Sanguine Stories by Jeffrey Asmar
A debut that comes out swinging!
Y’know, for someone who once said they didn’t like story collections. I certainly seem to be reading an awful lot of them lately. 🤨 And *gasp* loving them all. 🫢 So either ol’ Phrique is going soft or you mofos are really starting to step up your games. Enter: Sanguine Stories, the debut novel of Jeff Asmar.
What I expected? A general array of horror stories that show Jeff’s potential as a new writer.
What I got: Bruh, I almost didn’t make it through the first story! When I say that Jeff goes DARK and there’s no sunshine forecasted in the near future of this book, I mean that shit.
Besides going dark, Asmar is not afraid to GO THERE. His second story, I legit had to stop and ask…is he really about to…they’re going to…yes they are. Bruh, this is your debut. Save something for your next one! Alas, he doesn’t let up whatsoever. From a ravenous forest entity to the most fucked up party foul ever to a chaotic symphony that crescendoes into a bloodbath. All three opening stories have different tones and voices, but Cello stuck out as probably my favorite. Just because it’s extremely well written, has a lot of substance and nuance then the climax hits and you’re like…how does a body…do…that? 🤔 Then we move onto a killer mixup, one of the worst prison torture one could ever imagine, to a cyber nightmare, and ended with one of the most dread-inducing tales of grief I’ve come across. Not exaggerating, the ability of Jeff to squeeze what he did into short stories shows true talent and range. He may be a new, but he’s one to watch. Cannot recommend this one more. Congrats Jeff Asmar, you killed that shit…and so many innocent people. 🙊