A collection of chilling and darkly portent stories. Each story is excellent, except for "S.S", which whilst interesting was over-cluttered with concepts, some of which are cliched. I appreciate that Ballingrud's protagonist's are common, grounded people. Although I'm not American, I recognize their lives. They're my own, my friends, and my family. This sense of familiarity grounds the horrors and made it seem closer to me. These stories will linger with you.

What horror and dark fantasy is all about: discovering the depths of depravity and the haunting reality of being human. Some of my favorites include The Monsters of Heaven, Sunbleached, and The Way Station. I really enjoy Ballingrud’s writing, it’s evocative and fresh in strange and visceral ways, which adds to the whole atmosphere.

This short story collection was a huge disappointment. Hyped as the next big thing in weird and horror fiction, there’s nothing in here worth remembering. I finished hoping things would get better, though I soon realized there was no hope.

The writing is shockingly poor. I felt like I was reading with a red pen. Adverbs are piled on to the point the effect is suffocating, words and worse yet phrases are constantly reused (in one memorable instance, the word “besides” is used by a narrator and then a sentence later it is spoken in dialogue.) The writing reads more than not like that of a much younger person who is guessing at how adults talk, and overreaching for big words to impress, but rather just leave the text feeling stunted. The stories are structured less like stories and more brief, writing prompt sketches. And almost all of them end, abruptly, without a resolution (or, often, conflict) of any kind. Also, when even vile characters use hate speech slurs to refer to African Americans, LGBTQ people and the mentally impaired— as a writer, it is your responsibility to explore those issues, and not use those words just for effect, as appears to be done here.

There is barely any horror or weirdness, beyond the by the numbers male characters who are nearly all misogynistic at best and often emotionally and physically abusive. Animal cruelty is often a near present event, and it is done out of shock value and extremely off putting.

I would want any author working in horror to succeed, and there are one or two interesting ideas in here. The vampire story is the best of the bunch; however, it’s ultimately nihilistic, gore-porn ending ruins it for me. The final story about the husband and wife has one interesting scene and a half formed and interesting idea of the afterlife; but the specter of irresponsibly dealt with abuse hangs over the story and hampers that, as well.

Beautifully written. Flannery O’Conner meets Paul Trembley.

This book is a clutch of poisoned flowers, each bloom more fragrant than the last. I caught myself leaning forward to inhale by the end of the first story, and pulled back from the bouquet just in time. I had to save myself if I was going to enjoy the rest of them. Once I'd reassured myself that I wouldn't be drawn in like that again, I settled in to read the second story. I had to quit this one mid-way through, because once again, I found myself too close for comfort. The story had extended its tendrils and I was this close to surrendering to the perfume.

I developed a pattern. Pick up the book, from a distance, and eyeball the first few lines of the story. After a momentary pause, I'd read a little more, gingerly, circling from a distance, before finally settling in, mesmerized by the imagery, drawn into the trap.

I think it was "Sunbleached" that finally did me in. At that point, it was too late for me. This story is the ultimate distillation of lyric horror, and it instantly inspired in me a hot streak of jealousy. It's a succinct, brutal masterpiece that transcends the genre. It may also be the saddest coming-of-age story I've ever read.

This is not a collection for the faint-of-heart. There is so much pain that the pages almost seem to throb. These are sufferer's stories, stories of mangled people, veterans of maladies. Sorrow seems to be ingrained in these characters' DNA. Indeed, heredity is a constant theme, though not limited to what is passed down in human genetics alone. These stories seem to inherit from a mythopoeic place - in which the true horror doesn't come from what can't be seen in the dark, but rather what outlines our eyes fill in when there is only a flicker of light.

This short story collection is an effective mixture of humanity and horror. These stories weigh heavy, and I feel that weight for days. But, that’s my favorite kind of story.

An excellent book, especially for a first collection. Ballingrud writes in the weird tradition, and while some stories feature his take on stock horror monsters, others are wholly original. Regardless of whether he is writing a devastating vampire tale ("Sunbleached") or turning the idea of the ghost story on its head ("The Way Station"), the core of each story is interpersonal relationships, and often how they are shaped by longing, anger, guilt, and shame.

I had read one of these stories before: "The Crevasse" (written with Dale Bailey) appeared in Ellen Datlow's great LOVECRAFT UNBOUND anthology. It retained its intensity a second time around, even when I remembered what was coming. As good as the reprinted stories are - and they are very, very good - the most flat-out horrifying story (for me at least) was the one original to this collection. "The Good Husband" evolves from melancholy to skin-crawling creepiness at an expert pace. It is one of those stories that upon finishing it, you need to take a little breather before doing anything else.

You can read two of these stories online for free. "Sunbleached" appeared on Nightmare Magazine (March, 2014), and the title story "North American Lake Monsters" appeared on Weird Fiction Review (October, 2013). Give one (or both) a read, and I'll bet you end up buying this book.

Excellent, unusual, literary stories - I was impressed!!