I Can Taste the Blood Paperback – August 5, 2016

A book is seldom regarded to be nothing more than just a book. In its contents where words flow from the voice of the author–a familiar one at that–you know what expect, what to feel; you know you're comfortable, safe. What if you were given a book with five different authors with five different stories with one title?  Now imagine if you walked into a public bathroom, dingy, grimy, unsafe, unfamiliar. And as you void your bladder you see written on the wall, "I Can Taste the Blood." The average person wouldn't think anything of it, would they? You'd think, just another loser who's defacing public property trying to be clever. But a real artist, an author with such a creative drive sees something different. Art imitating life.There, within that hauntingly disturbing phrase scribbled on a bathroom wall is what spawned the concept of this book. But hold on! That's not the best part. Nope. John F.D. Taff, co-editor of this book, had a brilliant idea to share the vision with other authors. Five unique visions from five individual authors. And here, is the result. One of the best books of 2016 hands down! Published and co-edited by Anthony Rivera from Grey Matter Press, I give you, "I CAN TASTE THE BLOOD!"Vision I:The book does not feel; it doesn't care who's reading; the book is relentless. Josh Malerman's tale, (author of Bird Box and House Under the Lake,) brings us to a family, a nomadic family living in the middle of the desert. One night their dinner is interrupted by a stranger knocking on the door. The mysterious man is invited to join them for dinner. In return, he tells his tale of a demon that's been following him and the horrors he's witnessed travelling with the demon. An evil which at any moment, can come knocking. I loved this story. I loved how Josh brought both stories together and finished it with a great twist. Right from the start, the style of writing brings you a dreadful sense of creepiness. You can feel it in your spine tingling up your back until the hairs tingle on the nape of your neck. I haven't read Bird Box yet, but I am looking forward to it now! Vision II:What can I say about J Daniel Stone's tale? First off, I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King. Let's put that out there. He's good at what he does, don't get me wrong, but I don't... feel his words. When I read Barker, I fell in love with his writing. Barker is an exquisite wordsmith–yes, I think exquisite is a fitting adjective to describe his writing. And Daniel's writing is no different.Bok and Jared are young lovers who explore the darker side of a film when they meet a director who desires to push the boundaries of art and film. A story filled with love, rage, art, gore, pain, and when you read his words, absorb them, you feel Stone's characters. I'm a fanboy of Stone's, and like Barker, I've fallen in love with his writing. Vision III:Joe Schwartz gives us an entirely different style and one that I truly enjoyed. A pulp-fiction type of story that punches you right in the face and it doesn't say sorry about doing it. Two men called fixers who work for a boss called the Caretaker, are hired to fix certain problems, make things... go away. Sam is the main character who's partnered with a douche bag. Everything falls apart when Sam has an issue with their current job when they kidnap a woman. This is a highly-fueled crime noir that's fun with great characters, and the ending is awesome!Vision IV:Now after reading Joe's and Erik's stories, you get how differently each writer approached the theme of this book. Erik T. Johnson's tale is different and unique. And at times, I honestly had a hard time following along. Not to take away from the author's amazing ability to write. There's no doubt Erik has massive talent. I, unfortunately, felt that I couldn't get into this story. I'm sure other avid readers will love it. Be sure to give it a whirl if weird fiction is your bag! Vision V:The last vision and one that is worth the wait is John Taff's wonderful tale of body horror. The master of pain takes a completely different approach from his normal style and creates an eerie, small-town tale. Merle is a middle-aged man, divorced with a daughter, and his down on his luck. He struggles with drinking, and his ex-wife despises him. Lost and without purpose, Merle soon discovers a life changing alteration. He begins to undergo a horrific physical and psychological transformation and learns of the insidious horror that holds the town of Norton together. John Taff does a great job making you feel sorry for Merle. Merle struggles with his sense of purpose. He is always disappointing his daughter. John's straightforward, no-nonsense approach to this horror story is brilliant. It's body horror at its finest. Like nails on a chalkboard or TEETH scraping silverware this story made me cringe and that, my friends doesn't happen often. I Can Taste The Blood is proof of the variety of exceptional talent we have in Dark Fiction today! I'm excited just reading this phenomenal book of such unique and original stories. Such a fantastic read and a MUST to have on your bookshelf!

This anthology felt like a trend-setter. Five writers working on a story with a shared title, and you can picture all five writers holed-up in some cabin, (or graffiti-riddled bathroom, as it were) with "I Can Taste the Blood" written on the wall. All writers of different ages, different auras, different backgrounds.You can't read the title without having a sensory experience, so in that way, every reader has already written their own tale in advance, blood on their palate. I know I did.The stories fit together like a perfect sandwich, the pieces of bread that held the insides together were written by Josh Malerman and John FD Taff. The first story was so original and a setting unlike most you'l find. A mysterious traveler knocks frantically at your door, asking to be let inside to hide, "hiding from what?" you ask "I"m afraid if I tell you, you won't let me in." Well, of course he brings more than expected. It all felt like folklore, stories to tell your children (or other parents of children) and why to beware getting a knock on your door at night with the wind howling and desert sand swirling.The second piece of bread, written by John FD TAFF, was an equally wonderful piece. Taff can write about the small spaces, micro-moments and emotions of our lives with wit and insight, and extrapolate these into larger themes of darkness and speculation. His skills are on display here. The way he describes a marriage falling apart, the emotion behind it all, was a passage I highlighted on my kindle. Every man, and every marriage, and every town really, have little secrets, and these secrets grow, get bigger, and soon enough we become that secret. Mouths and teeth that demand to be fed and look for something to chew, consequences be damned. Like an iceberg, 2/3's of Taffs stories are below the surface.The sauce of the story had to be the visions of J Daniel Stone and Erik T. Johnson. Rich and drippy, the kind of dressing that will fall onto your lap in a big glob once you take a bite. You remove the glob with a finger, put back onto your tongue and relish the taste, but not walk away unstained. You may prefer one sauce to the other, I won't say my fav, but I will say that there is intensity here and a description of madness and horror where tone matched content. More syrupy, more traditional horror, and more dripping with description than plot, but with vivid and striking images. You will not feel cheated.The meaty middle was a dark piece of crime fiction by Joe Schwartz. This vision was not horror but certainly horrific, and a perfect contrast to the two surrounding stories. Engaging, a fast and furious read, with enough spins to keep you guessing, enough darkness to keep you hoping your flashlight battery power is strong, and a wonderful villain you both detest yet root for in a test of moral relativism. I get the feeling this author has a whole library of works just as strong.Last thing: what I loved about I Can Taste the Blood is the length of its stories. How many times have you read an anthology full of short stories, and soon as you got engaged, "Wham!" story over. Like a series of one-night stands with no second dates, short stories hit-it and quit-it. But novella lengths are weekend trysts, month-long romances, and provide the kind of emotional depth to content and character that burn in your memory long after shorter works are forgotten. Personal preference, of course, but I'd rather read 100 pages of a story rather than 25, and so I'm glad to see such stories featured here. I Can Taste the Blood, one title, five different flavors, and a trend-setting anthology.

I was really looking forward to this when I first heard John F.D. Taff, one of my new favourite writers, was putting it together. I was unfamiliar with a couple of the authors and didn't know what to expect. And even though there were a couple of stories I liked more than the others, they were all very well-written. Overall, I thought it was great and offers readers of 1 or 2 of the authors to broaden their horizon and experience something a little different from the other authors. Recommended!