Covers are important, especially for new authors. A handful of my favorite books this year were found this way. Owen Morgan’s debut collection, Mad Hallelujah and Other Oddities caught my eye the moment he started revealing its cover across social media. I didn’t know who he was or what he wrote, but the cover had my attention. And so, I kept my eyes out for it.
When the book released online, I immediately downloaded the Kindle edition (despite my overpowering stack of TBR titles and current reviews in progress). Over the course of two separated days, I read the collection with a sort of glee. This is a short collection, admittedly, but it packs an impressionable punch. With a sprinkling of tongue-in-cheek humor throughout, Morgan delivers a handful of strange and entertaining stories that would make King and Lutzke fans proud.
My original draft of this review had me outlining my favorite moments of the collection; but when I realized 85% of the stories were being noted (while others were being left off purely due to space), I erased the mess of a paragraph. The point I’m making is this: Mad Hallelujah is excessive fun. The Great Travelling Graveyard, The Clump, Flower of Flesh and Blood, The Elgin Incident…damn it, I loved this collection. The more I look back on it, the more I want to read it again.
Just do yourself a favor and put Owen Morgan on your radar. His brand of horror is too witty to ignore.
AIDEN MERCHANT 
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