By Kaaron Warren
Subtle depictions of future worlds, of stark contemporary settings and alternate realities are some of the wonders of Warren’s imagination. From science fiction to fantasy and eerie, soul-shaking horror. Warren’s words will reverberate in all of us.
What is there to enjoy in this collection? A profound vision of a future, perhaps dismal without hope, horror that makes your spine feel pierced by hundreds of rings, a smattering of bodily fluids, a few feminist themes, a clear and penetrating vision, the clarity of which is unearthly. Clever, sometimes funny, morbid and at times racy. You’ll find all of this in Kaaron Warren’s work.
“Seldom … does fiction (of any sort) offer a prosaic awareness of death as constantly present in human lives and thus requiring a set of cultural and social customs for accommodating that presence. Kaaron Warren’s The Grinding House offers a fresh and interesting exception.” (L.Timmel Duchamp, New York Review of SF)
“The Grinding House contains a wealth of original material written with a distinct narrative drive.” (Andrew Hook, Infinity Plus)
“As with most of the best horror writing, though, the power of Warren’s strongest stories comes from the mirror they hold up to our everyday practices and prejudices.” (Ian McHugh, Internet Review of Science Fiction)
“Her tales are a diverse blend of science fiction, horror and fantasy, but the common thread running through them all is their impact and the quality of the writing.” (Sally Murphy, Aussie Reviews)
Contents
Fresh Young Widow
The Glass Woman
The Blue Stream
The Hanging People
Bone-Dog
Smoko
A-Positive
The Missing Children
In the Drawback
Al’s Iso Bar
The Left Behind
Tiger Kill
The Wrong Seat
Skin Holes
The Sameness of Birthdays
The Speaker of Heaven
The Smell of Mice
The Grinding House
Survival of the Last
Salamander
Working for the God of the Love of Money