An Invitation to Darkness was a beautifully written gothic romp of a book and I bloody loved it. The setting itself is truly magical and in Piper's hand she turns that magic into black magic - the darkness swells in this story and it pretty much comes out of nowhere.
Was I ready for the darkness, I don't think I was - but I was thrilled with the dark undertones that were sewn into this piece of short fiction. It was graphic and mesmeric, disturbing but utterly beguiling I couldn't pull my eyes away from the page when Piper began to detail the grotesque details of where something came from and where it soon returned. Parasite springs to mind, but it was more than that it was darkness personified.
The only issue I had with the story and it did effect my complete immersion in Piper's story was that of the relationship between Jamie and Elizabeth - one moment Jamie arrives and within the space of a few pages they are kissing and a full blown attraction has occurred - it just didn't ring true to me, just felt rushed and I couldn't rid myself of the quickness that such an interaction occurred with pretty much a stranger to the shore - I thought something may come up later to explain that immediate infatuation, but it didn't. It may be that this was such a short story that to give that relationship the time to build would have sucked out the pace and dread that Piper was writing and this is why it was glossed over super fast.
But having said that it was a tremendous little read, creepy, exquisitely written and dark as night in space! Looking forward to my next outing - which will most probably be 'The Possession of Natalie Glasgow' which I've heard great things about!
An Invitation to Darkness is published by Demain Publishing.
Hailey Piper
Hailey Piper is the author of horror books The Worm and His Kings, Queen of Teeth, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Benny Rose, the Cannibal King, and The Possession of Natalie Glasgow.
She grew up the haunted woods New York and now lives with her wife in Maryland where she haunts their apartment making spooky noises. In addition to the works listed on Goodreads, she's a contributor to Daily Science Fiction, The Arcanist, Flash Fiction Online, Dark Matter Magazine, Planet Scumm, Year's Best Hardcore Horror, and more. Find her on Twitter via @HaileyPiperSays or at www.haileypiper.com.
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