Three-time Bram Stoker Award® nominee Lee Murray delivers her debut collection, and it is monstrous. Inspired by the mythology of Europe, China, and her beloved Aotearoa-New Zealand, Murray twists and subverts ancient themes, stitching new creatures from blood and bone, hiding them in soft forest mists and dark subterranean prisons.In this volume, construction workers uncover a hidden tunnel; … tunnel; soldiers wander, lost after a skirmish; and a dead girl yearns for company. Featuring eleven uncanny tales of automatons, zombies, golems, and dragons, and the Taine McKenna adventure Into the Clouded Sky, Lee Murray’s Grotesque: Monster Stories breathes new life into the monster genre.
11 short stories from the imagination of New Zealand’s multiple award-winning author and editor Lee Murray! With a foreword by USA Today bestselling author David Wood.
~
The book has already received outstanding praise and reviews, including the following:-
“With Grotesque: Monster Stories, Lee Murray proves she is a first-rate talent! These stories are fascinating,
unexpected, and scary as hell!” — Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rage and V-Wars.
“Action, thrills, monsters, awesome!” — USA Today bestselling author, David Wood.
“Keep calm and buckle up! From traveling to the dark side of exotic locales to visiting those familiar places you only thought you knew, author Lee Murray flexes her talent and range in this debut collection.” — Rena Mason, award winning author of The Evolutionist and East End Girls.
“Murray’s tales run the gamut of the horror spectrum, from horrifying to terrifying to heartbreaking. There is a story for everyone in this wonderful collection.” — Tom Deady, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Haven.
“It has been said creating is a path of immortality; Murray’s engaging tales bring us into the dream time of imagination, mixing her unique dark stories and the Māori culture to create a collection existing outside of time, taking us with it.” — Linda D. Addison, award-winning author and HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
“Murray’s formidable imagination is laid bare here, presenting a dizzying array of monsters from around the world – leaping effortlessly from ancient reanimated soldiers in the Loire Valley, to Māori demons, to horrors even closer to home: the monsters within our own families.” — Aaron Sterns, Wolf Creek 2, Wolf Creek: Origin
more
With Grotesque: Monster Stories, Lee Murray proves she is a first-rate talent! These stories are fascinating, unexpected, and scary as hell!
Grotesque: Monster Stories by Lee Murray is a collection of tales that features monsters of all sorts. From the monstrous legends to the real world, you’ll never know what to expect next.
This is a dark and powerful collection with a great variety. Some of these tales really got under my skin and one even made me feel physically ill.
If you’re a horror fan, don’t wait, go pick up this collection today!:
I’ve had Into the Mist on my Kindle for some time now, the first book in Lee Murray’s Taine McKenna series. When Grotesque: Monster Stories was offered for review, I jumped on it. What a splendid way to finally read Murray’s works and get excited to dive into Taine McKenna’s world!
Murray is one of the nicest and most supportive people in the horror world and her recent awarding of the HWA Mentorship award shows just that!
What I liked: Grotesque: Monster Stories shows Murray has some serious writing chops. This collection of 11 stories runs the gamut of styles and subjects – there really is something for everyone. Historical fiction – check. Lovecraftian Mythos – check. Devastating emotional work – check. Just fantastic stuff.
What I didn’t like: I did find a number of the stories were left quite open-ended which in a collection made me wonder whether its related to another piece or there’s a part two kicking around in the future. Minor gripe, but I wanted some answers ha!
Why you should buy it: Well, we should support someone as awesome as Lee, we should support women in this genre and we should support amazing writers. The first story in this – ‘Grotesque’ was a fantastic piece of historical fiction where we get thrown into a discovery of a hidden door under a museum in France. We then get thrust back to 1500’s France and learn the truth of what’s on the other side of the door.
And wowsa did ‘Selfie’ reinvent the post-apocalyptic survival trope. Loved it!
The real gem for me was easily ‘Heart Music.’ A flash fiction piece that told the story of a romantic grave robber.
For Murray fans, you’ll be excited to see the collection ending with a new Taine McKenna story, which was a fun time and made me excited to dive into book one!
This had something for everyone and I think it’s a great place for new fans to start!
Stories you can easily read in one sitting. Los of unpronounceable names though.
Murray’s tales run the gamut of the horror spectrum, from horrifying to terrifying to heartbreaking. There is a story for everyone in this wonderful collection.
Action, thrills, monsters, awesome!
Murray’s formidable imagination is laid bare here, presenting a dizzying array of monsters from around the world u2060— leaping effortlessly from ancient reanimated soldiers in the Loire Valley, to Māori demons, to horrors even closer to home: the monsters within our own families.
It has been said creating is a path of immortality; Murray’s engaging tales bring us into the dream time of imagination, mixing her unique dark stories and the Māori culture to create a collection existing outside of time, taking us with it.
Keep calm and buckle up! From traveling to the dark side of exotic locales to visiting those familiar places you only thought you knew, author Lee Murray flexes her talent and range in this debut collection.