I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Effects Vary by Michael Harris Cohen Published by Cemetery Gates Media on October 4 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror, Short stories
Pages: 202
Format: ARC
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: A garden full of poisonous delights, the stories in Effects Vary will catch you off guard and change the way you think about horror.
You can tell from the disturbing cover art that this isn’t going to be your usual collection of short fiction. Effects Vary contains twenty-two short stories, and it’s one of the strongest collections I’ve read in some time. Michael Harris Cohen’s stories are populated by the oppressed, the damaged and the lost. There’s violence, body horror, pain and disturbing imagery. Each story is perfectly paced, just long enough to upset the reader and leave us wondering how the author thought up such an idea in the first place.
There were a few that didn’t work for me, mostly for personal reasons. The opening story (What Happens in the Dark Will Soon Happen in the Light) has animal cruelty, and I don’t care how good your writing is, that’s a hard “no” for me. Another one (He Dies Where I Die) was extremely unsettling, and as a story works great, but it was a big NOPE because, ants. But otherwise I was delighted at the variety of stories, each unique and horrific in its own way.
Here’s a breakdown of my top five favorite stories (in no particular order):
THE EX-COURT PAINTER, GOYA, AND THE PRINCESS
This might be my favorite of the bunch. It’s also the most hopeful, although like the others it still has that macabre touch that all of Cohen’s stories have.
Angelo Rios Soto used to be the court painter for Charles IV, King of Spain, but he’s been replaced by Francisco de Goya. So he’s surprised one day when the King summons him to court to paint a portrait of the new Princess—who is dead, it turns out. Despite his horror at this unexpected request, Angelo completes his task, and returns to the palace once a year for the next twenty years to paint a new portrait of the Princess.
A sad, gruesome story, and yet Cohen infuses it with longing and warmth. As the years go by, Angelo imagines what the Princess might look like if she were alive, and with each passing year, he finds himself falling in love with her. The ending was simply brilliant.
THE BOOK OF SKIES
Another story with a hopeful ending, although getting there is heartbreaking. A family is tied to their land by an ancient curse. For generations, the men of the family have been watching the sky and taking careful notes. Each cloud formation is a request for a sacrifice of some kind, and if that sacrifice is met, the land and those who live there will flourish. One day, though, the sky asks for something the man has been dreading his entire life. And now he has a choice to make.
Wow, I absolutely loved this story. When characters have to make terrible choices, it adds so much emotion to the reading experience. Cohen excels at infusing his tales with tension and dread, and this is a perfect example of those elements.
DONE TO SCALE
In this creepy story about a girl and her dollhouse, the author chooses an unusual perspective to tell his story from—that of one of the dolls. The doll is taking the reader on a tour of the house, going through each room and commenting on things that happen there. The story becomes more and more horrifying as we realize things aren’t quite right with the little girl, who seems to be acting out different traumas in her life.
One of the things Cohen does so well is to gradually reveal his hand. At first, we don’t understand what’s happening, but little by little the pieces come together into something quite chilling.
GRADUATING
This very disturbing tale is made even more so because the characters are blithely unaware of their impending fate. When the story begins, a man named Jones 5 has just been resurrected. Jones 5 has one more death to go through and then he’ll receive the Gift. But he’s about to discover that the Gift isn’t what he expected at all.
Graduating takes us inside a terrifying future experimental laboratory, where some entity is studying the effects of various ways to die. The participants joke with each other and compare notes on “which is the most painful way to die,” with the understanding that someday they will get their reward and leave this place. For me there was a strong similarity to parts of the movie Logan’s Run, which has a similar set up. Even the names of the characters (Jones 5, Jones 4) seemed to mimic the movie (the main character is called Logan 5). I loved this one a lot!
WE IS WE
Mary and Millie are a sideshow attraction. It’s the only life they’ve ever known, ever since they were born and their mama tried to get rid of them. But Mary has a plan. She is desperate to escape—all she needs to do is get rid of Cyrus, the man who takes care of them. But her plan goes wrong and Mary’s life takes a much different turn than she expected.
I loved this story because it takes a while to figure out the relationship between Mary and Millie. But once the author reveals the truth about them, that’s when the emotions kick in. This was another powerful, heartbreaking story.
Michael Harris Cohen has impressed me with his pitch perfect prose and his ability to make me feel for his damaged characters. I cannot wait to read more of his work.
Big thanks to the author for providing a review copy.
Clearly these are stories that require a strong heart, given the highly dramatic situations the characters find themselves in, but still it looks like the kind of book that takes hold of your imagination and doesn’t let go so easily…
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE CLOSERS (Harry Bosch #11), by Michael Connelly
There’s a lot of heartache but I found it was all worth it:-)
I’m not normally a big horror reader, but these stories sound interesting! I might be persuaded to read them. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by, Lisa:-)
This sounds awesome. Exept for the ants. 🙂 And the doll one sounds creepy!
Greg recently posted…The House on the Cliff
The doll story was very creepy!
I’ve been looking forward to your review of Effects Vary. Isn’t that a clever cover image? Sounds like Cohen delivered!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…One-Sentence Reviews: My 3rd Quarter 2022 Reads
It’s so clever! Yes, I was very impressed:-)
So often reviews bring to mind something I’ve read or watched in the past, even if very different from what’s being reviewed. Here, The Ex-Court Painter, Goya, and the Princess, brings back memories of one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, The Girl in the Fireplace, where the Doctor returns to visit a girl/woman multiple times, with the girl desperately waiting for his return. But each visit is many years after the previous, with the woman getting older and older. As I recall it had a bit of a romantic element and also a rather sad though touching ending. I think I’d really like the short story.
That sounds like a very similar vibe, also very sad! I’m sorry to say I haven’t watched much Doctor Who but maybe I should start:-)
Me again… I just preordered the anthology, so thanks much for the review! 🙂
Oh cool, I hope you enjoy it!
Great review! 😀 I just got a copy of this and was already eager to read it, but I’m so much more excited after reading this post. I’m so glad you loved it!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries recently posted…Weekly Check-in: I’m back on my audiobook flow!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of it:-)
I’ve only recently discovered it can be nice to read a whole story in one sitting as I usually go for massive books that take me ages to read 😀 Some of these sound really good, glad you enjoyed them.
Pages and Tea recently posted…Reading Review: September 2022
That’s the problem I have with big books, they take so long to read:-)
Well, as you know I don’t really lean towards short stories but you’ve done a great job selling these and I think if any story can win me over when short it’s probably horror – it does lend itself.
Lynn 😀
He’s an excellent writer, I recommend him when you’re in the mood for something short.
I feel like this is one of those books that I need to be emotionally and mentally ready for before I get into it. Or maybe take it one story at a time 🙂 That said The Ex-Court Painter and The Book of Skies both have my attention — they sound so good!
Yes, both are amazing! And not too terribly horrific:-)
Oh I need this book in my life. I absolutely love the cover and it sounds like a scary read.
Ash @ Essentially Ash
Ash recently posted…Tag, You’re It! Horror movie book tag
It’s worth trying, I hope you enjoy!
Ooh, some of these stories sound good! I am with you on the animal cruelty one, nope! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Blog Tour Review: Runaway Groomsman by Meghan Quinn