Review
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Title: A Thin Black Veil
Author: Henrik Sorensen
Publisher: HIVE TOME
Genre: Short Stories
Year Published: 2025
Number of Pages: 134
Format: Ebook
ISBN: 979-8-9913683-4-6
Price: $11.99
Reviewed by Conor Hilton for the Association of Mormon Letters
A Thin Black Veil by Henrik Sorensen is a collection of eleven short stories, each deeply rooted in at least one, if not several, aspects of Mormonism, particularly the Great Basin-produced variety. The stories are unsettling and shocking, and at their best, tangle with deep fears and truths, mingling faith and doubts in a provocative way.
The collection is an engaging set of stories that offer different types of horror though Sorensen demonstrates a particular affinity for shocking, violent, gory moments that will haunt you for some time after reading. Sorensen’s ability to transform particular nuggets of theology or folklore or lived religious experience into something horrifying is impressive and put to good use.
The stories are quick, almost snack-sized–perfect for sharing around a campfire or swapping late at night with friends. The prose of the stories also feels of a similar nature, serviceable and largely straightforward, with some flourishes that occasionally drew attention to themselves and away from the narrative itself. While you could plow through the collection in one sitting, I’d recommend savoring the stories, reading one at a time, and letting them settle in, creating a sense of unease as the stories do their work of horror.
You could take any story in the collection and tease out the Mormon doctrines, cultural elements, or folkloric touches, and I hope someone does so. Instead, I would like to highlight a few of my favorite stories – “Enmity,” “A Thin Black Veil,” and “The Vision.” These particular stories for me demonstrate Sorensen at his best–not only shocking the reader and giving them haunting images and ideas, but also digging into underexplored facets of Church doctrine and history that caused me to reflect more on my beliefs. “The Vision” was published previously, and I’ve thought about it pretty regularly since first reading it some years ago, and was pleased to find it here and to read it again–a strong note to end the collection on. “Enmity” and “A Thin Black Veil” both have given me images and ideas that I’ll be turning over in my mind for the foreseeable future. I’d personally like to see what Sorensen could do, leaning even more into these sorts of stories!
A Thin Black Veil is a great collection for those who want to be shocked by some very Mormon-rooted stories. The stories show Sorensen’s imagination and promise as a storyteller. A horrifying collection, with a few standout stories that I can’t get out of my head. I am interested to see where Sorensen goes next!