Phenomenal short fiction is a gift, a collection an achievement. Fiction with constraints, the short story is not an easy feat to flaunt, much less time and time again as is the case in a collection. In the case of Tyler Jones‘ upcoming Arson By Design from Rapture Publishing, the flame of Jones’ talent has never burned brighter. Traversing landscapes of robust emotional peril, the layers of humanity’s propensity for good and evil, help and hurt, and growth and regression are peeled away to reveal some truths that are welcome and some that chill to the bone. It’s a harrowing plight, examining all the ways our fellow man can save us or damn us, but Jones’ fiction is undeniably compelling, sampling every array of the emotional spectrum.
With the sixteen stories contained in these pages, one of the strongest impressions is Jones’ control of voice, the ease at which he effortlessly slips into character, some personalities more relatable than others, with each entry. With Carved in Salt, the collection’s opening story, we are launched directly into emotional turmoil, sustained by prolonged grief. It was actually this story that was released back in 2024 and that contributed to the inception of Rapture Publishing, that put Jones on my personal radar. As you can tell, here he as remained. Yet, as it pertains to this collection, perhaps the best place to start is with the second story in the collection, Wait in the Car, in which we are given Jones’ slant on a very popular horror staple. Experiencing an author’s version of a well-explored, well-loved pillar of the genre in their specific voice is always an enthralling time, especially when their stories are told as tightly and tensely as this. Thus kicks off our first fifty pages.
Moving through the collection, By the Wreck of Peter Iredale is the kind of story that feels so intrinsically linked with the need to understand how our world works beyond the simple mechanics of good and bad. Jones works through what it means to exist in a shade of gray as two friends make an interesting discovery amongst a ship’s wreckage. Some of that coming-of-age magic that we have come to know and love through the horror genre can be found here, heightening every sensation on the page. And speaking of horror magic, Habit of Creature fully displays how format and structure within the genre can revitalize and deliver on our favorite horrific themes, monsters and all.
Alas, concluding this review without mentioning the two stories that set my world ablaze would be a sin; let’s dig into The House of the Horse and No Fare. When thinking about these two stories sitting side by side, it’s hard to not think of them each as an example of what the macabre can offer, both the deeply disturbing and the thoroughly comforting. The House of the Horse is punchy, original horror at its finest with the best uncanny atmosphere à la David Lynch that any horror fan could ask for. It’s lean, it’s mean, it’s bizarre, and it’s so sharp, it’ll draw blood. What more could you want? Glad you asked.
Deserving a paragraph of its own, No Fare stirs the soul and asks the bigger questions about what comes at the end of this life. Jones hones in on one bus driver’s mundanities while also reflecting upon a lifetime that has led to this driver’s current position as she drives citizens around the city, observing where each individual exits. This story inherently feels like one of the best unaired episodes of The Twilight Zone, an inspiration that Jones mentions in his author notes that feels so, so apt. Laced with distinct poignancy, No Fare is the perfect example of where speculative fiction can provide comfort in face of the uncertain. It’s sure, it’s sound, and it’s damn good.
Throwing kindling on the embers of the eerie, uncanny, and often horrific, Tyler Jones has proven absolute command over the horror short story with Arson By Design. Each entry of this collection offers a varied perspective of our own inexplicable itch to burn and what just may be found in the ashes of our own demise. Sometimes it’s horror, sometimes it’s grief, and sometimes, it may just be twisted beauty. Told in such a distinctly profound manner, such fiction ignites the genre, illuminating all that is to offer. And Tyler Jones has struck his match.
Arson By Design by Tyler Jones releases from Rapture Publishing on August 25, 2026.
