Book Review: Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp

I'm always on the lookout for new horror, a terrifying tale that grabs me not because it follows suit with other horror stories, but something that takes the genre and turns it on its ear and forces me to think in a new way. Jeremy C. Shipp's collection Sheep and Wolves does just that. With stories showing the dark side of non-conformity or of being an outsider -- Camp follows the young narrator as he dares to confront what he believes to be wrong, with terrible consequences -- or those who do what they're told only to uncover the truth -- American Sheep's narrator finds himself in a series of rooms, with a loud voice booming instructions that become gradually worse and debasing -- Shipp's stories are the closest I've come to what a dream or nightmare actually is: the quick and subtle changes in place and time that should be awkward but aren't, the bizarre array of characters and creatures that feel normal though they shouldn't. They are delightfully twisted tales of horror, each one darkly humorous, each one somehow just the right length to leave you both satisfied and craving to read more.

Image from Jeremy C. Shipp's Website.