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An Endless Darkness: The Novellas
From Splatterpunk-Nominated author, Steve Stred comes a collection of his darkest novellas. Re-edited and released to achieve maximum despair, Stred gathers some of his earliest nightmares for your reading pleasure!
YURI – a twisted haunted house story, Yuri follows a young man, forced to flee his home and find work at the mine, owned by the town’s richest man. The only problem – things are not what they seem. ‘Don’t Eat the Stew.’
The One That Knows No Fear – they say don’t meet your idols, and this holds true in this high-octane novella. Set in the late 1970’s, young Timmy wants to find out how his favorite daredevil appears to be invincible. He’ll wish he never found out the truth.
Wound Upon Wound – for the first time in print, the sci-fi prequel to Stred’s Empyrean Saga is filled with a growing dread. ‘What would you do if you knew today was the last day of your life?’
Jane: the 816 Chronicles – telling the story of specimen 816, aka Jane, this prequel story tied into Stred’s smash-hit ‘Mastodon’ will grab you by your throat and not let go.
Seth – for the first time in print, ‘Seth’ tells the story of a young boy faced with an impossible task – either kill his own brother or let the monster kill him.
Daisy’s House – for the first time in print, Daisy’s House is the house at the end of the street that everyone avoids. That is, everyone but the local high school kids who want to prove they’re not scared.
Black Void Publishing is proud to release this collection – featuring three stories never before in print, from one of the most intriguing writers in all of dark fiction!
YURI – a twisted haunted house story, Yuri follows a young man, forced to flee his home and find work at the mine, owned by the town’s richest man. The only problem – things are not what they seem. ‘Don’t Eat the Stew.’
The One That Knows No Fear – they say don’t meet your idols, and this holds true in this high-octane novella. Set in the late 1970’s, young Timmy wants to find out how his favorite daredevil appears to be invincible. He’ll wish he never found out the truth.
Wound Upon Wound – for the first time in print, the sci-fi prequel to Stred’s Empyrean Saga is filled with a growing dread. ‘What would you do if you knew today was the last day of your life?’
Jane: the 816 Chronicles – telling the story of specimen 816, aka Jane, this prequel story tied into Stred’s smash-hit ‘Mastodon’ will grab you by your throat and not let go.
Seth – for the first time in print, ‘Seth’ tells the story of a young boy faced with an impossible task – either kill his own brother or let the monster kill him.
Daisy’s House – for the first time in print, Daisy’s House is the house at the end of the street that everyone avoids. That is, everyone but the local high school kids who want to prove they’re not scared.
Black Void Publishing is proud to release this collection – featuring three stories never before in print, from one of the most intriguing writers in all of dark fiction!
- GenresHorror
393 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 9, 2022
14 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Steve Stred
88 books673 followersAn award-winning author, Steve Stred lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with his wife and son.
Known for his novels, ‘Mastodon,’ ‘Churn the Soil,’ and his series ‘Father of Lies’ where he joined a cult on the dark web for four years, his work has been described as haunting, bleak and is frequently set in the woods near where he grew up. He’s been fortunate to appear in numerous anthologies with some truly amazing authors.
His novel ‘Mastodon’ will be translated into Czech and Italian over the next few years.
His novel 'Churn the Soil' won the Best Horror Novel award in the 2024 Indieverse Awards.
His novel 'Mastodon' and his novella' Sacrament' were both nominated for Splatterpunk Awards.
He is represented by Kodie Van Dusen at The Rights Factory and Alec Frankel at Independent Artist Group.
Outside of writing, Steve received his Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2008, and became a Certified Canadian Pedorthist in 2013.
Known for his novels, ‘Mastodon,’ ‘Churn the Soil,’ and his series ‘Father of Lies’ where he joined a cult on the dark web for four years, his work has been described as haunting, bleak and is frequently set in the woods near where he grew up. He’s been fortunate to appear in numerous anthologies with some truly amazing authors.
His novel ‘Mastodon’ will be translated into Czech and Italian over the next few years.
His novel 'Churn the Soil' won the Best Horror Novel award in the 2024 Indieverse Awards.
His novel 'Mastodon' and his novella' Sacrament' were both nominated for Splatterpunk Awards.
He is represented by Kodie Van Dusen at The Rights Factory and Alec Frankel at Independent Artist Group.
Outside of writing, Steve received his Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2008, and became a Certified Canadian Pedorthist in 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 21, 2022
WOW.
This is my second read by Stred and I was absolutely floored by this collection. Every short story or novella gripped me completely. Stred’s range is incredibly impressive.
‘YURI’ - the atmosphere from front to end was perfect. Eerie & gothic, the sense of unease was palpable. The entire time you know something is VERY wrong yet you find yourself happy that Yuri has found himself in such a favourable position in life. The juxtaposition of both feelings keeps the pages turning to find out what exactly is going on. I don’t know if I’ll ever look at stew the same.
‘The One That Knows No Fear’ - immediately transported into the 70s, this novella has a completely different vibe from the last & takes a turn you would absolutely never expect. This is gory, gross and emotional.
‘Wound Upon Wound’ - this read is melancholy & nostalgic. Following a brother and sister out for the day but something isn’t right. Something bad is coming but you can’t imagine what it is. Wrapped in the feeling that they didn’t want this day to end, to hold onto the moment forever left me hoping for the best knowing that wouldn’t be the case. I love the sci-fi twist to this which was a perfect Segway into the next novella.
‘Jane: the 816 Chronicles’ - this was the piece de resistance, the chefs kiss for me. This reminded me of ‘Intercepts’ which I read earlier this year and LOVED. The complexity of the characters and intricacies of this story were impressive to say the least. I felt transported into this government/science experiment top-secret world. The rollercoaster of emotions as I read this… wow. I don’t want to give anything away but you have to read this novella.
‘Seth’ - the creature in this short story is beyond spooky. Gave me the chills. There is nothing scarier than something crawling up from underneath your bed. A great, creepy fast paced read.
‘Daisy’s House’ - keeping with the spooky vibes, Stred finished off this collection with a ‘haunted house’ short story that takes turns you never see coming. A real house of horrors.
This is my second read by Stred and I was absolutely floored by this collection. Every short story or novella gripped me completely. Stred’s range is incredibly impressive.
‘YURI’ - the atmosphere from front to end was perfect. Eerie & gothic, the sense of unease was palpable. The entire time you know something is VERY wrong yet you find yourself happy that Yuri has found himself in such a favourable position in life. The juxtaposition of both feelings keeps the pages turning to find out what exactly is going on. I don’t know if I’ll ever look at stew the same.
‘The One That Knows No Fear’ - immediately transported into the 70s, this novella has a completely different vibe from the last & takes a turn you would absolutely never expect. This is gory, gross and emotional.
‘Wound Upon Wound’ - this read is melancholy & nostalgic. Following a brother and sister out for the day but something isn’t right. Something bad is coming but you can’t imagine what it is. Wrapped in the feeling that they didn’t want this day to end, to hold onto the moment forever left me hoping for the best knowing that wouldn’t be the case. I love the sci-fi twist to this which was a perfect Segway into the next novella.
‘Jane: the 816 Chronicles’ - this was the piece de resistance, the chefs kiss for me. This reminded me of ‘Intercepts’ which I read earlier this year and LOVED. The complexity of the characters and intricacies of this story were impressive to say the least. I felt transported into this government/science experiment top-secret world. The rollercoaster of emotions as I read this… wow. I don’t want to give anything away but you have to read this novella.
‘Seth’ - the creature in this short story is beyond spooky. Gave me the chills. There is nothing scarier than something crawling up from underneath your bed. A great, creepy fast paced read.
‘Daisy’s House’ - keeping with the spooky vibes, Stred finished off this collection with a ‘haunted house’ short story that takes turns you never see coming. A real house of horrors.
September 15, 2022
I feel queazy. I'm gonna need to hug a kitten now.
I felt like I was in horror quicksand. Each story drew me deeper and deeper into darkness. I think my favourites were Yuri, poor sweet Yuri, deserved much better than he got, and Daisy was the creepy house that some of us had in our neighbourhood (in my case it was an old abandoned druggie house, lucky me), that everyone tried to avoid. Daisy's house was brutal and gory and all those creepy things and I loved the ending. Steve writes a good short story.
I felt like I was in horror quicksand. Each story drew me deeper and deeper into darkness. I think my favourites were Yuri, poor sweet Yuri, deserved much better than he got, and Daisy was the creepy house that some of us had in our neighbourhood (in my case it was an old abandoned druggie house, lucky me), that everyone tried to avoid. Daisy's house was brutal and gory and all those creepy things and I loved the ending. Steve writes a good short story.
September 14, 2022
Great collection
A collection of Steve Streds work in novella or short story form. If you are not a fan already, read this and you will be.
A collection of Steve Streds work in novella or short story form. If you are not a fan already, read this and you will be.
November 26, 2022
He's done it again, Steve Stred has written another amazing book. I adore his writing and to be honest will preorder anything he writes as I'm that excited to read it.
I love his longer books but there's something about his short stories that are absolutely perfect.
Don't eat the stew.
Don't talk to the children.
Don't meet your heroes
Kill your brother or be killed.
Don't go into Daisy's house
And Jane, holy crap...
A solid dark horror collection that has pride of place in my top 50 books of all time shelf.
I love his longer books but there's something about his short stories that are absolutely perfect.
Don't eat the stew.
Don't talk to the children.
Don't meet your heroes
Kill your brother or be killed.
Don't go into Daisy's house
And Jane, holy crap...
A solid dark horror collection that has pride of place in my top 50 books of all time shelf.
September 23, 2023
Steve Stred is starting to become a favourite of mine and I love this collection of novellas.
YURI - Guy goes to work at a “too good to be true” job, is told not to eat the stew, eats the stew, a dark secret is revealed. (Not gonna lie, I’d probably eat the stew too🤣)
The One That Knows No Fear - A little boy meets his idol and instantly regrets it then gains two new protectors.
Wound Upon Wound - I haven’t read Stred’s Empyrean Saga but after this short prequel it’s now on the list.
Jane: the 816 Chronicles - I absolutely love Mastodon, so to find out this is a prequel story to it got me excited. I want more stories set around this facility out in the woods and what goes on there. I love monster stories that show them not as the monstrosity that they are.
Seth - Boy listens to creature, creature still gets its due in the end
Daisy’s House - Spooky house on your street? Owned by a lady no one’s seen leaving it? Then DON’T GO INSIDE IT!
YURI - Guy goes to work at a “too good to be true” job, is told not to eat the stew, eats the stew, a dark secret is revealed. (Not gonna lie, I’d probably eat the stew too🤣)
The One That Knows No Fear - A little boy meets his idol and instantly regrets it then gains two new protectors.
Wound Upon Wound - I haven’t read Stred’s Empyrean Saga but after this short prequel it’s now on the list.
Jane: the 816 Chronicles - I absolutely love Mastodon, so to find out this is a prequel story to it got me excited. I want more stories set around this facility out in the woods and what goes on there. I love monster stories that show them not as the monstrosity that they are.
Seth - Boy listens to creature, creature still gets its due in the end
Daisy’s House - Spooky house on your street? Owned by a lady no one’s seen leaving it? Then DON’T GO INSIDE IT!
August 22, 2023
This book was not edited. It was written and published, and the author forgot about it and obviously doesn't care about his readers since it was riddled with mistakes. (To0, instead of to? That's so basic, even my four year old knows the difference.) Horrible. As far as the stories themselves, they could have been great, but I was too distracted by the (lack of) editing. Authors, do better. Respect your readers.
November 9, 2022
This was a great read. I read the majority on night shifts, alone, in the dark...Not my brightest idea. The tales are extremely creepy and get right under your skin. A fantastic horror and horror science fiction mix. The author has become one of those whose books I will pre order and look forward to.
March 11, 2023
Good stories
Like usual, Steve Stred writes some great stories. There are a good bit of typos throughout the book, but don't let that discourage you. His other books aren't like that at all. Definitely recommend!!
Like usual, Steve Stred writes some great stories. There are a good bit of typos throughout the book, but don't let that discourage you. His other books aren't like that at all. Definitely recommend!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews