RED LINE is out, and reviews are in

Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories is out in the world! Pick up your copy today.

This anthology truly has something for everyone: history, madness, murder, time travel, vengeance, local legends, animal attacks, blood, and of course my story “The River’s Revenge,” which I would describe as campy horror with monsters. All stories are set in the city of Chicago and are written by Chicago-area authors.

I couldn’t pick a single favorite story in this book, but here are my top 3:

• “Lucky Charms” by Sandra Jackson-Opoku is a delightful time-travel piece that bridges the days of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable (for whom Lake Shore Drive was recently renamed) and the modern era.
• “All You Are Is Bright and Clear” by Bendi Barrett, a neon-glow nightmare that would make an excellent Black Mirror episode.
• “Lives Matter” by Jotham Austin II, which had me side-eyeing birds in my neighborhood for a week.

Reviewer highlights:

• “Collectively, Red Line’s contributors create a thrilling mosaic of Chicago—past, present, and future—in all its complex, terrifying beauty. From golden hour on an el platform to the labyrinthine depths of Wacker Drive, familiar settings become unforgettably uncanny in these writers’ hands.” – Emily McClanathan, Chicago Reader
• “…a multifaceted abstract of the city’s soul with splashes of ghost stories and sci-fi highlights. In foregrounding the love of Chicago in his collection, Phillips creates a metaphor for loving horror. Disaster, mass murder, genocide, abuse, torture, ghosts… all things one should run from, but horror fans with their love of a good story, cannot look away. Chicago is like that. The stories in this collection aren’t ripped from the headlines, but Phillips’ selection of stories uses Chicago’s grittiness to create a tragically flawed protagonist that readers will love.” – Randy Hardwick, Chicago Review of Books
• “Red Line is a great read for those who’d like a dark tour of the Windy City.” – Logan Lynch, Neon Hemlock Press
• “Chicago’s lively neighborhoods, monuments, architectural wonders and colorful residents might be as deadly as they are lovely.” – Donald G. Evans, NewCity Lit