Seven Deadly Pleasures

by Michael Aronovitz

Each of the seven tales that Michael Aronovitz brings together in his first collection of stories is a powerful, hard-hitting specimen of contemporary weird fiction. From "How Bria Died," which tells of a baleful entity lurking in the bowels of a placid-seeming high school, to "Quest for Sadness," with its searing analysis of an aberrant mind, to "The Legend of the Slither-Shifter," in which a babysitter discovers far more than she expected in an urban household, Aronovitz displays an enviable skill in the handling of supernatural conceptions. The capstone of the collection is a long novella, "Toll Booth," a richly complex tale of death and betrayal among teenagers. Michael Aronovitz is a new voice in horror fiction, but it is one that will be heard far and wide. "Seven Deadly Pleasures is a startlingly good collection. With the assuredness of a born storyteller, Aronovitz rips the bland surface off the everyday to reveal the rolling horrors that lie beneath. These stories are raw with emotion, and the true terror of life, but be careful as they drag you down into the darkness, because you won't return the same."-William Lashner, author of Blood and Bone "Seven Deadly Pleasures is scary smart-more than just monsters and ghosts, these stories are beautifully crafted pieces of writing that tap into the darkest places of the human psyche. Lovers of both beautiful writing and spine-tingling terror will fall in love with this collection."-Dr. Annalisa Castaldo, Widener University "What is impressive about Aronovitz's tales is their range of tone, mood, and substance. . . . His surehandedness in prose, in character portrayal, and in the pacing and development of the short story mark him as a veteran."-From S. T. Joshi's Foreword

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Novels:
Alice Walks
The Witch of the Wood

Collections:
Seven Deadly Pleasures
The Voices in Our Heads

Writer of Reviews and Criticism on / in:
Hellnotes
The Weird Fiction Review
Chiaroscuro
The Australian Metro

Anthologies:
Searchers After Horror
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror

Upcoming:
Novel- "Phantom Effect" Night Shade Books / February 2016
Novel- "Becky's Kiss" Vinspire Press / November 2015 under the pseudonym Nicholas Fisher

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say enough about the quality of Michael Aronovitz's writing--his is a style that is truly a pleasure to immerse myself in! In this collection of seven tales (one of which is a novella), there were those that I enjoyed to a greater extent than some others, naturally. The novella-length story, "Toll Booth" was alone worth the price of this book. This was a story that tells the tale of one fateful day in a young boy's life that changed his world forever. Sounds simple enough when I put it like that, but there was so much MORE in between the lines written. The atmosphere and sense of isolation, penance, and self-directed duty were so well done that I felt almost a silent witness to this boy's life. By far, my favorite in the collection--one that begged to be read in a single sitting. Solid 5 stars.

Two other favorites of mine were "The Legend of the Slither-Shifter", and "How Bria Died". In the first tale, the following quote (taken in the context of the text) really got me: "But magic was for nerds and wishes for babies. Weren't they?" The story of neglect, "magic", and finding a friendship where least expected was a real gem. The story "How Bria Died", tells of a legend used by a teacher to capture his students' attention, which turns around to teach HIM the lesson... "Turn a promise to a lie, and you will be the next to die." A beautifully written piece that shows horror in a place you'd least expect.

"The Clever Mask" takes a stark look at society and the "masks" we wear in order to keep our egos/real desires in check. 4 stars.

"Quest For Sadness' tells the story of a man attempting to feel sorrow for.....anything. Instead, he finds more joy in the act of destruction.... 4 stars.

"The Exterminator" takes an interesting, introspective look at sanity. 3 stars. "Passive Passenger" was perhaps my least favorite in the collection. Not a bad story by any means, it just didn't capture me the way some of the others did. 2.5 stars.

Overall, a great collection from Michael Aronovitz! I've already ordered another collection from this author.

Highly recommended!

[Robert Mingee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I debated between 4 and 5 stars, and ultimately decide to round up. The last novella, "The Tollbooth", is outstanding. All were enjoyable, and the writing is top notch and very polished. Some were more lighthearted than others, but all had an aspect of darkness. Definitely recommended for fans of short stories. The closing novella alone is worth the price!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit let down by this collection. Published by Hippocampus Press? An intro by S. T. Joshi?! Let me just push my expectations up to Level 10!

Unfortunately compared with most weird fiction I've read lately this didn't impress me too much.

Let me be clear: Aronovitz can certainly write, that's not at issue in the least. These stories have great set-ups, the characters feel very real and fleshed out, but when the horror started I often felt let down by the ultimate result.

These stories just weren't to my personal taste. I prefer quiet horror, atmosphere, ambiguity. I didn't find a lot of that here. Contrast this with the emotionally wrenching weird stories of Nathan Ballingrud, Simon Strantzas or Clint Smith, which are horrific, but strike a good balance and can leave things unresolved and haunt the psyche long after they're read.

There are exceptions, in particular the novella "Toll Booth" impressed me so much I decided to stay up late and finish it in one sitting. Comparatively speaking this work is a stark exception to the others and is very haunting. "Passive Passenger" has a very novel concept, which is utilized well. Some of the others had "moments" but I just didn't get much out of them.

*****
As a side note, this is a good example of why rating a book on a scale of 1-5 is frustrating, arbitrary and sometimes meaningless. I recently gave Orrin Grey's "Painted Monsters" collection three stars, I give this one three as well. Grey's book disappointed me at times too, yet I liked it far more, and personal taste aside, in literary terms that one is superior to this. So what is one to do? I could give this collection two stars, but I don't think it deserves that either...
*****

How Bria Died - This story really held me in suspense, has a super-scary moment and is quite emotional too. A teacher subbing for a class of unfamiliar students tells them a ghost story to keep them quiet.

The Clever Mask - This was a "fun read," humorous, fast-paced, but not my type of thing at all. A man's life is thrown into chaos after his ability to lie is stripped away for two hours by the grim reaper.

Quest for Sadness - Interesting story, interesting premise, a shame it's so brief. A wealthy man realizes he's never felt real pity, shame or guilt in his life, so he sets out to try and make himself feel it.

The Legend of the Slither-Shifter - This story was a little better than the average here, but again it's not my kind of horror. It starts wonderfully, but once the real horror begins it's far too over-the-top. In fact it was creepier in the first half when it wasn't trying so hard. The description of the messy house made me think of the house of a friend I made when my family first moved to the country, and how miserable a place it was. I'll never forget it. A boy neglected by his widowed father finds a new babysitter who knows a really creepy, and dangerous game.

The Exterminator - This is an improvement, it definitely has some creepy moments. It turns increasingly weird throughout and ends with some level of ambiguity. A man driving home starts seeing increasingly horrific hallucinations of clowns.

Passive Passenger - Yes, I've been a bit disappointed in this collection, but this story is brilliant. It has a great weird/sci-fi premise, with a delightful conte cruel ending. A henpecked husband accidentally stumbles upon a program that lets him see the world through another person's eyes.

Toll Booth - This is a powerful, emotional novella that comes in at around 38,000 words. As innovative as the previous story is, this one is by far THE best in the collection. The moments of utter horror mostly take a backseat to a genuinely-felt sense of dread, paranoia and an oppressive melancholy. It has a nice nostalgic bent as well to someone who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Back when, ya know...parents let their children leave the house? A man recalls a tragedy that happened to him and a friend one summer day which has haunted him his whole life.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into “Seven Deadly Pleasures” I had high hopes, having just read “Alice Walks” and hearing nothing but praise for Michael Aronovitz’s short story “How Bria Died”. And so, it is with some sad news I must say that this collection of short stories proved to be a tad disappointing. The much-lauded “How Bria Died” neither spooked nor enlightened or offered anything new and the remaining stories don’t fare much better. Naturally, Aronovitz is gifted with a talent to create realistic and memorable characters but his scope is too narrow – teenagers, largely, and the adults that do make an appearance aren’t much more than grown children and this is especially true of the nagging, older women characters. Still, there’s some fun to be had with stories like “The Legend of the Slither-Shifter”, “Clever Mask”, and the final coming-of-age novella-length “Toll Booth”. Michael Aronovitz’ best work may be on the way, but until then, “Alice Walks” is a slow burning beauty of a book.

[Kory Callaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the author wrote really well most of the stories were pretty mediocre. The last story 'Toll Booth' however was amazing. Probably the only story I've ever read that almost made me vomit from it's gruesome descriptions. It was far more than a story filled with gore though. If the book had been only that story I would've given it a higher rating and if the book had been without it a lower one.

[Roger Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of short horror stories. The last one, 'Toll Booth', was particularly powerful (and was also the longest). I feel that they got better from start to finish.