Resurrect Your Darlings
Cat Voleur
Independently Published, 2024
Ebook, 148 ppg.
When you pick up a collection of short stories to read, you expect it to start off strong. That’s exactly what happened when I read the first story in Resurrect Your Darlings, a collection of horror stories by Cat Voleur. As with most collections of stories, the first story is great, but then the stories start to disappoint with the second, third and maybe fourth stories until the end, when another awesome story is just waiting to be read. In those cases, however, I rarely hold on until the end. If I’m bored or disinterested by Yet Another Lame Story by the time I get to the third one, then forget it. That author has lost this reader.
But that did not happen with this book!
With this book, I read every single story, because every single story is amazing!
The first story, “Revenir,” pulled me in because I was not familiar with the word. Plus, there was an air of mystery about the character’s painting. What a surprise ending this story gave me when it tells all, and what a tell it was!
As to “d3t0x,” I’m not much for epistolary horror, but this is Cat Voleur! I have read many of her stories in other anthologies and never has she disappointed me with a single one. So I read this one, just going along with it, and, of course, it drew me in! This one provided another surprise ending, which I was ecstatic about reading!
“Other Mommy” made me think of the movie Coraline, but a button-eyed mommy this isn’t! No, Voleur’s take on the “other mommy” spiel led me through a dark tale of terror and surprise! I think I like this “Other Mommy” better.
“Twelve Hour Lifespan” was such a bizarre story. I mean, as I read it, I knew what it was about, but a story starting at the end and going to the beginning was a little strange to read. I was able to go along with it, but I had to read the first (last?) part again to get the full scope of it. It was still a good story, though, and I appreciated the effort the author put into telling it from the POV of an insect.
BUT THAT LAST STORY!! OMG! It is too good. It caught me up in its intensity and, at the very end, allowed me to slip away with a smile on my face, completely satisfied with what I had just read.
One common theme I noticed is that of revenge. I do enjoy reading revenge horror, so a story with that theme had me giddy just from the experience of having read it. There are also stories with surprise endings, unexpected twists, and loads of gore.
Now, I normally don't read back matter in books in which the author talks about how they got their ideas for their stories, their own interpretations of it, and their goal with the story. No, let me have my own ideas about what I just read. Let me leave the story as I read it in my memories, so I can dip back into it later should I wish to recall the story as I read it. So I was not sure if I should read the authors notes about all of the stories at the end. I did not want her opinions or interpretations to mingle with my own. But that is not what happens here. She talks about her own experiences with the story, how she tried to get them published, responses from editors, as well as her own opinions about handling all that different feedback from readers. I was surprised some of these stories had been rejected so much, because they are very good. But Cat found something to do with them. As she writes, "We're never going to please everyone with our writing, but it's most important we please ourselves." (Page 141)
Resurrect Your Darlings by Cat Voleur is an enticing, gripping and horrifying collection of dark, twisted tales. The stories in this book kept me turning the pages, hungry for more. These stories are so well-told and the plots are so unique. I loved every surprise ending and every fright from a dark force lurking within the shadows. If you enjoy reading horror stories, pick up this book today. You won’t be disappointed!
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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