About WheelMan Press

We publish speculative fiction and nonfiction by author Gregory Bernard Banks, classic public domain works of speculative fiction which we feel need to be preserved and remembered for future generations. Also, as a proud supporter of Small Press publishers and Independent Authors, we'll also publish guides and manuals to help educate fellow authors and publishers on the ins and outs of the business.

First review for Scairy Tales: 13 Tantalizing Tales of Terror

Marvelously creative and original stories, February 13, 2010 (5 Stars)
By J. Chambers

“Scairy Tales” is a collection of thirteen short stories by Gregory Banks. In the book’s Foreword, the author has a brief explanation of the horror genre, which includes subgenres such as dark fantasy, thriller, suspense, and others. “Scairy Tales” is a nice mixture of these, ranging from psychological horror to very real physical terror.

More than half the stories are dark fantasy, and the author really excels here. His futuristic stories of a world gone mad remind me a bit of Harlan Ellison’s short stories a few decades ago. Mr. Banks can paint some very grim scenarios, but even in the gloomiest futures, there is at least a tiny ray of hope for mankind.

I enjoyed every story, but some of them really stood out for me. “The Santa” and “A Species of the Dead” showed the author’s whimsical side. They’re really funny.

“Law of the Land” was a lesson on what happens when everyone is allowed to take justice into their own hands. If that sounds like a good idea, think again.

“The Purifier’s Tale” was the longest story. Imagine that humans have managed to release their inner evils as real entities, and these entities have taken over and are killing the humans. Human existence is hanging by a thread, but there is one last hope for mankind. Or is there? This is a marvelously creative story that could be expanded to a short novel, in my opinion.

“Family Day” is another favorite. A family is having a fun day together with no worries in the world. This one is a superb psychological thriller with a twist at the end that caught me flat-footed.

Each of the thirteen stories is very readable. There’s no padding or filler in the collection. The writing is as professional as anything I’ve read. The editing in my Kindle edition was nearly perfect.

“Scairy Tales” includes some of the most creative and original stories that I’ve read, and I was disappointed to finish the last story and be done with it. I hope that Mr. Banks is planning another volume of “Scairy Tales.”

By the way, I agree that with the author that Thin Mints are superior to Trefoils. No, I’m not going to explain that – you’ll have to read “Scairy Tales” to understand!

Scairy Tales:
* In Print (Amazon.com)
* In Print (Barnes & Noble online)
* On Amazon Kindle

Posted on February 14th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: News, News & Notes

2 Responses to “First review for Scairy Tales: 13 Tantalizing Tales of Terror”

  1. blogiskewl, on March 26th, 2010 at 2:49 pm Said:

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