Who’s There? A Collection of Stories by Dimas Rio ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Self-published, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1676174103

ASIN: B082T3MW2W

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Who’s There? is a collection of stories by Indonesian author Dimas Rio. It is an interesting read. I was curious how an Indonesian author’s work in horror would translate across cultures, and I was not disappointed. Who’s There? opens with the title work. A groom is waiting for his fiancé with their friends at the hotel bar for one last party before the wedding.  The hour grows late and still no bride-to-be.  Where could she be?

In the second story, At Dusk, a high school student is sent to interview a famous mystery novelist for the school paper.  The elderly writer is eager to tell his story.  But will the ending be more than the student can handle?

Third up is The Wandering.  A night watchman struggles to provide for his pregnant girlfriend.  He steals from the office he is trusted to guard and lies to cover it up.  This is not the only theft in his past.

Fourth is The Voice Canal, A homesick graduate student is struggling to finish his dissertation.  His father tells him to stay and finish, it’s only a few more months.  They’ll spend plenty of time together.

The fifth and final entry is The Forest Protector.  A mother is taking her son to visit his grandparents.  At the start of the trip, she feels impure.  She must cleanse herself.  How can she raise her son and protect him from the cruelties of the world if she can’t look after herself?

Throughout the work there was a good use of tone and pacing to build suspense and draw the reader in.  The flow of each story went well.  The descriptions were enough to envision what was going on without overwhelming me.  It felt right.  The characters were believable and helped ground the stories in the culture.   The author used Indonesian terms throughout, and the ebook edition includes links for each word to definitions at the back. Fun stuff!  Even though a couple of the stories started out a little rough (The Wandering in particular), they recovered and drew me in to a strong conclusion.  There were some minor grammar issues, but I will chalk that up to issues with translation (the book was originally published in Indonesian).  None of them were so glaring that I couldn’t sort out what was happening.  All in all, this was a worthwhile read.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher