“No One Will Come Back For Us” by Premee Mohamed
Here there be gods and monsters – forged from flesh and stone and vengeance – emerging from the icy abyss of deep space, ascending from dark oceans, and prowling strange cities to enter worlds of chaos and wonder, where scientific rigor and human endeavour is tested to the limits. These are cosmic realms and watery domains where old offerings no longer appease the ancient Gods or the new and hungry idols. Deities and beasts. Life and death. Love and hate. Science and magic. And smiling monsters in human skin.
Premee Mohamed’s debut collection of contemporary cosmic horror and dark fantasy heralds the arrival of a new and vibrant voice on the cutting edge of modern speculative fiction.
Review
The seventeen stories in this book are an interesting mix of horror, fantasy and science fiction. Many of them exist within a “gods are real” universe with a more fantasy horror slant while others are general fiction horror with science fiction elements. I enjoyed all of them though I think a couple could have done with a bit more explanation of what was going on and why. I did like that the author included additional information about the various stories at the end of the book.
Below the Kirk, Below the Hill – a woman finds an undead child and struggles to figure out what to do next. I liked the way this one ended because the choices were limited and there wasn’t much that can be done for the child.
Instructions – a set of instructions for British servicemen in a German occupied France. Only it turns out it’s not that simple. As you read through the instructions you slowly figure out the twist to this one. I liked it.
The Evaluator – in which a child has been possessed buy a disturbing entity and all people can do is evaluate the situation. This is another one where there are limited choices but this time the horror is more about being helpless.
At the Hand of Every Beast – a monster in the form of a large cathedral wonders through the area and a small child investigates it. This one was strange but I enjoyed it.
The Adventurer’s Wife – A newspaper reporter is tasked with interviewing a deceased adventurer’s widow. This one has a great twist in the end. Not all is as it seems on multiple fronts. Fun ending.
The General’s Turn – a captured solder is put through a test by the enemy. I’m not entirely sure I understood this one. The explanation from the author helps some.
Sixteen Minutes – a sixteen minute warning comes and a man hides in a bunker abandoning his family in the process. Question is, were bombs really dropped? This one is more about the man who hides in the bunker slowly losing his mind more than anything else. The ending is a little vague on purpose.
Fortunato – a ship lands to rescue the survivors of a failed colony and the crew soon learns the story of what went wrong. Of course the rescue goes about as well as you’d expect. I enjoyed the slow build of horror of this one as things go horribly wrong.
The Honeymakers – Something strange happens with a bee hive and girls who interact with it. This one is a bit confusing but I liked the idea of it.
Four Hours of a Revolution – Many Deaths stalk a group of rebels and solders fighting a revolution…there’s some confusion… This one is interesting to read as death follows everyone as things happen.
For Each of These Miseries – A woman travels to a deep see fortress to help her mother’s friend who is dealing with a monster and a group of soldiers who are slowly succumbing to the pressure of keeping things secret. The ending of this one is interesting.
Everything is Part of Its Infinite Place – a boy grieves the loss of his brother and encounters a double of himself and a series of strange events before making a choice. The ending of this one is a little vague as we know something happened but it’s not clear of it was a good thing or a bad thing.
No One Will Come Back For Us – a visit to a hospital during a epidemic that may have a supernatural cause. I enjoyed reason this one but I think the might have been one where things could have been explained a little more? Or at last the ending as I’m not sure about the narrator’s point of view.
Willing – A farmer’s two cows suffer during birth – one dying one living but birthing a stillborn. A sacrifice is required. I really liked the way this one ended.
Us and Ours – two kids during an invasion of creatures dealing with everything. This one was good – the kids are pretty much used as bait by another group for the creatures. I From the author’s description it seems like the ending is supposed to be a little vague about who actually won. I liked the way it ended though with the two kids driving off to have their own adventures.
The Redoubtables – a young journalist is investigating a disaster to write an article about it. It turns out that the disaster was intentional because a group of scientists destroyed their experiment completely in order to keep it contained. No real explanations are given as to why and that’s the true horror of it all.
Quietus – a young man is being used as test subject – from his point of view he’s fighting several wars. We also get emails exchanged between scientists running the experiment on sleep deprivation and virtual reality. The ending is a little vague but it seems like the right choice to end the experiment is made for the good of all. But whether or not it’s too late is unclear.
Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “No One Will Come Back For Us”
Book Details
- Author’s Website
- Premee Mohamed
- Publisher / Date
- Undertow Publications, May 2023
- Genre
- Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories
- Page Count
- 288
- Completion Date
- October 26, 2024
