Blood on the Page: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene Volume 1 by Brian Keene is a great short fiction collection by the master of Extreme Horror. This collection features 29 short stories. One story was created for this collection as the other 28 were previously published. The collection surprised me. Not all stories have gore in them. Some I wouldn’t even consider horror. But all the stories had heart and soul. The cover features an artist bleeding on the page of a book. This image represents the collection. Keene bleeds his heart and soul on every page. I was astounded by how emotional I got reading works of horror. Bunnies in August was my favorite in this collection. That story will rip out your heart and watch it pulse its last beat. The story shocked me twice with twists. At the end, I cried as the character finally dealt with his regret and trauma. Captive Hearts was another favorite about a zombie love story it is messed up but beautiful under the right lens. Captive Hearts is not the only zombie love story there is also The Wind Cries Mary. This collection also features two stories about the Exit Serial Killer which are very good. This is my first Keene read. It will not be my last. Since reading this book, I have purchased The Rising, Dark Hollow, and Terminal. I bought this book because I wanted to get more into my own horror short story writing. I also love reading short stories. Out of the 29 short stories I rated 12 – five stars, 9 – four stars, 6 – three stars, 1 – two stars, and 1 – one star. Each time I read a short story I would rate and give the story a mini-review. Blood on the Page: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene Volume 1 was published on June 4, 2013.

Blood on the Page Short Stories Ranked from favorite to least favorite:

Five Star Reviews:

Bunnies in August is a heart-wrenching story about a father grieving over his son. The story also features bunnies who act as the innocent in the story. The story blends both elements expertly. The story is dark with twists and turns. I love the theme of being haunted by regret. This story might be my favorite. It made me gasp twice at the twists. Bunnies in August, I rated 5 out of 5.

Captive Hearts is a story of a man tied to a bed with a huge twist. I love that the story is ultimately about love just in a very messed up way. I liked the reveal of the relationship between the captive to the capture. The story will ruin the little piggies’ nursery rhyme. This story was a 5 out of 5 story.

I am an Exit is a story about an injured man at an Exit of an interstate. The story really twists the helpful person narrative. This story is my favorite so far. The story flows so well. I was captivated the whole time. I am an Exit is 5 out of 5 stars.

The Wind Cries Mary is a love story that takes place during the zombie apocalypse. The story had a twist I did not see coming. The writing despite the gore is beautiful. The story is about the power of love told in a messed-up kind of way. The Wind Cries Mary I rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Burying Betsy is a tale about burying a little girl named Betsy. The girl is still alive just buried. The reason for the burial is terrifying. I liked the subtle way Keene expanded characters with tiny little details. I thought Burying Betsy is Keene’s best dialogue in the collection so far. I rated Burying Betsy 5 out of 5 stars. I saw the twist coming but it was a good one.

That Which Lingers is a very clever story about a woman. The story is very short with a big twist. Reading this story I was like it would be cool if this happened, and then it did. The twist is a good one. I rated That Which Lingers 5 out of 5 stars.

Full of It is a darkly funny tale that is half Lovecraft and well… shit. The story is about a shit monster and it is hilarious. You can feel Keene smiling through this story up until the final line. The story was created for a gross-out event and it is gross. Full of it I rate 5 out of 5.

Red Wood is a good ensemble piece about a hunting trip gone wrong. The story was one of the longest but followed very well. There’s a lot of Dark Hallow in the story. The dialogue for Smitty was great, I think everyone knows a guy like that. I thought the death scenes were written well and inventive. Great ending to the piece. Red Wood I rated it 5 out of 5.

Fast Zombies Suck is a humorous tale of a zombie-obsessed young man. He’s ready and prepared for a zombie attack and a zombie horde happens to be on his street. There’s a great twist at the end. Keene makes fun of his contributions to the zombie genre within the piece. Fast Zombies Suck was a clever short story 5 out of 5.

Waiting for Darkness is a super short story. That was originally to be written on a t-shirt. The story is about a boy trapped beneath the sand. The story for as short as it is packs a lot of story. The buried boy reveals a lot about why he is buried. It also uncovers what happened to his sister who was burying him. Waiting for Darkness is 5 out of 5. Shows the power of Keene’s storytelling abilities.

Golden Boy is a story about a boy that can bleed and crap gold, along with other bodily fluids. The story is very inventive and has a dark ending. The story was short but what a premise. Golden Boy I rated 5 out of 5.

I Am Not an Exit is Keene revisiting the Exit serial killer. I like this character. This story wasn’t as good as the first one, but still good. I’m eager to see Keene expand the character to a novel. In this story, the exit killer breaks his code to prove he is not an Exit killer. I Am Not an Exit I rated 5 out of 5.

Four Stars Reviews:

Halves is about a cat that keeps bringing just halves of dead things. The father covers it so his young daughter won’t see. The day she does she calls the cat evil. The daughter says her imaginary friend is being stalked by the cat. A good creep imaginary friend story. The story was a bit long but good. Halves I rated 4 out of 5 stars.

The Ghost of Monsters is a story that takes place after Dark Hollow and Ghost Walk. The story is about a couple in the woods getting to know each other. Before they can do it, the story has a good twist. The Ghost of Monsters I rated 4 out of 5.

Marriage Causes Cancer in Rats is a story of a man dying from cancer, but is cancer killing him or his guilt? I liked this story up until the end. I was a little confused by it. I enjoyed the set up then the reveal of what happened to the family. The mob was a fun work in the story. Marriage Causes Cancer in Rats I rated 4 out of 5.

A Revolution of One is a political rant/story. I’m up for a good rant, and it was a good one. The story comes at the end of the rant and makes it more sinister. The rant reminded me of Jeff Daniels’s Newsroom rant. I could have had a little more story, but overall I liked this story. I rated it 4 out of 5.

Without You is a tale about life and marriage gone wrong. This tale was dark and I liked the ending. The telemarketer call I would have cut out, and didn’t find necessary to the story. Keene can write the highlights of life or in this story the low lights so well. Where the reader gets a sense of what has taken the character here. Without You, I rated 4 out of 5.

The Resurrection And The Life is a story about Jesus and Lazarus and how it all ties to The Rising eventually. Tackling Jesus is hard but Keene nailed the voice and added a great tie-in to Judas’s betrayal. The story was a bit long at parts interesting but dragged. The Resurrection And The Life I rated 4 out of 5.

Slouching In Bethlehem is a story of a homeless couple and an arrangement by a stranger. This story was a little odd. It was told mostly from the man’s point of view. It was unusual to focus less on the woman’s perspective. I thought the story was interesting but I wanted more from the story. I’m glad to see some of these characters in other works. Slouching in Bethlehem I rated 4 out of 5.

Dust is a story about 9/11 and dealing with grief. I felt the love that Laura had for Dallas. The story mixed being dark but also having a happy ending. Initially, it took me a little time to get into the story. Still, I was fully engaged by the end. Dust is 4 out of 5 stars.

Caught in a Mosh reminded me of American Gods, a little, as a demon is called at a concert. When the demon is called things don’t go as planned. The goriest story yet. I liked parts of it but the intro was too long. I would have cut out the parking scene. Caught in a Mosh 4 out of 5. The story was fun even if it wasn’t great.

Three Stars Reviews:

Johnstown is a story about a poor town that pulls even the happiest people down. The story covers the life of a couple and the history of a town. I like how flooding and drought are worked in. How it relates to the story. This story is not horror just dark. I rate Johnstown 3 out of 5. Good character work and, a good metaphor, but the dialogue I felt was lacking and I wanted more from the ending.

Stone Tears is a story of an Indian hex. There’s a twist at the end that was good. This story for some reason could not hold my attention. I liked the backstory scene with the boat captain and Nelson. This story features Nelson LeHorn from Dark Hollow and serves as a preamble to that story. I rated Stone Tears 3 out of 5.

I Sing a New Psalm is a dark tale about a man struggling with religion and God in particular. The story is told in first person. I liked the story idea but not the story. The idea is very relatable is God punishing me for not believing enough to see him. I Sing a New Psalm I rated 3 out of 5.

Portrait of the Magus as a Writer (Interpolating Magic Realism) is a story about writing and the blood you spill on the page. This story is about literally spilling blood through a muse and magic to write. I rated it 3 out of 5 stars. Pretty interesting story.

Couch Potato is a zombie story about a young daughter and her junkie mom in Baltimore. The story was good but ran a little long. The story plays with the zombie trope of zombies doing what they did as humans. Couch Potato I rated 3 out of 5 stars.

Babylon Falling is a story of soldiers in Iraq facing the elements and something else. I liked parts but ultimately I felt disconnected from the characters. This story was the longest in the collection so far. I do think the story had a very good end. Babylon Falling I rated 3 out of 5 stars.

Two Stars Reviews:

Fade to Null is a story about a woman trapped in a room or somewhere else. This has been my least favorite story in the collection so far. The twist is a hard subject to tackle. The story was weird but just okay. Fade to Null I rated 2 out of 5 stars.

One Star Review:

Two-Headed Alien Love Child is a government agent who watches an alien abduction. This is not that great of a story. There’s something there but this story did not hit it. He said it was an early story and it is very juvenile. Two-Headed Alien Love Child I rated 1 out of 5 it is the weakest story in the collection so far.

Recommendation: Blood on the Page is a fantastic short story collection. Blood on the page is the 1st volume in a three-volume set. The stories are all over the place. Some are about zombies, failed marriages, alien encounters, serial killers, Jesus, war, and death. Almost all the stories have a lot of heart and you can feel the blood on the page. I recommend my followers should check it out. The collection could be triggering for some. It contains depictions of torture. It also deals with grieving the death of a child, zombies, and shit monsters. If you can handle all that the stories are excellent. I was not expecting to be blown away so much by Keene’s writing, but I was.

Rating: I rated Blood on the Page: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene Volume 1 by Brian Keene 4.6 out of 5 stars.