How Good It Feels to Burn

 “That’s the thing about her, and with all fire, really. Once you start to feed her, once she gets reminded of how good it feels to burn… Well, she’s fire. She’s always going to want more. She’s going to burn everything until there’s nothing left.”

– Michael R. Goodwin, “The Wiseman Bridge”

🔥I received an e-ARC of this story in exchange for a fair review!🔥

I’ve said it numerous times before and I’ll say it again: the anthology is one of my absolute favourite formats in the horror genre, both for their unpredictability and their diverseness in terms of the narratives on offer. In both of these respects, Michael R. Goodwin’s latest release, the short fiction collection How Good It Feels to Burn, does not disappoint.

This was the second ARC I’ve been lucky enough to check out from this author, and he really knocks it out of the park with an imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable collection of twelve horror stories. This anthology both harks back to the style of classic genre authors (there’s certainly a strong vein of King and Koontz in some of these offerings) whilst also being original and unique to the author and his own voice.

The stories found within How Good It Feels to Burn’s pages are varied in terms of both length and subjects, and as others have mentioned, this means it provides a little bit of something for every horror fan. This can be a really tricky thing to do, what with all the different flavours found in the genre. Anthologies can also often be a bit hit and miss; sometimes not all the stories will click for every reader, so it’s always a pleasant surprise to encounter one like this, where each entry works well and stands up on its own.

A few of my personal favourites from this book were “Existence”, about an unsettling man in a black hat appearing as an ill omen in photographs, “Leaves”, a story both dreamlike and nightmarish which concerns a mysterious red forest, and the terrific “Phantom”, which channels something of the horror-comedy film Idle Hands (1999) into a scary tale of possession and the effects of guilt. It was an honour to appear alongside Michael’s story “Power Lines” in the Wild Violence (2021) anthology from Blood Rites Horror, and it was great to revisit this chilling tale in this collection too.

In the first book I read from this author, his second novel SMOLDER (2021), it was clear that Goodwin has a distinct and engaging author’s voice, and that’s only solidified with this anthology: every story is just very readable; the characters are well-written, and the storylines highly engaging. The author really doesn’t shy away from the more grotesque and macabre details of his stories either (SMOLDER too had its share of gnarly, wince-inducing scenes), and Goodwin has the skill to work it effectively into the narrative.

Overall, this was a genuinely creepy collection from start to finish, and one that I found myself devouring over the course of a few days. The author manages to establish intriguing set-ups and self-contained narratives that are by turns unnerving, stomach-churning, and impassioned which, when taken as a whole, make for a terrific read. I’ll definitely be checking out his other anthology of short fiction, Roadside Forgotten, and eagerly anticipating his future publications as well.

VERDICT: How Good It Feels to Burn offers a varied and highly engaging collection of twelve terrifying tales, driven by Goodwin’s compelling voice as a writer. This is a polished, thrilling read that further cements the fact that the author is an exciting addition to the indie horror scene, and one to watch for the future.

It’s a ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from this reviewer. I also want to say a humongous thank you to Michael R. Goodwin for providing the ARC and giving me the chance to read and review it early.