Reviews and Quotes

“As befits her status as an award-winning author of two Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers of America HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DEMON HAS BECOME YOUR FRIEND showcases a fine writer at ease in her medium. Words seem to flow effortlessly, in precisely the correct style for the story being told. Lines of verse give structure and form to far-reaching, emotionally intensive evocations of time and space.”
— Michael Collings, Professor of English, Pepperdine University, October 2011

“HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DEMON HAS BECOME YOUR FRIEND is a book rich in diversity. The intellectual and emotional themes in this book range from the subtle to the sublime. It embraces everything from childhood innocence to childhood abuse as well as an adults yearning for acceptance to an adults acceptance of identity lost. And Addison weaves these themes in equally varying styles and genres; her creativity manifesting itself in the forms of science fiction, flash fiction, horror fiction, fantasy fiction, and poetry. When it comes to writing styles, Linda Addison might be a Jack Of All Trades, but I can say after reading this collection, she is damn good at all of them.”
— TT Zuma, Horror World, November 2011

“HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DEMON HAS BECOME YOUR FRIEND... Edgy and sparkling language depicts the demons that lurk all around us and, most importantly, within us. Bright as a star and sharp as a diamond, Linda Addison takes us on a tour de force through the dark latitudes of the demonic, imparting valuable knowledge and marvelous entertainments.”
— J.L. Comeau, Creature Feature Tomb of Horror, December 2011

“HOW TO RECOGNIZE A DEMON HAS BECOME YOUR FRIEND leans on the dark fantasy/horror side and is sprinkled generously with some nifty (and at times funny) sci-fi. My favorite poems include Land Sharks, an inventive and fun urban fantasy of sorts (and originally appeared in an issue of the famous Asimov's SF Magazine), Comic Cannibals, Demon Dance, and the title piece also display the author's skill at dark verse. There are many more tales and poems here, and not a slow one in the bunch. This is a fine introduction to Addison's world and a trip well worth taking.”
— Nick Cato, The Horror Fiction Review, March 2012

“Linda Addison’s third book of poems, BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL, is contrary to its title, most substantial indeed. It’s a masterful assortment of over one hundred poems, most of them original to this book, full of joy and sorrow, wisdom and compassion, and close observation of life. Perhaps the key phrase to sum up its tenor is “hopeful, appreciative, wondering and caring.” Addison treats of metaphysics, but also of topical matters such as 9/11, Katrina and New Orleans, and war. She’s both fantastical—as in “Mermaid in the Bronx”—and mimetic, as in “The Barn.” Anyone who can make you believe in a pickled embryo as an enticing protagonist (“The Cosmic Adventures of Jar Boy”) is a master wordsmith indeed.”
— Paul De Filippo, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, July 2008

“With an unusual blend of lyricism and concentrated detail, Linda Addison offers up her distinctive poetic skills that are unlike any you've encountered elsewhere. BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL is poetic achievement as solid and well-founded as a palace cornerstone. And that palace rings with the thrum and cadence of voice, weaving tales and songs full of fantasy and myth that will sweep you down from the eaves and up to the towers.”
— Tom Piccirilli, award winning author of THE MIDNIGHT ROAD

“There is something otherworldly and magical about Linda Addison's poetry, as though she is a primordial force of nature who can see to the very bottom of the oceans and to the very end of the universe. From "Falling Away": Falling away from Earth/releasing time and pain/an exhalation of demons/wait to chew at bones left behind/ … begins one of the finest contemplations of the end of corporeal existence I've ever encountered.
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL is a major poetry collection by a major American poet whose talent seems to grow exponentially with each collection she's published. Includes breathtaking photo-art by Brian James Addison.”
— J.L. Comeau, award winning short story writer

“Addison's poems bring out images of a person struggling to chip away the confining nature of our modern times in order to go back to a spiritual existence that is the basis of life. Linda D. Addison has a mesmerizing control of the language and effortlessly reconstructs the past, present and future giving the reader something to digest and ponder.”
— Joey Pinkney, C&B Books

“[Linda] brings a tight focus to small, intimate details which in turn illuminate and echo larger concerns. What I like about her work is that it reads like the observations you might get from a friend B albeit a friend with a gift of language and insight, who’s been let into a few more secrets about what’s out there in the world than the rest of us have experienced”
— Charles De Lint, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“With the studied control and subtle perception, Linda’s poems are luminous—wet, whole ‘shiny things’ that blaze long after the pages are turned.”
— Sheree Renée Thomas, award winning editor of Dark Matter: Reading the Bones

“Addison has an amazing lyrical sense, juxtaposing seemingly unrelated images -- like a mundane house cleaning list and the necessary ingredients to passion and a healthy life -- in one taut, no-syllable-wasted poem.”
— John Everson, Bram Stoker nominee

“Linda Addison plays fresh variations on the voodoo theme in "The Power." [story from Dark Dreams I]
— Publishers Weekly

“Linda Addison’s CONSUMED, REDUCED TO BEAUTIFUL GREY ASHES, [is] a strong sophomore effort, contains such gems as “The Morpheus Calculation,” which postulates a redemptive apocalypse in shimmering, subtle lines.”
— Paul De Filippo, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, December 2002

"Addison has enough invention for two writers, and enough heart for three."
— Terry Bisson, Nebula Award winning author

“Ranging from despair to transformation, Ms. Addison speaks to the human condition, her words igniting empathetic personal, often painful, emotion... joy to read, filled with vivid imagery and grace.”
— Shannon Reilly, Morbid Musings

“This collection [CONSUMED, REDUCED TO BEAUTIFUL GREY ASHES] reads like a string of pearls, with images that recur in poem after poem, reminding us of theme in the most subtle manner. The message penetrates and lingers long after the final poem has been consumed.”
— Jacquline Jones LaMon, AALBC.com & African Voices

“...let Linda prove that inspired poetry can be more moving, and horrifying, than even the best-written novel.”
— Garrett Peck, Cemetery Dance

"Linda Addison's 'Twice, At Once, Separated' [from DARK MATTER I] has, almost uniquely among the new stories, a recognizable sci-fi setting (a generation ship sailing between the stars); but its characters live as traditional Yanomami tribes people, and the story -- a dream-impelled journey of self-discovery -- possesses the feel of fantasy."
— Gregory Feeley, The Washington Post

“Linda Addison pours heart and soul upon the page in her first collection [ANIMATED OBJECTS]. A freshet of poems, journal entries, and stories, this book shows the birth and early maturity of the author. Most affecting to my sensibilities was her [story] “Dust to Dust”, which exactly recapture--not, I believe, out of conscious homage, but out of similar soul-stirrings--Lord Dunsany’s “Where the Tides Ebb and Flow.” Think it’s easy writing a story from a corpse’s point of view? Only because Addison beguiles you so.”
— Paul De Filippo, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine

“...reveals the little horrors of the days, the curiously individual science fictions of the nights, the fantasies where ‘tomorrow will be reborn’.”
— Charlee Jacob

"With the eloquent simplicity of the writers of ancient earth tales, and the pop cleverness of modern-day fantasists, Linda Addison shares with the reader a collection [ANIMATED OBJECTS] from her very human, very mystical realm; images often tender, poignant, brutal, transcendent."
— Elizabeth Massie, Bram Stoker Award winning author

"ANIMATED OBJECTS is a lively collection that ranges from the wry and amusing to raw, primal emotion. Its works sometimes tickle and at other times cut, taking the reader from joy to despair, reality to fantasy, and in the end affirming that the journey is, indeed, worthwhile."
— Gerard Daniel Houarner, Pirate Writings magazine

"ANIMATED OBJECTS is not only a tour de force but also a tour through the material and raw core of the poet herself, who invites the reader in to bear witness to a life that is comprised of both sensitive retrospect and worldly affirmation."
— Tom Piccirilli, Pic's Picks for Barnes & Noble/Epitaph magazine

"...Both amusing and painful, rooted in darkness and the alien, ANIMATED OBJECTS reaffirms that life is worth living, love worth risking, and that you can grow wings to carry you higher. It's inspirational."
— Paula Guran, DarkEcho Newsletter