New Review and Interview in Horror Bound

Horror Bound

“His stories are bizarre in the best way and bring personal flaws and disaster to the forefront. Most of these protagonists are not the greatest of folks but somehow you’re still rooting for them as their lives completely fall apart. Thorn knows how to grab you within the first few sentences and then throw up all over you in the best way. Some of his best stories in this collection are everyday situations that are twisted and given a dash of demon, a dash of murderous ghosts, and some drug abuse. And at the end you’re sweating from the tension.”

Horror Bound just posted a new review of Darkest Hours and an interview with me. Read now!

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The Worst is Yet to Come: The latest from a vital American horror writer

perf6.000x9.000.inddS.P. Miskowski situates her latest novel The Worst is Yet to Come in the fictional town of Skillute, a setting she has used in several previous works (including Knock Knock and Astoria). Although Miskowski imbues her locale with an impressive amount of detail, it also works well as a cipher for Anywhere, USA, distilling contemporary tensions into a relatively small and concentrated population.

Miskowski quietly but powerfully foregrounds the conflicts of a nation in distress. She expertly depicts the special kind of anxiety that stems from holding progressive views while living in a community that is anything but. This political unease serves not as the novel’s primary focus, but as a disquieting undercurrent. Miskowski’s writing operates on multiple synchronized registers, producing a narrative that merges current dread with Gothic traditions while also drawing nuanced, fascinating connections between psychology and space.

The plot centers on a developing friendship between two teenage girls, Tasha Davis and her rebellious classmate Briar Kenny. The book shifts intermittently from Tasha’s superficially idyllic but stifling home environment to Briar’s dysfunctional, poverty-stricken upbringing. The novel builds toward a moment of violence that brings the girls closer together before coming to reveal sinister and long-suppressed secrets.

Although the novel does veer head-on into the territory of Gothic horror, it is above all else a richly drawn piece of character-focused dark fiction. Miskowski oscillates masterfully between insights into adolescent alienation and painfully adult revelations about regret and self-deception. Come for the perfectly mounted thriller plot, stay for the connective tissue—the ups and downs of relationships, trauma, disappointment, boredom and introspection.

I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: Miskowski is one of the best in the game. Her writing is distinctive, profoundly honest and essential.

Buy this book.

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Darkest Hours Celebrates its First Birthday

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Unnerving published Mike Thorn’s debut short story collection Darkest Hours exactly one year ago. Critics and authors say:

“Thorn is an exciting new talent in the genre.”
The Horror Bookshelf

“Some sections recall Chuck Palahniuk in their nihilistic ultraviolence, while others have a Barker-esque feel… in their embrace of beauty in carnage.”
Anya Stanley

“These short stories show the author’s incredible range and versatility.”
Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

“Take a dollop of Michael A. Arnzen and Brian Evenson’s quirky styles, and add a pinch of Mark Twain, stir well and let bubble, and you have a sense of Mike Thorn’s stories.”
Bram Stoker Award winner Marge Simon, author of Four Elements and Satan’s Sweethearts

“There are times in Thorn’s prose where I’m reminded not only of some of the best Stephen King from Skeleton Crew or Night Shift, but also of some of the more bizarre stories from Clive Barker’s Books of Blood.”
Biff Bam Pop

“Fast, fun and full of fear, Darkest Hours turns on a dime from a laugh to a scream. Terrifying and sly, Mike Thorn writes with refreshing originality and hides fangs behind a smile.”
John C. Foster, author of Mister White

“Mike Thorn’s debut story collection is not to be missed by those who enjoy an academic intellect with a potent flair for fiction.”
Dustin LaValley, author of A Soundless Dawn

“The stories are clever and witty. The characters are all too real.”
Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews

“Just read the opener, ‘Hair’ and became an instant fan. How can you not delight in a story about a metalhead fixated on long hair who starts obsessively eating it until hair begins to… um, well, buy Darkest Hours now and find out.”
Bram Stoker Award winner Michael Arnzen, author of Grave Markings

“Thorn has certainly made his mark on the genre as a whole, and also on me.”
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer

“A bloody fantastic collection.”
Lydian Faust, author of Forest Underground

“Dark, funny, entertaining, horrifying, clever, this book announces the arrival of a new frustratingly exceptional talent to the dark fiction scene.”
Leo X. Robertson, author of Bonespin Slipspace

“Darkest Hours is for readers wishing to take a thrilling walk on the dark side. Mike Thorn has delivered a promising debut with this collection showing off his commitment to stories of nuance, heart, and of course… darkness.”
Daniel Braum, author of The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales

“There is more than enough talent showcased within these pages to suggest that Mike Thorn’s journey has only just begun.”
Grim Reader Reviews

“I compared these stories many times to my favorites from Poe.”
Sunshine Somerville

“Mike Thorn’s Darkest Hours contains the most diverse selection of stories that I’ve ever read from a single author.”
Sci-Fi & Scary

“Thorn has compiled a varied and creative anthology.”
Cellar Door Lit Rants & Reviews

 

 

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