Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso - Haunted Grave & Other Stories

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Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso - Haunted Grave and Other Stories: Eight Tales of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction from the African Continent (Parallel Universe, 2016)

Eaters Of Flesh
The Last Man Standing
Exorcism
Haunted Grave
To Love Is Strange
A Cursed City
The Game Of Aids
The Green Race

Blurb:
Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso is an MA graduate of Creative Writing, Swansea University Wales. His short stories, poems and non-fiction have appeared in a couple of journals, anthologies and magazines such as Emanation: Foray into Forever, Africa Roar Anthology, Open Road Review, Criterion Journal, ANA Review, Ground's Ear Anthology, Future Lovecraft, African Eyeball, Miracle e-zine, Episteme Journal, Texts on SAVVY Journal. He has been shortlisted in IdeasTap Inspires: Writers' Centre Norwich Writing competition, Ghana Poetry Prize, and Quickfox Poetry Competition.

It's been a good year for début collections!

Eaters Of Flesh: Young Gozie's family are in above their heads with voodoo cultists given to bizarre ritual and human sacrifice. Dad's been acting strange ever since mother mysteriously "disappeared." Unfortunately, his relatives see through the ruse and demand her corpse within a week, or a dreadful fate will befall their son.

The Last Man Standing: The AIDS virus returns in even more virulent form and now even condoms won't save you. As the country closes down around him, our hero broadcasts a message on Radio Nigeria inviting survivors to make for Uwani Town. At first things go relatively well, the small community coping the best they can, until narrator rescues a thirteen year old girl from the wasteland and, Mrs Chioma, the local busybody, gets it into her head that the child is a vampire .....

Exorcism: Ifeani, a religious fanatic with a habit of upsetting people, hosts the body during the day. Our narrator, who believes himself the 'good' half of the dual personality, takes over at night, whereupon he sets about cleaning up the demon's mess. Father Ekbura, the neighbourhood exorcist, pays a nocturnal visit ....

Haunted Grave: My pick of four extremely 'enjoyable' stories to date. Vibe is vaguely The Blair Witch Project though author certainly brings plenty of his own to the party. Three students bunk off school to laze away the afternoon in the graveyard. Chidi relates the colourful and very spooky legend surrounding the tomb of a boy named Ekepe Okoro (1970-1985) who fell foul of a spectral girl with six-inch roofing nails for teeth. Things take a turn for the sinister when Chidi slips away into the bush to answer the call of nature ...

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To Love Is Strange: Another family curse, this one afflicting the female half of the clan. The dilemma facing twin sisters Ginika and Juliet, "You are free to have sex but never with someone you have loved" and they would do well to heed their (horribly) dying mother's words. Juliet, the more worldly of the young women, has denied the hex - and the wagging tongues of the close-knit community - by gradually working through the Pastor and his colleagues at the village church. But Ginika only has eyes for Ebuku, the sports coach. Dare she sleep with him knowing that to do so will condemn both to a hideously protracted doom?

The Game Of Aids: " .... many things are going on at present in the name of technology." A companion story to the astonishing The Last Man Standing. Maria, a mother of two, is diagnosed HIV positive, courtesy of her late husband who, right through to his death, was adamant he had not been unfaithful. She has never known him to lie. Could it be, as his research indicates, that a brand of condom was deliberately contaminated at source?

Am delighted for both author and publisher that this classy collection receives a glowing review from no less than John Gilbert in current issue of Fear #38 (October, 2016).

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The author's leisurely style and quick wit makes for an easy read and having greatly appreciated the opening story, the temptation was to crash through the rest. I've no doubt it can be "enjoyed" that way - at only 112 pages, you could do it in an hour or two: Miss Scarlett would likely polish it off in 20 minutes! - but alternating between this, various Weird Tales and the Worlds Of Strangeness selection has brought me to the realisation that this talented fellow is a horror & supernatural anthologist's dream.

A Cursed City: Who - or what - is making away with the children of the town at such a prodigious rate? The single eyewitness to date is Nkeshi, the haggard, drunken shell of a once beautiful woman, but, of course, nobody in authority is prepared to take her word for what she saw. A predatory bird with the torso of a man, you say? If that is what palm wine does to the brain, better we all take the pledge. Besides, Nkeshi has her own axe to grind after what was done to her husband and their only child.

To further complicate matters, 'Whiteman' is stamping down on barbaric native custom by visiting barbaric punishments on those implicated in the human sacrifice demanded by tradition. If the town is to survive, it will be at great risk to those who perpetuate the necessary abductions.

Meanwhile, further cases of vanishing infants, and another tearful witness comes forward.

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The Green Race: Out of Africa and onward, ever onward to the Red Planet(!) for The Haunted Grave's grimly hilarious kiss off. The story is in the form of a lecture by Professor Oliver Brown, space traveller, who was present when the first tiny Martians were sighted - doing what comes naturally! - and has written a controversial book advancing his recommendations as to how we treat this inferior species. Of course, Brown is keen to stress, he refutes allegations of racism, but empathy should not get in the way of common sense, and let's face it, Mars is rich in natural minerals which these funny little coloured fellows have not the brains to exploit. He most certainly is not suggesting that we treat the indigenous "people" (if we can call them that!) of this New New World as we have those in our own 'Third World'! Or maybe he is, a little bit. We will say this for Prof. Brown. He certainly knows how to play an audience.

That's about it for The Haunted Grave. I hope we'll be hearing a lot more from the gifted Mr. Chukwunonso in the not too distant.

Very recommended.

[Jojo Lapin X]

Just so you know, you made me buy the ebook version of this. (As due to my book collecting problem my home has become quite difficult to navigate, for the past six months I have been buying only ebooks.)

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Nov 14, 2016 18:24:14 GMT Jojo Lapin X said:

Just so you know, you made me buy the ebook version of this. (As due to my book collecting problem my home has become quite difficult to navigate, for the past six months I have been buying only ebooks.)

In that case, can only hope you derive as much morbid entertainment from it as I have. Either way, would appreciate your verdict.

[Jojo Lapin X]

I have read the first story, "Eaters of Flesh," now, and while it was atmospheric, I did not quite see its point. I probably was not paying enough attention. Will any later stories touch on Nigeria's most famous export, the email scam?

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Nov 16, 2016 12:59:41 GMT Jojo Lapin X said:

I have read the first story, "Eaters of Flesh," now, and while it was atmospheric, I did not quite see its point. I probably was not paying enough attention. Will any later stories touch on Nigeria's most famous export, the email scam?

There are sporadic pop culture references throughout the text including what is possibly the first reference to Nicky Minaj in a supernatural horror story, but sadly, the scams - a big favourite of Ramsey's if I remember - are not among them.