Paul Kane has a name that most people in the horror field recognize immediately! He tantalizes us through his words of dread and possibilities. He takes the unimaginable and creates a world around it. He convinces his readers, his fans, his unknowing participants that somehow it is real and then weaves them into a web of panic. As their only comfort, is to struggle to find their way out of his evil clutch.

Touching the Flame, by Paul Kane, is a collection of that melting pot of horror tales! The master of terror has given his fans and new minions the opportunity to delve into his wicked mind; to become witnesses of the horrific hellish blessings that he possesses.

I read each tale enthralled to get inside this fantastic author's mind. To see what makes him tic... and guess what? I made it there! I was inside his wickedly handsome mind. I was spellbound during his visiting hour, then clutching to my sanity, what was left of it, as I indulged my wicked little pleasure of traversing through his dementia.

His blood offering is a menagerie of eighteen lurid horrors that will keep you mesmerized and under his spell until the bloodletting stops. Tick-Tock... Tick-Tock...Tick-Tock.... The time is approaching and the hour is nigh, you have now entered Kane's Kurse, his horror corner in the world. Do not struggle to turn that page, do not close the book, and most of all, do not try to read this on a stormy night all alone in a cold darkened house; unless - unless you enjoy being TORTURED!

The Torture:
     There are none so blind as those who will not see; so it has been said! Paul Kane does not blindly pull punches in this tale but gives the reader jabbing barbaric pain that cascades through their body. Who is Andy Brooks? How you will want to know this through his undying pain! Kane's intent is to entrance his devotees into Andy Brooks psyche. Andy's blinding torture, is just that: agonizing brutal torture.
     When Andy Brooks can only remember his name and nothing else, his "interrogator" make sure Andy knows he is forgetting something very important. This brutal interrogator is not leaving without getting what he came for ... perhaps only a mutilated man when he finishes. From slashing with wires and brutal attacks upon the fingernails - Andy is in a Hell of all his own, or of his own making.
     The ending is mind-blowing and I didn't even fathom it was going in that direction. Kane is known for teasing and twisting a tale, but this one is utter torture!

Astral:

     How I have dreamt and wondered what astral travel would be like. What would it be like? Kane has written a tale, a tale so surreal, so mind-boggling that I just could not believe so many people wonder this, dream this. Astral!
     Paul Kane has a secret. A secret he has never revealed to anyone, until now. How could one astral travel, do they just will themselves? Are there physical bonds that keep them from attaining this goal?
     Becoming an ghostlike and floating throughout his house, Kane visited many relatives without them being none the wiser. He soared into other dimensions, and there he found intangible reflections; even Abigail, his deceased beloved sister. Do the answers really belong beyond the stars, the moon, and sun? Ask Kane.
     This is one of the most bizarre tales on this subject I have read, much else in first person. You will be convinced you are going swirling through space and time with the K-Man reading this creative and quite imaginative tale.

The Face of Death:
     Kane gives us chills in this negative encounter with deathly faces. After the tragic loss of his father, Jonathon Prichard, decided he'd go into medicine. This was for more of a scientific reason than anything noble. He wanted to know everything there was about death. He searched for the faces of death in every inconceivable place. This triggered something even Jonathon could not comprehend.
     Jonathon photographed something so eerie, experienced something so terrifying, so up close and personal. A picture says a thousand words, in this one picture, it uttered the answers to the face of death.

Shadow Writer:
     Stephen Regis has a hot scoop for the Daily Herald! What if your favorite author contacted you to do an interview with him/her? What if this author, who had been out of the limelight also stipulated; you couldn't tell another soul? That is what happened to Stephen: his favorite dark brooding author, Herbert Lynch known by his pseudonym, Shadow Writer contacted him.
     An interesting encounter across the seas to this shadowy author gives Stephen an evil honor that you fans just won't believe; ...unless you are the next invitee.

Prey:
     Paul Kane, one word for you here, WICKED! Or should it be, BRUTAL!
     Kelvin and his three raw friends go out on the town for a night of some fun but experience something very petrifying. This predator tears into them, but what is it? Are they its prey?
     You can feel that heart pounding panic Kelvin felt as he tries to dial the phone, to answer the operator. Time closing in on him and mayhem taking over. Should he peek over his shoulder or just get the hell outta there? The dread sets in, he slowly peeks over his shoulder, and you are now in Kane's world. He has you enveloped in his cold storage of terror and bloodshed. Will it be over quick and painless? Alas, Kane you are brutal!

Star-Pool:
     When I first opened this segment of the book, I wondered: What a star-pool was. Kane had me entranced and held me in the bowels of Hellish Delights as I creepily turned the page to find out.
     Rumored to have found the mystical 'fountain of youth', the cure for all afflictions; there was a pool that carried an ancient legend: A star fell from the heavens and bestowed powers upon this pool of water; those that drank or swam in this special nectar of the gods would be cured of all ills.
     Ahhh, the horrors of it all! This is a gruesome tale that will have you hiding from tall grass for a life time. Who was that demon in the tall grass?
     This shivering legend of a new breed transformation will leave you begging for mercy. You will never in a million years guess what the ultimate cure for mankind's ills in the star-pool was!

Visiting Hour:
     This was my first Kane Delight I read. This was when I knew I'd become a devoted fan to Kane's work.
     A poignant tale of having to say goodbye in such a tear-jerking way. Chloe says her goodbyes through the dilapidated ward. The mood was surreal and the story told beautifully during visiting hour.

Façades:
     A marriage of convenience is what they came to have. Pretenses and façades for the world to see, they wear their masks of bliss. Their careers beckoning them to remain married, a happy couple.
     If you know Kane, like I know Kane... you are sure to be smacked with a consequence that is all but human. I know of men that call their wives monsters, but this was brutally bizarre!
     I have to say, I am more than shocked that this was Kane's first sale! This tale was SUPERB and I am awe-struck to believe he gets any better; but he does, and does it so wickedly.

At The Heart of the Maze:
     Fear the Maze! Oh, how you will fear this dreadful maze. A world where anything and everything is possible.
     Kane created a labyrinth of gore in "At the Heart of the Maze" and he finds out just what is in the heart-thumping core of this maze. You will be horrified to journey through this heartless offering of slaughter and pandemonium.

The Bones Brothers:
     This little tale has a jingle to it. Just do not have cheese on toast before you read it. These brother's are deadly hilarious and on tour in their classy Bonesmobile. This skeletal group is way cool with their full tank of blood, half a pack of Junior Mints *yummy* and their cool sunglasses.
     You have to admire Kane for his sense of humor in this modestly dark cadaverous tale. Death hadn't changed the band one bit! Only Kane could think up a tale like this! I thought "From Dusk Till Dawn" had the most deadly band that was awesomely hilarious.

Nightlife:
     The nightlife, pubs, night-clubs, hotels, back alleys, and the hotbed of lust, debauchery and depravity. Neil ached to be in the thick of it all and the women just couldn't resist this charmer.
     There's nothing like the silvery moon and his yellowy frightening eyes. Oh, how Neil loves the howling nightlife.

The Hypnotist's Gaze:
     Faye is in a hypnotic spell and only Krossov could reverse the effects of her continuous gaze.
     Payback is a bitch, and boy was she in heat when Gareth went to pay Krossov a visit and became clutched into the Hypnotist's gaze.

Grandpa's Chair:
     This was the second tale I have ever read of Kane's. And, you wonder why I am such a fan?
     Good ghost hunters should keep record of their findings. Pre-teen, Max Brinkley kept a memoir of the loss his beloved Grandfather. He reminisces about his Grandfather and his favorite chair. Journeying on through life and school day by day.
     Max has come to believe that chair is haunted by his Grandfather, because his Grandfather died in that chair.
     Is this just Max's schoolboy way of dealing with his loss and grief or is this place in need of an exorcism?

The Disease:
     This opener of the tale sends chills down our spine. It reads so genuinely realistic. "My name is Gus Harper, and I am diseased."
     Paul Kane knows how to find that spot with his fans, his devout readers, the kinship between himself and them is beyond extraordinary. His descriptions and analogies are breathtaking while he captures our attention in this horrific story of agony and pain. This unknown demon, this disease takes its first victim.
     The surrealistic ending is a taste of bitter-sweet.

Blackout:
     Kelly never liked the dark and when she awoke, everything was black. Kelly was quite disturbed as a child and now those dormant fears were setting in on her again. Was she dreaming? Was there a blackout? Were their giggles and voices running amok in her head? Would she ever feel safe again?
     What a gripping tale with an overture of an inner terror that is heightened by a maddening fear.

St. August's Flame:
     This is SO Kane, nothing more, nothing less, but Paul Kane. If you are fortunate as I am to know Paul "K-Man" Kane, you know what he is about. I don't want to spoil this story for you fans, because this is my favorite story in the collection of horrors that Kane shared with us in Touching the Flame
     Ironic enough, touching the flame is what he did in this tale. If you know Clive Barker, if you know Pinhead, and if you know that little fancy puzzle box that is in the Hellraiser saga - you will then understand where Kane gets his drive in St. August's Flame.
     As you read the gore and horrors in this little bloodthirsty vision of Kane! Paul accomplished a major undertaking - ranking up there with the evil god himself, Clive Barker.
     I first read this tale at Strix magazine just a few days ago; was I ever happy to see it in this menagerie of Kane's horrors.
     This story will show you just how vivid, wicked, and out of this world Kane's writing progressed. My favorite hands down!

The Persistence of Dali:
     This story is as picturesque as one of Kane's painting with all the dramatic vibrant color he gives in "The Persistence of Dali" a tale so surreal so filled with descriptions your mouth will be watering for more. You will traverse with Kane to seek Dali in any means possible.
     This tale *is* Kane's soul and where he lives. In his artwork. If you haven't witnessed some of his breathtaking works, what a loss you have experienced. His paintings are truly awe-striking and filled with his passion for a vivaciously dreadful life.

Eye of the Beholder:
     Paul takes on a journey into Lucy's life, with Lucy in "Eye of the Beholder." Lucy's character in this tale seizes the reader and you are curious as to her life. What happens with Lucy. Her life is one utter mess to another. From school exams to a cheating boyfriend... life is so frustrating. Then comes her fiery demise. A brutal life and death for Lucy!
     Kane webs the universal question into this tale, "What would one think when they learned the truth; the reason they'd been born, why they'd died?" In this case, Lucy. What would she think? I pity Lucy, I pity us all.
     The hooded controllers that play with us as if chess pieces that can be manipulated into a weary existence is overwhelming. Kane takes that all-inclusive wonderment and bestows it upon a believable character, Lucy. A character that we neither hate, judge, nor over jovially love. But a character that is mundane, a character that is human!
     What is that eye, that controller? The beholder's eye that controls her very existence?

A Brutal Summary of Touching the Flame

An first-rate collection of short tales written by a awfully wicked author, Paul Kane, published by Rainfall Books. Each tale intertwined Paul's cleverness and quick-wit intelligence. If you are not familiar with Kane, yet? Where have you been? I'd recommend you start with this collection to get that bonafide feel of the author and kind friend. He is every bit as talented as he is genuine to his friends and family; which makes for a terrific well-rounded person. I'd advise old fans and new comers alike, to touch the flame but don't get burned!

On a final note: In the back of the book Paul Kane speaks. He tells us what inspired a certain tale, who helped with that inspiration, and how he feels about them. This is a very nice TOUCH to this beautifully designed book. The cover art is breathtaking!

Since starting this site I've read a lot more short horror stories than I had in all of my life before. And I've also started reading horror again, having "grown out of it" during my teenage years.

In the course of judging short story submissions, I've read several Paul Kane stories finding his writing style to be consistently good, and his tales very entertaining. He stands out as one of the better writers I've read in this time. We've published quite a number of his stories on our site in the last few months.

In this collection we have eighteen tales that cover many aspects of horror. The book starts with 'The Torturer' in which we are treated to a torture session from the point of view of the victim. There are some really quite unpleasant little descriptions of several of the procedures carried out - a good start to the book.

Just three stories later we reach the strongest piece of the set (in my opinion). 'Shadow Writer' is the tale of a journalist who is invitied to the home of his favourite horror writer (Herbert Lynch) - the ultimate in recluse, no one having seen him for years - to conduct an interview. But things are never quite what they seem. Very good, very reminiscent of older mood driven horror.

At about halfway through the book we reach 'The Bones Brothers' and here we get a change of style. This is (as you could probably guess from the title) a take on the Blues Brothers film. And it's wonderfully lighthearted and should bring a smile to almost all readers.

'Grandpa's Chair' is presented as entries from the diary of an eleven year old child in the days/weeks following the death of his grandfather. When he starts to suspect that his grandfather has not really gone, will anyone believe him. It's a familiar idea. Paul's not breaking new ground here but it's well written and treats the subject matter compassionately.

The next tale in the book has one of the greatest opening lines I've read.

My name is Gus Harper, and I am diseased.

It's referred to in the introduction by Simon Clark. It's one of those statements that makes you want to read the rest of the story. And you'll find the tale does not let the opening down at all.

This book handles other traditional horror subjects (vampires, werewolves, and death itself) as well as throwing a new warped slant on hospital visiting hours, hypnotists and monks. In each of these Paul entertains, treating the reader into another chilling little sidestep from reality. And mainly these are done without resorting to gory little descriptions, relying on a generally eerieness.

Against this general feeling of unease the infrequent moments of vivid description of horror, when they do occur, work extremely well - far better than when horror becomes overly descriptive and the reader gets immune to the shock.

There is also the inclusion at the end of the book, some comments on the stories from the author. This kind of thing has always appealed to me (since my early days of reading and the story introductions in some of the Asimov collections I read and loved). They're a fun way of rounding a fine collection of tales.

This collection supports my continuing belief that Paul Kane is a talented writer, one I expect will only go from strength to strength in the years to come.