Short Story Sunday: Orion’s Story Does Not Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Orion’s Story Does Not Die at the End
Series: They Both Die At the End short story
Author: Adam Silvera
Published: May 6, 2025
Hardback: Barnes and Noble exclusive edition- 11 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: September 14, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Jessica’s Review:
This is a short story featuring Orion that takes place after both They Both Die at the End and The First to Die at the End. It’s been nine years and Orion has written his book Golden Heart to keep Valentino alive in print since he can’t be fully present in the flesh. Orion is about to have an appearance at a book signing. We see Orion experience a variety of emotions with things that happen at the signing. Orion also has a new boyfriend, so the reader gets to meet Joel, who of course has a connection in They Both Die at the End.
Unlike the previous short stories that Silvera has written: The Father Does Not Die at the End and Dalma Does Not Die at the End, this short story featuring Orion did not feel like it added much to the universe. The other two enhanced the universe for me, especially The Father Does Not Die at the End. It was nice to see Orion at a book signing, and thus it seems like we get to experience what Silvera feels when he does signings himself. This was also a shorter short story and it just felt a bit rushed and something Silvera was contracted to do for the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition. But this Death-Cast world just intrigues me, so I will read anything that Silvera writes in this world!
Purchase Links:
**Please note that this short story is only available in the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition
Barnes and Noble
Short Story Sunday: Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Dalma Does Not Die at the End
Series: Death-Cast short story
Author: Adam Silvera
Published: October 4, 2022
40 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: July 7, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
Dalma Does Not Die at the End is a short story taking place directly after The First to Die at the End. If you have read They Both Die (which you should have if you are then reading this shirt story) then you know that Dalma created The Last Friend app where Rufus and Mateo met. Dalma is a main character in First to Die and also Orion’s best friend. We see Orion and him having to come to terms with what happened in First to Die. The reader also gets to experience the up and down journey that Alma goes and through to eventually create The Last Friend app. And a journey it is. We see several characters returning in this short story.
This short story just did not have as much magic as the two full length novels, I think ironically it may be because no one was going to die. I enjoyed seeing the app come to creation knowing what Alma wants it to become in this short story and actually seeing it in full bloom in They Both Die at the End.
This short story comes in the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition of The First to Die at the End. I wanted this version for the short story. A love reading anything in this Death Cast world! This edition is now out of print so it is not available new, only used if you can find it.
Pictures of the Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition:
Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Pram by Joe Hill
The Pram
Series: Creature Feature short stories 1 of 6
Author: Joe Hill
Narrator: Robert Petkoff
Published: September 26, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 34 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 24, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Short Story Description:
A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.
Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.
Joe Hill’s The Pram is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
It seems strange to call part of this story refreshing but in a way it is: We have a couple who lost a bay due to miscarriage. Instead of the grief of the mother, the reader/listener experiences the grief of the father-to-be. This is hardly ever done in stories. In addition to the grief, we have a very creepy story with some gore to it.
This is a short story written by Joe Hill who is Stephen King’s son and mini-me! It was about a 90-minute listen and part of the Creature Feature short story collection from Amazon. This short story was narrated by Robert Petkoff who did a good job with his narration once I adjusted to his voice. I did have to start the story over as I had no idea what was going on, but that might have just been me.
We have a couple, Willy and Marianne, who have suffered a miscarriage and they move into a new town. There is a small country store that is about a mile from their home through a path where Willy buys their groceries from. One day he is loaned a pram to bring his groceries home in. Later on the pram takes on a life of its own.
The story just moves along well despite its short length. As the story continues it just gets creepier until it gets to the conclusion. Again it is gory! The creepiness goes long the lines of Rosemary’s baby: Just what is in the pram and what is going to happen next! The journey is far creepier than the ending, but that is creepy as well.
Overall this one was just average for me. I don’t know why I am really indifferent to it. It just wasn’t a story for me. Or it may be that Joe Hill isn’t for me. I tried to read a novel of his once and DNF’d it. I have loved his father’s work: I read Stephen King as a teenager and that must be where my love of thrillers/horror comes from. Those of us Gen X’ers who read him as teens are all messed up adults now! But we realize it and are fine with it!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK