04/12/2025 Guest Sally Feliz Reviews THE UPSIDE-DOWN VOICE THAT SPEAKS BACKWARDS by R.J. Benetti
- Candace Nola
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Our lovely friend Sally is back with another awesome review. This week, it's THE UPSIDE-DOWN VOICE THAT SPEAKS BACKWARDS by R.J. Benetti.
The title is a mouthful, and the author is a handful, if you know R.J. at all! R.J. is a favorite author in the indie horror community and this collection is just one reason why.
Let's see what Sally has to say!
THE UPSIDE-DOWN VOICE THAT SPEAKS BACKWARDS
By R.J. Benetti
R.J. Benetti is sneaky. I've read him before, his stories are always fun, bizarre, and quirky. I suspected this collection would be incredibly enjoyable, strange, and more sci-fi than horror. While I was technically correct, I did not expect to be blown away by lyrical prose and spectacular science fiction tales that could easily be compared to Bradbury. This is one of the best collections I've read in a while, and I read a lot of collections!
It was damn near perfection. Usually, collections have hits and misses. No misses to be found, just hits and hits harder. Individually, I wouldn't rate any of these shorts under 4 stars, the vast majority being 5 star reads. Impressive, right? It really is. I'm not going to describe every story, but I do want to touch on a few that really stood out for me.
International Death Day - the first of the collection, and y'all, we started strong. It is a beautifully written tale of death. Not about the fear of dying, but the fear of being unable to die.
Skin - this was such a sad story. However, it was also filled with hope, empathy, and a lesson about helping our fellow humans; even when they don't deserve it.
Intergalactic Satan - action-packed story of Satan from space making humans misbehave in Tokyo. Pure fun.
The Tale of Reginald Cleaver - eco-revenge, very unique.
Tin Bullet from Outer Space - part fairy-tale, part sci-fi. I really enjoyed the ending of this one.
Steel Dragon - crazy fun roller coaster horror. Far worse than the roller coaster scene in Final Destination. It gave me Phoenix Extravagant vibes. If Yoon Ha Lee wrote in a more extreme voice like R.J.
After you finish reading this collection, because I need everyone to read this collection, there is another treat gifted to us by cover artist Will Cordell. Before I read the book, I just thought the cover was brilliantly bizarre. However, once you have read all of these tales, look at the cover again and you will be amazed. The characters, settings and other details are all there. And it is glorious!
I highly recommend checking this out, I think R.J. is onto something here. Is literary, bizarro, sci-fi a genre yet? Because I think that is exactly what this book is, and I need more of it.
Get it here:
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