From A (aliens) to Z (zombies)
I Will Wander On: Terrifying Tales of Life, Love, & Death
by Ron Prasad
Acheson: iUniverse, 2024
$30.95 / 9781663266477
Reviewed by Zoe McKenna
*
Horror is divisive. When a genre hangs its hat on eliciting a good scare, it can be difficult to please everyone. Fear is deeply personal; what terrifies one person may be laughable to the next. Despite this, Ron Prasad ensures there is a story for everyone in his recent title, I Will Wander On: Terrifying Tales of Life, Love, & Death.
I Will Wander On is a collection of fifteen horror stories by Vancouver Island-based Prasad. Prasad, the author of several novels, including Ellie’s Albatross and SYNAPSE. I Will Wander On is Prasad’s first short story collection.
If pressed to describe I Will Wander On in a single word, it would be “sprawling.” While many short story anthologies are united with a central theme or through-line, Prasad explores a remarkable number of different horror sub-genres. The collection includes aliens, ghosts, serial killers, and cannibals, just to name a few. Though the topics differ, each story hangs heavy with a gritty, grimy atmosphere.
The collection opens with “My Spinal Girl,” in which a brother and sister live through a zombie apocalypse. The siblings use an abandoned Costco as their home base, allowing them to live relatively well despite the state of the world. That is, until they meet Lilith. Unlike the other, mindless zombies many readers would be familiar with, Lilith is sentient, signalling the beginning of something new and dangerous. Zombie horror has been incredibly popular over the past decade, thanks to franchises like The Walking Dead. This makes “My Spinal Girl” a friendly and accessible introduction to the collection (well, as friendly as zombie horror can be).
“Motion Detected at Your Front Door” is another noteworthy story. It follows Noah, who has recently installed a home security system in the wake of a series of violent crimes. Each night, the alarm alerts him to a presence at his front door, yet he wakes to find nothing visible on the camera. These midnight alerts eat away at Noah’s sanity, pushing him toward the brink. Prasad’s skill for building dread is on full display in this piece, creating an experience that is deeply unsettling and anxiety-inducing.
Of all the stories in the collection, “Leftovers” is the most lively and impactful. The story opens with a sour prison guard, Darryl, ordering food in a quiet diner. Darryl is a little unhinged, and as he reflects on the inhumane—and inhuman—events he saw within the prison walls, it becomes clear why. Though it may be difficult to believe from that description, “Leftovers” stands out because of its engaging character-building. Readers are never encouraged to root for Darryl, but he is nonetheless morbidly intriguing. The dialogue between him and his prison guard colleague, Skeeter, is witty and realistic, making the horror all the more striking in turn.
Needless to say, I Will Wander On keeps readers guessing. At no moment in reading was it ever clear what kind of story or character would be found in the following pages. Each entry varies in length, tone, character, and topic. Yet, this is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, having a variety of themes and topics helps keep the stories fresh, interesting, and unpredictable, despite having a single author. Whether readers prefer monsters, ghosts, or killers, there is something to enjoy. On the other hand, the disparate themes can make the stories feel disjointed. While some stories, like “Leftovers” shine due to their character and world-building, that shine can leave other pieces feeling a little dull in comparison. I Will Wander On moves quickly, with fifteen stories across fewer than 300 pages. This leaves little room for readers to percolate on the topics they enjoy before being thrust into the ebbs and flows of the rest of the stories.
With that said, for those new to horror and unsure where to start, a collection such as Prasad’s offers a rare opportunity to sample a little of everything without committing to hundreds of pages to discover if that topic resonates. For seasoned horror veterans, the book creates space to branch out from the norm and explore new sub-genres and approaches.
With this in mind, I’d liken I Will Wander On to a horror fiction buffet. Each story offers something new to sample, and while all the disparate parts may not necessarily come together to form a cohesive meal, it can nevertheless be an enjoyable experience.
*
Zoe McKenna received a MA from the UVic and a BA from VIU. Her research focuses on horror writing, with a focus on stories by women. She was the Assistant Editor of That Witch Whispers and her writing has also appeared in Black Cat, The Malahat Review, and The Quill & Quire. When not at her desk, Zoe can be found haunting local bookstores and hiking trails. Find her on Twitter. Zoe gratefully acknowledges that she is a guest on the traditional territory of the Puneluxutth (Penelakut) Tribe and the hul’qumi’num speaking peoples. Find her on Twitter. [Editor’s note: Zoe McKenna has reviewed books by Peter Darbyshire, Richard Van Camp, Nalo Hopkinson, Marcus Kliewer, Ivana Filipovich, Giselle Vriesen, Scott Alexander Howard, S.W. Mayse, Linda Cheng, Paul Cresey, Michelle Min Sterling, Eve Lazarus, David Wallace, David Ly & Daniel Zomparelli, Sophie Sullivan, kc dyer, Robyn Harding, and Lindsay Cameron for BCR.]
*
The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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