“Her Heart Beats for Ancient Beasts” is a collection of stories that each drew me in right away. It takes talent to make a short story both grip you from the start and also leave you hooked at the end, wondering about the story long after you’ve moved to the next. I’ve always loved this author’s work, but this collection felt like he’s grown and expanded even more as a writer. Each story is unique in setting, tone, voice, and subject.
My favorite? It’s hard to pick. I’m a sucker for good sci-fi, and “Shapes in the Water” was a great blend of horror and sci-fi. I also enjoyed the imagery and ancient mythical feel of “Forbidden Fruit,” and I’m always happy to root for the bad guy getting what he deserves. I was really impressed with the skill shown in “The Throne of Space and Time” – and that one definitely left me with chills.
Really, there’s at least one thing I absolutely loved about each of these ten stories. I highly recommend picking up this collection if you like quick, unique reads that you’ll be thinking about for a while.
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“Through the Ravenous Night We Ride” was not a disappointment, even though I’ve come to expect a lot from this fantastic writer – it had a high bar to clear! I’ve come to expect great twists in Demmer’s stories, and I found myself reading with that expectation in mind, trying to guess where things would go, and yet I still didn’t see some of the endings coming.
What really stood out to me about this collection was that the “monsters” were mostly just people. Yes, there was some supernatural or horrific element involved, but the “bad guys” that caused all the trouble were usually human characters. Many of the stories were set in modern times, in ordinary settings, but then there’d be some horrible twist that showed everything was wrong.
A few of these stories I’ve read before – like “Motel Madness” and “Faster” – but they fit well in this collection, and I happily read them again. One of my favorites was “Blackheart’s Traveling Carnival” simply because I kind of cheered for her in the end. “Scarecrow” was creepy in a “I really hope that wouldn’t happen,” believable kind of way, same as “The Lioness Must Hunt.”
Highly recommend!