Panic Soup

David Mathew creates a world that’s familiar but seen through a deviant lens. There are shades of Clive Barker and JG Ballard in these stories - fiction that’s all the more unsettling for having its roots in the everyday - but Mathew has his own voice and vision for the twenty-first century.

Julie Travis, Author of We Are All Falling Towards the Centre of the Earth

Characters’ messy lives intersect with danger in this nervy, gritty, warped collection from David Mathew. These tales feature aphrodisiac bombs, illegal tritium deals, giant hedgehogs, dream angels, and the impending anxiety of parenthood. The urban sprawl and rural dystopia reflect the sordid emotional and inner world of the characters who are fighting, sometimes for their lives, sometimes to be understood, or sometimes for just a pint. Panic Soup is best served with shots, in a noisy neighbourhood pub where all the patrons are insane.

Stephen Scott Whitaker, National Book Critics Circle, Managing Editor of The Broadkill Review

If you love stories with bite, brutality, wit and wonder, you will love Panic Soup. As the title suggests, there is dread here, warmth, trepidation, a multitude of flavours. Drink deep.

Paul Meloy, Author of Adornments of the Storm

David Mathew has an eye for nudging characters from the every day to the disturbing.

CC Adams, Author of But Worse Will Come