I haven’t read the first two Hellfire & Damnation collections but I will fix that soon.
Most of you know how much I enjoy short stories and collections and horror and I got all of that with these.
Check out my review.
Enjoy the excerpt.
And enter the giveaway to win a copy!
Hellfire and Damnation III
by Connie Corcoran Wilson
Publisher: Quad City Press (March 1, 2015)
ISBN:978-0-982444-487-0
Category: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Tour Date: March 16-April 30, 2015
Available in: Print & ebook, 114 Pages
My Review
I’m huge on short stories and collections so I knew I had to read this batch. The author states at the end of the book that she drew inspiration form true events on all but two of the stories. That explains why one of them felt familiar to me.
Some are scary and some are twisted. A few had me grinning sardonically. All are good.
There are the nines sins or as the author titles them, The Nine Circles of Hell. Each delves into crimes and punishments.
Circle One: Limbo – The Cave Robber
You’ll have an encounter with a giant cave spider.
Circle Two: Lust – The MOnster Within
Meet Brian, “The unhappiest man in El Reno,” who’s plotting revenge against his neighbor.
Circle Three: Gluttony – The Battle of Gate Pa
Crawl with the Maori warriors through the first tunnels used in warfare.
Circle Four: Avarice & Prodigality – Boxed In
Be there when a kidnap victim turns the table on his kidnapper.
Circle Five: Wrath & Sullenness – Do Not Go Gently
A cancer patient who thought he’d live forever does not go gently. Vows to be the worst patient ever.
Circle Six: Heresy – The Final Victim
A Reverend needs one more sacrifice for Satan.
Circle Seven: The Violent – KILLAL
An innocent computer game might not be so innocent.
Circle Eight: The Fraudulent – The Mirror
A heated car mirror solves a cold case.
Circle Nine: The Treacherous – A Losing Hand
It wasn’t hypothermia. It was murder.
I enjoyed all of these stories and enjoyed the authors comments afterwards. She explained a bit about each of the stories that came from true events and then where she got her inspiration for the two that weren’t. It was fascinating.
And the pictures peppered throughout the book made it creepier.
While most of these weren’t truly scary, they did have sin in each one. I think I sinned a bit myself when I celebrated some of the characters deeds.
These would be great reads for when you have only a short time, but I’d set aside enough time to finish all of them. They do suck you in and keep you going from one to the next, to the next…
4 Stars
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Description
Hellfire & Damnation III by Connie Corcoran Wilson is another tour of the 9 Circles of Hell described in Dante’s Inferno. It picks up where the first two collections of short stories left off, using the same framing device of stories that explore the sins or crimes punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno.
The first book was the winner of the Silver Feather Award (Illinois Women’s Press Association), and the Gold Medal E-Lit Award (Horror category) from the Jenkins group. Five-time Bram Stoker winner Gary Braunbeck said of Book II in the Hellfire & Damnation collection: ” Seriously, Connie: can’t you write just one stinker so the rest of us will feel a little bit better?” Braunbeck added, ” Her writing is stronger, streamlined, and often lyrical, despite the nastiness her words describe. This is another impressive collection of tales from a writer I could very well learn to hate if she gets much better.”
Hellfire & Damnation III is another tour of the crimes or sins punished at each of the Circles of Hell in Dante’s “Inferno.” Like the second book in the series by Connie Corcoran Wilson, there are images whether it is a cave where teenagers are trapped, the lair of a psychopathic minister manipulating a young man of limited intelligence into murder, or a rage-fueled airplane traveler unleashing his pent-up fury on a Flight Attendant.
The author adds a From the Author, an informative peek into the creative mind of the author and the genesis of these 9 Tales of Terror. As one reviewer said (of Hellfire & Damnation II), “Connie Corcoran Wilson has written a book of short stories that will not only keep you up late nights reading, but might also keep you up long after you have stopped reading.”
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Enjoy this glimpse inside the book.
“The Final Victim” from Hellfire & Damnation III
He drove off in Dave’s truck, heading for Reverend Jeremiah Jones’ trailer, the useless wooden peg leg making a hollow tumbling noise in the empty bed of the truck, like a bird hitting a glass window. It sounded like a heavy object tumbling inside a package. It was a sound like a tennis shoe tumbling in the dryer, only with sharper percussions.
When he reached the trailer park, Lee parked under a large tree near the Laundromat just at the entrance of Happy Hollow Trailer Park. He grabbed the peg leg from the bed of the truck, tucked it under his jacket so no one would see what he was carrying, and began walking towards the Reverend’s plot. This was part of the plan. Jeremiah had explained to Lee that it wouldn’t do for them to be seen together. He wanted Lee to make sure he wasn’t followed and to come to his trailer on foot, using the back way. Lee did all this, as requested.
Upon reaching the entrance to the shabby trailer, Lee knocked on the door. He knocked a second time, more loudly. Lee was standing near the entrance to the attached Sacrificial Shed, as Jeremiah referred to the wooden shanty nearby. Lee thought he heard a noise coming from within. It was a faint sound, no doubt muffled by the sound-proofing. It sounded like a bleating animal. Lee turned away from the trailer door and moved towards the doorway of the nearby Sacrificial Shed. It was slightly ajar.
Within, he saw the specter of Jeremiah Jones, knife raised. A terrified creature, approximately three feet high, eyes glazed with fear, helpless, was tied in front of the Reverend. It was a small goat, immobilized by ropes. Jeremiah brought the axe-like weapon down on the animal’s head just as Lee opened the door to enter.
Jeremiah was breathing heavily from his exertions. The struggling wounded goat was bleeding and making a horrible noise in its death throes, still pinioned at the Reverend’s feet. Jeremiah Jones looked up at Lee Elliot and smiled the evil smile of an ogre. The grin of a conscienceless monster. The smirk of a manipulative Machiavelli.
“Did you bring his leg?” Jeremiah asked.
Lee shook his head yes. He reached beneath his jacket to pull forth Dave Downing’s prosthesis.
Jeremiah glanced at the leg. He looked up at Lee, stepping over the still struggling dying creature to come closer to Lee, bloody axe still in his hand.
“Where’s the money?” the Reverend asked.
“There wasn’t any,” said Lee.
“What? No money? There HAS to be. You took the cash, didn’t you?” Jeremiah screamed.
“No, Sir,” replied Lee. “There wasn’t any money. I killed Dave just the way you said to. I threw his body in a ditch out past Colona. Out near Interstate 80. I took his leg off. But there wasn’t anything inside it.”
“LIAR!” screamed the enraged minister as he lunged at the timid young man, bloody axe raised. “Stupid fucking liar! You took it, didn’t you? You took the money! Where is it? Give it to me!”
The Reverend Jeremiah Jones approached Lee with menace in his manner and murder in his heart.
In that moment, Lee Elliot wished he had brought the large butcher knife with him. But Lee had done as the Reverend Jones had instructed. He had thrown the knife into the raging Rock River, which was at near-flood levels this wet spring. Lee had no weapon. Nor had he thought he would need one.
The man he had trusted and aided in committing the most heinous act of his life was about to betray him. Almost the last thing Lee Elliot saw was also the last thing the goat had seen: a heavy axe-like weapon descending on his skull. Coming down so quickly and so forcefully that Lee had no time to fend it off.
As the weapon found its mark, Lee heard birds twittering. He was not sure if he was once again seeing the birds of Lucifer’s sign to him—the European starlings on his front lawn that day—or if neurons were firing stored memories in his head in death. With that last mortal impression of flocks of black birds tearing at the ground, ripping apart the blades of grass, laying waste to everything they touched, Lee Elliot became just one more in a long string of the Reverend Jeremiah Jones’ sacrifices.
The Reverend stood above him, bloody axe poised to strike again, muttering, “You moron. Lucifer always meant for you to be the final victim.”
View the Trailer:
Praise for Hellfire and Damnation II by Connie Corcoran Wilson:
“This collection of 11 short stories in the horror genre is organized around Dante’s 9 circles of hell in the Inferno–limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, political corruption, and treachery.
The stories are by turns chilling and blood boiling. The two times I read one of these just before sleeping I deeply regretted it. NOT bedtime stories folks. Haunting and satisfying.”– Joystory
“I love scary books. Among the first adult books I ever read were Stephen King and Dean Koontz. However, these days I find it hard to find good scary books – ones that don’t make me feel like I’ve read this before…and then I was asked to read Hellfire & Damnation II.
Corcoran takes us by the hand and leads us through the 9 Circles of Hell, whispering to us the tales of those we find there and the events that have lead them to this nightmarish place. From the first story set in Limbo, Cold Corpse Carnival (giving me yet another reason to not want to be buried!), to the final circle of The Treacherous and The Bureau the reader will be checking behind doors, under the bed and sleeping with the light on!”–Kylie Purdie, Little Black Marks
“‘Hellfire and Damnation II’ is the sequel to Connie Corcoran Wilson’s first book of short stories published in 2011. This book is another tour of Dante’s ‘Nine Circles of Hell’ from his Inferno. It features eleven original short stories: from the 132-year-old corpse of Norwegian immigrant Ole Monson seeking revenge against the living for the desecration of his final resting place in ‘Cold Corpse Carnival’ to the most intimate betrayal suffered between two brothers in ‘The Bureau’. Each story highlights its particular Circle in a novel way, but is partially based on fact as explained by the author at the end.
I really enjoyed this book – it was suitably horrific for me. Each story is well-crafted and believable, and I found myself very satisfied with each story’s pacing. I give ‘Hellfire and Damnation II’ an A+! and I look forward to reading more books by Connie Corcoran Wilson in the very near future!”– Mareena McGirr, Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
“Connie pens “Hellfire & Damnation II” in a plot that will really leave the horror with you. The illustrations are just unbelievably good and will get you really thinking about what you just read. I was totally satisfied with the amount of detail within each “circle of hell” she writes about. Now I really need to find the first book in the series to catch up with. Highly recommended for all who love the thrill of horror.”-Susan, My Cozie Corner
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I’ve read Connie’s The Color Of Evil Series and very much enjoyed them.
You can read my reviews HERE.
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About Connie Corcoran Wilson
Award winning author, Connie Corcoran Wilson (MS + 30) graduated from the University of Iowa and Western Illinois University, with additional study at Northern Illinois, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago. She taught writing at six Iowa/Illinois colleges and has written for five newspapers and seven blogs, including Yahoo, which named her its 2008 Content Producer of the Year.
She is a member of ITW (International Thriller Writers), where she is a writer for their online newsletter, and a member of IWPA (Illinois Women’s Press Association, Chicago chapter), which awarded her its Silver Feather Award in 2012 and 2014, MWA (Midwest Writers Association), AWP (American Writing Program) and MWC (Midwest Writing Center), which named her its Writer of the Year in 2010. She has won numerous E-Lit awards, a NABE Pinnacle award, an ALMA (American Literary Merit Award), Lucky Cinda competition and two IWPA Silver Feather Awards (2012, 2014).
Connie’s third book in “The Color of Evil” series, ‘Khaki=Killer’ was just named a Page-turner of the Year 2014 by “Shelf Unbound” and Writer’s Digest magazine in its December/January 2014-2015 issue!
Her stories and interviews with writers like David Morrell, Joe Hill, Kurt Vonnegut, Frederik Pohl, William F. Nolan, Anne Perry, r. Barri Flowers, Valerie Plame, Allen Zadoff and Jon Land have appeared online and in numerous journals.
Connie Corcoran Wilson’s work has won prizes from “Whim’s Place Flash Fiction,” “Writer’s Digest” (Screenplay) and she has 25 published works. Connie reviewed film and books for the Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa) for 12 years, wrote humor columns and conducted interviews for the (Moline, Illinois) Dispatch and maintains her own blog,www.WeeklyWilson.com, while also twittering (@Connie_C_Wilson), Connie Wilson Author.
Connie Corcoran Wilson was a presenter at the Spellbinders Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii over Labor Day (2012) and at Love Is Murder in Chicago (February, 2014) and will be a presenter at Writers for New Orleans December 19-21st. She has three ongoing series: THE COLOR OF EVIL, HELLFIRE & DAMNATION (short stories organized around the crimes or sins punished at each of the levels of Hell in Dante’s Inferno) andTHE CHRISTMAS CATS, which she writes for her granddaughters. (www.TheColorOfEvil.com; www.RedIsforRage.com; www.KhakiEqualsKiller.com; www.HellfireAndDamnationTheBook.com; www.TheXmasCats.com)
Connie lives in East Moline, Illinois with husband Craig and cat Lucy, and in Chicago, Illinois, where her son, Scott and daughter-in-law Jessica and their five-year-old twins Elise and Ava reside. Her daughter, Stacey, graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, and is currently a Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant.
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Buy Hellfire and Damnation III
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I have one eBook copy to giveaway. Open Internationally.
To enter, please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win and answer this question:
“When reading a short story collection, do you read from beginning to end or do you skip around?”
Giveaway ends April 19th.
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