Press

Critical Praise for “You Shall Never Know Security”

The term dark fiction has become a tad diluted by the onslaught of vampire, zombie and pseudo-horror novels that currently dot the literary landscape. However, in J.R. Hamantaschen’s You Shall Never Know Security, a collection of 13 short stories, dark fiction is back to what it was meant to be: a bloodcurdling jump into the gloomiest and most sinister corners of the human psyche.

With an elegant and eloquent prose that brings to mind the work of Lovecraft, Hamantaschen repeatedly pulls away the thin cover or normalcy that’s usually thrown over our daily lives and unabashedly shows readers what lies beneath. Regret, despair, fear, envy and guilt are all here, and the stories in which they appear are the kind that tend to stick with readers after the reading is over

HP Lovecraft eZine (http://lovecraftzine.com/2012/04/10/j-r-hamantaschens-you-shall-never-know-security/)

The language, in places, is evocative, almost elegiac . . . The stories are so varied in type and emphasis that it is difficult to describe them in a single line or two . . .in all of the above, the author delivers powerful, ugly images, using a battery of verbal pyrotechnics that make the stories demand to be read carefully. Buried in the razzle-dazzle language are clues to the intended meaning. If horror is your poison of choice, these will definitely fill the bill.”

Innsmouth Free Press (http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/?p=16810)

The author, a twenty-something wunderkind, is attracting a good deal of attention in horror writing circles with this debut collection, and rightly so. He has a remarkable grasp of exactly how instinctively predatory the human beast is and the lengths some are apt to go to conceal this fact beneath layers of comforting veneers. He is also a natural story teller, willing to dally at the realizations, the internal struggles to come to grips with the unthinkable, and the often less than satisfying fare that is ultimately one’s lot in life rather than the visceral. He also has a macabre sense of humor that creeps into the telling now and again leaving the reader wondering if he has just heard a joke, or if the joke is inevitably on us and from time to time we need to appreciate that fact.

Paul Bates, Red Room Review (Full review available: http://redroom.com/member/paul-bates/blog/book-review-you-shall-never-know-security-by-jr-hamantaschen-0)

J.R. Hamantaschen’s stories tap into the cosmic hopelessness of life. His stories are horrific and terrifying, but really shake one’s idea of self and your place in the universe

– Chris Lackey, HP Pod Craft (http://hppodcraft.com/)

J.R. Hammentaschen’s anthology, “You Shall Never Know Security,” kicks open the doors of the traditional horror fiction genre and takes the reader to a far darker place. Never relying on gimmicks or gore, Hammentaschen handles some deep topics in these stories, while keeping you thoroughly horrified from beginning to end. This is fiction for readers that like to think, that like to be challenged, that like to squirm.

– Norm Sherman, The Drabblecast

The book goes into different realms of horror. From grotesque events, to terrifying mysteries, J.R. broke boundaries in the horror realm. I call this a mind fuck book, because most stories leave you paranoid and thinking it could happen to you. This book brings out frightening emotions that can only mean J.R. has sent a message of terror and it must be embraced… I recommend this book to anyone seeking a good nightmare.

–Nixida Toro (Assistant Editor at the Dark Side Horror Group, Official Book Club Selection)

J.R.’s fiction is raw, startling, and dark. The best examples of his work — stories such as “Jordan, When Are You Going to Settle Down, Get Married and Have Us Some Children?” and”Endemic” — make readers squirm with discomfort, wondering how far the boundaries can be pushed before they break. J.R.’s work isn’t comfortable fiction, but it’s as often as not thought-provoking fiction wrapped around a grimly philosophical edge.

– Dru Pagliassotti, editor of The Harrow Press, author of An Agreement with Hell

And after reading through this masterpiece of unnerving literature, I must also agree that these stories are truly what 21^st century dark fiction is all about . . . [t]his collection of thought-provoking fiction is part of a new turning point in modern fiction . . . [w]hen I sat down to write this review, I opened the book and looked at the table of contents trying to decide which story was my favorite. To be honest, I can’t even properly decide. Each story has a specific feeling that overtakes me as I read them. As a must I would suggest the last three stories of the anthology. These tales are some of the best thought out dark fiction that I have read, and all share a tangential them.

– Unspeakable Gibberer (full review available at: http://unspeakablegibberer.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/you-shall-never-know-security-by-j-r-hamantaschen/)

A solid collection by a talented author with a strong voice . . . certainly much more dark than ole Howard [Philip Lovecraft] ever went.

– Toxic Graveyard

You Shall Never Know Security is full of raw emotion and themes that are the obvious result of some very deep thought. Each story is actually about something. They are real even at their most absurd. They’re topics has affected us all one way or another. They can be terribly sad or angry . . . With this collection, J. R. manages to remind the reader of Lovecraft and Ligotti, while at the same time remaining completely faithful to his own ideas, themes, and voice. What it comes down to is this: as a writer myself, one who also aspires create weird horror, reading these stories made me a little jealous. Okay, I lie. They made me a lot jealous. I wish I could write at Hamantaschen’s calibre and level of talent. I look forward to reading more.

– The Black Abyss (5 out of 5 stars)

Interviews

With the Drabblecast -Drabblecast Episode 220-

http://www.drabblecast.org/2011/10/26/drabblecast-220-trifecta-xviii/

Hellnotes:

http://hellnotes.com/you-shall-never-know-security