I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author Joel McKay explores the cosmic, haunting horrors of the world in his collection, “It Came From the Trees: And Other Violent Aberrations”. 

The Synopsis

Tree planters on the run from parasitic insects. A physicist who has become the target of a murderous airline. Teenagers trapped in a museum with an eldritch horror. An escaped pit fighter thrust into a desperate stand at a sagging mountain fortress. And a luckless cowboy sailing across a sea of grass to the bloody resurrection of an elder god. Welcome to Joel McKay’s It Came from the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations, a collection of five page-turners as strange, disparate and bloody as their titles suggest.

So, grab a stiff drink, turn the lights down low, settle into your favorite reading nook and enjoy this brief but memorable collection of tales from one of the newest voices in Canadian pulp fiction.

The Review

This collection of stories did an incredible job of simultaneously capturing the essence of terror and pulp fiction. Each tale expertly weaves the haunting atmosphere the author’s writing evokes with the mounting tension that the genre is infamous for. 

The creepy settings and the horror-filled narratives perfectly complement the rich characters that populate these stories. The way these characters are thrust into these evolving bouts of terror and the unsettling nature of the horrors they face brings to mind the works of Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft and the horror classic The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. 

The Verdict

Chilling, atmospheric, and engaging author Joel McKay’s “It Came From The Trees: And Other Violent Aberrations” is a must-read horror and pulp fiction collection. The cosmic horror setting and the grounded character development will keep readers interested and invested in the author’s work now and in the future. If you haven’t already be sure to check out this book today! 

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Joel McKay is an award-winning writer. He calls Prince George, B.C. home, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Wolf at the Door is his first novella, which won the 2022 Global Book Award gold medal for horror. His most recent published fiction was the short story Number Hunnerd in Tyche Books’ anthology Water: Selkies, Sirens and Sea Monsters, and the splatterpunk western short story Hands, which was published in Brigids Gate Press’ anthology Blood in the Soil, Terror on the Wind.

The inspiration for his fiction is drawn from the landscapes and people of British Columbia, particularly the province’s vast, untamed and often misunderstood north. It’s the small towns and the people who call them home that inspired the good ol’ boys featured in Number Hunnerd, or the cool, crisp evenings and early sunsets of October that planted the idea for werewolves at a Thanksgiving feast.

Joel is passionate about Canada, its history and the history of the peoples who have called it home since time immemorial. As far as he’s concerned, New England has got nothing on Northern B.C. when it comes to perfect settings for supernatural tales.

In his spare time, Joel is an avid fly fisherman, mountain biker, hiker and reader. His work as an economic development professional, public relations specialist and journalist has earned him numerous national, provincial and local awards and recognitions.

https://linktr.ee/joelmckay