Title: Woe to Those Who Dwell on Earth

Author: John Lynch

Release date: January 10th, 2023

I’ve had the pleasure of watching John progress through his writing over the last few years. It first started with beta reading some of his short fiction, and has now moved to reading his debut novel and now this, his debut collection.

One thing that has become evident through his continued development, is that much like in his real life, the military will play a large role in his fiction. This is showcased by the prime narrative of his novel, as well as a number of the stories within this collection and even the cover.

What I liked: The collection opens up with three solid stories, the first ‘Blood in the Sand’ being my personal favorite of those. It was a military based story with a really great creature angle. John does action sequences and aspects really well, making it feel more cinematic than just something described. Other highlights for me were;

‘Stasis’ – my favorite story within the collection. A solid, sci-fi/horror story about Lynne, who wakes up from her long-term sleeping or stasis pod, only to discover carnage and some fantastic wiggly creatures creating chaos. John has a keen eye for the sci-fi/horror angle so I’m hoping to see more of this type of stuff in the future from him.

‘The Hale Koa Incident’ – two military members ignore dire warnings and still go kayaking in an area they’re not supposed to. Once they get in the water and go snorkeling, things take a turn and the consequences are life-changing.

‘Open the Window, Tommy’ – a really great and creepy Halloween story. Normally, this might feel out of place being a ‘seasonal specific’ story, but seeing as how there was an early Christmas story (The Tree Farm), it fits. This one involves two kids, a scary event and a lifetime of purgatory. Great stuff.

‘The Newlyweds’ – this is a really fun, totally bonkers story that follows two older newlyweds as they go on vacation. Of all the stories, I’d say this one is the most splattery of them and is just a ton of gut-churning fun.

What I didn’t like: The reality is, I’m not a huge fan of military stuff. It doesn’t matter if it’s books or movies/TV shows, it’s just not something that has ever really grabbed me or super intrigued me to watch/read. So, if you’re in the same boat as me, you may struggle with that considering more than half of the stories are military based in some regard.

Why you should buy this: Over the course of a novel and a collection, John’s certainly demonstrated that he is a solid, deft writer who has the chops to grab the reader and not let go. I think this one’s going to connect with a ton of people who like this style of writing and will set him up well for his further releases and having people anticipating what’s next from him. A really solid collection that will have horror fans squirming while they read.

4/5