Orrin Grey has a way of taking presented concepts and doing something not only completely original but fun and sometimes heartbreaking. It may not sound like a good, or even feasible, mix but in Grey's capable hands, it is.This book also accomplishes a rare feat: None of the stories in this book are "meh." They are all consistently good. And there is a solid balance of lighter and darker (though make no mistake all the stories have an element of darkness to them, thus the "Sardonic Tales" part o...

This collection makes a big to-do about the stories contained being “cruel” and some of them are definitely nasty, but Grey has a sort of gleeful and roving joyousness in the way he tackles what you might think of as old horror tropes and stands them on their head so that you have to look at them in a new way.Orrin Grey is proving to be a master of the short-form, alongside writers like Laird Barron and Stephen Graham Jones. You should get this one, for sure. And Never Bet the Devil. *Side note

Fun collection of stories, with author notes after each tale explaining Grey's inspiration, including a bunch of B-movies mentioned. Even when I was able to figure out how a few stories would end, it was still quite fun to read them through to the conclusion. I have to admit, my favorite was the sword and sorcery/Lovecraftian choose-your-own-adventure, which I wish was longer and with a few more endings. And anyone who mentions The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake as an inspiration for one of his s...

Grey has such unique storytelling techniques. Enjoyed this collection.My favorites:-The Lesser Keys-Shadders -the Phantom Planet

This is a book compiled of short stories. Some of them a struggle to get through, others very good. Worth the read.

Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales is Orrin Grey's third collection, following his wonderful collection, Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts, and what a follow-up it is. Guignol, unlike previous collections, shows that Grey can dip his skeletal fingers into other dark genres as well and do so beautifully, while remaining knee-deep in weird horror all the while.My favorite stories from this collection are: "Guignol," "The Blue Light," "A Circle That Ever Returneth In," "The Well and the Wheel, "D...

Orrin Grey is one of those guys who, as far as I know, is doing things with the horror genre that no other author is doing (if anyone is, please let me know!)Having thoroughly enjoyed how fun, classic, and pulpy his two other books were - "Painted Monsters" in particular- I approached this new collection's assertion that it would be darker and crueler with some measure of trepidation. It turns out my fears were unfounded. Yes, there are some stories like Shadders and Invaders of Gla'aki that hav...

The silver screen flickers and then gleams in sharp detail and uneasy contrasts. Every corner of the screen is filled with monsters, films as the esoteric text, forbidden cults, and body snatchers. The popcorn is covered in atmosphere straight from the yellow nozzle.I love films and television shows as the eldritch text, and Orrin delivers these to me in healthy servings that always have me coming back for more. Considering this, “Dream House” is an excellent place to open the collection. A stor...

One of the best parts about book reviewing is discovering a favorite author. For all the negative reviews you might find yourself writing or the duds you can’t bring yourself to finish, the glowing shine of a new favorite really makes the pitfalls worth it. I’m lucky to have discovered so many so far, entire backlists I’ve determined need to be read. Few, however, can pen a short story quite like Orrin Grey.Read the rest of the review here.

I loved this collection. This book was full of scary, yet deeply emotional stories. My favorites were:“Shadders”“A Circle that Ever Returneth”“The Well and the Wheel”“Haruspicate or Scry”This is a strong collection and I definitely recommend.

I really struggled to get through this -- every time I started to settle into a story, I'd run into an unsubtle reference to a movie/book/whatever or a particularly clunky turn of phrase that pulled me out of it again. The concepts were genuinely compelling and unique, and I was impressed at how many different elements and subgenres Grey incorporated into one story collection. However, the author seems really hung up on making nods and references to things without actually incorporating those th...

Orrin Grey is a recent discovery of mine, but he has quickly become one of my favorite writers. I've read Guignol twice in less than a year and can easily see myself revisiting it frequently. Grey's love of horror is clear in these stories, and it's always great to read something from someone that is truly passionate about the genre.There's not a single misstep in this entire collection. The stories include:"Dream House" opens the collection with the author himself as a character, trying to find...

I’m a big fan of Orrin Grey’s work, and look forward to anything bearing his name. Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales is a mix of new and previously printed material, but I was happy to re-read even those stories with which I was already familiar. I enjoyed every page, but if I had to pick a handful of favorites this time ‘round…“Dream House”: Perfect opener for an Orrin Grey collection.“The Lesser Keys”: Fantastic Jazz Age story set in Kansas City. If you enjoyed Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Blac...

A fun collection of horror, with a particular focus on film. Many of the stories are creative twists on classic archetypes, characters or forms (there's a "Choose your own adventure").

This is the perfect October collection. This book is filled with stunners that creeped me out but also made me smile at the same time. Many of the stories look to the past to find their horrors, which is one of the quintessential themes of this genre that we love so much. Frequent film and video game references run through the stories, ranging from the beloved to the obscure. The reverence and references give Orrin his unique style and set him apart from his contemporaries in the field.I want to...

Maybe I'm the only one who reads introductions and afterwards prior to reading collections, but Orrin describes his stories in this collection as "cruel." Those who have read his previous collections may expect a bit of hack-and-slash action horror. There's a bit of that here, especially with "A Circle That Ever Returneth In," "Baron Von Werewolf Presents" and "The Cult of Headless Men."But the cruelty is in the relationships, in the characters and the things they get put through. "Dark and Deep...