime centered in Malaysia. Rape, child trafficking, greed, Asian parenting, money making endeavors that know no bounds. These two stories tell it like it is...the darker side of Malaysia. Still Malaysia nevertheless. True stories that people tell each other about the girl who walks down the dark streets every night by herself; she is watched! Careless parents who lose their children because the were distracted or the child was simply active. These are Malaysians' daily lived-lives!
September 5, 2020
I want to give 3.5 stars for this collection of psychotic tales. I enjoy most of the stories, particularly Session One, The Scarlet Woman, The Maid & Incident at Monkey Gorge. Each story has its own unique & distinct set of characters, themes, conflict, storylines & even perspectives. The language is good too with clear, vivid descriptions. The story "incident at Monkey Gorge" is somewhat interesting, and it would be better if it ends with a sharp twist. Certain erotic scenes are not "erotic" enough but plot-wise it is still suspenseful. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy horror or psychological thriller.
July 25, 2023
Books I've read and provided detailed reviews over the years but all data is lost after accidental deletion and GD refuse to restore it back.
Adding books back to my library for my own reference and tracking purposes
Adding books back to my library for my own reference and tracking purposes
September 22, 2018
Love every story in this book! Well, maybe except for one or two.
April 27, 2020
I received it as a gift and to be honest I was completely hooked to it. I've been a fan of horror and thrillers since childhood and this book hits close to home.
December 27, 2023
too dark, and most definitely too close to home for me
October 30, 2025
TWs: graphic description of rape, incest, sex with minor.
I hate that the book did not bother to write out these TWs, especially knowing that this is not their first publication of this particular book.
Please do not dismiss this book due to my 3-star rating because one, 3-star is a good rating in my book and two, I rate books that are a collection of short stories by averaging the ratings I give for each short story within the book. And like most collection of short stories, this was a mixed bag as well.
Overall, though I thought this book was really well-written. I do not know who Xeus is, because they are anonymous, but I truly hope that they do not stop writing because the quality is top-notch to me. I also love how different each story is. Sometimes when reading a collection of short stories by the same author, we tend to get similar stories, but not this one. I can totally understand how it became a bestseller.
My two other issues (aside from the lack of TWs) with the stories are personal. One being that I do not like stories that do not seem to have any plot/essense and some of these stories did not bring me anywhere. Secondly, the writer seemed to enjoy sexual perversions being part of horror and that is something I really do not enjoy. I'd rather be a prude than crude, so you know, pick your consonant, I guess.
Still, I would recommend this book to readers who want horror short stories. If you love Cursed Bunny, I think you will love this too. It gives a similar feel but with a Malaysian flavour.
I hate that the book did not bother to write out these TWs, especially knowing that this is not their first publication of this particular book.
Please do not dismiss this book due to my 3-star rating because one, 3-star is a good rating in my book and two, I rate books that are a collection of short stories by averaging the ratings I give for each short story within the book. And like most collection of short stories, this was a mixed bag as well.
Overall, though I thought this book was really well-written. I do not know who Xeus is, because they are anonymous, but I truly hope that they do not stop writing because the quality is top-notch to me. I also love how different each story is. Sometimes when reading a collection of short stories by the same author, we tend to get similar stories, but not this one. I can totally understand how it became a bestseller.
My two other issues (aside from the lack of TWs) with the stories are personal. One being that I do not like stories that do not seem to have any plot/essense and some of these stories did not bring me anywhere. Secondly, the writer seemed to enjoy sexual perversions being part of horror and that is something I really do not enjoy. I'd rather be a prude than crude, so you know, pick your consonant, I guess.
Still, I would recommend this book to readers who want horror short stories. If you love Cursed Bunny, I think you will love this too. It gives a similar feel but with a Malaysian flavour.
September 16, 2025
A collection of disturbing short stories, mixing the supernatural, gory, and the best and worst of human nature- all set in the Malaysian context. Could have definitely done without some of the stories but enjoyed it overall.
July 14, 2018
If twisted and horror are the things you look for, then I will recommend that you spend a bit of your time exploring this book.
A great read, not only it was enjoyable, for me in a way some of the stories get me thinking..of how closely the writings to our current situation these days..the fiction does base itself on a speck of truth right?
However, to each their own..one man's treasure might be another man's poison. 🤔 Well, give it a try, who knows this one could be a good read for you too..right? 😉
A great read, not only it was enjoyable, for me in a way some of the stories get me thinking..of how closely the writings to our current situation these days..the fiction does base itself on a speck of truth right?
However, to each their own..one man's treasure might be another man's poison. 🤔 Well, give it a try, who knows this one could be a good read for you too..right? 😉
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews