05/07/2025 Sweet Reviews: Dark Tides 15- A Graveyard of Stars

"In uncharted and forbidden tracts of space, ancient evils awaken…

With its visceral action, escalating dread, vivid characters braving trauma and temptation, and startling feats of imagination, A Graveyard of Stars anthology will send the reader hurtling through space toward chilling revelations and breathless conclusions.

The Temple by Joseph Sale: After an audacious crew of salvagers crosses into dangerous territory seeking otherworldly treasure, they discover an occult secret that could change everything.

The Station by Lee Mountford: The intrepid crew of the Argento encounters unimaginable horrors after discovering a mysterious, drifting megastructure in the depths of space.

Graveyard of Stars by Dan Soule: A routine maintenance job on the edge of the notorious Demon Star system goes terribly wrong, leaving the stranded engineers caught between the unfathomable forces of Algol and the lethal dangers of the encroaching defense net they are sworn to uphold.

These three brilliantly inventive novellas combined in this compulsive sci-fi collection to explore threats lurking in a forbidden and blighted sector of space. Perfect for fans of Event Horizon, Alien, Dead Silence, and Luminous Dead.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths."

This combination of novellas is really interesting because, although they stories aren't sequels, they are connected in clever and creative ways. They all take place in the same general area of space, at different times though. Mention of ships that were lost in one story, turn up in another. Legends of the Agoul cross the stories as well, in some they play a relatively big part.

After reading "The Temple" by Joseph Sale, I thought oooh this is going to be my favourite I bet! And then I read "The Station" by Lee Mountford. And then I read "Graveyard of Stars" by Dan Soule. And now they are all my favorite.

I love sci-fi horror because there is no better way to create the feeling of existential dread than with stories about characters confined to their spacecrafts in far off Outerspace with limited supplies, zero gravity, and the looming knowledge that if your suit malfunctions and you don't have access to oxygen, you're going to die a suffocating death.

Alone in space.

Although, if your suit is still intact and your oxygen levels are fine, well that's all good, unless you are untethered and drift off, spinning in the silent expanse of space to suffocate alone out there... of freeze to death---whichever happens first.

Now take these stories in particular and add an ancient temple of the Gods who don't care about humanity, a mysterious race of aliens that preys on humans for nefarious reasons (I can't get the image of the "test subjects" out of my head), and evil, cursed space idols.

Not to mention decade old floating coffins...

I was in a panic more than once while reading these stories. You know the kind of panic where you have to take a breath and reassure yourself like, "It's ok Ali, they're going to make it back to the air lock in time! And also, deep space Demon Cultists don't really exist." I have always been a fan of sci-fi horror but after reading these chilling novellas, I. Want. More.

4.5 (Graveyards of) Stars from me!

Where to find Dark Tides 15 A Graveyard of Stars: Amazon https://a.co/d/2nW4Yc2 (It's on KU)