This collection of dark speculative tales will lead the reader on a roller coaster ride through the unknown, where things aren’t always what they seem.
Now that you’ve warmed by the embers, submerse in darker days.
The author of the short story collections These Old Tales, Fresh Cut Tales, and Embers presents Darker Days: A Collection of Dark Fiction. In his youth Cain developed a sense of wonderment owed in part to TV shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, One Step Beyond and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Now Cain seeks the same dark overtones in his writing.
There’s a little something for every reader within this collection. These 26 short speculative stories arise from a void, escaping shadows that ebb and weave through minds like worms, planting the larvae that live just under the skin, thriving upon fear. These are Cain’s darker days.
In this collection, Cain features stories from the Old West, of past lives and future days, the living and the dead, new and unique monsters as well as fresh takes on those of lore. Once more he tackles themes of loss and grief and the afterlife, always exploring the greater unknown. In “The Sanguine Wars,” Cain takes us to a future war where soldiers are made to endure the horrors of war. He explores the complexities of global warming and what lengths men and women alike sink to in “The Reassignment Project.” And, as often is the case, he ends on a lighter note, with “Lenny’s New Eyes” and “A Very Different Sort of Apocalypse.”
When the darkness comes, embrace it. Let it wrap you up in cold. Don’t worry, it’s not your time...yet.
Table of Contents:
“A Ring For His Own”
“Heirloom”
“Rust Colored Rain”
“Prey”
“Passing Time”
“What Mama Needs”
“My Brother Bit Your Honor Roll Student”
“Outcasts: The Sick and Dying 1 - Henry Wentworth”
“The Sanguine Wars”
“The Hunted”
“Her Living Corals”
“Puppet Strings”
“The Trying of Master William”
“By The Crescent Moon”
“Mantid”
“The Underside of Time and Space”
“Outcasts: The Sick and Dying 2 - Gemma Nyle”
“The Griffon”
“Adaptable”
“When They Come”
“The Reassignment Project”
“Presage”
“One Hopeless Night by a Clan Fire”
“Lenny’s New Eyes”
“Outcasts: The Sick and Dying 3 - Anna Kilpatrick”
“A Very Different Sort of Apocalypse”
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
Industry Reviews
“Wildly varied and always surprising, DARKER DAYS is a fantastic collection of dark wonders. Cain is a gifted storyteller and a writer to watch.”—Jonathan Janz, THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER and CHILDREN OF THE DARK
“Darker Days, the latest collection of short stories by Kenneth W. Cain, delivers on its title's promise. From the very first story readers are dragged into seemingly ordinary situations that serve as cover for dark secrets. Ranging from subtle horror to downright terror, from science fiction to weird fantasy, Cain demonstrates a breadth of styles that keeps you off balance as you move from one story to the next. There is something for everyone in this collection--as long as you don't want to sleep at night!”—JG Faherty, author of The Cure, Carnival of Fear, and The Burning Time.
“I’ve said before that the way to assess the health of a genre is to look at the number of excellent young writers it attracts. There is a new wave of excellent writers showing up in Horror. Kenneth W. Cain is one of these very good writers. His prose Is precise, his plotting and pace move seamlessly and quickly, and his stories are compelling. Darker Days is a good example of some of his best work—highly recommended.”—Gene O’Neill, The White Plague Chronicles
“A feast for the senses no matter your tastes! Kenneth W. Cain does it again with Darker Days: A Collection of Dark Fiction.”—Rena Mason, Bram Stoker Award® winning author of The Evolutionist and East End Girls
