Dark Gods by T.E.D. Klein.
PS Publishing, 2021

Review by Warner Holme: T.E.D. Klein’s Dark Gods is a nice little collection of novellas by an author who has been anything but prolific. With a range of horrific tales within the pages, it is easy to see what attracts about the book.

“Children of the Kingdom” is a thoughtful update on ancient history related horror, with obvious nods to Lovecraft. Overall the narrator dealing with his grandfather and the man’s new surroundings work as an interesting story, and the oddities of ideas related two of them helped to build mystery amd horror.

Big city horror of this vein is not particularly common, and this volume does an interesting job of it. One certainly gets the feel for a dark and dingy place bordering upon the grotesque at times in this story, yet at the same time some details of the metropolis seem most enjoyable.

Naming the wife of the narrator Karen is somewhat unfortunate in light of the decades later reputation that name has gained. 

Some parallels to Lovecraft, like a fear of breeding with the unacceptably strange, are certainly handled better than by the aforementioned author. In this the horrifying possibility of breeding with a very different creature is presented in relation to rape, which combined with the relatively cosmopolitan setting makes it seem less a condemnation of miscegenation.

This story feels like it could have easily been expanded into a full novel, and certainly some of the less fortunate implications would not have been noticed then. By a similar token people of color are frequently described amongst the criminals of various areas, in a way that might seem racially-motivated. While this seems unintentional on the part of the author, and he indeed does describe relatively positive characters from multiple racial groups, it might very well be bothersome to certain readers.

Given the introduction features a quote by Lovecraft “The Black Man with a Horn” represents another clear homage. In this one can find the themes of a strange foreigner, old objects and horrifying revelations. It all begins with the narrator meeting the titular character on a trip, finding him amiable enough but quickly discovering that 

Throughout this story is the familiar creeping dread, a Stephen King like use of an author as the viewpoint character, and the sense of humor the figure starts out with a nice bit of levity. Mind, a story written before the year 2000 are doing it would be impossible to find a lost work is a little hilarious, however the proliferation of information even at the time was wide enough that the point was understandable.

Overall this is a very nice little collection from an author whom kept his work to a minimum. To anyone who enjoyed his novel The Ceremonies, it is a must-read. To other readers of horror and the horrific it is well worth a look. The newest edition does contain a number of revisions, effectively serving as an author is preferred text, making it in and of itself desirable for that reason. Still regardless the stories contained within are suitably good examples of their respective subgenres, and easy to enjoy.

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Often shy and retiring Warner Holme has worn many hats over the years. He has worked in fields ranging from the medical to advertising, but always finds himself most at home among stories and words. He can usually be found in the mid-south, caring for some person or animal, and is almost never more than a meter away from a few books.