AiIP Microreview: Sing Me Your Scars, Damien Angelica Walters

Super quick personal note: I will be at Emerald City ComiCon next weekend. I am not at a table, though I will be hanging out with Adam P Knave & DJ Kirkbride, who make the Amelia Cole comics (which you should be checking out anyway) at A-17/18. I will have 3024AD goodies and maybe even a copy or two to give away if you ask nicely. Poke my on the twitter dot com if you'll be there!

Sing Me Your Scars, Damien Angelica Walters

I struggled for a while to find the write words to summarize this book. It is a collection of short stories, some of which were published previously, others are new to this collection. I have read several of them before, and maybe that's why it's hard to put it in a box or describe a collection such as this succinctly.

But, simply put, Damien writes horror. Now, not every story in here is strictly horror. Perhaps, by standard definition none of them are. The goriest story, Girl, With Coin is the least revolting- and the most touching.

And that is why I say she writes the most perfect horror you will ever read. Not because it is shocking (though saying it's not would also be untrue), but reading it feels like being the victim in a horror movie- you can't bring yourself to look away, even as a scene is painted in front of you of physical gore and emotional carnage, painted with a brush of beautiful prose that contrasts the sadness of the stories.

The Math

9/10 - very high quality/standout in its category (rating system HERE)

 I have nothing to give in the way of bonuses or penalties, even though that is generally the funnest part of reviewing stuff here. On the whole, it is an amazing collection of amazing short stories. They are gripping and vivid from start to finish.

In fact, the only reason this collection doesn't receive a 10 is that nothing does. This is a collection everyone should read, and is definitive of everything short fiction can and should be.

-DESR

Dean is the author of 3024AD and the ongoing SciFi Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, The Venturess. He is an engineer, and geek about many things. He lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. You can listen to him ramble on Twitter and muse on his blog.