Book Review: The Anomaly Archives
Good Morning!
How are you doing? I hope you’re having a good start to the week.
After my disappointment with Let The Right One In, I soldiered on, making quick work of another read.
This time I read The Anomaly Archives, a horror anthology by Travis Liebert.
I’ve been a huge fan of Travis Liebert since I picked up his freebie The Reality Contagion on Amazon. I’ve even had the opportunity to interview him (check it out here).
So he was an easy shoe-in for Halloween given that I already owned a copy of this anthology. What’s even better is that he has two more anthologies published. I can’t wait!
So what did I think of The Anomaly Archives? Let’s get into this review!
Blurb:
A man’s retired father miraculously begins recovering from a debilitating illness, but now local children are going missing…
Two boys find an ancient object that gives them incredible powers with horrible consequences…
A young woman is asked to help dig up her mother’s grave, and something wicked watches as they complete the ritual…
A diver enters forbidden waters while searching for a lost boy, and he wakes something ancient that threatens existence itself…
All this and more in a cosmic, creepy, and curious collection of horror stories written by people who encountered beings better left unseen. Get it now and discover what lurks in the darkness.
GoodReads
The Review:
I gave this anthology four and a half stars!
Can Travis Liebert do any wrong with his writing? Hmm, I don’t think so.
Having read several short stories by this author, Halloween seemed the perfect time of year to dig into this horror-themed novel of short stories, and I’m very glad I did. Here are my brief thoughts on each story within:
Guardian Angel
A fun, disturbing letter from a concerned father about his son and his ‘guardian angel.’ This reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby, and I shudder to think what will happen next to this worried parent’s son.
The Face
How powerful are the thoughts and energy we put into things? If you create something and disregard it does it fade away forever, or could it come back to haunt you? Very creepy!
The Stone
When two college students venture into their campus’s forbidden forest, their worlds are changed forever. But when they test how far to take this new secret things take a dark turn. Loved this one!
Perfect Mimicry
A police officer inherits a parrot after its former owner committed suicide. He quickly learns that it is far from an ordinary bird and may have dark, sinister intentions. Gripping and scary!
Clowning Around
When a son moves in with his father suffering from dementia, he hardly takes a second glance at the old clown costume his dad used to wear. But when strange happenings take place, he begins to wonder if there might be something more ominous at work.
Badwater
A diver investigates an ongoing set of disappearances near a local river, uncovering a dark and grisly evil. Atmospheric and mesmerizing.
Reverie Wood
After losing a close family member, a man searches out an estranged uncle and finds himself in a bizarre world filled with an irresistible darkness. I really enjoyed the progression of this one.
Gig Economy
A man signs up on an app for odd jobs, only to realize much more is at play. Much, much more. The terror of this really struck me.
The Funeral
After attending his grandma’s funeral, a man finds that there is more to his family than meets the eye, and it’s nothing he could’ve ever imagined. Brief, but the plot moved very quickly and I enjoyed that.
Each of these stories was well thought out, expertly written, and most importantly, scary in some way or another. You can really tell that the author loves horror, and it makes all the difference. I would easily give at least six of the nine stories a 5 star rating, hence my rating of 4.5.
Overall, I’m continually impressed with how passionate Liebert is with the concept of horror, and I can’t wait to read more of his work. Definitely give this anthology a read if you need some great scares!
That’s a Wrap!
Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!
Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!
If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!
Have a great day!
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“The Stone” and “Badwater” sound particularly good to me. Nice review!
Thanks for stopping by! I kinda switched up the format. Once I read a story I’d fill in a couple sentences, then go back to reading. May have to do this with other anthologies.
I do that with collection reviews so I can keep track of the stories. 😂
Yeah, it makes a lot more sense this way and helps my sanity haha!