This is a dark themed urban fantasy/supernatural fiction novel with some very vivid imagery. Hunt's way of seeing ghosts and through their eyes is distinctive. He's a very troubled character and not easy to like. I'll continue this series.

Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com

*Review for the audio version*

Limbus Inc. is a very good shared world anthology of short stories revolving around a mysterious and dark employment agency and its hires. There are some very good authors on display here, only one of which I had not previously read. The audio narration was very well done and the cadence and tone of each of the individual stories flowed together nicely.

Right off the bat with Etheridge’s story, I knew this was going to be a little sci-fi/fantasy heavy for me. The real surprise was that I really enjoyed every one of these tales despite the genre influences that I typically avoid. That is quite a feat and is a testament to how well this shared world anthology was put together and written. Very well done. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment of the series. Solid 4+ Stars and Highly Recommended!

As niche as military horror is, it's a sub-genre I find myself warming to. As such, after hearing editor Geoff Brown speak on the THIS IS HORROR podcast, I decided to track down the shortest of his military horror anthologies and check out what he was putting out there.

Snafu: Heroes brings together four tales involving soldiers taking on some kind of supernatural threat. The first tale, The Hungry Dark: A Templar Chronicles Mission by Joseph Nassise, depicts a sacred order of soldiers battling an outbreak of cadaver-controlling demons in small village Germany. It's a solid tale without being overly impressive, though perhaps some appreciation was lost for me as I was not familiar with the series of novels within which this story takes place. It's also by far the longest story in the anthology, even though it ends oddly suddenly, so I was ready for it to be over by the time it was. 3 stars.

The next tale, Tarzan Doesn't Live Here Any More by Weston Ochse is a little more sci-fi as well as a lot more out there than Nassise's contribution. Dealing with one man's effort to report on one of many deep rifts that have opened in the earth and from which numerous things try to escape, this story opts for an odd character point which drives the nerrative (and is hinted at in the title) that never really worked for me. Yet, the last third of this one is action-packed and had me on the edge of my seat, so it redeemed itself in a very entertaining way. 3.5 stars.

War Stories, by James A Moore, was easily my favourite of the three. A more personal take on returning war veterans and the bond they share - but, of course, with a horrific twist - Moore's story has a WWII vet grandfather offering his Vietnam vet grandson some words of wisdom before telling his most personal, terrifying story. Moore writes with an effortless power that completely won me over and has left me wondering about numerous facets of the story since I finished reading it earlier today. 4.5 stars.

The last story, Changeling: A Joe Ledger Adventure by Jonathan Maberry I did not read. Because there's an author's note saying that the events in this story take place after The Dragon Factory and that spoilers for that novel are sprinkled through this piece. Given I have that novel on my Kindle, I've decided to leave it alone for now and will return after I've gotten round to the aforementioned novel. So thank you to both Maberry and Brown for including this note.

All in all then, it's 3.5 FUBAR Enemies for the first three tales from SNAFU: Heroes, with an update to follow in future.

A shared anthology of five short stories (and one wrap-around tale) that all deal with a shady recruitment company which is definitely more than it at first appears, Limbus, Inc. is grand in concept, but somewhat uneven in delivery.

Firstly, this should not be classified as a horror anthology. Going in with that mind-set is likely to evoke disappointment as this one is more sci-fi than it is a thriller or a horror - though it certainly contains enough elements of these as well. Hell, there are even a number of comedic moments spread through a number of the tales, so if you were prepared to stretch, you could add comedy to that lengthening list of genres. As such, some of the stories are bound to appeal to each reader more than others. Those with a preference for sci-fi will likely enjoy Ethridges's lead-off tale, The Slaughter Man, as well as Nassise's One Job Too Many and Petty's We Employ. By contrast, those whose boats are floated by horrors or thrillers will likely be more satisfied with Talley's The Sacrifice and Maberry's Strip Search.

It would be a disservice to talk about the plot of any of these stories in any detail, as a large portion of the book's success relies upon not really knowing what you're in for. Instead, I'll keep it very generic to note that Maberry's was by far my favourite story, ending this anthology on a huge high with a knockout final punch that dragged my overall rating into the four-star range, with just a bit of help from Nassise's contribution. The others I enjoyed less for varying reasons (We Employ was too weird for my tastes; The Sacrifice too predictable; The Slaughter Man too convoluted for an opening story about the recruitment agency), but all were middling to decent.

In short, it's always good to read something a little different, and Limbus, Inc. certainly falls into such a category. Pick it up for this reason and be prepared to tape your socks to your legs ahead of the last tale!

4 Right People for the Job for Limbus, Inc..

 

I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Templar Chronicles is one of the best series in Dark Urban Fantasy, and Nassise raises the bar in the latest installment.
There are enough twists and turns to fuel a shelf of thrillers, and enough dark doings to satisfy any horror fan.

Highly recommended.