Wrathbone and Other Stories by Jason Parent
Comet Press (October 2016)
160 pages; $12.95 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Jason Parent’s new collection, Wrathbone and Other Stories, includes some wonderfully original tales of horror. There may be only 5 stories in this collection, totaling 160 pages, but each tale is deserving of your attention. If you have yet to discover Jason’s work, this book will serve as a worthy introduction.
“Wrathbone”—The collection begins with the novella-length story of Lincoln’s assassination, told as never before, in the voice of Poe or perhaps Lovecraft. The author truly captures the writing style of the old masters. “Terror ate at my sanity like mealworms through bread.” A great way to start this compilation of tales.
“The Only Good Lawyer”—Here the author breaths new life into the voodoo doll story with a narrative of a lawyer having a very bad day.
“Dorian’s Mirror”—Dorian Clarke is a good looking guy, a model, and a part-time bartender. The reader will quickly discover the author chose this character’s name for a reason. “He owed his sub-par appearance to hallucinations spawned by a long night of drinking, drugging, and sex with a girl whose name he’d never forget.”
“For The Birds”—Nev loved his parrot, Joli, a bird which has developed some unusual eating habits over the years—habits Nev was all too happy to indulge. This particular tale didn’t quite go the way I expected and was all the better for it.
“Revenge Is a Dish”—Maurice is a top-notch chef who takes a job aboard a rich Doctor’s yacht on a trip around the world, ostensibly to cook, but also sleep with the Doc’s much younger wife every chance he gets. Things don’t exactly go as planned in this cold-hearted conclusion to a superb collection.
Wrathbone and Other Stories gets my highest recommendation.
