The Conservator’s Collection: Derelict – Durgin, Bower, and Lynch

4/5 stars

The Conservator’s Collection: Derelict opens with the menacing Conservator, a curator of horror who has decided to share some of his collection. He brings together three stories of lingering evil; evil that bides its time until someone unknowingly releases it to the world.

First is the story of the Page family, a husband and wife who are kind enough to take in a traumatized young girl to foster alongside their biological daughter. Unfortunately for them, Katie wasn’t the only thing they were fostering.

Next comes Pete, a teenager who lost his father young when a student at his old school went crazy and opened fire. Pete has convinced his friends to hold a seance at the school, if only to see his dad one more time. But something is lurking in the shadows, waiting….

Finally is poor Murphy, a father convicted of a crime he readily admits to. Serving out his sentence in Glenwood Correctional, his world starts to fall apart. Down on his luck, a mysterious inmate appears to offer him the hope he desperately needed. Wait…..who was that guy?

What a great collection of stories! It reminded me a lot of the Dark Pictures Anthology games and the Curator. It was a really cool call back for me, but also somewhat hindered my experience because I was hoping to see more of The Conservator here. I really wanted a little interlude with them between each story to wrap up that story and set the stage for the next. It would’ve been a fun way to break the stories up and bring The Conservator in as more of a central figure.

I was absolutely not disappointed with these stories, though! John Durgin gave me creepy kids, Jay Bower gave me creeping anxiety with the atmosphere, and John Lynch brought to light the horrifying realities of our penal system here in the States. There was a little bit of everything in this set of stories and the variety kept me engaged and hooked to the stories.

I am left with a few questions from Eyebiter, but nothing that’s story ruining for me not to have the answers to. My eyes were glued to this book, and I really hope to see more volumes and stories from The Conservator in the future! John, thank you for letting me read this early!