Short Fiction | Book Chatter

Demon Wolves
By Slade Ciric
Dead Gnome Productions, September 2026, 51 pages.

The Short of It:

Lovers of lycanthropic lore, rejoice.

The Rest of It:

Guys, there be werewolves here.

I love to dive into a big, thick, juicy chunkster but now and then I surprise everyone by picking up something short. Demon Wolves was short, under 100 pages but brimming with exactly what we all want in October; atmospheric reads that put us in the mood for the season. Demon Wolves did just that. Where are my RIP Readers?

As with any good werewolf story, the origin story is important and this one all starts with some poor drunk guy making a bad decision in the 18th century. That decision carries well into the 20th century and starts a chain of events that end in a trail of blood, gore and destruction.

As these hapless victims are taken down in unique and dare I say, humorous ways, I still managed to laugh at some of the details in the story. My fave part, and this is not a spoiler is when a toddler gets trampled. I mean, I don’t know what this says about me but I was in bed reading and just laughed so hard at that.

Short, but witty and atmospheric. An excellent story to kick off the season. Slade’s work is new to me but check out his other stuff. My only criticism is that I wanted more. Can we please get a full length novel? Pretty please?

Highly recommend. He labels his books for Adults. Sorry, read it anyway.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

So Late In The Day: Stories of Women and Men
By Claire Keegan
Grove Press, 9780802160850, Nov 2023, 128 pp.

The Short of It:

There is something untapped when I read a Keegan book and it’s a tad exhilarating.

The Rest of It:

I recently read and reviewed Small Things Like These. It was a short novel that packed quite a punch but as soon as I was done reading it, I eagerly picked up another book by Keegan. Sue over at The Cue Card recommended this one to me and so I quickly found a copy and settled in.

This collection of stories is again, very brief. Only 128 pages. The three stories all deal with men and women and have a hint of something that sits just a little off kilter. You know what I mean? There is an uneasiness to the storytelling but it’s also just so compelling. There’s a little hint of danger, especially with the last story, Antarctica. The nuances of men interacting with women and the sharing of their internal thoughts, is riveting.

If you need a short, powerful, really well-written book to add to your end-of-the-year totals, make sure to add this one.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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