Shaky Pictures of Vanished Faces
D. Matthew Urban
Cursed Morsels Press, 2025
Ebook, 166 ppg.
ISBN: 9798988413899
NOTE: This review is based on an ARC I received from the publisher. The book will release April 15.
“That was a good story!”
Once I noticed that I was saying this after I finished reading almost every single story in this book, I knew I had a good collection of short stories on my hands. Well, short stories and a flash story.
D. Matthew Urban really delivers in his collection of speculative fiction, Shaky Pictures of Vanished Faces. From the bizarre to the unreal, these stories sent me into worlds of the unknown. So many stories in this book held my interest and kept me reading until the end!
The one story I didn’t really care for, though, was “Osculum,” which seemed to be something like the author challenging himself to write a story in one extremely long sentence. It just wasn’t my bag.
I also must confess that I did not read the first story, “The Consultant’s Hand,” because I don’t like reading stories written in second person point-of-view. And even though there’s another story written in second person in this book, I did read it, only because it was really short.
Yes, there is a mix of long and short stories in this book. Along with really short stories. The shorter tales offered a nice break in between the longer ones, but I felt the longer stories were the best ones.
There are a lot of stories in this book which I felt were really good. They were thought-provoking, surreal, surprising, and creative.
“Estrangements” was a chilling tale, just as “Bite-Apple” was.
“Exuviae” was surreal but captivating, pulling me in from the very beginning with the mystery of the sisterhood and what kind of species they were.
“A Goodnight Kiss from Aunt Spider” was both sad and spooky, with its dark undertone at the end. Another story that delivers a horrifying punch at the end is “The World of Iniquity Among Our Members Is the Tongue.” The character, Amelia, really stuck with me, and I could only imagine the trauma she was struggling with all on her own even without her father’s sympathy or compassion.
“Winter Savory” was another one of my favorite stories in this book. At first, I couldn’t understand why the grandfather so silently accepted all of the abuse inflicted on him, and at the end, I was like, “Oh! THAT’S why!” Yes, read this story until the end. Please. Then everything that happened up until then will make complete sense. (I love when stories do this for readers.)
“Duet for Breath and Flame” was both haunting and mournful, “Smoochfest” was so bizarre, and “Dreamland Coffee” was the kind of story that took me along for one wild, otherworldly ride. And made me want coffee.
I really enjoyed reading this book of stories. They were unlike any other stories I have read. They are stories told on a surreal landscape of fascination and surprise. They are the kind of stories that linger in the mind of the reader long after finishing the very last tale.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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