Not Before Bed [Kindle Edition]

Craig Hallam (Author)

Book Description

A collection of dark tales to tingle your spine and goose your bumps. While reading, you'll encounter tentacle pods, bogeymen, dark gods; vamps, zombies, werewolves, and Things with no name.
Barricade your door. Say goodbye to your loved ones. Check behind the curtains and in the wardrobe. But don't read it alone, and definitely Not Before Bed.

Author Craig Hallam has previously been published in New Horizons and Murky Depths, both leading magazines in the UK Speculative Fiction arena.


"Intense, Provocative, Unique." - Lizzette E. Manning

"I read the opening segment IN BED! Thanks for that sleepless night!" - Michelle Green

"I loved the twisted little stories of [Craig Hallam's} imaginings. Whether the tale is deliciously creepy or falls into the realm of the downright weird, each one will leave you turning page after page into the wee hours of the morning." - D.H. Nevins

Product Details

• File Size: 270 KB
• Print Length: 182 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0050O835K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,054 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Strong First Collection May 17, 2011

By Daniel Powell

Format:Kindle Edition

I first encountered Craig Hallam's writing in MURKY DEPTHS, an enjoyable blend of art and fiction that is produced in the United Kingdom. I was intrigued by his writing--there's a very confident approach to voice and pacing in the work--so I was happy to dive into NOT BEFORE BED. I've been reading these stories in sips and swallows over the last few busy weeks, and I'm happy to say they've provided many moments of entertainment.

The collection runs from the atmospheric to the darkly visceral, with some nice injections of humor in the prose along the way (there is a Robocop reference I couldn't help but chuckle at). The influences and subjects were diverse: some supernatural, others of the creature-feature variety; some Lovecraftian, others of the undead category.

What really made the collection go for me is the afore-mentioned voice/pacing combination. Hallam uses fragments really well--I like the fluidity of the prose as he underscores action with simple, succinct phrases. I also liked the dialogue. It wasn't tag-heavy and it felt very authentic. I like the use of italics for emphasis, and the descriptions. Consider this snippet from "Laughter on the Landing":

Then a sound from inside my own apartment. If it hadn't been for the silence, I would
never have heard it.

Poit.

I leant to see around my feet which were up on the coffee table.

A drip. A splotch of dark crimson on the oak surface. For a second, I watched it as if
waiting for something to happen. It did. Another droplet fell in the same spot.

Plit.

Drawn upward, my eyes widened.

On the ceiling, a line of the same fluid had trickled before dripping. It was leaking
through the floorboards in Jenny's apartment...

The tension in most of these stories is a slow build, and they deliver the goods in the third act.

There were a few minor typos and some of the font types and sizes were inconsistent (I read the Smashwords edition), but there was nothing that detracted from what is an otherwise strong collection. "Laughter on the Landing" and "Sarah and the Monster" were two of my favorites; they also best communicate the notion espoused in the collection's title.

Still (and if you're like me), you'll want to give these tales a look just before bed. Read them when the lights are down, when the sounds of the house settling add that wonderful little kick that makes good dark fiction so fun to read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Unique Collection Of Stories June 15, 2011

By N. Medina

Format:Kindle Edition

I absolutely love this book. Craig has a unique way of telling stories that leaves the reader hooked from the beginning. I haven't read that much of spec fiction, but enjoyed immensely every tale that was included in this collection.

Some of the stories don't have dialogue, but in all honesty, they don't really need it. He's able to weave a tale in such a way that you find yourself so immersed, so focused that you lose track of what you're doing. At least, I did. I found myself imagining every scene of each story as I read it and in some cases, wanted to read more of these short stories.

This book is a definite must-read. Truly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably really shouldn't read before bed... October 31, 2011

By S. Shove

Format:Paperback

A superb collection of fourteen chilling tales that you really shouldn't read before bed (unless you're like me and you really can't help yourself). Hallam has a knack for building the tension and fear slowly with Laughter on the Landing, Sarah and the Monster and Albert while giving the reader a short sharp shock with March of the Broken, The Fly Man and the title tale Not Before Bed (which by the way may be the shortest but it packs the biggest punch). Hallam also takes the more traditional horror genres and gives them his own unique twist with the original viewpoints of Daisy Chained, Hunting Grounds and Sleeping with the Dead. Each story is very well written and the style changes to suit the story being told with reflections of Poe and Stoker in some and Lovecraft in others. Hallam uses his words carefully weaving the story and atmosphere together to pull the reader in and keep them there until the very last moment. I can't quite bring myself to pick a favourite from these stories but the one that sent the biggest shivers down my spine was the title tale Not Before Bed, which takes your own night fears and gives them a voice, and it's not one you really want to hear.

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