Review – Divine in Essence by Yarrow Paisley

With influences of Poe, Lovecraft, King, and Barker, Divine in Essence hits the sweet spot of dark, speculative fiction. The twenty short stories in Yarrow Paisley’s collection incorporate themes of body horror, hauntings, transmutation, and surrealism. The journey, which twists and turns through mind-bending scenes, will leave the reader with shivers and unpleasant dreams. Not that this is a bad thing if you’re a fan of dark fiction.

Paisley’s narrative voice is reminiscent of Poe and Lovecraft, with a formality that sounds both proper and ominous in the same breath. It’s a perfect match for his twisted imagination. The stories themselves are original and stretch the reader’s imagination, taking it to places it never knew existed. 

There are some recurring themes in Paisley’s work, specifically, body horror and the oftentimes unpleasant relationships between children and adults. This isn’t splatter horror by any means, but there are scenes of mutilation that might give some readers nightmares. The same goes with the child/adult relationships. In I in the Eye, a young boy sees himself reflected in his father’s fiancé’s glass eye. But it’s not just his reflection, it’s another him, a doppelgänger that switches places with him. Now trapped inside the woman’s glass eye, he sees everything, including her bid to murder his father. 

As a fan of speculative fiction, there are many things to enjoy about “Divine in Essence”. For me, I found Paisley’s writing style to be fantastic for the subject matter. It took me back to when I first read Poe and found myself immersed in his poetic prose. I also enjoyed how the stories weren’t necessarily set in specific times (some are alluded to), which, to me, makes them all the more unsettling. I also felt as if there is a cohesion to the collection. While the stories don’t necessarily overlap or have recurring characters, they do feel as if they are all taking place in the same timeline, the same area. Again, very reminiscent of authors like King and Barker. 

This isn’t a mainstream fiction collection by any stretch of the imagination, but Divine in Essence is a perfect read for those with a taste for dark stories that make them feel uncomfortable. Paisley is an excellent writer whose imagination picks up ideas from the shadowy recesses of the mind. 

This review was originally posted at Reader Views. For more book reviews and recommendations, check out my Reading List page.

RB