This uneven first collection from Rio (Dinner with Saucer) brings together five short stories with a dark tinge. The title entry features a man who feels that he’s “forever a tourist on earth,” and whose fiancée’s whereabouts become a cause for concern. In “At Dusk,” a high school student conducts an unsettling interview with an author. The strongest story is the longest, “The Wandering,” whose protagonist is a security guard in desperate need of funds to support the baby he and his girlfriend are expecting. “The Voice Canal” features someone who may or may not be communicating with the dead. In “The Forest Protector,” a mother who self-harms works to protect her comics-obsessed son from the world’s harsh realities.

The translation from Rio’s original Indonesian into English unfortunately has some awkward phrasing and idiomatic missteps. In “Who’s There?”, pouring and drinking liquor is described as a “fluent act,” when it seems the author means “fluid.” Some metaphors are mixed: “But like bubbles that formed as water started to boil, a splinter of truth escaped from his mouth.” Readers might be tempted to stop with this first story and turn their attention elsewhere. The translation errors are less noticeable in other stories, though never completely absent.

The plot twists in the first two stories are illogical or predictable, and not very memorable. “The Wandering” is more enigmatic and surprising, and readers who reach it will be glad they stayed the course. Though not every story equally demonstrates Rio’s talent and imagination, horror fans will appreciate his willingness to strike out into new territory, away from the genre’s most common tropes.

Takeaway: Patient horror readers will be rewarded by the surprising and satisfying keystone tale in this collection of dark fiction.

Great for fans of Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales.

Production grades
Cover: C
Design and typography: B+
Illustrations: -
Editing: C
Marketing copy: B