Review: A Dozen Dark Dimensions

A Dozen Dark Dimensions by
TH Davis
Available via free download as a PDF on Lulu.com

In a nutshell: if you like quick, eerie short stories that are rich on atmosphere, this is a book for you.

First of all, I need to go on record here as saying one way literary horror has thrived since the 1980's is via the short story format.
It has been my experience over the years that more interesting horror often found expression that way, as opposed to the novel.
That and publishers decided it was easier to put together anthologies than take chances on brand new horror authors, preferring to stay with the sure things, i.e., Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, and VC Andrews.

TH Davis has chosen the short story format to show off his writing skills and I have to say, he hits the mark most of the time.

Highlights are: It Brings A Nightmare, in which an aspiring guitar player brings home a new guitar which brings with it more than the promise of fame and fortune; Klever, Davis's tip o' the hat to Stephen King's IT - creepy as all get out; The Graves Unmarked, which finds a newly appointed cemetery keeper who becomes "cemetery proud" getting a little more to over see than he bargained for; and Blind Faith, finding an 18h birthday celebrant dealing with what is real and what isn't.

The last 4 stories of the collection are Davis's nod to Lovecraft.
This is dicey territory for writers, to try to come close to mastering Lovecraft's style. I'd have to say Davis uses Lovecraft's language, but doesn't quite capture Lovecraft's voice.
Of those 4 stories, Black House was the one I enjoyed the best - a paranormal investigator inspects a house for signs of activity and gets some all right.

As the title promises, these stories all have a very dark dimension to them - in fact the dark itself is a character in most of them.

TH Davis definitely has talent and I want to see where he goes from here.
Nearly all these short stories could easily find life as full blown novels if he were to flesh them out. He introduces characters to the extent that they are interesting enough to make you want to know a little more than the brief glimpse we are given.
Seeing as this is a free download off Lulu, you need to give it a go and get a taste of this up and coming author.

For more information on TH Davis, please go to his website:
http://www.myspace.com/undercroftstories