Reviews

The Mysterious Drowning at St Kilda
Review by Marianne
(Goodreads)

"Of the sixteen stories, those by Kerry Greenwood and Lindy Cameron, L. J. M. Owen, Christopher Sequeira, Steve Cameron, Narelle M Harris, Lucy Sussex and Doug Elliott are oustandingly good."


The Mysterious Drowning at St Kilda
Review by Peter Craven
(The Australian)

"The style of the anthology is weirdly geographical and continent encompassing with all sorts of outback stories and stories set under, say, the unaccustomed blue Adelaide sky to balance the ones set in the vicinity of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair or about drowning in 19th-century St Kilda (this last is by Steve [Cameron]* and apparently is based on a true case and has Holmes and Watson set out to investigate from their rooms in Fitzroy)."

*Yes, they got my name wrong - Who is Steve Connor?

To Keep the Lamp Alight
Review by Liz Grzyb
(Editor at Ticonderoga)

"Lots of ghost stories here, which isn't my usual fare. Standout stories for me were Steve Cameron's "To Keep the Lamp Alight" and Alice Goodwin's "Into the Light"."


To Keep the Lamp Alight
Review by Mark Andresen
(The Pan Review)

"Two memorable examples of the anthology's psychological approach are Steve Cameron's 'To Keep the Lamp Alight' and Sam Muller's 'The Crystal Lighthouse.' In Cameron's tale, the subjective narration of a long-term friendship between a widower and a local policeman in a close-knit community, where a disappearance remains unexplained, reads as breezy and hale-fellow-well-met. It is only near the end when the innocent, completely explicable, explanations for other disappearances feel just too convenient that you realise there might be more to the narrator than he's letting on."

Bloodlust
Review by Adrian Shotbolt
(Reviewer) 

"There is real nice mixture of short stories on offer. Two that really stood out for me were the tales by Joe Young-a story about a group of survivors adrift inside a submarine and a brilliant vampire tale that takes place in Kuala Lumpur."

Bloodlust
Review by The Grim Reader
(BeavisTheBookhead.com) 

"...a brilliant vampire tale that takes place in Kuala Lumpur."

Outside World
Review by Stevie Barry
(Tangent Online)

"Outside World ... is an allegory for people who are forcibly dispossessed in the real world. ...  Refreshingly, (the aliens) are not portrayed as evil: the one that we see, Aldreth, is just a person who wants to go home. (Outside World is) a variation on a concept that has been done often already, but Veronica's grief is deeply convincing, her character complex despite the shortness of the story."

The Last of the Butterflies
Review by Ion Newcombe
(AntipodeanSF)

"Standout stories I've read in the past couple of months or so that have impressed themselves on me for one reason or another.   ...  

Short Story: The Last Of The Butterflies by Steve Cameron
Post apocalyptic religious society study that hinges on undercurrents that threaten the survival of anyone that was bioengineered before the disaster. Bottom line? There's danger lurking in comfort, and the ideas of others. Go flying."

Holland: 1944
Review by Pete Aldin
(Writer)

"Brilliant. Highlight for me was Steve Cameron's almost-pythonesque take on alien invasions and first contact. Hilarious, with a sting in the tale."

I Was The Walrus
Review by Anita Eva
(Darkeva)

"...the protagonist of “I Was The Walrus” by Steve Cameron seems to remember vivid details about the Beatles that he couldn’t possibly have known. He’s had many past lives, but it’s more than that, and makes for an interesting read." ... "If you see it at any convention tables or booths during the fall season, buy it on the spot. There are very few horror and dark fantasy anthologies with this amount of incredible, high quality stories, ... but I’m telling you straight up that if you buy just one horror anthology this year, make it After Death...  After Death is on par with all the most quality, worthwhile anthologies in the genre."

I Was The Walrus  
Review by John Boden
(Shock Totem)

"Steve Cameron gives us “I Was the Walrus,” in which a man follows his past identities to some lofty and surprising conclusions. ...  There are quite a number of tales I didn’t remark on, not because they were poor, but because they just didn’t have the same impact as those mentioned above. That is the rough cross to bear with an anthology. On the whole, Guignard has assembled a great roster of talent—quite a few of which I had never heard of or read before—and given us a rich and heavy menu of possible aftermaths to the grand finale. You won’t be disappointed."

I Was The Walrus
Review by Ian Welke
(writer and reviewer)

"When I saw the writers listed in the contents, I had high expectations. I can happily say that those expectations were exceeded. There are stories by Joe McKinney, John Lanagan, William Meikle, Lisa Morton, AJ French... and many others, their names in the contents make this being a great anthology almost a given." ..."I was the Walrus" by Steve Cameron as well as "The Resurrection Policy" by Lisa Morton and "Acclimation Package" by Joe McKinney remind me of stories by John Brunner or Philip K Dick, fun mixings of science, science fiction, and metaphysics. Overall the effect of these stories is an odd mix. There's the sad and sentimental. The beautiful and romantic. Some of these stories are just plain fun. But best of all these stories have me thinking about them long after I've put the book down."

I Was The Walrus
Review by Publishers Weekly
(trade magazine)

"This anthology addresses one of the most basic questions of human existence: what happens when we die? The answers come in the form of 34 stories that explore diverse notions of ghosts (Edward M. Erdelac’s “Sea of Dreams”) and demons (William Meikle’s “Be Quiet at the Back”), trapped souls (Steve Cameron’s “I Was the Walrus”), mishaps in resurrection (Lisa Morton’s “The Resurrection Policy”), and unbearable eternities (David Tallerman’s “Prisoner of Peace”). ... Though the majority of the pieces come from the darker side of the genre, a solid minority are playful, clever, or full of wonder. ... This strong and well-themed anthology is sure to make readers contemplative even while it creates nightmares."

Fireflies
Review by Satima Flavell
(writer, editor and reviewer) 

". . .Epilogue, is . . . a thoroughly good read, containing twelve solid, workmanlike stories from twelve of Australia’s best SF short story writers.  ...  In every story, the world-building is first-rate.  . . .each one carries a feeling of authenticity and originality.  . . .  ‘Fireflies’, Steve Cameron’s story set in a very credible post-apocalyptic Australia, is a story of love and loss that ends in a new beginning, so is nevertheless reassuring and hopeful."


Fireflies
Review by Katherine Stubbs
(reviewer for Hachette Australia and the fantasy writing website/forum Mythic Scribes) 

"Five stars. Beautiful and emotive. A lovely journey that was set up well, and followed through wonderfully. I would love to see more in this world."


So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper
Review by Thoraiya Dyer
(Author, winner of Aurealis and Ditmar Awards) 

"As for Steve Cameron’s ‘So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper,’ I was looking forward to it all the way through, and had to make an effort not to skip ahead. You know about my tragic lighthouse obsession, right? Anyway, this story was even better than I’d hoped. The characterisations were spot-on and I found the structure and symmetry of the story incredibly satisfying."


So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper
Review by Alan Baxter
(author of the Alex Caine series) 

"Probably the standouts for me were  . . .  and Steve Cameron’s So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper. Although the real star of that last story is a secondary character. In fact, a brick."