A Dead Calmness is a collection of short stories that are at times heartbreaking, at other times chilling, but all are extremely entertaining. At only 23 years old, Deighan is rapidly becoming one to watch in horror. Inspired early in life by the likes of Stephen King et al, Deighan has spent time developing his style and content, which is obvious in his debut book.

The book consists of fourteen tales exploring a range of subgenres. Some are true to life and remind us of the fact that there are many monsters out there who are just as dark and otherworldly as anything that our imaginations could create. Others give us glimpses of creatures that dwell outside the realms of reality; these tales are especially frightening and atmospheric.

My personal favourite would be “Feels Like Stephen King.” In this story, writer Eric Bain (great name for a horror writer!) has just received his first acceptance letter from a publishing house. Like a King novel, writers who get good news from publishing houses are always doomed from the beginning. “Feels Like Stephen King” has a great build up and is paced to perfection. Readers will truly empathise with the main character and will be totally engrossed in the story from the very first line. It is a story that will chill you to the bone and leave you wanting to read more of Deighan’s work—much like King’s work.

Other stories of note in the collection include “Bad Fuse,” a story of teenage angst and the repercussions an argument with parents can have; “Nightmare Man,” a story that will have parents staying up nights to watch their children sleep; and “The Mirror,” which proves a mirror image does not always show what you want to see.

With such a diverse range of stories, from doppelgangers to nuclear holocausts, A Dead Calmness will provide every reader with a new favourite short story. If Spinetinglers has one criticism, it would be that some of the stories are too short and don’t give us enough time to immerse ourselves in the different worlds that Deighan creates. We can’t wait until he tries his hand at a novella-length story.

As a debut book, A Dead Calmness is excellent and will leave you craving more from this fresh and exciting new talent.

Steven Deighan’s new novel will be out this month, and we can’t wait to read it as it promises to be even better than the first.

A Dead Calmness is, by no means, a perfect collection, but I particularly enjoyed the stories Father and Son, Ungodly Cause, The Violation, The Party, and Midnight's Fall. Feels Like Stephen King is easily the best of the bunch though, and definitely worth a read. Not too shabby!

A DEAD CALMNESS (author: Steven Deighan) Reviewed by Rakie

One thing I really liked about the stories was the way that almost all of them had this cool dreamlike feel about them, especially ‘The Swinging Ballad’, and I liked that a lot of them were open to the reader’s interpretation. I’ve always thought monsters and stuff were scarier if you didn’t know exactly what they were and where they came from. Having said that, I thought that ‘Feels Like Stephen King’ had a great flow to it – it worked well because it had all that extra information and background in it and let the reader know what was going on all the time. Some of the other stories felt a bit short, and (although I think they worked fine the way they were!) I would have been just as happy if they’d gone on for longer.

I thought that the second last story was my favourite though I’m not sure if that’s strictly true, although it did stand out…probably because every writer who reads it will associate with it! I also loved ‘The Mirror’; that was creepy as hell (it reminded me a little of the book by Graham Masterton of the same name), and ‘Crawlers’ was great. Again, I would love to see that as a longer story. I think the premise and the creatures were fantastic.
The surrealness of ‘The Swinging Ballad’ was great; it really reminded me of some of my own dreams, and I loved the idea of the dream-cars. That was cool. I was also very intrigued by ‘The Last Drive’ – it was a great start, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes…especially with that hint of an ‘unseen force’ to come! Also you have great titles. ‘Bad Fuse’ was probably my favourite title; that one really caught my eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I’m very much looking forward to your next publication.


A DEAD CALMNESS
Steven Deighan
Published by Lulu.com
ISBN 1-4116-7040-X Trade Paperback 102 pages
UK £4.99 US $8.99

A DEAD CALMNESS BY STEVEN DEIGHAN Reviewed by Garry Charles

Just before Christmas (2005) I received a text message out of the blue from a young man named Steven Deighan asking me for tips on writing. I was honoured that someone thought that I was good enough to ask and I have since kept in touch with Steve. He told me about his plans to release a collection of his short stories and seeing as I had already read 'BAD FUSE' on www.ookami.co.uk - I pre-ordered a copy without hesitation.

A DEAD CALMNESS is a collection of 14 stories that range in quality from good to very good and only one of them stood out as below par with the rest. Most of the tales in this creepy collection are around 2000 words (mostly written for limited criteria submissions between 2001-2004) and because of this they sometimes annoyed me, but only because I wanted more. The majority worked extremely well at stirring images in the mind, forcing this reader to expand on Steve’s written word and hence, in my opinion, making the stories more than worth the price of admission.

BAD FUSE: As mentioned earlier this tale has been featured on WoW and I liked it when I first read it. Steven tells me that it is one of his least favourites, but has still opted to use it as the opening story to the book. I think he chose wisely. What better than the horror that is the emptiness of life and the deadness that fills society’s eyes. A dark picture of hard lives and family disputes; despair and indifference coming to a fatal conclusion. A fine start.

THE SWINGING BALLAD: Is the only story in the collection that I felt did not sit well. I found it jagged and confusing, but that does not mean that it’s bad. Far from it; it still manages to make the reader think what the story is about. Is it the visions of a tormented mind or is it a cursed soul on the point of death waiting for the reaper whilst others hunt him down?

THE NIGHTMARE MAN: “So sleep my pretty child, for soon you will be mine.” All I can say is that pretty children won’t be sleeping if they’re read this bedtime story. If Steve ever decides to lengthen a short into a novella he should consider this one.

THE VIOLATION: Being a devout atheist I particularly liked this tale of lost faith and demonic retribution. “I know what you do,” states the demon to the priest, but do we want to know the holy man’s secret? Steve leaves it up to you to decide.

THE PARTY: I have, after reading this tale, decided not to leave my daughter at home when I go on holiday this year. Oh, no.

FEELS LIKE STEPHEN KING: One word. EXCELLENT. Steve has come of age with this fable of a writer and his undeniable urge to have his work published. It’s longer than any of its siblings and benefits from the expansion. Instead of teasing snapshots we are treated to a fleshed out tale that reads oh, so well. I loved this one.

THE LAST DRIVE: Not a short, but a preview to something bigger that Steve plans to release later this year. No horror on show here, but it promises something nasty to come. Watch this space.

If A DEAD CALMNESS is a peek into Steve’s world through a keyhole then when he opens the door all hell will break loose. Steve Deighan is here and he’s going to tear your soul apart.

A DEAD CALMNESS Steven Deighan Published by Lulu ISBN 1-4116-7040-X Trade Paperback 102 pages UK £4.99 US $8.99