Bone Whispers

Review Copy

BONE WHISPERS is a collection of short stories by the prolific author Tim Waggoner. They were mainly written in the early 2000's and have the distinction of being entirely dissimilar. That's very good news! If you're not a fan of one type of story, skip it and move on to the next. Chances are you're sure to like it.

Waggoner is polished. His stories are so well written they are a pleasure to read. He is at the same time insane, funny, dark...you name it. The kindle editon of this book is being reprinted by Macabre Ink - a division of Crossroad Press. You should definitely pick up a copy today.

I stumbled across Tim Waggoner's books purely by chance and when I got the chance to read this one, I was over the moon. I liked this one as much as I liked the other stories I've read. Wonderful book. Great stories.

3.5

As usual with anthologies, it is very rare (for me, at least) to like all the stories. Same with Bone Whispers.
However, I enjoyed it and apart from a couple of grammatical errors, one or two stories dragging a bit and some using the present tense, this is a good anthology.

Some stories differ from others in a way you might ask yourself what they are doing together. Some break your heart, others drag you along with them and just when you ask yourself where the ending was, it hits you with a great one. Then, you have two or three as bizarre and exaggerated as you can get. I can't scrub a mental image from my mind of a man on a makeshift raft (don't ask what it is made of) doing stuff to it. That same story is full of weird and disgusting moments.

Overall, I liked Bone Whispers well enough, but I wasn't surprised by it. I like Tim Waggoner's writing and imagination.

Provided by Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink

Bone Whispers by Tim Waggoner was received directly from the publisher and I then chose to review it. Tim Waggoner is one of the few horror authors who continues to write prolific horror in a "non woke" sense. I have been a fan of his for many years. This book is a short story collection, and those who read my reviews know shorter stories are my favorite, and you know I don't get into plots of the books, other reviewers do that in nauseating detail. If you, or someone you buy gifts for enjoys this author, or is interested in reading some horror by a good author who pulls no punches, give this book a shot.

4 Stars

Turn the pages of this book if you dare. Yes, this is a horror collection of stories that are surreal and seem harmless. They are harmless, but they might give give you dreams that turn into nightmares. The stories will grip you or at least it did me. In the first story “Thou art God,” a man realizes that God is not what he thought it was. It’s a story that made me think about God. In “Bone Whispers” a man discovers that he is no longer afraid. I won’t tell more as it would give the story away. The stories remind me of the “Twilight Zone” tv episodes. Reading the stories for me was making me feel like I was living in another dimension. If you want a different type of horror to read, this it. It truly is an excellent collection of horror stories.

When I first requested this book to read and review, I thought that the author's name sounded strangely familiar... turns out he wrote the first book of one of my favorite series as a child, Temple of the Dragonslayer. Luckily for me, I enjoy his writing just as much now as I did then!

This is a solid collection of horror short stories with many more hits than misses. I found the majority of them enjoyable, although I will say that a number of them aren't especially memorable. I don't mean that as an insult- I took this as a book to enjoy 'in the moment' and that's completely fine! I did find the final story particularly haunting, though- something about it really got to me.

The only misses in this collection, for me, were when Waggoner shifts over to a more graphic/splatter type of writing. There's one lengthy story I actually didn't finish, because it just felt a little... edgelord, I guess. I have nothing against graphic depictions of violence and gore, but it just seemed a little too purposeless here. The second instance was a shorter one that was written for laughs, and horror comedy isn't my cup of tea.

Overall, an enjoyable read and one I'd recommend picking up if you're at a loss of what to read next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was full of surprises from the start. The first being that I picked this up because I confused Tim Waggoner with Tim Lebbon. Whoops. When I realized my mistake, I decided to buckle in anyway and give it a drive around the block. I wasn't disappointed.

There isn't a story in here that I would quantify as "bad" so much as "less engaging to my tastes", but a lot that I would call "damn good", to the point you forget you're reading. There's a lot of existential dread, a lot of tongue-in-cheek quirkiness. The writing here has a very somber "John Dies at the End" vibe which is all the way up my alley.

There's a lot of twists and turns and surprise endings. You may or may not say "no f*cking way" a few times. The collection keeps you on your toes and will make you look around blearily for more.

I feel that authors use short stories to experiment. They have a quick idea and want to see if they can make you react. Yeah, this one got me. A lot.
Tim Waggoner is a great writer and brings you right into the story. Gets you curious, empathetic, and absolutely hooked to find out how the story will go. I was lured in and even when I knew what to expect, it still made my stomach drop, or in some cases, lurch. These stories suck you in and actually make you feel the worry, grief, fear, anxiety, pain, and make your skin crawl.
This book is seeded with wise quotes that made me stop and think.
“You can live in yesterday if you want, but I’ve been there, and I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Or
“I guess memories are ghosts, too. But they don’t haunt us with images of what used to be—they haunt us with reminders of the way things aren’t anymore and can never be again.”
This book is also seeded with enough twisted and depraved ideas that I question the authors ability to play nice in society.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crossroads Press for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review