REVIEW:

Yorick

By Vlad Vaslyn

~ Horror, humour, supernatural, short fiction~

Paperback, 90 pages (Kindle edition)

Published October 28th 2012 by Vlad Vaslyn (first published October 28th 1012)

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* * * * * out of five stars

The Blurb (via goodreads)

Poor Roberta. She's aging, has lost everyone she's ever loved, and now she lives out her sad, lonely days feeding on bad convenience store food and faded memories of happier times. She wants nothing more than to join her loved ones in the afterlife, but then a gruesome discovery along the banks of the Merrimack River changes everything. Roberta knows she'll never be alone again

My review

If you are a fan of short, snappy horror with a dash of humour to compliment it, then you must read Yorick.

I was invited by Mr Vaslyn to read the first chapter or so to see if I would be interested in reading and reviewing it. One of the things I distinctively remember thinking as I read the first paragraph was: Where on earth is the author going to take this?! But that sold it. I was so intrigued and pulled in by Vaslyn’s descriptions and punchy introduction, I found myself compelled to find out.

Vaslyn is brilliant at building character, whilst developing atmosphere and story.

I instantly liked and felt sympathy for Roberta. She was the kind of character that you pray you don’t become in old age. She is all of our fears about growing old in one character.

The story is mainly set up around Roberta and her “discovery”. With some supporting characters giving Roberta more depth and background into how she is perceived in her community.

Vaslyn uses humour skilfully in this work of horror, something that I feel can be tricky to nail in a horror story. Humour can break a horror story down (in my experience) but truthfully, the humour in this was brilliance. I won’t go into detail here as not to spoil it for potential readers, but look out for the conversations Roberta has with her discovered skull.  They are somewhat innocent, normal yet so bizarre.

As a sweeping statement, I am not a fan of short stories; they somehow don’t quench the thirst I have for background, back story and explanation but Yorick as thrown my thoughts on short stories completely. The pace maintains interest whilst the ending is satisfying. It comes together but also leaves just enough room for speculation as to what might’ve happened next.  I will definitely be looking out for more from this promising and talented author.

Dark, twisted and creepy; a real little gem of a horror.

Yorick is definitely worth a cosy eve in on the sofa...  Well... It’s not every day you are going to read about a little old lady wondering around with a skull tucked under her arm...

**A brief message for Mr Vaslyn**

I don’t know how you stumbled upon my blog, but I’m sincerely glad you did. Thank you.