Sunday, August 23, 2015

Book Review: In a Season of Dead Weather by Mark Dillon


In a season of dead weather, the mind clutches at reality; but what does it find instead? Madness, or monsters? Ghosts, or things more terrible than ghosts? Illusions, or invasions? Dreams, or the darkness at the end of all nightmares? One thing is clear: these are tales that echoes tell, in a season of dead weather.

I like the artwork on the cover, but there seems to be too much white overall. The cover is symbolic of the horror stories taking place in winter, but it feels like having something in the background might have made it stronger as well.


This is a collection of short stories, seven in all, clocking in around 20,000 altogether. Most of these stories are both fun to read and suspenseful. Having been born in the Canadian countryside of British Columbia I can easily picture the harsh frozen weather the author is describing. My particular favorite was 'Who Would Remain' which seemed to have the most interesting setup and character. My least favorite was 'The Weight of Its Awareness', just because the descriptive language seemed too heavy and made it difficult to read as result. Some more dialogue or an additional character would have greatly improved that one.

As this is as short book, however, I found myself wishing more was developed, particularly towards the end. The stories easily drew me in with strong descriptive language and an interesting set-up, but I found it ended all too soon. Hopefully we can see a full-length feature from this author in the future.

 FINAL GRADE: 3 out of 5. A fun series of stories which can easily be read in one sitting.

 In a Season of Dead Weather can be found here.

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