BINOCULAR / AUTHORS: NICK SIDHU, KELLY SMITH / PUBLISHER: MUTANT HOOF BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

‘One very unpleasant story’ boast the quote on the back cover of Binocular; ‘and then another one’. True to its word, the two tales in this self-published work are deeply unpleasant, but that’s where the fun is.

Both stories involve married couples and an outside influence, neither that go in a happy direction. Nick Sidhu’s Six tells of a handyman worming his way into the lives of a happy couple, while Kelly Smith’s Selkie has a more fantastical edge as a pair of close school friends who have developed a nocturnal bond get reacquainted in later life with devastating consequences.

Each story is ably written, with natural characters and relatable situations that grow uncontrollably dire. We can understand the protagonists’ anger with the circumstances, but only up to a point. Despite the otherwise mundane lives of the characters, we’re drawn into the situations and can’t help but feel sympathy with the frustrating happenings. Particularly in Selkie, in which the main character goes to extreme lengths to try to get his old friend back to who he thinks she should be. As one might have gathered by the title, it has elements of sea creature legend, but this isn’t where the diabolical aspect comes in. This second story is the stronger of the two, but each are disturbing in their own ways.

Self-published books tend to be a struggle, but fortunately, Binocular has enough going for it to recommend for fans of macabre kitchen sink horror.