AND SO I TOOK THEIR EYE
COMING JULY 17, 2025
When a body is found on the black-sand beaches of Guatemala, it sparks a chain of events that ripple across the globe.
From an Italian tailor crushed under the weight of his father’s legacy to a mother challenging local snobbery on the cricket fields of England, a vengeful Bolivian priest chasing Che Guevara’s ghost, to a Bay Area therapist blind to his own advice, the lives of a seemingly unconnected group of strangers become fatefully entangled in murder, arson, betrayal, and love.
Guided by the ancient creed of "an eye for an eye," And So I Took Their Eye is a gripping collection of interlinked stories exploring what happens when justice is taken into your own hands—and ultimately, what it means to be human. It examines abuses of power in a world fractured by inequalities. As these characters confront these brutal truths, morality blurs, forcing them to question the meaning of belonging and the lengths they’ll go to carve out their place in an unforgiving world.
The ways in which the stories intertwine add an additional level of intrigue to an already compelling cast of characters. A thoughtful collection that situates engaging characters in an array of distinctive settings.
— Kirkus Review
Impossible to put down.... a treasure trove of insights that deserves slow, careful inspection.... Compelling, shifting in its viewpoints and delivery, and thoroughly mind-boggling, And So I Took Their Eye defies pat categorization and rests its appeal upon the unexpected. Prepare to be amazed.
— D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review (D Donovan's Book of the Month)
Few short story collections have the richness and complexity of a novel. Ben Davies’ does.
– Edward Stanton, award-winning author of Wide as the Wind, Frail Blood, & VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain
Ben C. Davies writes with precision, curiosity, and a willingness to get close to the nerve... The stories are tough, honest, and threaded with grace.
—Matthew Clark Davison, Author of Doubting Thomas and co-author of The Lab: Experiments in Writing Across Genre.
Ben C. Davies’ stories are arresting: the prose sharp and unrelenting, his characters’ ‘true colours’ revealed with an arch wryness. Davies forces us to re-think all that we do not want to see—in our societies, in our cultures. Bravo!
—Alicia J Rouverol, Author of Dry River and I Was Content and Not Content, nominated for the OHA Book Award
Ben C. Davies is a Californian-based author whose debut short story collection, And So I Took Their Eye, will be published by Bridge House Publishing in 2025. Originally from the UK, his short fiction has appeared in journals such as The Fiery Scribe Review, Left Brain Media, and Downtime Review, while his articles have been featured in Electric Literature, The International Times, Work, Huck, and Lost.
He serves as an editor for the Ginosko Literary Journal, is a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto, and is currently finishing his debut novel, Black Sand. In addition to his writing, Davies is the co-founder and director of Studio Luce, a Guatemalan writing retreat and artist residency, and helps authors with marketing and publicity through Studio Luce Books.
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