BOOK REVIEW | FAKE SOMEBODIES, REAL NOBODIES | E. C. HANSON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hanson’s debut collection and first novella received praise from Scream Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, and Phantasmagoria Magazine.

 This collection of previously published stories highlights how public facades mask internal despair. Two brothers invite the wrath of seagulls. A young girl befriends a monster during a snowstorm. A liquid entity invades a school and takes no prisoners. A teenager uses witch hysteria against her parents. Tales like these make up the contents of FAKE SOMEBODIES, REAL NOBODIES.

 “Hanson has written a collection of stories that uninhibitedly go for the throat with just enough Twilight Zone to keep you guessing. Beware of paper cuts as you rip through this one.”

 -Caleb Ryan Jones (@the_bookeyman)

REVIEW

Got say, I really enjoyed this creepy little collection of stories that are reminiscent of Robert Aickman.

The stories themselves vary in length from a paragraph or two to a number of pages. However, this means that they succinctly distil their little nuggets of macabre creeping horror.

Many of the stories themselves are not particularly gory, but they quietly worm their way under the skin as they move towards their conclusion.

The stories themselves are varied in their content and move from childish visions of monsters to the very real horror of school shootings.

Some of them are bizarre and some are firmly rooted in a very real world.

Whilst there are some stories that don’t particularly work, I found this to be an enjoyable short read that showed the writers versatility.