Publishers Weekly Reviews Carla Dash’s Debut Weird Fiction Collection

Revealing both how terrifying and how heroic individuals can be when untethered from relationships, Monsters and Other Tales of Humanity portrays the ways people cope with loneliness. A woman is haunted by Death, who progressively resembles her drowned fiancé. A child seeks beauty in a handsome stranger’s greenhouse and holds out hope for a savior. A woman’s husband is murdered by police, and her monstrous children enact a bloody revenge. A negligent mail carrier believes stars are disappearing from the sky, heralding the annihilation of the universe. A video game character’s dissonance with the actions he must perform precipitates a choice that could destroy his world. Speculative and lyrical, these stories explore the human need for connection and how the lack of ties warps lives.