For me, a good horror story doesn’t have to necessarily be straight-up terrifying or even subtly disturbing. Sometimes, I need a story to just be crazy. Horror, indeed any speculative fiction, can implement a very outlandish premise, one conceived in a state of inebriation or simply shooting the bull with friends, can be turned into an enjoyable and engaging story with the right amount of human emotion. This is the case with the stories in Donnie Goodman’s debut story collection The Razorblades in My Head.
The title of this collection is very fitting, and not merely because there is a story in this collection with that very title. Each one of these stories are little slices of short story goodness that cut surprisingly deep, largely because the concepts are so original, hinting at Goodman’s bravery to try something that, as the old cliché goes, is so crazy that it just might work. “Toaster” is a brief, slice-of-life story with a poisonous sting. If you thought the movie Jack Frost could be terrifying (frankly, both the Michael Keaton family pic and the silly killer snowman premise both have the potential to be terrifying), then “Magic in the Hat” might deliver some winter chills. Do you find that there’s not enough pro wrestling in horror, or vice versa, then give “The Stranger in the Squared Circle” a read and discover how much of a wrestling fan Goodman is. Are you a fan of noir, cosmic horror, or killer crustaceans? Then check out the terrific “The Old Bay King,” which delivers shady characters that would do Joe Lansdale proud.
Seeing that this is a self-published collection, it’s my hope that this collection raises Goodman’s profile. If anything, this collection has stories worthy of being snapped up by any publisher who has a wrestling or oceanic anthology. Here’s hoping Donnie Goodman keeps writing and keeps getting his work out there. I look forward to his next collection to see what other kinds of wild ideas he has brewing among the razorblades that are swimming in his skull.
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