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To Drown in Dark Water
The debut short story collection from Steve Toase heralds the arrival of a transcendent visionary of modern horror, a melding of the beauty and terror of Clive Barker and Tanith Lee, with Steve's distinctive visceral and vibrant voice.
Containing six new dark visions and a curated selection of reprints, including three stories from the acclaimed Best Horror of the Year series, To Drown in Dark Water is a veritable feast of gruesome delights.
Containing six new dark visions and a curated selection of reprints, including three stories from the acclaimed Best Horror of the Year series, To Drown in Dark Water is a veritable feast of gruesome delights.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 4, 2021
"After a two day vigil, barely sleeping, Maja saw the fox’s fur flash bright blue for a moment before settling back down to a dirty russet colour. She knelt in the sand, peering into the dead creature’s eyes, an imprint of the whale’s corpse just visible in the milky white pupil. The connections were in place, the network live, the server up and running."
A beautifully written collection of horror stories that tends to stumble in the plotting department.
Mr. Toase certainly has a way with words, and has the knack for creating vivid mental imagery. His concepts are wonderful, but then they tend to steer to predictable, pat endings. We all get it, these are horror stories, happy endings are not to be expected, but could they at least be more thoughtful? Not every story has to have a twist ending, but when you have a large collection of stories like this, writing and plotting patterns surface, and a lot of the stories feel a bit repetitive, with unsatisying endings.
Do not misunderstand me, there certainly are some absolutely wonderful stories here. Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World, for example, where a sick father lets the state 'grow' a rare mineral inside his body, to be harvest weekly by a nurse using lots of medical equipment.
Flow To The Sea, which is almost Cronenbergian, where dead animals are used as computer systems (this and The Jaws Of Ouroboros feel the most like they could be built out into full length novels).
Atelier, where a woman agrees to paint a Lovecraftian horror twice a week.
Dancing Sober In The Dust, where a man studies the grisly choreographies of a German couple in the 1920s, a couple that created their own horrific suits to "dance" in. This might be my favourite story out of the collection.
Mr. Toase returns regularly to Germany (he lives in Berlin, I believe), and who can blame him? Everything is scarier in Germany.
But then there are also stories like Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves, where a father and his son find the skeleton of a hut being built in the forest. Every day more parts are added, and they also add little bits. The ground around the hut gets to be filled with the bones of small forest creatures, and when the child suggests they spend a night in the mysterious hut, the father agrees, and I'm left wondering who the hell would ever actually do that.
This is almost a case of there being too many stories in the collection, maybe a more concise selection would've been better.
All that said, there is enough great writing here for me to be excited where Mr. Toase goes next.
3.5 stars
Call Out - 3 stars
Streuobstwiese - 4 stars
The Kromlau Gambit - 3.5 stars
Dry Land - 3.5 stars
Winter Home - 3 stars
Green Grows The Grief - 3.5 stars
Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World - 4.5 stars
Children Of The Rotting Straw - 3 stars
Ruby Red And Snowflake Cold - 3 stars
The Taste Of Rot - 4 stars
Flow To The Sea - 5 stars
Mask - 3 stars
Split Chain Stitch - 3.5 stars
Skin Like Carapace - 4 stars
Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves - 2 stars
Why The Sea Tastes Of Salt And Why The Moon Always Looks Toward Us - 4 stars
Dirt Upon My Skin - 3 stars
No Sun To Guide The Way - 3 stars
Atelier - 4 stars
Discarded Skins - 3 stars
Verwelktag - 3 stars
Under The Banner Of The Black Stamen - 3 stars
Our Lady Of The Tarpaulin - 2 stars
Dancing Sober In The Dust - 5 stars
Grenzen - 2 stars
The Jaws Of Ouroboros - 4 stars
(Thanks to Undertow Publications for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
A beautifully written collection of horror stories that tends to stumble in the plotting department.
Mr. Toase certainly has a way with words, and has the knack for creating vivid mental imagery. His concepts are wonderful, but then they tend to steer to predictable, pat endings. We all get it, these are horror stories, happy endings are not to be expected, but could they at least be more thoughtful? Not every story has to have a twist ending, but when you have a large collection of stories like this, writing and plotting patterns surface, and a lot of the stories feel a bit repetitive, with unsatisying endings.
Do not misunderstand me, there certainly are some absolutely wonderful stories here. Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World, for example, where a sick father lets the state 'grow' a rare mineral inside his body, to be harvest weekly by a nurse using lots of medical equipment.
Flow To The Sea, which is almost Cronenbergian, where dead animals are used as computer systems (this and The Jaws Of Ouroboros feel the most like they could be built out into full length novels).
Atelier, where a woman agrees to paint a Lovecraftian horror twice a week.
Dancing Sober In The Dust, where a man studies the grisly choreographies of a German couple in the 1920s, a couple that created their own horrific suits to "dance" in. This might be my favourite story out of the collection.
Mr. Toase returns regularly to Germany (he lives in Berlin, I believe), and who can blame him? Everything is scarier in Germany.
But then there are also stories like Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves, where a father and his son find the skeleton of a hut being built in the forest. Every day more parts are added, and they also add little bits. The ground around the hut gets to be filled with the bones of small forest creatures, and when the child suggests they spend a night in the mysterious hut, the father agrees, and I'm left wondering who the hell would ever actually do that.
This is almost a case of there being too many stories in the collection, maybe a more concise selection would've been better.
All that said, there is enough great writing here for me to be excited where Mr. Toase goes next.
3.5 stars
Call Out - 3 stars
Streuobstwiese - 4 stars
The Kromlau Gambit - 3.5 stars
Dry Land - 3.5 stars
Winter Home - 3 stars
Green Grows The Grief - 3.5 stars
Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World - 4.5 stars
Children Of The Rotting Straw - 3 stars
Ruby Red And Snowflake Cold - 3 stars
The Taste Of Rot - 4 stars
Flow To The Sea - 5 stars
Mask - 3 stars
Split Chain Stitch - 3.5 stars
Skin Like Carapace - 4 stars
Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves - 2 stars
Why The Sea Tastes Of Salt And Why The Moon Always Looks Toward Us - 4 stars
Dirt Upon My Skin - 3 stars
No Sun To Guide The Way - 3 stars
Atelier - 4 stars
Discarded Skins - 3 stars
Verwelktag - 3 stars
Under The Banner Of The Black Stamen - 3 stars
Our Lady Of The Tarpaulin - 2 stars
Dancing Sober In The Dust - 5 stars
Grenzen - 2 stars
The Jaws Of Ouroboros - 4 stars
(Thanks to Undertow Publications for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
April 3, 2021
An unsettling strangeness remains after this collections completion with these characters amidst terrors of the straw, land, sea, death, rituals, and within.
The author has carefully crafted disturbing scenes with originality and pitted characters against all kinds of horrors with an extra dose of story imagination.
Call Out
A creature enters the moors and a vet is faced with the terror before him and the land owner by his side all things brought into ones focus and hearts yearn for salvation and safety, a visceral little folk horror.
“Opening the field gate, Malcolm sensed something born wrong sheltered in the old cattle shed. The sickly sweet smell of decay spread across the hillside. Round his feet, half-blind, featherless jackdaws cawed.”
“As a country vet, he was used to rot. Hoof infections, orf, or abscesses, his work year was filled with the scent of decaying flesh. This was something else. Like bathing in abattoir waste.”
“Somewhere deep inside, in the place that cocooned stories, he realized he must turn his back. If he didn’t, and soon, his heart would turn itself inside out of his chest in sympathy.”
The Kromlau Gambit
Talk of ritual, meteors, and space, a cosmic horror short.
“Quite literally a key. Over many centuries man has pigmented the earth with religion and magic and superstition. The taint of ritual has settled against the upper atmosphere, replicating a protective magical circle around the globe.”
“Everything needs a little ritual comrade, everything needs a little ritual.”
“You see gentlemen. If we work together we can achieve great things. A pure soul is a delicate flavour. One to be savoured. Like fine caviar. Something I’m sure you gentlemen, as loyal party members, will be familiar with. A good untainted soul settles on one’s tongue. Nip the edge with an incisor and the flavour slides down one’s throat.”
Winter home
There to be an annual ritual with an animal sacrifice.
Green Grows the Grief
There is grief with Sophie in a state of bereavement but also amidst strange developments as she gets through this time of ghost and growth, with seeds and bones and strange expectations.
Not all the Coal that is Dug Warms the World
A little pain within, deep chronic and life changing, but there is home help and daughter at hand to aid but also there is money to be made, unethically cultured minerals, along with the pain.
This story evoking empathy and unease for suffering poor soul.
“When I turned 44 I knew I would never be well again. A dense erosion in the depths of my bones that I curled up around saw to that.”
Children of the rotting straw
There be will be straw and deadly scarecrows, a harvest is due,and a need for wool, and young girls wearing harvesting suits in the motion, all part of your reading time immersed in strange world crafted with folk horror.
Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves
Father and son walk in woods, son discovers something, eventually after few trips, a collection is made of these small treasures and findings. One day they decide to camp in the woods and fates shift.
Folk horror.
“No-one ever saw them return to the place beyond the sky of sticks, but everyone saw the beds left empty of children.”
“There were no people, no-one taking breath, just the children of the rotting straw.”
No Sun to Guide the Way
New shop owners needing to clean up and repairs due along with a woman in the water and horrors.
Atelier
New painting job for an artist at the The atelier, she is in for a little absurdities, strangeness and troubles with an unknown patron to paint. A disturbingly strange good tale.
“Munich drowned.
Rainwater collected on the gallery floor, each room heavy with the scent of sweat and damp wool. I tried to concentrate on the Franz Marc in front of me but the showers hitting the window glass took my thoughts away.”
“It is not easy to make a living as an artist in this city, and it is not easy to be revolutionary or experimental, especially if you graduated from the Künstlerinnen-Verein with no inheritance behind you. As you may have guessed I do not have rich dead relatives.”
“She would make herself available twice a week for portrait sittings with the unnamed patron.”
Under the Banner of the Black Stamen
A haunting journey across the seas accompanied by Sabine, the dead and Psychopomps.
“Sabine cannot see the archipelago. It is hidden as all islands of the dead should be. A bank of fog runs down the middle of The Channel, the white cliffs beyond hidden for a generation. The stories say it is held in place by the spirits of the dead, their buttoned fingers pinning the strands of fret to the sea floor. She does not know if that is true, but every time the ferry passes through the fog the cold gets into her bones like un-exorcised spirits.”
“At one time, when the ferries brought the living back and forth, the goal was to move as fast as possible. Be the quickest on the water. Now that the only cargo is those that do not breathe, and those that do not have a choice, the ferries go slow and mournful. There is little for Sabine to”
Our Lady of The Tarpaulin
There be a goddess made of wood and a crowd, a congregation celebrating, and transgressions.
Dancing Sober in The Dust
A researcher with interest of a museums costume artefacts.
Horrifying costumes to dance in and perform, with blood and pain.
The Jaws of Ouroboros
There will be calculated precise killings and stone circles.
The ground they stand on is a danger, eating up what it can.
Papa Yaga a shady character who appears also in The Kromlau Gambit story.
Review with short stories reviewed and excerpts at https://www.more2read.com/review/to-drown-in-dark-water-by-steve-toase/
The author has carefully crafted disturbing scenes with originality and pitted characters against all kinds of horrors with an extra dose of story imagination.
Call Out
A creature enters the moors and a vet is faced with the terror before him and the land owner by his side all things brought into ones focus and hearts yearn for salvation and safety, a visceral little folk horror.
“Opening the field gate, Malcolm sensed something born wrong sheltered in the old cattle shed. The sickly sweet smell of decay spread across the hillside. Round his feet, half-blind, featherless jackdaws cawed.”
“As a country vet, he was used to rot. Hoof infections, orf, or abscesses, his work year was filled with the scent of decaying flesh. This was something else. Like bathing in abattoir waste.”
“Somewhere deep inside, in the place that cocooned stories, he realized he must turn his back. If he didn’t, and soon, his heart would turn itself inside out of his chest in sympathy.”
The Kromlau Gambit
Talk of ritual, meteors, and space, a cosmic horror short.
“Quite literally a key. Over many centuries man has pigmented the earth with religion and magic and superstition. The taint of ritual has settled against the upper atmosphere, replicating a protective magical circle around the globe.”
“Everything needs a little ritual comrade, everything needs a little ritual.”
“You see gentlemen. If we work together we can achieve great things. A pure soul is a delicate flavour. One to be savoured. Like fine caviar. Something I’m sure you gentlemen, as loyal party members, will be familiar with. A good untainted soul settles on one’s tongue. Nip the edge with an incisor and the flavour slides down one’s throat.”
Winter home
There to be an annual ritual with an animal sacrifice.
Green Grows the Grief
There is grief with Sophie in a state of bereavement but also amidst strange developments as she gets through this time of ghost and growth, with seeds and bones and strange expectations.
Not all the Coal that is Dug Warms the World
A little pain within, deep chronic and life changing, but there is home help and daughter at hand to aid but also there is money to be made, unethically cultured minerals, along with the pain.
This story evoking empathy and unease for suffering poor soul.
“When I turned 44 I knew I would never be well again. A dense erosion in the depths of my bones that I curled up around saw to that.”
Children of the rotting straw
There be will be straw and deadly scarecrows, a harvest is due,and a need for wool, and young girls wearing harvesting suits in the motion, all part of your reading time immersed in strange world crafted with folk horror.
Beneath The Forest’s Wilting Leaves
Father and son walk in woods, son discovers something, eventually after few trips, a collection is made of these small treasures and findings. One day they decide to camp in the woods and fates shift.
Folk horror.
“No-one ever saw them return to the place beyond the sky of sticks, but everyone saw the beds left empty of children.”
“There were no people, no-one taking breath, just the children of the rotting straw.”
No Sun to Guide the Way
New shop owners needing to clean up and repairs due along with a woman in the water and horrors.
Atelier
New painting job for an artist at the The atelier, she is in for a little absurdities, strangeness and troubles with an unknown patron to paint. A disturbingly strange good tale.
“Munich drowned.
Rainwater collected on the gallery floor, each room heavy with the scent of sweat and damp wool. I tried to concentrate on the Franz Marc in front of me but the showers hitting the window glass took my thoughts away.”
“It is not easy to make a living as an artist in this city, and it is not easy to be revolutionary or experimental, especially if you graduated from the Künstlerinnen-Verein with no inheritance behind you. As you may have guessed I do not have rich dead relatives.”
“She would make herself available twice a week for portrait sittings with the unnamed patron.”
Under the Banner of the Black Stamen
A haunting journey across the seas accompanied by Sabine, the dead and Psychopomps.
“Sabine cannot see the archipelago. It is hidden as all islands of the dead should be. A bank of fog runs down the middle of The Channel, the white cliffs beyond hidden for a generation. The stories say it is held in place by the spirits of the dead, their buttoned fingers pinning the strands of fret to the sea floor. She does not know if that is true, but every time the ferry passes through the fog the cold gets into her bones like un-exorcised spirits.”
“At one time, when the ferries brought the living back and forth, the goal was to move as fast as possible. Be the quickest on the water. Now that the only cargo is those that do not breathe, and those that do not have a choice, the ferries go slow and mournful. There is little for Sabine to”
Our Lady of The Tarpaulin
There be a goddess made of wood and a crowd, a congregation celebrating, and transgressions.
Dancing Sober in The Dust
A researcher with interest of a museums costume artefacts.
Horrifying costumes to dance in and perform, with blood and pain.
The Jaws of Ouroboros
There will be calculated precise killings and stone circles.
The ground they stand on is a danger, eating up what it can.
Papa Yaga a shady character who appears also in The Kromlau Gambit story.
Review with short stories reviewed and excerpts at https://www.more2read.com/review/to-drown-in-dark-water-by-steve-toase/
April 2, 2021
Review appears in the April 1, 2021 issue fo Booklist and on the blog: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/04/...
Three Words That Define This Book: terrifying, remarkably restrained, intense unease
Draft:
Toase’s stories have been selected for The Year’s Best Horror anthology three times, but this, his debut collection, confidently announces his uniquely terrifying voice to the world in 26 stories. Beginning with the folk horror tale, “Call Out,” Toase uses a close narration and a claustrophobic space to give the reader an intense and traumatizing story of a man versus both a monster and his community. The stories that follow showcase Toase’s command of many different horror subgenres, but what unites these stories and successfully shapes this excellent collection is how he induces absolute terror through his patiently restrained descriptions of awful things. This restraint is remarkable because readers know the situation is worsening, the fear is compounding, the unease building to near bursting, and yet Toase somehow coaxes them along, making it all seem utterly normal, until he finally delivers a horrific punch in the gut, like in “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves.” Readers will feel the blow, take a breath, and dive back in and experience it all over again. Hand this volume out with confidence to fans of horror stories that crawl inside the reader and take residence such as those by Stephen Graham Jones, John Langan, and Samanta Schweblin.
Subgenres: folk, psychological, weird, even body horror. There are no zombies, vampires, demons. Just the fear around us. Everyday extraordinary fear. It is as if Toase is showing off, flaunting his utter command of popular horror themes from across the fear spectrum.
Three Words That Define This Book: terrifying, remarkably restrained, intense unease
Draft:
Toase’s stories have been selected for The Year’s Best Horror anthology three times, but this, his debut collection, confidently announces his uniquely terrifying voice to the world in 26 stories. Beginning with the folk horror tale, “Call Out,” Toase uses a close narration and a claustrophobic space to give the reader an intense and traumatizing story of a man versus both a monster and his community. The stories that follow showcase Toase’s command of many different horror subgenres, but what unites these stories and successfully shapes this excellent collection is how he induces absolute terror through his patiently restrained descriptions of awful things. This restraint is remarkable because readers know the situation is worsening, the fear is compounding, the unease building to near bursting, and yet Toase somehow coaxes them along, making it all seem utterly normal, until he finally delivers a horrific punch in the gut, like in “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves.” Readers will feel the blow, take a breath, and dive back in and experience it all over again. Hand this volume out with confidence to fans of horror stories that crawl inside the reader and take residence such as those by Stephen Graham Jones, John Langan, and Samanta Schweblin.
Subgenres: folk, psychological, weird, even body horror. There are no zombies, vampires, demons. Just the fear around us. Everyday extraordinary fear. It is as if Toase is showing off, flaunting his utter command of popular horror themes from across the fear spectrum.
December 28, 2021
In truth, I would rate this 4.5 stars. There were just a few that I didn't quite 'get', but that's my fault.
What did I love about this collection? Fantastic imagery throughout, poetic in places. I loved the folkloric elements, the surrealism, the metaphors for grief, the way the author utilizes 'real' fears rather than monsters or demons.
Favorite stories for me were:
Winter Home
Green Grows the Grief
Children of the Rotting Straw
Skin Like Carapace
Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves
Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the Moon Always Looks Towards Us
Atelier
Verwelktag
However, I must say the absolute banger was the story called Dancing Sober in the Dust. The concept behind the macabre theater costumes was nothing short of brilliant. This one reminded me of Kathe Koja's shorts.
Mr Toase, please turn this one into a novella.
What did I love about this collection? Fantastic imagery throughout, poetic in places. I loved the folkloric elements, the surrealism, the metaphors for grief, the way the author utilizes 'real' fears rather than monsters or demons.
Favorite stories for me were:
Winter Home
Green Grows the Grief
Children of the Rotting Straw
Skin Like Carapace
Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves
Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the Moon Always Looks Towards Us
Atelier
Verwelktag
However, I must say the absolute banger was the story called Dancing Sober in the Dust. The concept behind the macabre theater costumes was nothing short of brilliant. This one reminded me of Kathe Koja's shorts.
Mr Toase, please turn this one into a novella.
January 7, 2024
Standout stories:
- Green grows the Grief
- Dry Land
- Why the Sea tastes of Salt and the Moon Always Looks Towards Us
- Green grows the Grief
- Dry Land
- Why the Sea tastes of Salt and the Moon Always Looks Towards Us
May 17, 2021
Hot on the heels of Seán Padraic Birnie’s I Would Haunt You if I Could, Undertow Publications has another cracking debut short story collection out in April 2021 – To Drown in Dark Water by Steve Toase. Although this is his first book of stories, Toase is no newcomer to the scene, having had several stories published over the past years. Indeed, alongside six new pieces, this volume includes three tales which were previously featured in Ellen Datlow’s acclaimed Best Horror of the Year, series as well as other stories which appeared in other well-received anthologies (including Undertow’s own Shadows and Tall Trees.)
Comparing Toase’s work with that of Birnie is illuminating since it shows that contemporary horror and weird fiction can take on various guises. Reading Birnie’s collection, I was struck by a sense of “normal life” suddenly going off-kilter, of darkness infiltrating close family relationships, of a creeping dread. On the other hand, Toase’s work is closer to what we would expect in traditional horror – no ghosts or vampires perhaps, but certainly visceral fear, violence and, at times, considerable blood and gore.
If pressed to classify the stories under a sub-genre, I would say that they are mostly at the intersection of folk and cosmic horror. There are certainly tropes of classic folk horror: such as arcane rituals (Winter Home; Dirt Upon My Skin) and outsiders stumbling upon local cults and/or celebrations (Verwelktag; Our Lady of the Tarpaulin). More often than not, however, there is a suggestion of ancient evils at play, and it is certainly no coincidence that unknown terrors lurk in or behind timeless natural elements – such as the forest (Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves; Streuobstwiese; Grenzen), soil/earth (Verwelktag; Green Grows the Grief) and the birth of a slightly unusual calf (Call Out). Even water, which we would generally consider life-giving, assumes a corrosive effect (The Taste of Rot; Under the Banner of the Black Stamen).
The folk and cosmic horror labels are useful pointers to help us navigate the dark vision of Steve Toase and recognise some recurring themes and plot details along the way. However, the stories in this collection show a greater variety than these categories might suggest. There are experiments with form, with some stories following a longer, plot-based narrative, and others bordering on flash fiction or adopting a more conceptual approach. There are interesting genre-bending pieces – for instance combining horror with science fiction (Flow to the Sea) or even spy fiction (Grenzen). Intriguingly, some of the stories seem to evoke fairy or folk tales (Ruby Red and Snowflake Cold; Skin like Carapace; Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the moon Always Looks Towards Us). Could it be that Toase, a Yorkshireman living in Germany, sees himself as a latter-day Grimm?
When faced with such a wide-ranging collection, one’s choice of favourites tend to depend on personal taste. Thus, I tended to prefer the longer narrative-based stories to the more metaphorical ones. However, perhaps what are the most memorable moments in the collection are the striking – and sometimes disturbing – images conjured by Toase in some of the pieces here. These are original conceptions which characterise the best of contemporary weird fiction, for instance the idea of animal skeletons acting as hard drives in Flow to the Sea, the sadistic choreographies of Dancing Sober in the Dust, the monstrous scarecrows and ‘sky of sticks’ in Children of the Rotting Straw. This is imaginative and seriously scary stuff.
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
Comparing Toase’s work with that of Birnie is illuminating since it shows that contemporary horror and weird fiction can take on various guises. Reading Birnie’s collection, I was struck by a sense of “normal life” suddenly going off-kilter, of darkness infiltrating close family relationships, of a creeping dread. On the other hand, Toase’s work is closer to what we would expect in traditional horror – no ghosts or vampires perhaps, but certainly visceral fear, violence and, at times, considerable blood and gore.
If pressed to classify the stories under a sub-genre, I would say that they are mostly at the intersection of folk and cosmic horror. There are certainly tropes of classic folk horror: such as arcane rituals (Winter Home; Dirt Upon My Skin) and outsiders stumbling upon local cults and/or celebrations (Verwelktag; Our Lady of the Tarpaulin). More often than not, however, there is a suggestion of ancient evils at play, and it is certainly no coincidence that unknown terrors lurk in or behind timeless natural elements – such as the forest (Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves; Streuobstwiese; Grenzen), soil/earth (Verwelktag; Green Grows the Grief) and the birth of a slightly unusual calf (Call Out). Even water, which we would generally consider life-giving, assumes a corrosive effect (The Taste of Rot; Under the Banner of the Black Stamen).
The folk and cosmic horror labels are useful pointers to help us navigate the dark vision of Steve Toase and recognise some recurring themes and plot details along the way. However, the stories in this collection show a greater variety than these categories might suggest. There are experiments with form, with some stories following a longer, plot-based narrative, and others bordering on flash fiction or adopting a more conceptual approach. There are interesting genre-bending pieces – for instance combining horror with science fiction (Flow to the Sea) or even spy fiction (Grenzen). Intriguingly, some of the stories seem to evoke fairy or folk tales (Ruby Red and Snowflake Cold; Skin like Carapace; Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the moon Always Looks Towards Us). Could it be that Toase, a Yorkshireman living in Germany, sees himself as a latter-day Grimm?
When faced with such a wide-ranging collection, one’s choice of favourites tend to depend on personal taste. Thus, I tended to prefer the longer narrative-based stories to the more metaphorical ones. However, perhaps what are the most memorable moments in the collection are the striking – and sometimes disturbing – images conjured by Toase in some of the pieces here. These are original conceptions which characterise the best of contemporary weird fiction, for instance the idea of animal skeletons acting as hard drives in Flow to the Sea, the sadistic choreographies of Dancing Sober in the Dust, the monstrous scarecrows and ‘sky of sticks’ in Children of the Rotting Straw. This is imaginative and seriously scary stuff.
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
April 20, 2021
Ancient standing stones are actually grinding teeth that chew up everything in their wake. A vet witness the birth of the unspeakable. A grieving daughter reaps a bitter harvest. A blind perfumier makes a bargain in order to answer a riddle on which his life depends. An artist accept a portrait commission with strange caveats. A researcher finds the lost costume from a brutal series of performances.
Steve Toase's debut collection has shades of Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter and William Gibson. Inventive and varied in subject matter and style, the stories range from folk horror to science fiction to fairy tale. Sometimes his writing is delicate, sometimes visceral, but always excellent.
Steve Toase's debut collection has shades of Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter and William Gibson. Inventive and varied in subject matter and style, the stories range from folk horror to science fiction to fairy tale. Sometimes his writing is delicate, sometimes visceral, but always excellent.
The points of roofing nails scratch their way into my palms, and through the discomfort I wonder if they reroute the destiny hidden in the lines there.
-"Dancing Sober in the Dust"
quit-dnf
April 9, 2021DNF at 30%
Steve Toase knows how to deliver great opening lines, but beyond that, for whatever reason, I'm just not connecting with this short story collection. I may try this one again in the future, but for now I'm throwing in the towel. Many thanks to Undertow Publications for the ARC via Edelweiss.
Steve Toase knows how to deliver great opening lines, but beyond that, for whatever reason, I'm just not connecting with this short story collection. I may try this one again in the future, but for now I'm throwing in the towel. Many thanks to Undertow Publications for the ARC via Edelweiss.
September 8, 2021
To Drown in Dark Water carries the reader on strange tides to worlds both weird and familiar; to worship ancient folk-gods and terrifying new deities. The stories contained herein are compassionate, elegant, and sharp as a knife. Steve Toase is an immensely skilled storyteller weaving vital new mythologies for a world on the cusp of great and terrifying change.
July 18, 2024
To Drown In Dark Water by Steve Toase is a phenomenal collection of weird horror short stories. Wow. Every story is excellent, and the writing is exceptional. This is one of the best of its kind that I've read in a long time. There were a number of stories that had me get up and walk around after reading them. For me, that's the highest compliment I can give. I call it, "walking it off". It was extremely difficult narrowing down my favourite pieces so I have 8 stories this time...
~Split Chain Stitch (brilliant concept!)
~Atelier (phenomenal)
~Verwelktag (terrifying, visual, should be a film)
~Dancing Sober In the Dust (mind blown)
~Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves (DAMN)
~Why the Sea Tastes Of Salt and Why the Moon
Always Looks Towards Us (now I know🖤)
~Skin Like Carapace (beautiful)
~Grenzen (Ho. Lee. Sh*t.)
(selected words from my notes)
This collection is very highly recommended by this short fiction afficionado.
This is another beautiful book published by Undertow Publications.
~Split Chain Stitch (brilliant concept!)
~Atelier (phenomenal)
~Verwelktag (terrifying, visual, should be a film)
~Dancing Sober In the Dust (mind blown)
~Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves (DAMN)
~Why the Sea Tastes Of Salt and Why the Moon
Always Looks Towards Us (now I know🖤)
~Skin Like Carapace (beautiful)
~Grenzen (Ho. Lee. Sh*t.)
(selected words from my notes)
This collection is very highly recommended by this short fiction afficionado.
This is another beautiful book published by Undertow Publications.
April 13, 2021
A wonderful reading experience that transcends reading itself and one that will make you inspired as well as sad. Only reading it will justify the experience of so doing.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
September 28, 2024
Loved it! What an imagination.
November 7, 2022
A wildly imaginative and original short story collection to loose yourself in. Toase has a proficiency in a multitude of genres, but really shines in folk horror. It’s also been really interesting to see Germany feat. as almost a character of its own. This is not one to be missed for anyone with an affinity for the weird. Thanks to UP for introducing me to yet another author.
Short overview of the stories below (NB: light spoilers), and as always I’ve marked the ones that stood out to me with an “*”:
-Call Out:*
A vet gets called to the wrong farm where something horrid has just been born. My first time encountering a bargest story and a claustrophobic experience that takes me back to closing my eyes to stay hidden from any monsters hiding in the closet.
-Streuobstwiese:
Something is not quite right with the people working this orchard. Ambiguous, with hints of madness, obsession, unhinged magic and even some apocalyptic tendencies. Dark and sad in equal measures.
-The Kromlau Gambit:
A man proclaiming to be Papa Yaga and in possession of certain abilities is called on to make a Soviet space exploration a successful one. Of course it will entail some sacrifices, the question is to whom.
-Dry Land:
A short and effective piece of flash fiction as quick as a flooding.
-Winter Home:
An attendant to a town winter ceremony involving the carcass of a walrus learns of a deception that runs deep. Reading this I couldn’t help but be reminded of a Norwegian saying along the lines of “Take the life-lie away from the average man and straight away you take away his happiness”. There’s also some definite eco-horror aspects to this one.
-Green Grows the Grief:
A woman scatters her father’s ashes in his green house. A melancholy tale where not only grief grows.
-Not All the Coal That is Dug Warms the World:
Possibly the most dystopian of the stories where people are being mined for minerals. Genuinely disturbing but not too far removed from the general disregard certain governments show their people.
-Children of the Rotting Straw:*
A reread for me; and even better the 2nd time around.
In this world scarecrows walk and the sky is composed of sticks, from which corrosive thread falls. A parent tries to save her daughter from the scarecrow terror from up above. Think nonlinear timelines.
-Ruby Read and Snowflake Cold:
A fairytalesque flash piece about two sisters without a heart and the lengths they’d go to get it.
-The Taste of Rot:*
A town ravaged by a flood, and a sibling there to put their missing (presumed dead) sister’s affairs in order. Things are not quite right in this place; mold is thriving and the traumatized population are becoming ever more unhinged and devoted to a new sort of deity. I’ve read quite a few spore-related tales in recent years, but this one crept under my skin.
-Flow to the Sea:
Quite a different sci-fi tale than I’m used to; in this one, people have moved on to bio-servers for data storage. Maja is forcibly recruited to recover scrambled data by some government goons and learns what happened to her missing mother in the process.
-Mask:*
Flash fiction revolving around a specific type of town justice a man faces after having terrorized his wife and children; the 2nd scarecrow-centered story so far; this time an origin tale of sorts.
-Split Chain Stitch:*
A woman joins a town knitting group to get a handle on the local gossip, or so she says. The little old ladies of the club take knitting to a whole other level.
-Skin Like Carapace:
A master perfumer in a strange land where people wear inscriptions/scars on their skin has an accident that sees him under royal judgement if he cannot answer a riddle. A mysterious woman offers to help if he’ll give her something in return; his hand in marriage. Reminiscent of old fairytales and a strange but well written twist on the prince-turned-toad. Ultimately a deeply sweet story which left me curious to know more about this wold.
-Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves:*
A father and son work together to build on the bare bones of a hut they found in the woods. The next time they return, they see someone else has added to it and this back and forth of adding materials keeps going. The mysterious someone then starts leaving more disturbing things behind and things get really dark on an ill-fated night they camp out in the hut. Tugs hard on parental fears.
-Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the Moon Always Looks Toward Us:*
A witch falls in love with the moon; a stunning flash piece about unrequited love & rejection.
-Dirt Upon My Skin:
Sally and Campbell are surveying an abandoned estate when he goes missing and the doors of the houses mysteriously unbarred. What follows is a disturbing one-woman hunt for the missing partner complete with pits full of dead animals, feathers, strong hints of primal ritualistic killings of the past occupying this liminal space of the estate.
-No Sun to Guide the Way:
Quite an unconventional ghost story. Partners rent a place for their shop but find discolorations that won’t be sanded down, remains in the floor & suffer from harrowing dreams. All of the above forms the base of a good haunted-tale, but I suspect you’ll be surprised to learn about the identity of the ghost(s), I certainly was. As short as it is, it’s an impressively layered tale mixing a classic haunting with animal welfare (or lack thereof).
-Atelier:*
A woman listens to an artist recounts deeply disturbing experiences which make up her last commission; a creepy patron who (initially) insists on near-darkness and being turned away from her, a nightly procession including a squirming bundle carried by a woman without eyes. Almost Lovecraftian-Campbellian (at their best) in nature, eerie and wonderfully devoid of a simple ending.
-Discarded Skins:
A selkie disappears and his land-bound lover uncovers why. An explosive ending and a tale that touches on addition.
-Verwelktag:*
A woman & her husband move to the wrong German town. A genuinely disturbing story feat. flowers and the town nutters who will stop at nothing to ensure next season’s growth. A must-read for anyone who enjoys a bit of folk horror.
-Under the Banner of the Black Stamen:
A ferry and its crew tasked with transporting the dead to an island find themselves overtaken by an infective agent. Two words: sentient metal.
-Our Lady of the Tarpulin:
Worshippers gathering to see the unveiling of a goddess. Deals with greed and the death of faith/magic.
-Dancing Sober in the Dust:*
A researcher looks into some folk dance costumes with a fairly disturbing provenance. Told between descriptions of the items, it makes for a thoroughly disconcerting read. One of the more psychologically angled folk horror tales of the lot, and a great one. I’d looove to see artwork feat the costumes.
-Grenzen:
Set during the Cold War, a man tries to sneak a parcel into Berlin while traveling with his family. An ill-fated bathroom break sees his daughter missing in the woods. I’m reminded of how effective creepy-kid stories can be.
-The Jaws of Ouroboros:
In this world stone circles are grinding teeth and some people risk their lives trying to scrape off the ambergris on them which is then used as a narcotic.
Short overview of the stories below (NB: light spoilers), and as always I’ve marked the ones that stood out to me with an “*”:
-Call Out:*
A vet gets called to the wrong farm where something horrid has just been born. My first time encountering a bargest story and a claustrophobic experience that takes me back to closing my eyes to stay hidden from any monsters hiding in the closet.
-Streuobstwiese:
Something is not quite right with the people working this orchard. Ambiguous, with hints of madness, obsession, unhinged magic and even some apocalyptic tendencies. Dark and sad in equal measures.
-The Kromlau Gambit:
A man proclaiming to be Papa Yaga and in possession of certain abilities is called on to make a Soviet space exploration a successful one. Of course it will entail some sacrifices, the question is to whom.
-Dry Land:
A short and effective piece of flash fiction as quick as a flooding.
-Winter Home:
An attendant to a town winter ceremony involving the carcass of a walrus learns of a deception that runs deep. Reading this I couldn’t help but be reminded of a Norwegian saying along the lines of “Take the life-lie away from the average man and straight away you take away his happiness”. There’s also some definite eco-horror aspects to this one.
-Green Grows the Grief:
A woman scatters her father’s ashes in his green house. A melancholy tale where not only grief grows.
-Not All the Coal That is Dug Warms the World:
Possibly the most dystopian of the stories where people are being mined for minerals. Genuinely disturbing but not too far removed from the general disregard certain governments show their people.
-Children of the Rotting Straw:*
A reread for me; and even better the 2nd time around.
In this world scarecrows walk and the sky is composed of sticks, from which corrosive thread falls. A parent tries to save her daughter from the scarecrow terror from up above. Think nonlinear timelines.
-Ruby Read and Snowflake Cold:
A fairytalesque flash piece about two sisters without a heart and the lengths they’d go to get it.
-The Taste of Rot:*
A town ravaged by a flood, and a sibling there to put their missing (presumed dead) sister’s affairs in order. Things are not quite right in this place; mold is thriving and the traumatized population are becoming ever more unhinged and devoted to a new sort of deity. I’ve read quite a few spore-related tales in recent years, but this one crept under my skin.
-Flow to the Sea:
Quite a different sci-fi tale than I’m used to; in this one, people have moved on to bio-servers for data storage. Maja is forcibly recruited to recover scrambled data by some government goons and learns what happened to her missing mother in the process.
-Mask:*
Flash fiction revolving around a specific type of town justice a man faces after having terrorized his wife and children; the 2nd scarecrow-centered story so far; this time an origin tale of sorts.
-Split Chain Stitch:*
A woman joins a town knitting group to get a handle on the local gossip, or so she says. The little old ladies of the club take knitting to a whole other level.
-Skin Like Carapace:
A master perfumer in a strange land where people wear inscriptions/scars on their skin has an accident that sees him under royal judgement if he cannot answer a riddle. A mysterious woman offers to help if he’ll give her something in return; his hand in marriage. Reminiscent of old fairytales and a strange but well written twist on the prince-turned-toad. Ultimately a deeply sweet story which left me curious to know more about this wold.
-Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves:*
A father and son work together to build on the bare bones of a hut they found in the woods. The next time they return, they see someone else has added to it and this back and forth of adding materials keeps going. The mysterious someone then starts leaving more disturbing things behind and things get really dark on an ill-fated night they camp out in the hut. Tugs hard on parental fears.
-Why the Sea Tastes of Salt and Why the Moon Always Looks Toward Us:*
A witch falls in love with the moon; a stunning flash piece about unrequited love & rejection.
-Dirt Upon My Skin:
Sally and Campbell are surveying an abandoned estate when he goes missing and the doors of the houses mysteriously unbarred. What follows is a disturbing one-woman hunt for the missing partner complete with pits full of dead animals, feathers, strong hints of primal ritualistic killings of the past occupying this liminal space of the estate.
-No Sun to Guide the Way:
Quite an unconventional ghost story. Partners rent a place for their shop but find discolorations that won’t be sanded down, remains in the floor & suffer from harrowing dreams. All of the above forms the base of a good haunted-tale, but I suspect you’ll be surprised to learn about the identity of the ghost(s), I certainly was. As short as it is, it’s an impressively layered tale mixing a classic haunting with animal welfare (or lack thereof).
-Atelier:*
A woman listens to an artist recounts deeply disturbing experiences which make up her last commission; a creepy patron who (initially) insists on near-darkness and being turned away from her, a nightly procession including a squirming bundle carried by a woman without eyes. Almost Lovecraftian-Campbellian (at their best) in nature, eerie and wonderfully devoid of a simple ending.
-Discarded Skins:
A selkie disappears and his land-bound lover uncovers why. An explosive ending and a tale that touches on addition.
-Verwelktag:*
A woman & her husband move to the wrong German town. A genuinely disturbing story feat. flowers and the town nutters who will stop at nothing to ensure next season’s growth. A must-read for anyone who enjoys a bit of folk horror.
-Under the Banner of the Black Stamen:
A ferry and its crew tasked with transporting the dead to an island find themselves overtaken by an infective agent. Two words: sentient metal.
-Our Lady of the Tarpulin:
Worshippers gathering to see the unveiling of a goddess. Deals with greed and the death of faith/magic.
-Dancing Sober in the Dust:*
A researcher looks into some folk dance costumes with a fairly disturbing provenance. Told between descriptions of the items, it makes for a thoroughly disconcerting read. One of the more psychologically angled folk horror tales of the lot, and a great one. I’d looove to see artwork feat the costumes.
-Grenzen:
Set during the Cold War, a man tries to sneak a parcel into Berlin while traveling with his family. An ill-fated bathroom break sees his daughter missing in the woods. I’m reminded of how effective creepy-kid stories can be.
-The Jaws of Ouroboros:
In this world stone circles are grinding teeth and some people risk their lives trying to scrape off the ambergris on them which is then used as a narcotic.
Read
June 16, 2022To Drown In Dark Water is often surreal, with over-arching traces of post-apocalyptic folk horror, and gloriously dark. Steve Toase takes the flora and fauna of the world around us and puts it in direct conflict with the characters who populate his tales, reflecting our concerns over the climate and the Earth's ecosystems. Whilst all stories are excellent, standouts for me are Children of the Rotting Straw and Not all the Coal that is Dug Warms the World.
(Note: I do not give star ratings at the minute on goodreads, this is no reflection on the writer. I just like to leave a comment!)
(Note: I do not give star ratings at the minute on goodreads, this is no reflection on the writer. I just like to leave a comment!)
May 10, 2021
A very full and cohesive collection with several original stories. Many of the stories riffed on folk horror themes in some way. My favorites were "Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves," "Call Out," "Not All the Coal That is Dug Warms the World," "Atelier," and "The Jaws of Ouroboros."
July 25, 2024
Sometimes the horror is that there are monsters; sometimes the horror is that we feed each other to monsters. The pieces in this collection bleed together both sorts of dread in well fashioned prose, making for a caliginous reading experience that is satiatingly literary, with vivid, fresh, careful surprises of just-perfect description or distillation. In these tales, prodigies of nature and unexplained eldritch horrors stand ready to invade and violate the human body, but humanity itself arcs all too readily toward darkness.
Standout pieces: “Flow to the Sea” (a creepy incursion of data onto the flesh), “Call Out” (on monsters human and inhuman; a sort of keynote piece to the collection), “Not All the Coal That Is Dug Warms the World” (on the monstrousness of institutional callousness), “Skin Like Carapace” (out of darkness, a contentment which feels earned), “Winter Home” (grotesquery and resistance), “Green Grows the Grief” (lyrical body horror exploring bottomless grief), “Under the Banner of the Black Stamen” (inventive horror and helplessness), “The Jaws of Ouroboros” (an effective bookend to “Call Out”), and “Streuobstwiese” (the macabre romance of horrible power).
Standout pieces: “Flow to the Sea” (a creepy incursion of data onto the flesh), “Call Out” (on monsters human and inhuman; a sort of keynote piece to the collection), “Not All the Coal That Is Dug Warms the World” (on the monstrousness of institutional callousness), “Skin Like Carapace” (out of darkness, a contentment which feels earned), “Winter Home” (grotesquery and resistance), “Green Grows the Grief” (lyrical body horror exploring bottomless grief), “Under the Banner of the Black Stamen” (inventive horror and helplessness), “The Jaws of Ouroboros” (an effective bookend to “Call Out”), and “Streuobstwiese” (the macabre romance of horrible power).
May 14, 2021
ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌ
To drown in dark water - Steve Toase.
I was so excited to receive a review arc of Steve Toase’s short story collection from Undertow Publications.
When I first saw that cover art, I knew it was a must read.
Unfortunately, for me I struggled with the writing style of Toase, and found it hard to enjoy which I had so hoped would not be the case.
I liked the first story, Call Out and thought I was going to breeze through the collection but if I’m being completely honest the authors prose wore me out.
I can’t deny that Toase has some some original and atmospheric stories, but for whatever reason the collection as a whole didn’t resonate with me.
My favourites were, Call Out, Dancing sober in the dust & Beneath the forest’s wilting leaves.
As always I suggest trying the collection for yourselves, after all everything is not for everyone and this collection has many 4-5 star reads.
I’d like to thank the author, and Undertow publications for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
To drown in dark water - Steve Toase.
I was so excited to receive a review arc of Steve Toase’s short story collection from Undertow Publications.
When I first saw that cover art, I knew it was a must read.
Unfortunately, for me I struggled with the writing style of Toase, and found it hard to enjoy which I had so hoped would not be the case.
I liked the first story, Call Out and thought I was going to breeze through the collection but if I’m being completely honest the authors prose wore me out.
I can’t deny that Toase has some some original and atmospheric stories, but for whatever reason the collection as a whole didn’t resonate with me.
My favourites were, Call Out, Dancing sober in the dust & Beneath the forest’s wilting leaves.
As always I suggest trying the collection for yourselves, after all everything is not for everyone and this collection has many 4-5 star reads.
I’d like to thank the author, and Undertow publications for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 5, 2023
A particularly British-isles brand of folk horror, with cruel backcountry farmers and a scarecrow apocalypse and knitting and carnivorous earth and some old buildings that nourish themselves on blood, among others. There's a consistent sense of a landscape that exceeds its bounds and is, essentially, coming for you. Plus, for variety (though I suppose you could easily argue it's thematically linked) there's some biopunk, I guess you'd say. There's a little bit of sameness in the plotting--one encounters quite a lot of flaying here, some by people and some well, trees and flowers and other things, and it feels like multiple stories could be summarized as "a twist on The Wicker Man"--but the best entries (knitting, carnivorous earth), both of which I'd read in a best-of collection, I remembered immediately. Several of these also work as horror/sf indictments of a British medical system and a society far too willing to lie to itself and take refuge in comfortably mythologies about tradition and heritage.
June 8, 2021
"Call Out" is an appropriate opening story for this collection. It's a tale about a veterinarian coming face to face with something out of folklore. It's a monster he's heard talk of, but to which he never paid much credence. That's life, right? All the terrible, dreadful possibilities we shrug off as supposition or hypothetical. Folklore. Much like the veterinary, sometimes we're only a phone call away from finding ourselves knee-deep in horror. And so the tone and atmosphere is set for the rest of the collection.
To Drown in Dark Water is extraordinary. Some stories mix in sci-fi or creep closer to dark fantasy. Many are pastoral/folk horror. All are beautifully written and strange and worthy of your time.
Personal standouts:
"Call Out"
"Atelier"
"Under the Banner of the Black Stamen"
"Green Grows the Grief"
"Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World"
To Drown in Dark Water is extraordinary. Some stories mix in sci-fi or creep closer to dark fantasy. Many are pastoral/folk horror. All are beautifully written and strange and worthy of your time.
Personal standouts:
"Call Out"
"Atelier"
"Under the Banner of the Black Stamen"
"Green Grows the Grief"
"Not All The Coal That Is Dug Warms The World"
January 9, 2025
This is a fantastic collection of horror and fantasy, filled with strange pastoral rituals and malevolent nature. I felt the same way reading this as I did reading Scott Nicolay’s Ana Kai Tangata (although very different subject matters): why did I not hear about this sooner?! Wool, scarecrows, cutting open sea creatures, paper masks…
Standout stories are almost too many to name, but I did particularly like “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves,” “Dirt Upon My Skin,” and “Dancing Sober in the Dust.” And the next time anyone asks for books like Aster’s Midsommar, the answer will always be “Verwelktag.”
Standout stories are almost too many to name, but I did particularly like “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves,” “Dirt Upon My Skin,” and “Dancing Sober in the Dust.” And the next time anyone asks for books like Aster’s Midsommar, the answer will always be “Verwelktag.”
April 12, 2021
4.5 stars. Toase’s collection from Undertow Publications is a mix of both original and previously published works.
Toase’s English and German background serve as additional voices alongside his subtle approach to dark fiction. There were only about 3 stories that left me cold, the rest are great works of atmospheric horror.
I especially enjoyed the stories that fit into the Folk Horror sub genre. The atmosphere of tension in those stories builds relentlessly as the reader, alongside the protagonists, careens to a certain doom.
Highly recommended if you enjoy dark collections.
Toase’s English and German background serve as additional voices alongside his subtle approach to dark fiction. There were only about 3 stories that left me cold, the rest are great works of atmospheric horror.
I especially enjoyed the stories that fit into the Folk Horror sub genre. The atmosphere of tension in those stories builds relentlessly as the reader, alongside the protagonists, careens to a certain doom.
Highly recommended if you enjoy dark collections.
August 29, 2021
This collection is on that rural route where folk horror meets at the crossroads with the cosmic weird. “Call Out” locks us in with a barghest, something we don’t get to see often enough. “The Kromlau Gambit” - vicious bit of 60’s era Russian black magic and betrayal. “Not All the Coal That Is Dug Warms the World” is an exceptionally bleak view of how we must sacrifice in order to just barely survive our society. “Beneath the Forest's Wilting Leaves” is probably the tensest story where a father and his son take turns building a tree-house in the woods with another unseen presence.
August 13, 2021
An excellent collection, Toase’s prose is lush, dreamlike and yet visceral. There is an obvious passion for folklore and the natural world, and fascination with death and life out of death at play here, and it is when he explores these that Toase’s writing really shines. When he branches out into other topics however is when he starts to lose me, and why this gets 4 rather than 5 stars from me.
Personal highlights were Call Out, Winter Home, Children of the Rotting Straw, and The Taste of Rot.
Personal highlights were Call Out, Winter Home, Children of the Rotting Straw, and The Taste of Rot.
September 9, 2021
Every story in this collection is dark, delicious, and grippingly Weird. From the first story “Call Out” to the last “The Jaws of Ouroboros” (both reprinted in Best of Horror of the Year volumes) I felt like I was on a shrouded train through a grim landscape of beautifully corrupted words and imagery. If you like psychological horror, if you like Weird, if you like stunning prose, if you like stories of the strange woven in a unique, engaging voice, you will love this collection.
November 27, 2023
What a bloody fantastic collection. I was looking for a collection that would give me a creeping sense of dread moving into All's Hallow Eve; and I found it in To Drown in Dark Water. The stories are full of horror and folklore, heavy on the supernatural and suspense. I wanted to goggle it all up, but I made myself read one story a day, and I savored it, as it deserved.
July 13, 2021
Good stuff, a nice combination of weird and rural horror and straight-up mythmaking. I also appreciated the touch of the German language/culture throughout the book and tying in the biological imagery. I look forward to reading more of his stuff.
June 1, 2021
Folk/weird/small horrors - what's not to like?
April 26, 2022
Nice small scenario’s for movies i would certainly watch.
October 30, 2022
A weird and lethal collection of highly original tales.
September 24, 2023
'Call Out' and 'Dancing Sober in the Dust' are total classics.
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