Horror and science-fiction anthologies used to be my jam. It was a great way to discover authors I’d never read and take in some of the shorter works from those I was already familiar with. Somewhere around 2010, however, the quality of anthologies began to decline. It seemed like publishers were just cranking them out to keep product on the shelves. The stories in the few I’d pick up were weakly plotted and poorly written. Themed anthologies were the worst as it felt like I was reading the same story over and over. With that in mind, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much when I cracked open And Hell Followed, an anthology of stories inspired by the Bible’s Book of Revelation.

The first story, which features The Whore of Babylon being…well…a bit of a whore, had me thinking ok, that was good, but anthologies tend to lead with a strong piece then kinda peter off. This was not the case. The second story is a horrifically violent and compelling interpretation of the biblical Apocalypse. The story after that was good, and so was the story after that. Turns out, EVERY story in this collection (16 in all) was worth my time. It’s obvious that great care was taken into compiling these works, as each presents a distinctive view of the subject and none treads on ground already covered in a previous story. You have tales of soldiers on the run from demons, bratty angels intent on making a mess of things, Hell’s metal scene, and the apocalypse in fun-size form. All of that will make sense after you read the collection.

While I could go on at length about each one of these stories, I’m just going to write a little about three that really stood out to me.

The Unveiling by Hyäne Sawbones – This is one of the writers in the collection whose name was unfamiliar to me, but one I’ll be keeping an eye out for from now on. This is a story about sacrifice and what one would be willing to do in order to save the world. Or is it? This is one of those tales that leaves the reader with much to consider. As good as the story is, it’s really the writing style that won me over. It’s uses several of the literary tools and techniques that many writers seem to have forgotten or simply cast aside. Hyäne Sawbones knows that writing is an art and that all those tools help to make the work better.

Horse by Wrath James White – The apocalypse is set in motion by a new drug that brings out the hostilities, bigotries, and hatreds hidden inside of us. It’s a story about a drug dealer that doesn’t really belong in the game. It’s violent and fast-paced. It’s frightening because it’s not so far removed from the type of thing we’re seeing more and more on the streets of our real-life world.

The Old Man and the Lamb by Patrick C. Harrison III – This is my favorite story in the collection and it’s one I can’t really talk about without giving too much away. It’s the type of story that sets you up for a sucker punch that lays your ass on the floor. It’s an observation on how we can be led to view things a certain way because so many people tell us that’s the way things are. Deception is the way the devil works.

Go buy this collection so we can talk about it. Go buy it before the horns are blown, the bowls are poured, and the seals are broken.

And Hell Followed (2019) is published by Death’s Head Press

You can buy a copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/HELL-FOLLOWED-Deaths-Head-P...

Reviewed 7/21/20 by T-Shirt Joe