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Murder and Machinery
Lock the doors and switch the power off at the mains!
Tales of deadly machinery have long fascinated us, from Edgar Allan Poe’s classic pendulum to the Terminator films.
Murder and Machinery pays homage to this tradition, offering you gripping tales following this theme but set in different times and places, from colonial America and London during the First World War to dystopian futures on this planet and beyond. Never before has an anthology brought tales of science fiction and suspense together in such a terrifying way, showcasing the nightmarish imagination of authors who know how to play on the reader’s fears and who share those fears of uncontrollable machines, or perhaps even more frightening, of fellow humans mastering technology for their own evil purposes. A word of advice before you start. By all means, settle down in your living room and let this anthology of technological terror and mechanical madness enthral you, but first, you might want to lock your doors and switch the power off at the mains. Best keep it low-tech tonight. Trust me. I hope you have candles?
★ Crime ★ Sci-fi / Steampunk ★ Horror ★ Suspense ★ Historical
The Secret Zeppelin - Duncan Richardson
#Selfie - Linda Brucesmith
Fargan’s Termination - Paul Williams
A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way - Chisto Healy
The Box - Sarah Jane Justice
The Wheel - Michael Picco
The Wedge - Kurt Newton
Tenterhooks - Cameron Trost
Leonora - Danielle Birch
Vanitas - James Dorr
Don - Steve DuBois
Foul Beasts - Karen Bayly
A Whole New World - KG McAbee
Suicide Blonde - Paulene Turner
Driverless - Robert Bagnall
The Screen in the Sky - Kerilee S. Nickles
Tales of deadly machinery have long fascinated us, from Edgar Allan Poe’s classic pendulum to the Terminator films.
Murder and Machinery pays homage to this tradition, offering you gripping tales following this theme but set in different times and places, from colonial America and London during the First World War to dystopian futures on this planet and beyond. Never before has an anthology brought tales of science fiction and suspense together in such a terrifying way, showcasing the nightmarish imagination of authors who know how to play on the reader’s fears and who share those fears of uncontrollable machines, or perhaps even more frightening, of fellow humans mastering technology for their own evil purposes. A word of advice before you start. By all means, settle down in your living room and let this anthology of technological terror and mechanical madness enthral you, but first, you might want to lock your doors and switch the power off at the mains. Best keep it low-tech tonight. Trust me. I hope you have candles?
★ Crime ★ Sci-fi / Steampunk ★ Horror ★ Suspense ★ Historical
The Secret Zeppelin - Duncan Richardson
#Selfie - Linda Brucesmith
Fargan’s Termination - Paul Williams
A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way - Chisto Healy
The Box - Sarah Jane Justice
The Wheel - Michael Picco
The Wedge - Kurt Newton
Tenterhooks - Cameron Trost
Leonora - Danielle Birch
Vanitas - James Dorr
Don - Steve DuBois
Foul Beasts - Karen Bayly
A Whole New World - KG McAbee
Suicide Blonde - Paulene Turner
Driverless - Robert Bagnall
The Screen in the Sky - Kerilee S. Nickles
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
220 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2021
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Trost
54 books677 followersCameron Trost is an author of mystery, suspense, post-apocalyptic, and horror fiction best known for his puzzles featuring Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable. He has written four novels, Dead on the Dolmen, Flicker, The Tunnel Runner, and Letterbox, and three collections, Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable, Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales, and The Animal Inside. He runs the independent press, Black Beacon Books, and is a member of the Australian Crime Writers Association and The Short Mystery Fiction Society. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, his home is now in southern Brittany, between the rugged coast and treacherous marshland.
I aim to rate every book I finish and I usually leave a short review. I rarely leave one-star or two-star ratings. If I don't like a book, I won't finish or rate it. I'm here to share good reads.
Reviewers: Send me a message if you'd like to receive ebook copies for review.
Authors: If you'd like to suggest I review your book, get in touch via my blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com/p/b...
You can find me on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, TikTok, and other platforms. Complete links here: https://linktr.ee/camerontrost
I aim to rate every book I finish and I usually leave a short review. I rarely leave one-star or two-star ratings. If I don't like a book, I won't finish or rate it. I'm here to share good reads.
Reviewers: Send me a message if you'd like to receive ebook copies for review.
Authors: If you'd like to suggest I review your book, get in touch via my blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com/p/b...
You can find me on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, TikTok, and other platforms. Complete links here: https://linktr.ee/camerontrost
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 5, 2022
16 thrilling tales of terror and technology that feel like Black Mirror episodes in print form.
If there’s one thing that most people can agree on, it’s that technology is cool. From our smartphones and self-driving cars to our microwaves and MacBooks, nearly every aspect of our lives is either governed by or enriched through the use of fantastic inventions.
But, as amazing as technology can be, there is also an inherent danger to becoming overly dependent.
And it’s that premise of risk that sixteen authors explore in Murder + Machinery. Though I have several other offerings by Black Beacon Books in my library, I felt compelled to start out with this compilation since I’m a sucker for themed collections.
Released in April of 2021 in both digital and print form, Murder + Machinery clocks in around 200 pages. I opted for the e-book option for my readthrough, as I do much of my reading in low-light areas. Having a backlit screen is a must.
As with all of my reviews, I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum. The vast majority of these stories have revelatory moments that are best experienced unspoiled. As a fellow author, I can respect the sheer amount of time & energy that goes into crafting a tale, and I would hate to undermine said hard work by sharing a detail best experienced unfiltered.
If you’re a fan of the anthology series Black Mirror on Netflix, then you’ll feel right at home with Murder + Machinery. It is a horror collection, after all, which means that the tales contained therein aren’t of the fluffy & happy-go-lucky variety. Because, let’s face it, one of the best ways to make a tale about technology better is to make said technology dangerous, deceitful, or potentially murderous. Possibly even all three at once!
One of the great strengths of this collection is the sheer diversity of tales on offer. Some are set in the past, some in the future, and quite a few of them take place in alternate versions of our own reality.
And, like any collection, the quality varies from tale to tale. Murder + Machinery doesn’t quite roar like a rocket right out of the gate, but it certainly picks up steam after the first few tales. But, that said, there’s no “filler” material here. While certain stories have more impact than others, or maybe come across as a bit more polished, none of the sixteen shorts are rubbish. Every story brings something to the table.
While I won’t go into any great detail, a few standouts need to be mentioned:
The Box (Sarah Jane Justice) – Not only does she have a killer name, but she writes one lean & mean tale involving children and punishment in a school setting. It brought to mind Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall songs. “We don’t need no education” indeed.
The Wheel (Michael Picco) – There was a strong Stephen King’s The Dark Tower vibe with this one, albeit a bit more…gristly. Great post-apocalyptic stuff, and I wanted to know more about the world in which it’s set.
Tenterhooks (Cameron Trost) – A rather unique and unexpected take on the “humans being hunted” conceit, and appropriately dark & foreboding. I loved that it was a tale within a tale for most of the narrative. Cameron is also the founder of Black Beacon, as well as the editor of this collection, and my hat is off to him for pulling double duty!
Vanitas (James Dorr) – A thoroughly unique take on existing steam technology, I absolutely loved the concept here. Mr. Dorr has a firm grasp of zealotry and fervor, and I wasn’t quite ready for this one to end.
Don (Steve DuBois) – My second favorite story, a heady mix of fantastical and feasible, topped off with excellent writing. One of the more cautionary tales in the collection, Mr. DuBois reminded me quite a bit of Paolo Bacigalupi (a huge compliment, IMHO).
Suicide Blonde (Paulene Turner) – Maybe it’s because this one reminded me slightly of The Matrix, but I was all in on this futuristic detective-cum-hacker tale. I loved the way it integrated concepts from our own world, while warping them to fit the theme. Solid stuff here. I could actually see this tale being expanded upon and lengthened. It would make a hell of a novel.
Driverless (Robert Bagnall) – Arguably the coolest concept in the collection, Mr. Bagnall takes a tried-n-true conceit from a show like Fatal Attraction and completely reskins it. The result is equal parts naughty and thought-provoking (the best kind of thriller).
There are a few places where Murder + Machinery stumbles, and that’s mostly in word repetition and a few grammatical errors. Things I only notice because my editor calls me out on them as well. None of them were egregious, by any means, and certainly not common enough to ruin the reading experience. But, from a technical perspective, some stories certainly had less infractions than others.
That nitpick aside, Murder + Machinery is a wonderful collection, filled to the brim with solid storytelling. Some ideas play out better than others, and couple of them skirt the “machinery” concept, but I cannot say I wasn’t entertained from start to finish. Personally, I would have started out the collection with one of the later stories, in order to give the book more oomph right off the bat. But that’s just my opinion.
If you’re looking to get a bit paranoid about the cool machinery and gadgets you are surrounded by, give this awesome collection by Black Beacon Books a shot! Giving it five stars was a no-brainer!
If there’s one thing that most people can agree on, it’s that technology is cool. From our smartphones and self-driving cars to our microwaves and MacBooks, nearly every aspect of our lives is either governed by or enriched through the use of fantastic inventions.
But, as amazing as technology can be, there is also an inherent danger to becoming overly dependent.
And it’s that premise of risk that sixteen authors explore in Murder + Machinery. Though I have several other offerings by Black Beacon Books in my library, I felt compelled to start out with this compilation since I’m a sucker for themed collections.
Released in April of 2021 in both digital and print form, Murder + Machinery clocks in around 200 pages. I opted for the e-book option for my readthrough, as I do much of my reading in low-light areas. Having a backlit screen is a must.
As with all of my reviews, I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum. The vast majority of these stories have revelatory moments that are best experienced unspoiled. As a fellow author, I can respect the sheer amount of time & energy that goes into crafting a tale, and I would hate to undermine said hard work by sharing a detail best experienced unfiltered.
If you’re a fan of the anthology series Black Mirror on Netflix, then you’ll feel right at home with Murder + Machinery. It is a horror collection, after all, which means that the tales contained therein aren’t of the fluffy & happy-go-lucky variety. Because, let’s face it, one of the best ways to make a tale about technology better is to make said technology dangerous, deceitful, or potentially murderous. Possibly even all three at once!
One of the great strengths of this collection is the sheer diversity of tales on offer. Some are set in the past, some in the future, and quite a few of them take place in alternate versions of our own reality.
And, like any collection, the quality varies from tale to tale. Murder + Machinery doesn’t quite roar like a rocket right out of the gate, but it certainly picks up steam after the first few tales. But, that said, there’s no “filler” material here. While certain stories have more impact than others, or maybe come across as a bit more polished, none of the sixteen shorts are rubbish. Every story brings something to the table.
While I won’t go into any great detail, a few standouts need to be mentioned:
The Box (Sarah Jane Justice) – Not only does she have a killer name, but she writes one lean & mean tale involving children and punishment in a school setting. It brought to mind Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall songs. “We don’t need no education” indeed.
The Wheel (Michael Picco) – There was a strong Stephen King’s The Dark Tower vibe with this one, albeit a bit more…gristly. Great post-apocalyptic stuff, and I wanted to know more about the world in which it’s set.
Tenterhooks (Cameron Trost) – A rather unique and unexpected take on the “humans being hunted” conceit, and appropriately dark & foreboding. I loved that it was a tale within a tale for most of the narrative. Cameron is also the founder of Black Beacon, as well as the editor of this collection, and my hat is off to him for pulling double duty!
Vanitas (James Dorr) – A thoroughly unique take on existing steam technology, I absolutely loved the concept here. Mr. Dorr has a firm grasp of zealotry and fervor, and I wasn’t quite ready for this one to end.
Don (Steve DuBois) – My second favorite story, a heady mix of fantastical and feasible, topped off with excellent writing. One of the more cautionary tales in the collection, Mr. DuBois reminded me quite a bit of Paolo Bacigalupi (a huge compliment, IMHO).
Suicide Blonde (Paulene Turner) – Maybe it’s because this one reminded me slightly of The Matrix, but I was all in on this futuristic detective-cum-hacker tale. I loved the way it integrated concepts from our own world, while warping them to fit the theme. Solid stuff here. I could actually see this tale being expanded upon and lengthened. It would make a hell of a novel.
Driverless (Robert Bagnall) – Arguably the coolest concept in the collection, Mr. Bagnall takes a tried-n-true conceit from a show like Fatal Attraction and completely reskins it. The result is equal parts naughty and thought-provoking (the best kind of thriller).
There are a few places where Murder + Machinery stumbles, and that’s mostly in word repetition and a few grammatical errors. Things I only notice because my editor calls me out on them as well. None of them were egregious, by any means, and certainly not common enough to ruin the reading experience. But, from a technical perspective, some stories certainly had less infractions than others.
That nitpick aside, Murder + Machinery is a wonderful collection, filled to the brim with solid storytelling. Some ideas play out better than others, and couple of them skirt the “machinery” concept, but I cannot say I wasn’t entertained from start to finish. Personally, I would have started out the collection with one of the later stories, in order to give the book more oomph right off the bat. But that’s just my opinion.
If you’re looking to get a bit paranoid about the cool machinery and gadgets you are surrounded by, give this awesome collection by Black Beacon Books a shot! Giving it five stars was a no-brainer!
April 2, 2021
A fantastic ride through genre diverse but thematically connected short tales. One of the great strengths is that you get everything from subtle weavings to horrifying shocks without ever feeling that any piece is taking you outside of the overall binding experience. There is just so much atmosphere wrapped up in these pages.
November 2, 2021
Superb writing
A collection of morbid tales sure to make one think. From.a love gone wrong, a take on Don Quixote to the insanity of Artificial intelligence gone terribly off. Masterful writing to read again and again.
A collection of morbid tales sure to make one think. From.a love gone wrong, a take on Don Quixote to the insanity of Artificial intelligence gone terribly off. Masterful writing to read again and again.
April 2, 2021
Anxiety about machines taking over our existence and eventually becoming the catalyst for our destruction as a species is not a new concept. However, it is one that seems to have been shoved to the back of the fear line in the last decade, the dark fiction genres instead overrun with zombies, serial killers, and spirit possessions. We’ve forgotten, it seems, that the scariest creatures are the ones we usher willingly into our own homes. Luckily, the authors of Murder and Machinery: Tales of Technological Terror and Mechanical Madness are here to remind us. In a potluck of dystopian, steampunk, and sci-fi-inspired horror, Murder and Machinery has something for every speculative fiction fan, especially those for whom creepiness is best served on cold metal, but six of the stories are particularly strong in both writing style and originality.
“#Selfie” is a haunting portrayal of a desperate woman whose cries for help go unnoticed in a social media-obsessed world. Linda Brucesmith’s story gradually builds in tension as the smallest details (a carefully chosen boning knife, a deliberate number of painkillers, a painstaking preparation of the protagonist’s appearance) methodically paint an ominosity that is soon pricked by the biting satire of her online followers’ reaction to a dreadful deed. In his “Fargan’s Termination,” author Paul Williams notes, “At least humans sometimes accepted the possibility of mistakes.” Here, a death row inmate in a futuristic prison ponders the drawbacks of living (and dying) in a world where machines, touted as being infallible and efficient, maintain every aspect of his existence and there is no room for error…or irony.
“Foul Beasts” by Karen Bayly follows Gabriel Tambo, a man who came from humble beginnings but whose extraordinary talent for technology seems destined to balance the scales. When a wealthy benefactor commissions him to produce a blood filtering machine, he is successful, but when he is selected to be the device’s first user, he learns the true, nefarious intention for its creation. Kerilee S. Nickles’ closing tale, “The Screen in the Sky,” professes, “Modern technology really is a marvel…now, after years spent underneath its harsh gaze, no one mentioned it anymore.” Nickles’ tale of a pandemic-sickened world (one a bit too similar to that of 2021) centers on Claire, a former science teacher, and a massive birth-death statistical surveillance screen. In this new society, as interactions with other people continue to dwindle, Claire nearly forgets what it means to be human until a reminder is given and then heartlessly taken away.
The always engaging Chisto Healy’s entry in the line-up is a must read for anyone with an Alexa. In “A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way,” the appliances in Roger’s home appear to be conspiring to ruin his day, from a toaster on the fritz to the unpredictable shower sprays. Even his holographic home assistant Clarise seems on the brink of malfunctioning…or is it that this artificial intelligence is becoming more human? Humans can feel willful and underappreciated, but more importantly, they can learn to make choices in their own self-interest, and therein lies the terror. In collection editor Cameron Trost’s own entry, “Tenterhooks,” the narrator lives a quiet, solitary life in rural isolation until his friend from town appears spontaneously at his door. “They’ve found a use for us, you see. That’s why everyone’s vanishing one after the other. We’re not so worthless after all.” His mate’s report of what’s happening in town seems too horrific to be true, but as the story climaxes, the narrator comes to terms with a terrifying fate. Bonus points to Trost for composing the most delightfully satisfying ending I’ve read this season.
The machines the authors of Murder and Machinery feature are not those of faraway societies: they are the smart phones, surveillance systems, and home monitors on which we’ve become reliant. If it’s true that tech addiction has run amuck, then these writers deliver an intervention that might just scare a reader straight.
*My sincere apologies to Karen Bayly, whose story I misspelled in the review as it appears on
Ginger Nuts of Horror. I have corrected it above!*
https://gingernutsofhorror.com/fictio...
“#Selfie” is a haunting portrayal of a desperate woman whose cries for help go unnoticed in a social media-obsessed world. Linda Brucesmith’s story gradually builds in tension as the smallest details (a carefully chosen boning knife, a deliberate number of painkillers, a painstaking preparation of the protagonist’s appearance) methodically paint an ominosity that is soon pricked by the biting satire of her online followers’ reaction to a dreadful deed. In his “Fargan’s Termination,” author Paul Williams notes, “At least humans sometimes accepted the possibility of mistakes.” Here, a death row inmate in a futuristic prison ponders the drawbacks of living (and dying) in a world where machines, touted as being infallible and efficient, maintain every aspect of his existence and there is no room for error…or irony.
“Foul Beasts” by Karen Bayly follows Gabriel Tambo, a man who came from humble beginnings but whose extraordinary talent for technology seems destined to balance the scales. When a wealthy benefactor commissions him to produce a blood filtering machine, he is successful, but when he is selected to be the device’s first user, he learns the true, nefarious intention for its creation. Kerilee S. Nickles’ closing tale, “The Screen in the Sky,” professes, “Modern technology really is a marvel…now, after years spent underneath its harsh gaze, no one mentioned it anymore.” Nickles’ tale of a pandemic-sickened world (one a bit too similar to that of 2021) centers on Claire, a former science teacher, and a massive birth-death statistical surveillance screen. In this new society, as interactions with other people continue to dwindle, Claire nearly forgets what it means to be human until a reminder is given and then heartlessly taken away.
The always engaging Chisto Healy’s entry in the line-up is a must read for anyone with an Alexa. In “A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way,” the appliances in Roger’s home appear to be conspiring to ruin his day, from a toaster on the fritz to the unpredictable shower sprays. Even his holographic home assistant Clarise seems on the brink of malfunctioning…or is it that this artificial intelligence is becoming more human? Humans can feel willful and underappreciated, but more importantly, they can learn to make choices in their own self-interest, and therein lies the terror. In collection editor Cameron Trost’s own entry, “Tenterhooks,” the narrator lives a quiet, solitary life in rural isolation until his friend from town appears spontaneously at his door. “They’ve found a use for us, you see. That’s why everyone’s vanishing one after the other. We’re not so worthless after all.” His mate’s report of what’s happening in town seems too horrific to be true, but as the story climaxes, the narrator comes to terms with a terrifying fate. Bonus points to Trost for composing the most delightfully satisfying ending I’ve read this season.
The machines the authors of Murder and Machinery feature are not those of faraway societies: they are the smart phones, surveillance systems, and home monitors on which we’ve become reliant. If it’s true that tech addiction has run amuck, then these writers deliver an intervention that might just scare a reader straight.
*My sincere apologies to Karen Bayly, whose story I misspelled in the review as it appears on
Ginger Nuts of Horror. I have corrected it above!*
https://gingernutsofhorror.com/fictio...
October 14, 2023
An interesting themed collection here from Black Beacon Books. I was wary after reading one tale and thinking this might not be the type of book for me... but boy was I wrong. This is an awesome and eclectic collection of tales by authors drawn from all over the globe.
I was blown away by the quality of the writing and how well every story utilized the theme. Some standout stories for me were Linda Brucesmith's 'Selfie', Gut-wrenching and bleak, in a good way. Christo Healy's 'A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way', which warns of the dangers of sentient AI in a darkly amusing way. Michael Picco's 'The Wheel' for its unending grinding bleakness. Paulene Turner's 'Suicide Blonde' implies what can happen when technology gets too closely intertwined with good old fallible human emotion.
Way too many excellent stories to mention them all, but I'm thinking, is there a Ferg style story in here? One that's hard hitting and nasty, with a hint of sexual deviance and piss taking thrown in for good measure... and then I read Robert Bagnall's 'Driverless'. I doffs me cap, sir, lol. When your bloody AI inspired car decides to go dogging, you know you're (metaphorically) screwed. Hints of 'Crash' and a call out to '2001...' here, but great stuff.
I was blown away by the quality of the writing and how well every story utilized the theme. Some standout stories for me were Linda Brucesmith's 'Selfie', Gut-wrenching and bleak, in a good way. Christo Healy's 'A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way', which warns of the dangers of sentient AI in a darkly amusing way. Michael Picco's 'The Wheel' for its unending grinding bleakness. Paulene Turner's 'Suicide Blonde' implies what can happen when technology gets too closely intertwined with good old fallible human emotion.
Way too many excellent stories to mention them all, but I'm thinking, is there a Ferg style story in here? One that's hard hitting and nasty, with a hint of sexual deviance and piss taking thrown in for good measure... and then I read Robert Bagnall's 'Driverless'. I doffs me cap, sir, lol. When your bloody AI inspired car decides to go dogging, you know you're (metaphorically) screwed. Hints of 'Crash' and a call out to '2001...' here, but great stuff.
January 10, 2022
A mix of short stories focusing on murder and machinery which I enjoyed over a year at hair appointments. I really liked the stories where it was clearly the machinery orchestrating/facilitating the murders. Favourites for me: Leonora from Danielle Birch (felt a little bit steampunk) and Suicide Blond from Pauline Turner. There’s a mix of eras, styles and characters - something for everyone. I could see most of these stories being taken to script development for movies. How awesome would that be?
May 29, 2023
Technological innovations and experimentation lend themselves to horror themes; as a species we seem to have a natural aversion to something beyond the scope of what we're used to - just look at mRNA vaccines for one example. This anthology mostly plays successfully into our deepest fears of technology both futuristic and brutish. I particularly enjoyed The Wheel by Michael Picco, Leonora by Danielle Birch, and Vanitas by James Dorr, but there is much else to enjoy in the other tales.
May 22, 2021
What a wonderful selection of tales! Each a unique take on how machines could murder humans. Each chilling and atmospheric. Some of them still haunt me.
Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology. However, that's not why I'm giving it 5 stars. My fellow authors have provided incredible stories which I urge you all to read.
Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology. However, that's not why I'm giving it 5 stars. My fellow authors have provided incredible stories which I urge you all to read.
September 18, 2021
This collection of short stories were so individual, you'd have to find something you like! There were some moments that really stayed with me, like the man inviting his friend in for a cup of tea while their whole world was at war and the character who cherished the plants, regardless of what they could cost her. Very much an eye-opener, would read anything from this group again.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews