Epeolatry Book Review: Liminal Spaces by Deborah Sheldon

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Title: Liminal Spaces

Author: Deborah Sheldon

Genre: Horror

Publisher: IFWG Publishing Australia

Release Date: 1st March, 2022

Synopsis: Transitions occur in a liminal space. The familiar is gone. The unknown lies ahead and with it, terrible possibilities. Award-winning author Deborah Sheldon explores liminal spaces in this collection of dark, unsettling fiction. Her characters teeter on frightening thresholds with no way back. Liminal Spaces includes Sheldon’s award-nominated tales “For Weirdless Days and Weary Nights”, “All the Stars in Her Eyes” and Barralang, “Pop. 63”, plus original and unpublished fiction.

Deborah Sheldon’s Liminal Spaces offers a variety of horrors. The stories within range from flash fiction to near novella, while the tone ranges from quiet unease to ultra-gory monster violence—all wonderful stuff. When done right, I love both ends of this particular horror spectrum. And Sheldon delivers. There’s a bit of something for every horror-monger in this collection.

I’d read her previous book (Man Beast) a while back and was happy to dive into more of her work. I had a blast further exploring the horror landscape of Australia (and the Greek islands) as presented by Sheldon.

My favorites of the bunch are ‘Barralang, Pop.63’, ‘The Tea and Sugar Train’, ‘A Multitude of One’, and ‘Hand to Mouth’. These covered everything from supernatural happenings in a remote village and the reporter trapped within, to monstrous parasitic outbreaks reminiscent of The Thing, to horrifically malfunctioning prosthetic limbs. Sheldon takes these ideas and runs with them in wild directions, exploring new horrifying possibilities.

A handful of the stories didn’t quite hook me. I was able to guess where things were headed, but stayed along for the ride. A few other stories just seemed to end with no real resolution. Fine with me, but I wanted to know more. I needed just a touch more exploration of ideas. These were all still well written.

Overall, this collection is a treat, and it goes by fast, so be sure to savor each tale. I look forward to future works by Deborah Sheldon.

/5

Available from Amazon.

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