Cold, Black & Infinite: Stories of the Horrific & Strange

The latest story collection from Keisling (Devil’s Creek) showcases his range and abilities as a writer of the fantastic. Keisling’s words lead readers down some twisting roads and shadowy byways, whether he’s taking them on a road trip following a radio signal from beyond in “Midnight in the Southland,” or exposing what goes on at the bus terminal late at night in “2:45 to New Xebico.” Like many good collections, this one has Keisling writing several different kinds of fantastic stories, from the grim humor of the twisted holiday movie “The Happytown Yuletide Massacre” to the bleak modern fairy tale/prose poem “We’ve All Gone to Crooked Town.” The book’s sections, and their subsequent stories, follow cues from the book’s title: “Cold” has more traditionally fantastic stories, “Black” has darker tales more inclined to make readers flinch, and “Infinite” has stories of more cosmic-level horrors.