NOVEMBER, 2011 Reviews

NOVEMBER, 2011 REVIEWS

(NOTE: The "smell ratings" at the end of some reviews rate the actual SMELL of the book and have nothing to do with the story.  Smell Ratings: 5 = excellent, 1 = odorless, 2-4 = you figure it out.  Book Key: hc = hardcover / tp = trade paperback / mmp - mass market paperback / rarer forms described.  Unless otherwise noted, all reviews are by Nick Cato).

HELLHOLE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (2011 TOR / 532 pp / hc)

After a five-year struggle against the corrupt governemnt of the Constellation, General Tiber Maximilian Adolphus fails to win a crucial battle for the key planet of Sonjeera.  But instead of execution, Diadem Michella Duchenet decides to exile him to a bleak planet located in the Deep Zone, a (mostly) unexplored space region comprised of fifty-four planets.  Adolphus accepts her decision, despite the Diadem labeling the planet "Hallholme" after the man responsible for defeating him.

Flash forward ten years.

General Adolphus has managed to survive Hallholmes' brutal and unpredictable weather patterns and scarce resources.  Other criminals, outcasts, and defectors to the Constellation are welcome at Hallholme, and most of them pledge their allegiance to Adolphus.

While the planet is known as "Hellhole" throughout the Dead Zone and the Crown Jewel Worlds, the strong manage to survive--and Adolphus begins to plan a way to fight back against the Diadem and General Hallholme, a man who used a barbaric tactic to win the Battle of Sonjeera.  He also manages to get most of the planets in the Deep Zone to back his cause.

This first of Herbert & Anderson's planned three-part epic moves forward quickly: two men hired by Adolphus to explore Hallholme discover an ancient alien race.  The Xayans--natives to Hallholme until an asteroid strike ruined their planet 500 years ago--have survived in mercury-like pools, waiting centuries for someone to find them.  When Vincent's friend Fernando falls into a pool, he's "possessed" by one of the aliens.  Fernando (and Zairic, his Xayan host) now share Fernando's body, and with Adolphus' permission, persuade other humans to help resurrect the Xayan race.  With super-human powers (including telemancy), the Xayans become allies with the Adolphus in his quest...and the stage is set to battle the Constellation's massive army in the next installment.

HELLHOLE is chock-full of interesting characters, is packed with political and intergalactic intrigue, features bizarre religious cults, and has a couple of unusual romances behind the action.  There's also four surviving native Xayans who get discovered; with their humanoid/catepillar-like bodies and artistic, philosophic ways, there's a lot of promise with them for the next two novels.

While some readers found this tedious and typical, I was sucked right in, and trekked through its 500+ pages in no time (I'm assuming HELLHOLE's negative reviews came from anal-retentive fans of "epic" scifi...something I only partake in on occassion).

Here's hoping the authors take this fine introduction and make the series explode...

Smell Rating: 4

FANGTOOTH by Shaun Jeffrey (2011 Dark Regions Press / 233 / tp )

Bruce and his teenage son Jack move to the small fishing village of Mulberry, hoping for a fresh start after the death of his wife.  At first Bruce and Jack are greeted pleasantly enough until an accident claims the life of a tourist.  Then some of the townspeople become openly hostile.

Erin is a marine biologist doing research in Mulberry for a deep-sea drilling company.  While out on a dive she sees a creature that couldn’t possibly exist and almost loses her life.  The Fangtooth shouldn’t exist in its large and deadly form, but it does, and there’s more than one out there.  They have adapted into the perfect killing machine and the whole town will discover how deadly some sea creatures can be.

I liked the basic story of FANGTOOTH and the fact that it’s a good old fashioned monster tale.  The action begins pretty quickly and moves at a nice pace, and there was a nice side story dealing with drug-running that totally worked.  Character development was pretty good, for the most part but about halfway through the story some characters’ traits changed suddenly and rather unbelievably.  For example, Captain Zander was initially a crazy hard-ass brute; then he does almost a complete one-eighty and is suddenly a “good man”, vowing to protect the same kid he was all set to kill earlier in the story.  A few of the characters suddenly became too good to be true and parts of the story just read as cliché to me.  FANGTOOTH is good, but not great….an average read.

-Colleen Wanglund

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake (2011 Tor Teen / 316 pp / hc)

In author Blake's world, there are two kinds of ghosts: the passive type and the murderous.  Cas Lowood is a teenager living with his mom who has inherited a rare gift from his late father: the ability to "re-kill" murderous ghosts with a special knife handed down to him.  Called to rid a small west coast town of a mysterious ghost known as Anna, things take a rough turn when Cas finds himself unable to kill her...especially after they begin to develop feelings for one another.

It turns out a strange spirit creature has been causing Anna to kill...one of her victims a popular jock named Mike whose friends are now furious, although they reluctantly help Cas deal with the Anna situation.  Along with a cute, popular girl from school, his friend Thomas and his occult-hippie uncle, Mike's 2 jock friends, and even his white witch mother, whose herbal spells help protect the group.

I don't read much Young Adult fiction, and was surprised by the amount of violence and profanity here...it's definitely not for younger teens.  While I enjoyed ghost hunter Cas, it was Anna's character and back story that held my interest.  She's an innocent girl--eternally stuck in her teenage years that ended horribly in 1958--transformed into a monster by an evil "Obeahman" which the group battles at the exciting conclusion.

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is a fun, quick read, good to whip through this coming Halloween season.  Nothing groundbreaking...but good.

Smell Rating: 4

TALES FROM THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT by Mark Allan Gunnells (2011 Sideshow Press / 330 pp / tp)

TALES FROM THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT is a short story collection that is dark, disturbing and at times gruesome.

My favorite of the bunch is “The World’s Smallest Man” about a most bizarre carnival…let’s just say the puppy horrified me.  Other favorites include “Collector’s Market” about a very unusual, limited edition publisher that wants to publish an author’s last book; “Accidents Happen” about how the guilt of one man after a car accident literally kills him; “Jam” about a man stuck in a traffic jam that is never-ending…very cool premise; and “Acts 19:19 Party” about a book-burning party that ends quite unexpectedly for those doing the burning.

Other great stories include “Out of Print” about a bidding war over a single copy of an author’s out-of-print book; “Big Dog” about the effects of both an old and a new laptop has on a writer; “Snuff”, a revenge story with a twist; and “The Gift Certificate”, a cautionary tale about why you should never open someone else’s mail.

Mark Allan Gunnells’ collection is a total hit with no misses.  I know, there are almost always a mix of hits and misses in collections like this but I really liked every story here.  Mark wrote a lot of these stories while actually working a midnight shift, thus the title.  At the end of the book the author gives some insight into each of his stories, which is a nice way to end TALES FROM THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT.  Horror fans should add this to their own collections.

-Colleen Wanglund

FLOATING STAIRCASE by Ronald Malfi  (2011 Medallion Press / 464 pp / tb)

There’s always something to be said for the classics, and in this genre, does it GET more classic than the haunted house? Moody, broody, grim and gloomy … almost Gothic in the literary sense of the word … homes with tragic histories and new-moved-in troubled residents … where unquiet spirits are, really, only a symptom of the evil that we do to each other … Ronald Malfi’s FLOATING STAIRCASE takes all that and gives it just enough of a twist to make what’s old seem new again. 

Young couple Travis and Jodie have finally decided to move out of their flat in the city, now that Travis’ struggling career as a writer is beginning to take off. The place they’ve found is a bargain (of course!), on the lake, conveniently close to Travis’ older brother, so there’s family nearby. 

It’s a little weird right from the beginning, especially the structure poking up out of the frozen lake, the structure that looks for all the world like a floating staircase. Turns out it’s the collapsed and tipped remains of an old dock, now just a picturesque landmark and the site for daring local kids to climb and dive. 

Including the kid who used to live in the house that now belongs to Travis and Jodie. A kid who left some keepsakes hidden in a secret compartment, toys and … other things. A kid whose bedroom may have been in the windowless basement. A kid who drowned in the lake, in an incident that reminds Travis unavoidably of the most terrible moment in his own past. 

His investigations into the circumstances of the kid’s death, at first out of curiosity and then as a matter of writerly research, and then as a consuming obsession, lead Travis closer and closer to the hidden truth. If anyone will believe him. If they don’t decide he’s lost his mind. 

FLOATING STAIRCASE is a good, gripping read. Interesting characters, well-written, a neat fresh take on the trope. The style’s got a nice solidity and heft, the actual haunt-factor is all the creepier for being understated. 

It just might not be the kind of book to take with you on vacation to that nice lakeside cabin in the woods … 

-Christine Morgan

ROUGH CUT by Brian Pinkerton (2011 Bad Moon Books / 366 pp / tp)

Harry Tuttle directed a few popular horror films in the 80s.  Since then he has been churning out bad, low budget features, many which go direct to DVD or cable TV, barely keeping a cult following.  When his ex-wife marries a hot-shot Hollywood director and begins to get famous, he becomes inspired to get back on track.  The problem is, Harry finally comes to the realization that he just doesn't have it anymore.  He has become a hack.

One day he screens a new film given to him by a young wanna-be director.  The film, 'Deadly Desires,' blows Harry away; it's the most realistic, scary horror film he's seen in ages.  He strikes a deal with the new director (Marcus Stegman) to release the film, only with himself credited as director.  Marcus--badly in need of cash--eventually agrees.  Sure enough, Deadly Desires becomes a huge hit, and Harry's career seems back on track, bigger and better than before.

When a popular film critic interviews Harry, he also watches a screener DVD of Deadly Desires, and becomes convinced one of the kill scenes is too real to have been faked.  And when no one can get in touch with the actress who dies on film, all hell breaks loose: Harry realizes he has bought a genuine snuff film, and Marcus is currently at work on another one, this time targeting Harry's new girlfriend who also happens to be an actress.

ROUGH CUT features a well-crafted plot, tight writing, and a fantastic level of suspense.  Although aimed at a horror audience, this novel will also be enjoyed by fans of thrillers and crime fiction.  It's apparent Pinkerton has done his homework here: his portrayal of the ins and outs of the film business kept me as interested in the proceedings as the ever-growing tension.  You won't be bored for a second.

Smell Rating: 1

THE NEIGHBORHOOD by Kelli Owen (2011 Thunderstorm Books / 106 pp / mini-tp)

In this brief novella, Owen introduces us to the small town of Neillsville, where everyone knows each other's business and there seems to be little-to-no crime.  But when Mary finds a young girl's finger in his son's pocket while doing laundry,  THE NEIGHBORHOOD becomes a dark mystery with countless suspects, including a demanding school bus driver and a pedophile who has recently moved to the area.  The first half of the novella sort-of reminded me of classic Bentley Little and there's plenty of suspense.

A second victim's body is discovered underneath an old foot bridge (and if you hate heights as much as I do you'll be cringing during the prior chapter), making even the most innocent among the townsfolk seem guilty.

Owen's novella is an enjoyable read, although it seems like part of a much bigger story; we get to meet several tight-knit small town people who I wanted to get to know better, and there's much potential for more Neillsville short stories or even a novel.  I'll be keeping an eye out for more...

Smell Rating: 1

THAT WHICH SHOULD NOT BE by Brett J. Talley (2011 JournalStone Press / 260 pp / tp)

When Carter Weston, a student at Miskatonic University, is asked by his professor Dr. Thayerson to retrieve a book with a powerful reputation, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.  Weston is sent to the town of Anchorhead during a blizzard to find the Incendium Maleficarum, or Flame of the Witch.  While in a tavern he meets four men, each of whom has a very interesting story to tell.  Jack tells Weston of his encounter with the legendary Wendigo while on a trapping expedition.  Daniel tells of his misadventure in Eastern Europe where he inadvertently stumbled upon a cult of women intent on bringing a demon into this world.  William’s story involves an insane asylum, a professor at Miskatonic University and a cult trying to unsuccessfully awaken Cthulhu with the Necronomicon.

It is the fourth man, Captain Grey who has the book Weston is searching for.  Grey’s story of how he found the book in the first place describes a magic powerful enough to trap Grey’s ship and bring back the dead.  Grey gives up the book willingly but it is only after Weston has brought the book back to the University that he realizes his mistake.  Carter Weston must now stop Thayerson from doing what a former professor at Miskatonic failed to do—awaken Cthulhu.

Winner of JournalStone’s horror novel writing contest, Brett J. Talley has written a wonderful homage to occult horror.  Each of the stories told to our protagonist is unique and scary by itself while adding to the overall atmosphere and theme of the novel as a whole.  Each character is nicely fleshed-out and their individual stories come together beautifully.  With references to Lovecraft, Stoker and even the Bible, THAT WHICH SHOULD NOT BE reads like the best 19th and early 20th century horror stories about the occult and ancient god-like monsters.  I highly Recommend this novel and look forward to reading more by Talley in the future.

(Full disclosure: I was a judge for JournalStone’s contest and gave this novel high marks)

-Colleen Wanglund

A SERPENT UNCOILED by Simon Spurrier (2011 Headline Publishing / 416 pp / tp)

Forget urban fantasy … how about a hearty helping of occult noir? This book grabbed me from the very start and didn’t want to let go, and about knocked my socks off in the process. 

Dan Shaper is a London private eye who works the seedy and sometimes weird side of life. His clients are people who can’t, or don’t want to, go to the proper legal authorities with their problems. And Dan, in the best gumshoe tradition, has plenty of problems of his own. Shady acquaintances. Substance abuse issues. A history he’d really rather forget. 

Anyway, along comes Dan’s latest case, and it is a doozy. A man called George Glass shows up at his office, claiming to be three thousand years old, with sporadic amnesia and mystical powers. He also claims to be in danger, on a hit list from which a few names ahead of his have already been brutally eliminated. 

Dan believes in none of that stuff, of course, but money is money and Glass is offering a lot to find out who’s behind the death threats. The case plunges Dan into a bizarre underworld of psychics, tantric yoga, cults, and killings. With, of course, hired guns on his trail and a turbulent relationship with a troubled, troubling woman inextricably tied to the case. 

Though it’s set in modern times, with cell phones and the internet and everything, but you keep expecting – or at least I did! – to run across words like “dame” or other such colorful Prohibition-era slang. Funny thing, I was sure I recalled the story as having been done in first-person! But it isn’t, it’s in third, as I found upon going back for another look. It just seems so like it SHOULD be in first-person that my mind insisted on believing it was.

Loads of fun, exciting and intriguing. A definite keeper. I’ll be reading this one over again. 

-Christine Morgan

KARAOKE DEATH SQUAD by Eric Mays (2011 Copeland Valley Press / 308 pp / tp)

Odie Wharton is a hot shot on the underground karaoke bar scene in Baltimore.  Along with his off-the-wall friends, karaoke is not only something they do to kill time...it's everything from a serious sport, to a way to make extra cash...it's their way of life.  Their world is thrown into chaos when three beautiful Russian women show up one night and seemingly put the place into a trance with their rendition of Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots are Made for Walkin'.'  Odie and his crew quickly discover there's more to these women than good voices and hot bodies when they begin to show signs of superhuman strength and other-worldly powers.

When one of Odie's crew goes missing after leaving with two of the girls, and when a few of his male buddies become pregnant, an all-out war is on between our karaoke heroes and these sexy-but-evil dames...

With Russian mobsters, a quiet man who works origami in unusual ways, and a sexy cougar who--along with her hot teenage daughter--work their karaoke like a true art, KARAOKE DEATH SQUAD is loaded with irresistible characters and often hysterical situations.  Mays' witty and inventive prose keeps the pages flipping, and his use of popular songs (and how they're sung by certain people) had me in stitches.

This action-packed novel full of slackers, sluts, and succubbi is easily one of the most entertaining novels this year.  It might even inspire you to pick up a microphone...

(There's a GREAT bonus after the novel...Mays' special top ten lists to keep in mind the next time you hit your local pub!).

Smell Rating: 2

SACRIFICE by Wrath James White (2011 Sinister Grin Press / 174 pp / tp)

Detective John Malloy is called to a most unusual crime scene: it appears some poor soul has been eaten alive by his dog...and every other animal who happened to be close enough to take a bite out of him at the time.  While investigating the case, Malloy and his partner are called to a crime in progress: this time a group of young school children are savagely attacking their teacher...along with all types of animals and insects.  Soon after this, a former heavyweight fighter is attacked in a similar manner.

Along with these bizarre murders, Malloy and his partner Mohammed Rafik are also attempting to locate several missing young girls.  When they pay a visit to the parents of one missing girl, they find no pictures of the child anywhere in the home...but they do discover a picture of the parents with a woman who they eventually learn turns out to be a voodoo priestess named Delilah.

SACRIFICE is a brutal, action-packed horror yarn with two flawed but likeable detectives and a cast that's equally as interesting.  Its take on voodoo is quite different from anything I've read before, giving Delilah a different vibe from other voodoo-novel antagonists (such as the Haitian Voudon in THE EVIL and THE EVIL RETURNS by Hugh B. Cave).  And despite it's short 174 pages, this one also manages to double as a sequel (of sorts) to Wrath's 2009 novel, THE RESURRECTIONIST.  With lean, tight prose, a satisfying conclusion and a few choice surprises, Wrath has unleashed yet another solid genre read.

Smell Rating: 2

CARNIVAL OF FEAR by J.G. Faherty (2010 Graveside Tales / 310 pp / tp)

A dark carnival has appeared in the middle of the night on Halloween eve, and the carnies are hungry for human flesh and souls.  The biggest attraction is the Haunted Castle.  When the castle is full at the stroke of midnight, everything changes.

Two groups of teens who clearly don’t like each other end up in the haunted attraction at midnight and each group find themselves fighting for their lives.  Upon entering a theme room in the Haunted Castle—witches, zombies, werewolves, etc.—the teens are transported to another world.  If they destroy the evil then they end up back in the castle, cardboard cutouts and all.  The teens discover that they must defeat the evil in each room of the attraction and then do the same in the final room at the top.  Unfortunately not everyone will make it out alive.  The final room is each teen’s own personal Hell and only one of the teens can beat his or her own Hell and save the others from theirs, as well as saving the entire town from being devoured by demons.

CARNIVAL OF FEAR is an imaginative and scary story that plays on the fears we all have when walking into a haunted attraction of some kind.  It is a Young Adult title but doesn’t read like one.  The main characters are all kids, but adults can relate to them all in one way or another.  We were scared teens, too once.  The story is well-written and has a nice flow to it.  There were a couple of instances where I thought character development was a little too much, but it didn’t get in the way of the overall story.  Faherty has written a dark and spooky story that will appeal to all ages.

-Colleen Wanglund

LIKE PORNOS FOR PSYCHOS by Wrath James White (2011 Deadite Press / 100 pp / tp and eBook)

Words spring to mind when reading anything by Wrath James White. Words like “nasty” and “vile” and “revolting.” Non-word action sounds spring to mind, too … like gagging, uneasy queasy cries, quivering whimpers and inarticulate screams. 

In a good way, of course. If there can be a good way for such things. I mean, yes, the stories in LIKE PORNO FOR PSYCHOS WILL stab straight through your eyeballs and into your brain to wrench your guts and cross your legs, but they’ll do so in a most impressive, memorable way. 

Granted, that might also not be a selling point … but then, if you pick up a book with a title and cover like this (the art depicts a woman with the skin flayed off her neck and boobies), you’d hopefully already have some idea of what you’re getting yourself into!

What you’re getting yourself into is a tall stack of horror sandwich, with poems for the bread and ten stories packed in between them. But no ordinary, tidy, safe sandwich. We’re talking “Man Vs. Food” territory here. Like, no sane person should attempt it, you might want gloves, and if you can finish in an hour without puking, you deserve a tee shirt and your name on the wall of fame. 

Seriously. There’s meat everywhere. And it’s messy. There’s sex, eating, cannibalism, cannibalistic sex, oral-genital contact in the fun and not-so-fun ways, mutilation, voracious inhumanity (in several senses; lions and demons and dogs as well as people being evil to each other), gadgets, fetishes, abuses, the works. 

My favorites of the bunch are probably “Feeding Time” (woman with a fetish and a hated husband finds a possible answer to both while getting her kink on at the zoo) and “After the Cure” (a second Sexual Revolution has unexpected consequences). 

Ironically, there’s also one story – “Fatter” – that involves body image issues, sex, and eating … and, speaking as a *ahem* woman of substance, that one hit home with uncanny accuracy. 

Now … where’s my tee shirt? 

-Christine Morgan

THE WHITE FACED BEAR by R. Scott McCoy (2010 Bellfire Press / 165 pp / tp)

Jeff Bennett returned to Kodiak, Alaska, the place of his birth to fulfill his father’s deathbed wish of having his ashes scattered on the island he so loved.  The minute Jeff sets foot on Kodiak a giant bear awakens and Jeff’s nightmare begins.  The bear is an evil magician trapped by Aouachala, a Sun’Aq shaman.  It seems Jeff’s father, a hunter, shot a member of the magician’s bear clam some forty years before and he is now seeking revenge.  Merrick and his grandfather Joe are descendants of the shaman Aouachala and they help Jeff survive the wrath of the magician and destroy the giant bear.  Joe sends Jeff and Merrick to Russia to find the skull of Aouchala and bring it back to Kodiak.  Along the way both men must deal with the deaths of their fathers and how it has affected their own lives to this point.

THE WHITE FACED BEAR is an interesting story because it’s not just about a rampaging supernatural bear.  It’s also about how Merrick and Jeff were each impacted by their fathers and how coming to terms with their respective pasts makes them stronger and able to fight back against the magician.  Character development is spot on and the story moves at break-neck speed to its inevitable and satisfying conclusion.  Both Jeff and Merrick are flawed but still very likeable men who are just trying to find their way.  The magician/giant bear is not really the focus of the story, but makes an excellent and frightening antagonist.  R. Scott McCoy’s writing is descriptive without being overdone and keeps an even and quick pace throughout.  This is definitely one to pick up if you like your horror full of the supernatural and dangerous animals.

-Colleen Wanglund

JUST LIKE HELL by Nate Southard (2011 Deadite Press / 122 pp / tp)

On some of the forums I frequent, there’s the abbreviation BBR to stand for Black Bug Room, a tag given to designate stuff likely to be ‘triggering’ or upsetting in regards to certain key sensitive issues. 

As in, what you’re about to read will agonize and infuriate, make you lose whatever faith you may have had left in this world and our species, and there’s nothing to be done for it. The diametric opposite of uplifting and inspiring. 

The title novella of this collection, “Just Like Hell,” could use a BBR tag. 

It’s hateful and cruel. It’s brutality and revenge a la “I Spit on Your Grave” crossed with the most awful of homophobic bullying tales. It’s horrific in the way of  Jack Ketchum’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.  It’s terrifyingly painful and difficult to read. 

It’s TOO well-written, the characters too real and believable. The usual safety zone of “hey, it’s only a story” is not available here. 

In other words, it’s probably one of best things you’ll NEVER WANT TO READ AGAIN. Much too much discomfort. Like J. F. Gonzalez’s SURVIVOR.  Like … 

Well, just like hell. Talk about aptly-titled. Yeesh. It’s a neck-deep wade through our worst fears of helplessness and witnessing the suffering of our loved ones. 

Not pretty. Not pleasant. Very, very BBR. 

Yet, at the same time, there are some vocal intolerant types out there for whom I can’t help thinking it should be required reading. Really rub their noses in the ugliness of their own dogma.

Basically, it once again proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what kind of nightmarish supernatural monsters we dream up, the worst ones are always the real ones.

Assuming you make it through those first sixty-some pages, there are four other shorter and much less soul-shreddingly grueling stories to round out the book. 

“A Team-Building Exercise” takes a black-humored look inside corporate life, “Miss Kenner and Me” is a creeptastic tale of obsessive hot-for-teacher, “Seniorita” started off by putting me strongly in mind of the cowboy ballad ‘El Paso’ but then takes a hard left turn into the bizarre, and “Work Pit Four” is a peculiar little one that left me thinking it must have been an excerpt from some longer work (Occult steampunk? Paranormalish-Victoriana?)

-Christine Morgan

NEXT MONTH:

 and many more...

October, 2011 Reviews

OCTOBER 2011 REVIEWS

(NOTE: The "smell ratings" at the end of some reviews rate the actual SMELL of the book and have nothing to do with the story.  Smell Ratings: 5 = excellent, 1 = odorless, 2-4 = you figure it out.  Book Key: hc = hardcover / tp = trade paperback / mmp - mass market paperback / rarer forms described.  Unless otherwise noted, all reviews are by Nick Cato).

MIDNIGHT MOVIE by Tobe Hooper with Alan Goldsher (2011 Three Rivers Press / 316 / tp)

There's always a roll of the eyes when a famed horror film director tries his hand at a novel (Wes Craven, anyone?).  When I heard Tobe Hooper--director of my all time favorite horror film, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE--had written one, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, especially after hearing that one of my buddies HATED it and another LOVED it.

For the first 100 pages, MIDNIGHT MOVIE had me hook, line, and sinker.  The pace was nice, the initial idea seemed great (a screening of an unseen Hooper film shot in his teenaged years somehow causes America to become a zombieland)  But right after this set-up section, the novel goes in several different directions, and I spent most of the time wondering if Hooper (and co-writer Goldsher) could bring it all together in the final act.

They do and they don't.

While I enjoyed Tobe Hooper as the protagonist (as well as the group of misfits who help him re-film his lost epic), and REALLY liked how the zombies are so in the background you hardly know they're there, there were so many other things going on I had a hard time staying focused on the story: besides the zombies, why did the screening of the film cause mass terrorist attacks and outbreaks of sexual frenzy?  And just who were carrying out these attacks?  The zombies, or some kind of splinter cells?  Is not a zombie invasion enough?  The authors seriously should've trimmed this thing down a bit (even at just over 300 pages, 75 could've easily been chopped without losing anything).

While the novel works fine as a metaphor for Hooper's views on the Hollywood system, and will make independent film makers proud of what they do, MIDNIGHT MOVIE--in the end--is a so-so offering that starts out fantastic then looses steam as it unfolds (the quick and blah conclusion doesn't help, despite some ends being decently tied up).

For Hooper fanatics only.

Smell Rating: 4

SAMSON AND DENIAL by Robert Ford (2011 Thunderstorm Books / 126 pp / tp)

Ford's supernatural crime novella is a quick, tight read with absolutely ZERO filler.

When Sammy (a Philadelphia street kid who now owns a pawn shop) finds his brother brutally murdered at the hands of the Russian mob (who have also kidnapped his wife), he's on a mission to get her back regardless of the overwhelming odds.  Along with his huge Desert Eagle handgun, Sammy's surprise weapon turns out to be a mummified head a junkie unloaded at his shop.

With smart street-wise dialogue, brutal violence, and even an all-female underground religious cult right out of a Jodorowsky film, SAMSON AND DENIAL reads like a pulpy b-movie without the unintentional laughs; it's a serious tale that'll appeal to horror and crime fans alike.  Great stuff.

Smell Rating: 1

BLACK LIGHT by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, and Stephen Romano (2011Mulholland Books / 327 pp / tp)

Buck grew up in an orphanage with no memory of his life prior to the age of seven.  At the age of twelve he discovered a natural ability to deal with the spirits of the dead.  He is also able to see the plane of existence where the dead go and hear their voices.  Buck has been nagged by the thought that his parents were murdered by something horrible and he seems to have been given the chance to find out along with the missing pieces of his life.

Buck has been hired by a billionaire businessman to “protect” the passengers on his new bullet train as it moves through a very spiritually active area of the desert known as the Black Triangle.  Buck had been there before and almost died on a case involving the Blackjack Nine.  He swore he’d never go back, but believes it is the chance to have his questions answered.  What Buck doesn’t know is that there are others involved and everyone has their own agenda.  Buck is the key to unleashing something terrifying, IF things go according to plan.  Buck knows that he will either do his job and discover the key to his past or die trying.

For a debut novel, BLACK LIGHT is an entertaining and interesting read.  I liked the main character, Buck Carlsbad and his development is well-done and to the point.  I thought his abilities and what he did with them made for quite an original story.  I was a bit disappointed with the development of other characters, including some of the protagonists, as well as their motives.  While I did enjoy the book for the most part, I thought the climax of the story was a bit overblown and half expected the end to play like something out of SON OF ROSEMARY by Ira Levin (which to me turned out to be a huge letdown).  I also think there were too many players in the final mix.  I would have preferred a story that focused more on Buck and his quest for answers and less on a movie-style ending—but two of the authors wrote for the SAW movie franchise so that explains some things.   Buck comes across as being very subdued and I think the grandiose happenings in the last third of the novel don’t really fit around him.  BLACK LIGHT is entertaining but just slightly above average.

-Colleen Wanglund

PHOENIX ROSE by Michael Bailey (2009 CreateSpace / 366 pp / tp)

Ever watch a big lavish movie and get the idea that you’re seeing three or four cool stories trying to be told all at the same time? With the result being that none of them really get their full due, and you’re left with this lingering sense of wondering what was going on? 

That’s how I felt reading PHOENIX ROSE. Three or four cool stories, wrapped around and framed within one another, with some obvious ties to a previous work I hadn’t read, and by the time I reached the last page, I realized I still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. 

I think, and hope, that was the author’s intention. The whole thing reads like someone else’s delirium dreams, reminding me of the time my father confused teaspoons for tablespoons once when I was sick. 

The actual writing is good quality, excellent language use and descriptions. Some of the reality checks may have bounced for me; I found myself wondering if that’s really how foaling is handled (not that I’d have any idea; my experiences with horses are limited), and having my doubts about the psychiatric angles. But that’s a bit beside the point. 

So, there’s these three or four stories. One is about an injured little boy whose family can’t cope with the aftermath of an awful accident, another is about a guy who may or may not be kind of almost sort of a werewolf, then there’s the brothers who are faking crop circles, and a zombie/vampire priest who interrupts a convenience store robbery … and a semi-suicidal man in an amnesiac insane asylum …

Hell, I don’t know WHAT this book was about. It was interesting; some of the ideas and many turns of phrase were downright amazing, but overall, I was (and still am, referring back to it now), pretty well totally baffled. 

If you enjoy that sense of drifting disconnect, and don’t expect to reach the end and close a book with any measure of finality and satisfaction, then you could give this one a whirl. 

-Christine Morgan

BESTIAL: WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE by William D. Carl (2008 Permuted Press / 298 pp / tp)

I finally got around to reading Carl's 2008 action-packed monster novel, close to the eve of its re-release through Simon & Schuster this December, 2011.

When a bunch of hoods hold up a bank in Cincinatti, things take a wickedly bad turn when the city is attacked by werewolf-like creatures.  Head thug Rick and head bank teller Chesya manage to survive the assault inside the bank's vault.  But when they emerge the next morning, they find their city in ruins.

Across town, a teenage runaway squatter named Christian thinks he knows what's going on.  It seems one of his Johns was a wealthy Frenchman who also worked at a bio lab.  When things seem safe outside of his building, he locates the man's lab and finds a notebook that may hold some answers to the devastation.  And finally, a middle-aged housewife is on a mission to find her lost son after receiving a telephone call from him amidst the chaos (while several end-time novels use this search-for-the-missing-kid subplot, this time it's done quickly and doesn't take much space).

Despite a couple of end-of-the-world scenarious that will be familiar to fans of the subgenre, BESTIAL has a relentless pace that forced me to finish it in two sittings.  And the werewolves aren't your typical werewolves; they also show signs of being part bear and part tiger, giving them a faster, stronger, and more lethal edge.  Carl also manages to flesh out his characters while keeping the action flying at a nearly non-stop pace, making me long to see more of them in the two promised sequels.

Apocalyptic novels have saturated the horror fiction scene over the past eight years or so...but when they're as well done as BESTIAL, it's easy to see why fans keep begging for more.

ETERNAL UNREST: A NOVEL OF MUMMY TERROR by Lorne Dixon (2011 Coscom Entertainment / 240 pp / tp)

Prior to America’s involvement in World War II England endured heavy bombardment by the German Luftwaffe and so decided to send its most valuable artifacts from the British Museum to the Smithsonian Institute.  Unfortunately for Priscilla Stuyvesant, who is overseeing the transport of the artifacts, a bomb has reduced three truck-loads to one.  Priscilla and her two companions, Mason and Brigham barely escape with their lives and have now picked up some refugees.  One of the refugees decides to ride in the back of the truck but Priscilla senses something is wrong with their cargo.

After a harrowing night at a military refueling station, the group finally makes it to the docks and the cargo ship, but with two less people than they had the night before.  Once on board things go from bad to worse rather quickly.  Priscilla senses the power emanating from the mummies’ crates, but while attempting to dump them overboard the crap really hits the fan.  Not only are these former assassins returning to life but the ship has now been boarded by Nazis on the run from their own government, including a doctor who performed unauthorized experiments on his own people.  Priscilla and her companions must find a way to survive murderous Nazis and powerful mummies all in the enclosed spaces of a cargo ship on the Atlantic Ocean.

If there was ever a story to begin the reign of the mummy in the horror genre, ETERNAL UNREST is it.  Dixon has weaved together a tale of war, murder, and revenge—of two powerful civilizations separated by thousands of years and the magic and horror that has connected them.  ETERNAL UNREST wastes no time getting into the meat of the story, which is bloody and brutal and the very claustrophobic atmosphere makes for a truly scary read.  For diehard fans of Hammer Studios’ mummy flicks, this is the book we’ve been waiting for!  With a great introduction by author Nick Cato who sums up the lack of mummy love perfectly and amazing cover art by C.J. Hutchinson and Jesus Morales, this is a highly recommended must-read.

-Colleen Wanglund

PREVIEW:

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER by M.R. Sellars (To Be Released November, 2011 by Willow Tree Press / 327 pp / hc, tp, and eBook)

Special Agent Constance Mandalay is assigned to a case in the small town of Hulis, Missouri.  She's the latest in a string of FBI agents who have spent the past seven Christmas seasons attempting to uncover a murder that occurs each year--each one identical to a brutal crime that happened at the same location back in 1975.

Agent Mandalay has her share of suspects as everyone in Hulis seems to be holding back information.  Sheriff Addison "Skip" Carmichael (who was a rookie deputy at the time of the '75 murder) seems helpful and friendly enough, but Mandalay fears he, too, isn't telling her everything he knows about the case.

This is the first novel from Sellars to feature Constance Mandalay as a main character (she has appeared in Sellars' best-selling "Rowan Gant Investigation' series), and while she's not a typical over-the-top crime-novel detective, the author does a fine job with her as a straight-shooting agent (it was actually refreshing to see a cop without heavy past or present demons or addictions for a change).  Perhaps after the odd events she has endured in this novel, Sellars now has a bit more of a dark edge to grow the character from.

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER is a well written mystery with a paranormal slant.  The gruesome murders and child-abuse back story will keep the attention of any fan of dark fiction. It's difficult to put down and will make a satisfying, spooky ready on a cold night this coming holiday season.

I'm looking forward to more from Sellars and Special Agent Mandalay.

THESE STRANGE WORLDS by Daniel Powell (2011 Distillations Press / tp)

THESE STRANGE WORLDS: FOURTEEN DARK TALES is a collection of short stories that run the gamut from sorta-scifi to sorta-horror. And, while they’re not badly written, while they’re engaging enough, I could not shake the feeling that I was reading the equivalent of a made-for-TV movie just dissimilar enough to some blockbuster to avoid being TOO obvious, or eating the generic store brand of a snack cake. 

“Oh,” I’d think as I read, “this one’s his take on …” or “Hmm, seems heavily influenced by …” or “hey, just like …” and so on. I was reminded over and over of other stories. Not necessarily in a bad way, but often in a watered down way. 

Yeah, I know, there’s only so many plots, so many ideas, and the difference is in the storytelling. Not what ya got but how ya use it. Etc. Still, I came away from this book wishing I’d spent the time re-reading Stephen King’s collections instead. 

So, the fourteen dark tales are okay … not great, not awful … mostly bland with an occasional flash of stirring imagery or artful word use. The ones I liked best in here were “The Scheme,” “The Usurper” and the title track, “These Strange Worlds.”

-Christine Morgan

FOR EMMY by Mary SanGiovanni (2011 Thunderstorm Books / 107 pp / tp)

Dana is Emmy's older sister, and they spend their after-school hours helping their father around his small book store.  One day Emmy goes missing from right under there noses.  With this simple premise the author takes us on a crash course of missing persons cases that branches into issues many may have never considered.  Within these short 107 pages I found more food for thought and downright eeriness than in just about all of the 60+ books I've read so far this year.

SanGiovanni's novella dealing with a missing five year-old girl did something few horror stories do (even of its ilk): it actually scared me.  And after all, isn't that what horror fiction is supposed to do?  Try reading this one alone late at night and you just might agree.  I can't recommend this one enough.

NOWHERE HALL by Cate Gardner (2011 Spectral Press / 28 pp / cb)

One in a limited edition series of chapbooks released by Spectral Press, NOWHERE HALL introduces us to Ron, a man contemplating suicide because he’s lost his job.  While wrestling with his decision Ron is drawn to The Vestibule, a hotel that is either beautiful and bustling or derelict and haunted, depending on the state of Ron’s fragile psyche.  Once Ron has entered he is forced to play the game, one he doesn’t know the rules to.

Cate Gardner has penned a surreal and spooky story in less than 30 pages.  It’s a quick but very entertaining read.  At times the prose seems more like poetry and the imagery is almost dream-like.   Gardner allows the reader to come to the answer to Ron’s dilemma right along with the character.  I liked Ron and empathized with him immediately.  I also like that Gardner didn’t explain everything; I don’t necessarily want everything explained.  Did Ron make his final decision when he entered the building?  Read NOWHERE HALL to find out.

Colleen Wanglund

THE DRIVER'S GUIDE TO HITTING PEDESTRIANS by Andersen Prunty (2011 Lazy Fascist Press / 98 pp / tp)

Prunty (a man who is happiest while napping in his tennis shoes) deilvers this collection of Bizarro short stories that range from the TRULY bizarre to the truly hysterical (and usually a combo of the two).

Among the more memorable are the epic title story, a sort-of take on DEATH RACE 2000 featuring an odd guy who spends most of his life in his van; 'Architecture' deals with a man who decides to build something truly different; 'Napper" is one of the funniest pieces here as Prunty shows off his classic Bizarro chops; 'The Balloonman's Secret' features an oddly out-of-place happy ending; I couldn't get enough of the idea behind 'Reading Manko' and neither will you if you're cool; 'Rivalry' takes neighborly scuffles to a new level, and 'Divorce' is classic Bizarro that readers either get or run away from crying.

Even the couple of semi-predictable tales fit in here and are satisfying.

While I enjoy prunty's novels, his shorts make for some good rapid-fire reading until the next one is unleashed.

Smell Rating: 2

THE FIVE by Robert McCammon (2011 Subterranean Press / 520 pp / hc)

My stream of thoughts upon seeing this one on the shelf went as follows:

“Ooh! A new McCammon?” *grab*

*look at cover* “Aww, obviously not a Matthew Corbett … but okay.”

“Eeee! GARGOYLES font!” *fangirl moment*

By then I already knew I’d be buying it, whatever it turned out to be about. Which, in this case, happens to be a band. Called “The Five,” reasonably enough, since it’s the title and since there’s five members. Even if there are six of them riding in the van on their latest tour, five plus their manager. 

Though, in a more meta sense, the book is also about the current cultural climate, how the internet affects artists of all stripes, and the fickle price/nature of fame and success. Which, speaking as one of the struggling multitudes of would-bes, makes for a fairly nerve-hitting, depressing, shaming read. Ouch. 

The Five are an odd mix of musical archetypes. Nomad is the bad boy, the tough guy, the shades-and-smokes lead singer. Ariel is the ethereal quirky hippie-chick, the gentle soul of the group. Keyboardist Terry, despite his shaved head, is the geeky genius. Berke, the drummer, has chip-on-the-shoulder, angry, in-your-face issues. Bass player Mike is, fittingly, the steady rock the rest can depend on. 

And the sixth, manager George, takes care of all the mundane details. Gigs, hotels when they can afford it and crash space when they can’t, merchandising, interviews, etc. Right up until the day he announces that at the end of the tour, he’s leaving for a more stable career. That opens the door for Terry to make a similar announcement, and that heralds the crumbling of The Five. 

As a last-ditch gesture, either to hold them together or to be a final project, they decide to collaborate on one more song. A bizarre experience on the road provides some inspiration, but a maliciously-handled interview on local TV brings The Five to the attention of a dangerous man who appoints himself their personal stalker and hitman. 

That’s when it stops being about their farewell tour as a band, and starts being about matters of life and death. That’s also when they discover that nothing gets attention – not to mention publicity and sales – faster than violence, tragedy, bloodshed and horror. 

Before they can even begin coming to terms with the loss of some of their own, the surviving members of The Five find themselves catapulted to stardom. They also find themselves as bait for the killer, not to mention caught up in something that seems even bigger, some sort of showdown of good versus evil. 

Basically, THE FIVE is five hundred pages of rock and soul, and when you sit down to read it, make sure you’ve provided adequate time … you won’t want to close the book until the end, and maybe not even then. 

-Christine Morgan

THE BONE WORMS by Keith Minnion (2011 Cemetery Dance Publications / 156 pp / eBook)

Having recently raved over Minnion's short story collection, IT'S FOR YOU, I was happy to see one of my favorites ('Up in the Boneyard') turned into a short novel.  Minnion takes a classic horror set up (an ancient evil comes back to haunt the present day) and makes it work.

In 1921 and 1922, two young boys are affected by The Boneyard, a mystical realm that exists about twenty stories in the air over a certain section of Pittsburgh.  Flash ahead to 1983, where a series of grisly (and strange) murders have police baffled: it seems some lunatic is managing to steal his or her victims' bones while leaving the flesh behind with precision-neat slices in the skin; first responders to the crime scenes are also discovering organs and muscles neatly stacked in a separate corner of the room.  Enter Detective Sergeant Francis Lomax, a straight-up cop haunted by his father's lack of faith in him.  Francis happens to see things at each crime scene others don't, and with the help of a geeky librarian, manages to get on the tail of the killer...or killers...or thing(s).

THE BONE WORMS can be read in a sitting or two, will give those afraid of heights the willies, and supplies plenty of suspense and gut-wrenching violence.  In the hands of a lesser author, this standard plot could have easily gone south, but somehow Minnion makes it seem fresh.  Check it out.

THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD by Jeremy Wagner (2011 kNight Romance Publishing / 254 pp / tp)

Helmut Hartkopff is an Egyptologist who finds an ancient song written in hieroglyphics while exploring the pyramid of an evil pharaoh, Aknaseth.  If this song is played, it will bring about the end of the world and Satan will rule the Earth.

Helmut is working for Festus Baustone, a billionaire looking for relief from the pain of dying from bone cancer.  The song is said to bring immortality, which peaks Festus’s interest greatly. Not only would he be free from pain, but he’d also become more powerful than he already is.

But first he must find someone to perform the song.

Kirk Vaisto is the “God of Guitar” according to his fans. When he is approached by Festus to translate the hieroglyphics into the song, Kirk is wary but agrees.  But when he plays the song in his studio, he is assaulted by evil sights and sounds that destroy his equipment. His fingers bleed from playing, and he is left with the conviction that the song must never be played again.  

However, Festus doesn’t take no for an answer. Kirk has fallen for Festus’s daughter Mona, and Festus uses that as leverage to make Kirk play the song in Egypt, broadcasted live all over the world. If Kirk doesn’t play, Festus will kill his own daughter.

Could the “Armageddon Chord” really bring about the Apocalypse and allow Satan to rule the world with Festus at his side?  

This is Jeremy Wagner’s first novel, and it’s fantastic. Besides being an author, Jeremy is also a talented heavy metal musician and songwriter. It is obvious while reading The Armageddon Chord that Jeremy is passionate about music and guitars - there is a lot of interesting information throughout the book about both subjects. 

The Armageddon Chord is a fun and thrilling combination of heavy metal music and horror.  Jeremy Wagner has written a great story including angels and demons, good guys and bad guys, suspense and a little bit of romance.  This is a book that is hard to put down; I read it in about a day. 

Jeremy Wagner has hit the ground running with his debut novel. I can’t wait to see what he has in store next.

-Sheri White

HIGHWAYS TO HELL by Bryan Smith (2011 Deadite Press / 200 pp / tp)

What do you do when you wake from a blackout and find a murdered stripper in the back of your car? Or, rather, in a story called “Living Dead Bitch,” what do you do when the murdered stripper in the back of your car starts trying to take chomps out of you and your buddy?

Such questions are the sort posed to the unfortunate characters in Bryan Smith’s Highways to Hell collection.

Others might include: How do you get back at the obnoxious brats at the ball park? (“Slugger,” and given my own ongoing feud with the local Little Leaguers, I’d best not answer that one) Or: Where do you get your story ideas? (“Brain Worms Crave Soul Food” … those of you who write, and who view real life as fodder for your creativity, you gotta agree with me here … please don’t tell me I’m the only one who feels that way … that would be awkward …)

Or: You think being a pizza delivery guy is a sucky enough job to start with? How about if you walk in on a crime in progress? (“Pizza Face”) Or: Would you take back the most heinous act of your life if you still had to live with the memory of it? (“Remorse”)

The best question and best answer of all, in my opinion, has to be the one presented in “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” … What’s it like, being allowed to play with someone else’s coolest toys? I envy the living daylights out of any writer who gets to dabble in the Mephistopolis, and Smith’s contribution to an Edward Lee tribute anthology only proves how damn much fun it is!

In fact, all the stories in this book are fun, albeit in an often dark, warped, or twisted kind of way. They are the product of someone having a wild good time doing something he loves to do, and it shows. 

-Christine Morgan

TATTERED SOULS 2 edited by Frank J. Hutton (2011 Cutting Block Press / 218 pp / tp)

In Hutton's second second anthology aimed at introducing newer writers, there are more hits than misses and each of the eight stories are long enough to get a true taste of each author's style.

Among my favorites are Elias Siqueiros' 'The First Stroke,' about a retired dollmaker who finds one of his cutomized creations (which happens to resemble his son) has a bunch of people after it.  I found it to be the eeriest story here, if somewhat familiar.

Stephanie Shaw shines with 'Mademoiselle Guignol,' about an actress in 1913 paris who has grown tired of dying off in countless performances.  When she tells the theater's owner she wants to quit, things take a dark turn.  Of all the authors featured in TATTERED SOULS 2, Shaw is one I'll surely be keeping my eye on.

Other winners include Steve Ruthenbeck's 'I Was A Teenage Zombie Apocalypse,' another familiar yet well done yarn of the undead; the opening sci-fi-tinged 'Yellow Called and Mom was There,' by Tim W. Burke, set in a world where everyone is continually hooked up to computers to receive daily injections (and Burke takes it in a direction I didn't expect); and the most disturbing of the lot easily goes to Forrest Aguirre, whose 'The Arch: Conjecture of Cities,' about a man who searches for a legendary book, discovers it's much more than he had originally thought.  Things are revealed at a fine pace, building to a most satisfying conclusion.

TS2 is a fine introduction to 8 authors, only one who I had heard of (that'd be Forrest Aguirre).  And while not every story is memorable, they're all well written and should hold most horror fan's interest.

NEXT MONTH:

Kendare Blake's ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and HELLHOLE, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's first installment of an epic trilogy, PLUS more reviews than you can shake a stick at!