The Devil Made Me Do It.
Six Tales told by the Devil, but can you work out who he made a killer?
“The Patient and the Therapist,” a therapist named Ferguson is killed by her patient Colin Davies, who claims he was sent by an angel to stop her from destroying the world.
“The Psychopath” follows Jonathan, who kills his love interest and struggles with inner voices urging him to commit murder.
“The Witch and the Vampire” depicts the supernatural characters Sariella and Dotty, who have a long-standing feud. Their magic brings them into conflict again.
In “All Hallows Eve,” an anonymous killer ritualistically murders people but also has a seemingly normal home life.
“The Angelic Assassin” features a man who confesses to wanting to kill politicians he sees as responsible for many deaths.
“The Politician’s Demise” focuses on an incompetent politician named Brian who implements disastrous reforms that lead to many deaths.
The stories explore themes of madness, murder, supernatural forces, perception of reality, corruption and seeking truth. A questionable narrator weaves the stories together and questions notions of good and evil.
Shorts.
“The Nameless Voyage,” a group sets out on a boat journey across the sea, but it turns tragic.
“The Chill Of Nobody,” a man describes his day alone and frozen in his home, lamenting his forgotten, unimportant existence.
“It is depression,” a poetic piece personifying depression as an ever-present dark cloud that endlessly rains misery upon its victims. It urges readers to understand, listen to, and support those struggling with mental health issues.
“Vetra Machine,” a cybernetically enhanced bounty hunter named Vetra Machine tracks down and brutally eliminates her target.
The Tormented Mind.
The story is told from the perspective of a narrator who is struggling with mental health issues and experiences various delusions and hallucinations. Early on, he starts hearing voices and seeing strange things like black tar covering people’s eyes and strings controlling their limbs.
He decides to start therapy but is hesitant to fully open up about everything he’s experiencing. Over time, his hallucinations get worse and he believes “the cracks” in the sky are a sign of impending doom. The narrator becomes obsessed with taking down the oppressive political party that he believes is controlling society through lies and manipulation.
He starts trying to rally support against The Party, believing he has the power to control people’s minds by manipulating invisible strings. The narrator meets a woman named Anne who seems to believe some of what he says and they hatch a plan to publicly confront the Party’s leader, Number One.
The story explores themes of mental illness, delusion, political power, and morality through an unreliable narrator descending into madness.
Reviews.
“Dealing with the issues of our time, the narration of this book felt as though it was being told to me in the same room, at times provoking goosebumps in darker moments.
I would recommend this to everyone, no matter your genre preference.”
“The tales are woven in a dark, playful and thought provoking tapestry that hits hard at times.
There is hopelessness, sure, but absolute joy to pull you through the dark moments.
A beautifully written, bittersweet but wholly addictive book.”
“Read it twice on Kindle and each time got something new from it. Bought the book to give to a friend. Wherever you are on the madness spectrum this will tweak your brain. Beautifully written.”
“Ever thought Satan was a boring and one dimensional character lacking nuance? Think again, heathens. It’s far less predictable than that.”
“A really enjoyable book with themes varying from tale to tale. There’s a little gore but the real fear comes from the psychology in the stories. There’s nothing more scary than life and humans when you do a little poking. Intelligently thought through by Lee Wilson.”