Book Review: ABCs of Horror

Book: ABCs of Horror

Author: Anmol Rawat

Publisher: Self-published

Genre: Fiction|Horror

Pages: 150

Price: 49 INR

Blurb:

You have been warned: This book is cursed.

ABCs of Horror is a collection of ghastly tales that binds different forms of terrors together in a riveting narrative, which feels as real as the entity sitting right behind you when you are home alone, getting freaked out by even a gust of air.

There is a dreadful treasure here for every reader: haunted houses, rise of the Devil, paranormal sightings, Voodoo, and much more. The author has put together promising stories for every alphabet that are guaranteed to scare you out of your wits and question the presence of the supernatural.

Pick up the book as the night crawls by for feeling those chills creeping up your skin and your heart beating out of your chest.

My Review:

ABCs of Horror is a collection of 26 short stories on horror. The author has written these stories during the A-Z blogging challenge in the month of April and therefore, there are 26 chapters on the 26 alphabets. 

Writing 26 different short stories on horror is definitely a challenging task and the author has brilliantly succeeded in it because all the stories are different from each other. Not for a second, the stories seemed repetitive or bland. All the stories have some shocking twist at the end, which kept me on my toes. I couldn't predict the ending in most of the stories.

In this collection, Anmol has written stories not only on ghosts and evil spirits but also on Voodoo practice, the rise of the devil, black magic, witchcraft, mutation and monsters. I read 2-3 stories per day so that I could savor them one at a time. My favorites from this collection are "Circle of Life", "In lieu of", "Killer Doll", "Planchette", "Sinister" and "Yours Forever".

In "Yours Forever", we can see how the effect of black magic stays even after death. The ending of this story gave me goosebumps. "Killer Doll" was scary. The way the author has narrated the incidents gave me chills while reading the story. I remember after reading this story, I was looking at my soft toys with suspicion. 

"Planchette" is another gem of this collection. The ending is absolutely shocking. "Circle of Life" and "Sinister" had the horror element ingrained from the very beginning. "In lieu of" is another favorite from this collection. It starts as a simple story about a married couple who have shifted to a new house, but the ending will surely startle you.

The narration of the book is fast paced and the writing style is praiseworthy. Readers can easily visualize the setting while reading the stories. Special mention to Pikakshi Manchanda for the crisp editing that made the book a fabulous reading experience. 

I also liked the way the author has finished the book. The last story "Zapped In" is about a bunch of friends who get a book, the first page of which it is written, "The Book Is Cursed". A very clever way to end the book, must say!

I am going with 4.5 and would recommend this book to everyone who loves thrillers and horrors. Trust me, you will love the reading experience. Read it on your Kindle at night and thank me later.