And even more reviews for Sing Your Sadness Deep

Even more people have been saying incredibly kind things about Sing Your Sadness Deep and I’m honestly slightly overwhelmed by it all, and expecting it all to come crashing down at any moment.

A vardo, which may or may not belong to Sara’s grandmother in ‘The Pain-Eater’s Daughter‘

The venerable John Linwood Grant over at Grey Dog Tales says:

This particular collection is absolutely a good read. That’s not only down to Mauro’s evident command of her craft, but also down to her presentation of stories which hold up in different ways. ‘Looking for Laika’, for example, is a tale for anyone. It’s sad, moving – and accessible. ‘When Charlie Sleeps’ is what we might call weird horror – not graphic but strange and satisfying; ‘In the Marrow’ harks back to a particular folk belief, but executed almost perfectly; reality, myth and delusion are beautifully entwined until you can’t be absolutely sure – but it still has a ‘completeness’ about it.

Meanwhile, over at Locus Magazine, Paul Di Filippo says:

Do I detect resonances with such masters of the horrific and weird as Caitlin Kiernan, Darren Speegle, Kathe Koja and Tanith Lee? Indeed, I do! And also affinities with younger standouts such as Kat Howard, Priya Sharma, C.S.E. Cooney, Simon Strantzas, Sarah Pinsker, and Caroline Yoachim, a cohort of desolation angels.

There are also very kind words from Rebecca Wojturska over at Sublime Horror:

It is usually the case within a collection that some of the stories act as little more than filler. Not so in Sing Your Sadness Deep. Each story feels vital, and each is as chilling as the last, whether because we recognise our feelings and fears within them or just because Mauro is a gifted story-weaver.

And at The Pan Review, which says of ‘The Pain-Eater’s Daughter’ (original to the collection):

Finally, a quick word for ‘The Pain-Eater’s Daughter, ending the collection. I don’t think I’ve ever read a tale on familial empathy and grief quite as moving; not in the last twenty years, at least, and neither in this genre.

Rebbie Reviews discusses five favourites from the collection, while in this month’s Black Static magazine, Andrew Hook reviews Sing Your Sadness Deep in full:

“…be aware that within Sing Your Sadness Deep none of the bullets are blanks and Laura Mauro is a markswoman.”

If you like the sound of all of this, please consider picking up a copy! You can get this book in hardback, paperback or ebook format, either from The Evil Empire, or you can order from local bookstores like Waterstones, WHSmith, Target and Foyles.

And if you’d rather get a taster of what my writing is all about before you commit to a full collection, my standalone Kindle short story ‘Ningen‘ is just £1.53 on Amazon:

Tragedy has befallen the Russian submarine, Ussuri. Without explanation, the vessel has been lost to the depths of the ocean, all hands aboard presumed lost. A team of deep-sea divers has been dispatched to investigate.

What they will discover is the infinity of depths and landscapes that become only more alien to them. And as the team themselves are stricken by yet another tragedy, they must face the increasing reality of the possibilities that lay below. That what awaits them could be the ultimate truth. Or madness.

Or both.

To end this on a non-own-trumpet-blowing note: the formidably talented Priya Sharma has a novel out from tor.com! Ormeshadow is a long awaited full-length piece from Priya, whose short fiction is among my very favourites, and whose work I recommend without hesitation to anyone interested in dark, intelligent, empathetic fiction.