The penumbra are a race of cyclopes who awake to a strange world after an indeterminate amount of time sleeping in the ground. Everything is new, their Gods have seemingly forsaken them, and they are no longer immortal. Danger awaits them around every corner, and I as a reader sat on the proverbial edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next. Will they make it to the House of Wolves? Who will perish along the way? Will their Gods of the old world save them?

The writing is beautiful and descriptive and sucks you in with every sentence. The melodic timbre of the narrator's voice is perfect for this story.

Definitely worth a read!

I saw a few of this authors books as audion on NetGalley and picked this one to try, but it wasn't for me. The style didn't work for me and also the use of the number names before they said a sentence took me out of the story (and it took me a while to understand what was going on).

The narrator was good and had a pleasant voice to listen to.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Doom Fiction and the authors for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was short but packed a punch. Beautifully dark, poetic and engaging.
I feel like this story would work wonderfully as a graphic novel and with the descriptive writing I could almost imagine it.

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator, Connor Brannigan, did a fantastic job and was the perfect voice for the tone of the story.

I also have to mention how cool the cover art is which is what stood out to me on NetGalley and made me check out the description and give it a go!

If you like dark, sci-fi stories you need to give this one a read!

Weird. Good. Odd. Poetry. Undecided. I can't decide what I think about this one. Definitely a niche.

VVLNA by William Pauley III and Joseph Bouthiette Jr. boasts an original story with intriguing plot points.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This is a “what did I just read?” but in the best possible way!

This book has everything: giant beasts, numbered one eyed brothers, betrayal, the sun

This felt like an allegory or folktale someone’s grandparent would tell their grandkid about how the earth was made. I could imagine this translated from an ancient language after it was discovered in an old book. It was very biblical in storytelling.

The narrator was perfect for this story and tied every together.

I enjoyed this and definitely want to read it again!

Thank you NegGalley and Doom Fiction Audio for the ALC.

4/5

Thank you NetGalley and Doom Fiction for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was an interesting and unique story. The author did a great job of getting a lot of information in such a short story.

This was an incredibly written book, such a dark an fascinating tale, amazing how detailed and captivating the story was although it was short it was right to the point.
Highly recommend this brilliant book!

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an AudioARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook was extremely well done and masterfully crafted. It's a short listen, but every sentence had me wanting more and really diving into the words/meanings behind it. It's a great collaboration between mythology and fantasy written in a melodic poetry style that is easy to follow and to listen to.

This is definitely a piece of literature I will be thinking about for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley for an eArc of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Actually this book reminded me of some sort of weird religion, this was like stories taken from an occult bible, in a more like poetry way, and they actually make sense in the universe of the bedlam bible. For me, this book and “The Ballad of Old Joe Booth”, are directly and utterly connected I am happy that I’ve listen to this one after old joe booth, made much more sense that way.

I love that Connor Brannigan was the person bringing this book to life, he is hands down one of my favourite voices in audiobooks, and the kind of stories that this author writes is perfect with him reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Doom Fiction Audio for the free AAC and this is my honest opinion.

A feeling of eldritch horror without, the tale begins with a giant and godly, milky eyed cannibalistic cyclops race - the penumbra. An air of discomfort and foreboding is the setting for this sinister tale of faith and truth, set within a world of pure darkness.



After listening to Old Joe Booth I saw this on Netgalley and immediately put in a request. It did not disappoint, again it is poetic in writing style, you can imagine discovering this as an ancient sacred text within a dusty book, that has been hidden in a basement for centuries. Another excellent and captivating short story from William Pauley III.

The narrator Connor Brannigan is the same as Old Joe Booth and it just as wonderful in this. He has the perfect voice for this style of writing and genre.

This book was masterfully written and the author fit such a harrowing, dark, and detailed tale into so few pages. This book sucked me in from the first sentence. Beyond the incredible writing, this book brings an interesting take to the conversation of blind faith and the evolution of religion.

This was such a good, short ballad, almost fever dream. I love how disturbing this was while also so soothing to listen to. THOROUGHLY enjoyed.

I will listen to anything written by this duo and narrated by this narrator. The imagery is vivid and engaging, and I love the cadence of the poetry. I don't always understand the larger meaning behind the content, but I thoroughly enjoy listening to it. I would categorize this as soft religious horror. I wish it was longer! I could listen to this all day. I have highly recommended other stories/ballads by WP III to several friends and will continue to do so. I will certainly be looking into his backlog. I am very grateful to netgalley for introducing me to this sub-genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this audiobook. Below is my honest review.

Interesting combination of fantasy and mythology written in a poetic style. I’m not sure this was for me, personally, but I think there is definitely an audience for this one.

The narrator was quite good.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Short, sweet, and right to the point. Just how I like it! Connor Brannigan strikes again and as always, I’m in awe. William Pauley III is my idol!!! The story revolves around an early culture where they identify themselves as numbers and have a devout belief that Father will show them the way. So much can be taken from this short story about humanity as a whole, much of which is still all too relevant today. I highly recommend to anyone wanting a short story to listen that will suck you in from the start!

Three is to crowd as five is to apocalypse? Follow the quick rise and fall of the five cyclopian shadowmen through their crepuscular post-apocalyptic world. Their travels and tribulations serve as a parable for non communicative conversation and the danger of blind faith paired with hubris, I listened to this collection twice through, as there are many details. Lyrical, poetic language paints a vivid scene. Conversation interspersed with action makes it read like an old epic. Many interpretations possible as you witness the inevitable nihilistic countdown to this collection of poems that ends in a violent crescendo.

Incredible control of language, this story is steeped in rich mythology that's hard to believe is original. Reminiscent of Biblical texts, this is a cool and creepy (re)imagining of what life will or could be in the centuries to come.