Genre: Horror Short Story (28 pages)
Published: Amazon Originals for Kindle, November 2024
My Rating: 5/5 stars
“People die. I don’t want to be the reason some live and some don’t. It’s best to just . . . be a mammal. Eat as much fresh fruit as you can. Spend time with trees. Hug the people you love. Accept that death is as natural as the rest of life. Dogs understand that. Cats understand that. Only humans have a hard time with it. And when it’s over, at least there’s someone there. At least you aren’t alone.”
A brand new short-story that packs an vicious punch in its brief 30 pages, by one of modern-horrors juggernauts. Our narrative opens with a detective duo investigating a tragic train accident that cost dozens of lives. One of their eye-witnesses stands out from the crowd; a young man who was supposed to be on board the train, but decided to disembark on the final second. And this isn’t the first time this young man has been seconds away from disaster… Is this kid extremely lucky, somehow involved in these accidents, or is something even darker at play here?
Ushers did everything I want a short-story to do: it hooked me, got me invested in its characters despite its short run-time, and somehow set-up ánd delivered on a satisfying mystery.
My feelings upon reading the final sentence were that perfect mix of being 100% satisfied, whilst also desperately craving more. It sparked my imagination and left me thinking about the world this author created for days after finishing it, wishing there was a full novel set in it. Yet ultimately; the ending was perfect and sent a shiver up my spine.
Hats off to Joe Hill for this lightly cosmic, lightly gothic, all atmospheric piece of short-fiction.
Many thanks to Amazon Originals for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
You can find this book here on Goodreads.
