Book: “D.O.A. Extreme Horror Anthology” (2011)
Edited by: David C. Hayes and Jack Burton
Reviewer: Gabino Iglesias
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Large anthologies usually have a hard time maintaining the same quality throughout. However, when it comes to the 28 tales in Blood Bound Books’ “D.O.A. Extreme Horror Anthology,” the fast-paced prose is always there and the gore, sex and violence are almost always unrelenting and intense. While not all the stories are winners, many of them are superb horror short stories that deserve a read. Here are some of the highlights:

- Kenneth Yu’s “Cherry Clubbing” sets the pace with a very conversational piece in which the reader “overhears” a man talking with an old acquaintance. As the narrative progresses, the carnal exploits of both men become weirder and weirder until an invitation with unforgettable implications brings the tale to a close.

- Craig Saunders’ “Caterpillar” is a very accurate deconstruction of the darkest fantasies of a regular office drone. With healthy doses of sex and violence, this one also manages to bring in a touch of very dark humor.

- Edward R. Rosick’s “Cold Air” gives a new spin to the quest for the Fountain of Youth. Set against the bleak backdrop of a strange relationship between two people in medical school, the story follows a woman’s obsessions with death and includes some very well-written scenes of necrophilia.

- Glynn Barrass’ “Plague Hulk” is definitely on the bizarre side of the horror spectrum. The story follows a group of three guys who want to steal from the dead on a boat where every passenger died from the plague. What the trio finds inside the ship is far from what they expected and the author takes the reader on a hellish ride that’s somewhere between a fever nightmare among liquefied corpses and a bad acid trip in which a demon shows up.

- J.W. Schmarr’s “Frogger” is a treat for anyone who’s familiar with the homonymous game. Short, fast and with a deadly twist, this one will get a chuckle out of many readers.

- John McNee’s “Spiric Satisfied” is a cautionary tale about trusting anyone that offers you easy money. A stripper named Fiona is lead into a decrepit, blind old man’s bedside. The man, Mr. Spiric, asks her to dance for him and describe everything. While complying, Fiona develops a certain sense of power that’s suddenly and brutally shattered by Spiric’s hidden powers. Although the ending feels a bit like a cop-out, the story still deserves a read.

- Calie Voorhis’ “The Bogeyman’s Key” takes place in the realm of nightmares. A man abuses his foster-daughter sexually until the past comes, full of snakes, to catch up with him and quickly turn him from predator into prey.

- Quinn Hernandez’s “Stoners and Saviors” brings together weed smoking, Jesus, Satan, a piece of tattooed skin and a strong desire to stay alive. Told as an almost rambling first-person account/conversation, this one is as dark as it is funny.

- Michael Cieslak’s “Digital Media” is unflinchingly gory and violent, but it’s also a story about karma and being very careful about what you wish for. With unseen assailants and fingers dropping like leaves in autumn, this sinister tale of bad online behavior manages to make the reader contemplate the true meaning of justice.

- Chris Reed’s “Sisters” is full of bodily fluids and death. While the big reveal is predictable, the story still delivers a satisfying amount of weirdness, gore, horror and cold-blooded murder multiplied by three.

- Stacy Bolli’s “My Dark Lover” is the story of a woman who rejects God and becomes a lover at age 12. She spends the rest of her live wildly in love with her demon lover and trying to make him as happy as possible. When she fails to give him offspring, her status as a renowned plastic surgeon comes into play and women start getting some very special breast implants from her.

- Forrest Ingle’s “A Laxative for Writer’s Block” is one of the best stories in the collection. A first-person narration, this one is brutal and bloody while remaining safely anchored in a common problem among writers and delivering a discourse that, regardless of its horrifying nature, is hard to argue with.

- Matthew Keville’s “In the Make-Out Room” reads like an homage to the creature features of yesteryear. The story takes place in a school gym during a dance, where a couple of youngsters, Kristen and Adam, get trapped in a make-out room while an unknown monster kills everyone outside. As the nightmarish night progresses, things go from bad to worse and by the time the rescuers show up, Kristen has lived through things that will never let her be normal again.

- Tonia Brown’s “Sickened” is also a contender for top story in the anthology. Clemet is a sin-eater: a man who eats the food that relatives leave on top of a casket so it can soak up all the sins of the deceased and be carried away by the sin-eater. After eating Mr. Baxter’s sins, Clemet begins to throw up very dark blood and to suffer incredible pain. When a trip to the emergency room shows there’s nothing physically wrong with him, Clemet sets out to uncover the mystery of Mr. Baxter’s sins. What Clemet finds is appalling, and so is what he learns about Mrs. Baxter. Eerie and drenched with small-town dark secrets, this one is definitely a must-read.

- Last but not least, Shane Mckenzie’s “Go to Your Room” adds and otherworldly touch as three guys break into a house to steal from an old man and find themselves in a situation in which the buzzing of flies announces very bad things and guns are useless.

This anthology is packed with good stuff. While there are a few very short stories that add nothing, a few shock pieces that fail to shock and a vampire story that seems out of place, the book is loaded with tasty, horrific morsels that make it a great addition to any horror enthusiast’s library.