Title: Mint in Box
Author: Mike Baron
In: Blood Lite III (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Easy reading, Fantasy, Horror
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: “Well, Mr. Lovaas, I don’t know.”

Mr. Lovaas wants to find the ultimate collectible, but when he does, he gets more than he bargained for…

This story gave me the goosebumps. It was grotesque, creepy and so open ended that you could imagine the villain coming for you in the dark of night. The fact that it featured a nerd who refused to leave his apartment and hunted for the epitome of horrifying collectibles… it somehow made it all the more creepy.

I don’t know if there is something in this story that highlights our obsession with immortality or our materialistic tendencies, but it feels like it lingers. Yet, mostly, for me, this story is riddled with goosebump-giving passages that make me cringe. And I’m kind of glad that it was just a short story.

Image source: Goodreads