Blood Mountain by Brenda S. Tolian

Today Laurie recommends Blood Mountain by Brenda S. Tolian. We hope you check out this mosaic of grisly tales!

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Blood Mountain by Brenda S. Tolian

"In this mosaic of Southwestern Gothic Horror, a primordial goddess awakens deep within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The mountain hungers for revenge as invaders leave her emaciated with their greed and brutality. She cries out for blood, infusing the minds of those who do not belong—twisting them outwardly into the dark forms of their true intentions.

An Under Sheriff struggles to grasp brittle threads of hope within the valley and mountains, his soul tormented by the unanswered questions of crimes he can’t explain and the dead and missing he could not help. The demented Red Women fracture the meaning of being maiden, mother, and crone within the shadows of twisted belief systems. Men and women devolve into the grotesque, drowning in their greed and violence transmuting into creatures too hideous to name. Others find seduction on her rocky hips and release within the baptism of her blood. The valley steeped in cults and crime hides something dark, where mirage plays with the senses, disappearances go unexplained, UFOs and creatures await watching in hunger.

This composite novel of interwoven stories and brief vignettes invites the reader to hear the hypnotic call of the Blood Mountain. Will she ask you into her vortex or swallow you whole? "

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Laurie's Review

Blood Mountain is a book of interwoven short stories that together make a complete tale of a mountain that has seen some disturbing and frightful sights. The title tells no lies, that’s for sure!

An Under Sheriff recounts tales his grandfather was told and recalls the horrible events he himself witnessed as he contemplates a round of Russian roulette.

Yeah, this book is a little bleak at times. I read it in between some lighter fare which was the way to go for me. I enjoyed all of the stories, there weren’t any duds, but some of them were very heavy - I’m going to mention my favorites.

Blood Mountain

This story opens the book and sets the tone of things to come. A group of greedy and foolish prospectors intent on raping and pillaging the mountain for their own gain find more than they bargained for! Oh, the brutality but it was well deserved if you’re asking me.

The Stone Mother

This story goes to show that women can and are just as evil as men in their agendas. A young woman who doesn’t want to be tied down with babies decides to say fuck it all and refuses to fall in line. This one is bleak and as dark as they get. The “Red Women” who show up time and again in these stories are such a disturbing creation.

Slaughter Lodge

A man gets away with murder, or at least that’s what he thinks because Of Course he does but the bones of his victims are angry, and they will never forget. Another painful traumatic story fueled by blood and anger. Powerful stuff.

Snake Man

A man with a backseat full of rattlesnakes gets himself into a bit of a ridiculous dilemma. He’s having the worst day ever, honestly. This was quite comical (if you have a morbid and dark sense of humor) and I always appreciate brief moments of levity in a collection this heavy. This poor mountain has seen such sights 😳🩸!

Ink Poison

This one is gruesome and filled with grief and I found it genuinely scary. You should READ IT. I don’t think you will be disappointed, it’s so incredibly well written but if you are don’t come back here to yell at me.

The Turning of Tsetah Dibe

On a snowy night, a man faces the sins of his past as he’s thrust into the hell he deserves! It’s always glorious when this happens.

What Remains

The horrible Red Women make another appearance exposing more of their disgusting deeds in this story. They’re the worst. But this time things don’t go exactly to plan. Too bad, so sad bitches. I loved the vengeance happening in this one. Yep, I sure did.

Seraphim

A young woman returns to the mountain for a devastating reason and finds a mystery and ultimately a beautiful redemption. I think this story might’ve been my favorite and it was the absolute perfect way to close out this book about a mountain and all of its terrible secrets.

Highly recommended!

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Laurie is one of our Horror Spotlight Admins. Laurie creates our review posts and coordinates review requests.

You can find Laurie on her blog Bark’s Book Nonsense, on Twitter as @barksbooks, on Instagram as @barksbooks, and on Goodreads.