Title: The PalmistAuthor: Jack Bantry, Robert Essig
First Published: March 24, 2025
Pages: 28
Genre: Horror, Short Stories
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Synopsis:
Jerry stood on the bridge looking down at the rushing traffic, contemplating his future. Just then a neon sign flashed in his mind.
The Palmist.
He didn't know what to expect but the old gypsy woman saved his life.
What will happen when the old lady sees trouble in Jerry's future and will she be able to save him a second time?
A limited edition chapbook from Splatterpunk's Jack Bantry and Robert Essig, author of Philith Pig, Baby Fights and This Damned House.
Buy the Book: Author, AuthorReview
The Palmist is a short but impactful story about a desperate man and a palm reader. The plot progression felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone. I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised and I really enjoyed the ending.
The chapbook included a bonus story, You Can’t Kill the Dead, a bite-sized story about a jogger that encounters zombie-like fisherman. The story reads like an action sequence in a horror film with plenty of on the page violence. The story was ultimately too short to leave a lasting impression on me.
Since the second story was a bonus I didn’t count my rating for it toward my overall rating of the chapbook. The Palmist is an excellent story on it’s own and is worth a read.
Rating Breakdown
| The Palmist: ★★★★☆ | You Can’t Kill the Dead: ★★☆☆☆ |
Quote
“She mentioned planets and used words like retrograde, but in Jerry’s ears that was all mumbo jumbo. What she’d given him was hope.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Jack Bantry
Editor at Splatterpunk Zine and sometime writer.
About Robert Essig
Robert Essig is the author of over a dozen books and well over 100 short stories. His latest books are Follow the Maggot Wagon (Infected Voices) and Tweaker Creatures (The Evil Cookie). He is the editor of several small Press anthologies, most recently Chew On This! (Blood Bound Books), which was nominated for a Splatterpunk Award. Robert is on all major social media platforms. He lives with his family in east Tennessee.
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