January, 2014 Reviews

JANUARY  2014 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.)

(NOTE: Authors and/or publishers looking for submission info, please see the very bottom of this blog page. Thank you).

 

 

 

 

 

DARK FUSIONS: WHERE MONSTERS LURK! Edited by Lois H. Gresh (2013 PS Publishing / 270 pp / hc)

This is the first time I've reviewed an anthology that features one of my stories, so I'll politely SKIP that one and get to the other 17 pieces that make up this collection edited by the great Lois H. Gresh. Obviously the theme here is monsters, but the scope of what makes a monster here is quite wide.

Among some of my faves are opening tale THE REST IS NOISE by Nicholas Kaufmann, in which a couple of gents learn the true, dark meaning behind music; Norman Prentiss' BENEATH THEIR SHOULDERS, where we're introduced to a very strange race of people; Cody Goodfellhows bizarro-horror hybrid THE FLEA CIRCUS is one of the wilder carny tales I've read in a while, complete with what is arguably the finest prose in the collection (which includes some well-timed humor).

My favorite of the collection comes from Ann K. Schwader: WHEN THE STARS RUN AWAY is a bleak, terrifying apocalyptic vision featuring a smart young girl and her father as they face the ultimate end; Lisa Morton's eerie GOLDEN STATE will give you a whole new look at the "gold rush," and Yvonne Navarro's FACELESS gets my vote for scariest story of the lot, as a woman has to deal with a feature-less man no matter where she is. If this one doesn't get your goosebumps going you must already be dead.

Christopher Fulbright's heartbreaking DEATH EATER deals with a father confronting a Lovecraftian beast in order to save his daughter from cancer, then Mark McLaughlin brings some sinister chuckles with AUNT PALOMA, a funny fairy-tale-like monster romp.

I didn't find a slow tale in DARK FUSIONS, which features everything from Miskantonic terrors to undead detectives, from epic monster fantasies to unusual situations in the workplace and among the clergy. These tales are varied so there's something for everyone, which could be hit or miss with some readers, but one thing holds true: these tales (even those with a dose of humor) encompass a very dark side of speculative fiction. Lois Gresh has harvested a fine crop here...

Smell Rating: 5

-Nick Cato

 

SANTA CLAUS SAVES THE WORLD by Robert Devereaux (2013 Deadite Press / 176 pp / tp & eBook)

Next up, on ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas … you will most decidedly not be seeing this holiday special! Not even on HBO. Maybe not even on any of those eXXXtra channels … because this is a Santa that would make the raunchiest ones in those cute little cartoons they have in Playboy blush redder than his own suit.

Readers of the previous two in the series might wonder if there’s any possible way to pack yet more sexy goodies into Santa’s sleigh. Oh ye of little faith. It’s nookies and milk galore for St. Nick. Not only that, but, the addition of many lovely ladies to the toyshop means he isn’t the only jolly old elf at the North Pole this year!

See, poor Santa, after working so hard to conquer the homophobes, discovers to his dismay that humanity is weaker, more backslidey, and self-poisoning than he’d realized. It’s some fundamental flaw in the very psyche that will require a more extensive fix, one that Santa can’t manage on his own.

Not, of course, that Santa’s eager to try. Never a fan of adults in the first place, he’s less so now after having witnessed more of their innermost hatreds and failings. Assigned the task, he’s quick to foist it off on some of his helpers while hoping not to have to get involved. Besides, it’d mean spending a lot of time in proximity to Aphrodite … yes, that Aphrodite, goddess of love, sex and beauty.


Well, you must admit, it’d prove a challenge for Santa to remain focused. Not only being around Aphrodite, but also surrounded by the glorious golden nymphs of Hephaestus … and of course the Tooth Fairy has not forgotten their previous affairs … and some entities are in favor of sabotaging the efforts …

Regardless, something’s got to be done, because society is well on its way to destroying itself. The resulting plan is, well, fairly ambitious and epic, and entirely plays to Santa’s particular skill set, shall we say. There’s also some new, disturbing additions to the Tooth Fairy’s forces … and some revisits with the Easter Bunny.

 

All in all, it’s another wild holiday romp that maybe does get uncomfortable at times with the message and overtone … I’m all in favor of consenting adults (real or mythic) doing whatever they like in whatever numbers and combinations they like … I’m less in favor of the implied suggestion that there must be something terribly, pitifully defective and wrong with people who aren’t having loads of poly sex all the time.

-Christine Morgan



 

 

 

SERIAL by Tim Marquitz (2013 Samhain Publishing / 69 pp / tp)

A serial killer dubbed the Desert Ripper has terrorized El Paso, Texas for ten years, but has so far remained on the loose. Detective Isaac Grant has been pulled off the Ripper case for a new one. Corpses are turning up mutilated and it’s not the Ripper. Thus begins a pissing contest between two serial killers for the right to torment the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. The battle moves through the press, with letters and messages from one killer to the other and escalates quickly.

Once again Tim Marquitz shows his mastery of the serial killer story. Always inventive, this latest novella is not to be missed. The characters are well-developed, and even the Ripper is likeable—to a point. The horror is palpable throughout the book and never over-done. What I truly loved about SERIAL is the ending that I never saw coming. I was flabbergasted and quite giddy when I read the last page. I strongly encourage you to pick up SERIAL.

-Colleen Wanglund





 





RONNIE AND RITA by Deborah Sheldon (2013 Cohesion Press / 101 pp / eBook)

Not since Robert McCammon’s MINE has a book of this kind hit it this hard. Okay, yeah, King’s was pretty good, but I think RONNIE AND RITA pretty well leaves BLAZE in the dust.
 

This nerve-twisting suspense thriller goes right for the ultimate parental horror –kidnapping of a baby – as well as some of the most insidious fears of just how much a guy can trust the lady in his life.

In this case, the guy is Ronnie, kind of a loner and a loser, well-meaning enough but with no friends, no family, not much of a life. Ronnie works as a groundskeeper at an upscale retirement facility. One day, his path crosses that of Rita, a housecleaner. To his dubious surprise, she’s interested in him. Or she’s playing with him. No, she might be really interested.

Before he can decide for sure, they’re in bed together and that would seem to settle it. Suddenly, Ronnie’s got a girlfriend. He’s in love, complete with sex life and plans for a future together. He and Rita imagine how it’ll be, including coming up with detailed fantasies about raising their daughter, Lulu.

Things are finally good. Perfect, even. Ronnie can overlook some of Rita’s quirks, like her mysterious lack of a past, or the way her employers know her by a different name. He’s happy. He’s content. He’s optimistic about being a dad.

Except for one slight problem … Rita can’t have children. But why let that interfere with their dream? After all, Ronnie’s neighbors are expecting. They just need to wait until the baby’s born, and, if it’s a girl, they can finally have their little Lulu.

Ronnie’s reluctant, but how can he say no to Rita? What if she left him? What if he lost her? He’s really got no choice but to keep playing along, making their what-if plans, stocking up on baby supplies. Then the time comes, the baby is born, and Rita is determined to make their getaway with Lulu.

It doesn’t go very well. Ronnie finds himself on the run with Rita and the baby and hardly anything else but the clothes on their backs. He quickly discovers that keeping Lulu is more important to Rita than anything else … after what she had to do to kidnap the baby … and how expendable Ronnie himself might be in the greater scheme of things.

A tense and tight novella, with Australian lingo that was unfamiliar enough to me as an America reader to notice, but natural and contextual enough that it hardly tripped me up at all, RONNIE AND RITA’s a harrowing and creepy good read.

-Christine Morgan

 





BABY TEETH: BITE-SIZED TALES OF TERROR rdited by Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray (2013 Paper Road Press / eBook)

Inspired by an internet post about the creepy things that some children can say, BABY TEETH developed into a flash fiction anthology for a charitable cause. Twenty-seven writers from New Zealand combine for thirty-seven creepy stories.

Among my favorites are "Backyard Gardening" by Jake Bible about a boy wanting to create a Stephen King-like pet cemetery to bring his dad back from the dead; "Practice Makes Perfect" by Sally McLennan about a boy who practices killing, based on the advice of his grandfather; "Caterpillars" by Debbie Cowens about a young girl obsessed with caterpillars and butterfly wings; "Peter and the Wolf" by Lee Murray about a boy afraid of a wolf hiding under his bed; "Lockdown" by Piper Mejia about a lockdown at an all-girl’s high school that may or may not be a test; and "Teach Your Children Well" by Lee Murray about a murderous little boy using history being taught to his sister.

Other very good stories include "Dad’s Wisdom" by Eileen Miller about a boy taking advice from his dad on what to feed a dragon under his bed; "Blonde Obsession" by Jean Gilbert about a boy’s obsession with the yellow lab puppies; "Because I Could…" by Celine Murray about a disturbed budding serial killer; and "Winter Feast" by Elizabeth Gatens about a family living through winter, plague, and starvation.

As with all anthologies, not every story is a hit, but for the most part, the stories are well-written and suitably ghoulish. BABY TEETH is a collection worth getting….and the proceeds go to a good cause.

-Colleen Wanglund

 





SOMEONE WICKED edited by J.M. Reinbold & Weldon Burge (2013 Smart Rhino Publications / 406 pp / tp)

Okay, bias admission time again, this is another anthology I’m privileged to have a story in … one of my gorier Viking tales, in which warlord "Sven Bloodhair" really wants to earn a fearsome reputation and gets a lesson in being careful what you wish for. I really had fun, and I love that story!


Sven, definitely someone wicked, is among good company in this book. It’s chock full of wicked someones, twenty-one tales of them. They span history and genre, realism and magic, villains of quiet subtlety and full-on raging maniacs. I was also pleased to see that the list of authors is almost evenly matched between ladies and gents.

My personal favorites include:

"Impresario" by Maria Masington … it’s always a gratifying thing to see mental illnesses and personality disorders done so hideously, insidiously right!

Shannon Connor Winward’s "The Devil Inside" touches upon the new mother’s fears of what-ifs, failure, post-partum problems and bonding … … while J.M. Reinbold’s "Missing" takes a parent’s worst nightmare somewhere even worse.

"Despair" by Shaun Meeks brings some very clever, agonizing and unexpected twists to the story of a man grieving for his lost family … and "Mirror Mirror" by Chantal Noordeloos brings an elegant style to brooding gothic ancestral secrets.

Doug Blakeslee’s "The Flowering Princess of Dreams" and "Sisters: A Fairy Tale" by Liz DeJesus both take familiar folklore and turn them upside-down and inside-out in decidedly un-Disney ways.

For dark humor, Carson Buckingham’s "The Plotnik Curse" is just all kinds of fun when a rare find brings new business to a fancy jewelery shop, and a restaurant owner runs up against unwelcome competition in Ernestus Jiminy Chald’s "The Tail of Fate."

Epic fantasy and dark fairy tales, love-gone-wrong, madness, obsession, cold-hearted revenge, singular incidents and making a grim habit of murder … with so much to choose from, there’s an evil little something to suit every taste.

-Christine Morgan

 

PREVIEW:

 

 





THE GOSPEL OF Z by Stephen Graham Jones (to be released 1-7-14 by Samhain Publishing / 267 pp / tp)

It’s been ten years since the zombie plague first struck. Civilization has continued to inch along with the military and the Church leading those people left alive. Jory works in a factory that produces handlers—frightening beings that are supposed to help save the world by tracking and killing new zombies. Jory is upset that his girl left him and went up the Hill—to the church where no one ever returns from. After a mishap at work with a handler, Jory is put on one of the lowest jobs possible—a torch, who goes out hunting for new zombies. If the handler finds one, then the torch is supposed to incinerate the body, destroying the virus.
 

In a chance meeting with one of the top priests in the Church, Jory is told he is special. He is now determined to save his girl from the church, but both the church and the military have other ideas for Jory and his future. Along the way, Jory discovers the truth about the past and the virus itself.

I’ve read many zombie stories the last few years…MANY….and I can honestly say that THE GOSPEL OF Z is one of the best. Jory is a compelling character that I could relate to immediately. He’s struggling to survive while dealing with a past that would break most people if they thought about it long enough. Somehow Jory finds the strength to get beyond his suicidal tendencies. The other characters are just as well-rounded, mostly disillusioned people listening to their late-night radio broadcasts to keep just a little spark of hope alive. The story is a visceral one, keeping me reading well into the night—I did not want to put this book down. Jones lays it all out in a way that is intriguing and entertaining, and it’s anything but predictable. Jones’ style is emotional and anything but conventional. He weaves a bleak world but leaves the reader with a touch of faith that life will continue in the face of adversity. I can’t recommend this book enough.

-Colleen Wanglund

 





THE DUNWICH ROMANCE by Edward Lee (2013 Deadite Press / 184 pp / tp)

Oh, to know what H.P. Lovecraft would think if he could read Lee’s stuff … the mind fairly boggles. Scandalized might be putting it mildly. Shocked? Outraged? Offended? Aghast? Probably … because Lee’s Lovecraftian works take all the cosmic, erudite, otherworldly horrors of the Mythos and squelch ‘em up good with oodles of graphic, gooshy smut.

In this one, Lee revisits and puts an altogether new twist on "The Dunwich Horror" with the other, unseen side of the story. Readers will remember the Whateley family, with the big house and albino Lavinia and the promise that some day one of her children would be heard calling his unearthly father’s name.

They’ll remember Wilbur Whateley. Tall, odd-looking, inhuman Wilbur, with his visits to the library at Miskatonic and his unfortunate fate.

But Wilbur Whateley wasn’t only a scholar, no, not in this version. In this version, he’s got his needs and urges, like any other man. Sort of. Okay, maybe he’s not exactly like any other man. Not with the, uh, physical differences he inherited. He’s well aware that women would run screaming at the sight of what hides under his clothes. He still has the needs and urges, though.

Sary Sladder is no stranger to the needs and urges of men. That’s how she makes her living. When they bother to pay her, or don’t beat her up and take back their money after, or dish out some other sort of abuse. She’s no stranger to that, either. A curvaceous young woman of the "butterface" variety, she’s on the receiving end of yet more abuse when Wilbur Whateley decides to intervene.

It’s a new experience for Sary. The first of many. Being defended, being treated kindly, being stood up for, being a guest. Being not expected to repay favors with her body. Being talked to like an actual person.

Oh, sure, Wilbur may not be much to look at, but then, Sary’s aware that neither is she. He’s nice, she thinks. Shy. Polite. He’s also sweet on her. She’s never felt cared about before. Curiosity and affection soon overpower any sort of repulsion. She wants to get to know him better.

And yowza but when she does --! Talk about new experiences! Wilbur’s differences do things for Sary that she’d never even imagined possible. She’s glad to stay with Wilbur as long as he’ll allow it, and he for his part is in no hurry to see her leave.

The other residents of Dunwich – including Sary’s father, and former customers – are another matter. Plus, there’s the business of Wilbur’s old books … and whatever’s in that house on the hill …

Yeah, you’ll never see Lovecraft the same way after reading Lee. And I, for one, can’t get enough! Brilliantly done, squamoushly delicious!

-Christine Morgan

 





THE GATE THEORY by Kaaron Warren (2013 Cohesion Press / 96 pp / eBook)

With an introduction by author Amanda J. Spedding, Kaaron Warren’s THE GATE THEORY is a collection of five short stories that delve into the horror that resides within all of us and the pain we try to hide.

Included among the five are "That Girl", a compelling story about a girl living in a mental hospital in Fiji who kept insisting she was the girl who was brutally raped and then dumped at the hospital. The cab drivers of the area know all about the girl’s story. When the girl at the hospital dies, her ghost leaves seeming to seek some measure of revenge.

"The History Thief" is a subtly creepy story about a man who dies but isn’t buried because no one missed him. His spirit travels about, entering people and experiencing aspects of their lives and feelings. He seeks out a young woman whom he had met whose husband was killed in order to comfort her, but it doesn’t work out well for him.

My favorite, "The Gaze Dogs of Nine Waterfall" is about a woman who works in the illegal dog trade. She captures rare dogs and delivers them to the highest bidder. This particular story was glaring in the people’s cruelty toward animals and really affected me.

"Purity" twists the phrase ‘laughter is the best medicine’ into something truly dark and macabre, while "Dead Sea Fruit" deals with a boogyman that causes anorexia in young women. All of the stories are beautifully written and subtle in the real horror they depict. Kaaron Warren’s style is dynamic and thought-provoking—it is the epitome of quiet horror. If you like your horror with an understated quality, then THE GATE THEORY is for you.

-Colleen Wanglund

 





SIXTY-FIVE STIRRUP IRON ROAD by Ryan Harding, J. F. Gonzalez, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, Edward Lee, Shane McKenzie, Brian Smith, Nate Southard, Wrath James White (2013 Deadite Press / 196 pp / tp & eBook)

What happens when you get nine of the awesomest authors in the hardcore horror scene and turn them loose on a collaborative effort for a good cause?

More than you bargained for, probably, if SIXTY-FIVE STIRRUP IRON ROAD is any indication.

The good cause in question is to benefit Tom Piccirili, all proceeds from the book going toward helping with medical bills. Not only the authors, but the artists and publishers and everybody involved have generously donated of their valuable time and talent.

If that’s not reason enough to buy it, well, there’s also the story to consider. The title is the address of a house with a history, which has perverse and pervasive effects on whoever lives there. Or just visits. Or simply drops by or drives past.

It starts off at full-throttle depravity and never looks back. Clearly, the spirit of one-upsmanship, out-doing each other, and writing the next guy into a tight spot only egged on these gents in their gleeful chapter-go-round.

Let’s just say that if hobo puke fetish porn isn’t your thing, do be warned. And if hobo puke fetish porn is your thing, well, you’ve picked up the right book. If you’re looking for stuff more extreme, you’ve still got the right book.

On no less than four occasions while reading this, I found myself thinking something along the lines of, "oh, no, they wouldn’t really go there, would they? they’re not taking it that far, are they?" Every single time, yup, they did. They did and then some.

By the time you get to about the last third of the book, you might figure you’re ready for anything. Guess what. There’s surprises in store. Sheer WTF surprises that go beyond meta. Phrases like "fourth wall" and "self-insertion" … yeah, this doesn’t just break the fourth wall, but drills a glory hole through it. As for the self-insertion, YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

SIXTY-FIVE STIRRUP IRON ROAD is basically the best in the biz doing what they do best and having a rip-snorting good time with it. Another reviewer may have said it was too disgusting to read. I found it too disgusting NOT to. I enjoyed every sick, revolting minute of this book. Laugh-out-loud, groan-out-loud, puke-out-loud good times.

-Christine Morgan

 

 

PREVIEW:

 

 





THE TREE MAN by David Bernstein (to be released 1-7-14 by Samhain Publishing / 84 pp / eBook)

Thirteen-year-old Evan sees something one night that scares him senseless. A man is dragging a woman through a field toward a massive oak tree, to which the woman is then fed. Evan decides to tell his best friend about what he saw and enlist his help in destroying what he perceives as evil. Evan doesn’t understand what the man, Serus, has been doing, and that will have some very grave consequences.

I read THE TREE MAN in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s well-written and keeps a good pace. The characters are succinctly and skillfully developed and Evan in particular is very relatable. It’s a frightening story that I highly recommend.

-Colleen Wanglund

 





ATTACK OF THE B-MOVIE MONSTERS! Edited by Harrison Graves (2013 Grinning Skull Press / 342 pp / tp & eBook)

No matter what decade we were born, no matter how old we are, in our hearts of hearts we are ALL children of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Our inner kids are the spawn of the silver screen. Drive-ins and Saturday matinees. We love us some schlock. Especially some classic creature-features. Give us giant monsters, give us guys in rubber suits and stop-motion Harryhausen magic and tarantulas juxtaposed against Vasquez Rocks. Give us Godzilla and Rodan, giant bugs, tentacles pulling down the Golden Gate Bridge –

Look at the cover of this book. Tentacles. Look at the title of this book. Monsters. This is the book for those inner kids. This is the book of cheeseball special effects. Nature strikes back against pollution, or nuclear testing. Scientists meddle. Things rise from the deep seas or descend from the skies.

You know how this works. You know it’s true. We can never get enough. Even when it’s bad. Sometimes – looking at you, SyFy – especially when it’s bad. So bad it’s good. Ed Wood badgood.

And in this book, they’ve gotcha covered. Here, for your shameless enjoyment, are twenty-one tales of exactly what you’re expecting … in ways that will still surprise and delight you. These giant monsters range from the ridiculous to the sublime and back to the ridiculous again.

Most of them are done with the total feel of the era, as well. Complete with the plots, the sexism and stereotypes, the cliché dialogue, the works. Done on purpose, with tongue very firmly in cheek, with SCIENCE!!!

If you’ve ever thought, "How come there’s never been a story with a giant (blank) attacking a town?" then I have some good news for you. Here’s those stories. Here are some of the things you NEVER figured would be grown to enormous size, chomping people right and left, flattening buildings, and generally running amok.

I don’t want to say too much about the specifics because the best part of reading this was having so many reveal moments of oh-you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me hilarity. Some, okay, the titles let you know what you’re in for – "Day of the Prairie Dogs" by John Grey, for instance, or Nicole Massengill’s "I Was a Fifty Foot Househusband."

Others keep you hanging a while longer with more teasery titles like "Night of the Nanobeasts" by D. Alexander Ward … or stupefy you to blinking double-takes, like Jay Wilburn’s "Giant Mutant Tiger Slugs Vs. Salty Angel Gimp Warriors in Leather." I mean, come on, who’s not going to have to read something called that?

There may be some bias in my admission that two of my top faves of the book are stories I was privileged to beta-read ahead of time. Those are "Gams" by Tracy DeVore (a poignant tale of an old man and his faithful decidedly-not-a-horse) and Doug Blakeslee’s wonderfully absurd wait-what? story of "GRONK!"

I’m also partial to Kerry G.S. Lipp’s big-budget summer blockbuster "BFF," which goes for the ARMAGEDDON approach and nails it, especially with what I think may be one of the best lines of prose ever written. And, in the battle for sheer WTF-iest category, Brent Abell’s "Stone Cold Horror From the Stars" edges out Lachlan Davis’ "The Taterific Tale of Coral Beach" by virtue of a toothy grin.

One final recommendation, though, would be to pace yourself. Don’t read them all at once; if there’s such a thing as giant monster overload, I was feeling it by the time I got to the end.

-Christine Morgan

 





THE HUNGRY 2: THE WRATH OF GOD by Steven W. Booth and Harry Shannon (2012 Genius Book Publishing / 244 pp / tp)

THE HUNGRY 2 continues the story of Sheriff Penny Miller and her handful of survivors after the zombies came to Flat Rock, Nevada. After spending some time in a Las Vegas penthouse, Penny, biker Scratch, ex-husband Terrill Lee, and military doctor Sheppard are being sent back to Crystal Palace—the base they managed to barely escape from and place of origin for the zombie virus. They are sent with a Special Ops team to rescue data and a possible antidote. Things go horribly wrong and they just manage to get out of the building, but the powers that be have decided to nuke the secret base, covering their own asses and killing anyone within the vicinity. The rag tag group hitches a ride in a Winnebago with Father Abraham, the leader of a group of religious zealots, who has plans of his own for Penny and her group.

I love the continuing story of Penny Miller, feisty redhead who fought off the zombies in a wedding dress in the first book, THE HUNGRY. Penny is as energetic as ever and recovering from exposure to the zombie virus and then the supposed antidote the group is looking for. Booth and Shannon write a rocking zombie tale with many twists and turns, but the story never lags or gets routine. The story flows nicely and packs quite a bit of action and gore. The characters are great and Father Abraham is particularly sick. This is a zombie series that you must read if you have any love for the shambling eating machines.

-Colleen Wanglund

 





THE SLAB CITY EVENT by Nate Southard (2013 Sinister Grin Press / 177 pp / limited edition hc)

It’s classic cars, hot rods and hot babes, rockabilly, and wild times out in the desert, at The Slab City Event! Loud music and louder engines, big hair and bigger egos … it’s just one nonstop party!

For Tyson, headed that way with his biker buddy Mack, it might also be his chance to reconnect with his dream girl, Stella. She’s one of the Boom Boom Sassies, a bodacious dance-troup of vinyl-clad cheerleaders who tour with the Revolvers, appearing at the Event. He’s eager to get there, and not thrilled with any delays along the way.

When Mack insists on stopping in the little town of Niland for breakfast, Tyson’s annoyance is about at the limit. But they both soon come to realize things aren’t quite right in Niland … it’s quiet, seeming as empty and abandoned as a ghost town.

Seeming, that is, until they find an injured man crawling in the street. Injured, and obviously sick, what with his eyes being all yellow and bloodshot. Their first instinct is to try and help. They might have done better to go with another instinct, such as getting the hell out of there in a hurry.

Too late. The rest of the Niland population choose that moment to appear, a throng of them emerging from hiding in a way that suggests some kind of crazy trap. Like the first man, their eyes are bloodshot and weird, they’re spattered with gore … and then they attack in a maniacal, clawing, biting mob.

It’s sudden cannibalistic feeding frenzy time. Forget bonds of biker-buddy loyalty; in a heartbeat it’s every man for himself. Tyson scrambles for his bike and roars away at top speed, hardly looking back. He heads for Slab City at top speed, hoping to warn people and find Stella.

The warning people part doesn’t go so well; it’s early after a raucous night, and nobody’s inclined to take Tyson very seriously. The finding Stella part doesn’t go so well either, because before he has a chance to start looking, the crazies burst onto the scene.

If there’s an explanation given for what caused the outbreak, I missed it, but that’s totally fair because none of the characters have a clue either. All that matters is it’s on, it has hit the fan in a big way. It’s a dust-cloud of blood and tooth-snapping chaos.

The rest of the story jumps around from one person to another, showing snippets of the unfolding carnage through their various viewpoints. It’s a blast. For some, there’s nobility and sacrifice. For others, it’s cutthroat survival of the fittest, civilization and decency right out the window.

Great fun, a rollicking ride with a rocking soundtrack, a grisly action mash from start to finish! Bonus points if you’re a car buff … or then again maybe not, since some of those lovingly-maintained cherry babies might get a little dinged up.

-Christine Morgan

 

 

THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW:

 

NOW IN OUR 11TH YEAR!





DECEMBER, 2013 Reviews

DECEMBER  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:

 

SNOWBLIND by Christopher Golden (to be released 1-21-14 by St. Martin's Press / 320 pp / hc, eBook, and audiobook)

 

Twelve years ago in the small New England town of Coventry, a wicked blizzard brought with it an unusual terror that took several lives and affected the entire populace, even those who haven't lost loved ones.

 

Now there's another storm heading to Coventry, one forecasters are saying could be as bad or worse as the one from 12 years earlier. Among the townsfolk we meet a photographer named Jake, who had lost his brother Isaac during that terrible night. But when he wakes one morning shortly before the next big storm approaches, he finds a young boy wandering around his home, sounding eerily like his late brother. There's detective Joe Keenan, who is still haunted by a young boy he wasn't able to save during the big storm; this time he's determined to locate a missing child no matter what it takes, even as the snow begins piling up at a rapid pace. And then there's Doug, who still has no idea how his wife Cherie died back then. He's now working with two crooks in an attempt to rob the richer homes in the area come the next storm, and is also in a new relationship with a promising future. But paranoia as well as unusual figures in the storm end up standing in his way.

 

SNOWBLIND takes these characters (and a few more) and throws them into a suspenseful tale that blends ghosts and possession into something fresh; and as if that wasn't enough, there are unusual supernatural creatures added to the mix to make sure no one is safe at any moment.

 

This one takes a bit to get going, but is never boring; the horror builds slowly but the payoff in the final act is well worth it. Golden brings each person of Coventry to life and makes the snow as much a character as the people. And best of all, he delivers a genuinely spooky ghost story that also happens to be one of the more original takes on ghosts since T.M. Wright's 1984 classic A MANHATTAN GHOST STORY. Save this one for a snowy day for maximum effect...

 

-Nick Cato

 

 

 

400 DAYS OF OPPRESSION by Wrath James White (2013 Blood Bound Books / 173 pp / tp & eBook)

Of all the emotionally-taxing, soul-shredding, blood-chilling, gut-wrenching, mind-blowing, painful, difficult, and challenging-but-vitally-important-and-necessary-to-read books that Wrath James White has thus far produced, this one is THE utmost.

As much as I admire his skill, I almost don’t know if I can really recommend this one with any sort of clear conscience. It HURT to read. It left me feeling a whole darkly poisonous muddle of emotions. I don’t know if I’d want to subject anyone else to that. I don’t know if I wanted to subject myself to it. Yet it’s too important NOT to read.

It’s incredibly well written, of course. That’s part of its power. It’s not a spewing incoherent rant. It’s very coherent. Extremely so. It’s both sharp and blunt, and … okay, know what? Let’s just say this is not a book to be read for fun, pleasure, or thrills. This is a LEARNING EXPERIENCE, especially for anybody all comfy in their privilege. Those blinders get RIPPED off your FACE with NO MERCY.

What’s it about, you might be wondering? Sex and violence, right? Well, yes, of course, obviously. But it’s really about racism, slavery, abuse, self-loathing, and all sorts of really dark, really grim, really hardcore object lessons and social, societal, physical and emotional PAIN.

But, to summarize, there’s this woman named Natasha who’s in love with a man named Kenyatta. And in order to prove herself worthy and capable of understanding, he puts her to this test – to go through a personal, modified, condensed experience of what his ancestors went through. She voluntarily becomes his slave, subjected to variations on many of the ugliest aspects of America’s history.

If Natasha can get through 400 days of this, Kenyatta will marry her and it’s happily ever after time. If, however, she decides she can’t take any more, she can end the experiment whenever she likes … all she has to do is say the safeword … which is THAT word … which will also end their relationship forever.

Wrath pulls no punches. This book is one long utter beating from start to finish. The anger, the guilt, the shame, the bitterness, the injustice, the lust and hate and toxicity … these will put you through such a wringer you might never recover.

-Christine Morgan

 

PREVIEW:

 

PHOENIX ISLAND by John Dixon (to be released 1-21-14 by Gallery Books / 320 pp / hc & eBook)

Sixteen year-old boxing champ (and orphan) Carl Freeman is the type of guy who likes to stick up for the weaker kids against bullies: he has a sense of justice handed down from his father but as noble as it is, he often goes overboard and gets into trouble. After too many instances (taking out an entire football team single-handedly now pushing the limit), a judge takes Carl away from his current foster home and sentences him to Phoenix Island, a military-style boot camp designed to straighten-out teens like Carl. But within the first few minutes on the island, Carl and his fellow recruits discover the isolated place (located off the coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean) holds many secrets, and it doesn't take long for them to realize they're all in a fight for their very lives.

While this set up may bring BATTLE ROYALE or THE HUNGER GAMES to mind, PHOENIX ISLAND is more like a combination of the 1983 Sean Penn juvenile prison film BAD BOYS, LORD OF THE FLIES, ROCKY, and any mad scientist film. Dixon blends action, scifi, and horror into a tale that had me flipping pages to the point I finished in two rapid sittings. Dixon (a former Golden Gloves boxer) gives vivid descriptions of the boxing mindset, hence making the hand-to-hand fight scenes edge-of-your seat exciting (especially Carl's fight with a taser-wielding drill sargeant). The violence level is quite high (considering this is a YA novel) and Dixon's cast of good and bad guys & gals are to die for.

The second book in this series can't get here fast enough (and I hope the forthcoming CBS TV series, 'Intelligence,' based on this novel, is even a quarter as good as its source material). There are plenty of surprises at every turn, and like any good story featuring a boxer as the main protagonist, this one is completely full of heart and just may have you cheering out loud. Don't miss it.

 

SPLATTERLANDS edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson (2013 Grey Matter Press / 204 pp / tp & eBook)

Once again, it’s disclosure time … I have a story in this one too. Nastiest, grossest thing I’ve ever written. I asked myself what it’d be like if Edward Lee did a Viking story, and then tried my best to measure up. The resulting tale, "The Defiled," is in some good company here.

Well, by ‘good’ I mean horrific, disgusting, squicky, squirmy, and all-around vile. A scan of the table of contents should give you some warning, which includes titles such as "Violence for Fun and Profit," "Amputations in the Key of D," and "The Viscera of Worship."

There’s gun-lust, blood-lust and sex-lust. There’s flesh in art, and art in flesh. There are professional killers, talented hobbyists, murderers, demons, devils and deviants. Wallow in mayhem, body parts, and twisted sex! Visit other realities and realms!

My personal top pick for best of show would have to be "Party Guests" by Chad Stroup, in which a big teddybear invites friends over whether they like it or not. It is brilliant and phenomenally written, really great stuff, blew me away!

Other particular stand-outs:

Ray Garton’s "Housesitting," exposing some secrets behind normal life; it might make you start giving your neighbors some weird looks.

J. Michael Major’s agonizing revenge-porn fantasy, "A Letter to My Ex," which is horrible and heinous in a dark, dark, all-too-plausible way.

This anthology aspires to "reawakening the splatterpunk revolution," and, in my opinion, it’s certainly up to the task.

-Christine Morgan





CANDY HOUSE by Kate Jonez (2013 Evil Jester Press / 256 pp / tp & eBook)

Roland is a 28 year-old scientist who is forced to move back in with his parents after his nasty temper almost causes him his career. He teaches at a local university and has self-published an undocumented book his colleagues (and boss) tell him just might destroy his future. But Roland presses on, going so far as to do unusual cell research on himself when he can't get the okay for a grant.

Next door to Roland is a house full of strange characters, headed by the sexy, cougar-like Hesperia, who is attempting to lure Roland over "Hansel and Gretel" style. Her home is full of witches, demons, and all manner of supernatural beings who like to barbeque humans. Hesperia begins to get ticked when Julia moves into Rolands house. His parents take her in as a favor, but soon she is sent back to a mental institution and eventually escapes to discover Roland has become captive to his weird neighbors. A most unusual struggle takes place leading up to a slick conclusion.

CANDY HOUSE reads like an adult fairy tale, is full of very bizarre situations, and blends fantasy and horror into an interesting mix. Much of the story is seen through Roland's eyes, and at times becomes a bit confusing, but stay with it as Jonez eventually clears some things up.

For a debut novel, this is quite good despite Jonez throwing an awful lot of "is it real or not" at the reader that at times can get a bit frustrating. If not for the colorful cast I might not have enjoyed this as much as I did, but Jonez is one author I'll definitely be keeping my eye on. Fans of strange fiction should eat this CANDY HOUSE up...

-Nick Cato

THE COLONY: DESCENT by Michaelbrent Collings (2013 Amazon Digital / 199 pp / tp & eBook)


The Fastest Keyboard in the West is back with the third installment of his full-bore, fast-paced zombie-mutant outbreak! I’m reluctantly forced to admit that, okay, maybe releasing them in serials like this is a good move … much as I tend to fall into the greedy GIMME NOW camp, the relentless intensity would have gotten overwhelming and exhausting.


The already-cranked stress levels increase as our small group of survivors continues their seemingly-doomed race to escape or at least stay ahead of the persistent throngs. Heck, they’re still trying to get out of the building from the second book.


Descent, as this one is called, lives up to its name. It makes the harrowing elevator shafts of Book II look almost pleasant by comparison … when your best route leads down the tilted, smoldering fuselage of an airliner that crash-landed sticking partway through the wall …


Things aren’t looking good for the group. They’ve already suffered some terrible losses, and some terrible near-misses. Worse yet, something’s happening to the kids, threatening to further tear apart the family that protagonist Ken has fought so hard to reunite. Are they contaminated? Changing? Possessed?


No time to try and find out. Must keep going. Must pick through the damaged airplane, which still has many of its unfortunate passengers strapped into their seats – GAH then they’re getting up too, it’s a cramped-quarters zombie chase with spilled luggage, and even if they can reach the bottom, that’s where it looks like the FIRE is …


Yeah. Whew. Relentless intensity, the wrenching torment of parents trying to protect their children from unknowable fates, the hideous helplessness of being stuck having to watch as those around you sacrifice themselves …


And then, for those who actually do reach the street, having to descend further yet … having to go underground … where even that turns out not to be much of a refuge …


Of course, then the book up and ENDS again and we gotta wait for the NEXT one and aaaaaaaaaaaagh!


-Christine Morgan

PREVIEW:

BROKEN SIGIL by William Meikle (to be released January, 2014 by DarkFuse / 55 pp / eBook & limited edition hc)

Joe Connors is called to investigate a murder in a seedy building. He discovers the body belongs to his ex-partner, who was also a close childhood friend ... as well as the man who had an affair with his wife, Brenda. As Joe questions people in the building, he begins to uncover dark secrets about his late and his old friend, and finds himself drawn into a supernatural world that he simply can not deny.

Meikle's novella is a quick read that blends modern crime noir with occultic themes, and delivers a couple of solid chills in-between the hard-as-nails investigating. To reveal any more about this short tale would do it a diservice, but those into haunted houses (and The Maltese Falcon) will enjoy the author's take on the subgenre. Add a plus for the most chain-smoking I've ever seen a detective partake in...


-Nick Cato

 

ESCAPE FROM SHIT TOWN by Sam W. Anderson, Shane McKenzie, Erik Williams (2013 Thunderstorm Books / limited edition hardcover)

Sometimes, you might think that even in this genre, the weirdness bar’s been raised as high as it can possibly go. Then along swagger these guys with their story-within-a-story of a freaky movie within a freakier theater, and that weirdness bar clangs up a few more notches like the salmon ladder in Ninja Warrior.

I think I read the whole thing blinking increasingly wide, agog eyes. I mean, until my face hurt. The bones of my face, my orbital sockets, HURT from the boggled expression.

Now, granted, with a name like ESCAPE FROM SHIT TOWN, nobody’s going to be expecting subtlety. That’s good. That’s wise. This is a grindhouse bloodbath of outrageous proportions. This is goretastic shock-o-rama in technicolor and 3-D.

The movie-within is an acid-burn tale of a vicious old patriarch who decides, in the best moustache-twirling tradition, to pit his heirs against one another in a battle-royale duel to the finish. Winner inherits all. While he, attended by his personal naughty nurse, watches the show and enjoys his combined special Halloween/birthday celebration.

His grandkids and their friends have no idea what they’re in for when they find themselves dropped off in the charmingly-named Shit Town. The entire neighborhood belongs to Grampa, who’s evacuated it and then dispatched a choice group of psychos and maniacs to hunt them down. The target group consists of the jock and his buddy, the sexbomb psychic twins, and a trio of costumed gamer nerds. The hunters include a father/son Cowboy and Indian team, a couple crazy clowns, two bickering pervs, and more.

Cue the body count. In graphic detail. To add to the fun, the kids’ parents are summoned in to join the old man … and find themselves with their own lives on the line. Teach them to disrespect their elders, the ungrateful brats!

The framing story, of the movie theater where this cinematic tour de force is being shown, well, let’s just say it isn’t very upscale or sanitary. The clientele are dubious and the employees even more so.

ESCAPE FROM SHIT TOWN is as wildly disgusting and outrageous as its title suggests. The Thunderstorm Books edition is, I’m told, sold out … but a new edition is on the way from Deadite Press. So, don’t miss it!

-Christine Morgan

 

THE DEAD SHERIFF: ZOMBIE DAMNATION (Volume 1) by Mark Justice (2012 Evileye Books / 218 pp / tp)

There is a rumor around the West that a dead lawman has risen from the grave to exact justice for those wronged. Richard O’Malley, a crime writer for a Boston newspaper has come to West Texas seeking the truth about this dead sheriff and gets more than he bargained for. The dead sheriff exists and he has an Indian helper named Cheveyo. O’Malley sees the dead sheriff in action and wants to write a book about him—not the pulp Westerns being churned out en masse, but the truth. Cheveyo and the dead sheriff run into some trouble and O’Malley helps them out so Cheveyo—who is really named Sam and only one-quarter Indian—lets O’Malley tag along for a while.
 

In the meantime, Reverend Skaggs pretty much runs the town of Damnation, Texas but has grander plans for Dallas. Skaggs discovers that the dead sheriff is on his way to Damnation so along with his henchmen, devises a plan to "save" the town from the Devil himself. No one could imagine what would happen in Damnation when the dead sheriff, Sam, and O’Malley finally arrive looking for someone else entirely.

Before this recent mix of horror and Westerns, the only Western I had ever read was Zane Grey’s RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE—and I thought it was pretty good. Now, I’m really enjoying this new sub-genre taking place in the Wild West, where gunfighters meet werewolves, zombies, or any other manner of the supernatural. Mark Justice has written a fantastic story in THE DEAD SHERIFF. There are unexpected twists, well-rounded characters, and no end to the possibilities of directions this series could take. I love the unexpected in a story and I love THE DEAD SHERIFF. Justice’s prose brings the Western genre to life—the action and characters feel real—while adding an effectual horror story that keeps things entertaining. The imagery is quite powerful—there is no doubt in my mind what the dead sheriff looked like or smelled like. I particularly enjoyed the easy flowing dialogue and quick pacing of the story. I look forward to reading more about these particular bounty hunters and their future shenanigans across the impossibly hot American Southwest.

-Colleen Wanglund







BONE WHISPERS by Tim Waggoner (2013 Post Mortem Press / 269 pp / tp)

This collection of 18 short stories features some of the strangest horror tales you're likely to read this year, and shows off the author's knack for making the surreal come to life.

After a slick introduction from Michael A. Arnzen, 'Thou Art God' gets things rolling with a cautionary tale about a man who gains the mind of God; title story 'Bone Whispers' finds a man visiting a graveyard where he had encountered a groundhog-like creature when he was a kid, and 'Some Dark Hope' deals with a most unusual prostitute, while 'Harvest Time' is a short and funny take on the zombie thing...

'Surface Tension' explores the fear of ... puddles (!), while 'Best Friends Forever' gets the creeps going as a father and his young daughter encounter a life-like stuffed dog. 'No More Shadows' finds two high school aquaintances running from shadow-creatures, and 'Unwoven' looks at an author facing a strange dilemma.

'Skull Cathedral' is a mind-boggling masterpiece of bizarro horror (and I'm not just saying that because my press originally published this in 2007), 'Do No Harm' looks at a female doctor trying to survive after a nanobot virus destoys the world, and 'Country Roads' gives the good old-fashioned ghost story a fresh spin.

'Darker Than Winter' is one of the best here, about a struggling artist who is pestered by a detective after pretending to murder a snowman for a photo shoot; 'Swimming Lessons' is a short & sweet creeper, while the fantastic 'Conversations Kill' finds an abducted woman trying to remember who she is.

"Long Way Home' is a great apocalyptic tale featuring blood-rain and insect-like creatures, then Waggoner brings the super-strange with 'Sleepless Eyes.' 'The Faces That We Meet' looks at a dad trying to understand his teenaged daughter in the wake of a spree of dog mutliations, and things conclude with the thought provoking and truly frightening 'The Great Ocean of Truth.'

Waggoner's prose sucks you in in each story, and whether the tale is straight-forward or bizarre, there's not an entry here that can be ignored. If you like horror on the weird side, this is a must read, and even if you don't, give BONE WHISPERS a try anyway. It's a refreshing alternative to your by-the-numbers horror fiction.

-Nick Cato

 

Smell Rating: 2

 

PREVIEW:

 

PROTECT ALL MONSTERS by Alan Spencer (to be released 12-3-13 by Samhain Publishing / 293 pp / tp & eBook)

If the monsters were real … the vampires, the werewolves, the zombies … if they’d been among us all this time but the government had been keeping it a secret … a conspiracy, a cover-up, the way more people believe in cover-ups than in whatever’s supposedly being covered up … how would that work?

Well, it might go part Jurassic Park, part Men in Black, part Alcatraz and part luxury custom-catered all-inclusive resort. There, the monsters can be kept and cared for. They can be studied instead of hunted and destroyed. A truce, of sorts, if the monsters will go along with it.

Of course, if they DO, then such a place has to be staffed. That’s where people like Addey Ruanova come in, ‘recruited’ from her mundane job and life. Or maybe ‘drafted’ would be a better word. Shanghaied. She doesn’t have a choice. She’ll be presumed dead, and will work on the island for the rest of her life.

On that island, the rest of your life may not be very long. There isn’t exactly a retirement plan. They don’t even bother having one of those job safety signs telling how long since the last accident. It’s pay and perks at high risk. They always need new employees.

Besides, the place also needs to be supplied. Regular shipments of blood, cadavers, and the unfortunate condemned prisoners, addicts or homeless will only go so far. Why waste a perfectly good source of extra inventory for the kitchen?

And what happens when there’s trouble? When there are renegade rebel factions among the staff, when there’s infiltrator spies from outside? When the monsters themselves have been up to something, plotting their escape?

All that is the premise of this book, and it’s a fun enough one. It has some problems with the plot feeling rushed and the character stuff seems really forced under pressure and a little all-too-convenient … toward the end some of the scenes slip into dialogue tag hell … but the action and descriptions are wacky, schlocky fun, the setting itself is amusingly thought out, and the higher-functioning zombies are a total hoot.

-Christine Morgan



NEPTUNE'S BROOD by Charles Stross (2013 Ace / 325 pp / hc)

While not a sequel, Stross' latest takes place in the same "universe" as his 2008 novel SATURN'S CHILDREN. It is, however, the continuation of the author's Space Opera saga, dealing with androids who have far outlived their human creators. This time we meet Krina Alizond, a metahuman trying to locate her missing sister. She learns she was last seen on a water planet named Shin Tethys, and she manages to get onboard a church/starship that's headed there, albeit slower than other ships that have already departed. This intergalactic church is filled with some of the most interesting characters/creatures Stross has come up with yet. The first 100 pages take place aboard this vessel, and this opening segment is filled with a surprising amount of humor, a castaway look-a-like assassin hot on Krina's heels, and the craziest deacon this side of Waco.

Stross develops a confusing but interesting plot about the workings of intergalactic currency, and like the technobabble that killed SATURN'S CHILDREN for me, at times the over-long explanations of how these finances work become tedious. In fact, once our space-church-ship is confronted by pirates (actually bat-creature accountants!), the story quickly slows down for a bit. But when we finally reach Sin Thethys, it picks up again (albeit without the humor that made the first section so much fun) as we join Krina for her aquatic body modification, learn what's going on with her sister, and while Krina's escape from the water planet is exciting, the ending itself comes to a dead halt, making me think Stross enjoyed the final episode of the SPORANOS a bit too much.

NEPTUNE'S BROOD features a lot of great ideas and some to-die-for androids, but like the first novel in this Space Opera series, it's bogged down by a mid-section that will test the patience of the author's fans, and will most likely cause newcomers to stop reading. If the entire novel moved as well as the first 100 pages, this would've been one of Stross' best. As it is, it's a bit disappointing, but worth sifting through the slow parts.

-Nick Cato

Smell Rating: 4

 

CLUSTERFUCK by Carlton Mellick III (2013 Eraserhead Press / 252 pp / tp)

CLUSTERFUCK takes place a few years after 2009’s APESHIT (Mellick’s tribute to 80s grindhouse films) not with the same characters (for obvious reasons) but connected via some people who used to go to school with them and know about their mysterious disappearances. Since it is a few years later, we’ve now got college students, but instead of a cabin in the woods, the theme is another of the classic horror movie tropes … the great uncharted outdoors in the form of caving!

Caving, frat-boy style. Caving in accordance with the "bro code." Four frat brothers – the hot shot BMOC, the stoner, the reluctant token minority, and the ultimate dudebro – and most of them are so obnoxious that you just want to bludgeon their skulls in with a beer keg partway through the first chapter.

But, what’s a weekend in the wilderness with your bros unless you’ve got some chicks along? Like the hot shot’s girlfriend, and her gorgeous friend that the hot shot sets his sights on instead, and the gorgeous friend’s more-than-plus-size sister who’s already been the object of frat boy ridicule?

Really, what could possibly go wrong with such a scenario? Especially when one of the party’s also claustrophobic, they don’t tell anybody where they’re going, the first drunken fun they have involves tossing their spare batteries into the fire to see if they explode, the one who packed the food has some disturbing too-personal recipes …

 

You’d better believe it all goes hideously wrong. Again, it’s headed that way well before they discover what else is down in the caves, when it’s already way too late.

CLUSTERFUCK more than lives up to its title, that is for sure. And Carlton Mellick III continues to more than live up to his reputation! If you know what you’re getting into, you will not be disappointed. If you don’t know what you’re getting into, well, you still won’t be disappointed. Traumatized, scarred, and fatally offended perhaps, but not disappointed!

-Christine Morgan

PREVIEW:





THE SUMMER JOB by Adam Cesare (to be released 1-7-13 by Samhain Publishing / 245 pp / tp & eBook)

Clair is a goth,metal college grad from Boston who is tired of her loser boyfriend and her dead-end job. With the help of her friend Allison, she finds a want ad for a job at an isolated hotel in Mission, Massachusetts. When the hotel's owner explains the details, Claire decides to take the position, and it doesn't take long before things start to get weird.

Shortly after arriving, Allison abruptly leaves, the hotel's owner and staff act like conservatives from the 1950s, and a group of teenagers who party in the woods are led by a hippie-like guru named Davey. And strangest of all is a badly-burned former priest who lives alone at the hotel after surviving a church fire.

Claire begins to see Tobin, one of the local teens. He tells her that Brant (the hotel's owner) and her staff are part of an underground Satanic cult, and when she finds a dog belonging to a couple staying at the hotel skinned alive, Claire decides something has to be done.

THE SUMMER JOB has a wickedly tense opening, then slowly unravels its mysteries; we never know if the hotel staff or Davey's teens are the enemy, and the final pages ratchet the suspense level up to 10. I like how Cesare handles the whole "devil worshipper" thing, and you'll truly feel for not only Claire, but a couple of side characters, too.

A fine offering from an author who's beginning to make a serious mark in the genre.

-Nick Cato

Smell Rating: 1

 





BLOOD BETRAYAL by Alison Beightol (2012 Charles River Press / 400 pp / tp)

Eamon, one of the oldest vampires in the world, is obsessed with Lauryl, a ballet dancer with a bad attitude. Eamon follows her career before buying the dance company and eventually turning Lauryl into a vampire, to be his companion. What he didn’t count on was Lauryl’s positively stubborn nature and her resourcefulness. Lauryl runs away to be with her human lover, much to Eamon’s chagrin. In his search for her, he discovers he has fallen in love with Amelie and she brings out feelings in Eamon that he thought he had lost after all of his centuries as a vampire. Eamon also discovers other vampires of his bloodline, and the vampire hunters that murdered his former companion Irina.
 

I am not typically a fan of paranormal romance. I actually avoid the genre like the plague. However, every once in a while a book comes along in that sub-genre that sucks me in saying "read me!" BLOOD BETRAYAL is one of those rare para-romance novels. The characters are well-developed and come across as almost real people. The vampires are interesting and reminiscent of Anne Rice’s vampires with their somewhat regal bearing and desire to be around humans. I enjoyed the way Lauryl and Eamon constantly butted heads, and the way Amelie seemed to make Eamon act human when he was with her, wanting to be a better person—well, vampire. Overall the story was a good one, with humans and vampires interacting at an underground club —which encompasses an existing sub-culture. BLOOD BETRAYAL was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal romance or vampires, in general….and I don’t do it lightly.

-Colleen Wanglund

 

 

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