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!

HALLOWEEN HORRORS 2013

THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW proudly presents our 2013 HALLOWEEN HORRORS column for MONSTER LIBRARIAN

 

 

BREW by Bill Braddock (2013 Permuted Press / 221 pp / tp & eBook)

In the Pennsylvania town of College Heights, things start off typical one Saturday night: the football fans are celebrating a win, the partiers are filling up the local bars, and it seems every college student is on a mission to get drunk and have sex...and the beer of choice is a local microbrew called Cougar Beer, or "Cougar Piss" as the locals call it. But it seems a slightly disgruntled chemistry student has used an environmental activist group to unknowingly plop his deadly concotion into the town's beer supply. And within a short period of time, College point goes from party town to hell town, as the thousands affected by the beer begin to go on sexual and murderous rampages, raping, killing, and even eating their victims.

Welcome to Bill Braddock's debut novel, which follows likeable drug dealer Steve and his new, tough girlfriend Cat as they fight to survive this night of utter chaos. There's also an older black man named Demetrius who is trying to bring back help to his friends trapped in one of the wings of the college. And then there's Herbert Weston, the lunatic responsible for the whole mess who sets up shop atop the college and takes shots at both infected and non-infected alike as he takes out his self-righteous revenge while tormenting a low-level pornographer named Joel.

BREW (which reminded me a lot of Richard Laymon's classic novel ONE RAINY NIGHT) keeps the apocalyptic-goodness contained to a small town, but the suspense level and sense of impending doom come through on every page. The violence gets extreme and the action is nearly non-stop, yet Braddock manages to craft some memorable characters, several of whom I hated to see go. The book (and the chaos) ends a bit quickly, but considering how rapidly things happen from the first page, I doubt anyone will mind.

 

If you like your horror fast, furious, and as gory/violent as it gets, definitely grab this BREW. But you may think twice before partaking of a local beer again...


-Nick Cato

 





BUDDHA HILL by Bob Booth (2013 Create Space / 74 pp / tp & eBook)

Part of the Necon Novellas series, Bob Booth’s BUDDHA HILL tells the story of a young man serving in Vietnam. Just outside the base where the main character is stationed lies Buddha Hill, an old cemetery and abandoned monastery of the Cult of Kali, which is believed to be haunted. The young soldier and his superior, Peranzzi, discover the remains of a mutilated dog soldier—they patrol with dogs—after a strange series of events. The men are sent to Saigon on leave, where they witness a Buddhist monk immolate himself in protest of the war. After they return, the base comes under attack by something that is not alive, but not entirely dead. The young soldier races into the nearby village in hopes of stopping the attack, but can he?

Zombies lie at the supernatural heart of BUDDHA HILL but it is so much more than a zombie story. Having served in Vietnam himself, Booth takes us through the difficulties of a green soldier arriving in a warzone for the first time. He does so in such a way that allows the reader to almost feel the heat that our characters feel, and smell the same stench. It is a story about deep belief and what the peaceful Buddhist monks would do to try and stop a war that killed tens of thousands of people on both sides. The scene involving the monk who immolates himself in protest is disturbing but goes to the motivations of what happens later on. BUDDHA HILL is an excellent read that I highly recommend, with a fantastic introduction by Weston Ochse, who is also a member of the military serving overseas.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

RUN by Michaelbrent Collings (2013 Amazon Digital / 352 pp / trade paperback & eBook)

How about a tense and intense scary sci-fi chiller/thriller that deftly juggles elements of WESTWORLD, THE MATRIX, THE TERMINATOR, THE TRUMAN SHOW, Dean Koontz’ LIGHTING, Stepford, dystopian madness, conspiratorial dread, and small-town horror all at once?

Yes please! That’s this book, one hell of a juggling act of epic what-IS-reality scope while maintaining a very personal close-up on the terrors of self-discovery and one’s own humanity … or possible inhumanity. Who can you trust? What can you believe? When your own senses, your own memories, and even your own thoughts are suspect?

At age six, John witnesses his father’s murder and is nearly killed himself by someone he can only think of as Skunk Man. Decades later, in the hellish midst of a military operation, he sees the same man again, seemingly unchanged … and watches him die. Impossible as that was to begin with, it therefore is even more impossible when Skunk Man, still unchanged, reappears as the father of one of his new students.

Something is going on, something inexplicable and sinister. As John tries to investigate, he finds his own friends and neighbors behaving in odd ways, turning against him. His only island of normalcy is Fran, new to town and starting her life over … but Fran’s had her own run-ins with strange experiences, including an encounter with Skunk Man.

Soon, it’s the two of them on the run (hence the title), pursued by determined assassins, helped by unknown allies, betrayed by those closest to them, in a desperate life-or-death battle … except, that life-or-death line has gone askew, because those who SHOULD be dead have developed this unsettling way of getting back up …

RUN is a winner, as fast-paced as it should be, cinematic and gripping, lots of fun but with moments of poignancy and disturbing paranoia. I can’t say too much more because they might be listening – I mean, because, no spoilers! – so, get this one and find out the rest for yourself!

-Christine Morgan



 

 

 

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MONSTER LIBRARIAN

September, 2011 Reviews

SEPTEMBER 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).

IT'S FOR YOU & OTHER DARK SPECULATIONS by Keith Minnion (2011 White Noise Press / 304 pp / tp)

For the past several years I've been enjoying the artwork of Keith Minnion; he's one of those artists whose style is instantly recognizable.  He has also designed and produced some of the best-looking chapbooks I've ever seen through his small press.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this busy artist was also a writer.  Don't you just HATE show-offs?

It turns out Minnion's stories have been published in some top-notch markets (dating back to the late 70s) and the best of his chops are collected here in IT'S FOR YOU & OTHER DARK SPECULATIONS.

After an introduction by Norman Prentiss, we're thrown into 19 stories that span several genres (most with a dark edge).  Among my favorites are 'On the Midwatch,' a creepy scifi tale set at sea in the North Atlantic; 'Up in the Boneyard,' about an old man who had accidentally discovered a strange portal while flying in 1913--and in 1986 has found a way to get back to it; 'Empire State,' an apocalyptic yarn set in 2238 on a post-flooded earth; 'Bushidio' deals with odd goings-on aboard an interstellar ship (and reminded me of a classic tale you'd find in HEAVY METAL magazine).  'Room to Let,' while similar to 'Up in the Boneyard,' is another take on a mystical doorway, this time full of interesting oddballs.

The final story (which was also released this year as a chapbook by Cemetery Dance Publications), 'Island Funeral,' is easily the best of the crop.  Great atmosphere and a solid cast drive this heart-breaking account of a man trying to keep his deceased wife's final wish.

Minnion's pen is as sharp as his pencil (most stories here are even accompanied by a character's portrait, drawn by the author) and his prose as smooth as his strokes.  IT'S FOR YOU is a fine showcase of one truly talented individual; BUT...can he also dance?  (It wouldn't surprise me in the least at this point).

Smell Rating: 2

URSA MAJOR by John R. Little (2011 Bad Moon Books / 88 pp / tp)

Little follows a string of fantastic time-travel novellas with a suspense-filled action yarn, this time pitting a man and his girlfriend's six year-old daughter against an 8-foot tall grizzly bear at an isolated cabin.  In classic Little style, we get plenty of great writing jammed into this 70-paged novella, and an ending that'll rip your heart out.  But that's all I can say about this short work without giving anything away.

There's also a 10-paged (!) introduction by Gene O'Neill and Gord Rollo that's quite funny, but at $15.00, few outside of the serious collector's market will get to read this.

Smell Rating: 2

SHOULD HAVE KILLED THE KID by R. Frederick Hamilton (2011 LegumeMan Books / 300 pp / tp and eBook)

Pick this one up, it looks promising … apocalyptic cover of stark etched-looking city skyline engulfed in roiling flames … I have a weakness for end-of-the-world stories … intriguing title …

Turn it over to see what the back cover copy has to say? 

One word. 

FUCK …

Okay then. Sure, it expresses “uh-oh” and dismay, which would be natural enough for an end-of-the-world story, but I just don’t know if it’s the only thing you’d want on the back cover. 

As I later theorized, upon reading, maybe they did a word cloud of the manuscript and that was the one that popped up most often? Once or twice in every line of dialogue, it seemed like. Fuck this and shit that and the other fucking thing … I kept getting knocked out of the story, wondering if the excessive use was to pad the word count, or because it was supposed to prove how ooh-harsh-badass-hardcore the characters were, or shock value, or what. Seemed kind of sad, really.

That aside, there’s an okay enough story here. Not what I was expecting, the cataclysm and collapse of civilization and all. There’s some of that at the beginning, as survivors are huddling in shelters, but the attempts to show how quickly people become savages just felt like more shock value, exaggerated crassness and grossness.

So, the world’s ended. Some kind of nasty extradimensional rift has been torn open, allowing shadowy monsters to come through and start shredding people. Military response failed; now there’s just these groups barricaded in office buildings and bunkers. 

One of the survivors is a guy named Dave, and the disaster is apparently all his fault. He’s the one who “should have killed the kid” but didn’t. A gatekeeper thing, sacrifice to keep the rifts closed. Why the previous gatekeeper tried to recruit Dave, I have no idea … Dave’s not much of an engaging protagonist, but then, none of the characters are. 

All in all, while this book did help to pass a slow night at work, and I kept reading mostly to see what eventually did happen, it didn’t thrill, scare, or shock me. I’d give it a C- at most.

-Christine Morgan

DARK SURGE by Gina Ranalli (2011 Dark Regions Press / 214 pp / tp)

Tess lives with her six year-old daughter (Hmmm--that's the 2nd book I've read this month to feature a six year-old girl!) in the wake of her husband Josh's unloyalty.  His new live-in girlfriend, Gillian, puts up with Tess coming around and Josh's love for his daughter, but it seems deep down she doesn't care for his baggage.

As Tess tries to get on with life, her home starts to become infested with flies...so bad that she eventually baits the entire first floor is with fly strips, only to see them covered in the annoying buggers.  Meanwhile, Josh has a strange incident during urination: a painful spray of blood causes him to look down and find a maggot worming its way out of his penis.  Thinking he has some kind of flu or food poisoning, Gillian keeps him in bed, but things begin to get worse when he discovers pimple-sized boils on his back that start hatching more maggots.

Tess encounters a group of homeless street kids at a library, and when she shares her problem with them, one tells her she believes it could be some kind of curse (the teen turns out to be a practicing Wiccan).  Tess reluctantly goes back to them as a last-resort help, and the stage is set for a squirming, action-packed finale.

DARK SURGE has all the elements of a classic creature-feature, only this time there's the hint of an occult edge that's never fully explained: but like an episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, the missing information (especially during the conclusion) only enhances the creepiness of the tale.

Ranalli once again delivers a quick, satisfying horror tale that'll leave you squirming for more.

Smell Rating: 3

CENTURIES OF JUNE by Keith Donohue (2011 Crown Publishers / 346 pp . hc)

A man wakes on his bathroom floor, naked and bleeding profusely from a head wound.  He finds a man waiting for him that reminds him of his father.  The young man sees eight women sleeping in his bed, but one by one, each woman visits the men in the bathroom.  Each woman attempts to kill the young man, but ultimately tells a story of betrayal.  The women come from various points in history and each story of betrayal revolves around a man.  From Dolly the Tlingit woman whose husband turns out to be a bear; Marie the slave who was promised an elusive freedom; Alice who was hanged as a witch; and Flo who prospered and lost during the gold rush of 1849.

  

Seven women and their stories of betrayal at the hands of the men in their lives.  And how did the young man end up on the bathroom floor with blood everywhere?  Was it murder or an accident?  There is an eighth woman in his bed whose story will also be told and bring everything to its conclusion.

CENTURIES OF JUNE is an amazing story of love, betrayal and death told from several different points in history.  Character development is spot on and doesn’t take away from the story at all.  Keith Donohue has weaved a tale of revenge and female empowerment that would rival any feminist writer.  They are ghosts but so much more.  The entire story takes place in the bathroom of a house that changes as the night drifts on.  Is the young man dead?  Is he merely unconscious?  Nothing is given away too soon and the story is extremely engaging.  I was almost sad when it ended because I wanted more of the stories from these women.  If paranormal thriller is your thing then CENTURIES OF JUNE is a definite get.

-Colleen Wanglund

HUNTING THE MOON TRIBE by David Agranoff (2011 Little Lotik Books / 261 pp / tp)

Erich is a young American student of kung fu, under the teaching of Yuen Wong.  He keeps having vivid dreams of a gorgeous Chinese woman, and eventually sees her in real life.  Of course his friends think he's nuts...but not Wong.  It turns out Erich is being called into a mystical battle between humans and vampires, and is eventually led on an adventure across the sea to a mystical Chinese realm where all kinds of creatures dwell, including dragons, headless giants and possessed trees.

It turns out the woman of Erich's dreams, Azeya, is a vampire under the control of Huwan Tu, the ruthless, power-mad leader of a vampire army bent on destroying Erich and his crew of vampire slayers, which includes turncoat Azeya as well as Yuen Wong's (now) vampiric wife.

Agranoff's novel reads lightning fast...but perhaps a bit TOO fast.  The action comes at such a rapid pace the reader might get a bit dizzy (but then again, like the classic kung fu films that inspired this tale, perhaps that was the author's intention).  While I enjoyed the epic feel of the plot (and thought Erich was a fine protagonist), the writing could have used a serious edit, as some of the prose could have been tightened up.  But thankfully there's so much going on here you hardly have time to notice the grammatical flaws.

The sword play and vampire-bloodshed come rapidly, and the stage is set for a second novel.  HUNTING THE MOON TRIBE is a neat blend of genres and Chinese mythology that'll remind you of a Saturday afternoon movie of yester-year.  Fun stuff.

Smell Rating: 4

SCREAM FOR ME by Brian Rosenberger (2011 Panic Press / 134 pp / tp)

I normally leave the Smell Rating to Nick, book-huffer that he is, but in this case I feel I must mention that this one must have had perfume spilled on it or something … it was like those magazines with fragrance samplers stuck between the pages, only there were none. Just … whew … permeated. Not sure what was going on with that. Hopefully a fluke and they’re not all scented volumes?

Scream For Me is a poetry collection, and the production value leaves something to be desired above and beyond the perfume aroma. Awful interior layout, ugly cover. 

Then there’s poems. I am not a huge poetry fan, but I did my best to give these a fair shake. Once I did, I found some of the language to be skillful, some nice evocative imagery. Some of them I liked well enough. Others had a warped Shel Silverstein flavor, or seemed like something you’d find scribbled in the notebooks of that one creepy kid at the junior high. I also think I detected a strong gamer influence throughout, overtones of D&D / WoW.  None were Vogon Poetry Appreciation Chair bad, at least. 

Maybe I just don’t “get” it. I’m certainly willing to consider that as a possibility. Therefore, if you’re one that does “get” it, if poetry is your thing, you might deem this one worth a look. There’s 75 or so of them. 

Among the ones I did like were: “Clown White” (circus ghoulishness), “Waiting for the Train” (goodbye with a twist), “Missing the Muse” (I could relate to that one a little too well, probably), “Wings of Love” (bug sex), “Dogs and Ticks” (a cautionary tale) and “Magic Words” (trick goes awry). 

-Christine Morgan

DOMINION by Scott Baker (2011 Pill Hill Press / Digital Edition)

In the final installment of THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS, Drake, Alison and the rest of the team are regrouping after the battle at the Freer Gallery with the daywalker Chiang Shih and her masters.  The battle was for possession of the memoirs of Inquisitor Antonio Ferrar.  His memoirs contain clues to the whereabouts of the Vampyrnomicon, the book that contains the history of the vampires, the power to give them dominion over the human race, and the means to destroy them for good.

The police chief, Roach, still refuses to acknowledge that Washington D.C. is under siege from vampires, even though he has acquired a paramilitary unit to aid in getting the city under control.  Jim meets Sarah, a lone hunter out to avenge her mother’s death and brings her to Drake to potentially join the team.  At the same time Drake is visited by Cushing, another hunter who is descended from a line of hunters….or is he?  Cushing is not what he seems but Derek is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Drake’s friend Professor Reese is making some headway with Ferrar’s memoirs and thinks he may have found the location of the book and the means to destroy the vampires once and for all.  Unfortunately there is a spy in the midst who is determined to get the book for Chiang Shih in exchange for eternal life.

When the siege on D.C. finally begins, it is all-out war and a potential suicide mission to end it.  Who will win?

As I’ve said in my reviews of the previous two books in THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS trilogy, Scott Baker writes vampires the way they should be written.  No sparkly, good-looking vamps that leave young girls and women swooning.  They are monsters without souls whose only desire is to feed on and destroy humans.  They are truly a product of Hell.  The entire series is well-written with excellent character development and an easy flowing narrative.  The book reaches a climactic ending that is as unexpected as it is heartbreaking.  Baker’s vampires are reminiscent of the monstrous Radu from the “Subspecies” vampire flicks (which I also recommend).  DOMINION; THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS BOOK 3, as well as the first two in the trilogy, is a bright spot in a literary sub-genre that has seen a glut of “romantic vampires”.  More of those authors should follow Scott Baker’s lead.

- Colleen Wanglund

ILL AT EASE by Stephen Bacon, Mark West, and Neil Williams (2011 PenMan Press / 38 pp / e-book)

This mini-collection (co-titled "Three New Stories of the Macabre") features some genuinely chilling moments, especially in the opening tale.  Stephen Bacon's 'Waiting for Josh' is a quiet-type creeper, about a man who returns to his hometown where a young man had gone missing when he was a kid.  Bacon's tight prose will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Mark West's 'Come See My House in the Pretty Town' is another one about a man who returns to his hometown, this time reminding me a bit of The Wicker Man. It's okay, but forgettable. 

'Closer Than You Think,' by Neil Williams is a spine-tingler dealing with a haunted child's car seat (!).  The idea sounds a bit silly but Williams makes it work.

ILL AT EASE is a decent little collection, featuring three well written stories and a couple of goosebumps.  Mostly routine, but good.

SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS edited by Bill Breedlove and John Everson (2011 Dark Arts Books /  260 pp / tp and e-Book)

The 7th multi-author collection from Dark Arts Books is a mixed bag of ideas, but almost every one of these 16 tales is a hit.

Lee Thomas gets things off to a wild start with 'Appetite of the Cyber Tribes,' about a man who comes across a gruesome net-based group, then delivers three more winners, one a tense police prodecural and one a deeply psychological chiller about a woman who deals her own way with with an unfaitfhul spouse.  GREAT stuff  all around.

Next up, Gary McMahon delivers four supernatural-tinged tinglers, including 'A Night Unburdened,' about a pizza delivery man who delivers a pie to the home of his old English teacher: it's funny, sexy, and in the end downright chilling.  'The Ghost in You,' is a wonderfully different type of ghost story, as heartbreaking as it is spooky.  Each McMahon tale is thoroughly satisfying.

This is the first time I've read anything by S.G. Browne, and his contributions reeled me right in.  'Dream Girls,' is a humorous look at a future time when alien DNA helps mankind to produce living sex slaves, and the one man who takes his new obsession with them way too far; 'Lower Slaughter' follows two tourists who go missing after visiting an isolated town populated with strange creatures; 'The Lord of Words' is a dark fantasy that will appeal to anyone who loves to write, and 'Dr. Lullaby' features a group of men who become unique super heros after becoming human guinea pigs for pharmaceutical companies.  I LOVED Browne's comic take on things and look forward to reading more from him.

Michael Marshall Smith (another author I read here for the first time) closes the book with 'Death Light,' about a UK screenwriter who has a most unusual ordeal with the police while trying to sell a screenplay in Hollywood; I didn't know what to make of 'The Stuff that Goes on in Their Heads,' about a father trying to get to the bottom of a bully bothering his son in school.  It hints at child abuse one second then abruptly ends in a way that could be taken from a few different angles.  Not a bad story, but one that seems pointless.  'REMTemps' is one of the best stories of the collection, about a down and out man who learns he has the ability to "take" other people's dreams and thoughts, and is paid well for it by a mysterious company.  It's dark scifi done right.  'Dave 2.0b2' is told in a chat room-style log, and deals with people attempting to get an unusual software upgrade.  It's short, strange, but should have come BEFORE 'REMTemps' as it wasn't the best piece to end things on.

SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS is another solid DARK ARTS collection, and a fine introduction to four authors who might not be familiar to everyone.

HOUR OF THE BEAST by C. Michael Forsyth (2011 Outskirts Press  312 pp / hc, tp, & eBook)

Fast-paced, rip-snorting, action-packed sexy campus romp, with werewolves!

Hour of the Beast doesn’t play coy. The cover hearkens back to those classic horror movie posters of yore, burly wolfman with helpless torn-clothes damsel unconscious in his grasp … drippy red lettering … you know what you’re getting, definite truth in advertising, and the book delivers. 

We begin with Young Newlywed Couple setting off on their honeymoon, but they never arrive at their destination. The groom ends up dead. The bride is not so lucky. She survives, and eventually gives birth to twin boys. 

Fast forward eighteen years, and those boys are off to college. Though twins, they have little in common. One Joshua, is the big buff athlete, with a record of impressive scores on the field and off. The other, Joseph, is the scrawny intellectual nerd, whose success with girls has been limited to say the least. 

Jason’s duty his entire life has been to look after his brother, keeping Joshua out of trouble whenever his temper gets the better of him. Their mother has never told them her terrible secret. 

But, once away from home and at a university with its own strange supernatural history, Jason starts to suspect there may be more than temper going on. Sightings of a large doglike creature … disappearances … gruesome deaths … piece by piece the puzzle forms. 

Jason’s investigation gets help from his folklore and science teachers, his adrenaline-junkie roommate, a handful of friends, and the gorgeous girl that he and Joseph both want. They soon find themselves hot on the trail of the beast, a quest that will mean confronting the boys’ mother about the truth of the past.

This is a good meaty read, well-written and fun. I give it two thumbs up and a lusty howl at the moon. 

-Christine Morgan

GIFT OF THE BOUDA by Richard Farnsworth( 2011 Salvo Press 2011 / 250 pp / tp)

Special Forces Captain John Rogers returned from the War on Terror with more than the usual issues of a soldier returning to normal life.  Captain Rogers was bitten by a shapeshifter and after surviving the transformation is now a shapeshifter, himself.  Divorced and living in a trailer on the outskirts of Reno, John keeps to himself in a solitary existence for fear of hurting someone close to him.  While out hunting in the desert one night, John runs into a wolf pack who mean to drive him out of their territory.

Honey, while supplementing her income as a prostitute and stealing from her customers, has made a terrible mistake.  She has stolen an object meant for a werewolf pack and they mean to get it back.  When John shows up to work at the strip club and runs into Honey he can sense that something is wrong.  He can smell the werewolf who has come looking for Honey.  When she disappears John knows the werewolves have her and he is determined to try and save her.  John goes to find the pack he had his run in with, but soon discovers there is another, more dangerous pack of werewolves in Reno.

GIFT OF THE BOUDA is an excellent story that serves as a metaphor for the crap and post-trauma that soldiers experience upon their return to a “normal” life.  John is a likeable and very sympathetic character.  All of the characters in the book are well developed without distracting from the flow of the story.  I really like that John isn’t a werewolf, but another were-creature that is just as dangerous.  It’s a nice twist on the usual tales of lycanthropy.  While the main story revolves around John trying to protect his friends and family, there is a clear subtext of John still coming to terms with his Gift.  Even if you’re not necessarily a fan of the sub-genre of werewolves, GIFT OF THE BOUDA is a character study worth reading.

-Colleen Wanglund

TALES OF SIN AND MADNESS by Brett McBean (2011 Legume Man Books / 334pp / tp)

Tales of Sin and Madness is a collection of twenty-one short stories of varying themes. Some are scary, some are sad and others are horrifying.

“The Beautiful Place” is the first story in the collection, and it’s a great story to start with.  Simon Fletcher is determined to complete his journey to the town of Coober Pedy, a supposedly beautiful place in a world filled with the living dead. The ending of “The Beautiful Place” will break your heart.  It’s an amazing story.

Ray is with his friend Jerry when he receives the worst call of his life in “Stolen Lives.” His wife and daughter have been kidnapped and will be killed if he notifies the police. But the instructions Ray receives are nightmarish - he must choose which one is killed if he wants to see the other alive again. How do you make such a horrible choice?  “Stolen Lives” is a suspenseful story with a completely twisted ending.  I loved it.

Jackson is riding the elevator up to his apartment, but begins to experience odd happenings each time the elevator stops on a floor.  He sees a baby sitting all alone when the elevator makes its first stop; he is confused, but not alarmed yet.  He sees kids on the third floor bullying a small boy, and he angrily yells at them to stop. But they carry on as if they can’t hear him.  Each stop is worse than the last, until he finally reaches his floor.  Relieved, the doors open and he sees a man stabbing a woman. The killer comes towards Jackson and shows him his deepest, darkest secrets.  “Hearing the Ocean in a Sea Shell” is a very creepy story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go.

“A Question of Belief” is a fantastic zombie story that is different from the usual zombie tales. Reverend Blight is walking the cliffs by his home when he happens upon a man who is injured and mute.  The reverend takes the man into his home to nurse him back to health, but he finds himself in the middle of a nightmare instead.

If you’re at all claustrophobic like I am, “The Coffin” will have you squirming in your seat while the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  Doug is hiding in a duct from men he owes money to. He gets stuck and no matter how he tries, he just can’t move.  He can move enough to flick on his lighter, though, but regrets it in a big way.

If there’s something your child wants in a big way, you may just want to give it to him. In “The Project,” Hartford has been nursing resentment ever since he was a kid. He decides to build the item he wanted as a boy and then show it to his father, who had denied him. Seriously, buy your kid the toy.

I could comment on every story in this collection; they are all very good.  “Christmas Lights” will have your heart aching, “The Cycle” have you rethinking your decision to stop at that old out-of-the-way store on your next road trip, and “Who Wants to Be a Survivor” will completely mess with your head.

Brett McBean’s collection belongs on every horror lover’s bookshelf.

-Sheri White

GRUNDISH & ASKEW by Lance Carbuncle (2009 Vicious Galoot Books / Digital edition)

Grundish and Askew have been best friends forever.  Grundish protected Askew, and even served prison time for his friend.  He knew Askew would never survive in prison.  While teens, Askew made Grundish promise that if it ever looked like they were going to prison, Grundish would put a bullet through Askew’s head.  The two friends were losers working dead end jobs and living in a trailer park full of other losers.  Askew had a nasty temper and unfortunately for the two friends, Askew lost control and beat a man to death in the trailer park.  Taking Askew’s Aunt Turleen, the men go on the run and find a temporary safe place with a friend of Turleen’s.  Grundish is worried because Askew has been different since the murder.  Now they have been discovered and Grundish is afraid he may have to keep his promise.

There are many things I liked about this story.  The character development is so thorough that Carbuncle elicited a real reaction to his characters from me.  I really liked Grundish and felt sorry for him and thought he was a decent guy.   Askew I disliked immensely.  I felt he was Grundish’s cross to bear in life and that as long as they were together Grundish would never catch a break.  There is a conversation that takes place between the two men that brought to mind George and Lennie from Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN.  Grundish and Askew display the same tragic relationship.

I liked the wise-ass but perceptive Turleen and her dreams.  Vividly described, they are prophesies of the situation they all find themselves in and its inevitable outcome.  I also liked Lance Carbuncle’s self-effacing humor in a scene where two TV news anchors, while reporting on the police hunt for the fugitives, give a sort of review of GRUNDISH & ASKEW that almost pans the book.  GRUNDISH & ASKEW is well-written and the pacing is excellent.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and even though the paranormal aspect is subtle, I do highly recommend it.

-Colleen Wanglund

JASMINE AND GARLIC by Monica J. O’Rourke (2011 Biting Dog Press / Digital edition)

A young homeless woman goes to see a doctor about her pregnancy.  It is after-hours and there is no one in the clinic besides the woman and the doctor.  Unfortunately for this young woman, the doctor has one very sick fetish.  I can’t say anything else without giving the story away but I will say that I loved it.

JASMINE AND GARLIC is a quick read that packs quite the visceral punch.  Monica O’Rourke has penned a wonderfully twisted and horrifying story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the final sentence.  Get this book!

-Colleen Wanglund

NEXT MONTH:

The reviews continue with a look at Tobe Hooper's MIDNIGHT MOVIE and a couple of new titles from Thunderstorm Books...