Book review by Kat Kennedy

"He spends the remainder of the evening entering search terms such as “clairvoyant” and “parrot” into the browser, but the searches produce nothing meaningful."

Composed of nine short stories, this collection possesses a wonderful blend of horror and science fiction. Regardless of genre, each story is unique and quickly grabs the reader’s attention from beginning to end. There are stories such as “The Long Fall,” in which Lieutenant Edward J. Mayfield is awakened from a nightmare only to find himself in a situation every bit as frightening as any nightmare. “The Abandoned” is centered around a lonely divorced man who encounters a prophetic parrot that changes his life in ways he could have never expected. “Cam4” follows the plight of a man who installs cameras around his property as a safety measure, only to have one mysteriously disappear yet to be seemingly still recording from nearby. Snyder’s writing is clear and precise, with each story’s plot taking unexpected turns into the unusual and bizarre.

Each of Snyder’s tales has a psychological element intertwined within the plot, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the story. The author is adept at telling a good story and telling it well. More importantly, he tells stories which readers will find modern and imaginative. Stories of excavating on the planet Mars and with titles such as “Cookies with Satan” and “The Day the Earth Died” intrigue the imagination before one word of the story is read. The crisp writing and whimsical wit of Snyder should ensure that the author’s first offering will be well received. Anyone who loves to read science fiction or horror will enjoy these well-told tales. This is certainly an interesting addition to the genres that is not to be missed.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review