Malocchio

Dark Magic of the Evil Eye

By: Nicholas Anthony

Narrated by: Emilia Cudia

“Pull it together, man,” Wright whispered. “I need you thinking clearly so we can get out of here.”

“We ain’t getting out, Corporal,” Arnold said. He sniffed some snot back into his nose. “I had to kill a man. In my cell. I killed him.”

“Guess we’ve had similar stays,” Wright grunted. “I didn’t get laid either. Starting to seriously doubt that I’m going to.” Wright chuckled at his own jest, but it only made Arnold more nervous.

“He was saying something to me,” Arnold said. “I couldn’t understand.”

“Who?”

“The man I killed, Wright! If only we could’ve talked--”

“Clear your head!” Wright snapped. “And stop twitching!” He lowered his voice considerably. “We need to get out of these ropes.”

“Ssshhh,” Arnold said. “She’ll hear!”

“Of course she will! We still have to escape. Listen, do you know what happened to Layne?”

Arnold shook his head no.

“He had the truck and the guns,” Wright said in a loud whisper. “He might have gone to get help. Sergeant Reynolds and the boys will level this place.”

They froze at the rustling sound of approaching footsteps in the hall behind them. A doorknob turned, followed by the squeak of hinges.

“Ciao,” the woman said, gliding into view. She stood with marvelous posture, wearing a long, skin-tight black dress and a hat that was tall and pointed with a wide brim. Arnold shook like he was riding a boxcar. Her lips bunched in a half-restrained smile. “My goodness,” she said. “You have fear?”

Arnold closed his watery eyes tightly and nodded.

“You are wise to have fear.” She pivoted Arnold’s table so that he was facing Wright. Wright remained stone-faced.

“Look at this one,” the woman said, pointing to Wright. “Is soldier. Big, tough soldier man. Who do call him? Mister Wright?”

Arnold nodded yes.

She sighed deeply as she walked between the two tables. Wright turned to her.

“What are you?” Wright asked sternly, looking her up and down from the point of her hat to the hem of her dress. “You look like a witch.”

©2019 Nicholas Anthony (P)2019 Nicholas Anthony

Dark Fantasy Horror mixed with History

As if struggling to survive WWII wasn’t enough, several soldiers find themselves facing a new threat, a new evil. Strong as they are, they are no match for this strange witch-like woman who holds them prisoner with nothing more than her presence and a malevolent being that hides on the outer fringes.
The author Nicholas Anthony weaves a dark world around historical events, people, and beliefs folding them into a suspense and fear-filled story. His character development is strong and concise. This is a short story that does not allow time for frivolous words or random characters; the author does a great job of being concise but also allows for a plot twist or two that is jarring. His story flows smoothly and without flaws, keeping the listener on the edge of their chair while they wait for the next jarring action. Anthony plays on the psychological horrors the soldiers went through when killing – the aftermath of the remorse as seen by one character who insists he will pay because he had to kill a man.

The narrator, Emilia Cudia does an excellent job of performing the book and donning the robe of the witch as well as the dark rasp of Malocchio. She kept the story moving along and with believable voices for each character.

The only issue I found annoying with this book was the “this is the end of chapter …” and then announcing the next chapter. I do not believe the “end of chapter” was necessary and I found it a bit distracting.

Overall, if you enjoy dark fantasy horror combining historical events with myth and zombie-like humans, this is a good book to hear. The story and performance are well done and entertaining.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.