Demon Rum is an anthology I've been looking forward to since it's announcement back in 2013, for a couple of reasons. First, because the folks at Angelic Knight Press do such a great job of selecting submissions and in particular, because I really liked the theme with this one.

Seems there were more good pieces submitted than the editors could use for the main anthology and, as a result, we are given this companion collection, A Shot of Terror.

No big names in this mini-anthology of alcohol induced terror, but the writing is above average and there is not a bad story in the bunch.

I particularly liked the first selection, "The Wild Hunt" by Tina Callaghan. Set in an Irish pub, there are three strangers who come in from the cold. The whisky the one orders goes right through him, literally. Yes, I do know the proper usage if the word literally. "They want the souls of the dying, which would be me, and they want the souls of those in despair, which would be any or all of us, I'd say. They'll take a happy soul too if they get the chance, but they're drawn to the other kind. Vultures really."

"Scrumpy Making In the West Country" by Stephen Gepp was fun, if somewhat predictable. And I thought "The Merry Green Widows of Waterman's Inn" by Rachel Anding was a nice way to wrap up the collection. Rachel's prose was especially enjoyable. "Chadwick Krane slipped his moleskin sketchpad along with a handful of stubby pencils into the pocket of his messenger bag which he lowered carefully into the rowboat. Pungent oders of decomposing swamp matter and pre-storm ozone filled his nostrils." Certainly paints the picture, doesn't it?

Shots of Terror is a great setup for Demon Rum and is available now from Angelic Knight Press through Amazon.com.

Highly recommended and please read responsibly. ( )