Odd Lot - Reviews

When I’m teaching high school seniors story-writing in a Writing-to-Publish class, Steve Burt’s ODD LOT and EVEN ODDER books are always included in the mystery/suspense examples. Teens know the real thing when they read it, and Burt’s characters ring true. Steve Burt’s stories are the next best thing to camping in the woods, listening to the distant howl of wolves and wondering if that strange midnight smell might be blood.
— Marylin Warner, past president, Pike’s Peak Branch,
National League of American Pen Women

Although this collection of spooky short stories is aimed toward young adults, fully mature individuals and even arrested adolescents like myself will enjoy these wonderfully chilling tales that will leave you howling with pleasure.  In this multiple award winning volume, which is beautifully illustrated by Jessica Hagerman, Mr. Burt regales us with campfire fare in which anything can happen and things really do go bump in the night.  From straight on ghost stories ("Capt. Jones' Bones) to Lovecraftian gems ("The Witness Tree") to urban legendry of the highest order ("The Mason's Leech") readers of all ages will enjoy this collection.  Pack it in your kids' footlocker when they head to camp, but be sure to read it first!  Highly recommended.
— J.L. Comeau, Tomb Keeper for The Creature Feature Tomb

Steve Burt's work keeps you guessing with a savvy blend of unusual characters and unexpected situations. Just when you think you have the story cornered, you'll find it's sneaked up and gripped you by the back of the neck instead.
— Bill Hughes, Editor, DREAD Magazine

Steven E. Burt's new book, Odd Lot, is sure to be a winner and a good read. With chilling stuff like “The Mason's Leech” and good, offbeat speculative fiction like “Casino Night,” how could it not be? At Black Petals we're always glad to see Mr. Burt's byline.
— Kenneth James Crist, Editor, Black Petals, Horror/Science Fiction Magazine

If ever there was an author to rival the storytelling genius of M.R. James and E.F. Benson, Steve Burt is it. Eerie and compelling, Burt's prose will have you relishing those lonely places where light dare not tread.
— Don H. Laird, Publisher, Crossover Press, Threshold Magazine

Steve Burt has a firm grasp of the unsettling and the uncanny . . . His stories are set in a recognisable world, but they never go in the obvious direction, preferring instead to take off down dark alleys and twisting roads which leave the reader shivering and looking nervously into dark corners when the book is closed.
— Barbara Roden, Editor, All Hallows (the Magazine of The Ghost Story Society)

Steve Burt does not fit the usual profile of a horror writer. He's been a pastor, church executive and seminary professor. He only recently stepped back from his pastoral ministry to start writing full time. He refers to himself as a "Storyteller of the Heart," and much of his fiction is of the heart-warming variety. But he also has a taste for chilling the heart, as his self-published collection Odd Lot proves.

Of the nine stories represented, six of them have had honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. The last story is an original and the rest have been previously published in many different magazines, newspapers and anthologies in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Scotland and Ireland. His public readings have become so popular he's already booking appearances for November and December of this year.

Considering how negative some ministers can be about the horror genre, it is refreshing to find one who not only appreciates dark fiction, but writes it as well. He says radio and newspaper interviewers always want to know, "Why horror and ghost stories?" His answer is simple; he grew up in the scary times of the fifties and sixties, being taught in school how to hide under his desk in case an atom bomb dropped. He dealt vicariously with these fears through the safe entertainment of horror books, comic books, movies and campfire stories.

Some of his stories are meant to educate and warn. "Writers of bizarre and supernatural fiction may not be the first ones to call attention to an issue, danger, or hazard," he writes, "but they're often the first to embody the danger or issue so it can be examined." The opening story, "Lighthouse Moths," is a ghost story about the power of love and redemption. "Garden Plot" is a cautionary tale about scoffing at other people's beliefs. Set in the near future, "Casino Night" is also a cautionary tale dealing with various horrors. "The Witness Tree" is about the mystery of evil. Though admittedly not really a horror story, "The Ice Fisherman" is nonetheless a haunting tale of atonement. "Where Lions Hide" is a tale of environmental horror that examines why humans kills animals and how species adapt in the face of extinction.

Not all of the stories deal with heavy issues. Some are just pure entertainment, such as "The Mason's Leech," which creates a gruesome-though not explicit-urban legend. "The Strand" is a ghost story in the M. R. James tradition. "Captain James's Bones" is for pre-teens enraptured with Goosebumps. Burt's prose is genuine and well constructed. It relies more on atmosphere and skillful plotting than blood and gore, making his stories old-fashioned in the best sense of the term. If you think, "they just don't write them like that anymore," you'll be pleased to discover that Burt does, and without indulging in stylistic pastiche.

— Garrett Peck, The Hellnotes Book Review

Odd Lot may be ordered directly from the author at www.burtcreations.com.