Wesley Southard is a writer whose name I keep seeing, and in the back of my mind, I kept meaning to get to one of his books. When this collection was released, the cover really grabbed my attention, so I gave it a go.

The collection is a bit...uneven. There are a fair few short pieces that really didn’t work for me. Some were due to an unclear tone, mixing humor with splatter, but not necessarily in a cohesive way. Some were flash pieces that might have worked better in a slightly longer form, but that’s just, like, my opinion, man.

So far this is reading like a 1-2 star review, but I went with 3. Why, you ask? A few of the stories were genuinely fun. Arrearages is the ultimate revenge fantasy, and is not for the squeamish. This is actually a case where inserting a bit of humor worked well. Home Invasion was written with Nikki McKenzie, and while it wasn’t a favorite, I did appreciate the way the two authors put their sides of the story together utilizing different locales. Lip Service should not have worked, but there was just something about taking a ridiculous idea and committing wholeheartedly that won me over.

Even if none of the short fiction is for you, the title novella, Resisting Madness, that wraps up the collection is a quick, very enjoyable read. It made me think that I just might enjoy other offerings from Southard in a longer form. This novella is every bit as brutal and gore-filled as the rest of the work, but it adds a bit of heart as well, something conspicuous in its absence from many other stories collected here.