Donny’s Day by Brandon Berntson

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Damnation Books, 2009
ISBN: 9781615720583
Available: New

Donny’s Day is the surreal, graphic tale of Donny, who has been running from demons ever since the day, as a child, that he stole and read from a book that let them into the world. It’s short, very short, coming in at fifty-five pages of story. More than two-thirds is back story and dream sequences, and there are no attempts to separate reality from delusions. But the imagery is strong, and creepy, straight out of the best “What was that?” horror movie moments. Berntson is a skilled writer. Donny’s Day is just too musing and dreamy, and lacks the forward momentum and engaging plot to be satisfying to most everyday readers. Private collectors who enjoy tales heavy on mood and theme will find enjoyment here, but public collections catering to a larger swath of readers will probably not.