A collection of 13 tales from the darkly disturbed minds of the residents of Blackwater Heights.
From the bestselling author of "Gated I & II" "Abra-Cadaver" & "After Darkness Falls 1 & 2" "Asylum 13 Tales of Terror" is a UK & US Horror/Anthology Chart #1 and was voted #5 on The Horror Novel Review'sTop 10 novels of 2013.
Blackwater Heights is a building with a long dark history, some of it is well known but more is shrouded in myth and legend. None more so than that of its founding father Horace Whisker. Martin Parcell is an ex-journalist with shattered dreams of an author's career.
Sidelined through a car crash's injuries, he finds himself forced through governmental austerity measures having to take a custodians position at a private mental health hospital. A writer with undoubted talent, but an author without a story.
He begins his new job deep in depression and drowning under waves of his lost dreams. On his first night he meets Jimmy, his elderly supervisor who has spent most of his life within the hospital walls. Jimmy is nearing retirement age and desperate to rest his weary bones. Jimmy offers Martin a way out for both of them, access to the background histories and stories of the hospital's patients.
A collection of 13 tales from the darkly disturbed minds of the residents of Blackwater Heights. As the long night unwinds, Martin finds himself deeply troubled as the tales unfold before him and threaten to drag him down into their insanity
Professional Reviews
LittleBlogofHorror.com
I was approached about doing a review of Matt Drabble’s new novel, ASYLUM- 13 tales of terror. I am usually not a big reader, but this novel was sensational! I started reading and couldn’t stop.
Let’s start with his characters. The main character Martin Parcell was a promising author until a car accident. After the accident, he took a job at Blackwater Heights, a private mental hospital. His supervisor, Jimmy, was ready to retire and offered Martin a new idea for a book, 13 tales of some of the darkest minds at Blackwater Heights.
Matt Drabble is nothing short of a genius when it comes to painting a picture of his characters and the scenes of his stories. His description of Blackwater Heights was eerie and all around terrifying. The descriptions of each patient gets even more disturbed than the one before it.
The tale that stuck out the most to me was chapter seven: The Voice. Duncan Murray was crazy and maybe even a little dangerous, but at the same time he was likable and I felt a bit sorry for him. The vision of Duncan was painted so vividly, I felt like I was truly hearing about a real person. Drabble gave each character so much thought.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone that likes a good psychological thriller. ASYLUM- 13 tales of terror is very high on my list of novels that I will read again. Matt Drabble is definitely a name that I look forward to seeing on more works.
HorrorNovelReviews.com
Matt Drabble’s latest, Asylum – 13 Tales of Terror is a surprising piece of work. It’s not surprising because Drabble is a subpar author who just released a hit – that’s certainly not the case – it’s surprising because it’s consistently very, very strong and it’s got one of the finer wraparound tales you’ll spot in recent release. Few authors take the time to create a story in which to house their anthological tales, and when they do, they’re often rather underwhelming. Drabble makes with solid connection with his interweaving narrative.
As mentioned, the stories themselves are all quite fascinating and cover an assortment of bases. There’s genuine variety here, and quite a few of these stories are actually reasonably original. It’s not 13 tales on repeat, it’s an evolving and shifting collection that holds the attention. Picking a favorite is difficult. Picking a least favorite is practically impossible.
If I’m pointing at the shining effort of the collection, I may have my digit aimed at one of the collection’s earlier offerings, The Voice. It’s only the second or third story in the collection, but it’s creepy, cruel and creative. It also functions on a primitive level, but simultaneously taps into some psychological issues that will have your head spinning. It’s amazing that Drabble manages to deliver the goods without coming across as overly sadistic, but he manages. This is a stellar story that probably should have been saved for the book’s latter portions. It would have been a nice and vicious punch to exit on.
If I had to pick a weak link of the bunch, I’d probably go with Stormy Seas. It’s a love tale with a twist, and it’s by no means a bad story. Not in the slightest bit. I wouldn’t eliminate it from the collection either. I’d simply say that of these stories, it’s possibly the least impacting. For a book that registers well over 200 pages, that’s some scant criticism, which itself speaks volumes for this piece.
Drabble’s imagination is impressive. He’s able to venture in directions that many aren’t, and his stories are generally thought provoking. Like Stephen King, or Clive Barker, there’s simply no telling what the man will deliver in a package of this nature. There aren’t all too many intensely creative minds in this field. Many simply rehash stories we’ve heard one hundred times before, changing names, places and minor details. Matt Drabble isn’t of that ilk. Matt Drabble is a visionary, completely captivating in his unique and unorthodox delivery.
Book-Fidelity.com
I am a sucker for a good horror/thriller story. Ever since I was a kid, summers were made for reading a scary story next to a window, a rolling thunderstorm just outside. With that said, I'm very particular about my horror stories. For example, I kinda dislike Stephen King's writing. I say kinda because I did enjoy Carrie and, of course, many of his short stories.
But I digress.
(or maybe it's because Drabble reminds me of the good stuff I like from King? Hmmm)
What Matt Drabble has done in his short stories is please the palate of a horror fan that needs to have their attention grabbed! Whoa, tongue twister. What I mean is that, just how some authors need 500 pages to get their point across, there are some authors who succeed in capturing what they need in a small fraction of those pages. That, is what Drabble has done. The characters and stories grabbed my attention and the stories were unique, but tied together.
This is an interesting read for any horror fan. The stories are entertaining and I dare you not to finish them in one day. Hey, better yet, turn down the lights, turn off the tv and cuddle up with these stories tonight - talk about being afraid of the dark!
