"Night Souls: A Department 18 Novel", (Leisure Fiction), by Maynard & Sims

According to the real Department 18 website (www.dept18.com), we are to ignore the irresponsible scribblings of Maynard & Sims. Their books, such as the previous Black Cathedral, and the current volume, Night Souls, are complete breaches of Great Britain’s national security and are to be avoided, at the cost of extreme prejudice. Department 18’s mission to investigate and resolve supernatural phenomena is to remain hidden, and these stories are to be suppressed.

But, until the books are pulled from the shelves by MIB, we are offered a chiller/thriller that is a roller coaster ride worthy of an X-Files and John le Carré mash-up. With no hesitation, Maynard & Sims thrust us into the world of the Breathers, a race of psychic-sexual creatures living in the shadows of human civilization. To make things worse, they enjoy consuming humans in a most horrible fashion.

In a modern nod to conflicted antagonists (whatever happened to the arch-villains that simply wanted to eliminate humanity?), the Breathers are divided, and a war is brewing between them. As Department 18 becomes aware of their existence and the impending conflict, they race to figure out what is happening and why.

The mark of a successful series is the ability to pick up any volume and feel a kinship with the characters, even though their backstory may be a bit hazy. Maynard & Sims handle the carryover characters in this series by introducing new characters that learn the people and departmental history as the story unfolds. Well done.

With an continental setting, Night Souls is sometimes a juggernaut of a chiller/thriller novel where it’s necessary to flip back a few pages to keep track of the players. The story is complex and it feels like the book was designed to be read quickly. For the astute reader, there are a few refrigerator logic moments, but for the most part these are minimal.

The resolution may come a bit too easily, however, the overall story is certainly satisfying. In fact, the concept of the Breathers may be larger than a single tome, and if the files of Department 18 are breached again, the Breathers could make a reappearance. If they do return, they will, no doubt, be pissed off.

For the official record, this is not a book for the squeamish. There’s gore, sex, sex-gore, and gore-sex. Never too much, it’s dished out tapas-size, each a delectable treat that serves the overall narrative of the story. There are a couple of grimace-moments, for sure.

In the final analysis, it’s only a matter of time until Department 18 Special Forces take out Maynard and Sims by psychically stripping their minds and reducing them to two old pensioners hoping for someone to empty their drool cups. In the interim, it can only be hoped that they continue to tell more of these true stories behind the supernatural events which are so cleverly concealed from the public by Department 18.

Visit www.maynard-sims.com and www.dept18.com. Buy it today.

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.

"The Thin Executioner", (Little, Brown, and Co.), The Thin Executioner

“The Thin Executioner” tells the story of overly thin, immature, and opinionated Jebel Rum, a young man on the brink of adulthood. To remedy being passed over for a chance at his father’s job as official executioner, Jebel embarks on a year-long quest to petition the god Sabbah Eid for invincibility so he can return to his home and claim the post. Although never overly graphic, the book begins deliciously with a thwack and a head plop.

Jebel’s story takes place in a well-described alternate world, yet immediately recognizable to readers. He is a young man with girlfriend problems, self-esteem issues, sibling rivalry, parental neglect, and way too much attitude. In other words, a perfect character in need of an epic adventure.

Accompanying Jebel on his quest is his slave, Tel Hasani, who is destined to be sacrificed to the god in exchange for Jebel’s invincibility. Their journey is filled with dangerous men, eerie places, fierce enemies, tricksters, and horrible creatures. Their path is bloody and through these events, Jebel begins to see Tel as something other than a slave – a man and a friend, perhaps?

Many will liken this story to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, which is fitting, as the author has drawn from this masterpiece as his inspiration. Like Huck Finn’s journey down the Mississippi, Jebel Rum faces hazard after hazard, has thrill after thrill, and most are filled with blood-curdling horror that results in eye-opening revelations about Jebel’s world, and ours.

For young readers, the story barrels through episode after episode, each offering a layer of maturity to Jebel until he is forced to grow up. For the more astute reader, enjoyment can be found in subtle (and some not-so-subtle) real-world parallels. This is an epic story like “The Odyssey”, or Jack Vance’s “The Big Planet”. The sense of atmosphere is often foreboding and, at each moment, the reader wonders either how did Jebel get into this mess, or how is he ever going to get out alive?

Darren Shan’s international reputation is well-deserved for the epic scale of his series books, and specifically for the success of tales such as “The Vampire’s Assistant”. Even though “The Thin Executioner” is a stand-alone tale, the characters are well-developed by the end of the first few chapters. As a result, the tale of Jebel Rum and Tel Hasani is thoroughly engaging and can be enjoyed by YA readers and adults alike.

Visit www.darrenshan.com. Buy it today.

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.

The Sculptor, (Kennsington Books), by Gregory Funaro

Gregory Funaro's first novel is a polished, page-turning thriller with an emphasis on the Renaissance art of Michelangelo, but with a deliciously perverted twist. Think "Silence of the Lambs" meets "The Da Vinci Code", with a dash of "Red Dragon" and you'll have a pretty good idea of the ride you're about to take.

The titular villain is beautifully rendered in blood and darkness with his eyes fixed on what he regards as the profound beauty of his transformational "art"-- in which his victims, at his hands, become representations of Michelangelo's most famous statuary. And he's using Dr. Hildebrant's book about the artist, Slumbering in the Stone, as a sort of guidebook in achieving his ends. The Sculptor even dedicates his first "statue" to her--the initial clue that begins the race to stop him.

FBI agent Sam Markham is somewhat reminiscent of 24's superman Jack Bauer in that he often seems to know even more about Michelangelo than Dr. Hildebrant does. Both Hildebrant and Markham are rendered well, but compared to the Sculptor, seem somewhat two-dimensional at times. What saves them is their wealth of knowledge about Michelangelo, which Funaro has woven into the storyline so deftly that it is positively absorbing.

Slumbering in the Stone is an interesting prop, in that both the villain and the good guys make liberal use of it; the Sculptor for authenticity and Markham and Hildebrant to try to anticipate his next move. The Sculptor is a brilliant, damaged, uber-organized killer with a defined order and reasoning behind everything he does. This is what makes the book so fascinating and so believable. It is genius pitted against genius, which is always a beautiful, rich thing to read. An interesting facet of this is it doesn't seem as if Funaro is making too much up--the book is so loaded with facts that it reads like a novelized version of a true crime case--in the style of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood".

All in all, a well-written and most satisfying read. The ending is tied up perfectly with no unanswered questions. This book will live on my shelf to be taken down and read again on some, forgive me, dark and stormy night.

Visit www.gregoryfunaro.com. Buy it today.

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

Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Planes Drifter, (Damnation Books) by Ed Erdelac

“Tales of a High Planes Drifter” is a collection of four novella-length tales featuring the Merkabah Rider and his adventures in the 19th-century American West. The Rider himself is reminiscent of no one more than Stephen King's Roland of Gilead; a gunman with conviction, who is prepared to kill but still has lines he won't cross. Dropping an Hasidic Jew into the Wild West is a pretty gutsy move, but it just might make this one of the genre's standout books this year.

Not only is the Rider a gunslinger, he's also a potent Qabbalist (one skilled in the secret arts of Hebrew mysticism; seals of Solomon and the like) capable of astral travel and creating magical talismans. He uses his many talents in a series of battles against bigotry, attackers both supernatural and mundane, and his own tortured conscience.

The general thread woven throughout the stories in the book is that of a man, betrayed by his master, seeking justice in the name of his fallen brethren. In the course of the Rider's search for the traitorous Adon he takes on a bloodthirsty cult ("The Blood Libel"), a group of bandits in league with a voodoo bokor ("The Dust Devils"), a demon-possessed, grief-stricken father and husband ("Hell's Hired Gun"), and a cathouse staffed by the daughters of Lilith (“The Nightjar Women”).

Erdelac is a self-proclaimed history enthusiast, and “Tales of a High Planes Drifter” is packed with what must have been a staggering amount of research into Jewish history and mysticism. His descriptive skills are top-notch and he exhibits particular skill at knowing when to throw in a bit of extra gore. The second book comes out this fall, which only adds to the win.

Visit www.facebook.com/ed.erdelac. 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.

Interview with Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand's latest novel, Dweller, is an incredible tale of a fifty year-long relationship between a lonely man and a lethal forest creature. Like Pressure before it, Dweller isn't a quick burst of thrills and gore; Strand examines our long-term association with darkness and its effects. Instead of a long-winded sermon about a book you really just need to take my word about, I give you the following interview with the author, Jeff Strand:

Lincoln Crisler: I've heard you have something of a reputation as a funny guy and charming personality. What spurred the transformation into the grim, gritty guy that writes about serial murder and man-eating monsters?

Jeff Strand: Well, it seems like more of a transformation than it actually is. The 2009 Leisure paperback edition of Pressure was a reprint of the 2006 Earthling Publications hardcover edition, so though to most readers it looks like I wrote Pressure and Dweller back to back, between those two books was more lighthearted fare: The Sinister Mr. Corpse, Benjamin's Parasite, The Haunted Forest Tour, The Severed Nose, and Disposal. (It's kind of weird to say "lighthearted fare" to describe such splattery books, but compared to Pressure and Dweller it's appropriate!)

The real "transformation" came much earlier. I wanted to write comedy novels, and I'd published three of them: How to Rescue a Dead Princess, Out of Whack, and Elrod McBugle on the Loose, but after my novel Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary)--which was supposed to be a mystery/comedy but turned out infinitely darker than I'd originally planned--I focused entirely on horror fiction.

LC: I always find it interesting to read a book and then read about what was going on in the author’s life around the time they were writing the book. What was going on with you while you were writing Dweller?

JS: Ummmm...I was going to my day job, eating, sleeping, and writing Dweller. That's about it. There were not a lot of outside interests being pursued during the creation of that book. I'd had a very active summer promoting Pressure, and somehow I thought that I'd maintain a regular writing routine during the conventions and bookstore appearances. I was completely insane. So once all of that was over with, it wasn't as if I had to write in a mad blind panic to meet the deadline, but there were some long, long nights...

Dweller is a sad book, dealing with themes of loneliness and an inability to move forward with one's life, but that's not where I was, mentally, when I was writing it. I was tired as hell but happy!

LC: I'm somewhat hung up on routines and schedules, somewhat of a coping mechanism from my childhood with Attention Deficit Disorder. This is of particular import when it comes to my writing. What's your writing routine like?

JS: Despite my best efforts to change my shameful ways, there's really not much of a routine. I'm very deadline-driven, so when a book is due in two months I'm much less productive than when that particular book is due in two days. There's definitely no "I write from 8:00 to 11:30 each night" schedule, or even "I write for two hours a day" or "I write 1000 words a day." I will occasionally try to set up that kind of thing, and it lasts for maybe...I dunno, a day. The books get done, but there's no pattern to it.

LC: I have a couple of other interests that vie with writing for my attention; luckily for my readers writing usually wins. If you weren't writing books, what other talent would you pursue with similar success?

JS: Well, I don't know if I'd be successful at it, but if I was able to pick the career of my choice, I'd do a daily comic strip. That would be awesome. I desperately wanted to be a cartoonist from probably around age 3 to 16, at which point I decided that my drawing skills really weren't up to par. If I'd continued to work at it, you never know--I'm sure I'd never have reached the artistic level of Calvin & Hobbes, but I could've at least produced something comparable to a Dilbert or Pearls Before Swine.

LC: As we've discussed previously, I sensed a pattern in your last two books. Was this intentional?

JS: Yes. Leisure wanted a second book, and they specifically did not want a horror/comedy. So I'd promoted Pressure as my first "serious" novel, and I promoted Dweller as my second. There won't be a third book that I market that way, because I've blurred the lines too much. My next Leisure book, Wolf Hunt, is not a horror/comedy, but it's a fun gory romp with lots of laughs (and yet some brutal and truly nasty moments), so it's sort of in the middle of my spectrum. And then I have a novella called Kutter which is a horror/comedy in premise (a savage, heartless serial killer finds an adopts a Boston Terrier...and it might just make him into a better person!) but has fewer actual "jokes" than anything else I've written--I played it totally straight.

But even Pressure and Dweller are filled with humor. The difference is that I don't combine the funny moments and the scary moments the way I do in something like Casket For Sale (Only Used Once)--it's more about relief of tension and character empathy than to freak out the reader because they're not sure whether the dismemberment scene should make them laugh or wince.

LC: What's next in the chute?

JS: As I type this, Kutter has shipped, so by the time this interview goes up people will probably have received their copies. Wolf Hunt will be in bookstores in December 2010. My novel Sewn (a way over-the-top horror/comedy) will be out from Delirium sometime in 2011. And there's a lot more stuff after that.

LC: Robots, pirates or ninjas?

JS: Robots. Is it enough to say "robots," or am I supposed to come up with a clever answer? Because I'll do the clever answer thing if you want me to, but you presented this as a simple multiple choice question, so I don't want to do extra work. I will say that if you'd asked me to rank the three in order, it would be 1) robots, 2) pirates, and 3) ninjas. Ironically, that's the exact same order in which you listed them in your question! Could it be that we share the same mindset on this subject?

LC: Any last words?

JS: These days, all of the cool people who own computers are going to www.jeffstrand.comwww.jeffstrand.com.

Thanks for playing, Jeff!

------------

Jeff Strand's books include Pressure, Dweller, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary), Benjamin's Parasite, The Severed Nose, and a bunch of other stuff. Cemetery Dance magazine said that "No author working today comes close to Jeff Strand's perfect mixture of comedy and terror," a quote that he vowed to relentlessly milk for the rest of his career. You can visit his Gleefully Macabre website at www.jeffstrand.com.

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.

"Way of the Barefoot Zombie", (Abaddon Books), by Jasper Bark

In "Way of the Barefoot Zombie", Jasper Bark gives readers a satirical tale about corporate greed, liberation terrorists, voodoo and, of course, gory, flesh eating zombies. This wry novel makes for an interesting and engaging read.

Doc Papa runs an elite motivational getaway for the corporate elite. For a five million dollar stake, participants are flown to the private island of St. Ignatius for an aggressive training course in success. However, instead of blasting each other with paintballs, Doc Papa has his guests study The Way of the Barefoot Zombie. Attempting to harness the power and hunger of their inner zombie, guests are taught to interact with the walking dead to the point that nothing will stand in the way of their quest for power.

Benjamin is a Deathwalker, a child of wealthy parents who emulates zombies to the point of obsession. He and his friends make up the ZLF--Zombie Liberation Front--a group who are determined to upset Doc Papa's enslavement of what they see as "noble creatures." To this end, Benjamin and his girlfriend, Tatyana, infiltrate the camp as two potential students of Doc Papa's, participating in the lessons until they find a time to free the captive zombies and relocate them to freedom.

However, they are not the only ones attempting to foil Doc Papa and his schemes. Miriam Chevalier has also penetrated Doc Papa's background checks, attending the retreat in an attempt to free the zombies. However, unlike the ZLF, her mission is not based upon social justice, but reparation and revenge.

Jasper Bark weaves an intricate tale with enough twists and surprises in the plot to keep readers anticipating the next chapter. While a few of the minor characters lack serious development, Bark's major characters more than make up for it with entire chapters dedicated to their often painful and disturbed back stories; the tale and violent end of Samuel Palmer, CEO of Doc Papa's enterprise, alone makes Way of the Barefoot Zombie and entertaining and gruesome read.

Also, while some zombie purists may find fault with Barks's combination of voodoo zombies and flesh-hungry Romero-esque zombies, the combination of the two works well to propel the underlying satire of the novel. Overall, this was a really fast-paced and entertaining read.

Visit http://jasperbark.net/. Buy it today.

Joshua Gage

Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove, (Skullvines Press), by Jerrod Balzer

Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove won the 2006 World Horror Convention's "Best Feature" award with its titillating and over-the-top story featuring two classic movie monsters, tongue-in-cheek humor, fun Z-list cameos, and a sensibility obviously inspired by the films of Russ Myer. Jerrod Balzer, author of Fear the Woods and the novelization for William Winckler's Double-D Avenger, manages to capture in print the campy fun of this award-winning homage to the Universal creature feature.

Dr. Monroe Lazaroff and his devoted assistants, Salisbury and Ula Foranti, have been working in secret at their beachside home on Blood Cove to create the ultimate weapon of terror. The Creature, a bio-genetically engineered hybrid of man, fish, and just a dash of cobra, is their latest creation. The chemical brainwashing techniques employed by Dr. Lazaroff have failed and the Creature has escaped into the waters of Blood Cove, supposedly to die.

The scientists, desperate to complete their project, decide to travel to Shellvania to retrieve the corpse of Frankenstein's original monster and resurrect it. In the meantime, Bill, with his associates Dezzirae and Percy, have traveled to Blood Cove to take pictures of bikini models on the beach for Frisky Kitty Kat magazine. Soon, the Creature emerges from the waves and goes on a rampage, sending the photo crew running into the clutches of Dr. Lazaroff and his insane plans to use Frankenstein's monster to destroy the original Creature.

The movie on which this novelization is based is carried primarily by nude actresses, schlocky acting, and campy humor--the plot is purposefully thin. Balzer infuses the novel with the same style of humor while providing more background on the characters and settings without deviating from the plot of the movie. Imagine a less-cerebral Rocky Horror Picture Show and you have an idea of the tone.

The book is very much the child of its source material: neither are high literature. One problem is that one person's camp is another person's offensive stereotype. This is especially true of the character of Percy, the flamboyant make-up artist. While not for everyone, the novelization Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove makes a good companion piece for fans of the movie or for readers wanting a fast, fun, politically incorrect, read.

Visit http://jerrodbalzer.com/. Buy it 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.