Shroud Magazine Book Reviews

The Woman: Special Edition, (Cemetery Dance), by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McGee

2012-01-15T12:02:00.006-05:00

The Woman is the third act of a harrowing tale begun in Jack Ketchum's legendary Offseason, a tale of feral cannibals living in the woods, hunting and breeding and terrorizing the Maine coast. The Woman begins with the last surviving member of this savage clan seeking refuge in cave, resting and healing from wounds inflicted upon her when her clan was attacked and killed by those hunting them.

But this survivor isn't left in peace for long. Because she's spotted by Christopher Cleek, a sophisticated, socially-upstanding lawyer, while he's out hunting. And just the sight of her flips a switch inside. Because though a respected member of the community, the local PTA and Kiwanis Club, Christopher Cleek is something much more. And while that something has been held tightly under wraps, concealed from the public eye, it hungers for release and sees something in this savage woman that whispers of infinite opportunities.

So he captures her.

Brings her home, chains her in his fruit cellar.

To civilize her, of course. And he enlists the aide of his family: wife, teenage son and daughter, his little girl. Because they are well accustomed to acquiescing to his desires. The Cleek household is good at keeping secrets. Has kept them for years.

But the woman is not just a savage cannibal. She is a hunter, skilled in fighting and killing for survival. So she waits.

For the scales to tip, turning prey into predator.

A taut thriller, The Woman isn't for the faint of heart. But the narrative shows admirable restrain for its first half, letting the reader wonder in glimpses what exactly is amiss in the Cleek household (other than the woman chained in their fruit cellar). The dread builds, as it becomes very apparent that Christopher Cleek is far worse than this savage woman he's imprisoned, that dysfunctional family is a kind term for the Cleek household. And when Chris finally slips over the edge, taking his family with him, it is impossible to look away.

Even if you want to.

This special edition also contains a bonus novella entitled "Cow", picking up the The Woman's tale a year later. Without giving away any details, "Cow" makes up for The Woman's early restraint, as nothing is left to the imagination.

Pre-order The Woman today. Visit www.jackketchum.net.

Kevin Lucia is a Contributing Editor for Shroud Magazine. His short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. He's currently finishing his Creative Writing Masters Degree at Binghamton University, he teaches high school English and lives in Castle Creek, New York with his wife and children. He is the author of Hiram Grange & The Chosen One, Book Four of The Hiram Grange Chronicles, and he's currently working on his first novel. Visit him on the web at www.kevinlucia.com.

Shock Totem: Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted

2011-12-17T07:55:00.003-05:00

Edited by K. Allen Wood
Published by Shock Totem Publications

Culturally, we tend to adopt a dualist approach to the holiday season, bookending our naughty/nice deliberations between those representative yin-yang extremes of the color spectrum, Black Friday and White Christmas. Perhaps this is the kind of simplicity we need to get through the Exodus-rivaling travel, wallet-flogging, and family intrigue, not to mention all the trite, overdone bitching over department store Christmas muzak casually rattled off ad nauseam—as if buying toilet paper to the strains of Kelly Clarkson’s latest breakup anthem back in October had been some kind of transcendental, edifying experience! Which is to say, amidst yuletide chaos tradition is employed as a small oasis, and we seize upon it for whatever serenity it can offer us.

Now imagine you’re standing next to the tinsel-festooned tree in your mother’s living room, nursing a second eggnog and wondering how long you can resist those Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sugar cookies. The Burl Ives is on repeat and you’re smiling and nodding even though you haven’t picked up a goddamned word Uncle Ralph has been laying down lo these last forty-five minutes.

Screw it, you say to yourself, Rudolph can light the way down my esophagus for him and his whole gang.

Ralphie finally pauses to take a breath and you make an escape speedy enough to rival those epicene teenage vampires that are all the rage these days. You’ve almost reached the dessert spread when the sound of breaking glass stops you in your tracks. A fat man in a crimson suit lined with white fur waves jollily through a shattered windowpane then thrusts an industrial sized nozzle into the room. The intermittent, multihued illumination of the outdoor Christmas lights reveals a hose snaking across the backyard to a tank soldered onto the back of his souped-up sleigh. You are tempted to utter some of the same obscenities dad did while staple-gunning those blinking faux icicles and glowing plastic evergreens to the eaves, but before the vituperation finds its way to the tip of your tongue an elf hits a switch on the sleigh, the hose engorges, and soon the room is awash in bloody gore—plasma and fat and bits that could probably be put together in the form of an organ by Auntie Ester, the family’s jigsaw master.

Ho, ho, ho! Never sounded so sinister.

The preceding scenario is something of an allegory for what Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted achieves. This excellent volume of sublime malevolence from the provocateurs at Shock Totem magazine dispenses with the goodwill toward men fairly early on and sets about planting sticks of dynamite around that aforementioned oasis. Fair warning: The humor is black, the twists are twisted indeed, and before you stick a finger in the splatters of red stuff coagulating everywhere, please be aware chances are it is not cherry pie filling.

It would be a shame, really, to degrade shock value with a detailed review. But in the interest of whetting appetites let’s just say that in the skewed Shock Totem reality bad clowns occasionally become even worse Santas, some elves are not nearly as gregarious as Dudley Moore and Will Ferrell, getting exactly the gift you ask for can be more curse than blessing, and not all kids take Santa’s “naughty” verdict lying down.

Oh yes, K. Allen Wood and crew go there…and then some. Remember when Siskel and Ebert threw a tantrum back in ’84 over Silent Night, Deadly Night? Those scolds had no idea. The stories in Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted make Silent Night, Deadly Night look approximately as gritty as The Muppets Take Manhattan.

As an added bonus Shock Totem peppers the volume with holiday recollections of several horror fiction luminaries—brief respites from dark otherworldly visions, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartrending.

Christ, what more could a fan of horror fiction ask for, really, than a poem by Jack Ketchum about decorating a Christmas tree stoned out of his gourd in 1969?

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Shawn Macomber

Shawn Macomber is a Miami based writer whose work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Reason, Radar, Yankee, The Weekly Standard,the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Decibel, among many other fine and middling publications. He has reported from five continents covering everything from combat in Iraq, riots in the Baltics, and two presidential elections to designer cat shows at Madison Square Garden, the cross Carrot Top bears, and the Carcass “Exhumed to Consume” reunion tour. His story "Demon Envy" will appear in Shroud #12. More info at www.shawnmacomber.net

Escape from Zombie City

2011-12-01T13:22:00.003-05:00

by Ray Wallace
Published by Apex Book Company

RAY WALLACE hails from the Tampa, FL area and is the author of The Nameless (Black Death Books). More than two dozen of his short stories have appeared in such magazines and anthologies as The Zombie Fee: VOL. 1, The Blackest Death: VOL. 1&2, and Erotic Fantasy: Tales of the Paranormal. A few of his other stories have appeared at The Chiaroscuro website where he took first place in their second annual fiction contest. He also wrote a long running book review column for The Twilight Showcase webzine and now writes reviews for Chizine and SFReader.com. His most recent novel is Escape From Zombie City.

In the past few days, I have been bombed; fallen to my death on top of a zombie; mauled by zombies in an elevator; captured by religious fanatics for the sake of sacrifice only to be bombed again; trapped into a car and eaten to death; shot execution style by the military; shot off the top of a building; trapped on a boat, pulled under by zombies and eaten to death while drowning; and turned into a zombie. All of this is thanks to Ray Wallace's Escape from Zombie City. Escape from Zombie City is a story in which the reader is periodically given choices, and these choices lead to different endings. Most of these endings result in the death of the reader, but one leads to ultimate survival. This book is built around the model of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books popular with tweens in the 1980s and 90s, but with far grislier content.

While the concept of a CYOA novel for adults is not new, this is the first attempt I know of using zombies, which seems like a natural fit. Zombie tales, be they fiction, films or otherwise, center around the choices made by the protagonists attempting to escape or simply survive. These choices sometimes lead to freedom, but usually lead to one or many of the main characters being eaten alive. In Escape from Zombie City, you face the same fate. The choices readers make can lead to freedom, but usually lead to the reader's demise. As the series title suggests, there literally is only one way out.

There are a few issues with the various plots. For example, in one narrative, the reader's gun gets stolen, but a few pages later, the reader uses it to beat off a zombie. Other narratives are quite short, the length of a short story, which makes for a disappointing read. But of course, that's all part of the adventure. Reader's can learn from their mistakes, flip back a few pages, make better decisions, and survive. That, or they can die an equally horrible death. Wallace makes sure that happens a lot.

All in all, the cleverness of the novel and its nostalgic throwback to CYOA novels more than makes up for any disappointments the reader might have with the book. Ray Wallace's Escape from Zombie City is a really fun read and welcome addition to zombie literature.

Buy it here.

Reviewed By Joshua Gage

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland. His first full-length collection, "breaths", is available from VanZeno Press. Intrinsic Night, a collaborative project he wrote with J. E. Stanley, was recently published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle. Hooks and Books livejournal.com

Eyes To See

2011-11-28T08:45:00.004-05:00

by Joseph Nassise
Published by TOR

Joseph Nassise has been involved in the horror genre as former president of the Horror Writer's Association and the author of the Templar Chronicles. His latest protagonist, Jeremiah Hunt in Eyes To See from Tor books, is also involved in horror – the sort that goes bump in the night.

Billed as an urban fantasy novel -- what's urban fantasy for one generation is Gothic to those of us dinosaurs who remember it –- Nassise paints a wounded character in the midst of a haunted environment. Reminiscent of a noir detective, Jeremiah utilizes his gift of “ghostsight” to help the local police detective Stanton to track down a brutal killer and earn cash on the side. Mesh this noir attitude with a dash of the occult and an atmospheric setting and you have Eyes To See.

The origins of Jeremiah's Hunt's lonely and alienated life and how he becomes blind to everything but the haunts that surround him, have to do with the disappearance of his daughter five years before. While Nassise provides plenty of plot and action to keep the reader busy attempting to untangle the path that lies before Hunt, it's the back story that proves most intriguing. Hunt's transformation from happily married man declining into a broke-down shell in his search for the daughter he blames himself for losing, he eventually finds himself in an occult underground world. His journey into the heart of desperation defines horror itself as he trades away his eyesight in the hopes of finding his child.

Nassise also succeeds in dishing up a last minute surprise. While Hunt's prior life is defined by the absence of people he cares about, toward the conclusion it becomes filled with new people who have secret histories of their own, from the hedge-witch Denise to the street-wise bartender Dmitri.

If you find yourself alone on a dark night, Jeremiah Hunt's ghosts from Eyes To See would prove entertaining company. . .

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. More details are available at mrmartinrose.blogspot.com

Night of the Crabs

2011-10-26T20:56:00.002-04:00

by Guy N. Smith
Ghostwriter Publications

Originally published in paperback in 1976, this instant bestseller and seminal classic is back from the depths and in print for the first time in hardback. “Night of the Crabs” spawned an entire series about giant crustaceans with a taste for human flesh and crowned Guy N. Smith king of pulp.

Professor Cliff Davenport, one of the UK's leading botanists, is expecting a visit from his nephew, Ian Wright, and Ian's fiancée, Julie Coles, who are vacationing on the Welsh coast. However, the couple never arrives. Instead, Davenport gets a visit from the police informing him they found his nephew's car abandoned with the couple's clothes inside. It looks as if they were swept out to sea while swimming.

Davenport heads to the Welsh coast to help search for the couple, but what he finds is something far different. On the beach are strange tracks in the sand, tracks that look like claw marks, crab claws, from impossibly huge crabs. It's not long before the professor is hunkered down in the sand dunes watching in horror as giant crabs the size of cows crawl from the sea with almost human-like expressions of evil on their faces.

The professor rings up an old friend in the Ministry of Defense and the troops are sent in. They hit the crabs with bullets, mortars and tank fire, but the crabs get back up and keep coming, tossing transport trucks and the tank into the sea like toys. The carnage is stopped only when the leader of of the crabs, the most monstrous beast of them all, King Crab, clicks his claws and sends them back into the sea.

Now it's up to Professor Davenport to find the monsters' underwater lair and devise a way of exterminating them before they push farther inland, crushing villages and killing hundreds of people along the way.

“Night of the Crabs” is a quick, fun read that never tries to be anything other that what it is: pulp fiction at its best. Smith keeps the plot arrow straight, the cast of characters minimal and the action non-stop. There are gallons of blood, buckets of bowels and loads of dismembered limbs. Oh, yes, and giant, cattle-sized crabs. This new version of the book includes an intro by the author, foreword by J.F. Gonzalez, prologue and epilogue, a new chapter and additions to several others. The hardback version is limited to 100 signed copies with a paperback run ongoing.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Durant Haire

Durant Haire has been writing for 13 years, working as a reporter, copy editor and copywriter. His stories have been published in magazines and books such as Dark Wisdom, Dark Lurkers, Darkness Rising and Decadence 2 to name a few. He lives in North Carolina and holds a B.A. in English.

Amazonas, (Cemetery Dance), by Alan Peter Ryan

2011-10-15T07:50:00.005-04:00

Amazonas, by the late Alan Peter Ryan, reads like a fantastically lucid fever dream. A surreal journey, it works a hallucinatory magic by blurring the lines between reality and horror, taking the reader on a journey deep into the jungles of the Amazon, where the normal rules of civilization and humanity have no meaning. The horror here is all too real: the cruelty of slavery, the lust and hunger of ordinary men driven to fever pitches, the inability of feeble human good to do anything to stop it.

The story is simple: three whites and a group of natives are traveling down the river, deep into the jungle, searching for something called "The Slave Tree". What they find defies all logic and rationale, a figment of some dark fantasy, but dreams of financial success plumbing the slave market with an inexhaustible supply of slaves dies in the ravages of disease, lust for power and violence.

There are no winners in this story, but that is faithful to the world and mood Ryan establishes early in the narrative: this is not world in which anyone can win, because there are no rules to play by.

Even if not an homage to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the comparison is inevitable, and not just because of the setting. Ryan invokes that same sense of "slipperiness" and madness without the density of Conrad's prose, and like in Darkness, the jungle is presented as an alien entity, uncaring of human aims or goals.

The Slave Tree itself remains largely unexplained, but this doesn't detract from the tale, simply adds to the story's thrust: most of the natural world is unexplained, much of it dark, and often, humanity just wants to exploit it for mercenary means.

The ending is fast and furious, but again: this feels loyal to the tone of the story, that violence is fast and brutal, and the natural world around it indifferent of the outcome.

Buy it today.

Blood War

2011-10-12T16:30:00.003-04:00

by Dylan J. Morgan
Published by Pill Hill Press

For six centuries, armies of vampires (led by the coldly calculating Markus) and packs of werewolves (led by the brutally savage Isaac) have been locked in a bitter war, their struggles hidden in the shadows away from human eyes or waged from within the cover of mortal conflicts. Their conflict spans the years and the continents, each immortal faction seeking to gain dominance over the other with the ultimate fate of mankind at stake. But now a new enemy is rising to wrest control of the supernatural world from the old regimes: hybrids. These bizarre offspring of both lycanthrope and vampire, long outlawed amongst their sires, seek to control their own destinies and bring their persecution to an end.

Blood War is arranged in three “books”. The first, “The Freaks Come Out at 9 and Its 20 to 10,” describes the struggles between the vampires and werewolves leading up to the present day. The second part, “Monsters and Mortals,” introduces the only two mortal characters in the novel and the manner in which their lives are embroiled in the struggle. The final book, “Last Stand,” brings the various conflicts to their inevitable conclusion. Morgan’s writing is strong and descriptive, especially so during the novel’s many action sequences. The author also does a fine job of balancing about a dozen or so different characters and points of view while aptly describing the centuries-long, globetrotting conflict at the heart of the novel. He has a lot of pins in the air and never misses a catch. The “blood war” described is exciting and harrowing, with each vivid scene obviously crafted to drive the plot to its next destination.

Unfortunately Blood War misses some opportunities for depth by not creating an emotional attachment with its audience. Morgan creates very complex and interesting characters among the immortals, but for every spark of sympathy invoked for the players, we are reminded of their innate monstrosity. Frankly, the reader doesn’t know who to root for. Further, the ultimate stakes of this contest—the fate of humanity—is woefully underplayed, resulting in a distinct lack of emotional investment in the conflict.

But sometimes all you need is the adrenaline rush of a good fight. You don’t have to care who wins to enjoy vampires and werewolves and hybrids beating the crap out of each other. In the end, with its exotic locales, tight action scenes, and large cast of bad-ass immortals, Blood War is a well-written, highly entertaining action movie of a novel.

Buy it here.

Visit Dylan Morgan's site.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

The Perfect Suspect

2011-10-11T12:14:00.003-04:00

by Margaret Coel
Published by Berkley

Margaret Coel explores the corruption of love and politics in her taut thriller, The Perfect Suspect published by Berkley's Prime Crime imprint.

Catherine McLeod is the central character, an investigative news reporter who finds herself thrust into the events of a recent homicide, the murder of a venerated politician on the fast-track to the White House. Catherine McLeod must choose between advancing the truth as she uncovers new evidence that can change the course of the investigation, or allowing a scapegoat to take the fall for the true killer by doing nothing at all.

Margaret Coel quickly advances the action; from the first pages we are thrust into the mind of a conflicted killer caught between love and betrayal as she shoots David Mathews, the sophisticated politician expected to take the governor's seat in the state of Colorado. Coel creates a portrait of corruption both internal and external – love spoiled and tainted, the flawless politician whose spotless image is thin cover for his adulterous affairs, and the killer herself, Detective Ryan Beckman, put in charge of the homicide investigation when her job is to protect and to serve. Catherine McLeod is one of the few characters who holds firm against this moral decay. She insists upon pursuing evidence on the strength of an anonymous phone call that implicates Detective Ryan Beckman as the killer.

The action unfolds as the murder expands into a spiral of circumstances – Beckman uses all the resources of her occupation she can muster to silence potential witnesses, while McLeod proves equally tenacious, unable to stand by and watch as Sydney Mathews, David's wife, takes the heat of the investigation and is charged with murder. The key to bringing Beckman to justice revolves around the anonymous caller, and it becomes a race between them as each struggles to reach the witness first – McLeod becoming Beckman's target in the process.

Margaret Coel provides the action in swift succession, allowing the reader insights into characters and their motivations in a slow unfolding, seeing the crime and its after effects from multiple angles. Fast-paced, any crime lover will no doubt enjoy this latest installment in Coel's recurring character of Catherine McLeod.

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.

Cinema Of Shadows

2011-10-10T12:00:00.003-04:00

by, Michael West
Publisher, Seventh Star Press, August 2011

Cinema Of Shadows is a full-throttle, unique journey that takes the concept of the conventional “haunting” to new territory. Well written, with a suspense that is palpable, West delivers a novel that strikes emotional chords and challenges our imaginations.

The Woodfield Movie Palace has stained the community of Harmony, Indiana. From fires, murders, to suicides; its sorted history is about to come to an end with a wrecking ball. But, from within, an evil that precedes antiquity begs to differ. It plans and waits.

Kim is a struggling college student who is doing her best to pass her classes and move on from a past of nightmares that still awake her. Most fans will remember her--and what set her on her path--from West’s short story The Bridge that appeared in his collection, A Skull Full Of Kisses. There is only one way out of this perpetual torture, and the answers she seeks: a Parapsychology class headed by a Professor with a past just as dark, and haunted as Kim’s.

Professor Burke’s intent is to have his students collect as much data as possible from the Woodfield Movie Palace before demolition starts. As they do, what waits for them subtly extends its reach into the sleepy town with fingers that desiccate everything and everyone they touch. Even the doctors and the police become embroiled in the escalating chaos—and the humble people that comprise the town carry their suspicions on whispers.

Kim and her class-mates friendships, relationships, and their inherent trust are put to the test, as a reality bereft of logic consume them. As the stakes rise with every pulse-pounding chapter, these bonds are stretched to their limits. Can they stand together and do what must be done, lest their home and life itself vanish like the people the Woodfield has consumed?

Cinema Of Shadows is a compelling novel that catches the reader off-guard. West begins with familiar territory and makes it his own, in all of its horrific glory as emotional chords are plucked...one by one. The real beauty of this novel is West’s unique approach to ambiguity. Each chapter raises the bar, as well as our emotions it elicits. As usual, West gives us a novel that snares us into a world eerily similar to ours, tickles our imaginations, and proves once again that his voice is rare and quite formidable.

To find out more about Michael West, please visit his website.

Reviewed by Ben Eads

Ben Eads is a dark fiction author of short stories and longer fiction. His work tends to represent modern horror coupled with what he likes to call: “Imagination-tickling elements”. Ben is also a huge fan of dark fiction and dark movies. At the age of ten he wrote his first story. Taking writing seriously in early 2008, Ben Eads has published numerous short dark fiction stories in various magazines, anthologies, and E-Zines.

LITTLE BOY LOST

2011-10-05T19:22:00.003-04:00

By T.M. Wright
Published by Uninvited Books

WHY WOULD A DEMON WANT A CHILD?

When his six-year-old son vanishes, Miles Gale is suspected of having committed an unthinkable crime. He alone knows that the truth is even more unthinkable: his son has been taken by a creature out of time, a creature out of nightmare. The boy’s mother has returned to claim him…and Miles will have to go through hell to get him back. (back cover blurb of Little Boy Lost)

This 1992 re-issue of Little Boy Lost focuses on the ultimate parental nightmare—that of a child lost. So clearly does Wright’s surreal prose explain the unreal, “I must be dreaming because this can’t really be happening” world in which those who have lost a child live, that even childless readers are able to fully empathize with Miles’ desperation, anguish, and helplessness when little Aaron disappears. And to make it all the more realistic, the child disappears at a local mall, where these sorts of things happen with a fair degree of regularity outside of the pages of a novel.

We get most of the details of the story from CJ, Aaron’s older half-brother, who has an eidetic memory. During police interrogations (because, of course, the police think that CJ’s father, Miles, is responsible) CJ recounts every single detail of the day, down to the hairstyle of a woman at the far end of the parking lot. Being a child, CJ doesn’t yet know how to filter through everything his mind has recorded, and so he just plays back every second, whether relevant or not. A small detail, perhaps, but a crucial one, and it perfectly fit the character, as do all T.M. Wright’s subtle touches. He is truly the Da Vinci of literary horror, where God is in the details.

With his typical, always fascinating hallucinatory edginess Wright takes us on a frantic search for Aaron—in this world and…other places. There is nothing predictable about the searching, nor the way the book ends, for that matter.

T.M. Wright is truly an author for analytical adults who appreciate the more literary side of the horror genre. Younger people may find him frustrating, because little is spelled out and endings are not necessarily all neatly tied up and obvious. So if you’re looking for a cheap thrill, gratuitous gore, or hardcore horror, Wright is probably not for you.

But if you want something haunting, something that you will think about during the day, something that will quietly creep into your dreams at night…well, now you know just where to look.

Another home run, Mr. Wright…all the way from 1992!

Five out of five stars.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham’s first dark fantasy novel, HOME, will be released this Halloween and will be available on Amazon.

GRAVEMINDER

2011-10-01T07:34:00.002-04:00

by Melissa Marr
Published by William Morrow-Pinnacle Press

What is it that makes a novel “gothic”? We all know that it sure as hell isn’t pouty teenage girls fainting in the embrace of sparkly vampires, but negative proof is never much help. Is it old, crumbling manses or castles sinking into the unbearable stench of a cursed moor? Ghosts that haunt the periphery of the damned? Some alchemy made from cobwebs and wrought iron posts? Or, is it old secrets, buried deep but still boiling to the surface? The inescapable past sneaking up on the unknowing present?

If, like me, those last two are what really make the genre for you, then you’re in for a dilly of a tale with Melissa Marr’s Graveminder.

Rebekkah Barrow left Claysville a decade ago and did her best to never look back, despite the deep connection to her step-grandmother Maylene and long running ignored relationship with the town’s Undertaker in training. As with all best laid plans of meece and menses, this all goes to hell when Maylene is murdered. Someone or something tore her apart and finding out who only begins the mystery that forces Rebekkah back into the town she never truly called home and the arms of the man she never admitted into her heart, ByronMontgomery. It seems that the town elders had made a pack in the long ago that binds everyone within its borders and more than just ghosts are worming their way out of the ground.

Graveminder takes an interesting approach to the traditional gothic ghost story in that it is the town itself that is haunted, instead of a specific person or house. Not so much haunted by ghosts (though the dead do walk within these town limits) as by the remnants of decisions made long ago. That aspect is what makes it a uniquely American, distinctly post-millennial Gothic novel while maintaining the sense of history and age associated with the genre, this sense that even as we strive for personal freedom we are bound by the sins of our fathers. No matter how much we may strive and struggle against this hold of the past, we inevitably find ourselves unable to escape and must find some way to live with it. Melissa Marr beautifully captures this age old strain of freedom versus fate in both Rebekkah’s constant fight against it and Byron’s passive acceptance.

Of course, you could ignore that and lose yourself in the loamy, dusty ambiance (you’re soaking in it) while the hungry dead chew at your flesh.

On the down side, the ending seemed a tad rushed to me. The setup was far too rich and the emotions seemed too complicated to play out as quickly as they did. Also, the romance portion fell flat for me. I didn’t feel the connection between the two in any way beyond the superficial and still have a tough time buying it. These aren’t story killers by any means, but it could’ve played out a little stronger with more patience.

Regardless, Graveminder goes well beyond the standard penny dreadful and kept me up well into the dreary hours with Ms. Marr’s combination of originality, heart and whip quick pacing.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Nowhere Hall

2011-09-11T09:19:00.003-04:00

by Cate Gardner
Published by Spectral Press

"Someone stole the world and packed it up in a briefcase."

We all know how to deal with ghosts (salt, prayers, just move out of the friggin house already), vampires are old hat (stake, decap or wait til sunrise for the sparklies) and no matter what new permutation on zombies you may come up with, we have our plans ready (we won’t go into that). Physical threats are blasé, but many of us have to face a new horror: economic uncertainty. Yes, this is nothing new for the blue collar world (Braunbeck’s “Union Dues” pretty well sealed that one up for us), but now those who had always felt safe behind a desk aren’t so secure anymore. White collar Willy Lomans litter the pavement and we all know that we might be next. Enter Kate Gardner’s novella Nowhere Hall to poke and prod at this new chink in our psychological armor.

Meet Ron. We’re not sure where he’s going or even where he’s been, but neither is he. We just know that this poor soul seems snapped in a few places and that he’d been let go because he’s let himself go. His world seems familiar enough, but its logic doesn’t work quite right, things don’t make the sense that they should. And he finds himself at the door of a building, crossed with police tape and heralded by a falling umbrella with a simple note attached: We want to live. Help us.

In a way, Nowhere Hall can be looked at as in inwardly aimed ghost story that twists reality in the same vein as Poppy Z. Brite’s Drawing Blood. It is surreal, but in a way that slips through the spaces between dendrites rather than slamming against the forebrain, shouting “Ooooh booga booga. I’ve got a marshmallow in my eyes!” Cate paints Ron as one who haunts as much as he is haunted, an empty shell roaming halls that have long forgotten him, and the effect is emotionally devastating. In this case, the slipstream flow of illogic is used to great effect in reflecting the inward confusion that Ron is experiencing as his world dissolves instead of simply being used for shock value.

Yes, if you prefer your narratives to be of the more direct variety, then you will not enjoy yourself here. It certainly took me several attempts rereading whole paragraphs multiple times to make sense out of the situation. But, as I said before, that’s the point. It should be confusing and disconcerting, it needs to be. It also isn’t a particularly cheery tale, ending with a question none of us really want answered (I want to say that we do, Cate, but I’m too afraid to find out the truth). However, the resulting experience is well worth it all.

Nowhere Hall ends up as a journey that is bewildering and heartbreaking, a painful search for worth where objective value has been removed that would fit perfectly along side of Tom Piccirilli’s Every Shallow Cut (read the review), if you have a favorite razor you’d like to cuddle up with.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Four Legs in the Morning, (Cemetery Dance), by Norman Prentiss

2011-09-08T17:26:00.004-04:00

This new collection of three linked stories once again proves Norman Prentiss as one of the premier writers in the field. Featuring a mysterious (perhaps even diabolical) English Department chair and three people who run afoul of him - a protege who scorns Dr. Sibley's old fashioned views, a guilt-ridden plagiarist and a young administrator who discovers just how powerful Dr. Sibley is when he learns the fate of his predecessor - these interlocking tales have been wonderfully sculpted by Prentiss' deft, sure and subtle hand.

Reviewers have compared Norman Prentiss to the late Charles Grant, but he's so much more than just an imitator. A superb stylist in his own right, Norman is marking out a place of his very own in genre fiction. Four Legs in the Morning is quiet, haunting, and as Prentiss dangles unknowable secrets just beyond our reach (which may be for the best), we wait anxiously for a new morning after the long, quiet night. And even if that morning never comes, we wait for it still, in breathless anticipation.

Very nearly sold out. Pre-order today!

Kevin Lucia is a Contributing Editor for Shroud Magazine. His short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. He's currently finishing his Creative Writing Masters Degree at Binghamton University, he teaches high school English and lives in Castle Creek, New York with his wife and children. He is the author of Hiram Grange & The Chosen One, Book Four of The Hiram Grange Chronicles, and he's currently working on his first novel. Visit him on the web at www.kevinlucia.com.

Blood and Other Cravings

2011-09-02T08:15:00.002-04:00

Edited by Ellen Datlow
Published by Tor

“Each of us needs something - food, liquor, pot, whatever - to help us survive. Dracula needs blood.” Frank Langella (Playboy Magazine, 1979)

Anytime you sample a collection edited by veteran anthologist Ellen Datlow (Snow White, Blood Red; Teeth; Supernatural Noir), you know that you are in for a treat. Blood and Other Cravings is no exception. This top-notch collection takes vampirism as its theme, but each story veers far and away from the now-worn tropes of the genre. The creatures (some human, some decidedly not) featured in these tales feed not only upon blood but hope, emotion, and life itself. They are beings of insatiable hunger and predation, stalking us from the shadows of 1970s New York, from behind the blinds of suburban homes, and from our parents’ bedrooms.

While there is not a bad story in the bunch, some are worthy of special mention. “Keeping Corky” by Melanie Tem is a sublimely disturbing piece involving a mentally-challenged young mother whose indomitable will affects those that would stand between her and her son. Fledgling talesmith Nicole J. LeBoeuf’s piece, “First Breath”, is a beautiful exploration of identity and point-of-view involving the lifecycle of a family of ethereal beings. The anthology closes with Laird Barron’s “The Siphon”, where an evil man encounters creatures of blood and nightmare that lie in the shadows thrown across time and myth.

Blood and Other Cravings reminds us of why we should fear those that stalk the night.

Buy it here.

Visit Ellen Datlow's site here.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

Thunderstorm Books Trifecta, Part 3: For Emma, by Mary SanGiovanni

2011-08-31T19:53:00.003-04:00

**Premiering at Horrorfind Weekend, 2011, and at Thunderstorm Books, after September 4th, 2011.

"…..I want a reason for babies born with cancer, for the endless supply of thoughtless cruelties both little and large we inflict on one another on an everyday basis, for old folks who are abandoned to die alone and unwanted and unloved.

I want an explanation, please, for all of the soul-sick, broken-hearted people who become so hollowed by their aloneness that they turn on the gas, eat the business end of shotgun, or find a ceiling beam that can take their weight. I want sense made of this. I want to know the reason why...and since none is forthcoming, either from above or those around me, I've decided to try and find an answer on my own. So far, the best - the only - way for me to work toward this is through writing horror stories."

Gary Braunbeck, To Each Their Darkness (Apex Publications)

Apologies for the long quote, but it's the first thing that comes to mind after reading Mary Sangiovanni's latest offering, a novella from Thunderstorm Books. Not only is For Emmy chilling, heartbreaking, and quietly terrifying, it works at something behind the scenes, reaching for explanations for the thousands of little tragedies that occur around us every single day, explanations that all too often can never be reached . It's this – and Sangiovanni's flawless prose – that makes her genre fiction more; insightful and chilling commentaries into the human experience, a musing about our possible experiences with something Other than human.

When Dana's McClusky's four year old sister Emmy disappears from her father's bookstore, she does so without a trace. With no evidence of foul play. No ransom note, no clues. For months, Dana and her widower father grapple with their shattered lives, wondering what happened to Emmy, where she's gone, how she got there, and if they'll ever see her again.

Wondering if, perhaps, it would be better not to know.

And then one day Emmy returns. To the same exact spot she disappeared from in her father's bookstore. Disheveled, muddied, slightly wounded and malnourished...and different, somehow. See, not all of Emmy came back. Wherever she went, something happened to her, draining her youth and vitality and spark, leaving behind a traumatized, emotionally-stunted, empty husk. A “not quite Emmy.” And even worse?

The thing that took Emmy away wants more. As usual, Sangiovanni's handle of her prose and story is flawless. And, like precious few other horror writers – Ramsey Campbell comes to mind - she's able to harness the essence of Lovecraftian horror: fear of the unknown, the alien, the unsolvable, and harness it for her own uses, rather than creating homages or pastiches. And this isn't just a spooky, ghostly tale for fun and frights: there's a serious wondering here, about all the unexplained, tragic phenomena that occurs every day, a wondering if perhaps it would be better for us never to know the answers.

Visit Mary SanGiovanni. Buy it after September 4th.

Thunderstorm Books Trifecta, Part 2: The Neighborhood, by Kelli Owen

2011-08-26T07:20:00.004-04:00

**Premiering at Horrorfind Weekend, 2011, and at Thunderstorm Books, after September 4th, 2011.

So.

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Not just a fun little song from Sesame Street, but an important question. Especially if you live in one of those small little towns where everyone knows everyone else. The kind of town with only one school, church, police department, where parents do triple duty on the school, church and Town Boards. The kind of place where everyone has heard every little thing about everyone else. Where the men all meet at the general hardware store to shoot the bull, and the women meet twice a month for their bridge or book or wine of the month club. Where there are no secrets...

Except the ones everyone willfully turns a blind eye towards, and keeps from themselves.

Thus forms the basis of Kelli Owen's creepy new novella The Neighborhood, out from Thunderstorm Books, September 2^nd. In perhaps her most understated, restrained work yet, Owen builds her story and its suspense slowly, brick by brick, using even, smooth brushstrokes to paint a chilling portrait of a small little town where everyone is happy.

At peace.

Going about their business. And even though rumors spread like in any small town and everyone seems to know the tick and click of everyone else's social affairs, certain things are not discussed. Some thoughts not entertained. The only shadows here in Neillsville hide in the corners. Ones townspeople are too willing to shy away from and ignore. Until the blood comes spilling out into their lives. But even then, the adults “circle their wagons.”

Keep their own counsel. Don't talk to the kids. And by all means, don't LISTEN to the kids, when they tell strange tales too fantastic and dreadful to be true. Because they're only kids, after all. With wild imaginations too prone to carry them away. This is Neillsville, where everyone takes care of their own. And minds their own, too.

So. Who are the people in your neighborhood? Do you know them?

Really? Because Kelli Owen's The Neighborhood may very well cause you to doubt what you think you know...

Visit Kelli Owen. Buy it after September 4th.

Thunderstorm Books Trifecta, Part 1: Samson and Denial, by Robert Ford

2011-08-24T08:36:00.004-04:00

**Premiering at Horrorfind Weekend, 2011, and at Thunderstorm Books, after September 4th, 2011.

Samson and Denial (Thunderstorm Books) is a powerful debut from author Robert Ford, a story reeling at a break-neck pace that demands a reading in one sitting. This is Robert E. Howard, Norman Partridge and Bryan Smith, all rolled into one explosive package that doesn't mince words, but also doesn't sacrifice its craft. It's a story of substance as well as fast-paced thrills.

Things have taken a nasty turn for pawnbroker and small-time drug-dealer Samson Gallows. His brother and drug-dealing partner Marky tortured and murdered in ruthless fashion by merciless Russian gangsters, his wife Tia abducted and in mortal danger, Samson finds himself barreling towards the kind of fight he's never wanted: one with no good outcome, no victory possible, but one he must embrace regardless. His dear brother, mutilated beyond recognition; beloved wife possibly facing the same, maybe even already dead. What else can he do?

But perhaps not all is lost. For Samson has in his possession a grisly artifact pawned to him earlier by one of his usual junkie customers. With this artifact comes a strange and horrifying legacy. And awful powers. When it saves Samson from the same men who killed Marky – in bloody fashion – a small chance for survival offers itself to him...if he can also survive the artifact's rightful owners, who fear neither death nor hell in their service to it, and would sooner gut him like a fish, rather than let it slip from their grasp again.

Ford's even-handed voice never loses control of his narrative. The prose flows, nice and tight and powerful, each word precisely chosen for maximum punch. And the story itself tears up the track like a dragster burning high octane nitrous oxide. Along the way, Ford paints poignant, bitter-sweet portraits of life in the city, infusing his tale with a thundering heart that refuses to quit, right to the last page.

Visit Bob Ford. Buy it after September 4th.

Last Days

2011-08-18T09:09:00.006-04:00

By Brian Evenson
Published by Underland Press

Here is everything you need to know about Last Days: This short novel is brilliant enough live up to the eleven-page fawning introduction penned by Peter Straub—though, fair warning, the Ghost Story author festoons his effusions with so many delicious twists and snatches of plot you’d be crazy to read it before diving into the tale beyond.

Of course, if that’s not enough to pique your interest, we can toss in a dismemberment-obsessed cult that makes the axe-wielding psychos Sly Stallone tangled with in Cobra look like extras in a particularly feisty episode of Toddlers & Tiaras, a jaded one-handed cop through whose eyes we experience the faction’s absurd depravities, and a narrative that somehow balances pitch-black satire against harrowing blood-and-guts corporeal believability.

Still on the fence? Didn’t think so.

Much like Jonathan Lethem’s literary fraternal twins Motherless Brooklyn and Gun, with Occasional Music, Last Days mashes noir archetypes atop bizarro contrivances to summon forth a fantastical world only a degree or two off from our own, then sets the beguiling creation barreling off down the rabbit hole, improbably managing to up the stakes over and over again, right up until the last line of the disquieting finale. Evenson—an incontestably superior talent since his opening 2002 salvo, Altmann’s Tongue—herein further establishes himself as a writer utterly allergic to the (too) well-defined boundaries of horror fiction, and, consequently, raises the genre up in his clenched jaw and carries it forward, a literary feline nimbly prowling toward fresher killing fields.

Reviewed by Shawn Macomber

Shawn Macomber is a Miami based writer whose work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Reason, Radar, Yankee, The Weekly Standard,the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Decibel, among many other fine and middling publications. He has reported from five continents covering everything from combat in Iraq, riots in the Baltics, and two presidential elections to designer cat shows at Madison Square Garden, the cross Carrot Top bears, and the Carcass “Exhumed to Consume” reunion tour. His story "Demon Envy" will appear in Shroud #12. More info at www.shawnmacomber.net

Descent

2011-08-18T08:27:00.005-04:00

by Sandy DeLuca
Published by Uninvited Books

Back in the seventies young Julia developed a thirst for bad boys so lusty it could not be quenched by any run of the mill rebel-without-a-cause biker. And so, ignoring the cryptic warnings of her Wiccan aunt and dead brother, she made a play for a disciple of Satan whose idea of a weekend getaway was a multi-state killing spree.

Alas, Julia learns too late the most important relationship law The Rules failed to cover: A man with a taste for a homemade blood/semen cocktail is likely not boyfriend material. The union, needless to say, does not have a storybook ending, unless you’re into fairytales stocked with Deliverance sexcapades and motel room crucifixions.

Descent opens a few decades later. Broken by a past she cannot put behind her, Julia appears determined to self-sabotage any prospect of happiness, perhaps as an act of penance, perhaps because as a painter she cannot afford the necessary therapy. “Loneliness is a bitch,” she muses. “But memories can be even worse.” Trouble is, Julia’s memories aren’t content to remain locked in her mind anymore—they seep out into the real world, possess friends and acquaintances, make sudden appearances like quick cuts in horror flick. Around this mystery of what is and what is not real, Sandy DeLuca constructs a trippy, altered state narrative. Is Julia truly being haunted by demons bound and determined to prove Faulkner’s oft-quoted maxim, “The past is not dead. In fact, it is not even past”? Or is she suffering hallucinogenic reverberations from the trauma that withered the flower of her youth?

“Sanity visits me now and then, but never stays long,” Julia says, appearing to make the case for the former.

“How do you make them see that the monsters are real—that the dead really do come back?” she later asks, suggesting the latter.

It is a testament to DeLuca’s authorial prowess that both explanations feel plausible throughout the book. When the final wave at long last breaks, the dénouement is richly imagined enough to leave you wishing DeLuca was not so brief in her exploration of it. I would have liked to see her delve a little more deeply into the transcendent implications of the specters that emerge from Julia’s paintings as well. These are, however, minor quibbles. DeLuca’s taunt, fast-paced yarn draws you in and screws with your equilibrium, much like those demons Julia glimpses out of the corner of her eye.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Shawn Macomber

Shawn Macomber is a Miami based writer whose work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Reason, Radar, Yankee, The Weekly Standard,the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Decibel, among many other fine and middling publications. He has reported from five continents covering everything from combat in Iraq, riots in the Baltics, and two presidential elections to designer cat shows at Madison Square Garden, the cross Carrot Top bears, and the Carcass “Exhumed to Consume” reunion tour. His story "Demon Envy" will appear in Shroud #12. More info at www.shawnmacomber.net

Deadline book 2 of the Newsflesh Trilogy

2011-08-10T08:45:00.005-04:00

By Mira Grant
Published by Orbit

*Warning, this review contains spoilers for FEED, the preceding book in Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy read the review here, then read that book first.*

It sucks to be the second part of a trilogy. The first part is young and impetuous, the vibrant child introducing us to new worlds and people while establishing the broad conflict. The last one is older, more mature, bringing it all together and providing us with a sense of closure. All the middle kids does is get everyone into as much trouble as possible.

Boy, howdy does DEADLINE do that.

Picking up scant months after the events of FEED, we're plopped into the head of Shaun Mason as he barely holds the crew of After the End Times together. The ghost of his dead sister is in his head, an officially deceased CDC researcher is in his apartment and his city is overrun with the hungry amplified. This new addition to the group has information that someone is willing to firebomb the entirety of Oakland to keep secret. It would appear that the conspiracy behind his sister's death is alive and Shaun will stop at nothing to get at the heart of the matter.

Everything that made FEED my favorite novel of last year, as well as my second favorite zombie novel of all time, is still here: political intrigue, in-depth and honest characters that work their way into your heart and life, spot on social commentary on the way we live under the threat of a terror state and some damn fine “hold onto your britches while you fill them with poo” action. Of course, Mira continues to ratchet up the tension with the increasingly tightening noose around the necks of our intrepid newsies. Her previously proven Whedonesque willingness to kill off any character, no matter how important they may seem, certainly kept me on my toes in that regard.

I specifically enjoyed the change in POV from FEED's supremely self-assured and driven Georgia to the increasingly apathetic and uncertain Shaun. His feelings of inadequacy and mental breakdown (he doesn't just talk to his dead sis, she argues back) provide the heavy emotional impact this go round. The world around and within him is collapsing into chaos and you'll feel every moment.

Sure, it will leave you hanging in the air once the last page is turned, but that is what middle children do. Also, there's a revelation near the end that I want to call cheap but it does fit with the information we are provided earlier and I'm curious to see how it will play out in BLACKOUT. Overall, it's a hell of a worthy followup to FEED that had me tearing through the pages and left me salivating more. What else can you ask for?

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Margaret’s Ark, (Other Road Press), by Daniel G. Keohane

2011-08-10T07:51:00.004-04:00

Many view publishing's future and the Amazon.com self-publishing revolution with equal parts trepidation and suspicion. How will the industry – whatever it becomes - maintain standards of quality? How will readers know if something is good, even with word of mouth, because opinions on “good” vary so greatly?

And what about the authors themselves? Don't they still need editors and gatekeepers to keep them (authors and would-be authors) on their toes? Keep them from getting complacent? Whatever happened to working hard, being patient, earning the satisfaction that came with a Publisher’s stamp of approval?

These concerns aside, if Margaret's Ark, by Daniel G. Keohane, is an indication of publishing and self-publishing's potential future, things might not be so bad.

Of course, it makes a difference when the author self-publishing is an experienced professional with valid publishing credentials outside their self-published venue, and a Bram Stoker Award Nominee to boot. It makes a difference when the author self-publishing has done their time and has achieved industry success. Not to be redundant, but it also makes a difference when the author's self-published novel was a semi-finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novelist contest, scoring a positive review from Publisher's Weekly, even.

All these things make a big difference, because Margaret's Ark is not a sloppily conceived story slapped together in Word and Adobe, then uploaded to CreateSpace. Nor is it a rookie author's efforts. It's a quality work of fiction, written by a professional who knows his stuff. A gripping story about the power of faith, but also a frightening portrayal of that inevitable conflict that must erupt – because we're human and flawed – between those who would choose to follow their faith unswervingly, those who follow it only for selfish reasons, those who fear and do not understand faith's power...and those who ultimately reject it.

Solomon's Grave, Keohane's first novel, proved a solid debut and earned him a Bram Stoker nomination for “Superior Achievement in a First Novel”, however Margaret's Ark is Keohane's best work to date. Though it moves slowly and takes time building its tension – and build tension it does – this novel is the mark of an experienced craftsmen. The characters are varied and engaging, prompting genuine sympathy in the reader.

Keohane manages to walk a fine theological line, also. His story is original and well-written, not a shabbily veiled religious allegory, but it shouldn't prove too radical in regards to doctrine. His success is that he does what spiritual fiction often fails at: he focuses on the human element, how humans deal and grapple with the difficulty – and demands – of faith.

Margaret's Ark is published through Keohane's own, self-styled imprint, Other Road Press. Time will tell if he'll release other works through this venue, either his own or of other authors. In any case, not only is it a fine novel, but the book itself – its craft, its formatting – serves as a rare example of self-publishing's promise for the future.

Visit www.dankeohane.com and www.otherroadpress.com. Buy it today.

Department Nineteen

2011-08-07T08:09:00.003-04:00

By Will Hill
Published by Penguin Books/Razorbill Press

Young Jamie Carpenter is in for the shock of his life. Accused as a terrorist, Jamie’s father is gunned down in a hail of submachine bullets from mysterious men in black body armor.

As Department Nineteen begins, these events darken the lives of sixteen-year-old Jamie and his distraught mother. Publically hounded into hiding, Jamie hopes for a normal life and wants to clear the family name. But evil forces are at work. When Jamie comes face-to-face with Larissa, a girl with supernatural powers that has been ordered to assassinate him, he learns of a secret department of the British government chartered to protect the citizenry from vampires.

Yes, blood-sucking vampires that feel no remorse at draining the life from their human victims. And there are thousands of vampires. Maybe millions.

Amazingly, he learns the truth from Frankenstein, the monster whose life is now dedicated to Department Nineteen and its top-secret mission. Jamie, recruited as an agent, discovers the department’s dark origins as the true story of Van Helsing, Bram Stoker, and Count Dracula is revealed. Not only are vampires real, there is an underground war where Department Nineteen stands as the last line of defense.

Department Nineteen is the first novel in a YA series aimed primarily at boys that might find the storylines in female-oriented supernatural stories unsatisfying. Having said that, readers of both sexes can enjoy this story as there’s plenty of action, suspense, blood and thrills as Jamie learns that his father once worked for Department Nineteen and that Alexandru, a vampire leader originally turned by Count Dracula himself, has kidnapped his mother.

This book (a hefty 440 pages) is a very enjoyable origin tale, and sets the stage for a much larger confrontation between Department Nineteen and the foes that strive to conquer the world and turn humans into enslaved blood banks. Adult readers may find the opening a bit clunky, and the plot lines a bit predictable, but adults are not the target audience for this book. A young reader will be swept along by the action and YA boys and girls will engage in the story of a normal boy secretly attracted to a vampire girl. Talk about adolescent relationship challenges.

The author, Will Hill, has done a commendable job of integrating his own vision of Department Nineteen lore with the classic horror novels of the 19th Century. The Frankenstein and Dracula storylines are paid homage to as Mr. Hill informs the reader (and Jamie Carpenter) what really happened, and how those fictional books hid the gruesome truth. Dual storylines, one in the present, and one in the past, explain the complex relationships between generations of characters. The scope of the story is ambitious and complex and Mr. Hill pulls it off quite nicely.

Department Nineteen should be on every YA reading list and bookshelf space should be cleared for upcoming sequels. The story is compelling and YA readers will want every exciting volume.

Buy it here.

Review by R. B. Payne

R. B. Payne is a dark fiction writer. His stories have appeared in Doorways, Dark Discoveries, Necrotic Tissue, and the recent Stoker-nominated Midnight Walk anthology. He is insanely enthusiastic about writing book reviews for Shroud magazine. But rather than continuing to blurb himself by pretending that someone else wrote this bio, he would prefer you seek out his stories and read them late at night. For the record, he lives in Los Angeles and lurks at www.rbpayne.com. He would love to hear from you as long as it’s not a beating heart delivered in a cardboard box.

Kissy Killy & Pretty Scary

2011-08-06T08:37:00.003-04:00

by Vox Anon

Two volumes of poetry, Kissy Killy and Pretty Scary, are brought to you by the unnamed author, Vox Anon, who has previously released a volume entitled The Unicorn Man.

Both these volumes showcase self-contained poems, whose main focus revolves around highly charged sexual imagery at times infused with familiar archetypes. Predominant themes at play in both of these texts are those of love -- not the light-hearted, fluffy kind of love, but more like the sado-masochistic heavy metal kind of love, if one is left to judge by the lines of "Cherry Pitted" from Kissy Killy: "fissures cracks sweat whips screams tears gages wires icky goo."

Even the cover photo of the Starchild skull that graces Pretty Scary has sexual overtones when viewed through the lens of Vox Anon's poetic offerings, such as "Jealous Of The Cup" in which the cup is a metaphor for a woman's vagina, coupled with the phallic "ivory tower."

These sorts of metaphors abound, along with biblical references scattered here and there (such as the reference to the "scapegoat" in Kissy Killy's "Eaten By Doves," which in this case appears to be an allusion to the Lamb of God). The rhythm and force of the poems have the feel of modern-day rock music. There is no greater, underlying narrative apparent to this reader, other than an artist's attempt to make sense of himself as a spiritual creature who at turns struggles with the union and alienation of a sexual relationship -- a sexual relationship gone bad.

Buy Kissy Killy here.

Buy Pretty Scary here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. Look for his work in Murky Depths Issue 17 and Art From Art anthology from Modernist Press. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.

Central Park Knight

2011-07-21T10:46:00.003-04:00

By C.J. Henderson
Published by Tor Books

The cover and back copy of C.J. Henderson’s Central Park Knight can be boiled down to a simple equation of awesomeness: Indiana Jones + Dragons = YAY! Needless to say, I go fairly excited. Unfortunately, the story did not manage to reach my hopes.

You’ve got Professor Piers Knight, a dowdy and somewhat eccentric scholar who works at the Brooklyn Museum and, in addition to having nearly limitless access to arcane artifacts from past cultures and untold knowledge of their every facet is also quite proficient at the use of these sometimes magical artifacts. After saving the world twice in not quite so many months, the good professor finds himself faced with the reemergence of Dragonkind in the world. Worse, one specific dragon wishes nothing more than total subjugation of humanity, and he is perfectly willing to use humanities nuclear capabilities to accomplish this end.

From the start, the protagonist made it very hard for me to get into this book. Piers Knight is too perfect, at least from what we are constantly told. Too assured, too quick witted and too all around effective. Likewise, his initially bumbling intern is quickly revealed to be a genius. From page one, there is no doubt that they will survive and triumph over the cartoonishly single minded big bad. I can’t find it in myself to care about anyone this perfect and it leaves no room for tension in the story and no interest in him as a character.

In addition, Mr. Henderson spends quite a bit of time telling us how much ass his character kicks and how suave he is, without showing us any of it. This dependence upon telling over showing would be grating enough on its own, but gets worse when coupled with lines like the following: “So, tell me young George Rainert, would you care for the chance to be torn apart, burned to death and otherwise pounded into salt by an immortal nightmare beyond understanding, or would you rather we get you back to the city and put you in a cab so you can eat chips and drink diet soda while uploading the story of your day to the internet.” Instead of being suave and cool, this comes across as more self-consciously cumbersome than Quentin Tarantino at its worst. This guy, in real life, would be the dork who tries way too hard to sound aloof and cool while firmly placing his lack of social skills on display. What we are told definitely does not jibe with what we see and I do not get the sense that the author is doing this deliberately in an attempt to make a more complex tale.

Granted, Henderson’s writing style is brisk and moves smoothly and I kinda dug the transmutation of the Cthulhu Mythos into dragons (even if calling them “Great Old Ones” is a bit heavy handed). Heck, the story may have enough to it to make up for the previously listed faults, but the central character is incredibly important to any story and I couldn’t get myself past this one to notice anything else.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Horror Hall of Fame: The Stoker Winners, (Cemetery Dance), edited by Joe R. Lansdale

2011-07-20T15:05:00.006-04:00

The Bram Stoker Awards.

Every year, the Horror Writers Association bestows this award upon winners in several different categories. Regardless of how one feels about the debated validity of the Stokers, there's one category in which winners truly stand out, those laboring in perhaps the most challenging form of prose: that of short fiction.

Cemetery Dance's Horror Hall of Fame: The Stoker Winners, edited by Stoker Winner and celebrated author Joe R. Lansdale, brings together a stunning collection of Stoker Award Winners, a volume of short fiction that represents what one should think of in regards to "award-winning." Hard to pick amongst this collection for the best tales, but the following do shine above the rest:

"The Pear Shaped Man", by George R.R. Martin, about that mysterious, filthy, socially challenged obese man we've all seen lurking on the streets or in alleys at one time or another, but in this case, The Pear Shaped Man hides an eerie secret in his cramped home that'll change a young female artist's life...forever.

"The Box", by Jack Ketchum, a haunting story about a husband and father who helplessly watches his family consumed - literally - by an invisible secret, hidden in a bum's empty box.

"The Boy Who Came Back From the Dead", by Alan Rodgers, is a rousing, fun romp about an adolescent boy raised from the dead by aliens, and his difficulties resuming his life on Earth. An excellent example of how some stories, even award winners, should be just plain fun.

"Orange is for Anguish, Blue is for Insanity", by David Morrell, a story about an artist's obsessive quest to understand one of the greatest misunderstood painters of all time, of his friend's mistake in trying to understand his friend's obsession, and the unearthly secret behind it and the painter's genius.

The best story in the collection is undoubtedly "The Night We Buried Road Dog", by the late Jack Cady. In my mind, it's the perfect example of what a Stoker Award Winning short story should be, because it's not based on a predictable monster or demon or serial killer or any of the usual horror staples, but rather on a life of freedom lived on the open road, behind a growling engine pushing metal down endless black asphalt, how men change and grow but never lose a bit of that young wildness, and how sometimes - most times - the ghosts that haunt us come from within, are of our own creation.

Pre-order Horror Hall of Fame: The Stoker Winners today.

Kevin Lucia is a Contributing Editor for Shroud Magazine. His short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. He's currently finishing his Creative Writing Masters Degree at Binghamton University, he teaches high school English and lives in Castle Creek, New York with his wife and children. He is the author of Hiram Grange & The Chosen One, Book Four of The Hiram Grange Chronicles, and he's currently working on his first novel. Visit him on the web at www.kevinlucia.com.

The Secret of Crickley Hall

2011-07-05T09:51:00.003-04:00

by James Herbert
Published by Macmillan

One might think that by now we’d all be tired of the standard horror tropes--vampires, zombies, demons and the like. There’s a couple of these old horror standbys that James Herbert tackles in The Secret of Crickley Hall: ghosts and the haunted house. The novel’s 633 pages seem more like half of that because the story just keeps rolling, and Herbert definitely makes the reader willing to accept these things that might seem to be stale when handled by lesser authors.

This is a story about a family that has been having some difficult times. The Caleighs move into Crickley Hall, a mysterious place in a remote part of England, when Gabe has to do a temporary engineering job. His wife, Eve, hasn’t been the same since their son went missing during a trip to a local park. There are two daughters who move into the house with them, and it isn’t long before bad things start happening all around.

Scary sounds in the middle of the night, doors opening and closing of their own volition, even things that the family starts to think that they are seeing but just aren’t sure: Crickley Hall has all the problems one might expect from a haunted house. When the Caleighs go into town to a store they find out fairly quickly that no tenant has wanted to stay at the Hall for long. A little research shows that it was once a boarding house for orphans that was under the care of siblings Augustus and Magda Cribben. The history of Crickley Hall and the Cribbens unfolds at a rapid pace and soon offers plenty of explanation for the frightening events that surround the house many decades later. Clearly the Cribbens were in the wrong line of work and their treatment of the orphans would understandably create some restless spirits.

James Herbert creates a carefully orchestrated story in The Secret of Crickley Hall. By the time the reader reaches the end, Herbert’s onomatopoetic swish-thwack! is likely to instill more than just a twinge of fear. This is a long novel, and it is still easy to digest because there is plenty of space devoted to developing well-rounded characters. Everyone has a backstory and everyone has a purpose for being in the story, making for a satisfying read that has plenty of shocks and horrors along the way. I found myself paying attention to something I usually gloss over: every chapter has a title. Some chapters are titled after characters, some are just ominous words, but all of them are meaningful and worth taking a look at. All of the plot’s loose ends are tied up nicely by the story’s end; all that the reader has to do is sit back and enjoy the work of a horror author who clearly knows how to build a heart-racing and frightening tale.

An important thing to note: if anyone thinks this is a brand new book, that’s mostly untrue. It’s been readily available in the U.K. for five years but is just making its way to an American release this week.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Christopher Larochelle

Christopher Larochelle spends time reading comics so he can fill some digital space over at his blog all about them. The time is now post-college graduation and things are in a state of flux, but it's certain that there will always be books that need to be read and things that need to be written about. Visitors are always welcome over at www.clarocomics.blogspot.com.

The Worst Thing

2011-07-05T09:20:00.003-04:00

by Aaron Elkins
Published by Berkley Hardcover

Everyone knows not to tempt fate. Since the time of the Greeks we have been warned and warned against uttering that magical incantation “what’s the worst that can happen?” Doing so practically guarantees that the poor fool will find out exactly what that “worst” would be. In his latest thriller, The Worst Thing, Edgar-award winner Aaron Elkins tests this theory against an interesting protagonist with decidedly mixed results.

Bryan Bennett is a research fellow and expert in hostage negotiation and corporate security. He has literally written the book on the subject. But memories of his childhood experiences as a kidnapping victim trigger unexpected and potentially debilitating panic attacks, forcing him to walk gingerly around his deepest fears, never testing the limits of his resolve. Drawn to a training seminar in Reykjavik, Iceland with the hope of finally confronting and overcoming his panic attacks, Bryan finds himself drawn into his own worst case scenario. Once again taken hostage and with his life on the line, Bryan is forced to face his terror without the crutch of medication or the comfort of his loving wife.

Throughout The Worst Thing, Elkins displays the skill of an experienced and award-winning author. Bryan’s first-person narrative provides insight into the psychological nature of panic and remembered trauma and Elkins adeptly makes his experience tangible for the reader. The writing is strong, the author maintaining a break-neck pace without sacrificing story or relying on those false cliffhangers that many lesser writers use to sustain interest. However, Elkins makes some critical missteps that ultimately undermine much of the suspense of the novel. Firstly, Bryan’s relatable-yet-acerbic wit ends up taking the sting out of several key scenes. Further, Elkins chooses to alternate the point of the view of the novel from first-person (with Bryan) to third-person (with everyone else), disrupting the flow of the story as well as the steady build-up of anxiety as the conflict progresses. Finally, the author indulges himself with a final twist that is largely unnecessary and ultimately renders all of Bryan’s previous struggles virtually meaningless. When the final page is turned, The Worst Thing can be termed an interesting book, but, unfortunately, not a particularly suspenseful one.

Buy it here.

Visit Aaron Elkins site here.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

EONA

2011-06-30T16:22:00.007-04:00

by Alison Goodman
Published by Viking Juvenile

Being the first female Dragoneye that the world has seen in centuries hasn't slowed Eona down too much. In fact, it has added to the hordes of angry rebels tracking her around the country when the readers first delve into this read. Between EON and EONA, many events have unfolded that could spell disaster or salvation to the traveling band of resistance against Sethon's rule.

Following the tragic and sudden death of the Emperor, Prince Kygo must now defeat Sethon in the attempt to gain control of the throne by the end of the claiming days. Eona has managed to find out how to connect with her Mirror Dragon. The only problem is that when she does, the other dragons in the spirit realm whose partners have been killed attack both her and Ido, creating an uncontrollable wave of power that has catastrophic results. A lot of significant characters have been killed or kidnapped by Sethon's forces, bringing Eona's group down to just a trusted few. When they meet up with Kygo and his army, they know that it is now to never to defeat Sethon and regain control of the empire to save not only themselves, but everyone around them, in both this world and the spirit ones.

There were many parts of this story that were easily likeable. The overall "band of rebels trying to defeat a bad guy and make everything right" vibe is right on the road of agreeable righteousness. Seeing Eona change from Eon, a timid, crippled, insignificant girl pretending to be a boy, to Eona, a confident, powerful woman who isn't afraid to conquer any issue in her path was monumental to both me as a reader, and to the overall plot and advancement of the story. Love triangles, rape, and a lot of confusing inner conflicting characters had me shutting the book for a while. It was the need to finish the story and see how it ended that kept me turning back to the page I have left off on and getting re-immersed into this powerful new world.

Though EONA answered many questions readers were left asking at the end of EON, this sequel also created a lot of new questions. Not to mention, straying far from it's YA genre with a few borderline R-rated love scenes. Seeing EON create a brand new world with stunning characters, history, and culture, then to see EONA come around and knock down that empire with its malevolence and violence was both shocking and disappointing.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Nora Yelekli

Nora Yelekli is the writer behind The Bookery, a YA/Adult book review blog featuring book reviews with attitude. Having just graduated from High School, she is planning to embark on the fun journey that is in store for the college-bound teen. However, those masses of teens will not be carting as many books as Nora plans on packing. When she's not reading, Nora is a Phineas & Ferb watching, Superman hoarding vegetarian with a whole lot of hair dye and not a lot of sleep.

Amorous Things

2011-06-20T08:54:00.003-04:00

by Kody Boye
Published by Library of Horror Press

Love makes for an interesting theme for a collection of dark fantasy. No other emotion possesses a greater capacity for joy or grief, and Kody Boye provides both aspects a voice in his debut collection, “Amorous Things.”

“Elijah” offers the first real standout piece of the book as it details the yearnings of a young man shielded from the world by a lover far more concerned with aesthetics than his partner’s happiness. The story that follows, “Dream,” is similarly strong, detailing the surreal nightmares of its protagonist and what they have to teach him when they begin to reflect reality.

"War is in the Hearts of Men” allows a respite from the supernatural elements in the stories preceding it as the issue of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is dissected at length. The characterization, and the fact that each character is on the opposite side despite their shared sexual orientation and relationship, adds a great deal of depth and humanity to this piece.

“The Glass Doe” provides some of the strangest and most fascinating imagery in the book as a man is forced to come to terms with the significance of a very strange creature in his yard.

“An Amorous Thing,” pairs the reader with a murder victim and his journey from crime scene to grave and beyond.

Boye closes his collection with “Bellaerama,” a story that follows an insane woman and her love for something between a split personality and an imaginary friend. The writing used is nearly as much bizarro poetry as prose.

While there are a few stories (presumably older pieces) that could have used a bit more polish, “Amorous Things” offers an intriguing assortment to its readers. The stories have roots in everything from cryptozoology to Japanese folklore, and the variety of subjects is quite refreshing. Most importantly, the characters and their development are always at the core of each piece, and Boye’s care in crafting their personal journeys demonstrates an emotional connection to them that lends welcome power to his prose.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Patrick Rutigliano

Patrick Rutigliano resides in Indiana with his wife, Hannah, and a very peculiar cat he found on his doorstep. He began his professional writing career in 2007 with a sale to Permuted Press. Since then, his work has appeared in History Is Dead, Monstrous, and Shroud Magazine. A full bibliography of his work is available at http://patrickrutigliano.blogspot.com/ , although he advises the reader to take any of his rambling outbursts with a grain of salt.

Wretched Moments

2011-06-16T22:26:00.003-04:00

Edited by T. L. Perry and Jessy Marie Roberts
Published by Pill Hill Press

It is ironic that many of the images we encounter that most people consider cute can also be the most horrific. Dolls. Clowns. Cherubic kids with really big eyes. All of these symbols of innocence are also the subjects of our deepest fears. One of the things that dark fiction does best is to take these pastel shapes and cast them into shadow. So naturally a collection of stories taking on the worldview of a certain notorious set of precious figurines would be a premise so brilliant as to be obvious. Wretched Moments, a new anthology from Pill Hill press, sets out to celebrate “the worst of times” by turning the maudlin to the macabre, and, with some exceptions, gets it right.

The collection is comprised of a solid set of twenty-two stories covering a pretty wide range of material. Stylistically the stories run the gamut from the elegant and literary (“Woman on the Horse” by Brian Ray) to the downright weird (“Resigned” by Scott Lininger). The editors seem to have gone for a wide spread, hoping to cover most tastes. As with most anthologies, some material works better than others. Particularly noteworthy are “Before the Bogeymen Come” by Kris Triana, the aforementioned “Woman on the Horse”, and the fiendishly macabre “Grannibal” by Eric Dimbleby.

Some of the stories follow the initial premise more subtly than others. For example, “Carly is Dead” by Shane McKenzie turns the classic Charlotte’s Web on its ear with a very bizarre twist. But too many of the entries are fine stories that don’t seem to really fit the theme. “When the Zombies Came” by Shane Collins is a fun tale of post-apocalyptic survival but it simply doesn’t subvert any of the sweet conventions implied by the collection’s premise. As a result, even with some very strong stories, Wretched Moments makes for very uneven read.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

Level 26: Dark Origins

2011-06-14T12:52:00.002-04:00

by Anthony E. Zuiker
Published by Penguin

As the creator and producer of all three CSI franchised shows, Anthony E. Zuiker needs no introduction. However, in addition to being an accomplished television producer, he’s also an accomplished author. His novel, Level 26: Dark Origins, is a diginovel--a novel with an accompanying website that mirrors the events of the novel. Every few chapters, readers can use a special code to log in and view scenes from the novel, see evidence, watch security camera tapes, and even receive voice and text messages from characters. While this concept isn’t new, Zuiker’s Level 26: Dark Origins takes it to a new, and extremely professional, level with professional, celebrity actors on board, including contortionist Daniel Browning Smith as the terrifying Sqweegel.

According to most law enforcement personnel, murders can be categorized on a scale from one to twenty-five, with one being the most naïve or reactionary beginner and twenty-five being organized sociopaths who premeditate their kills and torture their victims for pleasure. Steve Dark is forced into leading an operative team sent to track Sqweegel, the only human being to every be categorized as a Level 26 murder.

However, Steve Dark has a different life. He abandoned crime fighting to become a real person, with a wife and child on the way. What make Sqweegel more terrifying, more psychotic, is that he knows this, and texts Sibby, Steve’s wife, on a regular basis. When Sibby is in an accident, Sqweegel manages to kidnap her from the hospital and deliver the baby on his own, constantly taunting Steve Dark with this intimate access to his wife, child and personal life, daring Dark to chase Sqweegel ever closer into a madness of his own creation.

Zuiker has taken the crime drama to a new level, creating a text too extreme for television, then augmenting that nightmare with online videos and interactions. These online performances also become a bit extreme, and should be avoided by squeamish readers; however, the idea of Zuiker’s diginovel and the professionalism with which it was executed is exciting, providing something thrilling and new for even the most dedicated of horror and crime readers.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland. His first full-length collection, "breaths", is available from VanZeno Press. Intrinsic Night, a collaborative project he wrote with J. E. Stanley, was recently published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle.

Dark Things II: A Horror Anthology

2011-06-14T12:34:00.002-04:00

Edited by Ty Schwamberger
Published by Pill Hill Press

Dark Things II is a fun, lightly horrorific collection of short stories meant not only to disturb and haunt their readers, but also to entertain, often provoking a chuckle of laughter as much as a sense of dread. While many readers will find this anthology to be hit or miss, there are enough solid stories in this collection to keep an avid reader awake at night:

The pinnacle of the collection has to be C. J. Sully’s “The Chevalier Sisters: A Tale of Voodoo” which weaves a southern gothic narrative about Thena Chevalier, and her constant struggle in life with her physical disabilities, the emotionally heavy loss of her mother, and the antagonistic torments of her sister, Dusa. With a revelatory ending reminiscent of Poe, Sully’s story is sure to capture the attention of any horror fans.

“Bug Boy” by Matt Kurtz is the story of social outcast Stanley, who has an affinity for collecting bugs. Living close to a cemetery in an area that has been experiencing a lot of rain, Stanley is certain he’ll be able to see a dead body soon, and be able to collect some great bugs to terrify the students in his classroom. He pursues his hunt into the cemetery itself, to a gruesome discovery.

“Polarity” by David W. Landrum is the introspective tale of a prostitute who is hired for participation a demonic ritual. Once she realizes that all is not as it seems with the daughter of the house, the two of them make plans to end things once and for all, but not without a sacrifice.

Overall, Dark Things II is a decent anthology of horror stories, some aiming to be terrifying, some aiming to be disgusting, and some aiming simply to be silly with elements of horror. In spite of some iffy production values, the anthology is well put together and the stories make for a quick read, with something included for every horror fan to enjoy.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland. His first full-length collection, "breaths", is available from VanZeno Press. Intrinsic Night, a collaborative project he wrote with J. E. Stanley, was recently published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle.

THE HOUSE ON BLACKSTONE MOOR

2011-06-14T12:09:00.004-04:00

by Carole Gill
Published by Vamplit Publishing

The House on Blackstone Moor is this year's must read for the beach...or for late at night as thunder and lightning rage outside your bedroom window. It is a deliciously dark journey set in Victorian England and begins with a sweet young lady, named Rose, being orphaned as a result of a murder/suicide at her home whilst she was out.

Assuming that our heroine has been driven out of her mind by grief, those in charge employ a Dickensian solution to her devastation and Rose is transferred to Marsh House--an asylum.

But she isn't there long. An employee, one Dr. Bannion, takes an interest in her case and after a time, Rose is transferred once again--this time to his home to rest and recuperate. While there, she meets the Dartons, friends of the doctor's, who offer Rose employment, which she accepts, as a nanny for their two children, moving the story into The Turn of the Screw territory.

From here things darken considerably at the house on Blackstone Moor. Though she adores the children, there is something strange about them, as there is with their mother and father. By the end of the book, the reader is embroiled in a battle of good and evil that was, though somewhat predictable, most enjoyable.

This story is told in the first person, which is generally a pretty hard sell, but author Carole Gill handles it well and makes the reader feel like Rose's confidant rather than a nameless person attending a lecture--the usual downfall of most first person pieces.

My single complaint about this book has absolutely nothing to do with Ms. Gill's writing. It has to do with the construction of the book itself. It would seem that those at Vamplit Publishing are not terribly familiar with printing signatures of books and the way in which they ought to be set up. For example, though the book is touted as a "Collector's Edition," it in no way reflects what those words imply. The cover looks somewhat unprofessional, with the book blurb on the back printed in what looks like 22 or 24 point type--rather too large to look like a book for an adult. The front cover isn't a grabber, either; and when you consider that the cover art is what makes potential readers pick up a book, this falls pretty flat. And, again, the longish title is set too large. Also the title page is numbered page 1; the rights page, page 2; the Acknowledgments page, page 3; a blank page, page 4, and the first page of the first chapter, page 5! And throughout the book, one generally expects to see the author's full name at the top of each left hand page, usually centered; and the book title at the top of each right hand page, also usually centered. In this book, neither author nor title appears on the interior pages at all
.
But please don't let this keep you from buying this book! There is something about The House on Blackstone Moor that will keep you reading and be sorry when you turn the final page.

However, rumor has it that a sequel is in the works…

Four stars.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

Engines of Desire

2011-06-08T09:21:00.003-04:00

By Livia Llewellyn
Published by Lethe Press (March 15, 2011)

Engines of Desire is comprised of ten stories, including two novellas and two novelettes. It’s stunning enough even without the knowledge that it is Livia Llewellyn’s debut book. Llewellyn, whose catalog of published work stretches back to 2005, has clearly demonstrated more dedication and patience than many of her peers, this reviewer included, and it shows through in every page of Engines.

Several pieces stand out from the pack. The collection leads off with ‘Horses,’ one of the novelettes, which begins as an end-of-the-world tale and finishes as something else entirely. ‘At the Edge of Ellensburg,’ a novella, tells the story of a college girl wrapped up in her addiction to a mysterious, drug-dealing stranger. ‘The Engine of Desire,’ from which the book gets its title, is about a woman’s decades-spanning association with a girl named Kelly who is definitely more than a girl. ‘Take Your Daughters to Work’ can’t really be described in-depth without ruining it, but further demonstrates Llewellyn’s flair for the apocalyptic and otherworldly. ‘The Four-Hundred Thousand’ is a dystopian piece centered around sacrifice and the supposed greater good, as manipulated by the powers that be. ‘Omphalos,’ the other novelette, is an incestuous round-robin affair that’s main character is at least slightly reminiscent of Jack Sawyer from Stephen King’s Talisman.

As a whole, Engines of Desire can be characterized by two overarching themes. The first is the strong erotic overtones (and the occasional subtle undertone) woven through many of the stories. Llewellyn writes hotter and more graphic scenes than the average horror reader is likely to encounter, almost always to the benefit of whichever story such scenes occur in. The second is the sense of otherworldliness present in several pieces; some of it is outright (the chimera in ‘Her Deepness,’ the book’s other novella, for instance), while much of it is more subtle (elements of both ‘The Engine of Desire’ and ‘Omphalos,’ and Kelly in ‘Engines of Desire,’ for instance, will certainly raise some questions).

Engines of Desire is an excellent introduction to a fine, relatively new, author who is sure to develop a rabid following in years to come.

Buy it here.

Review by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, was released in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Songs from Spider Street

2011-06-04T09:05:00.003-04:00

by Mark Howard Jones
Published by Screaming Dreams (May 12, 2010)

Single-author anthologies can be a tricky business, especially in the wake of Peter Straub’s marvelous Houses Without Doors. No longer are we content with discontiguous mashes of individual stories, we expect some sort of common thread combining them into a larger story. Don’t get me wrong, it is possible to get away with a randomized collection of self, but you sure as hell better kick the door of its hinges if you’re going with that approach.

From the back blurb of Songs From Spider Street, one would be tempted to believe this to be a themed anthology based within the confines of a single, decrepit Parisian street abandoned by all except the hollow echoes of songs spun by our sweet little arachnid friends and the introduction continues to build this illusion. Unfortunately, it becomes readily apparent quite quickly that this is not the case and the throbbing miscellany of tales present do little to recommend reading.

The biggest problem is that the majority of stories are revelatory instead of plot drive and dependant upon revelations that an aware reader will see coming from the title alone (see if you can guess where the guy in “A Hell of a Place” is) or at least the first few paragraphs. “Muse” should be an exception, rising above this problem in the way it deals with the extents some are willing to go through for the creation of art but collapses in on itself because he does not take the time to build a strong sense of the artists obsession and whizzes past his main unforgivable act to get to the punch line. The plot is interesting enough most of the time, but the story that drives the plot is sorely lacking.

The other big killer for me is Mr. Jones’ preference for style over substance that often results in clumsy, overwrought language that gets in between the reader and the story. As an example, viddy these lines from “Mirrorcle”: “A face lost forever to the cruel kiss of hot tarmac; a love abandoned forever to the cleansing fervour of the flames. The same squealing song of death and despair replays in her head every day that she continues to go on living.”

I’m sure I’m making this sound worse than it actually is. Songs is not actively bad. The stories are quick and most have an interesting idea at their heart, but the aforementioned problems robbed me of an ability to enjoy them.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre.

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

At The Gates of Darkness

2011-06-04T08:14:00.002-04:00

By Raymond E. Feist
Published by Harper Voyager; First Edition edition (April 6, 2010)

Here’s how to get a reader’s attention at the beginning of your latest novel: put in a scene in which devotees of a demon lord willingly sacrifice their lives by hanging themselves and getting thrown into a fire. That sure worked to get me sucked into this book, and it was somewhat of a letdown when I found out that the book’s biggest punch appeared on page two. At The Gates Of Darkness is book two of the Demonwar Saga, and thankfully it’s readable as a standalone story, even though it never really adds up to as much excitement as the first scene might make the reader come to expect.

In typical fantasy novel fashion, there is a group of disparate adventurers on a mission to stop the Big Bad Evil. Evil in this book takes the names of Belasco and Dahun, and there can be no doubt that these threats mean awful things for everyone else if their plans for infiltrating the world with demons go through. The previously mentioned adventurers include the usual assortment of rogues, wizards, knights, and elves and came across as a little flat personality-wise. Probably some familiarity with Feist’s previous novels would have come in handy here, so if you haven’t read anything else by him, this might not be the easiest way to get into the characters of Pug, Amirantha, Gulamendis and company.

It’s exciting how the heroes don’t really know a whole lot about their enemy and try to piece things together as they get closer to the confrontation near the novel’s end. An ancient tome of demonic knowledge is eagerly sought, but it can only help the adventurers so much. Belasco and Dahun prove to be an unexpected kind of danger that nearly costs everyone their lives. Overall, At The Gates Of Darkness is a commendable example of what might be expected from a fantasy release, but someone who is looking for a little more is likely to leave disappointed.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Christopher Larochelle

Christopher Larochelle is a University of New Hampshire student coming close to being launched into the professional world in which he hopes to become a distinguished Writer of Stuff. He is an intern with New Hampshire Magazine, where some of his Stuff has begun to fill pages. He’s the guy with the comic book in front of his face, or the bass guitar or camera strapped around his neck, or maybe he’s at the computer typing something up for his shiny new blog at http://clarocomics.blogspot.com

Multiplex Fandango

2011-05-31T09:52:00.004-04:00

by Weston Ochse
Published by Dark Regions Press

Multiplex Fandango is a sixteen-story, 283-page collection of fiction spanning over a decade of Weston Ochse's career. The stories, six of which were written specifically for this book, are each preceded by a movie-style introduction of the main characters (or elements of the story) and a quote, generally from a movie or book.

Weston Ochse is the real deal: a military veteran and former intelligence officer whose resume is no doubt peppered with events he can't talk about, who travels to exotic locales on government business to this day and lives with his wife in the American desert Southwest. So when he writes about places like China, Japan, the Mexican desert, the streets of Los Angeles and New Orleans during Mardi Gras, there's a sense of authenticity that you'd typically only find in an anthology featuring several authors from different walks of life. Ochse's work has received high praise from genre stalwarts like Joe Lansdale, Ed Lee, Brian Keene and the late Richard Laymon, and Ochse himself cites Cormac McCarthy as an influence. In fact, Ochse's short stories channel McCarthy's enviable skill at painting pictures and setting scenes with mere human language.

“Tarzan Doesn't Live Here Anymore,” Fandango's opening story; “High Desert Come to Jesus,” about a man involuntarily seeking penance from his victims; “Hiroshma Falling,” about a melted man's struggle to find his family in the aftermath of America's nuclear strike on Japan and “City of Joy,” a heart-wrenching science-fiction story, are personal favorites and are all worth the cover price individually, but only comprise a quarter of the book's material. Even the one story that missed the mark in this humble reviewer's opinion, “The Crossing of Aldo Rey,” was unique and tense and didn't quite resonate simply because it was written from a perspective that is sometimes hard to digest. The short notes from Ochse at the end of each story, detailing their origins and inspirations, are a welcome addition and all part of the Multiplex Fandango experience.

Multiplex Fandango is available for pre-order now through Dark Regions Press.

Reviewed by by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

HOUSE OF FALLEN TREES

2011-05-31T09:06:00.002-04:00

By Gina Ranalli
Published by Grindhouse Press

If you find yourself despairing of the condition of literature today and if you sorely miss Shirley Jackson and M.R. James, you're in luck, dear readers.

We now have Gina Ranalli.

Ranalli's House of Fallen Trees begins with the enigmatic sentence, "Two men have the carcass."

How can you not immediately love a book that begins like that?

The story is about Karen Lewis, a young reclusive writer who inherits half a Bed & Breakfast in Fallen Trees, Washington when her brother, Sean, missing from that same town and is presumed dead. The other half is owned by Rory, Sean's openly hostile partner.

Karen flies across the country to visit this B & B, only to find that she must hike in to get to the place--there is no passable road.

For a Bed & Breakfast?

And that is only the beginning of the strangeness. In this book, peopled with beautifully drawn three-dimensional characters and rich description, there are beasties, ghosties, and some downright freaky happenings--all of which Ranalli handles so deftly that reading her words is to the mind what fresh chocolate fudge is to the palate. I never wanted it to end, and read many paragraphs multiple times, just to enjoy their dark beauty repeatedly.

Creepiness abounds, incidents escalate, and Lewis begins to feel that she's losing her sanity. She very well could be. Ranalli keeps the reader from knowing without seeming to withhold and so we are all as on edge and as off balance as the main character. Delicious! She packs so much story into such a brief book that it is nothing short of amazing.

The characters are voluntarily isolated by visiting the house. But when they try to leave, isolation becomes enforced and they must find a way out.

Will they?

I'll never tell.

Haunted house stories abound. Good ones are hard to find. Brilliant ones are as scarce as Spock ears at a romance novelists' convention. Aren't we all fortunate that House of Fallen Trees adds one more to the megaclassics of the genre--Ghost Story, The Haunting of Hill House, "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad," and The Shining.

This is one you'll want to add to your "favorite books" shelf--I promise you.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Buy it here:

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

Waiting Out Winter

2011-05-05T11:42:00.006-04:00

by Kelli Owen
Published by Thunderstorm Books; 1ST edition (2011)

WAITING OUT WINTER, a small, slender volume from Thunderstorm Books' Elemental chapbook series is Kelli Owen's newest release. It packs a huge punch that belies its size, however, and is more deserving of your time than some books three times its size and two-thirds the price.

Nick and his hunting buddies come home from a couple weeks in the woods to find themselves immediately neck-deep in an apocalyptic situation created by the local government's inept and little-too-late response to a pest problem. The result is a town, and possibly greater surrounding area, under siege from a most-unexpected front.

WINTER's length makes it difficult to discuss in-depth without giving too much away, but two things definitely worthy of mention are Owen's skill at toying with reader expectations and the unyielding tension throughout the story from the first sentence to the very last. This one's a limited edition (I believe the hardcover is already sold-out), so don't wait.

Buy it here.

Review by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Flesh Eaters

2011-05-03T12:58:00.003-04:00

by Joe McKinney
Published by Pinnacle Books

Like the two violent hurricanes that pound and swamp the city of Houston in the opening chapters, Flesh Eaters reads like a swirling wall of wind, debris, and water that knocks you to the ground and traps you there. Unable to escape, just pray that you’re safe. As the storms ultimately clear, something unnatural has spawned in the cesspool of sewage and pollution that is now a mostly submerged city. And that something wants to kill and eat you.

Run.

But how can you, when hundreds of square miles of your city are underwater -- neck-deep in water moccasins, bloated corpses, unrecognizable poisonous goo, and cannibalistic undead?

Flesh Eaters is Joe McKinney’s latest entry in his zombie series that began with Dead City and Apocalypse of the Dead. This volume is a prequel, and it tells the interwoven tale of two families struggling to survive in the deteriorating societal breakdown that exists after every mega-disaster weather event. Add to this mix one undead filovirus, and this world becomes a living (or not so living) hell.

The principal story follows Eleanor Norton’s fight to save her family while also fulfilling her duty as an officer of Houston’s Emergency Operations Command. Eleanor is a strong-willed, well-rounded character and her personal challenges mirror the greater disaster that overwhelms her. She is a complex character that will have to dig deeper into her personal values and survival skills than she ever thought possible if she and her family are to survive.

Her boss, Captain Mark Shaw is also trying to save his family while dealing with eighty thousand survivors trapped on high ground - an island of temporary safety in the middle of what is to become a war zone. Supposedly, help is coming, but like so many other disasters in recent history -- it’s too little, and much, much too late. Faced with an imminent catastrophe, Captain Shaw has to make life-and-death choices that directly affect his family and the thousands of civilians under his charge.

Mr. McKinney brings his vast experience in Disaster Planning and Police Operations to flesh out this story and give it a truly haunting sense of reality. His writing is crisp, fast, and he seldom lets the characters (or readers) come up for air.

The tension in Flesh Eaters builds naturally, and under Mr. McKinney’s firm authorial hand, there is plenty of gut-wrenching and ‘blow-their-heads-off’ horror as the outbreak happens. He turns the screw slowly, and we see how normal people must come to grips with world-shattering destruction. Ultimately, this is an apocalyptic story about families... one functional, one dysfunctional, and the choices that they make when the chips are down.

Needless to say, not everyone makes it out alive.

Flesh Eaters is an action-packed must-read. And without a spoiler alert, let’s just hope that Mr. McKinney has a sequel in mind for one of the survivors. Of course, that’s assuming there is one.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by R. B. Payne

R. B. Payne is a dark fiction writer. His stories have appeared in Doorways, Dark Discoveries, Necrotic Tissue, and the recent Stoker-nominated Midnight Walk anthology. He is insanely enthusiastic about writing book reviews for Shroud magazine. But rather than continuing to blurb himself by pretending that someone else wrote this bio, he would prefer you seek out his stories and read them late at night. For the record, he lives in Los Angeles and lurks at www.rbpayne.com. He would love to hear from you as long as it’s not a beating heart delivered in a cardboard box.

Transubstantiate

2011-04-23T08:39:00.003-04:00

by Richard Thomas
Published by Otherworld Publications LLC (April 1, 2010)

As the thriving business at Permuted press can attest, apocalyptic fiction is always in vogue. Every generation seems to feel that population growth, advances in weaponry, pollution and other ills have gotten as bad as they possibly can, leaving no option but the end of it all. Yet we're still here. That's why I'm much more fascinated with stories about the days after and end that was quite, focusing on the need to survive and, more importantly, rebuild.

That places us squarely into the world of Richard Thomas' Transubstantiate where we follow seven physically and psychologically damaged characters in the aftermath of a population control experiment gone awry. With 97% of the population dead and much of the remainder turned to violent and insane blisterheads, a small island community holds the only chance of rebirth. But, as this society also begins to collapse, a question must be asked: is the island more of a prison than a new Eden?

The first paragraph had my brains by the balls (yep, I'm so manly even my brain has balls). Lyric and enigmatic, it set the tone for the strain between the inevitability of nihilism and the possibility of hope. Then Mr. Thomas immediately proceeded to slam both brains and balls against the nearest wall by tossing me directly into a situation that had already gone to hell with no explanation whatsoever. To further cement my confusion, he presents the story in first person, from each of the seven main characters' points of view, and not always in chronological order. This Rashomon-ish experience is akin to being given the pieces of a puzzle and the places they fit but having to wait until you've got it all together before you get to see the big picture. Or you can think of it as a mystery where the mystery itself is revealed slowly through the process of the solving.

Either way, it messed with me. And I enjoyed every second of it.

Transubstantiate, when all the pieces fall into place, is an intricate and layered look at action and consequence, the struggle between mislaid control and frustrated effort of self-proclaimed gods of men and the people caught up in the maelstrom, told in a way that will make your head spin. Occasionally, it looses focus and keeping track of the characters and motivations can be a bit frustrating at times, not to mention the large amount of simple typos that overrun the printing, but I found the whole to be well worth the extra effort and vastly rewarding. If only they had done better than the uninspired and rather dull cover art.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Willy

2011-04-18T09:14:00.003-04:00

by Robert Dunbar.
Published by Uninvited Books.

Adolescence is often described as a journey of discovery, a journey in which we attempt to define ourselves. We collect the traits impressed upon us by others and then stretch and test those impressions in order to forge the adult we will become. In Willy, the latest novel by Robert Dunbar (The Pines, Martyrs & Monsters), we witness the coming of age of a troubled young man who must make this journey in relative isolation and under the tutelage of one who may not be the savior he appears to be.

Our unnamed narrator is sent to an obscure private school, the apparent end-of-the-line for both the disturbed boys that are deposited there and for the disaffected and cynical adults that maintain the crumbling facility. The narrator is a sensitive and introverted youth who has apparently had behavioral problems in other schools as well as thoughts of suicide. He is encouraged to keep a journal of his thoughts by his former psychologist—it is this journal that forms the narrative of the novel. Soon he meets his new roommate, Willy, a brilliant and charismatic young man who takes the narrator under his wing and forces him out of his self-imposed exile. Through the journal we witness the narrator’s blossoming as both a writer and as a person. Willy challenges him to reach beyond the “reality” of the isolated and warped school community. As Willy and the protagonist grow closer, the narrator begins to believe that Willy may be leading him toward a reality far darker than he is prepared to experience.

Dunbar’s characterization and prose brilliantly capture the internal world of the narrator. The world that we view through his eyes is stark, sinister, and secretive. Dunbar fully immerses the reader in the narrator’s point of view. There are no false notes, no instances in which the reader is taken out of the mind of the protagonist. However, this limited point of view makes portions of the book extremely cryptic. Many plot questions are left unanswered—or, if answers are available, they are hidden by a narrator who often lacks the capacity to report the full import of what he is witnessing. For some readers these questions will inspire multiple readings and spirited discussion. For others it may invoke frustration and confusion.

Nevertheless, Dunbar’s prose is lyrical, suspenseful, and immersive. Willy is a tour-de-force of style, character, and atmosphere and is definitely an example of an author attempting to stretch the boundaries of the genre.

Buy it here.

Or Visit Robert Dunbar.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

The Skin Map

2011-04-08T11:56:00.003-04:00

By Stephen R. Lawhead
Published by Thomas Nelson

Kit Livingstone is a normal enough man living in London. Everything changes quite quickly when he gets sucked into an adventure involving ley lines that are spread throughout England. Kit is torn from his mundane life by none other than his great-grandfather Cosimo, and the two set off to solve the mystery of the ley lines by finding the Skin Map, a document tattooed to a man’s body which contains all of the necessary secrets of traveling the leys.

Kit’s story is only one of several that are told in The Skin Map. One character who really starts to steal the spotlight is Kit’s girlfriend Wilhelmina. She winds up getting involved with the ley line travel (separated from her boyfriend quite unexpectedly) and is lost far in the past in an alternate-reality Prague. She meets a baker and sets up shop with him. Business doesn’t go well until she comes up with the brilliant idea of introducing coffee as a new and amazing product to the people of Prague.

Another character whose story is followed in The Skin Map is the man who wears the map on his very flesh. Arthur Flinders-Petrie is a man with secrets to keep and his own adventure adds another dimension to the novel. Instead of just hearing about the Skin Map through other characters, Lawhead lets the reader find out what the man himself was like.

At the beginning of the novel, it seems obvious that Kit is supposed to be the main character. However, as the book continues he seems to be shoved further and further away from the spotlight. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the ensemble cast certainly propels the story forward. The villain in The Skin Map also doesn’t get nearly enough pages devoted to him. This villain, Burleigh, is some kind of master of the ley lines (as evidenced by the fact that he winds up causing problems in the multiple realities Kit, Wilhemina, Arthur, and Cosimo find themselves in), but his story must be waiting to be fleshed out in the next book in this five-novel cycle.

One thing to put in the positive column about The Skin Map is the distinctive British flavor that Lawhead brings to his work. The opening parts about Kit and his run-of-the-mill existence in London were highly entertaining. The fact that the invention/introduction of coffee to a general populace served as such an important part of the plot also came across as a deliberate stroke of humor.

Things in the negative column are fairly minor. As mentioned before, Kit’s story comes dangerously close to being drowned out by the other stories, and the pace quickens probably a little too much in the last 75 pages.

Overall, Stephen R. Lawhead’s Bright Empires series is off to an exciting start.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Christopher Larochelle

Christopher Larochelle is a University of New Hampshire student coming close to being launched into the professional world in which he hopes to become a distinguished Writer of Stuff. He is an intern with New Hampshire Magazine, where some of his Stuff has begun to fill pages. He’s the guy with the comic book in front of his face, or the bass guitar or camera strapped around his neck, or maybe he’s at the computer typing something up for his shiny new blog here.

Out of the Shadows

2011-04-08T10:16:00.005-04:00

by Joanne Rendell
Published by New American Library

Out of the Shadows, (written by English author Joanne Rendell and published by New American Library), opens with a window into the past: a nineteenth century doctor describes the effects of electricity on a cadaver to the wide-eyed Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame. From here the story weaves through one century to the next, giving a dramatized account of Shelley's life and romance with Percy Shelley in bite-sized flash backs, balanced out with the main drama revolving around protagonist Clara Fitzgerald.

Clara is a scholar who has put her life on hold for her fiance Anthony, a scientist whose moral grasp is slipping before the allure of big pharma. Matters of the heart consume her as she struggles to determine if she is a descendant of Mary Shelley and to recover Shelley's missing papers. Anthony becomes distant and secretive, alienating Clara. With her sister, and Kay, an older woman who shares her love for the nineteenth century writer, Clara questions what her life has become. She is thrown into further distress by her attraction to Daniel, a kind friend who helps look after the ailing Kay.

This work of fiction is well-written and balanced between elements of history, character, plot, and mystery, best described as intelligent fiction geared for the female demographic; the flashbacks into Shelley's past prove interesting, though this reviewer wonders if Percy and Mary's epic love was not in fact, a more one-sided affair given Percy was married to someone else. Clara's relationship with Anthony proves more multi-faceted and realistic than the over-dramatic gestures of the emo-Shelley whose main problems appear to be living off of other people's money and that too many women love him.

More compelling parts of the narrative involve Anthony's downward spiral into questionable practices, and the parallels to Frankenstein are clearly presented, allowing Out of the Shadows to examine the pitfalls of mankind's never ending quest for eternal life and the consequences that come with our refusal to accept these natural cycles of life and death.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose.

Connect with Martin Rose's The Antichrist Diaries here.

Look for Martin Rose's work in the anthologies Fear of the Dark from Horror Bound publications and Art From Art from Modernist Press. More details are available here.

Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead

2011-04-03T12:03:00.002-04:00

by Scott Kenemore
Published by Skyhorse

Peter Mellor wakes up on the side of the road, the wheels of his overturned car still spinning. He feels a bit numb, a bit dazed, and can’t seem to remember who he is or how he ended up in this state. Eventually, he discovers that the world is in the grip of the “zombie apocalypse” all the kids have been raving about…and that he apparently didn’t survive that car wreck after all. He’s a zombie (albeit an intelligent and self-aware one) and sets out to find his girlfriend and put his life (such as it was) back together. He also discovers that in the midst an undead uprising the most dangerous creatures (other than himself) are the people for whom the veneer of civilization that served as a leash and who now roam the countryside, are indulging in their heretofore hidden amoral desires.

Kenemore (Z. E. O. and The Zen of Zombie) infuses his debut novel with the perfect mix of horror, gore, humor, and (yes, it must be said) brains that make it a tight and entertaining read. Peter, even during the darkest period of his strange existence, is an extremely sympathetic character—especially as we learn more and more about the type of man he was before he was transformed into a brain-addicted denizen of the undead. While portions of the book are extremely dark, and there is plenty of blood and viscera for the gore-hound, it is Peter’s flip sense of humor that infuses the novel with life. It is Kenemore’s insightful peek at human nature at the extremes that infuse it with intelligence.

While billed as “a tale of murder, mystery, and the walking dead”, the novel actually deals very little with the subplot of Peter’s apparent murder. Peter does discover that his fatal crash was not an accident, but he really only spends a small part of the story worrying about that. The truth comes to light the facts serve the story well, but to term the novel even part murder mystery is a stretch.

Despite the mystery misnomer, Zombie, Ohio is a great bit of zombie-infused fun for both devotees of the genre and for folks desperately seeking an antidote to sparkly vampires and angst lycanthropes.

Buy it here.

Or Visit.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

Shadows: Supernatural Tales by Masters of Modern Literature

2011-04-02T09:17:00.003-04:00

Edited by Robert Dunbar
Published by Uninvited Books

A candle flickers as an unnatural form floats through a darkened room and leaves the imprint of a human body on a perfectly made bed. Frightened, a wayward traveler flees a dilapidated inn and its restless spirits. Vowing to never return, the traveler has escaped.

Or has he?

Many horror readers avoid early 20th century literature like it’s a lumbering zombie that is too decomposed to offer a real scare. Readers may flirt with literary writers by reading a story here or there, but then they rush back to contemporary tales of gruesome hillbilly cannibals or atomic-powered killer zombies on speed.

To counteract the reluctance of modern readers to dive into early literary horror, Editor Robert Dunbar has gathered ten tales penned by some of the greatest writers of the early Twentieth Century. The volume, Shadows: Supernatural Tales of Modern Literature, offers a unique glimpse into early literary horror fiction. These are writers that just happened to write a horror tale here or there. And they wrote some humdingers.

Reader, beware, these are dense tales from a time before televisions, radios, computer games, and iPads when common folk and landed gentry would retire to gaslit rooms with a brandy or a cup of cocoa and read for an entire evening. These were ordinary people that occasionally liked to be frightened by a tale of ghostly visitations or a haunted house on barren Scottish moors. The stories feature well-crafted descriptions, revealing internal monologues, and the occasional, and well-timed insertion of narrator commentary. As such, the tales require effort (and sometimes patience) for a modern reader but in the final analysis, each story is a story very well told.

Shadows: Supernatural Tales of Modern Literature features many eminent writers such as Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, D.H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Henry James, and many more. They introduce to the slow-burn horror of the early Twentieth-Century. Here, we find haunted houses, ghosts that possess the living, sexual rapacity, possession, murder, and schizophrenic doppelgangers.
And, contained in these pages are two stories considered by many scholars to be the best ghost stories ever written: Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad by M.R. James and The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions.

One must remember that these were contemporary writers writing for a contemporary audience. Taken with this knowledge, one realizes that the readers actually lived in drafty and darkly lit manor houses, remote farms in the countryside where the wind whipped through fields of grain, and even in London’s East End tenements where Jack the Ripper had prowled only a few decades before. Scary stuff, indeed.

This book is required reading for all horror fans. Grab it and lock yourself in a room lit by a flickering fire while sheets of rain pound against your windows. Wait for that hair on your neck to creep with electricity and then stand on end. Pray that you survive until dawn, and hope that there is a second volume in this series.

Buy it here.

Book Review by R. B. Payne

R. B. Payne is a dark fiction writer. His stories have appeared in Doorways, Dark Discoveries, Necrotic Tissue, and the recent Stoker-nominated Midnight Walk anthology. He is insanely enthusiastic about writing book reviews for Shroud magazine. But rather than continuing to blurb himself by pretending that someone else wrote this bio, he would prefer you seek out his stories and read them late at night. For the record, he lives in Los Angeles and lurks at www.rbpayne.com. He would love to hear from you as long as it’s not a beating heart delivered in a cardboard box.

Dawn to Dusk: Cautionary Travels

2011-03-31T08:20:00.003-04:00

by Ray Bradbury
Published by Gauntlet Press

This book is a bit of a departure from Mr. Bradbury's previous books.

The first 139 pages will be familiar if you've read Something Wicked This Way Comes--or even if you've only seen the movie. As a matter of fact, the story began as a screenplay treatment entitled, "Dark Carnival" and was written for, of all people, Gene Kelly! It is this screenplay that is included in Dawn to Dusk. Unfortunately, Kelly, though excited about "Dark Carnival" was unable to secure production financing, and so the screenplay was eventually fleshed out into a novel entitled, Something Wicked This Way Comes--which eventually did get financing, a screenplay was written again, and now we also have the movie.

Are you with me so far?

Dawn to Dusk is rather like visiting an archeological dig, in that you can clearly see the skeletal system upon which the flesh of the novel was hung. You will notice that certain characters' personalities and relationships changed from "Dark Carnival" to Something Wicked --but even if you haven't read SWTWC, Dawn to Dusk is still most enjoyable.

There is a single short story, right in the middle of the book, entitled, “You Must Never Touch the Cage," and it appears in print for the first time anywhere in Dusk to Dawn. It is a story of the circus and the strength of belief. Masterfully written, as usual for Bradbury.

Next, we have another screenplay entitled, "The Catacombs." This is a thoroughly depressing tale of a doomed relationship centering around a married couple trying to patch things up with a trip to Mexico. It is a story of neediness, bullying, cruelty, humiliation, and co-dependence so profound that it will make your skin crawl. I read it twice.

A third screenplay, "The Black Ferris" is the last piece in Dusk to Dawn, taking us back to the SWTWC archeological dig, where we see that Bradbury eventually changed a black ferris wheel in Dawn to Dusk to a carousel in SWTWC. This story is a bit closer in the telling to SWTWC, too.

I highly recommend this book--to all Bradbury fans for the literary history interest, and to anyone else who just enjoys a great read!

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

Hellhole

2011-03-24T08:56:00.003-04:00

by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Published by Tor Books

Ok, I admit it: I never made it further than Children in that god-almighty of sci-fi sagas, Dune, let alone delving into Brian Herbert’s extensions and had never heard of Kevin J. Anderson before. However, after reading Hellhole, it’s obvious that they have a hell of a talent for building a universe and wrapping an engaging tale within it, even if that tale, on its own, is ultimately unfulfilling.

In a far-flung future universe, the aging Diadem rules her empire of 20 core worlds (known as the “Crown Jewels”) and 54 pioneer “Deep Zone” planets with an iron fist (if iron sucked the life out of everything it touched). In the aftermath of a failed revolution, she exiled the revolution’s leader (General Adolphus), leaving him in charge of the worst of the DZ planets, the aptly named Hellhole. No one should be remotely surprised to find that he still harbors some hopes for rebellion, but few could predict the empire wide effects of the newly discovered remnant of the long lost original civilization on Hellhole.

It is easy to be impressed with the breadth of this book; taking place on several different worlds, each with their own topography, personality and culture. At the same time, that's pretty much expected from anyone daring to create broad, universe spanning fiction. The real skill on display is in the points of view that are given. There are over ten truly significant characters, standing on both sides of the battle, and each seen through each others' eyes as well as their own. This makes for an intricately plotted and morally complicated affair that I dug quite well. They also walk a tightrope regarding the motivations of the aliens and their method of resurrecting their species. Just enough hints are dropped to keep the situation tense, without directly saying whether it's due to cultural misunderstanding or if they have a much more sinister plan beneath it all. The effect is disturbing in all the best ways.

But a reader of such keen eye and mind as yourself will have noticed that I called it ultimately unfulfilling, despite such glowing, giddy statements. Frankly, I'm not pleased that it wasn't a self-sufficient story, even as part of a larger epic. Brian should have learned from his father's example that the story should have some minor sense of closure even as it opens the door to worse problems on the horizon, yet we get no such thing here. If I had dropped thirty bucks on what amounts to the buildup to a war that doesn't even get started by the end, I'd be miffed about it.

So, great universe building, tremendous characterization and marvelous mounting tension are offset by the fact that it drops you off a cliff at the end. Tough call.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Red Moon

2011-03-22T11:22:00.005-04:00

by Troy Patone
Published by Authorhouse.

Clones, cryogenics, and mutated animals: Red Moon has it all. This novel chronicles the story of Lance Longfall, a prodigy who secretly succeeds in creating the world’s first human clone. Stephen Bropalski, Lance’s best friend, often serves as the narrator in this cautionary tale about the consequences of playing god. When Lance’s lover Miranda dies in a fire at his own house, Lance vows that he will get her back. In order to do this, he must not only clone his dead girlfriend, but be frozen cryogenically so that he can meet her when the clone is old enough to be “just like Miranda.” Not surprisingly, things don’t go as expected when Lance reawakens.

Lance Longfall is a protagonist who is a little mysterious to the reader throughout the novel. The reader gets Stephen’s thoughts about Lance, and Lance never really gets to explain himself very well. Lance’s back story is intercut with the plot of the novel and fills the reader in on his hard life in a bad family. Lance is ambitious without being cruel, desperate without being hopeless and hubristic without being unaware of the dangerous game that he plays.

Red Moon is the kind of book in which you have to just shut your mind off and enjoy the ride. In the negative column, the author’s style is lacking in polish, making it hard to really dive into the tale being told. There are so many plot points that the tale starts to get simply unbelievable, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a little bit of fun. The dual narrative of the book is a plus (some sections are straight narration and others are the recollections of a supporting character called Stephen), as was the fact that there is no “scary villain” in opposition to Lance Longfall because over the course of the novel Lance proves himself to be his own best opponent.

buy it here.

Reviewed by Christopher Larochelle

Christopher Larochelle is a University of New Hampshire student coming close to being launched into the professional world in which he hopes to become a distinguished Writer of Stuff. He is an intern with New Hampshire Magazine, where some of his Stuff has begun to fill pages. He’s the guy with the comic book in front of his face, or the bass guitar or camera strapped around his neck, or maybe he’s at the computer typing something up for his shiny new blog at http://clarocomics.blogspot.com

Every Shallow Cut

2011-03-11T10:30:00.003-05:00

by Tom Piccirilli
Published by ChiZine Publications (March 29, 2011)

Overtly socially conscious fiction tends to bug me. The second I become aware that I am being taught a lesson, I start to tune it out or get pulled from the story. It tends to draw more attention to the artifice than to the feelings that should be created by the art itself. Often the best and most effective lessons are those we learn when we don't realize we are being taught, like falling off a bike or walking in the front door at the wrong time of day to find someone else with your someone else. What does that have to do with the new novella by Tom Picirilli? Read on...

Picture your life turned into a walking medley of the most stereotypical country music you can think of: your career has collapsed, your house has been foreclosed and your wife done run off on you. At least you still have your dog, your car and a shiny new gun, even if that is it. Maybe now might be a good time for a trip back to the old hometown, to beg at the foot of a brother much more successful than yourself or collapse on the doorstep of your first love. Maybe the manager who hasn't been keeping his promises could use a visit, too.

That is precisely where Mr. Piccirilli places you, with no easy separation of a 3rd person narrator or even a name to distinguish the main character from yourself and the experience is not a kind one. Sure, the man's work has never been among the cheeriest, but he reaches a whole new depth of bleak here. Few people could have made this man's desperation and hopelessness into the reader's like Tom has, with prose that dances between poetry and bluntness, a hammer and chisel wielded with purpose and power. The beauty here is a somber, dark beauty, of a kind that wounds, but it is a beauty nonetheless. However, for some it may hit a bit too close to home. This isn't a doomed quest for revenge or an ill-fated push for redemption, but the steady collapse of a man losing everything he had been told would matter in his life. If you are looking for an analogous work, Hemingway's “A Clean, Well Lighted Place”, with more rage and less apathy, wouldn't be far off.

Looking back to that initial statement, we can see the immensity of what Tom has done here. Anyone can rant about the disparity in lifestyles in this country or the problems of the promises too many of us were sold over our lives. Anyone can scream that there is a problem. But within these pages, we have no choice but to live it, to breathe it in and make it a part of ourselves. It isn't so easy to ignore then.

This isn't art to raise you above your problems, or to rub in a soothing salve. Instead, it shoves our faces into it, scratching and tearing all the way. Still, the wounding bears a minor relief, if only in the knowledge that someone out there understands.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Scales and Petals

2011-03-07T10:06:00.002-05:00

By Michael Bailey
CreateSpace (March 25, 2010)

This disturbing collection is aptly titled. The Scales are the thirteen speculative horror tales and the Petals are the thirteen poems interspersed throughout. I cannot, alas, comment authoritatively on the poetry in this book. If it isn't Frost, e.e. cummings, Poe, or Spike Milligan, I don't really "get" poetry. If that makes me soulless, so be it.

The arrangement of this slim volume (208 pages) is intriguing in and of itself. It's very like a thirteen-course meal (if there is such a thing), with a single poem appearing after each story, much like a palate-cleansing sherbet before the next dish is served.

And these are some dishes!

"Plasty" is a cosmetic surgery nightmare.

"Habit" is a witness statement from a most unusual young lady.

"Defenestrate" isn't what you think. It’s a tale of cooperative domestic violence.

"Wilted Flowers" casts an ancient wooden trunk as the monster, found by an 11-year-old.

"Without Face" How do you describe someone to the police who doesn't have a face?

"The Shower Curtain Man" When the old guy holding a 'Need Help' sign is gone from his usual spot one day, a curious driver wonders what happened to him. He finds out.

"Fix" is an ultra creepy story of one bastard of a screenwriter. You won't even feel sorry for him at the end of it.

"Golden Rule" Probably my favorite of these, because I am such a fan of justice, no matter how long it takes to be served.

"Empty Canvas" Is the art of oil painting dead? You tell me.

"Unstitched Love" Cinderella gets even.

"The Girl in the Red Flower Pattern Dress" The horrors of Iraq.

"Brick House" A teenage coming out story and the intolerance that inevitably follows.

"The Trial Chair" A writer finds himself at the mercy of one of his beleaguered characters.

Bailey's style is captivating. He has a wonderful way of integrating really over-the-top, out-there horror with mundane, every-day events; so that by the time the reader reaches the end of the story, he/she is entirely off-balance…but in a good way. The man has a powerful hand with a plot line.

That being said, the book would have benefitted from the skills of a good editor. There were a few misused/incorrectly spelled words that a sharp-eyed editor would have caught and corrected.

However, don't let that discourage you from securing your own copy of Scales and Petals as fast as you can. Michael Bailey is going places. And once you read his book, you'll be glad that the places he's going are in the horror-writing world and not to your house!

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

Gardens of Night

2011-03-06T09:04:00.004-05:00

by Greg F. Gifune
Published by Uninvited Books

Author Greg F. Gifune pens an eerie, disturbing atmospheric tale of violence and redemption in Gardens of Night from Uninvited Books. Gifune's track record runs the gamut from shorter works to several novels and he also works as the associate editor at Delirium Books.

Marcus is a broken, damaged man, treading the path to recovery with his broken, damaged wife, Brooke; the nature of their damage is unclear, only that they desire to move past it and patch their shattered relationship in the aftermath. Together with their childhood friend Spaulding, they take a vacation to a remote cabin near the Catskills, in the hopes of regaining a semblance of peace and normalcy.

What should be an easy and natural retreat to the country side is complicated by dreams which refuse to relegate themselves to sleep alone. Marc's nightmares bleed over into reality and the everyday world, in which an innocuous walk through the woods becomes a sinister maze of strange portents and visions. Figures benign and malignant are lurking around every corner, and Marc's world quickly spirals out of control, assaulted by visions of his past, his present, and events about to unfold.

Gifune's introduction intrigues, and his skill as a story-teller is evident in what he chooses to withhold from an audience rather than what he reveals. What happened to Marc and Brooke that left them so broken is deftly woven into the narrative as it reaches a twisting conclusion. Philosophy, mythology, and debates on the nature of God abound as Marc struggles to make sense of the inherent violence within nature and within himself. Gardens of Night is a story about transformation and violence as much as it is about destiny and sacrifice, and it would do a reader well to brush up on their mythology if they would like to enjoy the larger themes employed in this introspective work.

Gardens of Night makes for a quick, enjoyable ride for the reader who enjoys a mystery that cannot easily be defined and figured out, keeping one guessing up until the conclusion just how Marc will resolve his past with the colliding future. This is a well-executed work which showcases Gifune's gift for creating an atmosphere of unease with an economy of words.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. Look for his work in the anthologies Fear of the Dark from Horror Bound publications and Art From Art from Modernist Press. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.

Three Seconds

2011-03-05T21:49:00.006-05:00

by Anders Roslund & Börge Hellström
Published by SilverOak

The Swedish crime novel has become a very popular subset of the genre, the biggest example being the explosive “Millennium” series by Stieg Larson (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). Perhaps it’s the perfect combination of grey winter skies and existential angst that work together to create effective dark psychological fiction, a Bergman-noir effect that calls to English-speaking audiences looking for something other than harried “too-old-for-this-shit” police officers or jaded private eyes. The award-winning duo of Roslund and Hellström has created a bleak, psychologically complex novel that explores the theme of “only a thief can catch a thief” while also being a well-plotted and suspenseful thriller.

Piet Hoffman is a former thief who has been working for the past ten years with the police to infiltrate and bring down the operations of the Polish mafia in Sweden. Only a handful of officials know of his existence and his true mission; in fact, his official record has been manufactured perfectly to substantiate his cover. But after a drug deal goes badly and another police informant is murdered, Piet takes on his most dangerous assignment: he is to be arrested and incarcerated in a maximum security facility in order to begin, and then crush, the mafia’s extensive prison drug operations.

At the same time, Detective Inspector Ewart Grens is assigned the case of a drug related murder in a Swedish apartment. His tenacity brings him to a security consultant with a long record of violent crimes named Piet Hoffman; a man who is now holding a warden and a fellow inmate hostage in a prison workshop. Grens continues to investigate and uncovers the string of high-level government secrets that put Hoffman in this situation, even as he must decide whether or not Hoffman must die to protect the lives of his hostages.

Roslund and Hellström have built two intriguing characters with Hoffman and Grens. Their contrasting personalities are the two pillars on which the plot is supported. Piet is an extremely sympathetic character, forced to display a cold demeanor even as he plans and executes dangerous and brutal actions in order to survive. Grens explodes in anger at ineptitude and deception, hiding the coldness of his soul after the death of his wife. The narrative also shines during the passages describing Piet’s time in prison, perfectly capturing the claustrophobic and deadly world behind the bars. Nevertheless, the novel suffers from too many other passages bogging down in repetition, from comma-heavy punctuation choices, and from too-frequent shifts of point of view. It’s difficult to determine if these problems are of translation, author intent, or editorial laxity, but all serve to confuse the reader needlessly. Despite these problems, Three Seconds is still an enjoyable read and a decent diversion from the usual suspense bill of fare.

Buy it here.

Visit their website.

Reviewed by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

Shedrick's website can be found here.

Zombie Pulp

2011-03-01T09:33:00.004-05:00

by Tim Curran
Published by Severed Press

Tim Curran's Zombie Pulp is comprised of nine short stories and two novellas, all of which deal with the undead. Two of the short stories, “Shelter” and “The Mattawan Meat Wagon,” appear to be set in the same world, one inhabited by 'Wormboys,' a form of zombie capable of organization and logical thought. The others cover a prison's bizarre method of body disposal, a woman's not-so-joyful reunion with her dearly-departed daughter, a similar reunion between a man and his mother, the grisly result of a botched underworld murder, a vacationing couple's run-in with an even hungrier-than-usual school of piranha, a law-enforcement raid on the strangest cult ever and a world overrun by zombie primates.

The two novellas, “They Walk by Night” and “Morbid Anatomy,” stand head and shoulders above the rest of the collection. The former is a pulp-noir detective story pitting your typical tough-as-nails private dick against a group of criminals accused of digging up and resurrecting the dead to further their nefarious schemes. The latter is connected somehow to a Lovecraft story called Herbert West: Reanimator that I'm sorry to say I've never read, and mixes horrific zombies, grisly scientific experiments and the real-life horrors of World War I.

Zombie Pulp is an excellent showcase of Curran's range; he writes housewives, every day people, police and soldiers (both modern and historical), in an equally convincing manner. “They Walk by Night” in particular demonstrates his talent for creating the mood and gets Curran high marks for use of vernacular and the two 'Wormboy' tales, for lack of a better descriptor, hint at a world and backstory that could easily be expanded into a longer body of work, perhaps even a series.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Zombie Zoology: Zombie Anthology

2011-02-22T09:36:00.002-05:00

Publsihed by Severed Press

Zombie Zoology, released last May from Severed Press, features twelve stories about dead animals coming back from the grave. The stories take place in varied locals like roach-infested buildings, farms and outer space, and the animals are brought back to life by magic, extraterrestrial pathogens, experiments gone wrong and unexplainable circumstances.

The anthology stands apart from others in the zombie subgenre not on the strength of any particular stories in the book (they're all good!) but because of the uniqueness of the material covered. There are whole publishing imprints dedicated to nothing but zombie fiction, but hardly any of it deals with zombie animals. Zombie Zoology, by and large, skirts the topic of undead people in the majority of its stories, focusing primarily on animal outbreaks both small- and large-scale.

The only thing that might irk some zombie purists is the tendency of these zombie beasts to break one of the tried and true rules: in several of these stories, damage to the brains did nothing to stop them. In one particular story, a zombie goat sustained multiple skull fractures and still came back for more. But then, zombie animals are largely uncharted territory, so it isn't a major issue. Zombie Zoology should definitely earn Severed Press some new fans and offer a breath of fresh air to any zombie fan.

Review by Lincoln Crisler

Buy it here.

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

End Times

2011-02-22T09:22:00.003-05:00

by Rio Youers
Publisher PS Publishing, September 2010

With End Times, Youers delivers a tour-de-force that chills the blood, raises the pulse, plucks our emotional strings, and weaves the reader into the story with a unique voice that pushes the envelope of dark fiction. Youers does not follow trends. Nor does he rely on blood and guts to scare the reader. For the author, a scare just won’t do. Due to this, many readers give thanks. This is why his work grabs you and won’t let go, resonating long after you finish. His characters are real people that we can actually identify with, and most importantly, we care about them. Their emotions become our own. Dare I say you may even shed a tear… I know I sure did. That said; make no mistake, End Times is a very dark novel, indeed.

We find Scott Hennessey (A.K.A. Scott No Fingers) a scarred, yet triumphant man. Scott used to be a heroin addict that dropped out of school and lived on the streets, doing anything he could for another hit. He rose above and carved out a career for himself with the local newspaper despite all odds. Actually, Scott used to be a lot of things… until an old friend calls him with a warning that becomes his last words: Mia Floats Softly is back.

Scott’s memory is vague. The voice on the phone seems so familiar, but he can’t place it. And rightly so; after rising above a past best forgotten, Scott scrambles to make sense of the warning. He can feel Mia’s pull. It’s as palpable as his past, and once again, his veins crave the demon that shadowed that part of his life. But this is the least of his worries. His friends are dying and Mia Floats Softly has only just begun—her eyes set on the biggest prize: Scott Hennessey. The long and painful journey takes him around England—where he finds Mia’s mark on everybody she consumes—to the Dakota’s of America. Scott must find the answers before Mia finds him.

With End Times, we find the author in rare form. Told in a non-linear fashion, the story whisks us away into a world as real and dark as our own. What truly makes this novel shine, however, is the imagination behind it. Arthur Machen, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, and a host of other authors come to mind. Rarely has the melding of reality and fantasy been mixed so well that it captivates those who delve into Scott’s world and accompany him on his heart-wrenching journey. Once again, Youers proves to be one of the most formidable story tellers of our time.

Reviewed by, Ben Eads

Buy it here.

Ben Eads is a dark fiction author of short stories and longer fiction. His work tends to represent modern horror coupled with what he likes to call: “Imagination-tickling elements”. Ben is also a huge fan of dark fiction and dark movies. At the age of ten he wrote his first story. Taking writing seriously in early 2008, Ben Eads has published numerous short dark fiction stories in various magazines, anthologies, and E-Zines.

To Each Their Darkness

2011-02-17T10:41:00.004-05:00

by Gary Braunbeck
Apex Book Company

Gary Braunbeck is, without a doubt, one of my favorite writers. Few people manage to write with such bleak lyricism raw emotion and literary panache as he does. For this reason, Fear in a Handful of Dust is one of the most useful and entertaining books on the craft and fandom of fiction on my shelf, even surpassing On Writing. There’s no hyperbole or tongue chewing in that statement, the book is good. And out of print. So here comes this book that I am repeatedly assured is most definitely not a simple revision and update of a book I (and some of you, quite possibly) already own.

It is, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

First off, it is a heavily revised and updated version, with a bunch of new material added and some whole sections excised. Second, just look my opening paragraph. The original wasn't too shabby and it's out of print. Who the hell is it that's complaining about access to a book that many wouldn't be able to get a hold of without sacrificing a neighbor's first born?

If you've read Fear then you know what to expect, but if you haven't... prepare yourself. This isn't just a how-to manual for writers or an opportunity to swap stories with a fellow horror geek. It's also a harrowing journey through the life and soul of the writer. That is why I love the subtitle of the original version (“Horror as a way of Life”) so much: it exemplifies his credo that a writer must put every bit of themselves into their writing if it is to have any lasting effect. His explanations of his life don't stand as opportunities to play the hard luck artist, instead, he uses them to show how he has placed every fiber, every tear, every late night screech into the wind and even those tiny bits of hope that seem so hard to grasp into the stories he has created.

And he's damn funny while he does it (just try listening to Smoke on the Water without falling apart after reading this).

That's what makes the following hard to say: I'm disappointed. There are moments that display a marked lack of continuity which I am sure come from merging new material into the older, which was itself stitched together largely from pre-existing articles. The worst of these is a point where he references a portion of the original which had been excised from this version, as if it was still there and going so far as to accuse the reader of skipping around if they don't recall that part. And there are others that are merely confusing. This isn't something that kills the book or destroys what Gary is attempting to do with it, but it pisses me off. I sound like a whiny griefer, choking on sour grapes and a tall glass of haterade but DAMMIT, Gary, I expect better than that from you. For someone describing himself as a merciless reader who abhors sloppy writing... well... it just seems lazy.

Ranting aside, it is a good book. It is a must-have for writers and a should-have for fans. I still prefer the content in Fear (due to those previously mentioned issues), but if I didn't already own that then I would prefer the price point and availability of this version much more.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Slights

2011-02-15T09:17:00.003-05:00

by Kaaron Warren

Published by Angry Robot

Slights is the story of Stevie Searle and begins when she is eighteen. At first blush, this book appears to be a coming of age novel, but it isn’t long before the reader, with a sickening feeling in the pit of the stomach, realizes that this is a memoir of madness; a tale of living and love replaced by an obsession about what happens after we die, and a deftly written one at that. Stevie is a serial killer, but unlike Bundy and Gacy, she's more of a "mad scientist" type. She seeks information she is not meant to have, and will do whatever is necessary to get it with no regard for the consequences.

Her first unsuccessful suicide attempt provided a glimpse into her own afterlife--a small gray room crammed with all the people in her life that she'd slighted up to that point--and she's slighted many, and goes out of her way to do so. Subsequent "controlled" suicide attempts allow her to revisit her "gray room" several more times just to see who's there--to see the new people whom she slighted between visits. Her theory is that every time she slights someone she takes a little piece of their soul--and that's what ends up in her gray room… her personal hell.

Once she has this information about her own afterlife, she sets out to see if everyone else's is similar to hers, and the killing begins. She tries to kill her victims softly so that she can revive them in order to find out what they saw, not often successfully. Luckily, she has a large back yard…

Stevie is a hard character to like. She's even hard to feel sorry for. She's so disconnected from the rest of humanity that it's alarming how she goes out of her way to be rude and nasty to everyone she meets. She makes plain her desire to be distanced from humanity, then is illogical enough to believe that someone will remember her birthday. In many situations, she will tell you "Here's what should have happened" and detail that; only to follow it with, "Here's what happened" and describe that. Both descriptions are equally dispassionate. It is her creeping, relentless, and gradually worsening disturbed mind and distorted life that glued the book to my hands, even though it caused me more than a moment or two of queasiness.

Aside from Stevie, there are few likeable characters in this grim debut novel. That being said, it's also a brilliantly written book that will not allow you to walk away from it. This is psychological horror at its very best.

If you're a fan of horror that's so well written and flows like a symphony, you'll want to pick up a copy of this book.

And I dare you to put it down!

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

Far Dark Fields

2011-02-13T10:46:00.004-05:00

By Gary A. Braunbeck
Publsihed by Leisure Books

The latest book in Braunbeck’s Cedar Hill series, FAR DARK FIELDS will be devoured by fans, but it may leave new readers confused and cold. As I am somewhere in the middle, I should be the ideal person to review this, right? I mean, I have read two of Braunbeck’s previous novels set in that haunted Ohio town, but have missed two, so while some names and events were familiar to me, a good portion were not. While Mr. Braunbeck does provide some explanation of past events, enough is left for the fans of Cedar Hill to fill in the blanks that novices to that creepy Midwest town might be left scratching their heads. Ok, that bit of proviso out of the way, let’s get to the juicy bits.

Geoff Conover, a high school English teacher is our protagonist in this tale. A student at his school goes on a killing spree and heads towards his old home town of Cedar Hill. The kid is wounded, dying, but using his last breath he asks to speak to Geoff. The teacher, a survivor of a mass murder himself, reluctantly goes to speak with the kid. What follows is a mystery involving the local bogeyman with the great name of Hoopsticks and the reason he was spared so many years before. That mystery unfolds through a series of flashbacks, and then some flashbacks, and then a few more flashbacks. Remember when I said people new to Cedar Hills may feel a bit lost? Well this is where that will happen.

There are enough good fright moments here to satisfy most horror junkies even if they’re new to Braunbeck’s haunted world. One particular good part had Geoff descending into the very bowls of Cedar Hill in his hunt for the truth. Fan or not, that was great stuff. Furthermore Braunbeck’s trademark warm and easy to read style is in full effect and the man can spin a heck of a yarn. That said, not everything is perfect with this book. The explanation for Hoopsticks leaves a little something to be desired and leaves a lot of things unexplained. I can only assume that was done so that in a future book such questions could be wrapped up. In a similar fashion, the end of this the novel was also a bit so-so and pretty blatantly sets things up for a sequel. Now I don’t mind sequels, but I do like the stories before them to have their own clear and satisfying endings. I can’t honestly say that FAR DARK FIELDS has that.

Cedar Hill fans should get this book as it continues to expand the mythology of that town nicely. Those new to Gary A. Braunbeck should probably pick up some of his earlier titles, not only to see if his style meshes with their tastes (always a good idea), but to become familiar with the thick backstory needed to enjoy this book to the fullest. So depending upon who you are, buy accordingly.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons

POPULATION ZERO

2011-02-09T08:41:00.003-05:00

by Wrath James White
Published by Deadlite Press

Population Zero was originally released as a limited-edition novella through Cargo Cult Press in 2008. Deadite Press re-issued the book as a paperback and digital release in December 2010. The main character, a Welfare claims analyst named Todd, was taught as a child that animals need to be sterilized, sometimes even euthanized, in order to keep their populations down. When Todd, as an adult who sees the dregs of society waltz into his cubicle all day in search of a free handout, takes this ideology to its most extreme, hard decisions and bloody meat become the order of the day.

Population Zero is stylistically more similar to White’s 2008 Leisure release, Succulent Prey (also originally released as a limited-edition book, in 2005), than to his most recent novel, 2010’s The Resurrectionist. Todd is written almost as a prototype of Joseph Miles, the protagonist from Prey (though Prey does predate Zero by at least three years); according to the author, both are meant to be sympathetic characters capable of the most heinous crimes. Like Joseph, Todd fits this bill perfectly. It’s hard to disagree with a guy who feels indisposed to giving drug addicts more money for drugs and human baby factories a reward for producing children they can’t raise. Also like Succulent Prey, Population Zero features an insane amount of stomach-turning graphic nastiness, and a rougher writing style than White’s more recent, and more refined, work.

Overall, Zero is a fast-paced read that gets more brutal with each turn of the page and comes to the sort of jarring, satisfying ending one might expect from White’s work by now, with a mixture of the graphic horror and thinking-man’s concerns that are hallmarks of his writing.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Death's Sweet Embrace

2011-02-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

by Tracey O'Hara
Publsihed by the HarperCollins imprint Harper Voyager

Death's Sweet Embrace, put out by the HarperCollins imprint Harper Voyager, is second in a series of urban fantasy novels from Australian author Tracey O'Hara.

This series of books takes place in a world where humans and "parahumans," shape shifting folk from wolves, dogs, lions and bears, oh my! live together in an integrated society. The immediate threat is a serial killer loose on a college campus, where we are introduced immediately to Kitt, a feline shape shifter who has been called in by Oberon, a bear shifter, to help with the investigation. Conveniently for the reader who likes their melodrama shaken, not stirred, this will also include Raven, the male hero with the sticky romantic past with Kitt, a union that resulted in the birth of twins currently attending the college.

Think two parts crime procedural, one part Thundercats. While the action is non-stop, character development runs thin and relies instead on the stock characters of the modern era -- dark, brooding alpha hero who denies his inner feelings for the main heroine (Raven), a tough warrior chick who retains her feminine mystique amidst blood and guts (Antoinette), and the womanly, healing mother of the hero's children and object of his desire (Kitt).

The serial killer fades into the background, jammed in between too many side characters and subplots, a plot device designed to bring together characters who otherwise would not be engaged in various forms of hurt/comfort interplay. Their family lives and tribal ties to Packs and Prides proves far more interesting reading than the desire to see a killer brought to justice; the book would have done better to focus on this more human aspect of family and loyalty, and the Romeo and Juliet inspired conflict between the main characters.

Should a reader become snowed in and dream of a beach book to dispel the winter blues, Death's Sweet Embrace will provide fun-filled entertainment of the action-packed variety, but do not expect more than pulp is capable of delivering.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. Look for his work in the anthologies Fear of the Dark from Horror Bound publications and Art From Art from Modernist Press. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.

Men of Five

2011-01-30T22:38:00.000-05:00

by C. Bryan Brown

Publisher Misanthrope Press

Dealing with Sci-fi, especially soft sci-fi and even more so when it bears a horror bent, can be a bit of a sticky wicket due to the assumption that it is always a rehashing of a specific archetype. For instance, if I told you that Men of Five deals with Yerik Romanofski and his Interplanetary Task Force team who are searching a supposedlybarren, inhospitable rock of a planet, designated rather than named (HT 12-25), that possesses an inexplicable structure of obvious non-natural origin and have found it somewhat less uninhabited than they thought, you would be inclined to think Alien rehash. And you would be wrong here.

Instead, C. Bryan Brown uses that prejudice to misdirect the reader and keep them off balance when the true thrust of the story hits. Unfortunately, it is in that thrust that it fell flat for me. First off, it seems predicated on a surprise that didn’t surprise very well due to over use. About half way through, I had found myself muttering that “if the planet is (spoiler redacted) and they are (more spoilers redacted), then I’m gonna be pissed,” and I was. Part of my annoyance may be that I do not find the central conflict, as it is presentedhere, or even the mystery surrounding it to be particularly engaging. It certainly doesn’t help that the largely internal struggle, despite the presence of giant, man eating creatures, doesn’t leave much room for action. Someone else with a more religious bent may disagree with me, but even on those terms there isn’t enough meat and depth to make it truly affecting.

Now that I’ve complained, I’m going to backtrack a bit and say that this story could work quite well if used as an introduction to a larger conflict. There is a reason that so much of our classic literature has dealt with issues of fate and destiny and the struggles of man against those forces, both futile and fruitful: they strike a deep cord in us. It would need quite a bit of trimming but could prove to lead into a very interesting story. Unfortunately, as it stands it left me a tad empty.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Elements of the Apocalypse

2011-01-25T13:41:00.000-05:00

by D.L. Snell, John Sunseri and R. Thomas Riley
Publisher Permuted Press

Permuted Press’ 2010 anthology, Elements of the Apocalypse, tackles the publisher’s bread and butter subject matter—the end of the world—as caused by the four traditional elements: Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Instead of the ever popular zombie apocalypse, we’re treated to spontaneous human combustion, transformation of Earth’s atmosphere and terrain by hostile aliens, a revolt against humanity by animals and the Earth itself, and finally the inexplicable dehydration of…everything.

D.L. Snell’s “Remains” waste no time with combustion as a bus driver bursts into flames for no apparent reason. From there, the rest of the story details a descent into hopelessness and insanity of an ever-lessening group of survivors. The main characters, Dylan, Friday and Shadow are detailed and three-dimensional. Snell does a great job of conveying their paranoia, despair, fear and, in the case of one character, madness.

In John Sunseri’s “Silence in Heaven,” thousands of people have spent the last three decades living below the Earth’s surface in a series of bunkers after the planet’s biosphere and atmosphere are rendered toxic by invading aliens. The aliens are monstrous flesh- and oxygen-eating creatures with great machines converting the atmosphere. The community’s chief of security, Bess, leads a small group in their attempt to interface their scientists’ new technology with the aliens’ machines in order to reverse the damage done to the air. The sense of urgency and sacrifices for the mission move the story forward in a rapid and convincing manner, and it ends on a note that some might find predictable, but fitting nonetheless.

R. Thomas Riley’s “Phrenetic” begins with a confusing barrage of multiple viewpoints that is somewhat headache-inducing but also oddly appropriate for a world that suddenly finds itself at war with everything from zoo animals to house pets. Riley takes time to touch on some examples of humanity’s moral decline in the face of disaster before unveiling the sinister force behind the animals’ strange behavior. The idea behind this piece; humanity is harming Earth and that the planet itself may someday take action against us, isn’t unique to Riley, but the journey is half the fun, after all.

The collection couldn’t end on a better, and more despair-inducing, note than “With a Face of Golden Pleasure” by Ryan C. Thomas. The story takes place over a nine-day period of time, beginning with what seems to be a minor annoyance at first (who the hell puts back a half-drunk beer?) and progressing to all-out murder as the members of a beach community slowly come to a realization that all the water—in their cars’ radiators, in the juice they buy at the store, in the ocean—is slowly disappearing without a trace. This is easily the hardest-hitting story in the book: nothing on Earth can survive without water. Period.

Overall, there’s not a bad story in the bunch, and this book will be a great read for anyone who loves a good disaster story but could use a break from zombies.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Horror Library Vol. 4

2011-01-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

by Bentley Little
Publisher Cutting Block Press (October 2010)

If Horror Library anthologies aren't already one of the standards by which modern horror collections are measured, it can't be much longer now, judging by 2010's Volume Four. The series, comprising the work of relatively unknown authors at its inception, has increased in both momentum and star-power with each new addition. Any collection is bound to contain some below-average work; you'd have an easier time finding Bigfoot than a perfect horror antho. However, Horror Library Volume Four has a higher-than-average amount of excellent work and even the subpar status granted some of these stories is a matter for debate rather than a cold, hard, statement of fact.

Standouts from this collection include the introductory “A Very Important Message for Those Planning to Travel to Costa Rica.” Unique in terms of its basis in real-world events and in its second-person narrative, “Costa Rica” is in keeping with the traditional opening pieces for these collections. “Into the After,” Kurt Dinan's story of a boy and his father seeking the help of a spiritualist in offloading excess baggage from September Eleventh, was a quick, surprising blow to the solar plexus. Bentley Little's “Jammers,” about a potential source of traffic jams, is based entirely in nonsense and comes with no suspension of disbelief whatsoever, but is fun all the same. “What Was Once Man,” by Michele Lee, is a nice little Easter egg for fans of her zombie novella, Rot. “The Healing Hands of Reverend Wainright,” Geoffrey Mudge's tale of a sinister traveling evangelist and his carnival-esque band of helpers, hints at a backstory that would make an excellent novel.

Less remarkable is Harrison Howe's “Driving Deep Into the Night,” about a dead prostitute and her many mourning suitors, told in a jumbled style that sacrifices easy reading on the altar of surrealism. “Sleepless Eyes” by Tim Waggoner would serve admirably as a lesson in how to properly gross someone the Hell out but is not a story at all, merely a study in scene-setting. “Continuity” by Lorne Dixon isn't necessarily a bad story, but sticks out like a sore thumb given that the author has another story in the collection. This is the first time two stories by the same author were included in one of these collections, and “Continuity” just isn't good enough to warrant such special treatment (though I do give Dixon credit for his demonstration of range), especially when “Ash Wednesday,” Dixon's other story, is so much more fun.

Overall, Horror Library Volume Four is another excellent feather in RJ Cavender and Boyd Harris' hats, and in those of the contributing authors, who can no doubt expect to see an award nomination or two come out of this book.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Lincoln Crisler

Disclosure: This reviewer has been involved with the Horror Library since 2006, has served as a Contributing Writer for its late website and is proud to call many affiliated with the Horror Library his friends. This association did not affect this review in any way, any more than it has kept this reviewer's work from being rejected for at least two of the Horror Library anthologies. We're all professionals here.

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is due in March from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

I Shall Wear Midnight

2011-01-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

by Terry Pratchett
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers

Terry Pratchett should need no introduction. He is a knighted author of Fantasy, most famous for his Discworld series, which has inspired everything from cartoons, BBC movies, figurines, t-shirts, postage stamps, street names in a Somerset city, their own convention, and even a line of beer. I Shall Wear Midnight concludes his Discworld based young adult series focused on the adventures of Tiffany Aching in a dark and thrilling novel.

Tiffany Aching is now a fifteen-year-old witch on the Chalk, an area known for soft soil and sheep. She is treated with respect, as any witch ought to be, but also with suspicion. Things get worse for her when the Baron, who owns most of the land, dies under her care and his nurse accuses her of black magic. She is sent on a mission to find the Baron's son, whom she saved in The Wee Free Men from the Queen of the Fairies. She was rumored to have feelings for the Baron’s son, even going so far as to use the necklace which he gave her to ensnare the Hiver in A Hat Full of Sky, and his fiancé, Letitia, and her mother, who is a Dutchess and makes it clear to everyone in the vicinity that this is her rank.

On the coach ride to Ankh-Morpork, the Discworld equivalent to London or New York, she meets The Cunning Man, a conjured spirit of a murdered Omnian witch hunter who is occasionally resurrected throughout the history of Discworld to hunt and pursue witches, fueled by the deep seeded fear and mistrust of the members of their communities.

Tiffany is helped by a few of the witches in Ankh Morpork, including the famous Mrs. Proust, who runs Boffo’s joke shop, and Eskarina Smith, who is the first ever woman bequeathed a wizard’s staff, and thus lives on the borders between witch magic and wizard magic. All of them are aware of The Cunning Man’s presence, but it pursues only Tiffany, who must ultimately battle him to the death in the final chapters.

As with many young adult series, as the characters grow and mature, so to do their worlds and the problems they must face. Tiffany Aching deals, within the first few chapters of the book, with alcoholism, domestic violence, infanticide and suicide, which is a far cry from slamming a river goblin in the face with a frying pan. Readers who have grown with the series will not be shocked, and indeed may champion Tiffany on these new adventures, but readers uninitiated may want to start with The Wee Free Men and work their way up through Tiffany’s life. Still, this book certainly could stand alone, and deals readers a more realistic version of young adult life than many novels currently available. Though the themes are occasionally dark and mature, this is still a very entertaining and thrilling read, heavily spiced with Pratchett’s trademark humor.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Joshua Gage.

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland. His first full-length collection, "breaths", is available from VanZeno Press. Intrinsic Night, a collaborative project he wrote with J. E. Stanley, was recently published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle.

The Wee Free Men: The Beginning

2011-01-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

by Terry Pratchett
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers

Terry Pratchett should need no introduction. He is a knighted author of Fantasy, most famous for his Discworld series, which has inspired everything from cartoons, BBC movies, figurines, t-shirts, postage stamps, street names in a Somerset city, their own convention, and even a line of beer. The Wee Free Men: The Beginning is a collection of two of his young adult novels, The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky. These two novels follow the young protagonist, Tiffany Aching, through her adventures and lessons in becoming a witch.

In The Wee Free Men, Tiffany is nine-years-old, and works on her parents farm on The Chalk, making cheese, watching her younger brother, and helping take care of the livestock, mostly sheep. One day, she and her brother are attacked by a river goblin named Jenny Greenteeth, which Tiffany soundly defeats using a frying pan. Such actions do not go unnoticed, and under the tutelage of an experienced witch named Miss Tick and her talking toad, Tiffany learns that she has all the makings of a witch. When her brother is stolen by the Queen of the Fairies, Tiffany takes it upon herself to rescue him, armed only with a dictionary, a frying pan, and the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, tiny blue kilted pictsies with a penchant for drinking Special Sheep Linament and more than willing "to give any scunner a full of heid, ye kennit," even if that means fighting themselves, which they often do.

A Hat Full of Sky features Tiffany two years later, when she is apprenticed to Miss Level, a witch with one mind and two bodies. She learns that being a witch involves very little Queen of the Fairy fighting, and mostly taking care of those too old, too young, too sick or just ignorant to take care of themselves. Tiffany also finds herself battling with a hiver, a disembodied spirit that takes over the bodies of powerful beings in the same way a hermit crab takes over a shell, using them to their full potential until they are completely spent, then moving on once they die. Tiffany also finds herself pitted against a pack of the vilest, cunning and dangerous creatures know to man-- teenage girls. Led by a fellow apprentice named Annagramma, who spells magic with a ‘k’ and believes she is above all menial tasks Tiffany and Miss Levels perform. Through it all, Tiffany is once again defended and aided by the Nac Mac Feegle, who adopt Tiffany as their hag, and who are placed under a geas (a very important obligation, not a large bird) to save at any cost.

Both books have Pratchett's trademark comedy and satire imbued in them, as well as allusions that would make any adult reader chuckle along with the young ones. Through this humor, Pratchett offers readers young and old alike lessons and morals about life. For example, Miss Tick's lesson to Tiffany: "If you trust in yourself... and believe in your dreams... and follow your star... you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy." Pratchett clearly aims to take the traditional fantasy novel or Disney princess movie and flip it on its head, creating a very intriguing protagonist who readers of any age will enjoy.

Buy it here.

Review by Joshua Gage

Joshua Gage is an ornery curmudgeon from Cleveland. His first full-length collection, "breaths", is available from VanZeno Press. Intrinsic Night, a collaborative project he wrote with J. E. Stanley, was recently published by Sam’s Dot Publishing. He is a graduate of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Naropa University. He has a penchant for Pendleton shirts, rye whiskey and any poem strong enough to yank the breath out of his lungs. He stomps around Cleveland in a purple bathrobe where he hosts the monthly Deep Cleveland Poetry hour and enjoys the beer at Brew Kettle.

GHOST COUNTRY

2010-12-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

By Patrick Lee
Published by HarperCollins Publishers, 2010

Back in the 1970s, during the activation of the Very Large Ion Collider at Wind Creek, Wyoming, an accident resulted in the creation of a wormhole, officially named “The Breach.” Periodically, assorted items of alien technology — known as “entities” —would appear. An autonomous organization known as Tangent was created to research, catalog, and control the entities that come through. Paige Campbell, one of Tangent’s leading scientists, is shown a very near-future in which mankind appears to have been annihilated by an entity. Understandably alarmed, Paige rushed off to take this information to the President of the United States. She is no sooner done when an unidentified paramilitary force attacks the motorcade in which she’s traveling, kills her companions, and abducts her. A former member of Tangent, Travis Chase, and Paige’s assistant, Bethany, are enlisted to rescue Paige. They manage to track her to a secret installation in Washington, DC, and manage to free her. However, the mysterious and decidedly hostile group now relentlessly pursues them, even as they attempt to unravel the hellish fate waiting for them and the rest of the world.

Ghost Country is Patrick Lee’s follow-up to his first novel, The Breach, and utilizes characters and concepts he introduced and developed in his earlier book. Regardless, Ghost Country stands alone well enough. Like The Breach, Ghost Country is more a hard-boiled thriller than a science-fiction or horror story, although the alien technology from the other side of the Breach certainly plays a major part in the unfolding of events. Indeed, during my reading of the novel, I found it moving in a very different direction from what I expected, based on the description of the novel and its first few chapters. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily — the story moves at a clip, and the characters are mostly engaging, particularly Travis Chase, the hardened and occasionally not-quite-so moral protagonist. On the other hand, the back story of the Breach itself, and the entities it unleashes, must be taken on faith, as — by all indications — Lee’s first novel offers no more insight into the actual phenomenon than this one does. I confess to some disappointment at the downplaying of such a potentially fascinating aspect of the overall concept. Regardless, at the heart of the story is the dire need for Travis, Paige, and Bethany to discover the truth, in a hurry, and set things right, if humanly possible. That much the author manufactures with great aplomb.

In the end, having become acclimated to the direction the novel ends up taking, the revelations about the organization against which the protagonists are pitted, as well as the final unfolding of events, come as no great surprise. However, the novel is a fast, solid, and entertaining read; I’ll give it 3.5 out of 5.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Stephen Mark Rainey

Stephen Mark Rainey is the author of the novels Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (with Elizabeth Massie, HarperCollins, 1999), Balak (Wildside Books, 2000), The Lebo Coven (Thomson Gale/Five Star Books, 2004), The Nightmare Frontier (Sarob Press, 2006, and in e-book format by Crossroads Press, 2010), and Blue Devil Island (Thomson Gale/Five Star Books, 2007); three short story collections; and over 80 published works of short fiction. Stephen lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a passle of Damned housecats, and over the past year have become an avid Damned geocacher. For updates on what's happening currently, visit The Blog Where Horror Dwells and/or the News page.

APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD

2010-12-30T09:07:00.000-05:00

by Joe McKinney
Published by Pinnacle Books

Apocalypse of the Dead is killer. This is an epic tale of human survival in the zombies-are-everywhere-and-I-need-a-freaking-gun tradition. Faced with countless undead, the book's four major storylines follow the survivors of a zombie plague. As the stories interweave, they create a terrifying tapestry of mayhem, weaponry, and gore. When a bite or a scratch can make a friend instantly turn into a drooling, clawing, and hungry zombie, it's a dangerous world indeed.

The story begins two years after the events in McKinney's Dead City. Houston has been walled off with its borders enforced by the Gulf Region Quarantine Authority. Trapped within are countless Infected, along with a handful of non-infected humans struggling to stay alive in a world that has written them off as collateral damage. What they want most is to escape. And escape, they do... accidently taking the undead filovirus with them.

Uncontrolled and unstoppable, the virus spreads around the world and society collapses. The survivors are left to fend for themselves. Needless to say, most are unprepared for such an event. A blind woman, an escaped convict, Florida retirees, a preacher and his flock, a police sharpshooter, a motorcycle gang, and two guys with hookers and an RV, all find themselves living moment-to-moment, fighting for their lives. To make matters worse, not all of the survivors are nice people, and some will do anything to prevail. Anything.

As the stories converge, the survivors are faced with the question of whether it's possible to re-form society in a zombified world. The survivors are embattled and the undead aren't going away anytime soon. To make matters worse, to survive in this new world, one might have to accept the fact that the strong rule, and the weak serve.

McKinney has created his best work to date and it’s a must-read. Reminiscent of The Stand, (not a comparison to be taken lightly), this book starts with a bang and never slows down. The characters come alive (even if only for a little while) and among the twists and turns there are more than a few surprises. Apocalypse of the Dead goes beyond the traditional bash-them-in-the-head-with-a-baseball-bat storyline and offers a few philosophical head-scratchers as well. Not to say that there's not a sufficient supply of rotting flesh, oozing brains, bullets, and leaking body fluids. Yum.

Read this book, if you can. If not, watch out for the headshot that puts you out of your misery.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by R.B.Payne

R. B. Payne is a dark fiction writer. His stories have appeared in Doorways, Dark Discoveries, Necrotic Tissue, and the recent Stoker-nominated Midnight Walk anthology. He is insanely enthusiastic about writing book reviews for Shroud magazine. But rather than continuing to blurb himself by pretending that someone else wrote this bio, he would prefer you seek out his stories and read them late at night. For the record, he lives in Los Angeles and lurks at www.rbpayne.com. He would love to hear from you as long as it’s not a beating heart delivered in a cardboard box.

TRIANGULATION: END OF THE RAINBOW

2010-12-29T15:55:00.000-05:00

Edited by Bill Moran
Published by PARSEC Ink

Fourth in the Triangulation anthology series, End of the Rainbow provides a diverse selection of fantasy literature. The book boasts quality authors throughout, and the tales range from retellings of cultural myths to science fiction. All of them enjoy vivid imagery and a sense of wonder, appropriate to the title.

David Sklar starts the book strong with “The Rainbow Vendor” as a man struggles to sell his supply of the optical phenomena to an unreceptive town. “The House at the End of the Rainbow” and its teleporting structure imprison an old woman faced with a young stowaway. Meanwhile, Amanda C. Davis utilizes the rainbow as a symbol of wish-fulfillment to chilling effect in “David is Six.”

Tinatsu Wallace’s “A Womb of my Own” follows with a harrowing character study (probably the best in the book), as a gay man, impregnated through surgery, grapples with an identity crisis. Cate Gardner’s trademark whimsy lightens the mood in the first pages of “The Meaning of Yellow” before exploring far deeper themes in a world robbed of color.

Eugie Foster provides his spin on a Chinese creation myth in “A Patch of Jewels in the Sky,” even as Aaron Polson allows those populating the town in “The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable” to disappear through strange doors in their basements. Cat Rambo’s, “In Order to Conserve” closes the collection proper via a world where a scarcity of color fuels government sponsored fear and deprivation.

After reading such an impressive collection of stories, Editor Bill Moran’s afterword comes off as particularly bittersweet. Each Triangulation is clearly a labor of love, and heavy labor at that. One can only appreciate the care expressed not only for the anthology, but quality fiction as a whole, when too much of today’s audience seems to have forgotten how to appreciate it.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Patrick Rutigliano

Patrick Rutigliano resides in Indiana with his wife, Hannah, and a very peculiar cat he found on his doorstep. He began his professional writing career in 2007 with a sale to Permuted Press. Since then, his work has appeared in History Is Dead, Monstrous, and Shroud Magazine. A full bibliography of his work is available at http://patrickrutigliano.blogspot.com/ , although he advises the reader to take any of his rambling outbursts with a grain of salt.

FULL DARK, NO STARS

2010-12-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

by Stephen King

Pre-release anticipation of King’s latest book, a collection of four novellas, included comparison to similar groupings of his long fiction, Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight. Long-time King fans can’t be faulted for their hopefulness, either. Not only does King nail the novella more often than not, but of the eight stories in the aforementioned books, five were made into movies or television miniseries; some of the better adaptations of his work, depending on whom you ask.

Full Dark, No Stars comes out of the gate strong with ‘1922.’ It is about a farmer who confesses to the murder of his wife in that titular year. There’s more than a touch of the supernatural in the story, but it doesn’t overpower the simple and reality-based ways in which the men’s lives fall apart in the years following their crime. It’s an altogether satisfying tale in the classic King style. ‘Big Driver,’ the second story, is about a mystery writer who does a bit of sleuthing (and leaves behind quite a mystery herself) after being raped and left for dead on the way home from a public appearance. Like ‘1922,’ ‘Big Driver’ could readily be adapted for television, though the latter might be more comfortable on Lifetime.

'Fair Extension’ is the shortest and easily most-disposable story in the book. Calling it a story is a technicality even, since it’s really only a description of the bad things that happens to one man’s family after another throws him under the bus in a deal with the Devil. The collection finishes with ‘A Good Marriage,’ about a woman who discovers that her husband has spent the last thirty years of their marriage as a particularly vicious serial killer. The ending was fairly predictable (there’s only so many credible ways for a story like this to end) but half the fun is getting there, as they say, and this one was true to pattern. It probably wouldn’t make a good movie, as it’s comprised heavily of internal dialogue, but it’s a good read that, in concert with the first two stories, makes up for the third.

Overall, Full Dark, No Stars should satisfy most King fans. The writing style is vintage King, asymmetrical to either his novel Under the Dome or his short fiction Just After Sunset, reminding us why he is the Master.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Lincoln Crisler.

Lincoln Crisler is a United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer and the author of two collections of dark stories, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). He lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

THE BLACK ACT

2010-12-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

by Louise Bohmer
Publisher, Library Of Horror Press, September 2009

The Black Act is a suspenseful, heart-felt, dark-fantasy tale based on a unique mythos as to the creation of our world. Written in a well-executed, non-linear fashion, Bohmer’s evocative imagination whisks us away to an old world--- alien, yet familiar.

Ever since the death of their Guild Mother, Anna and Claire’s world has been tough. Anna—a second level initiate into the ways of magic—feels her sister has changed. When Anna starts having strange and vivid dreams concerning the beginning of the world—even the inner-thoughts of those who dwelled within it—she approaches her scribe teacher, Rosalind for advice.

Rosalind instructs Anna to scribe what she has dreamed. It is to be part of The Record. Anna, only a second level initiate questions the motives. She feels she is not ready. But she has no choice. For some reason, Anna is watching the forging of the clans that comprise of the Dalthwein lands and the story must be told.

Her sister Claire spends more and more time with her secret lover, Luthien, from the south woods. Anna can’t take the pain of being put aside by her sister and her secrets any longer. She implores her for answers. Claire appraises her sister’s face to see if she is ready for the truth… the last words their mother spoke before she died.

Once the truth is spoken, Anna’s life is turned upside down with a horrible realization that could re-write history in no one’s favor. Anna’s dreams continue, and when they start contradicting the status-quo of history, she has no choice but to seek help from her Scribe teacher; only to find the harsh truths told by her sister, and the dreams are one in the same.

The Black Act is epic in scope. Bohmer digs deep and immerses us into a world that is fantastical, yet tangible. The use of allegory in history is done very well and is put to good use. The people we come to know along the way are just as human as we are. What truly makes this a gem—aside from creating an entirely believable and fantastical world, unique and rich—is Bohmer’s powerful voice and delivery. All of this coalesces into a tale that haunts you long after finishing it. The Black Act heralds the presence of a formidable story-teller.

Buy it here.

Find out more about Louise Bohmer at: www.louisebohmer.com

Review by, Ben Eads
www.beneadsfiction.com

SUPERNATURAL: THE UNHOLY CAUSE

2010-12-29T10:31:00.000-05:00

By Joe Schreiber
Published by Titan Books 2010

Confession time. I really like the TV show SUPERNATURAL. Yeah I know, it’s weird and something I don’t admit to everyone. I mean, it’s on the WB, a television network I have no other use for. It stars two hunky guys and only has the occasional hot chick as a costar so there’s no real eye candy in it for me. Lastly, despite its title and premise, I never found it scary. Nope, not once. That said, I do think it’s very well written, with two great characters as the monster hunting Winchester brothers, and while not particularly frightening, it is often funny as hell. I am a diehard horror-head but things that make me giggle are always greatly appreciated.

I was a bit dubious when I got the latest SUPERNATURAL novel for review. I was also more than a bit curious. So with as much of an open mind as I could muster, I dove into THE UNHOLY CAUSE.

This book finds the troubled brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester along with their renegade angle pal, Castiel, down south Georgia way looking into murder and mayhem at a Civil War reenactment. Sadly curmudgeonly father figure Bobby doesn’t have a big part in this story. What starts off looking like not all that difficult of a case involving murder and suicide, soon turns out to be a battle with an ancient evil. How ancient? Like Jesus Christ ancient.

THE UNHOLY CAUSE replicates the essence and feel of the TV series wonderfully. Author Joe Schreiber has penned a novel that reads like a standalone episode of the show. The characters are very well fleshed out and treated with respect for their six years of television history. The book’s plot is suitably mysterious, the mythology it plays with is handled well, and most importantly for me, there’s plenty of snarky, sarcastic humor courtesy of the Winchester boys. Those silly bits are the main reason why I keep tuning into the show week after week. I was happy to see them done right in this novel.

After I finished this novel I learned that there are many other SUPERNATURAL books out there. I can’t speak for any of those, but if they’re anything like this book, I’ll have to give them a read. Look, THE UNHOLY CAUSE is a TV tie-in novel. If you are looking for great literature, you might be disappointed with this. Additionally, if you’ve never seen the TV show, then this one might leave you going “hmmm” as some of the backstory assumes the reader has watched at least some of the series before. But if you are a casual watcher and want a fun, fast, and entertaining read, then give this book a try. If you are a fan of SUPERNATURAL then consider this a must have.

Buy it here.

Reviewed by Brain M. Sammons

The Empathy Effect

2010-12-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

by Bob Lock

If you've ever felt sorry on behalf of someone else, multiply it by ten and you’ll have an idea of what Cooper Jones goes through in an ordinary day. In The Empathy Effect, put out by Screaming Dreams Publishing and written by Bob Lock, the reader gets a chance to acquaint themselves with Cooper's "gift" in intimate fashion -- the story opens with Cooper bound to a pier and the sea water climbing up to his neck.

From here on in, there's a sense of urgency as Cooper relates the story and all the moments leading up to how he came to find himself in his precarious situation. Set in Wales, Lock's home country, the setting forms the background, immersed in local flavor and characters without alienating readers from across the pond. The narrative is a cross between crime fiction and a comedy of errors, infused with British humor.

From the get go, one would think that having the gift of empathy to the degree that Cooper Jones does would allow him to anticipate disaster before it happens and give him a leg up in life, but his "gift" consistently has the opposite effect -- failing to save him from drunken excess, unable to realize the cute, gutsy officer right in front of him is harboring a crush on our hero, and usually walking into circumstances that backfire with hilarious results.

As a traffic warden who writes out tickets for parking violations, his duties intertwine with a violent incident. A sudden rush of feelings convinces him the van that raced past him is linked to a kidnapping. He attempts to unravel the crime-mystery with the help of his officer friend Janet but soon they become targets themselves.

Bob Lock does an excellent job of describing the kind of physical comedy whose satisfaction usually hinges on the visual; he pulls it off well, bringing to mind the hi-jinks in the movie Snatch, or, in the case of two bumbling police who attempt to apprehend Cooper and fail with gusto, the Three Stooges. The Empathy Effect is a quick and enjoyable read, especially for those who like their crime fiction tempered with humor.

You can listen to the first few chapters narrated by Mr. Lock himself here.

Purchase the book here.

Reviewed by:
Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.

M IS FOR MONSTER

2010-12-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Edited by John Prescott

How come no one ever had this idea before? Or at the very least, taking it to this level? I mean I love monsters, you love monsters, and everyone who is remotely likes the horror genre loves monsters. So three cheers to John Prescott for coming up with the idea and compiling 26 short stories, each based off of a different creature and each corresponding to a letter in the alphabet. Instead of an anthology focused on one of the big bad beasties that goes bump in the night, like we usually get, we have a complete smorgasbord of slithery things, many of which you never see stories about. So this book is a cracking idea, but is it any good?

Well with 26 very short stories, the shortest being just four pages and the longest at fourteen, coving such a wide range of monsters, there are going to be hits and misses. The good news is when the story works, they are great. When they don’t, they don’t miss the mark by far. Out of the tales, only two of them did I really not care for. That’s a pretty good batting average.

I wasn’t thrilled about the story titles being only letters of the alphabet. I guess that might have been done to keep the identity of the monster appearing in the story a secret, but a clever title could accomplished the same thing and would have been more memorable.

I loved liked the number of obscure and off the wall creatures collected here. I mean, do you even know what a XyX, Kul, or a Fatback No Neck is? No, I didn’t think so. Also, I loved the usual monster that came to mind when thinking of a letter of the alphabet is often not the one used. For example; Z doesn’t stand for zombie, there are no werewolves or witches found under W, and while I was sure I would be reading about ghouls under the letter G, I was quite happily surprised at what was there instead. Unfortunately, V did stand for vampires and it wasn’t bad, but still…yawn.

The highlights for me were Adrian Chamberlin’s “W” set around the horrors of World War 2 and about things more deadly than Nazis. Simon Kurt Unsworth’s very weird story where the “N” stands for the horrible, dreaded, unimaginable evil…noodles! The “L” of Aaron J French’s story is about the living dead. I tell you that without ruining this great shocker. Even editor John Prescott pulls double duty by contributing his own demonic story, “D”.

There are plenty of other hidden gems to be discovered here. Form the traditionally monstrous yet usually overlooked beasts like Incubi, the Jabberwocky, and the horsemen of the apocalypse, to the completely unexpected such as the bible’s Goliath, elephants, and the scariest things of all; parents. If you are looking for a who’s who of horrors with stories that range from graphically violent, to chillingly moody, to darkly humorous, then M IS FOR MONSTERS is the book for you.

Buy it here: M is for Monster

Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons

PELLUCID LUNACY An Anthology of Psychological Horror

2010-12-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

Edited by Michael Bailey
Published by: Written Backward

Though Pellucid Lunacy is a slim volume, it nevertheless packs a wallop! This gem of a book is a collection of 20 short stories--and the operative word here is “short.” They average less than ten pages, making this collection perfect when a little time is all you have. I actually read one of them at a stop light--of course, where I live, you could probably read War and Peace before the light changed. But I digress.

There is something for every taste in this book. The stories run the gamut from speculative horror to the more traditional to mind-melting guilt. I read the entire book in a couple of hours and was quite sorry when I turned the final page.

All the stories were very well written, but I found a few that stayed with me. They were:

“I Wanted Black” by Michael Bailey, the editor of this tome. The story is an exploration into guilt, death and the horrific consequences of being unable to let go. Michael Bailey is someone to keep an eye on. He will find his way to the top of the genre in short order, and it’s a place he deserves.

“Sometimes They Hunt” by Chris Hertz, is a chillingly crafted story of revenge, decades-planned and completely mad. It haunts me still, and it will haunt you, too.

Having worked in retail many years ago, I found myself sympathizing with the poor store clerk in Dan Piorkowski’s “Sweaters” and I will never be able to look at that garment the same way again.

A.J. French’s “Creature” is another one that still makes me shiver--a confession to a dying mother that made me believe that she’d have rested much better not knowing--and that I would have, too.

The raison d’etre for this collection seems to be: Think you know someone? Better think again.

Good advice.

If you’re a horror fan, I highly recommend you give yourself a great gift this holiday season and pick up a copy of Pellucid Lunacy and under your favorite quilt, in front of a roaring fireplace with your beverage of choice, shiver the night away.

Visit: http://www.amazon.com/Pellucid-Lunacy-Michael-Bailey and buy it now.

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.

The White Faced Bear

2010-12-23T12:43:00.000-05:00

by R. Scott McCoy
Publisher Belfire Press, 2010

As often as I deal with his work as a publisher, via Stygian Press and Necrotic Tissue magazine, it is sometimes easy to forget that R. Scott McCoy is a writer in his own right. So here I am, looking down the barrel of his second novel and asking the only question that matters: does this bear bite?

Jeff Bennett and Merrick Polasky don't have much in common, living states and total existences away from each other, but there is that one thing. Nope, I'm not talking about the omnipresent grief and guilt due to the loss of their fathers. There is that, but the ancient, ageless evil magician trapped in the form of a Kodiak bear by one of Merrick's Sun'Aq ancestors and severely po'd by Jeff's father is a tad more pressing. Now they have no choice but to destroy the White Faced bear in a journey that will force them to face the deep dark things inside themselves neither is willing to admit. It's either that, or get eaten by a whole mess of bears.

As McCoy's second novel, The White Faced Bear shows him becoming more focused and confident in the craft. Where Feast was a bit loose and scattershot, in a fever-dream nightmare logic sort of way, the Bear is very concrete and grounded. This, along with the brevity, makes a tight story that speeds through the pages. I also appreciated the down to earth approach to dealing with shamanism and American Indian traditions in modern society.

However, what struck me the most here is how well Scott captures the easy going, somewhat dickish camaraderie that develops between men. Most of the dialog is spent on the interactions of Jeff and Merrick and it feels natural, comfortable and it flows well, but most importantly, it sounds like guys talking. Yes, I know that's vague, but we're dealing with feeling here, not quantifiable statistics.

Unfortunately, there are times that he draws the narrative momentum to a screeching halt to either proselytize or rant at the reader through the mouth of his characters. The worst offense comes up about half way through, via an argument over bitching rights that served no purpose either in moving the story forward or revealing character. It's not intolerable and the occurrences are spare and sparse enough to keep it from being a story killer, but it annoyed me a little.

Ending verdict: This Bear is a lean, muscular little beasty that moved at a brisk pace, took a fair piece out of my pale-faced booty and gave me a new nickname for Scott besides "he who loves unicorns".

Buy it here.

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T07:43:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe this blog was actually created two years ago, Thanksgiving morning. It's come a little ways, I think. Thanks to everyone who has pitched in the last year or so to help make the Shroud Review Blog what it is, and we at Shroud Reviews and Shroud in general wish everyone a restful....and gluttony...Thanksgiving, and hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy it by sitting next to a nice warm fire and enjoying what is sure to be a new Thanksgiving movie classic...

Samhane, (Stygian Press), by Daniel I. Russell

2010-11-24T06:10:00.000-05:00

Samhane: the Gaelic festival celebrating the end of summer and the harvest, most often associated in modern times with Halloween. Or an unnoticed little burb that has been slowly descending into total batshitville for the past couple centuries.
We are gifted here with the twin tales of Donald, a fledgling writer whose new-used laptop holds a file that drags him off the grid into an underground organization specializing in torture for the amusement of paid subscribers, and Brian, a professional monster hunter who has found that the simple ghoul squishing he has been hired to do is a bit more…complicated. Now, Donald's wife and best friend have been brutally murdered and Brian's son, his only real reason for living, has been carried off by the world's filthiest clown.

Most people are satisfied with sticking to one type of monster, be it vampire, werewolf or centuries old mummified cucumber, but Daniel I. Russell is definitely not most people. Within the first quarter of the book, you see a serial killer, a forest ghoul, what may be a were-blob and a giant centipede, and that is before you get to meet the evils of a corporation, genetic engineering, biomechanics and a bad ass iridescent god of chaos. This variety works against the story as much as for it early on, with a first half that feels too fractured to be part of a coherent whole. But, if you stick it out, Danny boy brings it all together into a neatly sutured beast that satisfies quite nicely.

I'm particularly impressed with his ability and willingness to walk the line of acceptability. Without diving face first into full Hardcore mode, Russell does away with the usual expected sense of safety. No character, no matter how nice or seemingly important is completely safe, but the bleeding isn't egregious. Also, as much as he does love the ultraviolence and gore (my, oh my does it get wet within these pages, dear friends), he also shows a remarkable amount of restraint and willingness to allow implication to work on its own. It's a tricky balancing act that he pulls off with panache.

Speaking of implications, there is something in the ending that goes completely unspoken but carries marvelously chilling possibilities. I can't say it. Musn't say it. To speak such things would ruin…

I'll shut up right now before I do.

Visit http://www.danielirussell.com/. Pre-order it today.

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Mandrake, (Medusa Press), by Oliver Sherrt

2010-11-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

Mandrake, originally published in 1929, tells the story of an American occult detective, Tom Annelsey, investigating evils perpetrated in the English villages of Haddeston and Grayden. Soon after arriving in Haddeston, he makes the acquaintance of a young woman, Ethel Derrington, and the local priest, Hamilton Sturt. During the course of his investigation, and his association with the Derrington family and Mr. Sturt, Annesley uncovers a terrible occult plot crafted by the sinister, and purportedly immortal, Baron Habdymos.

The story of Annesley’s struggle to thwart Habdymos’ black magic brings to mind horror classics more familiar with the average reader: Dracula (with its dark, ageless occult antagonist) and Frankenstein (with the Baron’s mad experiments at the forefront of the novel; in fact, Mandrake begins with Habdymos creating a monster to do his bidding).

The simplest description of the story and its quality is that it’s something Dean Koontz would have written had he been alive and writing in the 1920’s. Mandrake has an intrepid hero who quickly falls in love with the female lead (who is dealing with problems of her own), a small cast of secondary characters integral to the resolution of the plot, a chilling villain and an exciting and satisfactory climax. If one can get past the slight difference in writing style and some of the minor chronological quirks (Annesley and Ethel fall in love so fast it’s practically ridiculous by today’s standards!), it’s hard to believe Mandrake managed to slip through the cracks for so long.

Mandrake was originally published in 1929 and was reprinted this year by Medusa Press after languishing in obscurity for about eighty years. Oliver Sherry was a pseudonym used by Irish poet George Edmund Lobo. According to the brief introduction by scholar Richard Dalby, Lobo may have published as many as four horror novels under the Sherry pen name.

Medusa Press has done an inarguably good deed to the horror community by bringing an heretofore unknown piece of literary history to a group of readers who may be jaded by some of the ‘dark fiction’ coming out of the modern literary machine. The book itself, limited to 350 copies, will look great on any reader’s shelf with its hardcover wrapped in a matte dustcover decorated with a stark rendering of Habdymos threatening his victims.

Visit http://medusapress.com/ and buy it today.

Lincoln Crisler is a United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer and the author of two collections of dark stories, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). He lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

Ex-Heroes, (Permuted Press), by Peter Clines

2010-11-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

Let's be honest here. If you are at all like me, the second you realized that this was a book about zombies and superheroes you kinda piddled your pants a little. I want to play the jaded reviewer, full of pith and vinegar and calls for clichés on pikes. I really do. But, I'm only human and I never would have gone into this if I wasn't a giggling, drooling, prancing fan-boy at heart. A giggling, drooling, prancing fan-boy with a soft spot for skin tight Lycra, super human anything and dead things that refuse to stay that way.

You know the drill, so sing along: Dead people just won't stay dead, like good little corpses, anymore. They've so overwhelmed most of human civilization, leaving a relative few holed up in a makeshift fortress to wait out the siege. The good news is that they have some help: strong, smart, vampiric, electrified and super-suited help. The bad news is that they aren't the only ones left alive in LA and they aren't the only ones with super powers. Worse, as the back of the book tells us, these others are not heroes.

Peter Clines doesn't reinvent the wheel here, by any means. The zombies are slow and stupid (with minor, superhero allowances) and obey all of the traditional Romero inspired rules. It's basically a siege and survival story. Also, the heroes are nothing new: Superman, Electric Man, an Iron Man clone, super-healing abilities, even someone who is just a really good shot. Still, I don't give the proverbial "rat patootie". This isn't a novel of novelty, it is a story built upon archetypes, archetypes which play out according to form and expectation with a kind of poetry and symmetry that is a beauty to behold.

By removing the pretty shinnies of a novel theory of zombieism or that brand new super-amazing super-power, Petey is left with nothing but his ability to tell a story and the story he tells is a damn good one. Mostly, it stands because it is anchored in real people, ability to turn into a mini star or no, who are displayed with honesty, dignity and fragility.

This guy understands that all of us try to be something we can never actually be, whether that may be a pure, shining beacon of light and morality, a stone-cold realist or an all conquering powerhouse. The true glory, the true story, is in the struggle to achieve what will always lie just out of our reach. That's why I peed myself a little bit more when I finished reading it.

The equation is simple: Zombies + Superheroes + well-fleshed out, believable characters + an honest to goodness, goddamn uplifting story, instead of yet another "let's just say everyone dies at the end" chompfest = me needing new pants. Mr. Clines, from the bottom of my heart, this fan-boy thanks you.

Buy it today.

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

You Are Next and Next Time You See Me (Avon) by Katia Lief

2010-11-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

In You Are Next and Next Time You See Me, Katia Lief (aka Katia Spiegelman, aka Kate Pepper) creates a compelling, emotionally driven protagonist and places her into tightly-written, suspenseful situations with plenty of plot twists and revelations to keep the reader guessing.

In You Are Next, Lief introduces Karin Schaeffer, a former police detective whose husband and three-year-old daughter were slaughtered by serial killer Martin Price. Scrawled on the wall in her child’s blood were the words “You Are Next”. She is left emotionally annihilated and when news reaches her that Price has escaped from prison, she plans to sit and wait for him to end her pain. However, even behind prison walls, Price has a long reach and places Karin’s family in danger. She and her former partner Mac work to shed light on the secrets of Price’s past and the key to finding Karin’s kidnapped niece before she becomes the Domino Killer’s next victim.

In Next Time You See Me, Karin and Mac are now married and live in New York with their son, Ben. After an awkward promotion at Mac’s security firm, the new family is devastated by the double murder of Mac’s parents and the implications that Mac’s brother may have been involved. Then Mac disappears and is assumed dead—until Karin thinks she spies him in Miami and works to uncover the truth behind her stalwart husband’s disappearance.

Both of these books have lean, twist-heavy plots that offer a fair amount of suspense. The strength of both is Lief’s ability to get into the emotional space of her main character. Karin’s emotional fragility in the first book makes her an extremely interesting protagonist. In Next Time… she seems to have become more grounded, but more reactionary, and thus less compelling.

Also, both novels rely too much on coincidence to build some scenes—this is especially true in the first book where a central chase scene nearly toppled my suspension of disbelief. Further, the second novel has just one too many twists in the end than is necessary. Nevertheless, both novels offer fine suspense and some interesting characterizations for fans of the genre.

Visit http://www.katialief.com. Buy You Are Next and Next Time You See Me today.

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett is a full-time librarian and part-time writer trying to do that the other way around. He has written reviews for Library Journal and has also had two articles published in the award-winning Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Shedrick currently resides in Denton, Texas ("The Home of Happiness") with his lovely wife and the obligatory demon-spawn cats. When not writing, gaming, or watching cheezy kung-fu flicks, he can be found in a pub enjoying a fine brew.

In Sickness: Stories From A Very Dark Place, (Skullvines Press), by L. L. Soars & Laura Cooney

2010-11-15T18:03:00.000-05:00

You know the drill, so say it with me... for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer and that diametric opposite of health with the oozing pus and blood-flecked phlegm. The part of the ritual designed to remind happy newlyweds that it isn't all puppies, flowers and making sweet, sweet love on an abandoned beach at sunset. That's what this anthology is about: love that is broken, splattered, gibbering and moaning lost and shattered dreams into the cold light of the moon. In other words, we're not in a happy place here.

For instance, look at Laura Cooney's insight into the self-destructive love of Rasputin, destined to end in bloodshed and rot, in “A Crown of Mushrooms” or "Number 808", an exploration of intertwined hearts and hate, bought and sold in cold, sterile rooms. The inimitable L.L. counters with "Second Chances", a man's desperate need to escape the bitter blue clay of his hometown, face down in a puddle of cheap whiskey, one foot nudging towards redemption and aimed firmly one away and a journey to "The No! Place", where a woman's mental and physical demons collide.

But it's their eponymously titled collaboration that really kicked the crap out of me. It's the slow dissolution of a once adoring relationship, through the steady erosion of minor annoyances and petty grievances. It's an honest and cruel, (mostly cruel due to its honesty), look at the thoughts we hold in that cripple ourselves and our relationships. The tiny bits we are fed build upon each other, stepping backwards in time to the elephantine root of it all as the players slouch on to the inevitable end.

Tom Piccirilli once described Noir as someone driving toward a cliff and accidentally slamming on the gas instead of the breaks, but what should we call a story about the people who aimed for it in the first place? Whatever that may be, I've found a beauty here.

Granted, some stories don't seem to fit the theme ("Head Games", brain-eating monkeys and all, is a great example), but I may very well be shoe-horning one in where it wasn't intended. All told, "In Sickness" gives the angry, depressed nihilist romantics of the world an angle on love that Harlequin won't be bringing to your grocery store shelves any time soon. Too bad, as it could give a new image to go with the old clichéd bodice ripper…

Visit http://skullvines.com/. Buy it today.

Anton Cancre is one of those rotting, pus-filled thingies on the underside of humanity that your mother always warned you about. He has oozed symbolic word-farms onto the pages of Shroud, Sex and Murder and Horrorbound magazines as well as The Terror at Miskatonic Falls, an upcoming poetry anthology by Shroud Publishing and continues to vomit his oh-so-astute literary opinions, random thoughts and nonsense at antoncancre.blogspot.com. No, he won't babysit you pet shoggoth this weekend. Stop asking.

Stories From The Plague Years, (Cemetery Dance), by Michael Marano

2010-11-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

Stories From The Plague Years is the first fiction collection from award-winning fantasy author, Michael Marano. His evocative, unique voice gives us nine, terrifying yet tender tales; bridging the gap between a time when our world collided with evil and sickness, to the present--filled with the lasting scars we all wear... and can still touch... if we dare.

Every story is worthy of note--building upon and/or complementing the theme his elegant prose has constructed. However, these were the best:

"Displacement" - Dean Garrison has spent two years at a university, aspiring to be a graduate of Political Science, but when his Professor Dr. Molino questions his ability, his world is shaken. He seeks solace in his love - Karen - and their mutual friend Evan. The further Dean searches for help, the more complicated his life becomes. Is there a cure for Dean's problems? Easily one of the best stories in the collection, Displacement amalgamates subtle elements from literature of yester-year--while remaining unique, taking it to the next level.

"Changeling" is a very short tale, but packs quite a punch. "The Boy" lives in a world bereft of humanity. "The Mother" and "The Father" do their best for him--using their own, unique methods. Changeling explores monsters in principle, and therein lays the power of this tale; as well as the ambiguity--tantalizing, even as the story is finished. Or is it?

"The Siege" - Charleston is a town with a past so palpable; you can still feel the remnants of the past. Or is this illusion? Marano gives us people, not wooden characters, through whose eyes we see reality as they travel from work to home. The beauty of this short tale is perception, and the price that it comes with.

"Burden" - Again, Marano seamlessly pulls the reader into the protagonist and swiftly envelopes you in a world where you have many friends and many lovers. As you walk to work one day, you see a former lover. He doesn't look well. At a bar, sharing drinks, you inquire about him. No one has seen him since he left town. But this is the least of your worries, once you find yourself being followed home... something wants you, but do you want it?

"Winter Requiem" is one of the best tales of the collection. Marano--his voice in full force - bridges the past with the present. A Prince hastily leaves his castle with the town mob's foot-steps not far behind. David is a struggling musician. Age and his body's ailments make even the simplest symphony hard to compose. A stranger offers David some help. Will his eagerness to do what his heart desires, out-weigh the cost demanded?

"Shibboleth" - yet another diamond in this collection finds two men in a world eerily familiar to our own. The only problem? Something terrible has happened, and past is prologue to the price those who are trying to survive must pay. Shibboleth captures humanity at its best and its worst. With his trademark voice, rarely has humanity been captured so well within literature.

Stories From The Plague Years is written with a voice wholly unique and powerful, a prose that pulls the reader into the people he creates from the first sentence. These stories don't have twists that shock and surprise--they have a depth rarely found in fiction. Marano complements this ability with a terrifying realization; leaving the reader actually feeling guilty for being alive... we are all survivors of The Plague Years, we are not meant to be--and to sell this as Marano has, leaves many of his peers in the dust... regardless of the year.

Visit http://michaelmarano.com/. Buy it today.

Review by Ben Eads.

AGAINST ALL THINGS ENDING: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, (Putnam/Penguin), by Stephen R. Donaldson

2010-11-06T14:49:00.000-04:00

The ninth book in Donaldson’s ten-book sword and sorcery fantasy epic opens with the resurrection of Thomas Covenant, our hero. But was this a good idea? Normally, one would think so, but considering what has gone before in the previous eight volumes, perhaps not, since it has also awakened the Worm of the World’s End. Kind of a drag before your first cup of coffee after returning from the dead.

In Against All Things Ending, the focal point of the story is no longer Thomas Covenant, but rather his lover and savior, Linden Avery, who is searching for her missing son, the mysterious Jeremiah, whose secrets may carry with them the salvation of all. As a matter of fact, Covenant is surprisingly weak and passive in this book.

The foundation of the complex plot that defines Donaldson’s style is constructed with the sturdy building blocks of choices and their consequences. In our present day and age of helpless victim-hood, it is most refreshing to read of consequences that protagonists actually have the moral fiber and strength of character to accept and deal with.

There was a long gap between this book and the previous one in this series, and Donaldson bridges that with a detailed summary of each of the earlier tomes at the front of Against All Things Ending. Reading it over will undoubtedly bring those who have read his previous works up to speed nicely; however, if you haven’t read the series up to this point, and are attempting to begin with this book, it will be tough going. Some authors, when writing a series, craft them so that each book is able to stand on its own. This is not one of them. Readers must begin at the beginning.

That being said, Donaldson is always worth the time investment and after reading the first volume, you will be eager to collect the entire set. You’ll want to catch up before the story concludes in The Last Dark, Book Four of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the tenth book in the series.

So what are you waiting for?

Visit http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/. Buy it now.

Carson Buckingham is a writer living in the great American Southwest and she reviews horror/paranormal suspense novels.