In the End, Only Darkness

By Monica J. O’Rourke

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
ASIN: B00CB5JUX0

Spring 2013, $3.99 E-Book

Reviewed by Sheri White

If you missed this collection when it was first published in 2002, you’re in luck because it’s available again, this time in e-book form.

If you’re easily offended by things you read, turn back now. Because Monica writes extreme horror, and she doesn’t hold back on any subject matter. From trips to the gynecologist to raising children, Monica makes the mundane horrific.

Women aren’t really thrilled when it’s time for their yearly well-woman visit to the gyno. Once you read “Jasmine and Garlic,” you may be tempted to put that appointment off indefinitely. How safe are you really when you’re lying there naked with your feet in those stirrups and a speculum inserted inside you? You are at your most vulnerable – what if your doctor took an unnatural interest in you?

You know how a man will cringe when he sees a fellow male take a hit to the balls? Monica will elicit this reaction in women with her story “Attainable Beauty.” A lot of women are self-conscious about how they look, not just all over, but down there as well. Molly can’t stand how she looks and doesn’t know how her boyfriend doesn’t find her repulsive. Once she realizes how she wants to look, she won’t relax until she makes it happen.

“An Experiment in Human Nature” was one of the first stories I read by Monica many years ago. It blew me away then, and it still blows me away now. This is one of the most visceral, stomach-churning stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. This story is definitely not for the squeamish – but it’s magnificent.

There are eighteen stories in this collection (as well as a few poems), and every single one is kick-ass. If you’re a fan of extreme horror, you’re going to love this.

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