The Kingdom of Hell in Our Minds: The Kingdom of Hell is Inside You is a collection of bizarre and chaotic poetry

 

The Kingdom of Hell is Inside You

James Machell

Space Cowboy Publications, 2026

ISBN: 978-1-968958-08-4

Ebook, 21 ppg.

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They say that we often create our own hell within our minds. But what happens if Hell is already within us without having to create it ourselves?

 

That’s the message I got from the micro-chapbook of poetry The Kingdom of Hell is Inside You by James Machell. This bizarre collection of hellish poetry, where there are only 10 poems to read, was a wild ride.

 

But you won’t start reading these poems as the same person. Machell sets it all up at the very beginning, on page 1:

 

“Landlord put strangers in the shower,

shoes on the stairs, knives in the sink –

need privacy? Just dilute code with neurons

and expand within a vacuum. It’s cheaper

renting headspace. The cerebral cortex

is your living room and the service provider

installs windows. No guests allowed!

 

Eyes recalibrated, receptors drunk, polyglot as single interpreter, nobody leaves and the rain falls lovingly.”

 

Now that you have been properly acclimated to the environment, the next poem gives you a vision of the future, where today’s murky landscape becomes tomorrow’s everyday existence where we try to survive for yet another day. The next poem is about living in a bizarre world of crumbling surfaces and out-of-body experiences.

 

But that’s not all. The other poems in this short collection range from one of space travel, the struggle for acceptance when you are neurodiverse, and the ravages of poverty.

 

In essence, a Hell which a lot of us have to live through every day.

 

The poems are a short read but they are profound and thought-provoking. If you have some time to kill, pick up The Kingdom of Hell is Inside You by James Machell for a quick and trippy read.

 

 

 

Five stars.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

A Graveyard of Horrors: Banshee Graveyard is a frightening story of monsters and murder

 

Banshee Graveyard

Dan Shrader

Static Books, 2024

ISBN-13: 979-8321975572

Ebook, 125 ppg.

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Leave it to a horrifying book like Banshee Graveyard by Dan Shrader to get me to throw my reading routine right out the window. Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t stop reading it! Holy shit. What a story!

 

Sure, at first, I was able to stop reading after a certain chapter, but once shit got real, that was when I started furiously turning the pages, wanting to find out what happens next.

 

And all I can say is, who knew that all it takes to get some people to step into a deathtrap was a local wild tale that the place was haunted.

 

Oh, sure it’s haunted – by murderers!

 

I appreciated how some background about the mysterious place is given in the story. I also could not believe how wild tales were created about a local place where tragic deaths were discovered.

 

The Banshee Graveyard is a location set in a town where a lot of people go missing. Some people know about how bad that area of the country is. Bad things happened there, and most of the locations in that area are best left avoided. The Banshee Graveyard is supposed to be the worst of them all – right along with the farm it’s located next to, the Banshee Farm.

 

But you know what happens when a place is notorious for danger. EVERYONE WANTS TO GO THERE! Everyone wants to find out just how bad it is, and which of the legends are true or not. They also want to prove just how Very Brave they are by going somewhere everybody says to stay away from, just so they can live to tell the tale. Especially if the place is rumored to be haunted.

 

But it’s the “living to tell the tale” that is not so easy for people who visit the graveyard. There are indeed some malevolent spirits there. Horrifying and evil spirits who show no mercy on anyone who dares to trespass on their stomping grounds.

 

Beware the dangers of the Banshee Graveyard! Those who go there may never come back.

 

And anyone who reads this book is in for one of the most scariest stories of their lives! Read this novel, if you dare!

 

Banshee Graveyard is a horrific and terrifying story about a dangerous graveyard hiding more than just the monsters that haunt them! With brutal scenes of murder, torture and mayhem, it’s a story that will leave lasting nightmares for anyone brave enough to read between these pages.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.