JUNE, 2012 Reviews

JUNE, 2012 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)

THE ABYSS ABOVE US by Ryan Notch (2010 / 174 pp / eBook)

A bunch of astronomy students discover an area out in space that holds no galaxies.  It is a pitch-black void full of nothing (as far as they can tell), until it begins to transmit a strange sound.  The sound causes all who hear it to go crazy and committ suicide.  Over 500 students and people in the surroudning area of their university are killed, with only one survivor.

Said survivor, Shaw, is now in a mental institution with a 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' array of characters.  He manages to get on the Internet and meet people who help him hack the Institution's system, and he learns about the massacre at his old university.  He manages to escape the asylum and is housed by a priest in a church he once did computer work for.  The priest also believes his story of an impending alien attack and allows Shaw to set up camp in a hidden room.

Meanwhile, another computer whiz, Collin, has become a slave of the Dark God, a name he gives to the mysterious entity responsible for the university massacre.  The brownstone he lives in becomes a portal where this thing intends to enter the world.  It's up to Englishman Jack and his friend Terra to stop things before they get too out of hand.  But standing in their way are once human-now alien creatures and a building with no way of escape.  Add to the mix Shaw, who winds up in the brownstone being chased by a spider-like creature he has inadvertently called down to his new church home.

This sci-fi/horror/monster hyrbid features a familiar although well paced plot.  And despite some stiff dialogue, THE ABYSS ABOVE US isn't a bad way to kill an afternoon.

HERO by J.F. Gonzalez and Wrath James White (2012 Deadite Press / 164 pp / tp and eBook)

I came to this book anticipating gore, violence, and soul-shattering brutality. Hey, it’s from Deadite, and look who the authors are! Wouldn’t you anticipate something along those lines? 

Gore, violence and soul-shattering brutality. And I got it … though not quite in the way I expected. This was worse. Much worse. Mostly because, instead of being wild and over-the-top, it was all too believable and all too real.

Adelle Smith, civil rights activist since the 1960s, has seen a lot of changes for better in the world. Not to perfection, and there’s still a long way to go, but a great deal’s been accomplished. These days, instead of being seen as a troublemaker or criminal, she’s hailed as a hero, and just received the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award. 

That, of course, is when cruel fate steps in. First, in the form of a stroke that leaves Adelle semi-paralyzed. Second, in the form of the home-care nurse assigned to work with her. 

Natsinet Zenawi, daughter of a Caucasian mother and Eritrean father, most emphatically does NOT consider herself African-American. Or black. She has NOTHING in common with the contemporary culture and detests any implication or assumption otherwise. 

As a nurse, she makes Annie Wilkes look sweet and cuddly. Natsinet is no stranger to surgical sabotage, medication “mixups” and patient abuse. When she’s sent to look after Adelle, a now-helpless woman whose pride and accomplisment represent everything Natsinet can’t stand, it’s a short step from abuse to outright torture.

There’s such EMOTION captured in here! Anger, resentment, bitterness, callousness, venom and hate. But also nobility, devotion, compassion, love, and honor. 

I can’t help thinking that this would make excellent required reading for college courses in ethnic and women’s studies, psychology, sociology, and nursing. 

I also can’t help thinking that any male readers who pass this one by because the main characters are female deserve to have Natsinet provide their vasectomy after-care. 

And anyone who still thinks men can’t write convincing female perspectives or vice-versa? Just hold still. This won’t hurt a bit.

-Christine Morgan

THE DROPPER by  Ron McLarty (2012 Cemetery Dance Publications / 287 pp / hc and eBook)

When I was in high school (many years ago), we were given the assignment to read OF MICE AND MEN for an English Literature class.  Hating to be told what to read, I skipped it.  I got the Cliff’s Notes and passed the required tests, and that was pretty much that.  But then I was asked to read and review THE DROPPER, which has been compared to OF MICE AND MEN.  It’s supposed to be an instant classic.  I decided to give it a go to make up for blowing off Steinbeck’s novel, which really doesn’t sound like an awful book, admittedly.

But then again, maybe it is.  Because I just don’t get all the hype for THE DROPPER.  I thought it was disjointed, slow and altogether boring.

“Shoehorn” is a 17-year-old boy in 1922 England with a lot of burdens on his young shoulders.  Recently left motherless, he must deal with his abusive alcoholic father and care for his mentally-challenged younger brother. He is also a plumbing apprentice and a sometime boxer.  After landing a killing blow to an opponent, Shoe becomes haunted by what he’s done.  He no longer wants to go “under the lights,” but has no choice.

He also can’t choose among the girls who love him, which ends up hurting them all at one time or another.  On top of everything else going on, he realizes his brother needs care that he just can’t provide any longer, and must send him away.  And then there’s “The Dropper,” a midwife maybe-turned-child murderer who cryptically speaks to Shoe, making him wonder just what is going on.

And that’s what I was wondering, too.  There is so much going on, and it all runs together.  It’s hard to tell at times where the story is and where it’s going.  I just couldn’t enjoy this book, and ended up skipping to the end after I was about three-quarters of the way through.  Life’s too short to read boring books, and I felt like I was losing too many minutes on this one.

If you enjoyed OF MICE AND MEN, you’ll probably love THE DROPPER.  But if you skipped Steinbeck’s novel because it didn’t sound all that great, skip The Dropper as well.

-Sheri White

AMAZONAS by Alan Peter Ryan (2012 Cemetery Dance Publications / 124 pp / tp)

It is 1906 and Henrietta and her husband Edwin are travelling up the Amazon River seeking their fortune.  Edwin has struck a deal with the gruff Crown who has possession of a slave tree deep in the jungle.  Henrietta has her doubts and believes her husband has begun to go mad as they travel deeper and deeper into the deadly jungles of Brazil—further away from the civilized world.

When they reach their destination Henrietta and Edwin learn that Crown was not lying.  He has discovered a tree with giant pods containing human-like creatures inside.  The problem, as Crown sees it, is that he doesn’t know how to keep the “pod people” alive to profit from their sale as slaves.  Edwin’s mind cracks but Henrietta perseveres, trying to figure out just what the tree is birthing and why.

AMAZONAS is a quick but evenly paced novella about the true horrors of the human condition, even when faced with the supernatural and unexplainable.  Ryan is able to keep the tension flowing throughout the story, as well as keeping the reader on edge in anticipation of what might happen as the story unfolds.  What I really enjoyed was the story’s vague and violent ending.  AMAZONAS is eerie and unsettling and worth the read.

-Colleen Wanglund

MRS. GOD by Peter Straub (2012 Pegasus Crime / 185 pp / hc)

Originally released in 1990 as a limited edition novella and then in 1991 as part of Straub's HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS collection, MRS. GOD is now available as a trade hardcover from Pegasus Crime.  WHY Pegasus Crime?  I haven't the slightest idea...and unless you are a DIE HARD Straub fan, you'll have no idea why they felt the necessity to re-re-release this downbeat tale.  In fact, I AM a die hard Straub fan and couldn't tell you...

THAT said, MRS. GOD is an interesting if unclear tale dealing with American English professor William Standish, who is chosen over 600 other applicants to spend three weeks in England at Esswood House, which is the home of an incredible library of both published and non published works.  Standish is a major fan of obscure poet Isobel Standish, who's also a distant relative of his.  She only had one volume of her work published in the early 1900s, and Standish is amazed to find how many non-published pieces are at Esswood.

What I liked about MRS. GOD is the "Wicker Man"-type suspense building, which begins when Standish has a run-in with a strange pub owner, to his meeting with a mysterious woman who shows him to his room at Esswood House, to his dinner with Robert Wall, the Houses' generational caretaker.  Standish spends his days studying countless texts, and his nights eating alone in the vast dining room.  He continually hears laughter and sees things moving in the shadows, but is never sure if it's real or an after-effect of the wine and whiskey.

In the end, it's never clear if Straub was trying to tell an offbeat ghost story or give us a portrait of a father-to-be attempting to delay his future.  As a booklover, I liked the scenes of Standish standing in awe of the Esswood library and Straub's prose here is slick and addictive.  But even fans of "quiet" horror may have a hard time making it to the end of this one, despite it's short page count.  An unsatisfying conclusion doesn't help matters, either.

For Straub completists ONLY.

Smell Rating: 4 

RISING FEARS by Michaelbrent Collings (2011CreateSpace / 192 pp / tp and eBook)

As soon as I’d finished reading THE LOON, I chased down Michaelbrent Collings to rave about it, and he rewarded me with ANOTHER book! (I love this job!). 

RISING FEARS is his take on the one-mysterious-night-in-a-small-town story. The small town in this instance is Rising, Washington … where everyone is neighborly, everyone looks out for one another, and everyone is afraid of something. 

In fact, that’s why these people live in their nice small town: most of them are afraid of something, hiding out from or on the run from or avoiding facing the fears of the outside world. Even those who can’t wait to get out harbor their own inner dreads, secret terrors, awful memories and private phobias. 

Things aren’t about to work out so well for the good folks of Rising. They’re about to find out that some fears can’t be hidden from, run from or avoided. Not when the fears come from inside. Not when they’re becoming all too real. Real enough to kill. 

The writing is superb. The characters are believable and sympathetic (well, except for one, but she’s supposed to be a selfish little snot so it’s okay to not like her very much). Once again, the theme of a parent who’s lost a child figures strongly; it’s powerful stuff, and written from the perspective of experience that no one should ever have to suffer. 

The story’s reminiscent of Koontz’ PHANTOMS, streamlined to the essentials. Though I may sometimes get teasing flack for “clobbering” Koontz these days, back when PHANTOMS came out he was at the top of his game so I definitely intend it as a compliment!

-Christine Morgan

NOCTURNAL by Scott Sigler (2012 Hodder & Stoughton / 669 pp / tp)

Bryan and his partner Pookie, Homicide Detectives with the San Francisco Police Department are onto a possible serial killer case, but they have been ordered to stay away by the Chief of Police herself.  There’s something very strange about the case that pulls Bryan and Pookie in anyway.  Not long after visiting the first crime scene Bryan begins to feel sick, suffering debilitating pain and experiencing graphic and realistic nightmares.  When more bodies show up with similarities to the first case and Bryan can describe the crime scenes in detail, Pookie begins to suspect his partner may be a cold-blooded killer.  Pookie decides to give his partner, and friend, the benefit of the doubt when other connections are made with the help of Robin from the Medical Examiner’s Office and Pookie’s old partner John Smith.

As Bryan and Pookie get pulled deeper into the serial murders, thanks to Bryan’s nightmares, they discover a centuries’ old cult; a race of people living in the shadows and underground of San Francisco and the group of Saviors sworn to protect the city’s population.  The cult has recently gotten bolder in their actions because some of them think they have found their next king in an awkward and abused boy named Rex.  Bryan and his partner are shut out of the investigation, and even removed from the force, but when they persist in their investigation they discover, along with the Saviors, that Bryan may be the only person who can stop the murders and put an end to the freakish cult.

Well-written and expertly paced, NOCTURNAL is an imaginative story about what might lurk in the darkness when a city goes to sleep.  Character development is excellent, especially Bryan and Pookie.  There were times when I liked Bryan, times when I hated him and others when he would piss me off—like any three dimensional person would.  Pookie is probably the epitome of a goofy sidekick who turns out to be one damn good cop and friend.  He’s quick on his feet and ready to listen to Bryan; he also suffers from delusions that he’ll eventually write the best cop show on television.  Pookie’s comic relief is well-suited to Bryan’s more serious demeanor, and it is never overdone.  There were a few places in the story where I thought there was maybe a little too much detail or more writing than was necessary, but overall I think Scott Sigler’s novel is a fantastic read.  The book clocks in at almost 670 pages but still manages to be a quick read.  It’s got plenty of blood and gore and a fantastic story.  NOCTURNAL is definitely one to add to your horror collection.

-Colleen Wanglund

THE SHADOW OF THE UNKNOWN edited by AJ French (2011 Static Movement / 236 pp / tp)

While anthologies featuring Lovecraft-inspired stories are quite common, few (that I've read, anyway) are as satusfying as THE SHADOW OF THE UNKNOWN, a collection of 29 tales that range from good to great with only a couple of clunkers.

My favorite piece here is titled QUIETUS by A.A. Garrison.  While the "mirror world" theme of the story has been done many times, Garrison makes it his own and spins an epic yarn in a mere six pages.  The always reliable Gary A. Braunbeck strikes with THE MUSIC OF BLEAK ENTRAINMENT, where an incarcerated man tells of how he and his collegues summoned Cthulhu through a music program.  I always enjoy Braunbeck's first-person stories, this one enhanced with quite a dark conclusion.

Other memorable offerings come from Gene O'Neill (his GRAFFITI SONATA is arguably the most original piece here), AJ French (I found WHEN A CLOWN FACE SPEAKS to be the all-around scariest tale), Geoffrey H. Goodwin (AMENDS FOR AN EARLIER SUMMER is a nice blend of Lovecraft and a 70s occult horror film), and L.E. Badillo (whose claustrophobic IN THE VALLEY OF THE THINGS really gets the goosebumps going).

Some stories feature actual Lovecraft monsters and ideas, while others stray away from both and focus mainly on dark mysteries.  It's always good to see so many newer/unknown authors deliver quality material, and editor French has done a fine job collecting so many solid like-minded tales.  My only gripe is I'd like to have seen a more detailed list of where the reprints had first appeared, but that's only a small complaint.  THE SHADOW OF THE UNKNOWN is well worth your time.

Smell Rating: 2

HUNGRY FOR YOUR LOVE edited by Lori Perkins (2010 St. Martins Griffin / 384 pp / tp and eBook)

Poor zombies … they so rarely get to be sexy! Romance and erotica don’t lend themselves as well to rotting reanimated corpses as to the suave vampire or the animal-passioned werewolf. 

Even in this book, billed as “an anthology of zombie romance,” the majority of the romance focuses more on the living than the living dead. Hookups set during the outbreak and civilization-collapsing struggle for survival, that sort of thing. 

Oh, there is some zombie-on-zombie action, and some love returning from beyond the grave, some steamy pulse-pounding and some gooey blood-dripping … there’s poignant, and amusing, and gruesome … probably a bit of something for everyone. 

One of my personal favorites of the bunch would have to be Kilt Kilpatrick’s “Last Times At Ridgemont High” (and I say this not only because he persuaded me into picking up the anthology or because he DOES look damn cute in a kilt), which is like a teen summer comedy sex fantasy movie, in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. 

Other standouts, IMO, include: “I Heart Brains” by Jaime Saare, which explores an interesting twist on organ donation; Stacey Graham’s icky-fun “Eye of the Beholder;” the haunting “White Night, Black Horse” by Mercy Loomis; R.G. Hart’s noir detective tale “My Partner the Zombie;” and the quicky cooking-show spoof “Julia Brainchild” by Lois H. Gresh. 

The absolute-BEST bit was a priceless phrase, ‘mixed-mortality,’ as in, couples or relationships, from Elizabeth Coldwell’s “Everyone I Love is Dead.” So obvious in retrospect, such perfect wording that it hit me like a smack upside the head. 

-Christine Morgan

ROTTER WORLD by Scott M. Baker (2012 Permuted Press / 283 pp / tp)

When a zombie virus was created in a government lab, vampires stole the virus and released it into the population believing that humans would be so busy with the zombies they would stop hunting vampires.  What those vampires hadn’t counted on was that they would also become zombie food—and make more fearsome zombies when infected.  Eight months later six people are rescued and brought to a compound of survivors.  One of those rescued was Dr. Compton who created the virus in the first place.  Compton also created an antidote and now must make his way, with some help, to the military bunker where his research and equipment is kept to produce it.

Robson, a former Sheriff’s Deputy, will lead a group including Natalie, head of camp security and the Angels of Death, some camp muscle, and six vampires on a mission from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania in the hopes of producing enough of the anti-virus to get it to what’s left of the US government in hiding.  Not only do they have the zombies to deal with, but they also must contend with hatred and mistrust of the vampires and each other.

If you were looking for a twist on the usual zombie lit, well you’ve found it in ROTTER WORLD.  A zombie virus created by man but unleashed by vampires—that’s definitely original.  What’s very cool about the story is that the vampires are just as vulnerable—if not more so because they need to hide in daylight—as the humans.  Supernatural beings are on the same playing field as the humans they wanted to avoid, and now need, to help them survive.  Baker’s characters are nicely developed and not all of the monsters are the flesh-eating kind.  The setting and scenarios are believable (for a zombie story) and sufficiently bloody and violent.  Baker keeps a good pace throughout and manages a less-than-predictable ending.  I highly recommend ROTTER WORLD.

-Colleen Wanglund

PREVIEW:

THE CIRCLE by Bentley Little (to be released October, 2012 by Cemetery Dance Publications / 137 pp / hc)

Told in three sections, THE CIRCLE is the epitome of a classic Bentley Little story: it's strange, at times darkly funny, and best of all genuinely frightening.

A woman answers a frantic knock at her door.  A loin-clothed kid runs in and begins defecating in her bathroom.  But instead of a mess, the kid fills the toilet with diamonds.  When her husband arrives home, the kid is trapped in the garage, now dropping all kinds of precious stones from his ass.  And just when the couple think they'll be rich, the kid begins to spew an endless army of black beetles...

Meanwhile a few blocks away, Frank and his friends muster the nerve to visit the messy backyard of a reputed local witch, intending to ask favors from a sacred shrine they've heard is hidden among the trash...

And finally Gil Marotta, alerted by one of the kids about what just happened at the shrine, decides to investigate only to discover the "witch" is all too real and a petition the neighborhood had signed against her may be the cause of the growing communal chaos.

THE CIRCLE has been one of my favorite Little stories since I first read it back in 2003, where it appeared as part of a four-novella collection from Leisure Books titled FOUR DARK KNIGHTS. The stories' surreal edge and sexual horror have held up well, and is a good place to start if you've never read Little before.

THAT said, Little fans might be disappointed with the book itself: the novella is presented with no forward, introduction, afterword, or any kind of extras.  Die-hard collectors may want this, but otherwise it's just a reprint with a new (hard) cover.

(WARNING: This story does for cunnilingus what JAWS did to beach swimming.  Seriously...)

HORROR FOR GOOD edited by Mark C. Scioneaux, R.J. Cavender, Robert S. Wilson (2012 Cutting Block Press / 404 pp / tp and eBook)

HORROR FOR GOOD is a charitable anthology, all proceeds going to amfAR (the Foundation for AIDS Research, www.amfar.org). That means, by purchasing this book, your support will go toward an important cause … and you’ll get some awesome stories into the bargain. 

Some? There’s 32 stories in here, by new writers, rising stars, seasoned pros, and downright legends. 

They span the scary spectrum, from subtle to splat, from haunting to humorous. The whole emotional gamut. There’s supernatural, ghostly and mythic … there’s the even worse kinds of evil that people do to each other … there’s insanity, obsession, mania, fanaticism … there’s stories with a sci-fi edge and stories with religious angles … there really is a little of everything.

And rest assured that even with it being a charity anthology, hence writing by donation, nobody here was phoning it in. 

I mean, damn it, Jack Ketchum’s “Returns” made me CRY!!! Choked up, tearful, sniffly, the works. I don’t know if that qualifies it as my favorite, but it sure made an impact. 

Fortunately, Jeff Strand’s quirky “The Apocalypse Aint So Bad” leaned the other way into the brighter side of gruesome infectious pandemics. 

I went through the book meaning to mark down the ones that really struck me as being among the best of the best, and before you know it I had marked more than a third of them!

Admittedly, there were a couple that didn’t resonate with me for whatever reason, but even then it was nothing to do with the quality of the writing, just one of those personal ‘not my thing’ things. 

So, I’m just going to list off the other ten of my top twelve, and recommend that you snag this book to read them all and decide for yourself. 

“Mouth” by Nate Southard

“The Silent Ones” by Taylor Grant

“The Other Patrick” by Brad C. Hodson

“Baptism” by Tracie McBride

“The Monster in the Drawer” by Wrath James White

“Blood for the American People” by Lisa Morton

“Consanguinity” by Lorne Dixon

“To and Fro” by Richard Salter 

“The Depravity of Inanimate Things” by John F.D. Taff

“The Eyes Have It” by Rena Mason

-Christine Morgan

SYMPHONY OF BLOOD: A HANK MONDALE SUPERNATURAL CASE by Adam Pepper (2012 Amazon Digital Services / 408 KB / eBook)

Private detective Hank Mondale has been hired by one of the wealthiest men around, Thomas Blake to help his daughter Mackenzie.  Mackenzie is a spoiled trust fund kid who has had her problems with drugs and alcohol but now it seems a monster is trying to kill her.  As Hank’s investigation into Mackenzie and her friends lead back to a few murder cases with eerie similarities, He discovers the monster hunting Mackenzie is all too real.

SYMPHONY OF BLOOD is a fast paced story that moves from the point of view of the people involved to the point of view of the monster.  This change in perspective is what makes this story so interesting.  The character development is good if not a bit cliché.  Hank is a stereotypical private-dick-with-a-drinking/gambling problem but I like the noir-ish feel it adds to the book.  Thomas Blake is the typical rich guy used to getting his way and his daughter is a sufficiently spoiled brat.  Ultimately the trouble they get into is fairly predictable but it’s the monster and Pepper’s storytelling that are unique.  The monster itself is only trying to survive and it’s an accident that gets Mackenzie and her father involved.

When the story seems to reach its climax, perspective changes and we are then told the story from the monster’s side.  That’s when things get really interesting because you will begin to wonder just who the monster really is.  Hank is thrown into the middle of it all, but he takes his job very seriously and intends to protect Mackenzie at almost any cost.  The story finishes up back from the perspective of the people but the monster doesn’t become any less sympathetic.  Overall I enjoyed SYMPHONY OF BLOOD and look forward to more Hank Mondale tales.

-Colleen Wanglund

FAINT OF HEART by Jeff Strand (2012 Gallows Press / 156 pp / tp)

Jeff Strand may have a reputation for being somewhat wacky (I mean that in the best possible way), but, while there are some wacky moments in FAINT OF HEART, overall it is anything but. Overall, it is grim, scary, and anxiety-inducing intense. 

Rebecca isn’t phobic about EVERYTHING, but she has more than the average share of unease, apprehension, and fears. The biggie is being alone, which gives her tracherous mind plenty of time to come up with horrible possibilities and paranoia, listing off all the other things she could and should be worried about. 

Rebecca also doesn’t like being too clingy, or having her husband find out how much of a scaredy-cat she really is. So, when Gary and his pals want to take a weekend camping trip, she has to grit her teeth, smile, and let him go. Sure, she’ll be home by herself for a few days … their house is remote, but it’s got a security system … she’ll be fine.

Except Gary doesn’t return on schedule. Then a stranger shows up at her door. Suddenly Rebecca has REAL things to worry about, and it’s only going to get worse. 

She soon finds herself caught in a nightmarish scenario, when two gunmen inform her that they’ve abducted her husband. If she wants to see him alive, she has to agree to reliving everything Gary’s experienced on his camping trip weekend from hell. 

It means facing her greatest fears, overcoming terrors that put even her most paranoid imaginings to shame, to find out if love really can conquer all, and if anybody’s worth going through something like this. 

Creepy damn book. Yet another reason to never want to go outside!

-Christine Morgan

Z-BOAT by Suzanne Robb (2011 Twisted Library Press / 280 pp / tp)

In a world of changing political powers, over-population, unusable farmland and toxic water, research has moved to the deepest parts of the planet’s oceans for clean sources of drinking water and new medications.  On one such mission, the sub and its crew were lost.  Six months later a barely sea-worthy sub, the Betty Lou, is contracted to rescue survivors and retrieve any research they may have gathered.

Among Captain Iain’s ragtag crew are members going along that are hand-picked for their various expertise by the mission’s contractors.  What they find when they get to The Widowmaker, it is full of zombies--that could think enough to have sent the original distress call.  Unsure of the cause of the outbreak, Iain’s crew must contend with not just the zombies but spies, mistrust and possible sabotage.

Z-BOAT is a rather fun and original take on a sub-genre that can be overloaded with generic, identical and predictable stories.  The potential cause is a little different, but no less scary and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the entire novel will keep you on edge.  Character development is well-done (although a bit cliché here and there) and there is no lack of human enemies as well as zombies looking to feed.  Z-BOAT is chock full of gory goodness as well as violence verging on extreme.  The end is rather bleak, leaving the reader with the feeling that whatever happened below the waves may not be entirely over.  Suzanne Robb did a great job on this book and you should definitely give it a read.

-Colleen Wanglund

LOCKE & KEY by Joe Hill (2009-2012 IDW / tp)

HOW IN THE WORLD HAD I NOT KNOWN ABOUT THESE BEFORE?!?!?!??!??! 

Joe Hill’s expert writing, amazing art by Gabriel Rodriguez to go with? Dark fantasy / horror / Lovecraftian graphic novels? Spooky as hell, gorgeous, fantastic? 

Got them for my birthday, the four trade-sized books collecting the issues to date, and I’d had no idea they even existed!

On the plus side, if I HAD known about them, I would’ve had to endure the agony of waiting for each new installment instead of being able to devour them in a gulp. Of course, NOW I have to wait for the NEXT volume …

These are, it should hardly need be pointed out, decidedly NOT “comics,” and not for kids. The graphic here includes blood, guts, death, murder, gore, and other adult themes from sex and alcoholism to homohpbia to rape.

So. There’s this decrepit old mansion called Keyhouse. It’s got many doors, some of which are normal and others of which are most decidedly not. Many of those doors have hidden keys that open a variety of strange possibilities – doors to ghost worlds, animate shadows, innermost thoughts  … each more bizarre than the last. 

The Lockes have lived at Keyhouse for generations. Something else lives there too, something that had been trapped but is eager to escape, hungry for power, and in the mood for revenge. When a violent tragedy brings the Locke children back to their ancestral home, that malevolent spirit has its chance. 

Not since ELFQUEST have I been so captivated and blown away by anything so rich in both illustration and story. It’s intricate, complex, compelling, and just all-around fantastic stuff. 

-Christine Morgan

COMING IN JULY:

Yet more selections for your summer reading list as the HFR staff continues to make their way through one MASSIVE TO - BE - REVIEWED pile...

May, 2012 Reviews

MAY, 2012 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)

(We begin this issue with Nick & Christine's annual DUAL review of the latest Bentley Little novel...)

THE HAUNTED by Bentley Little (2012 Signet / 389 pp / mmp)

Julian and Claire Perry, along with their young son and teenage daughter, move to a better neighborhood in New Mexico.  They love the new house, although each one begins to have issues with it, stemming from similar nightmares they share as well as sightings of a creepy old man in the basement.

Each family member then becomes haunted in different ways: daughter Megan begins receiving perverted (and then deadly) messages on her cell phone with no return number; son James partakes in a game of Old Maid where the Maid becomes all to real...and threatening, and for some reason finds himself craving dirt as a snack (!).  Julian begins having unusual sexual desires for Claire, and starts seeing the man in the basement outside of the house (it's later learned he's a homeless man who had died in their basement).  And Claire--haunted by the death of a child--begins to research their house and community at a local library.  Of course what she finds is anything but positive.

The first half of THE HAUNTED ranks within the top five of Little's scariest novels: he gets the goosebumps going, and despite the familiarity of a haunted house tale, manages to get under the reader's skin and pull out a few surprises (especially when we learn what this thing is that's driving the Perry family crazy).  But it seems as if Little has held back here: readers expecting things to get as demented as in past novels may be a bit disappointed.  His macabre edge has taken a holiday this time out; things DO begin to head in that direction, but not to the extent of novels such as THE MAILMAN or THE RESORT.  

Little's 22nd novel blends the classic story line of his older novels with the emotion of his more recent experiments, resulting in a horror tale that--while satisfying--may leave some of the author's fans wanting more.

A slightly above average outing, worth it for the aforementioned first-half's chill factor.

Smell Rating: 4

-Nick Cato

THE HAUNTED by Bentley Little (2012 Signet / 389 pp / mmp)

You know how, in most of those haunted house stories, be they book or movie, the family who moves into the new place spends most of their time and energy on the denial treadmill? 

Insisting there’s no such thing as ghosts, haunting isn’t real, telling themselves they didn’t really experience that, looking for logical explanations? Not leaving, and not leaving, and not leaving? While the evidence piles up until you just want to scream at them to quit being idiots?

That’s one of the tropes Bentley Little decides to turn on its head in his latest book. Right from the get-go, the characters are up-front and accepting about the house being haunted (they each don’t want to be the first one to bring it up, obviously). There’s ghosts, it’s dangerous, they KNOW this, and still, they don’t leave. 

Why not? Well, for the real-world reasons most of us would hesitate. In this economy? After already going through the hassles of loans, mortgages, paperwork? Can we afford it? Could we even find a buyer? In any sort of good conscience, CAN we foist this place off on some other unsuspecting sap? And so on. 

Add in assorted family drama (in-laws, a past tragedy/mystery) and other issues (weird behavior from the neighbors), and you’ve got a tense, understandable, believable, frustrating mess that the Perrys have landed in. 

Then just add evil. Things inexplicably getting moved around. Creepy, nasty text and computer messages. Obsessions. Glimpses of a figure in the basement. Discoveries about the house’s history … not only the house, but the entire area … 

Overall, I didn’t find it as enjoyable as others of Little’s works – THE STORE, THE ASSOCIATION, THE IGNORED, or DOMINION, for instance – but a good read with solid characters. There were maybe a few elements left unresolved, but some fun touches and memorable chills.

-Christine Morgan

ANIMOSITY by James Newman (2011 Necessary Evil Press / 236 pp  /  limited edition hc and eBook)

Andy Holland is a successful horror writer, both for adults and with a Young Adult novel series.  He had a beautiful wife Karen until a recent divorce and has a young daughter Samantha, who is the most important person in Andy’s life.  Andy still lives in the same house in a neighborhood that he thought couldn’t be more perfect.  It was safe and his neighbors were friendly….until the day, while out walking his dog, Andy discovers the dead body of a little girl.

Andy is horrified by what he sees, but manages to wrangle the dog and get back home to call the police.  What Andy doesn’t realize is that his seemingly good life is about to slowly unravel.  It begins with the police questioning him as though he may be a suspect.  It seems something from Andy’s past is now coming back to haunt him.  As time passes, the neighbors are no longer friendly and the news reports focus more on a stupid mistake made when he was young instead of the girl and her rape and murder.  They stop speaking to him and begin to take out their suspicions on his property.  Initially Andy tries to rationalize their behavior, until they kill his dog.  It seems the once friendly neighbors now believe that Andy is a pedophile/murderer….all because he is a writer of horror fiction.  I mean, anyone who can dream up such horrible things must be an evil person, right?

What strikes me about ANIMOSITY is that these are normal and generally good people, but the mob mentality sets in with a vengeance, making for a potentially real scenario and a very scary final confrontation.  The writing is wonderful and flows without a hitch and Newman’s character development is perfect.  As shocking as the events in the story are, I could see something like this happening, especially in a small, tight-knit community.  With a revealing introduction by author Ray Garton and fantastic illustrations by Alex McVey, ANIMOSITY is definitely one to get your hands on.  And beware of the neighbors.

-Colleen Wanglund

THE TROUBLE WITH HAIRY by Hal Bodner (2012 CreateSpace / 442 pp / eBook and tp)

In this sequel to Bodner's 2005 novel BITE CLUB, a series of pet deaths hits West Hollywood,  and while the police take notice, they don't take action until human corpses start piling up.  Coroner Becky O'Brien notices a similarity with each victim, and not only by how they died: they each happened to be gay men, which reminds her of the vampire attacks of a few years earlier.

When two old women discover a naked man eating one of their pets in their backyard, he is arrested--and when Becky catches wind of this, she contacts gay vampire Chris to once again come in and help the police identify the suspect.  Chris arrives with his boyfriend Troy (much of their dialogue is hysterical) and it doesn't take long for Chris to realize the naked man in police custody is actually a werewolf, one of many living in the area.

Once Bodner gets things going, the laughs come fast and furious, as do several suspense scenes that'll have you tearing through the pages.  One chapter featuring City Manager Pamela Burman who--while "babysitting" the werewolf suspect--takes him out to a fancy restaurant and things (of course) go haywire.  This whole segment had me laughing out loud, and was just a taste of things to come in the second half of the novel.

This is a smart, finely-crafted horror comedy, its only flaw being a bit TOO much character background given when things start to take off: these several areas slow the pace down, but it's worth sifting through the info. overload to get to the goods.

If horror comedies are your thing, this should be right up your alley.

CONTAINMENT ROOM 7 by Bryan Hall (2011 Permuted Press / 240 pp / tp & eBook)

Sci-fi horror in space is something that we don’t seem to get nearly enough of, but CONTAINMENT ROOM 7 goes a ways toward making up for that lack. 

Welcome to DARC12, a Deep-space Atomic Research Craft, a ship so enormous and with such an extensive crew that it is to all intents and purposes its own starfaring small town. Living areas, entertainment and recreation facilities, shopping areas … everything to keep people occupied and less likely to crack under the psychological strain. 

Plus, there’s the science decks, where various research projects and experiments are conducted. Things not necessarily strictly legal on Earth, but, close enough in the space equivalent of international waters. On one of these science decks is Bio-lab 5, and in Bio-lab 5 is containment room 7, and that’s where it all starts going wrong. 

Well, technically, it starts going wrong a bit before then. It starts going wrong when, during the course of a mission observing a black hole, the ship’s scanners detect an object emerging. It appears to be organic material rather than mere rock. They bring it aboard for further study. The initial tests turn up nothing conclusive, but the object itself proves to have a disturbing effect on some of the crew. They’re hearing voices, having strange thoughts, becoming obsessed with the thing. Then the killing starts. 

And oh wow is there a lot of killing! Bad as it is to have a single murderer loose on board, what do you do when there’s several? What do you do when the madness spreads? What do you do when corpses start disappearing and lab animals escape? What CAN you do, when this is happening on a spaceship? When you’re the head of a dwindling security force and one of an even more dwindling group of survivors? It’s got intense remoteness, isolation and claustrophobia aspects – there’s no escape, nowhere to go, the surrounding environment is even deadlier than the threats on board, help is far beyond reach. 

The characters are memorable and strong, with believable relationships that enhance the story. The pace never lets up, the violence is gooshy and visceral, the technology is presented in natural and understandable ways even to the non-savvy like me, the writing is good. 

Really, my only complaint with the whole book is that it uses “alright,” and that’s just one of those that I know I have to get used to, language changes and evolves, etc. … but still gets under my skin. I’d love to see CONTAINMENT ROOM 7 done on film, or maybe as a video game; it’s got all the right elements.

-Christine Morgan

DEAD HUNGER II: THE GEM CARDOZA CHRONICLE by Eric A. Shelman (2012 Dolphin Moon Publishing / 350 pp / tp)

Flex, Hemp, Gem, Charlie and Trina are back in the sequel to DEAD HUNGER: THE FLEX SHERIDAN CHRONICLE and they have recently lost the safety of Flex’s home in the Georgia woods and are on the move.  They stop back at the CDC to get Max, Cynthia and Taylor, who are running out of power and in danger of being overrun by zombies.  The ragtag group of survivors decides to make their way into Alabama to a military facility where they might be able to get some help and give them any information Hemp has discovered through his experiments on the undead.

In the first DEAD HUNGER, the virus attacked the living with symptoms of severe headaches prior to turning.  Now they have discovered that after prolonged heavy rains, the previously dead are making their way out of the cemeteries.  The group finds an almost empty steel warehouse that proves to be perfect for their needs—a safe place to hide and where Hemp the scientist can continue his research.  While out on various supply runs, the group discovers something strange occurring to poison ivy plants.  They also discover something very odd in pools of standing water.  After Hemp makes some very good progress, the group decides it is time to move on and possibly find other survivors and maybe help end the zombie scourge ravaging civilization.

DEAD HUNGER II picks up right where the first novel left off, after Gem’s very brief description of her experiences with the outbreak before making her way to finding Flex (the story is told entirely from Gem’s point of view, like a journal).  The continuing story and character development are very good and as strong as in DEAD HUNGER.  I have some issues where certain scenarios seem too-good-to-be-true and some incidents a little too convenient, but there is plenty of gore and zombie action to make up for that.  These are so far the ultimate survivors who just might end up saving the world.  DEAD HUNGER II is a lot of fun and keeps a good pace.  I will say that you must read the first book before reading this one so you are up on all that is happening.  Overall I think the series is a good one and I look forward to more DEAD HUNGER CHRONICLES from Eric Shelman.

-Colleen Wanglund

AS I EMBRACE MY JAGGED EDGES by Lee Thompson (2011 Sideshow Digital / 28 pp / eBook-chapbook)

Thompson's brief tale gives a modern spin on the Golem story, and ads an interesting Jewish family-battling-ancient-evil spin on things.  With a twist ending and some truly disturbing ideas, this is a fine introduction to an author I'll definitely be reading more from.

THE LOON by Michaelbrent Collings (2011 CreateSpace / 372 pp / tp & eBook)

It’s always so nice to find one where hardcore asylum-crazy is done RIGHT! As opposed to, say, the Hollywood version. 

The Crane Institute – known as the Loon to anyone not within earshot of Dr. Crane, who doesn’t find it even slightly humorous – is not a place with therapy groups, crafts, or quirky patients who are well-groomed and really just misunderstood. 

It’s a scary place. A scary place of restraints, heavy medication, and staff who take the security measures very seriously. It’s a prison of the old school, a fortress, a hulking pile of thick walls, locked doors and bars. 

It’s where the worst of the worst are kept. Mentally ill offenders, in the legal parlance. Effin’ sick monsters, in other words. These guys aren’t here to be counseled, treated, rehabilitated or cured. They are here because since we can’t exactly put them down like rabid dogs, they’ve gotta be kept somewhere. 

So, yes, in terms of the setting and psychopathology, the author nails it. In terms of realistic characters who have reasons to be where they are, also nails it. In terms of writing, dialogue, action, everything. Nails it!

And in terms of the trope where your characters are someplace already isolated and dangerous, and you want to cut them off further from rescue/escape? Instead of the Total Coincidental Storm Of The Century popping up midway through out of nowhere, this time it’s established right from the beginning, taken into account, and plausible. 

Even the plot with the woman and her kid who show up makes sense. When you’re on the run from such a bad scenario that seeking refuge at the asylum seems safer, you know things have really hit the fan. 

All that, plus Dr. Crane turns out to be a mad scientist conducting heinous experiments? Something even deadlier than the inmates lurks in the hidden recesses of the Loon?  Something that gets OUT to go on a ravenous rampage? Awwww yeah! 

But, you know what? I was hooked long before any of that. I was hooked by the prologue, which presents the tragic anguish and agony of a parent facing the most terrible possible loss in a too-true and heartwrenching way. 

THE LOON is, hands down, an excellent book. I read it in the span of two days and would have finished it even quicker if there hadn’t been all these WHC panels and events that kept getting in the way!

-Christine Morgan

PARADIGMS OF SUFFERING: DIG THE KNIFE DEEPER by Greg Dixon (2011Visions Given Life Publishing  /  212 pp / tp)

In this fourth installment of the PARADIGMS OF SUFFERING series of books, Greg Dixon has managed to continue his stories of the macabre and extreme.

The first novella-length story is entitled “Worked to Death.”  Kevin has left his former employer and joined the internship program of the biggest and best property appraisal firm in Florida.  He soon discovers the program, as well as the company, is not what he bargained for.  Hours are ridiculously long, the workload never ceases to end, and the company seems to be using illegal and unethical tactics to maintain their status and earnings.  It is seriously stressed to the interns that they may not go to the second floor, where all of the real action takes place until they have completed their rigorous training.  The general consensus is that the firm will work their employees to death.  Unfortunately for Kevin, he is about to discover just how true that statement really is.

The second story is “The Family that Preys Together” and begins with a career criminal staking out a home for burglary while the owners are having a yard sale.  He plans to return later with an excuse to get into the house and see the layout.  Tim has decided that this will be the last job of his crew in the current town because the police are on to them.  What Tim doesn’t know is that his potential victim knows who he is.  When Tim returns to the house later in the evening he is invited in.  What Tim doesn’t realize until it’s too late is that his life of crime is about to come to an abrupt and painful end.

The third and final story is “Tracking Carrie (Next Day Delivery)” and tells the story of Carrie, a girl who just can’t seem to catch a break in her life.  She has a job delivering packages, and her father (whom she does not get along with) has recently moved in with her.  Carrie is not happy.  Carrie has been making regular deliveries to Jonathan, who has taken an interest in Carrie.  She thinks he’s creepy but he has convinced her that he’s giving some good advice—a form of therapy.  Carrie decides she’s going to leave her hometown and start over again in California, and she’s convinced that it was Jonathan’s therapy that has helped her.  Jonathan did not intend for Carrie to make her own changes to her life.  He expected to make those changes for her—through death and rebirth.  What’s truly horrifying about this one is discovering the people from Carrie’s life who are in collusion with Jonathan’s plans.

I have read Dixon’s previous PARADIGMS OF SUFFERING and this one lives up to all of my expectations.  The horror is extreme—just how I like it—and the people and circumstances are truly twisted.  Dixon’s writing is poetic and descriptive, allowing for the dark beauty of the gore to shine through.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the POS series of books are all self-published.  They are beautifully done and expertly edited.  I highly recommend all of the PARADIGMS OF SUFFERING.  I, for one, can’t wait to read more by Greg Dixon.

-Colleen Wanglund

PREVIEW:

WUFTOOM by Mary G. Thompson (to be released 5/8/12 by Clarion Books / 250 pp / hc)

For two years, Evan has been bedridden.  No doctor can explain what is wrong with him, but a worm-like creature who visits him in the night informs him he is becoming one of them.  Evan is also visited by a Vitfly, a winged creature who attempts to use him to locate the hideout of the Wuftoom, the name of the race of worms Evan is transforming into.  As a bribe, the Vitfly manages to let Evan "enter" some of the kids at his school, giving him a taste of what he's been missing since becoming ill.

Evan eventually turns into one of the Wuftoom, yet his mind remains mostly human: his memories of his human mother continually haunt him, something the elder Wuftoom tell him must stop if he is to survive in his new state.  But as Evan learns to live in his new body, and use Wuftoom-designed hunting weapons, the Vitflies get to him: Evan is faced with defending his new race, or selling them out so the Vitflies don't eat his mother.  An inevitable war between Wuftoom and Vitfly ensues, leading up to a heartbreaking but satisfying conclusion.

WUFTOOM is an inventive dark fantasy, loaded with creepy crawlers, savage battles, and a host of interesting characters (both human and non-human).  As a plus, it isn't afraid to hide the gruesomeness of what it must be like for a former human to live like an animal (some of the feeding scenes are quite grim, although written in a non-offensive manner).  But the novel's highlight is it's study of loyalty and the all-too human way Evan reacts to the new challenges he continually faces.

Yet another fine modern YA title that's equally as enjoyable for adults (not to mention the author's first novel).  Check it out.

Smell Rating: 1

A SUCCUBUS FOR HALLOWEEN by M.E. Hydra (2011 eXcessia publishing / 276 pp / tp)

Ooh, smut! 

Or, to be more precise, an entire collection of erotic horror with emphasis very much on the erotic. Some of the stories contained herein had appeared on Literotica, a site with which I’m more than passingly familiar – in fact, I discovered that I’d already enjoyed some of this author’s work!

The main theme here is monster-women. Demonic, mythic, alien, inhuman … but all of them beautiful, dangerous, powerful, strong, sexy, and ravenous. They prey on lusty men and drain them dry in more ways than one. 

And, wow … hot stuff here, more than a little disturbing HOW hot … if you like dominant females who use and discard men (I was going to put “chew them up and spit them out” but they don’t always spit them out!) … if you think all that schoolgirl-and-tentacle porn needs some equitable counterbalance … if “vore” doesn’t automatically send you screaming for the hills … this might be one for you. 

As the title suggests, the succubi are well-represented here, lots of sexbomb demonesses with wings and tails, stealers of semen and souls and life-essence. But there’s also a naga, and sirens, and crab-centaur girls, and fetishes-brought-to-life in ways that boggle the imagination. 

The writing is … vivid, to say the least! Lots of description in lots of detail, lots of action also in vivid detail. There isn’t the sort of violence, mutilation and gore you might find in other books (of which I’ve also reviewed more than a few); the victimization here is pretty much of the men and whether they deserve it or not varies but most of them love it right up until it’s too late. 

A SUCCUBUS FOR HALLOWEEN is kinky and depraved, a sensory feast of wicked sex-gluttony. I enjoyed it far more than is probably decent to admit!

-Christine Morgan

THE RETURN MAN by V.M. Zito (2012 Orbit Books / 448 pp / mmp)

The western half of the United States, from the Mississippi River has been devastated by a zombie outbreak.  Referred to as the Evacuated States, there is a permanent quarantine in place.  The eastern United States are over-crowded by millions, the economy is lousy, and food is at a premium because of the devastation done to the American farmland.  Marco never left the Evacuated States.  He lives in a compound in Arizona, with the hope of finding his wife, alive or zombie.  Along with his brother-in-law in the Safe States, Marco takes contracts from people to locate their loved ones and put them out of their undead misery.

In Marco’s previous life he was a neurologist who worked with friend and mentor Roger Ballard.  Ballard was close to finding the cause and a vaccine when the military prison in which he was doing his research became overrun.  Now the new government wants Marco to find Ballard and either bring him, or his research back before others find him.  Marco is in a race against time to find Ballard before a Chinese operative or a ruthless militia called The Horsemen can get to him.

I have read a ton of zombie lit….more books than I can count.  Some have been good, some great, and others not so great (and yes occasionally the truly awful).  THE RETURN MAN is one of the great ones.  Zito has written a solid story with plenty of zombie goodness and gore and his character development is perfect.  I really empathized with Marco and understood his reasons for staying in the infected part of the country.  What really stands out for me, though, is the explanation for what has caused the outbreak.  It’s based in legitimate science, which actually scares the crap out of me.  He has also brought out major political implications in the story, both at home and abroad.  This isn’t world-wide, but could the outbreak escape the quarantined area?  Is this a bio-weapon—or could it become one?  What did the government know and when did they know it?  THE RETURN MAN is an excellent addition to the zombie sub-genre and you should definitely add it to your library.

-Colleen Wanglund

PREVIEW:

THE FRENZY WAR by Gregory Lamberson (to be released 6/12 by Medallion Press / 392 pp / tp)

The second installment in Lamberson's "Frenzy Series" picks up two years after the events of THE FRENZY WAY.  With serial killer/werewolf Rodrigo Gomez behind bars, things have been quiet in New York City.  Mace--the hero cop who put Gomez away--is now taking it easy, working with a K-9 unit in Brooklyn as his wife Cheryl's local news career begins to take off.  But when a murder and kidnapping at a Manhattan occult book store shows signs of involvement from the Brotherhood of Turquemadans (a top secret, Vatican-sponsored werewolf exterminating squad), Mace is called back into the game to head a secret NYPD operation to weed them out.  And when the Brotherhood begin blowing up known wolf hideouts, Mace's team (as well as the FBI and National Guard) go after them as they would a terrorist cell.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood torture bookstore clerk Rhonda, she a werewolf, in an attempt to obtain info on her fellow wolves' wereabouts.  All hell breaks loose when--on the eve of a groundbreaking live TV interview with Rodrigo Gomez from prison--the Brotherhood manage to abduct Cheryl, throwing her in the same holding pen as Rhonda.

Mace is now forced to team-up with Gabriel, the head wolf of the greater New York Pack, to rescue both his wife and Rhonda.  During these happenings, future police lieutenant Willy learns a dark secret about his co-worker/girlfriend Karol, and the Brotherhood are on the verge of releasing a video that will finally convince the world werewolves are all too real.

THE FRENZY WAR is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of action, violence, and intrigue that builds suspense right up to the last page.  Lamberson employs a large cast, but the reader is never confused despite the ever-growing chaos.  While you won't be lost if you've missed the first novel, I'm betting this is essential reading before the third book, which can't arrive fast enough.

A total blast of shape-shifting mayhem that'll have you wondering just whose side you're on.  GREAT wrap-around cover art by Patrick Reilly, too.

Smell Rating: 1

GARGOYLE GIRLS OF SPIDER ISLAND by Cameron Pierce (2011 Eraserhead Press / 100 pp / tp & eBook)

Yes, the title sounds like a vintage schlock horror movie or a made-for-SyFy original … the kind of thing with hilariously bad special effects and actors nobody’s ever heard of or will ever be seen again. 

It may even start out that way, what with the college kids out on the boat for a weekend of surf, sun, beer, and bikinis. 

Sure, Allan’s an oaf and Jane’s a first-class bitch, but Oscar hopes this might be his big opportunity to get out of the friend-zone with Collette. 

But then there’s machete-waving pirates, and then there’s a shark … 

And then it takes a sharp left turn into sheer WTF, accelerates, and keeps on going. 

By the time you’re getting to the parts where multi-orificed vagina-dentata blob monsters are raping guys to death … or someone hiding a stick of dynamite where the sun doesn’t shine seems like a perfectly sensible strategy … 

You know those delirium nightmares you get when you’re running an off-the-charts fever, on epic doses of meds, and you wake up not sure what reality you’re in? This book is a lot like that. 

Really, once you begin reading, the best you can do is check your brain at the door, buckle up, and hold on.

-Christine Morgan

THE SILVER COAST AND OTHER STORIES by Daniel Powell (2012 Distillations Press / 225 pp / tp)

THE SILVER COAST AND OTHER STORIES is a collection of eleven stories that deal with the human condition in all its gory glory and the victims left in its wake.

One of my favorites is “Charts and Graphs” about a college professor who begins receiving harassing charts and graphs that seemed to document Emerson’s life spiraling out of control.  He becomes obsessed until he finds the person responsible, but he learns how to get his revenge and possibly get his life back.

Another favorite is “The Mermaids of Ichnipopka Springs” about a small town in Florida with thriving citrus crops year after year.  A group of researchers have learned about the odd phenomenon but are unwittingly thrown into a deadly ritual to ensure those annual bumper crops.

Other very good stories include “Permission” about a man who is told to ask for help so that something can be done about a bad person—but who is he asking, God or the Devil? “The Silver Coast” about a special boxing match to save the human race from murderous aliens; “Life on the Other Side” about a post-apocalyptic world that has been shaken by the Silence Virus and a man’s determination to get into the containment zone to find his wife; and “A Daughter Crosses the Desert” another post-apocalyptic tale set in a nuclear ravaged future where a couple hopes to find some help before the birth of their daughter.

All of the stories in this collection are good ones, although I found myself liking some much more than others.  Powell’s writing style is very good and does make even the few stories that I found less than stellar to at least still be entertaining.  It’s definitely worth a look.

-Colleen Wanglund

TORN by Lee Thomas (2011 Cemetery Dance Publications / 130 pp / limited edition hardcover)

Lee Thomas delivers the latest installment in Cemetery Dance's novella series, this time pitting a small town sheriff against a group of shape-shifting creatures.

Sheriff Bill Cranston's wife self-medicates in retaliation to an affair she's convinced he's having while their two young daughters are hardly looked after.  With his home life in turmoil, Cranston is called to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Maggie.  They discover her in the woods, tied to stakes, yet unharmed; turns out she was used as bait by a werewolf-like creature to send a message.  The creature also savagely kills Arthur, a man who volunteered to search for Maggie, then seemingly vanishes despite being shot twice by Cranston.

The next day Cranston learns a suspect has been caught; in his jail's small cell is Douglas Sykes, a nutcase who answer questions in poetic riddles and has the same bullet wounds on him as the creature he had shot the previous evening.  Sykes then delivers a warning that a group of creatures are about to attack the small town of Luther's Bend, looking for him.  Cranston eventually believes Sykes is indeed a shape-shifting creature, and takes precautions in an attempt to protect his family and his town.  An exciting and gruesome battle soon plays out at the police station.

TORN is a top-notch novella that packs as much punch as most full-length novels.  Lee's creature feature also deals with Cranston's inner demons, and will leave the reader with much food for self-contemplation.  This is a smart, expertly-written graphic horror tale enhanced by some great interior artwork by Vincent Chong.

Smell Rating: 2

GENITAL GRINDER by Ryan Harding (2012 Deadite Press / 168 pp / tp & eBook)

When a prologue entitled “Enjoy the Gang-Rape” by Edward Lee warns you what you’re getting into, including the phrase even more fucked up in the head than ME, you might want to strongly consider the advice, and the source. You might want to reconsider the book in your hands. 

Of course, if you’re the type of person who’d pick up a book called GENITAL GRINDER in the first place, hey, it’s probably too late for you already. Even so, you might be in for some shocking, revolting, or nasty surprises along the way. 

Ryan Harding’s collection of cleverly interconnected tales is, well, it’s … gross. Really, really, seriously, sincerely gross. 

“Bottom Feeder,” the first story, involves a guy so desperate at last call that he goes home with a fat chick, and everyone knows how pathetically eager for any kind of attention THEY are … yuck. Sorry. That whole dynamic is one that offends and pisses me off. So! Movin’ on. 

“Damaged Goods” features Von and Greg, the Disgusting Duo, who possess between them just about any repulsive habit you’d be better off not imagining. Their idea of a lucky night is one in which they find a hit-and-run victim still fresh roadkill and bring her home for a good time. 

“Sharing Needles” is a creepy story in which the true identity of a serial killer hits too close to home, and plots of revenge, murder and alibis get all tangled up in an evil battle of wits and wills. 

“Genital Grinder: A Snuff Film in Five Acts” continues the sick adventures of Von and Greg, when the pair take it into their heads to create the world’s first actual genuine sex-murder movie. Suffice to say, there’s a lot more murder than sex, and it is by no means quick clean murder. This is where the mutilation factor ramps waaaaaaaay up, plus messy discharge and maggots and fun stuff like that. 

“Development” takes the form of a series of journal entries by a guy who learns a lot of local secrets and kinks courtesy of his job developing photographic film (back in our day, junior, cameras used FILM!), and this leads him to the acquaintance of a man with a basement full of kidnapped, shacked sex-slaves. 

“Emissary” involves films of yet another kind than snuff or photographic, though not too far removed from the latter … a video store employee with a thing for gruesome deaths caught on tape wonders if there’s a conspiracy going on when he starts seeing some of the ‘stars’ going around alive and well. 

Then it’s time for “Genital Grinder II: Dis-Membered,” in which Von and Greg return yet again with another brilliant money-making scheme to hold a dick for ransom (yes, it IS what you’re probably thinking), but it all goes terribly wrong. There’s more mutilation, there’s creative surgeries and more creative culinary efforts … Von and Greg have a friend named Sammy who makes even THEM look halfway tame … it’s so far beyond wrong you can’t even see ‘wrong’ from there. 

“Final Indication” is the last story, a surreal look at the Y2K hysteria combined with art and infection and suggestibility and more. I suspect it was more profound than I was able to give it credit for, mostly because my brain was (and is) still reeling from the preceding stories. 

Overall, the most positive thing I can think of to say about GENITAL GRINDER is “hey, at least there’s bad shit happening to the MALE characters, too, at least the mutilation and abuse is more equitable than most …” 

Okay, when THAT’S the most positive thing I can think of, and I have a sufficient range of comparison TO say it, I may need to reevaluate my reading habits … ahh, but who’m I kidding? 

But, yeah, Ed Lee may have been right!

-Christine Morgan

HARRY WALL'S MAN by John Leahy (2011 Malange Books, LLC  / 58 pp / eBook)

After famous architect Harry Wall dies of a drug overdose, his former wife contacts another architect, Ridley Case, to help her understand what was going through her ex-husband's head during his final days.

It turns out Harry's last creation--a 29-story building shaped like a man--is made of a most unusual steel, one that's known for moving on its own. Ridley, along with a website geek, manage to get a room in the building and try to help the current residents who are unknowingly fueling the building as it slowly begins to...come alive. But Ridley finds out too late the geek had other plans.

HARRY WALL'S MAN is an inventive dark fantasy, although it ends a bit too abruptly for my taste. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on Leahy.

BENJAMIN'S PARASITE by Jeff Strand (2009 Delirium Books / 232 pp / hc, tp, & eBook)

If Janet Evanovich decided to collaborate with Ed Lee to write wacky whacked-out body horror, the results would be something like this. 

BENJAMIN'S PARASITE is laugh-out-loud hilarity even as it’s shriek-and-flinch grotesque. It sustains both, at full throttle, from start to finish, with the manic glee that only someone like Jeff Strand can pull off. 

The story begins with a teenager attacking his mom with a meat cleaver, and that’s just the opening scene. Naturally, they’d like to blame it on those violent video games, but little does anyone know what really made the kid go berserk. 

Until, that is, his high school English teacher gets too close at the funeral and picks up a very special passenger. Benjamin Wilson can hardly believe one of his students would do such a thing. Then again, he’ll also be hardly able to believe what’s happening to him. 

The parasite takes up residence in his intestines and amplifies his urges to the point of obsession. A weakness for chocolate becomes a gluttonous binge, the libido dial gets turned to eleven, a fondness for gambling quicky leads to addiction, temper flares, and so on. 

The bigger the parasite gets, the stronger the impulses, but once the tummyache kicks in, Benjamin has much more to worry about. Ache becomes pain becomes razor-sharp gut-shredding torment. A trip to the emergency room later, he gets a look at what’s in there, and the horror goes into overdrive. 

But wait, that’s not all! See, certain factions and outside agencies KNOW about the parasite. They want it, for one reason or another. Before Benjamin can even fully adjust to the prospect of surgery, he’s abducted from the hospital and dragged into a whirlwind collision of plots involving bounty hunters, mercenaries, scientists and crime bosses. 

It’s road trip time, cross-country chase, the fun story of a guy and the parasite who really just wants to be his friend. And it would be The Awesomest Summer Movie EVER. 

One way or another, I guarantee, your stomach will hurt by the time you’re done reading!

-Christine Morgan

THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS by Roy C. Booth and R. Thomas Riley (2012 Grand Mal Press / 178 pp / eBook)

Booth and Riley have saddled up a wild cast for this pulpy blast that's a cross between a spaghetti western and Tales from the Crypt's DEMON KNIGHT film.

Gibson Blount travels from town to town, attempting to protect citizens from the fallen angels who are bent on destroying everything in their path.  Told in a Now/Then format, the authors slowly reveal why Blount does what he does, culminating in a gory, action-packed finale that had me on the edge of my seat.

While demon-themed horror stories get tiring with the appearance of "Legion" in almost every one dating as far back as Blatty's THE EXORCIST, this time we're treated to a new take on demons and even hell itself.  Blount's allies--from a priest to a prostitute to the legendary confederate guerilla William Quantril--are all as interesting as he is, as are the several fallen angels attempting to take down the town and then the world.

Read after you roll a cigarillo and throw on your cowboy boots for maximum effect...

TENTACLE DEATH TRIP by Jordan Krall (2012 Eraserhead Press / 223 pp / tp and eBook)

It's 2035, ten years after World War III unleashed nuclear, chemical, and bio terrors across the globe.  America is now a neon wasteland populated by mutated people, animals, and con-artists who still know how to capitalize on any situation.

Mr. SIlver is one such shady character.  He organizes an anything-goes car race from Jersey City down to Atlantic City after hand-picking five of the country's best racers.  The winner is promised plenty of food and provisions, as well as residency on R'lyeh, a sparkling new city that has recently emerged from the depths off the Jersey coast.

The contestants are Samson, a man bent on finding the gang who raped his wife and kidnapped his son; Junko, a former slave who's adrenaline is pumped to be in his first race by himself; Gabby Peppermint, a spoiled rotten girl who murdered her family on her sweet sixteenth birthday; Mama Hell, a foul-mouthed holy roller; and Drac Dunwich, whose gasoline-filled crystal skull is almost as eerie to behold as his tentacle-jacked hot rod.  Each driver has a car rigged with various weapons, Mama Hell's saw-blade equipped mini-van being one of the coolest.

During the race, the drivers come across mutants, religious cults, strange animals, weird roadways, and endless, violent confrontations with each other.  Samson also rescues a young boy who becomes a pivotal part of the story.  Each character's background is colorful and is revealed at a nice pace.

The first half of TENTACLE DEATH TRIP reads like a stranger version of DEATH RACE 2000, and for a while I wondered if this would be nothing more than a bizarro version of the classic cult film.  But Krall kicks it into high gear during the second half, making his story so much more.  There's double crosses, plenty of well-placed humor, non-stop action, and during the psychadelic thrill-ride of a finale, we even get a father/son moment of (literal) bonding that's all heart.

With even more surprises not mentioned here, TENTACLE DEATH TRIP is easily one of Krall's finest--and funnest--offerings.  Buckle up...

NEXT MONTH:

We're catching up on a recent influx of review material, so submitters PLEASE continue to be patient.  We appreciate the time and money spent to send us your books and will get to each one in the order they're received.

We've just received Cemetery Dance's limited edition hardcover of the Bentley Little classic THE MAILMAN, and will have a full report...

NOTE: PLEASE avoid asking us to review your short story UNLESS it has been published in a physical chapbook form.  It is difficult to write a review for a 15-paged tale!

Thank you...