REFLECTIONS

by

Paperback, 170 pages

Published by Wild Wood Books.

5 stars (1 review)

Reflections is a collection of unsettling speculative fiction, weird horror, and narrative poetry. Some pieces have been previously published elsewhere; some are brand new and unseen.

These stories and poems are echoes and mirrors. They are dreams of the future and memories of the past. They are waves of movement that ebb and flow, rising and falling in turn. They are proof that beautiful things can come from ugly situations. That sometimes—if I may borrow some words from my past self, first written in one of the included works—“there are times when the world seems so dark you feel smothered, as if buried, thrust deep within the Earth. But like a seed, nurtured by the tender hands of sun and rain, you’ll grow again. You will rise.”

~ from Introduction by Tabatha Wood

1 edition

reviewed REFLECTIONS by Tabatha Wood

An entertaining mix of unsettling horror and thoughtful optimism

5 stars

I really enjoyed this surprising and varied collection of horror tales and thoughtful, thought-provoking poetry. The stories kept up a creeping tension that really gripped me, and I appreciated the moments of calm and optimism interspersed throughout that just about eased this reader's nerves after the preceding nerve-jangling tales. The weather and the ocean are often key components of the stories, and I loved how they added to the tension and the sense of scale of these tales. For me, many of the stories had a horror in common: that private inner voice which really can be just such a hindrance and an enemy. I loved each character grappling with theirs as they dealt with the past and their choices. The overall themes that clicked with me were of recognising yourself and holding true in hard times, and these are always important things to keep in mind.