OCTOBER, 2013 Reviews

 

OCTOBER, 2013 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.)

 

 

PREVIEW:

 

 

THE INFLUENCE by Bentley Little (to be published October 29, 2013 by Cemetery Dance / 416 pp / hc & limited edition hc)

 

Karma? What a crock of shit.

As opening lines go, that’s a good ‘un, all right. The chapter goes on to introduce us to Ross Lowry, a decent guy who’s gone above and beyond to help out his relatives when they’ve hit hard times. A loan here, a ride to or from the airport there, crash space, legal assistance … he’s done what he can.

And, as they say, what goes around comes around, right? When Ross loses his job and needs someone to fall back on, they’ll be there for him, right? Yeah … riiiiight. Or, actually, wrong.

I first thought this book would prove to be Little’s take on the current state of the economy and unemployment, bringing the kind of cutting social commentary we saw in THE STORE, THE IGNORED, THE POLICY and THE ASSOCIATION. I hoped so, but, sadly, it wasn’t to be so much the case.

Instead, the story heads into more traditional small-town horror territory. The small town in this case is Magdalena, Arizona. Ross finds refuge with his cousin Lita and her husband, who have a modest chicken ranch. It’s not much, but it’s a place to be, a chance to try and get his life in order.

Every community has its troubles, of course … its secrets, its tragedies, its scandals, its feuds … the disparity and disagreement between the haves and the have-nots. Magdalena’s no different, at least, at first. It starts on New Year’s Eve, with the traditional drunken revelry and midnight gunfire. This year, the bullets don’t just sail off into the sky or fall harmlessly somewhere out in the desert. This year, they strike something flying overhead, and bring it crashing to earth.

Hiding it in a rancher’s smokehouse seems like a good idea at the time, sloshed as they are. Then the dreams start, and the strange disturbances. People find their luck beginning to change. Windfalls and accidents, monkey’s paw style trades, curses, blessings, lottery winnings and lost children, their fortunes swing from one extreme to another.

Matters swiftly worsen. Some of the townsfolk want to destroy what’s in the smokehouse, while others are determined to protect it. Some just want to escape, but the longer the situation goes on, the stronger and more far-reaching the effects grow.

In the end – as is pretty much the standard for Little novels – Ross has to find a way to confront the sinister evil before it’s too late. So, overall, I’d give this one a B, a decent passing grade, but I’d add a teacherly note in the margins about not living up to potential.

-Christine Morgan

 

 





DEAD CLOWN BARBECUE by Jeff Strand (2013 Dark Regions Press / 251 pp / tp & limited edition hardcover)

Strand's second collection (featuring twenty-nine humorous horror tales) includes seven published here for the first time, and although I'm a big fan I missed several of the stories that were reprinted, so was happy to catch up on the demented goodness.

Opening tale 'Pet Semmuteary' is a funny riff on the classic King novel, 'Comeuppance' looks at bullying taken to the extreme, and 'The Apocalypse Ain't So Bad' features a very positive guy facing the end of the world.

'The Bell...From Hell!' follows an object that may or may not be of satanic origin, while the hysterical 'Work/Life Balance' deals with "causal dress Fridays" taken to an absurd degree: I also found it to be the funniest story in the book. 'Stop Stabbing Me' is classic Strand, as two brothers play a most dangerous game. 'Eight-Legged Vengeance' gets the giggles going as two idiots try to bake a tarantula into a cake as a revenge gag. This one is full of some serious slapstick-style madness!

'The Drop' features the short & sweet last thoughts of a doomed sky diver, while 'Here's What Happened' brings the insanity during a diner massacre. 'Pregnancy Test' is another short & sweet silly diddy, then 'Mr. Twitcher's Miracle Baby-Chopping Machine' proves after all these years that Strand is still in need of some serious counseling. You'll feel bad for laughing at this one, but it ends on quite a positive note.

In 'The Carver,' a victim manages to annoy the hell out of his killer, then a genie-type character gives a most tempting offer in 'Push the Button.'

'My Knife Collection' features two serial killers...but only one winner, then a young boy worries he has hurt his baby sister in the quirky-yet-crazy 'Drain Bamage.' If you can get through 'Gramma's Corpse' without wincing, you're a seasoned (or jaded) horror fan, but you'll question your sanity for laughing at 'Burden,' where a brother contemplates killing his handicapped sibling.

I found 'Rough Draft' to be the only weak story in the lot, but things quickly get back on track with 'Fangboy and the Troll,' where a troll tries to get Fangboy to finally use his teeth (and if you haven't read Strand's novel FANGBOY, you'd best get on that). 'Dead in the Water' centers around a zombie attack under a Tampa bridge, while the short 'Immunity' is a great look inside the mind of a man turning into one of the living dead.

My second favorite here is 'The Big Bite,' about a 65-foot tall vampire running amuck in a small town. It's as funny as it is ridiculous (and yes, that's a compliment). 'Specimen 313' is like LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS amped up on super-crack (complete with a heart-felt ending), while 'We Believe' is quite the funny take on the "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" thing. Strand's classic character Andrew Mayhem returns in the hysterical 'Poor Career Choice,' in which an attempt on Mayhem's life by a newbie assassin ends with goofy results.

In 'Hero,' a man who rescues a young girl from a serial killer is driven nuts by reporters asking asanine questions, then 'Chomp (A Cautionary Tale)' follows a bunch of greedy treasure hunters as they meet their fates.

The book ends with two gems: one is the novella 'The Severed Nose,' about a mob mistake that leads to a wild and painful experience for an innocent young man, and 'Dummy,' which is a funny and creepy take on the possessed ventriloquist-dummy thing.

Not every story in DEAD CLOWN BARBECUE will have you in stitches, but they're all entertaining even when not bringing the laughs. Strand fans will definitely be satisfied, and newbies looking for something different are in for a treat. Strand has truly mastered the art of comedic horror, as few authors are able to pull off without being too silly or not scary enough. Strand blends both like a seasoned chef--albeit a psychopathic chef--and will leave you with a big, bloody grin on your face. You'll rip through these tales in no time. Great stuff.


-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

 

 





FAT OFF SEX AND VIOLENCE by Shane McKenzie (2013 Deadite Press / 144 pp / tp & eBook)

The author warned me that, even after ALL YOU CAN EAT and MUERTE CON CARNE, I might not be ready for this one. I can understand why. Not even because of the monstrousness of the demon-child creatures who feed off of the most depraved urges of humanity … but because of the monstrousness of their master.

Meet Gary. He’s THAT guy. THAT guy from conventions, from the comic and game stores, from The Simpsons, from the "fat nerd guy" meme.

In certain circles, his type is referred to as "the cat-piss man." In others, terms such as "basement dweller" and "mouth-breather" and "neckbeard" might be bandied about. Socially awkward, hygenically challenged. A creep. A geek. A loser. You know. Mooches living space off of Mom, despised by stepdad, has a crappy job to keep him in junk food and tentacle porn, never had a date, hates everyone. Yeah, Gary is THAT guy.

He’s maybe supposed to be the ultimate, exaggerated, extreme, most ludicrous caricature thereof … but, same as with a certain Carlton Mellick III squickfest of gaming, it’s a little too close to the truth to be funny. Even as it is funny. A perfect storm of sick hilarity and shame.

Really, such a character is a total reprehensible gross-out horror story all on his own, before any of the other elements even enter the picture. Gary himself is just so nasty, so EEW. And that, in all its fetid glory, is what makes reading this book so disturbing and uncomfortable.

By the time Gary ends up accidentally summoning greedy little Mary-Jane and discovering her rapey mind-control powers can not only get him laid but get him revenge on those who’ve snubbed or slighted him … let alone by the time her violence-hungry brother joins the party … yeah, it’s way too late to empathize with or feel sorry for him.

Of course, Shane McKenzie isn’t going to let any of us off the hook that easily. We’ve got front row seats to the entire grisly spectacle. It’s a cavalcade of mental flinches. Almost every time you might try to reassure yourself by thinking he won’t really go there, he won’t take it that far … well, sorry, but, I got some bad news for you.

I’m not saying that it’s the kind of thing that makes you want to screen kids in middle-school and stop them before they can get too bad. But I’m not NOT-saying it. Should be required reading for all geeks. Look out for the Garys. Don’t put up with them. Don’t enable or excuse their vile behavior. And for crying out loud, don’t BE a Gary.

-Christine Morgan

 

 

 





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

 

 





THE JACK IN THE GREEN by Frazer Lee (2013 Samhain Publishing / 272 pp / tp & eBook)

THE JACK IN THE GREEN doesn’t open with the tired old "woman in the fridge" trope, but, it does set up a miscarriage backstory as an all-purpose explanation for a marriage in trouble. Even though in this case it actually fits what the eventual plot and story turn out to be, my initial sighing eyeroll made for an off-putting way to begin the read.

I soldiered on and gave it a chance, and it turned out tolerably okay, in a Lorax-meets –Wicker-Man kind of way … industrial corporate behemoth wanting to expand its biofuel division into unspoiled Scottish forests.

Tom McCrae works for said industrial corporate behemoth, and is sent to the quaint village of Douglass to scope things out, smooth things over, and make nice with the locals. It also gives him a chance to get away from the bleak situation back home (see above).

The only drawback is being stuck with a traveling companion, Dieter, one of the company’s charming pretty-boys. Well, that and his recurring nightmares about what happened that Christmas when he was a little boy, but he’s always had those. Aside from those problems, however – and not counting the unfortunate thing with a co-worker’s suicide – everything should go okay.

So he tells himself. Reality has other ideas. For one thing, there’s the protesters. For another, there’s the locals, some of whom aren’t keen on seeing their ancestral homes taken over or their way of life changed. A way of life that includes some rather, um, unusual rituals, pagan customs, and dat ol’-time religion.

All in all, decently written with some fun twists and interesting takes on folklore.

-Christine Morgan

 

 





VAMPIRE’S SONG by H.I.M. (2009 Amazon Digital Services / eBook)

Fifteen years after the disappearance of her brother Steven, Helena while working as an intern at an architectural firm has just been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Atilla Szabo wants Helena to head up the design for a castle he wants built in Connecticut. She agrees to take the job, but after a meeting with Atilla and his two brothers, some strange things begin to happen to Helena. She no longer needs her glasses; she can’t stand the taste of her cigarettes; and she can drink without the alcohol affecting her. Those are the least of the changes. Helena may be what the vampires have been waiting for—a savior that has been talked about for centuries. But will Helena help the vampires or destroy them all?

VAMPIRE’S SONG is about vampires, but with an engaging and fairly unique story. Helena is a timid young woman who is thrust into the middle of a power struggle. As her powers grow, she becomes stronger in character and less intimidated by the vampires around her. The Szabo brothers are all interesting in their own way, with Elek being my favorite. The book is well-written and has a good flow, along with some nice surprises. It is the first book in a two-book set and I look forward to reading the next installment.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 





RUN by Michaelbrent Collings (2013 Amazon Digital / 352 pp / tp & 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

 

 





SLAUGHERHOUSE HIGH by Robert Devereaux (2010 Deadite Press / 304 pp / tp & eBook)

This needs to be a movie. Maybe an indie student film. It’s the perfect prom-slasher archetype taken to a wonderfully bizarre and twisted yet weirdly plausible extreme.

The Demented States of America. Dystopian near-future? Funhouse mirror alternate universe? Parody? Cautionary tale? You be the judge.

In this nation, Prom Night is a rite of passage, a big event, the biggest. Ball gowns and rented tuxes, limos, crepe-paper decorations in the gym, the works. One school is selected for special reality-TV broadcast.

It’s also a time of ritual sacrifice. By secret lottery at every high school, one member of the faculty is chosen to be the slasher, and one prom-going couple the designated victims.

Who will it be? Will the teens somehow get the better of their would-be killer and survive? Or will their bodies be ceremonially laid out, to then be equally ceremonially hacked to pieces by their classmates? That’s the tradition, after all. You need a scrap of skin or body part to preserve as a memento, alongside your pressed corsage or boutonnière.

As if all that’s not enough, the real treat in this book is the ironic, sardonic, sharp-edged cutting social commentary on the often-ludicrous and arbitrary attitudes we have toward sexuality, sexualization of body parts, relationships, and marriage.

For instance, in this society, a marital threesome is the accepted norm … a man and two women, or a woman and two men … but by NO means an all-same-sex group because THAT would be an abomination! And THE absolute sexiest, naughtiest, tantalizing feature, which mustn’t be flashed about unclothed or shown on television, which must only be reserved for adults in a mature relationship? The left earlobe. Only the left. The right one is all about friendship and affection. The left is your NO-NO BIT.

Sound crazy? Maybe, yeah, but think about it. Think about screwed-up cultures throughout history and some of what was once deemed acceptable or not. And, indeed, the way things still are now.

But for now, come and live the American Dream … where butchery and vice are taught as part of the core classroom curriculum … where ditching out on your prom is one of the worst social stigmas imaginable … where there are still the school jocks, nerds, queen bees and rebels, the popular and the unpopular … where the most important night of your budding young life may also be the last.

-Christine Morgan

 

 





TATTERDEMON by Steve Vernon (2012 Crossroad Press / 371 pp / eBook)

Any story that opens with a prologue about an old-fashioned witch trial gone wrong and then skips merrily ahead three hundred years to an abused wife letting her husband have it with a frying pan has got my attention. By the time she’s buried him, all the while with the glowing blue ghost of her creepy father keeping her company, I was hooked.

Turns out that violence and dark secrets are nothing new to the quiet little town of Crossfall. A witch’s curse will do that, even if the evil forces have remained largely dormant until now. When Maddy Harker plants Vic’s corpse out in the field, she has no idea what she’s unleashing on herself and her neighbors. Her neighbors have no idea, either.

But, to be fair, they’re caught up with their own dramas. Like the former sideshow fat lady, and the peeping mailman, and the police dispatcher into voodoo, and the police chief whose wife isn’t away after all. Or the fussy hardware store owner, or the would-be preacher trying to crucify himself …

The unlucky few just passing through also have no idea what they’re getting into. Like the broken-hearted trucker with the romantic streak, or the thug in the red Mercury who needs a place to hide out after shooting up a convenience store.

Yeah, there’s no shortage of strangeness going on in Crossfall, even before Maddy’s dead husband comes back from the field as something new, something remade and terrible. He’s Tatterdemon now, a walking nightmare mishmash of flesh, bone, dirt, roots, twigs and straw.
 

Settling old Vic Harker’s score with his murdering wife is only part of the fun. The more bodies Tatterdemon can bury in the field, the more scarecrow zombies he can raise, until he’s got an army.

That on its own would make for a compelling enough read, but there’s much more. There’s the other ghosts, like Maddy’s daddy, who’ve appeared around town. There’s the witch herself, waking to find Tatterdemon resisting her control and neither of them being very pleased about it. There’s mangled corpses, possessions, gunshots, car crashes, explosions … and just when you think you’ve reached the conclusion, some new twist gets thrown in.

What really binds this book together, much in the way the straw binds together the scarecrow zombies, is a style of writing that is clever and funny even when describing violence, mutilation and gore. Some of Vernon’s turns of phrase … as the kids say, I LOL’d. Several times. A highly enjoyable read!

-Christine Morgan

 

 





CRADLE LAKE by Ronald Malfi (2013 Medallion Press / 400 pp / tp & eBook)

Young couple, troubled marriage, fresh start, new house, small town, nice neighbors, so far so good.

Cue the secrets, spookiness, and weird stuff!

In this case, the young couple are Alan and Heather, who’ve moved to Groom County, North Carolina, after inheriting his uncle’s place. Things have been rocky for them, what with the miscarriages and the suicide attempts. They need a change.

They’ve barely unpacked when Alan witnesses an accident – kid hit by a car – and a seeming miracle as several of the local men carry the injured boy to the lake hidden in the nearby woods. Moments later, the kid’s fine, but the neighbors have some explaining to do.

 

Alan gets quite the earful, a story about a lake with healing properties. But he also gets a warning, a la Pet Semetary, about how such power always comes with a price. He can see for himself that there’s something strange and different about the amazingly recovered child.
 

Of course, if characters actually heeded warnings and stayed away from things that aren’t their business, we wouldn’t have as many stories, now, would we? A healing lake, hey, who wouldn’t be tempted? Especially when Alan thinks of his wife, so broken after their tragedies. Could the lake help her?

And once you start down a road like that, it’s easy to get hooked. You might tell yourself about willpower, moderation, only in case of emergencies or real need, etc. Alan soon finds himself on the slippery slope of addiction, taking Heather with him.

Everything is hunky-dory, at first. Well, except for how their good ol’ dog no longer likes them … and the nasty buzzards that keep showing up … and suspicions from the neighbors … and other unsettling developments. Alan tells himself those don’t matter. What matters is him and Heather, and their new baby on the way.

The horrific imagery is very vivid, but the characters are so-so (and the Magical Native American interlude might bring some winces). Still and all, CRADLE LAKE is an all-right read, another of those that would be good to take along on vacation or to the park or beach, for some lazy page-turning amid other summer distractions.

-Christine Morgan

NEXT MONTH:

 

Jake Helman returns for his fifth supernatural adventure in Gregory Lamberson's STORM DEMON! (plus plenty more...)

 

 

 







 



September, 2013 Reviews

SEPTEMBER, 2013 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.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SCHOOL THAT SCREAMED by William D. Carl (2013 Necon e-books / 178 pp / e-Book & tp)

Carl (author of the Werewolf Apocalypse series) delivers this grindhouse-style tribute to the euro-exploitation horror films of the 70s and 80s. And while there are a lot of "homage" type novels and novellas out there, this one throws several tropes into a bloody blender and spews forth a concoction that will challenge you to put it down.

 

Laura Pennington is the new student at Dolly Elliot's School for Girls. It's the place for the worst of the worst, a place where rich parents send their unmanageable teenagers where no one will find them. Located in the middle of a London forest, we learn it was once a convent with a a dark past, and is now home to ghosts that the staff and students see ... but when one student is admitted to a psychiatric ward and becomes possessed by a dead nun, new teacher Sarah Stallworth learns the dark secrets of the School and eventually teams up with a few of the girls to try and put an end to a most unholy reign.

With gruesome killings, demonic babies, possessed nuns, a fine cast of juvenile delinquents and a colorful staff, and in true euro-film style, a weird, wild conclusion that adds a fine dose of dark humor.

THE SCHOOL THAT SCREAMED recalls not only grindhouse cinema but also the early days of VHS-renting when everything and anything was available for your lurid enjoyment. Fans of this stuff don't want to miss it ... just stay far away from any mirrors while reading!

-Nick Cato

 

 





VORACIOUS by Wrath James White (2013 Sinister Grin Press / 136 pp / tp & eBook)

A fast, effective, sure-fire, dramatic weight loss treatment? Oooh! Involving a retrovirus? Umm … And pygmy shrew DNA? Well … But you lose HOW much weight HOW fast? Dang … But it turns you into a ravenous, cannibalistic, psychotic eating machine? Huh …

Gotta admit, it’s a tough choice. Obvious though it seems, there’s that little whispery voice of temptation … easy and effortless quick-fix … maybe if there was a temporary option, or reversible …

I remember some quiz going around a few years back, asking how much IQ you’d sacrifice for various degrees of weight loss, or, conversely, how much weight gain for an increased IQ. I never could give a satisfactory answer to that, since, really, my personal dream goal would be to weigh my IQ anyway.

Evil. It’s just evil. Our culture, our social pressures, obsessions with thinness and standards of beauty. Evil, and awful, and destructive, and damaging. The lengths people will go to – and have gone to – in hopes of attaining some perfect, elusive ideal. No matter how dangerous, or even deadly. Evil.

It makes, however, for one damn riveting read. Maybe not the healthiest one in terms of fostering the ol’ self-image, being a vivid reminder of how gross and disgusting it is to be fat, but also how gross and disgusting it is to be vain.

VORACIOUS opens with supermodel Leilani Simms, whose best years are already behind her at age thirty-six. Desperate to maintain her figure, she sought the help of a new and pricey clinic that promises results. Results are what she gets, all right. Results that have her, within a few days, reduced to a scrawny montrosity who’s already cleaned out the larder but is still starving for more. Much to the misfortune of the family cat … and her fiance …

Turns out Leilani is by no means the clinic’s only customer. Others – the rich and famous, celebrities, politicians – have made their own discreet visits. The characters range from sympathetic (the chubby daughter of a movie star) to reprehensible (the movie star mother of the chubby girl). At first, it’s all they ever dreamed of, the pounds just evaporating. But, before they know what hit them, they’re chowing down on their nearest and dearest, or attacking people live on television.

Bad. Very, very bad. Bad enough? Not hardly, when Wrath James White is at the helm. The hunger pangs are written so as to be physically tangible, the carnivorous wallowing in flesh and blood and entrails is vivid to say the least. And that’s still not all!

Because, see, the thing about viruses is that they’re adaptable … they’re voracious themselves … they mutate, and transmit … so then you’ve got an epidemic … and one that, thanks to our screwed-up mentalities, some people are going to actively WANT.

-Christine Morgan

 





READ THE END FIRST edited by Suzanne Robb (2012 Wicked East Press / 278 pp / tp & eBook)

READ THE END FIRST is an anthology of the apocalypse. Every story tells about the end of the world, no exceptions. Each story takes place in a different time zone, but begins at midnight in that specific time zone.

The best stories include "The Midnight Moon" by Gregory L. Norris that follows a young man pondering life as the moon crashes into Earth; "Like A Man" by Stephen North about monsters from below, genetically related to humans who have come to kill everyone on the surface; the very original "The Earth Died Screaming" by William Todd Rose about something—maybe a virus?—that caused everyone, everywhere to involuntarily drop to their knees screaming, eventually dying from starvation and/or the elements; "Blood and Soil" by Hollie Snider which is a truly scary story about environmental terrorists bent on killing everything and moving to a colony on Titan; "Testament" by Michael S. Gardner about a serial killer during the zombie apocalypse; and "Hammered and Nail" by Emma Ennis about an aggressively contagious form of tetanus with no cure.

Other notable stories include the very creepy "Stormfront" by Henry Snider about sick birds of all types attacking and infecting humans; "What Rough Beast?" by Patrick D’Orazio about two people hidden in the Church of the Nativity to be God’s prophets during the End Times; "Best Intentions" by Rebecca Snow about a man travelling to the past in the hopes of saving his people, but things go horribly wrong; and the heartbreaking and frightening "Not With A Bang" by Brooke and Scott Fabian about a family spending their last hours alive together before a destructive ant-matter wave destroys everything.

All of the stories are smartly written and suitably frightening. Suzanne Robb did a great job selecting for this large anthology. Also included is a great introduction by Graham Masterton titled "Armageddon Oudda Here!" and an essay by Joe McKinney titled "Modern Apocalypse: An Introduction" in which he compares apocalyptic literature, including the Bible and WB Yeats. If you like stories of the apocalypse, or stories with no hope then READ THE END FIRST is definitely one for your collection.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 





MOUNTAIN HOME by Bracken MacLeod (2013 Books of the Dead Press / 134 pp / tp)

Joanie Myer is a retired veteran who served her country in Afghanistan and Iraq. She's a master sniper and just wants to live the rest of her life in peace at her isolated Idaho home. But someone else doesn't want her there and builds a diner right across the street in an attempt to drive her away.

But unfortunately for him, Joanie doesn't budge.

MOUNTAIN HOME is a seige/revenge thriller that gets in your face before the second page ends and never lets up. MacLeod slowly reveals what makes Joanie tick, and the suspense level is nearly non-stop.

Among the people Joanie has trapped, waitress Lyn goes from quiet worker to taking over the situation while somehow managing to help others in the process. We like her from the moment we meet her and cheer her on every second afterwards.

MacLeod's debut novel is a quick, well-crafted tale that reads as if it were written by a seasoned vet (full pun intended). Joanie Myer would surely give John Rambo much to worry about.

Great Stuff Here.

-Nick Cato

 

 

DARK MUSE by Dave Simms (2013 Fire and Ice / Melange Books / 214 pp / tp & eBook)

If someone did a YA novelization of a comic based on kids playing a Brutal Legend expansion with shades of Clive Barker and Silent Hill, the results might be something like this.

Every high school has its assortment of misfits and outcasts, the special ed students, the ones with emotional issues or troubles at home, and so on. Sometimes, they become friends. And, in this case, a shared love of music takes them a step further, into forming their own band.

Edgar "Muddy" Rivers is among them. He’s lost his mom, dyslexia makes it impossible for him to enjoy his famous father’s books, and his brother is a budding rock god. There’s also Poe, the mostly-blind girl with the abusive father … and Otis, with his medical problems … and Corey, from a bad part of town.

Together, they’re "The Accidentals," and when Muddy’s brother Zack vanishes under bizarre circumstances, their music teacher gives them a lead that sets them on a path to a crossroads between the world they know and a world they never suspected.

It’s a world where magic and music intersect, where some of the greatest musicians in history have drawn their inspiration. Where songs can be weapons and melodies power. It’s a dangerous world full of tricks, treachery, and musical monsters.

To save Zack, the Accidentals will need all their talent, courage and skill. They’ll find themselves in a battle of the bands unlike anything they ever faced at school. They’ll have to confront the fearsome Dark Muse, who seeks to control all.

Oh, yeah, and when there’s a little problem at the crossroads, they’ll have to deal with the forces of that other world spilling over into their own. No big, right?

I think I glean what the author was going for here, but, for me at least, it just didn’t really pan out. Maybe to someone more into music, it’d be a better match. I found it cool enough in premise but kinda lackluster in execution. Not badly written, just … not one that wowed me. YMMV.

　

-Christine Morgan

 PREVIEW:

 





THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE by Eric Red (to be released 11/5/2013 by Samhain Publishing / 280 pp / tp)

Tucker, Fix and Bodie are wanted men—rustlers, thieves, killers—hiding out in Mexico. Low on money and nowhere to go, the three gunslingers are hired to protect a small village by Pilar, who has disguised herself as a boy. The church in the village, Santa Tomas, which is now called Santa Sangre due to the massive bloodshed, has been taken over by werewolves and they are holding the villagers as a food source. Pilar needs the gunslingers to get the silver from the church so it can be melted down for bullets, and then they can kill the werewolves.

I have to say, I really like the trend combining horror with Westerns and THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE increases my confidence in this surprisingly popular sub-genre. Red’s story is well-written and moves at a very good pace—I felt as though I were reading a novella, it went so quick. Character development is excellent with real depth to all of the main ones, including Mosca, the leader of the werewolves. I could feel Tucker’s conflicting emotions. The gunslingers have committed many crimes over the years, but are they really bad men? I didn’t necessarily think so. Pilar is a strong and positive female character, following her duty to her people and her faith. There is some sexual content (for the squeamish) but it is in context with the story and the time. The origin story of the werewolves is brutal and heartbreaking and almost makes you feel sorry for them—almost. I thoroughly enjoyed THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE with its flawed heroes and the savagery of the werewolves. If you have yet to read a horror Western, this is a good book to start with.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 



THE COLONY by Michaelbrent Collings (2013 CreateSpace / 244 pp / tp & eBook)

A pet theory of mine is that, sooner or later, we all want to destroy the world. Well, we writer-types, particularly of the action, horror or thriller varieties. And not DESTROY-destroy, as in, the actual physical planet. But, the world as we know it. Humanity. Civilization. That sort of thing.

Extinction event, global pandemic, natural disasters, zombie apocalypse, what have you … there’s such a go-big-or-go-home ambitious appeal about it that, sooner or later, we gotta give it a try. King’s done it more than once. So has Keene. I know that I hope to tackle it myself, one of these days.

But, right now, it’s Michaelbrent Collings’ turn. And he just WOULD have to be a booger about it, presenting THE COLONY in serial cliffhanger installments (not only that, but, he says it was his wife’s idea so don’t blame him). Volume 1 is "Genesis," and I barely had time to buckle my mental seatbelt before the pedal hit the metal.

You won’t get much of the leisurely intro and build-up here. A quick scene-setter to find out that Ken, our protagonist, is a high-school teacher, family man, generally decent all-around well-liked guy, and – hey what’s with those bugs on the window? is that plane crashing? – then BAM total crazy carnage time with students attacking each other in wild berserk rage and blood everywhere and there’s no time to question and there’s no time to think. Just react, and try to survive.

Poor Ken. One minute, it’s another normal day in the classroom. The next, he’s scrambling through body parts, looking for a way out. Not that he’ll find much help there, since whatever happened was not limited to campus. As far as he can tell, the entire city’s in chaos. The only goal burning in his mind is to find his wife and kids, who’d gone downtown to deal with some bank stuff.

As he sets out on his horrific and probably doomed journey, he finds a few other shocked survivors. The more details emerge, the more they mostly just add to the mystery. What’s with the swarms of ants and bees? What set off this crisis? It wasn’t a ramping up plague, it was immediate and out of nowhere. Why do the affected ones sometimes stop and do that creepy upward staring thing?

This is not one of those span-of-time books, either, with harrowing days of travel and shelter-seeking. From start to finish, in story-time, it all takes place in a single relentless, non-stop afternoon. A few hours. Maybe twice as long as it took me to read it in real-time.

The one problem with this volume – besides the abovementioned cliffhanger ending – is that it maybe could have benefitted from another good going-over for proofreading and some minor mistakes. This brings me to an agonizing place of wanting the next book NOW, while also not wanting it to be rushed too slipshod.

I mean, yes, I could have waited until the entire series was out before diving in. But that would mean having to wait until the entire series was out before diving in! Fortunately, Collings is almost as fast as he is good, so it shouldn’t mean having to suffer TOO long until the next one!

-Christine Morgan

 PREVIEW:

 





REDHEADS by Jonathan Moore (to be released 11/5/2013 by Samhain Publishing / 312 pp / tp)

Chris Wilcox’ wife Cheryl was murdered six years ago and he is determined to find her killer. In his quest, Chris along with his Private Investigator friend Mike, has uncovered a string of murders—over 30—all with the same hallmarks as Cheryl’s death. All of the victims were killed near a waterway that’s close to the ocean, all of the women were brutally killed and mutilated, and all are redheads.

Now Chris and Mike have the help of Aaron, whose wife was also murdered by the killer, and Julissa, whose sister is the latest victim. Armed with the DNA profile of whatever is responsible for all of these brutal murders, the four set out on an international manhunt to find it and kill it. The killer is aware of the foursome’s intentions and does what it needs to survive.

REDHEADS is an entertaining story that is both thriller and horror. I like the idea behind the reason for the killer targeting redheads, but I would have liked knowing more about the killer. Character development is pretty good for the four main characters and their chase of the killer moves at a swift and steady pace. While I liked REDHEADS overall, I was a bit disappointed in the minimal use of horror or the lack of development of the killer. When the group finally finds their quarry, the unveiling is rather abrupt and limited. REDHEADS makes a good read for fans of thriller revenge stories.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 





KUTTER by Jeff Strand (2010/2013 (Cargo Cult Press LE hardcover, Amazon digital / 139 / 111 pp)

I’ve read a lot of books about serial killers and the one reaction I never expected to find myself having was “D’awwwww!”

 

Yet that’s what this one does. It’s bent. It’s adorable. It’s profoundly, twistedly, endearingly disturbing. It’s the timeless story of a guy and his dog. Sure, the guy has this bad habit of torturing and murdering women in his basement, but does that make him a monster?

 

Okay, well, yes. Yes it does. But that’s beside the point.

Charlie tries to be controlled about it, restricting himself to one victim every two months, choosing and disposing of them carefully, leaving no trace. The rest of his life is pretty much just marking time between victims. He’s got a humdrum job, co-workers he avoids, no friends, no family. He doesn’t care. All he cares about is the thrill of the hunt, the catch, the extended period of torture, the kill.

 

Until his latest victim up and dies too soon, which throws everything off-kilter. He wants another to make up for it. He’s frustrated, disappointed, unsatisfied and unsettled. It seems like too long to have to wait until the next, but, he’s got to keep to his routine or else he’ll be taking too big a risk.

Then, one winter day, he finds an injured Boston terrier under a bench in the park, and that’s when Charlie’s life really starts to change. Thinking that there might be a reward for someone’s lost pet, he takes the dog home and patches it up.

He’s never had a pet. He’s never needed or wanted a pet. He certainly is not about to get attached to some dog that he’ll probably end up having to take to the animal shelter anyway. He’ll buy it food, but not toys or treats. It’s going to stay in the basement. All right, it can stay upstairs but isn’t going to sleep on the foot of his bed … well, just this once … and what would a couple of toys and treats hurt?

Might as well give the dog a temporary name, too. Like Kutter, why not? And take it for walks. And – oh, hey, a cute dog is just the thing to make even Charlie seem less creepy and more trustworthy. Could be really helpful in getting close to prospective victims!

Funny, though … he’s been so busy with the dog, he almost forgot about his obsessive need to kill … just doesn’t seem as big a deal anymore … he’s getting along better at work … making friends … fixed up with a date … things are seeming pretty darn good.

Which of course is the cue for someone to respond to that ‘Found Dog’ poster after all.

KUTTER is the weirdest, sweetest, strangest peek into the psyche of a serial killer that I’ve ever read. It’s delightful. So wrong, but just so delightful!

-Christine Morgan

 

 





THE OTHER PLACE by Ken Knight (2013 Author House / 180 pp / tp)

Raleigh Garrett is a skinhead white supremacist who was just sentenced to one year probation for assaulting a mixed-race couple. Originally from North Carolina, Raleigh is stuck in Binghampton, NY for the next year of his life. He needs to find a place to live and a job or he’ll end up in jail. And his probation officer Deanna Marquez is a real hardass.
 

Raleigh gets a job with a landscaper and meets people that are friendly to him, even though they seem to know he’s a skinhead, especially young Sophie. Raleigh is even invited to an end of the summer barbeque at the home of a wealthy interracial couple. What Raleigh doesn’t know is that these people have plans for him related to some of his past crimes, as well as a horrible crime that he didn’t even know he influenced.

THE OTHER PLACE has an intriguing concept. Allow a person’s victims to get their revenge—but don’t tell him until it’s too late. Character development is good, as is the changes we see going on in Raleigh and how he begins to see everyone around him as people as opposed to race. There is quite a bit of gratuitous sex and adult language, so if that makes you squeamish then THE OTHER PLACE is not for you. Besides that, THE OTHER PLACE is a good example of speculative fiction.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 





BAD SEEDS edited by Steve Berman (2013 Prime Books / 349 pp / tp & eBook)

We’ve dreamed up some damn scary monsters over the millennia, we humans. We’ve dreamed up dragons, giants, trolls, aliens, zombies, eldritch things from beyond time and space. Nature itself provides some mighty freaky, horrifying critters – scorpions, wasps, goblin sharks, to name a few. We’ve produced more than our share of psychos, serial killers, maniacs.

But, really, when you get right down to it, is there anything in all the world or our imaginations that can top the creepy little kid? The still and solemn gaze of their wide eyes … inexplicable silence from the nursery … the innocent laughter of a child … the lilting sing-song of a jump-rope chant … doesn’t that bring on the goosebumps?

Maybe they’re inhuman or undead, Damien, Samara, those blondies from the Village of the Damned. Maybe they’re just plain rotten, born or bent that way. Maybe circumstances show them at their worst, Lord of the Flies style. One way or another, they freak us the hell out.

Why? Is it because we know how close to the truth those fears really live? The truth that, basically, kids are evil? Most of them grow out of it, sure. Some never really dip into that potential. But it’s there. You were one, once. Think back. It can’t be just me, right?

At any rate: creepy little kids. 27 stories of them in one great book. Some are classics from the masters, "Children of the Corn" by Stephen King and Robert McCammon’s "Yellowjacket Summer," for instance. Others are all-new (including one of mine, stunned though I am to be in such company!)

Among my personal favorites are "My Name is Leejun" by John Schoffstall, Hal Duncan’s "The Disappearance of James H___," "If Damon Comes" by Charles L. Grant, and Gary Raisor’s "Making Friends."

Whether school’s in session or it’s summer vacation … trick-or-treaters at the door … hellraisers and mommy’s angel-darlings … tea parties, invisible friends, rites of passage, fairy tales … BAD SEEDS has enough twisted tots and toddlers to pack even the most overcrowded amusement park.

-Christine Morgan

 

 





BLOOD ON THE PAGE: THE COMPLETE SHORT FICTION OF BRIAN KEENE VOLUME ONE by Brian Keene (2013 CreateSpace / 264 pp / tp & eBook)

I had one big problem with this collection of short stories, which is, now I really want to go back and re-read again ALL the Keene books, when I’ve got so much ELSE that I’m supposed to be doing!

Some of these, I’d seen before. Others, I hadn’t. Some revisit the world of THE RISING (my mind wants to call it the Ob-verse), others return us to LeHorn’s Hollow. And some are entirely their own. They all, though, serve to remind just how and why this guy’s so cool.

"Portrait of the Magus as a Writer" hits way too close to home for us creative types with obsessive/destructive relationships with our muse; I know I’ve had mental conversations a lot like that, and I’ve experienced the effects it can have on real life.

"Golden Boy," which was a new one to me, is also one of my favorites. Always liked mythology, always did wonder about some aspects of the Midas legend, and this was both a fun and insightful way of looking at it.

Many of the stories involve children, and the threats thereto or loss thereof; these always pack a particular punch. "Burying Betsy" is creepy as hell. "Bunnies in August" is beautiful in its compelling agony.

These stories run the gamut from gut-wrenchingly serious ("Dust" and "Babylon Falling," for example) to the hilarious self-referential fun-poking ("Fast Zombies Suck"). Speaking of zombies, the author’s notes are just as fun, especially the ones where Keene keeps insisting that he’s done with zombies, he’s run out of stories to … well, okay, this one’s the last … no, this one … for reals!

While the e-book edition does have some formatting and other minor bloopers, the stories themselves are solid good reads. Even when the author himself cautions us to bear in mind that they’re from early on, so, don’t be too harsh … pff … early on, but still far and away better than a lot of what comes out.

So, yeah, BLOOD ON THE PAGE VOLUME ONE, good stuff! I’ll be waiting for Volume Two, and in the meantime, I think I need to make some space in the schedule for a re-reading binge!

-Christine Morgan

 

 

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!



July, 2013 Reviews

JULY, 2013 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)

WAITING FOR MR. COOL by Gerard Houarner (2013 Crossroads Press / 122 pp / eBook)

Houarner's Max the Assassin character returns in this novella that's chock-full of surprises and the expected gruesome violence. But we also see a side of Max we haven't in previous novels and short stories.

For those who may not know, Max is a super-assassin hired by the government to take on unusual and extreme cases. He also has a brutal demon living inside him who has an unstoppable blood lust, making Max a nearly indestructable killing machine when he lets the "beast" take over.

This time Max (along with his buddy Lee and two young neices who also happen to go on violent killing sprees--trust me, it works!) is sent in to break up a religious cult who have taken over a secret military compound. But Max is mistaken for another assassin, and as if this group of zealots aren't bad enough, there's also an underground group of pedophiles who have discovered the military compound houses a strange supernatural force, which they have managed to tap into to turn their young victims into soul-less killers.

For a novella, Houarner packs this one with epic levels of action, fighting, and splatter that will test even the most jaded of gorehounds. Yet on top of all the fun, what makes this story (and the entire series) work is the author's ability to make us care for both Max and the twisted demon that lives inside him. We hate ourselves for liking him/them, but like other classic anti-heroes, we just can't help it. Max fans will love this one to death.

You can start here if you've never read a Max tale before, but it hits harder if you've read some of his past stories (a great place to start is in Houarner's fantastic collection, A BLOOD OF KILLERS, which features several Max tales).





STRANGERS by Michaelbrent Collings (2013 Amazon Digital / 372 pp / eBook)

Who do you know? Who can you trust? How many of your ‘friends’ have you never met face to face? What about your neighbors, do you know them by name? What about your own family? Your nearest and dearest? Do you know them? Do you? Really?

We live in a world simultaneously both more connected and more isolated than ever before, and that’s the theme getting driven painfully home in the latest chilling thriller by the always-awesome Michaelbrent Collings (dude, seriously, you’re having spinal surgery in the middle of all this and you still write this well? unfair!)

STRANGERS is the story of Jerry Hughes, an ordinary upper-middle-class citizen, a doctor, a productive member of society, who’s living the American Dream with the nice house and wife and kids and dog and all the mod-cons anybody could wish for.

But, sometimes, the American Dream is a façade with pain underneath. Since the death of one of their children, the Hughes family have drifted further and further apart, just going through the motions. Relationships are strained. There’s excessive drinking, coldness, distance, arguments.

The only neighbor Jerry knows even by first name is Ted, the guy next door who complains about the kids’ music. The only regular visitor is Rosa, the cleaning lady. Privacy fences and security gates keep the rest of the world out, and that seems just the way they like it.


Until, after a night of forced dinner-and-TV family time, the Hugheses wake up to find that they can’t get out of their so-safe and so-private house. All the exits are blocked. All the communications gadgets on which we so rely these days have been sabotaged. The house is under someone else’s control, someone who is watching them and toying with them in a series of evil games.


If they hope to survive and escape, they’ll have to open up to each other, trust each other, reveal their darkest and innermost secrets. They’ll have to confront the truth, no matter how shocking and painful, no matter how much it might ruin everything they’ve ever cared about.


STRANGERS is another white-knuckled journey that demands to be read in one sitting. It’s all too plausible, and almost guaranteed to make you take some uneasy, paranoid looks at your live and the lives of those around you. Top-notch creepy, a win all the way!

-Christine Morgan

WORM by Tim Curran (2013 Dark Fuse / Kindle eBook)

In the town of Camberly, a black muck has begun to flood the streets and back up through the plumbing of the homes of its residents. As the stinking muck rises, the residents soon learn what is hiding in the black mess—giant worms and they are hungry. A handful of survivors on Pine Street make it to the old brick farmhouse of Marv O’Connor where they try to hold off the seething hoard with guns and bleach, but can they survive until morning?

WORM takes place over the course of one day in the lives of the unsuspecting residents of Camberly. It is hinted that the cause of the worm invasion is decades of all human waste—both manmade and organic. We see some of the residents in their final moments as they are devoured by the mutated creatures and cheer for the survivors as they discover how the worms can be defeated before it’s too late. Tim Curran has once again managed to make my skin crawl with this well-written and fast-paced novella. The action begins on page one and doesn’t let up until the final sentence. There is a reason Tim Curran is one of my favorite writers.

-Colleen Wanglund



REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD by A.P. Fuchs (2012 Cosco, Entertainment / 205 pp / tp & eBook)

The third installment in Fuchs' 'Undead World Trilogy' pits a group of survivors in Winnipeg against flesh-hungry zombies (some which are giants) while scrambling for shelter in the wake of the destruction of a safety bunker. The action comes fast and gory and a romantic side-plot isn't even able to slow things down.

What makes this one a bit different from the other zillion zombie novels out there is the origin of the undead: we discover an army of Satan's demons have found a portal to earth in which they create a storm that turns people into the living dead (make that the possessed living dead). The trilogy ends with a take on armageddon and the eternal struggle between angels and demons.

Despite some Hollywood-ish scenes dealing with Satan and hell, Fuchs makes it work in this fun combo of the LEFT BEHIND novels and any gut-ripping zombie film, complete with some heavy fire-power (both physical and spiritual) and lots of thoughts on the afterlife. A fine way to cap off the series.





PAGES TORN FROM A TRAVEL JOURNAL by Ed Lee (2013 Deadite Press / 98 pp / limited edition hc & tp)

Said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but it just can’t be said often enough … Ed Lee is a freakin’ genius. One of the most brilliant and erudite writers out there.

"But, grindhouse hillbilly torture porn," you might point out. "But, twisted unholy demonic perversity."

Yes, well, yes, okay, there’s that. However, it’s hardly just ANY grindhouse hillbilly torture porn and/or twisted unholy demonic perversity. Lee has a style, a wit, a vocabulary, and a way with characters and words, that takes his work far beyond that.

His Lovecraftian stuff, for instance. Maintaining the language and feel of the genre while adding to it such elements that about melt the brain.

Now, consider … Lovecraftian terms like ‘squamous’ and ‘cthonian’ and all those dense ten-dollar words, the stuffy and lofty style, the New Englandish puritanism.

And consider the rural backwoods, populated with good ol’ boys and Creekers and memorable Lee-isms along the lines of: "Yee-haw, I’se’re’gonna HUMP that HAID!!!"

Combine them. No, really. Combine them.

PAGES TORN FROM A TRAVEL JOURNAL is the result. In which a certain author, whilst on vacation, keeps a diary while facing an unscheduled stopover … deep in the heart of classic Lee country.

Welcome to Luntville, Mr. Lovecraft. Hope you enjoy your visit. Maybe drop by the carnival, where rumor has it a fellow can get more than just a look at the sideshow attractions. Maybe enjoy the local scenery, and partake of some quaint local customs. You’ll meet a lot of interesting people, that’s for sure. Probably get some ideas for new stories … if you get out.

Oh, Howie, Howie, Howie … you should have just stayed on the broken-down bus until the mechanic got there.

This one, packed full of easter eggs and references as it is, may not be the best recommendation for a new-to-Lee reader. But, to the veterans, it is page after page of cackling fanservice goodness in all its descriptive – oh, so very very descriptive – glory.

-Christine Morgan

PREVIEW:





OAK HOLLOW by Kristopher Rufty (to be released 8/6/13 by Samhain Publishing / 289 pp / tp & eBook)

Seventeen-year-old Tracey Parks has just discovered she’s pregnant and her boyfriend Brace has blown her off and left her on her own. Not long after, Tracey’s mother is brutally murdered and Tracey must now face an unsure future without her mom. Tracey’s dad has stepped into the role as sole parent, even though they haven’t had the closest relationship. Tracey’s grandmother Pamela has also shown up—a woman Tracey has never really met as her mother and Pamela had a very strained relationship. Pamela and her lawyer have informed Tracey and her dad that according to a document signed by Tracey’s mother years ago, Pamela is now Tracey’s legal guardian until her eighteenth birthday. The funeral is held in the weird little town of Oak Hollow and dad vows to do what he can to bring Tracey home to him.

Tracey meets some of the residents of her mother’s home town, including the sheriff, Harry, and Nick, a seemingly nice but quirky young man who shows a quick interest in Tracey. In his quest to bring Tracey home, dad discovers some unsettling things about Oak Hollow and its residents, including a demon-worshipping cult who need Tracey’s baby to reverse a curse placed on them all some years before. Dad and boyfriend Brace, who has had a change of heart, race to Oak Hollow to save Tracey, but can they make it in time?

OAK HOLLOW is a pretty good story with some very frightening aspects and some suitably bloody scenes.  While demon worship is a common trope in horror, Rufty adds an interesting twist to his novel, although I thought the execution was a bit lacking.  My biggest problem centered on Tracey.  It is stressed repeatedly that she is underage, yet there were sex scenes that focused on her, as well as descriptions of fantasies about her by clearly older men and I found them inappropriate.  I also felt that the interactions between Tracey and Nick were unrealistic for a couple of teenagers.

For the most part, character development was good, although I felt Tracey was portrayed as dumb, not realizing there was something wrong until it was too late when there were plenty of red flags for her to spot. Nick’s odd behavior alone should have tipped Tracey off, as well as the behavior of Pamela and some of the other residents. I felt it a bit misogynistic in the overall portrayal of Tracey—she could have been a strong heroine. There is one character—Detective Stiltson—who is, in my opinion, unfinished.  There doesn’t seem to be too much involvement of the investigation into mom’s murder and when dad goes to Stiltson for help, he explains that he is involved in another case and can’t spare the time.  Why have dad go to him at all?  It felt like a very big loose end.

The end was violent and dramatic, with plenty of gore and carnage and I appreciated that.  OAK HOLLOW is a quick read and its pacing is good, but I was disappointed with the book and its cohesion.  If you like demon worship then this is an average story that you might enjoy.

-Colleen Wanglund

PREVIEW:





THE LAST WHISPER IN THE DARK by Tom Piccirilli (to be released 7/13 by Bantam Books / 336 pp / hc & eBook)

In this sequel to THE LAST KIND WORDS, Terry Rand is back trying to find out why his ex-girl's man, Chub, became involved with a botched bank heist that left a few ex-cops dead. As he dives into the Long Island underworld, Terry dukes it out with thugs both old and new, deals with mob bosses and learns of a barbaric hitman whose weapon of choice is a long hyperdermic needle.

On top of his headaches is his sister Dale, who has become part of a hit Internet show that involves illegal activity. Terry tries to set her up with some real acting gigs in Hollywood but his thieving lifestyle and criminal aquaintances keep getting in the way.

We're also given a deeper look at the Rand family, and Piccirilli offers some surprises, especially by way of Terry's mother. There's plenty of slick dialogue, fight scenes, and all the grim happenings the author's fans have come to expect, wrapped around prose that's to die for.

"I wasn't here to make money. I didn't like making money. If I couldn't steal it I didn't want it." These thoughts from Terry Rand epitomize the cool tone of Piccirilli's latest modern noir thriller that will surely have readers thirsting for the third installment.

PREVIEW:





SAVAGE SPECIES by Jonathan Janz (to be released 9/3/13 by Samhain Publishing / 320 pp / tp & eBook)

It’s the grand opening weekend of a new state park. Everything’s going to be perfect. Campers, RVers, park rangers, partying students, and reporters are all on hand to enjoy the natural beauty, splendor and serenity that is Peaceful Valley.

Or they could be eaten by monsters. In a total messy screaming bloodbath. Which, you must admit, makes for a much more exciting tale than just a relaxing vacation in the woods.

See, something else called Peaceful Valley home before the developers moved in. Something that had lived there a long time, and feasted on previous settlers before being trapped underground. But, nobody pays attention to old legends, or listens, or believes. Not until it’s too late. Now, thanks to the work on the new park, they’ve been released.

Of course, they’re hungry … and not for hot dogs, beer, and s’mores.

One storyline follows Jesse, a journalist supposedly there to cover the event for a newspaper but mainly there to ogle and lust after his colleague, Emma. They get a few interviews in with the park manager, some of the campers, and a pervy old local, then settle in to party with the college kids.

The other storyline follows Charly, a young mother with a no-good bastard of a husband, a crush on the guy who built their house, and the horror of seeing her baby snatched out of his crib by something right out of a nightmare.

The two storylines intersect when Jesse and a handful of survivors of the campground massacre, and a rescue party helping Charly look for her baby, both end up in the subterranean lair of the creatures.

The descriptions of the action and carnage are gloriously gory, but the characters themselves are mostly irritating and their interactions often don’t make a lot of sense or ring very true. I found myself disliking pretty much all of them and wishing they’d hurry up and get slaughtered.

So, if you’re going to read this one, read it for the right reasons – dismemberments, eviscerations, decapitations, over-the-top violence and a body count well into the triple digits. Sometimes, that’s enough.

-Christine Morgan



SHIVERS VII edited by Richard Chizmar (2013 Cemetery Dance Publications / 410 pp / tp)

This latest anthology from the people at Cemetery Dance includes some very eerie short fiction from some of today’s top horror writers.

Some of my favorites include "Beholder" by Graham Masterton about a young girl believes she is very beautiful until she sees herself in the mirror and then decides how to get her beauty back from the beholders; "Zombie Dreams" by Tim Waggoner which speculates on the dreams of zombies; "The Departed" by Clive Barker, a heartbreaking story about the ghosts left behind in death; "Feel the Nosie" by Lisa Morton about soldiers whose senses are scrambled due to a strange weapon; "Echoes" by Don D’Ammassa about a man’s echoes of himself getting revenge; "Plant Life" by Greg F. Gifune about something growing in a couple’s garden—it’s reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978); "Depth" by Rio Youers about a mysterious painting and its implications on a man’s life; and "Bovine" by Joel Arnold about an abusive husband whose wife dies and the body is protected by her herd of cows—this was truly disturbing to me because of those cows.

Other great stories include "Weeds" by Stephen King, the story featured in the film Creepshow (1982) about a weird alien invasion in the form of a meteor; "GPS" by Rick Hautala about a man headed to Florida being haunted by the GPS unit in his car; "The Baby Store" by Ed Gorman, a disturbing story about designer babies; "The Storybook Forest" by Norman Prentiss about what happens to some boys who break into an abandoned amusement park; and "Born Dead" by Lisa Tuttle about a baby born dead but continues to grow as though alive.

All of the stories are well-written and entertaining, although I was a little confused by "Sleeping with the Bower Birds" by Kaaron Warren and "As She Lay There Dying" by Brian James Freeman. Aside from that, SHIVERS VII should be added to any horror fan’s collection.

-Colleen Wanglund





POISONING EROS by Monica J. O’Rourke and Wrath James White (2013 Deadite Press / 232 pp / tp)

Do not be fooled or lulled into a false sense of security by the classy, literary-sounding title of this book.

There is not enough brain-bleach in the world. Not in the world. Not in the whole solar system, even if Jupiter and all the other gas giants were composed entirely of brain-bleach. The first few pages alone … NOTHING WILL ERADICATE THE IMPACT!!!

YOU WILL BE TRAUMATIZED AND SCARRED FOR LIFE. CANNOT BE UNSEEN!!! WHY DID I EVER LEARN TO READ I LOVE LANGUAGE AND LOOK WHAT THEY MADE IT DO OMG.

You know that episode of SOUTH PARK where the boys write the book that makes everyone who reads it barf their guts out? Yeah. No. POISONING EROS would make that book look like HOP ON POP.

If you can get through those first few pages, you might naively think it can’t get any worse. Or that you’ll go numb, be desensitized. Good luck with that.

This is the story of Gloria, former porn-star legend fallen on hard times. Age and addiction have taken their toll, until she’s reduced to doing, shall we say, nature documentaries. If a phrase like ‘dog and donkey show’ disturbs you, then, well, it’s probably already too late. Sorry.

After barnyard adventures, it’s not that much of a step down for Gloria to accept some even weirder jobs. Jobs of the paranormal activity type, for instance. Like ghost and possession porn, or giant demonic worms.

But Vlad, the charming fellow arranging these gigs for her, has something else in mind for Gloria. Something that will result in her ending up quite literally in Hell … and, honestly, for me at least, it was a relief.

Why that should be, I don’t know. The atrocities went on, amped to diabolical and otherwise physically impossible levels of degredation and mutilation; maybe that was part of it, the sheer impossibility and unreality. Or maybe too much of me had died inside by then.

Read it if you dare. You won’t be disappointed. You’ll be many, many other things, you might need therapy and/or self-medication later, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a bucket standing by, but you won’t be disappointed.

-Christine Morgan

THE STAFF OF THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW WISHES YOU A FUN-FILLED SUMMER!

NOTE: There were no "smell reviews" this month as everything reviewed by Nick was digital!