Horror World Book Reviews
August, 2005

CREEPERS By David Morrell
Review by Mark Justice

"Creepers" are people who explore abandoned buildings, urban archeologists digging up the recent past by examining what we leave behind.

In David Morrell's new novel, four Creepers are joined by Frank Balenger, a reporter, who wants to profile the group for the New York Times.

The history professor who leads the group has planned an excursion into The Paragon Hotel, a once-prestigious destination in Asbury Park, now scheduled for demolition. The Paragon was built by an eccentric millionaire who suffered from hemophilia and agoraphobia. He watched the world from his penthouse atop the hotel. Now Professor Conklin and his crew want to discover the Paragon's secrets before it's too late.

But the Paragon Hotel holds more secrets than anyone suspects.

Morrell has produced what is easily one of the fastest reads of the year. Set over the course of a few hours on a cold and wet October night, CREEPERS flies like a plummeting elevator. It seems that nearly every page produces another twist, as Morrell ratchets up the terror. Everything that could go wrong does, and then Morrell piles on even more surprises. Very little in the hotel is what it seems, including some of the Creepers.

Morrell has a style that appears deceptively simple. He uses short, cleanly written paragraphs to propel the narrative along, until the reader is too captivated to dream of putting the book down.

CREEPERS is the work of a veteran artist at the top of his form, a veritable textbook on creating and maintaining suspense.

One warning: after you finish CREEPERS, you will never look at an empty building the same way again.

And every time you see a cat, you'll be checking it for an extra hind leg.

CDS Books

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LOOKING GLASS By A.J. Matthews
Reviewed by Patricia Snodgrass

Looking Glass, by A.J. Matthews is like looking at a multifaceted diamond. On the surface, Looking Glass is a typical ghost story complete with a house located in a rural area, family secrets, and a ghost only Brenda can see. This is deceptive, and is apparent as soon as the reader completes the first chapter.

Matthews introduces the reader to a typical American middle class family, places them inside a 'haunted' house, and then breaks all the rules. In a series of subplots, he discloses the truth about Emily's mother, about who is really in the woods terrorizing the family, and most importantly, he reveals who the woman with the scar is. And I promise, it won't be whom you think.

Just as you think you've figured out the plot, Matthews throws you another curve. The effect is page turning, because you've got to know what's going to happen next. Matthews does not offer any cheap shots, does he give any "Scooby Doo and his gang" explanations for what the family is up against. Everything he writes is authentic and frightening.

I have only two complaints about the story; both of them are minor but to me, detract for an otherwise outstanding story. The first complaint is the detailed descriptions of fear. It effects story pacing. I found myself skipping over lengthy details of what the character was feeling at the given moment. The second complaint I have is the ending. Read it and you'll see why. I do recommend this book though, because the plot and characterizations far outweigh the flaws.

Berkley Press

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MR. FOX AND OTHER FERAL TALES (A Collection, A Recollection, A Writer's Handbook) By Norman Partridge
Reviewed by James R. Beach

Originally published in 1992 by Roadkill Press, Norman Partridge's first story collection received a Bram Stoker Award, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and most importantly heralded the arrival of a major new talent on the Horror scene. This chapbook has unfortunately been virtually impossible to find for many years. Copies that have surfaced on the collectors market have commanded big bucks.

Now, thanks to specialty publisher Subterranean Press, Mr. Fox is getting a new lease on life. Not only that, but they have taken it quite a few steps further. Along with the original stories from the chapbook, there are a number of other rare & mostly uncollected stories included (the first three chapters of his never-before-published first novel amongst them), and surrounding nonfiction. These essays not only introduce the stories, but also talk about his writing experiences and offer advice that every aspiring writer should take to heart. There's even a section of letters from editors to Norman that is eye-opening to say the least.

Reading along, I found myself skipping over the stories (which I did go back and read, of course - many great ones that I had not read for years) to get to the nonfiction stuff. That's how entertaining and informative it is. This is a great idea for a collection. It's almost like two books in one. An overview of a great writer's career on one hand and a writer's handbook on the other.

The fiction itself is no slouch. Compared by many to Joe Lansdale, Norman is one of the few that can hold a candle to the man from Texas. Partridge writes strong, compelling characters in unique situations and can write across the board as far as genres go. He never seems to stray from the dark side too much, though. For anyone who has not read his work, this would be a great place to start.

For the nonfiction itself, I would definitely rank this up with Richard Laymon's A Writer's Tale and Stephen King's On Writing as one of the best books about writing out there on the market. Plus you get a bunch of great short fiction to boot! My only hope is that it gets picked up for a mass-market release so more people can get a chance to read this.

Highly recommended!

Subterranean Press

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CALL TO THE HUNT By Steve Wedel
A review by Steve Vernon

I'll be honest with you; I didn't want to read this one. I'm instinctively wary of collections based around so tight a theme as lycanthropy. Finally, I worked up my courage to read it. Actually, my wife made me clean the floor beside my easy chair and I found the collection under a small stack of to-be-reviewed books and felt slightly guilty. So I read it, and you know what? I liked it. Steve Wedel is a competent writer who can spin a good yarn.

The collection consists of an even dozen stories of lycanthropy, centering around the two main characters of the world-mythology that Wedel calls his "Werewolf Saga" - Ulrik and Shara. I enjoyed the Ulrik tales best. Wedel seems a little more comfortable in the masculine realm. He uses the werewolves near-immortality to explore some interesting historical settings. He's strongest at these. I especially enjoyed his American Revolutionary tale "The Feast Of Saratoga". I would have liked to spend a little more time in that realm. Ulrik's interaction with the Delaware Indian patrol was most intriguing. I also enjoyed Wedel's take on the witch trails. You can't go very wrong with a werewolf in a bonnet.

Wedel's fiction is muscular, in the style of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series. He shines in the historical, action-oriented arenas. I found his modern tales to be the weakest of the lot. I think he had to work a lot harder and depend on a lot more research for the historical pieces, and the extra effort resulted in a stronger tale.

I appreciate that Wedel was trying to give the reader a lot of additional background on his characters. I haven't read any of the rest of the werewolf saga; you don't need to with this collection.

The cover art is absolutely gorgeous, and the physical quality of the book itself is admirable. Scrybe Press seems determined to put out a quality product, and I commend them for it. The introduction by author Kelley Armstrong is apt and fun. It's a fine little collection. I enjoyed reading it.

Scrybe Press

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Come Out Tonight By Richard Laymon
Reviewed by Nate Kenyon

Most seasoned readers know what they're getting with a Laymon novel; plenty of sex, violence, and some of the most bizarre, quirky characters and unexpected plot twists in horror fiction.  When he is at his best, Laymon is compulsively readable, even if he makes you feel like taking a shower to wash off the grime when you're finished with him.

In Come Out Tonight, Laymon serves up the sex (and blood) right from page one. As Sherry and Duane are trying to consummate their relationship, Duane's condom malfunctions, and against Sherry's better judgment he heads off to the convenience store to get more. When he does not return she heads out to find him, and gets more than she bargained for when she runs into teenaged psychopath Toby Barnes. Toby has big plans for her, and anyone else who gets in his way. But Sherry isn't going down without a fight, and before long all hell breaks loose as the body count rises, sweeping everything in its path along to a bloody climax of sex and gore.

As in most of Laymon's work, every girl is young, nubile and has a tendency to don bikinis (or lose them) at a moment's notice. Female skin is always hot and slick to the touch, men are in a constant state of arousal, and the first thing on every character's mind is sex. Toby's character is well drawn, his utter lack of conscience all the more terrifying with the way Laymon puts readers inside his head. But Sherry steals the show as one of the strongest female characters Laymon has ever created. Nothing seems to shake her, as her drive for revenge overwhelms even the most basic common sense.

In fact many parts of the novel, and the decisions made by its characters, make no sense at all. The police are never involved, even after multiple rapes and murders, and minor characters turn into psychopaths with little to no provocation. Parts of the book could use a good editor, as dialogue and scenes ramble on with no clear purpose (there's a page and a half about whether a car's air conditioning is turned up too high, for example).

But this is a Laymon book, and it remains compelling even as its flaws work their way to the surface. Come Out Tonight reads like a horny, frustrated teenager's surreal wet dream-if that teenager happened to be a serial murderer in training. For the very best of Laymon (and he can be very, very good), try Island, The Traveling Vampire Show, or Night in the Lonesome October. Come Out Tonight is not up to the level of those works-but it's still a lot of fun. Just don't tell anyone I said so.

Leisure Press

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