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DIE LAUGHING
By John R. Platt
Medium Rare Books 0-09711162-5-3
Softcover
$14.95I try not to read short story collections only because I grow disappointed in the chosen stories. This disappointment usually comes from big names in horror. It seems so easy to write a short story; you can write about an emotion, or a character arc, or just experiment with anything your heart and mind can come up with, but in my opinion it takes skill; skill that John Platt has coming out of his butt.
"Die Laughing" is a wonderful collection of short stories and poetry from a rising small press author from the Garden State. And like an honest writer from New Jersey, Platt points out the weeds in that Garden State. He covers everything from little girls with dreams, the suburbs, the figure of death, and white corporate America.
In "That Old Black Magic", a magic book collector is conned by a friend into losing his soul to the Unholy Trinity.
"A Dream of Joy, Departed" is a haunting tale of uncontrolled obsession.
A charming little girl wants to be a witch and asks her family how in "Growing Up is Hard to Do."
In "Hell-Fire Cure for Baldness", a young telemarketer gets a job in hell, only to be a religious target in his neighborhood.
Two zombies realize that they might have an eating disorder, you know, eating flesh, and seek out a doctor to help them with their problem in "Two Dead Guys Walking Around."
Two super-villains try to become super heroes in "Going Straight."
"Phone Tag" is a morbid story about child kidnapping told from the answering machine.
A guy discovers his true disturbed self through his VCR in "Video Doesn't Lie."
Even the poetry has its amount of cool twists and turns that will make you laugh aloud. The ones that stick out for me are written with a serial killer's perspective, mocking the stereotypes that so many writers fall into when depicting them.
"Die Laughing" is a wonderful achievement of mixing horror and comedy, giving way to a potentially brilliant new voice in fiction. In the end, you might feel a bit disturbed, not from the stories, although they are disturbing, but from the fact that you laughed aloud.
John R. Platt
www.mediumrarebooks.comReview by Mike Purfield
Critical Raves for Mike Purfield's "Dirty Boots."
"If you're looking for a good read, something you've never experienced before, then this is the book for you." Paul Kane of Terror Tales.
Rated 3 out of 4 by Unhinged Magazine.
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