Scott Moses was kind enough to send me a copy of his debut collection, Hunger Pangs, for review. And I’m so glad he did. I’d seen his name around the twittersphere and had the book on my radar, but there’s just so much out there and it’s easy enough to get lost. Inside the front cover, Scott signed it “To understanding one another.” An apt inscription if I ever saw one.

Moses’ writing is good. A simple sentence, I know. I’m sorry, but I found myself drawn in immediately and unable to pin down exactly what it was. Part of it, I believe, is his writer’s voice. It reads like an author from a bygone era. An old and kind soul, guiding you through troubled waters. Sensory description is another piece that Moses uses to his advantage frequently. The door never opens. A rusty creaks cuts the silence of the room as the door swings inward. Moses employs sight and sound, but is sure to include lesser used senses like smell, frequently as well. One other potential reason for my love of this collection might be the innate beauty with which Moses writes. No matter what terrible thing is happening, you can’t help but be held in awe at the way you’re watching it play out.

As with any collection, not every story was for me, but I found a takeaway in every piece, an example of something that I believed would appeal to some reader out there.

I’m a sucker for a well-planned collection, where I can tell the author/editor put a lot of time and care into the placement of stories. “Nowhere, Lousiana”, especially in retrospect, was the only choice for the opener. An atmospheric story that puts on display the type of horror writing that Moses excels at.

“Questioning the Professor” is a gorgeous, open-ended story that allows me to pinpoint one more thing I enjoyed about Hunger Pangs. The author’s notes that precede each story hold nothing back, Moses baring his soul and creating a deeper understanding between author and reader. There’s that word again.

“What’s in your Name” is a special story that will stick with me for a long time. The strongest story in the collection, it’s powerful, poignant piece that’s charged with emotion and takes a look at real, inexplicable evil. Stories where the character must make an impossible choice and we see the aftermath of the consequence will always hit me hard, and this one pulled it off masterfully.

“Hunger Pangs”, the titular story, is as perfect a choice for the final story as “Nowhere, LA” was for the opening. Moses tells us it has a history of rejection - being too horror for the literary crowd and too literary for the horror crowd. Maybe it didn’t find a good fit in any particular anthology, but it’s a terrific example of Moses’ style. Mixing horror with literary.

The collection worked for me. I feel like I’ve been pretty clear on that. I could, however, see some readers looking for more straightforward and gritty horror not connecting fully here. That’s not say Moses can’t or doesn’t bring the violence. It’s there, but it’s not always the focal point. If you like your horror with a bit of depth, soul, and a hint of poetry, even in the pieces that aren’t poetry, there’s a lot to like in this collection.


I received a copy from the author for review consideration