Horror World Book Reviews
August, 2006

EYES EVERYWHERE by Matthew Warner
Review by Mark Justice

Charlie Fields is a secretary in a Washington, DC law firm during an age when living and working in a major American city means dealing with an increasing level of security. But Charlie feels he has more reasons to be paranoid. He believes he’s about to be downsized at work, he’s sure his office computer is being monitored and a strange man seems to be following him home. And that’s only the first few chapters.

In Eyes Everywhere, Matthew Warner carefully builds a convincing and utterly captivating tale of a man’s descent into madness, told from the point of view of Charlie. We never see other characters in a separate room talking about how wacky Charlie has become or witness doctors tsk-tsking over Charlie’s medical chart while he’s on the run. Warner’s storytelling choice results in scenes dripping with beautiful ambiguity, allowing us to wonder right along with Charlie whether events truly are the way he perceives them.

The result is a taut, psychological thriller, tinged with melancholy. It’s a testament to Warner’s growing storytelling skills that Charlie remains a sympathetic character despite some moments that, in lesser hands, would cause readers to view Charlie as the villain of the piece. And the final scene of the novel is a soul-shattering moment that stayed with me long after I’d put the book away.

I enjoyed Warner’s first novel The Organ Donor, yet Eyes Everywhere is a quantum leap in craft for the author.

It’s scary to think of how good his next book will be.

Raw Dog Screaming Press

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANCIENT EYES By David Niall Wilson
Review by Nate Kenyon

 Deep in the hills, there are different rules. Things shift, boundaries blur and time warps with the sudden, powerful draw of blood.

 Although this sentence opens chapter nine of Wilson’s latest, Ancient Eyes, it could serve as the introduction to this stunningly surreal and deeply poetic work. When Abe Carlson’s nightmares lead to violent outbursts, and the strange phone calls increase in frequency, he knows that something is terribly wrong. Then a cryptic letter arrives from his mother back home in the mountains, and he must return to the place he grew up—and where, many years before, a great battle was staged. With his father’s help, goodness and light triumphed over evil back then; but now Abe fears that evil has returned to the little mountain town, and he is the only one who can protect the family he has left behind, and the place he once called home.

Meanwhile, two powerful spirits have lured Silas Greene and many of his neighbors from the mountain into the deep woods, where they are baptized by fire into the spirits’ service. They work quickly to rebuild one of two old churches in town, the home of many dark and cruel rituals many years before. As Abe arrives to take his place at the head of the second church, the one that his own father built years before, a new battle is already beginning, one as old as the mountain itself. Abe must risk his life and those of everyone he holds dear in a showdown that pits Silas Greene and his followers against those who still believe in goodness, and the ancient rituals that have ruled their lives from the moment their blood ancestors settled the land.

In a return to his horror roots, Wilson is in top form with Ancient Eyes. The story is compelling and the writing is beautiful, rhythmic and hypnotic, building slowly to a breathless end. Wilson has always straddled the line between poetry and prose, and he is known for exploring humankind’s darkest and most complex histories, and this novel is no different. But Ancient Eyes contains a more straightforward horror-style plot than his previous Deep Blue or The Mote in Andrea’s Eye.

In the novel Wilson uses wilderness as character, a constant presence that humankind is barely holding at bay. The very vegetation is alive, vines and weeds snaking around ankles and holding fast, while the mountain looms over all as if ready to pounce at any moment. Even the people who populate the backwoods town are often closer to animal than human. Rage, lust and instinct rule over civilized thought. Whether this kind of behavior is the result of possession is almost beside the point; for the spirit that possesses is really the animal within all of us, the id of human experience.

There is religion here too, but it is not the whitewashed, sterile, hushed-toned modern kind; rather, it is the raw, rough and gritty sort of centuries past, where a love of God was linked to a love of the land, and sex, blood and death was as much a part of life as anything else. Satan is a physical presence, and the threat is as much to life and limb as it is to the spiritual soul.

Ancient Eyes explores the concept that an older way still exists within the modern world. This life is full of the fear of the unknown, and rife with the rituals that evolve to compensate for it. In this world blood is indeed thicker than water; and bloodlines are tied to the mountain, rooted as firmly as the trees in the endless forest.

Bloodletting Press

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KINDRED SPIRIT by John Passarella
Review by Patricia Snodgrass

 

Heather and Halley Moore have a secret. As identical twin sisters, they have a Corsican-like link that makes them empathic as well as telepathic towards each other. When Heather falls out of a tree at a young age and ends up in a coma, that link is damaged, but not broken.

That same link enables Halley, as an adult, to help her find the man who murdered her twin. But that link is far more than mere intuition; it sweeps her into a dangerous obsession, and finally possession. But the spirit isn’t who she thinks it is, is it?

Kindred Spirit is an excellent offering by John Passarella. He builds his story quietly, showing the reader an almost mundane life led by newscaster Halley Moore. It has a believability that resonates well with the reader. And the ending is cataclysmic but most satisfactory.

If I have one minor complaint, and that is in regards to the serial killer. Passarella falls on the cliché of the mother being the reason for the killer’s mental breakdown. Nevertheless it was skillfully done, but I truly wish he had chosen another device than falling back on the Norman Bates style killer.

Well written, fast paced and quite enjoyable, I highly recommend Kindred Spirit.

I am hoping for a sequel.

Pocket Star Books

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEADSTONE CITY by Tom Piccirilli
Review by William Gagliani

Right out of the gate, Headstone City reaffirms Tom Piccirilli's vast talent – as if you needed it reaffirmed. It starts: "They came after Dane in the showers while he had soap in his eyes." Just the right amount of information, action, and even humor in one memorable beginning. The twisted humor blooms as Dane casually engages his would-be killers in a discussion while he stands naked and wet, awaiting their assault.

Piccirilli's touch is so sure-handed, you don't doubt for a minute the cinematic scene taking place during Johnny (Dane) Danatelli's last day in the slam after serving two years for running over a cop. Unfortunately, his new freedom has a price – the Monticelli family has put out a contract on him because the lovely, teenaged Angelina Monticelli died in his cab after an ill-advised drug buy. Dane loved her and her older sister, too, and was Vinny Monticelli's best friend, but all that changed and he became a marked man. Rather than making him morose, it appears to have made him reckless. And why not? Dane talks to the dead. His mother. People whacked by colorful mafiosi. Angelina herself. His own murdered father, and sundry others all come to visit and chat. It's so a guy can barely sleep.

Dane lives with his tough old grandmother, who dyes her hair and requests an endless supply of cannoli, biscotti, sfogliatelle, and other baked goods – and who's oiled his .38 for him. Dane knows he may get whacked going back home, many tell him so, but he has scores to settle himself.

Vinny and Dane shared a special bond as kids, and an accident that almost killed them instead left them strange burdens. The dead came looking for Dane, while Vinny began to "see" multiple futures. As Dane ambles back into Headstone City, both the living and the dead warn him off. With a limo-driving job, a beautiful B-actress making a play for him, and a sly federal agent applying pressure, Dane finds himself at the center of what may be a mob war.

Told in a dead-on New York patois, this relentlessly poetic noir comes across like The Sopranos and The Sixth Sense pulsed in a blender. (The) Dane's interaction with the shades of the departed is a deft combination of humor and tragedy, as he soft-shoes Hamlet-like across the stage, a prince in search of a vengeance yet to be determined. This is Tom Piccirilli (A Choir of Ill Children, November Mourns) at the top of his game, showcasing his comfort with the hardboiled tradition, yet transcending its limitations. Headstone City masterfully captures the iambic rhythm of New York's streets, the city's sinner-saints, and its victims, then uncoiling a powerful final sting.

Bantam

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

POLITICAL SUICIDE by Alan Russell
Review by Julie Knudson

Russell’s latest book, Political Suicide, offers up equal doses of action and intrigue. Will Travis is a guy with the quirky job of hotel auditor. But free meals and swanky bars soon give way to tainted drinks, car chases and murder. When Travis sees a woman on the brink of danger, he pushes his regular job aside and puts himself into the fray. But the intended victim turns out to be Claire Harrington, the headstrong daughter of a former U.S. senator, and she isn’t very good at playing the role of damsel in distress. Though outwardly elegant and gracious, Travis soon learns Claire has nerves of steel and a passion to achieve her goals that overrides everything else.

While political deceit is central to the plot, good old determination is really the meat and potatoes of this story. Claire is determined to realize her dream of living in the White House, Will is determined to uphold his family’s oath to duty and country, and an enigmatic presidential candidate is determined to eliminate past sins before they ruin his chances for glory. The sheer grit of the main players drives the plot forward at a furious pace, with each committed to an all-or-nothing solution. There is also a romantic component to the story, with Will and Claire trying to figure out if love is more important than ambition.

Political Suicide does the thriller genre proud. Russell doesn’t skimp on the action, sustaining a frantic pace from start to finish. The fight scenes are realistic and inventive, with Travis taking more than his share of hard knocks. Only one scene stretches the level of believability to the breaking point, but no spoilers here – believe me, you’ll know it when you see it. It’s a rare miss, though, and doesn’t poison the rest of the book, which is tight and well-written.

The book’s jacket includes a blurb about Russell’s prowess in creating superb dialogue. Honestly, I wouldn’t give it quite that much praise. While Will’s Korean-born assistant comes off with some great one-liners, Claire’s dialogue often felt stilted and artificial, even for a well-bred senator’s daughter. That niggling detail aside, this is an enjoyable read. Great action, a twisting plot and a satisfying ending make for a fun book.

Leisure Books

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DOWN THE ROAD by Bowie Ibarra
Review by Dennis Duncan

George Zaragoza's world is collapsing. A Plaque is sweeping the country. The dead are rising and they are attacking and devouring the living. The Government is trying to contain it but with no success. Civilians are taking up arms and banding together in hopes of surviving the zombie apocalypse. George is going to try to make it home, but it won't be easy, he will have to fight his way through a world gone crazy; remnants of the federal government, the military militia's with their own agenda, and thousands of flesh hungry dead.

Down the Road is set in the George Romero zombie world. Society is collapsing; and the government is trying to get things back in order by using a iron fist. America has become a huge war zone; people are killing one another causing the numbers of the dead to swell. The situation soon becomes hopeless.

I am a sucker for a good zombie story and Down the Road did not disappoint. I could not put it down. The zombies are described in great detail, and the kills are very, VERY graphic, but that is what you want in a good zombie story. Bowie doesn't pull any punches. Down the Road isn't for the squeamish. I think the thing that I loved the most is how Bowie described just how ineffective FEMA would be in a major disaster. Down the Road was written before Hurricane Katrina and it is almost eerie how accurate he is in his characterization. The only complaint I have is I wish it had been longer.

I recommend Down the Road to anyone who loves a good Zombie story. It is a great debut for Mr. Ibarra, and I hope this isn't the last Zombie story we get from him.

Permuted Press

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE DEAD LETTERS By Tom Piccirilli
Review by James Beach

Tom Piccirilli’s new novel is a foray into serial killer territory, but one with his own unique touch. Operating in the same high ground as Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon and Silence Of the Lambs,The Dead Letters features a child murderer who appears to have changed his ways and is now replacing each parents murdered offspring with a new one. One that he steals from a broken or dysfunctional family. Eddie Whitt, the father of one of the dead kids has dedicated himself to finding and stopping the killer who has been dubbed “Killjoy”

Piccirilli manages to avoid many of the usual trappings of “Serial Killer” novels by changing a lot of the standard tropes. The protagonist, Whitt is not a cop, but a civilian. Although not really aided by the police, the local Sergeant Brunkowski has allowed Whitt to continue his pursuit, partly because the haven’t made any more progress in the case in a long time and partly because he still isn’t completely sure Eddie isn’t the killer himself.

Diana Carver is an FBI agent who has had some trouble in her own life and has been assigned to the case to see if she can shake anything out, but really it is to get her out of Washington and out of the way. She ends up begrudgingly aiding Whitt in his tracking of Killjoy. Her character does add some romantic heat, but is much more complex and doesn’t fall into the stereotypical female sidekick/love interest

There are other interesting cast members as well. Eddie’s wife Karen suffered a breakdown and is an institution, but still plays an important role in his struggle with himself and his obsession. Karen’s father Mike is also an interesting character. He has continued to fund Whitt’s endeavors in finding Killjoy over the time and also provides a sounding board and offers advice to Eddie.

The antagonist, Killjoy, mostly appears off camera, so to speak. The “Letters” of the title Killjoy sends are the only contact they have and an interesting piece to the puzzle. Whitt and the other parents receive strange notes that seem to be nonsensical, made up analogies but have context and a bizarre, often humorous logic to them and fit the flow of the story well. The fact that the killer is never seen through most of the novel gives it an almost supernatural feel.

There are some minor similarities to Harris’ books as there is a second killer who Whitt pursues. He is the blind murderous son of a cult leader that Whitt encounters in his searching for Killjoy. But Piccirilli turns that plot point on end as he uses Killjoy to help him track the other killer who he in turn uses to help him draw Killjoy out.

All in all a very intriguing, exciting and thought provoking ride. Even with a more straightforward plot, Piccirilli manages to stamp it with his own unique style and surrealistic touches. It’s great to see Bantam continuing to embrace Tom and allow him room to grow. Let’s all hope that continues. Recommended!

Bantam

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OFF SEASON by Jack Ketchum
Review by Nate Kenyon

Deep in the wilderness along the Maine coastline, people are disappearing. At first, nobody seems to notice; but when young yuppie city-girl Carla arrives at a cozy little cabin in the area, followed shortly thereafter by a group of her friends, the stage is set for a gruesome game of cat and mouse. The new arrivals have no idea that there is a clan of human flesh-eating, cave-dwelling maniacs on the loose, and no one is safe from their insatiable need to hunt.

As the cannibals converge on the cabin in the woods under the cover of darkness, Carla and her friends are forced to fight for their lives. Those caught are slaughtered like cattle—or worse. The group of friends must use every ounce of instinct to try to stay alive.

Originally released in 1981, Ketchum’s first novel has become the stuff of legend. Deemed too extreme by his own publisher, Off Season was edited heavily for content, and still drew calls of outrage and censorship when it hit the shelves. In spite of this (or perhaps in part because of it) the novel became an underground sensation, deemed an instant classic by horror lovers everywhere.

This new Leisure edition restores the novel to its original form, including the infamous ending that Ballantine insisted be changed. It also includes a fascinating Afterword that tells Ketchum’s side of the events surrounding the original release.

But what about the novel itself? Using Ketchum’s trademark spare, razor-sharp prose, Off Season paints a devastating picture of fiction as reality—in Ketchum’s world, everything and anything can happen. Nobody is safe, and the author does not turn away from even the most vicious acts as they occur.

In another writer’s hands, this might quickly dissolve into little more than exploitation, but the true power of Off Season is that for all its gore, it is a beautifully written novel: short, tight, and muscular. Yes, it is bleak; yes, it uses children as villains; and yes, it portrays civilization as little more than a thin veneer through which the human animal emerges. But Ketchum seems to want us to understand that real life is brutal, and random, and the universe turns a blind eye to suffering more often than not. This may be true, but it does nothing to dampen humanity’s struggle to survive, and there is beauty in that as well.

Perhaps what is most disturbing about Off Season is how quickly the violence becomes tolerable. In a world of televised beheadings and mass genocide, the novel has lost some of the capacity to shock and disgust. What that says about our lives in the modern age is truly unsettling, indeed.

Highly recommended.

Leisure Press

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JESUS FREAKS by Andre Duza
Review by Dennis Duncan

On Easter Sunday in the year 2015 the Apocalypse has begun. The sky is raining blood. The Dead are rising from their graves seeking Human Flesh. A murderous ghost is possessing people and making them do horrendous things, and to top it all off, two men with extraordinary powers have appeared, and they both claim to be the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Philip Maken a Philadelphia detective wakes up on Easter Sunday to find that the world he knows is falling apart. Zombies are roaming the streets, social services are breaking down everywhere and the Government has gone into hiding. Jesse James Dallas a corrupt TV Evangelist and one of the men who claim to be Jesus has seized power in the US. Philip doesn't believe Dallas is who he really says he is and he wants to figure out what his agenda is before its too late.

I enjoyed Andre's first book Dead Bitch Army so when I started Jesus Freaks I expected great things. Andre didn't disappoint me in the least.

Jesus Freaks was one hell of a ride. I was hooked as soon as I started it. I found myself reading the night away. I could not put this book down. It is easily one of the best horror stories to come out this year.

Andre has a fast and aggressive narrative style that I absolutely love. You know when your reading his work.

Jesus Freaks isn't your standard Zombie Story. Andre has written a stylish and aggressive story with a dose of social commentary. I highly recommend this book to all Horror Fans. It has a little bit of everything and it should satisfy all. I can't wait to see what Andre has in store for us next.

Eraserhead Press

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VAMPIRE HUNTER D: Demon Death Chase by Hideyuki Kikuchi, translated by Kevin Leahy.
Review by Steve Middaugh  

This is the third installment of the Vampire Hunter D series, and was the basis for the anime film "Vampire Hunter D: Blood Lust".  The versions of the book and movie are a bit different from each other but the plot was pretty much the same.

The novel opens with the renegade family of bounty hunters kno wn as the Marcus clan who show up at a ghost town infested with vampire/zombies.  They come upon a dying old man requesting they go fetch his daughter before she loses her soul to the vampire Nobelity Mayerling.  What they discover, much to their dismay , i s that they have a very formidable enemy by the name of D who just happen s to be lurking nearby.  So the race is on to nail Mayerling and bring back the girl.  Along the way, unforeseen complications arise and unexpected alliances are traded.

The book fleshes out the Marcus brothers and their own darker deeds and various other motivations.  These bounty hunters have a reputation of killing off their competition.  But D is no ordinary dampiru.  He's not the kind to be nudged out so easily. 

With Mayerling tak s off with his girlfriend in his phantom coach toward the space port , t wo of the four demons from the gypsy camp of the Barbarois decided to betray their client and take the woman for themselves.  The first two demons died at the hands of the Marcus brothers.

The plot gets darker and grimmer by the time the smoke clears in the fighting climax of D, Mayerling, the demons, and the Marcus brothers.  Tragedy strikes at the end.  What happened?  You will have to read for yourself.  And of course, as a vampire hunter, D always see through to the end of his contract made with the dead man whose daughter went off with Mayerling on a tragic tryst.

As always with the first two installments, the writing was crisp, sparse, straight-forward, and fast paced.  The characterization was three dimensional.  Kevin Leahy's translation is true to the original . 

Dark Horse Press

##################

Previous reviews now appear in the Archives

 

Sponsored by: