Where The Streetlight Ends by Bradley Butts; Being Laramie Buchanan Another Boulder Girl by Cynthia L. Clark, The Courage of Two Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer and The Fight For Freedom of Conscience in Early America by Nancy Kelley

 

Where The Streetlight Ends by Bradley Butts

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery 

Bradley Butts’ Horror Anthology is a strange but brilliant combination of classic supernatural campfire tales and postmodern existentialist terror. It reminds us that when it comes to paranormal horror, evil can be found in any form, in any setting, and in any time.

“The Doodle”

Alex, a high school student, has written conversations with a sentient doodled figure on the wall. 

The conflict between The Doodle and Alex are chilling as The Doodle recognizes and uses Alex's loneliness for friends and skepticism against him. The Doodle is a character that intentionally starts out as welcoming and friendly. There are moments where its presence is almost adorable like when it tells Alex that it is his friend. 

It becomes possessive and sinister when it feels abandoned by Alex. For example, it doesn't understand the concept of weekends when Alex is not in school. The smiley face becomes a frown and the wide curious eyes are narrowed in anger. It defaces Alex's notebooks and desks, calls him a bad friend, and threatens to kill him.

Alex's curiosity and eventual terror are multiplied because for a long time believes that he is having conversations with a human who is sending secret messages. His insistence that he is stalked by a human adversary is a means to gain control of this creepy situation. If he attributes it to a human something that can be stopped by normal means like expulsion or arrest. A supernatural presence in the form of a living drawing resists being defeated or contained so could stalk a human in perpetuity.

“The Strange Sound”

A sound affects all who hear it, particularly most of the student body of a high school.

This story recognizes the value of not displaying or telling much and leaving our imagination to do the heavy lifting. We are not given specifics of what the sound is as witnesses compare it to a hum or a whisper. We aren't told where it comes from, why certain students are affected, or what the whispers actually say that upset those who hear it.

The physical, mental, and emotional changes are the focus. The narrator's friend, Sara is one of the first to hear it and she goes from a bright curious teen to a catatonic zombie. She becomes languid, inert, lethargic and is devoid of energy and vitality.

The sound affects other classmates until over half of the student body is afflicted leaving friends, classmates, educators, families, and the entire town at a loss. The physical and mental impact of an unexplained phenomena affecting almost an entire generation cannot be overstated as the kids deal with the mysterious strain of this phenomena and their surviving loved ones have to cope with the loss and aftermath.

“Hangman on the Dark Web”

An innocent round of the spelling game Hangman becomes all too real for the young man playing it on the confidential and exploitative Dark Web.

Many of the stories deal with the fear that can be found through modern technology. This and the next story deal with that subject. This one attacks online fascination with the ghoulish, violence, forbidden, bizarre, and morbid particularly on the Dark Web.

The game goes from a spelling time waster to a psychological trap. The Gamemaster reveals personal information that the Narrator never said. Instead of a generic stick figure in the noose ready to meet its maker, the figure is all too familiar to the helpless Narrator. The only thing that he can do is play to rescue the doomed character.

While many of the stories don't have much of an explanation of where the creepy events originated, this story provides a few hints. The puzzle’s resolution, a famous literary quote, provides a clue. It indicates that the Narrator brought this disaster on himself for being overly curious, not cautious enough, and meddled into dark places where he doesn't belong. To quote the movie Wargames, “The best way to win is not to play.”

“The Filter”

Chloe uses a new filter on her selfie and her picture and face go through painful changes.

This is the second tech related story and covers another online obsession: using AI and filters to improve one's appearance and to make them look more attractive and flawless to followers.  

As Chloe changes her picture, she finds her face becoming painfully distorted to match the image. It does not skimp in describing the torture as her eyes enlarge, her skin is stretched, and her bone structure is manipulated. She is in agony.

Most readers would probably wonder why Chloe doesn't stop altering the filter but it appears that she can't. She is compelled and addicted to changing her appearance and can't stop even when she wants to. She is deprived of her personality and free will and turns into something that only exists to be looked at.

“The Beckoning Call of Black Hollow”

David visits an abandoned wooded area for his forestry studies and is frightened by the local monsters.

After covering modern sensibilities with two tech heavy stories, this one returns to basics. It's a campfire tale about the monsters in the woods with some interesting twists. This story has a strong ominous atmosphere. Everything from the winding trees, the magnified sounds and smells, and the chill in the air already gives an unsettling energy even before the creepy stuff happens. Of course once they start, it gets worse. 

David hears disembodied voices call his name and imitate people in his life to draw him outside to respond. He was warned not to respond to the voices and or go outside to see where they are coming from. This is advice he follows to the letter proving that he has more intelligence and common sense than most horror protagonists. It reminds readers that sometimes what you suspect and hear  can be just as frightening as what you do see.

The monsters themselves are a slight letdown as the approaching feelings and voices were much scarier than their physical presence. However, they are clearly inspired by the most recent infamous monsters that have haunted the Internet and social media communities for a few years now. It adds a current sheen to old tales by saying that the monsters might change appearance but the fears are the same. The fears of loneliness, isolation, the dark, insanity, and the possibility of evil. Those will never leave.

Being Laramie Buchanan Another Boulder Girl by Cynthia L. Clark

Cynthia L. Clark’s Being Laramie Buchanan has a decent lead character with a lot of depth and layers. Unfortunately, it gives her a substandard plot that alternates between too much and not enough.

Laramie Buchanan has plenty of problems. Her mother has died and her father is consumed with grief. She hovers between her job as an events coordinator at an art gallery and Yoga studies. Her love life is also complicated. Her romance with restaurateur Vick ends badly and she is interested in Chance who assists at the resort where she attends her Yoga retreat.

It's an odd contrast when a book succeeds so well with their protagonist but falters so much with the plot that is put around her. The strength of Laramie's character cannot overcome the weakness of the plot or plots. Some things are over explained either in dialogue or narration.The book can't decide whether it's a romance, a family drama, a woman's fiction, a thriller, or a bildungsroman.More twists and unnecessary complications are thrown in a book that didn't need more of them.

It's a shame that Laramie Buchanan does not live in a better book. 

The Courage of Two: Anne Hutchinson, Mary Dyer, and The Fight For Freedom of Conscience in Early America by Nancy Kelley 

This is a review summary. The full review is on LitPick 

Nancy Kelley’s Courage of Two Anne Hutchinson, Mary Dyer, and The Fight For Freedom of Conscience in Early America is a fascinating account of two women who stood for their beliefs, made their opinions known, and refused to be silent in the face of adversity

This is a nonfiction book about Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer, two women who offended the religious establishment in the 1660s with their outspoken views on religion. Hutchinson preached from the Bible during private meetings and Dyer’s embrace of Quakerism put them at the center of controversies in which they were persecuted, arrested, tried, and threatened with exile and death.

Hutchinson showed a lot of spunk and knowledge in sessions and when being confronted by authority. Her Biblical studies were quite detailed and academic. She also had a witty, almost sardonic way of defending herself especially during her trials. Her words offended the Puritan community and she was eventually banished. 

The other deuteragonist, Mary Dyer, had a slow start in the book. She started out as one of Hutchinson’s students and strongest defenders. 

After Hutchinson died, Dyer came into her own. She joined The Society of Friends AKA The Quakers, a sect that Hutchinson would have fit in perfectly. Puritans considered Quakers, especially Quaker women, a threat. They made Dyer an example of their hatred sending her to her death and Quaker martyrdom.

People who are interested in religion will look at women of the past practicing their faith and living according to their beliefs. But even those who are interested in history will be interested in this book about two women remembered for challenging patriarchal authority.