Horror World Book Reviews
July, 2010
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The Bleeding Edge: Dark Barriers, Dark Frontiers, Edited by William F. Nolan and Jason V. Brock, Cycatrix Press, $64.95
A title like The Bleeding Edge: Dark Barriers, Dark Frontiers seems to whisper promises of cutting-edge stories, tales that will slice open the reader and lay their darkest fears out for all to see. The reality of the William F. Nolan/Jason V. Brock anthology is closer to the feel of an old Twilight Zone marathon, which is appropriate, since the book contains an unproduced TZ screenplay by George Clayton Johnson, The Grandfather Clock. The old-school feel of the book is not necessarily a bad thing, considering some of the legendary talent involved: Nolan, Ray Bradbury, John Shirley, Richard Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, Joe R. Lansdale, Johnson, and the late Dan O'Bannon.
The book starts off with an unpublished Bradbury tale, Some Of My Best Friends Are Martians, which, while cute, seemed like something dredged up from the bottom of his trunk.
Next was John Shirleys Just A Suggestion, which is one of the more original ghost stories I've ever read. Shirley mixes the humor with an incredibly dark streak, to wonderful effect.
A large portion of the book is taken up with screenplays, to varying degrees of success. The Father/Son duo of Richard and Richard Christian Matheson contribute MADRI-GALL, which is basically a one-note skit for the stage; Thankfully, the one note is rather funny and memorable, and I would love to see it brought to life. George Clayton Johnson's TZ script, The Grandfather Clock, was filmed for the show in a vastly different form (As Ninety Years Without Slumbering), and Johnson's original is a real treat. You can almost see it playing out as a TZ episode while you read it. Less successful are O'Bannon's Omnivore (Which contains creature illustrations.....) and Norman Corwin's How It Feels To Murder. O'Bannon's contribution is comprised of excerpts from an unproduced screenplay, and, while it would have been great in the 1970's, the premise, thirty years later, is old news. Corwin's screenplay, while excellently written, would have been old hat back in the 1950's. It's hopelessly dated and predictable fifty years later.
There are quite a few other stories, besides the Bradbury, that have that "Trunk" feeling to them, among them James Robert Smith's Love & Magick, Nancy Kilpatrick's Hope And The Maiden, Earl Hamner, Jr.'s The Death And Life Of Caesar LaRue, and John Tomerlin's De Mortuis. Some of these stories, while well-written, seemed like they had been dusted off after being locked away for decades.
On the other hand, there are some real gems......The real stars of The Bleeding Edge are Joe R. Lansdale and Cody Goodfellow. Lansdale relates a heartbreaking tale of child bullying that goes horribly awry (Starring a young Hap), while Goodfellow contributes one of the most startlingly original Horror stories I've ever read, At The Riding School. Goodfellow's story shows some serious chops, and I would love to see a short story collection from him. Other standouts include Gary A. Braunbeck's take on Cthulhu, A Certain Disquieting Darkness and Lisa Morton's nasty Silk City, a gruesome yarn sure to stick with Arachnophobes.
A pet peeve of mine is when Anthology Editors include their own stories, but it's easily overlooked in this case, as Nolan and Brock both acquit themselves admirably. Nolan's seemingly autobiographical Getting Along Just Fine is an almost heartbreakingly touching litany of loss and loneliness, tempered by Nolan's love of life. It's a real gem. Brock's The Central Coast has a fairly paint-by-numbers plot, but Brock's storytelling skill sets it apart.
The Bleeding Edge is a nice little package, and I'd recommend it to readers looking for some old-school short stories.
-- Daniel Reilly
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Hellfire and Damnation, by Connie Corcoran Wilson; Sam’s Dot Publishing; 115 pgs; $10.95
A slim short story collection of horror tales by Connie Corcoran Wilson hit the stands earlier this year. Titled Hellfire and Damnation, the book is organized around Dante Alighieri’s conception of Hell: nine rings for different offenses committed during life, all heading toward the big red guy sitting in a frozen pool at the bottom of the pit. It is a jarring image, and it is entirely appropriate for Wilson’s work which is, if noting else, jarring.
Wilson’ style is plain and direct. If somebody’s head needs to be cut off, she doesn’t waffle and wonder and stutter around the issue. No way. She just goes ahead and cuts that head off. She might tell you the blade used in the cutting turned up later bloody, but there won’t be a pile of details about the kind of knife (or what have you) it was or where it was purchased or how came to the killing hands of the antagonist. This approach works well, for the most part. It is an especially astute choice for her stories that are based on real crimes and occurrences. In situations like that, you get a real procedural feel going, a kind of crime show drama vibe. In other stories, though, it leaves you wanting a little bit more. No, we don’t need an enormous amount of window dressing, but bare windows aren’t always exactly what we are looking for.
Hellfire and Damnation weighs in at a sporting 115 pages and can be consumed easily after dinner on a warm summer night. They aren’t very good as bedtime stories because they get your blood flowing too fast. But if you have some late night nastiness planned, Wilson’s collection is a Red Bull read. Recommended for hardcore horror fans.
--Wayne Edwards
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Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Planes Drifter, by Edward M. Erdelac; Damnation Books; 286 pgs; $21.65
The very first thing I noticed about Merkabah Rider by Edward M. Erdelac is it has a glossary at the end of the book. It is a sort of novel told in four parts. With a glossary. Hear me: any book that requires a glossary of terms to be understood is asking too much of the casual reader. If you are trying to sell a lot of books, it is best to go after the casual reader. Now, if your goals are different, well, fair enough…
The story is good, but very dense. It is about the final member of an ancient Jewish mystical order who searchers high and low for his teacher in the western United States during the late 1800s. Possibly compelling. The writing, however, suffers from an over exertion of simile and an unhealthy thickness in character names (for example, Kelly Le Malfacteur). The unrelenting piety of the characters wears on you after a while, too. I understand that the frothing religiosity is part of the story. I’m just saying. It is a lot to take in. See my point in paragraph one.
The book design, too, is a little distracting. The deep indentations and the “Page 123” at the top of each sheet for some reason really annoyed me. A minor thing, I suppose, but combined with the glossary and the general numbing feel of the narrative, the parts summed to an inauspicious whole. Reading this book is a major commitment.
That Merkabah Rider will appeal to a certain group of readers I have no doubt. I recommend it to serious old west demonology fans. The general reader might want to count a beat or two before tucking this one under his arm for the long walk home.
--Wayne Edwards
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Frenzy: The Dreamhouse Kings by Robert Liparulo; Thomas Nelson; 352 pgs.; $14.99
The King family adventure roars to a conclusion in the 6th installment of a YA series that has proven itself to be a worthy successor to the Potter boy, but with more horror and realism to accompany the fantasy. Hopefully, Liparulo, author of Comes The Horseman, Germ, and Deadfall, will not abandon this series for good. He had easily risen to the ranks of Chris Golden and Chris Pike who can easily wow readers of all ages with dark fiction.
For those new to the series, the King family, mom, dad, brothers (and main protagonists) Xander and David, and sister Toria, moved into a family home in a small town with a secret history. Instead of a haunted house, this one was purposely built to connect to portals throughout time. The brothers (and family) have traveled to the Civil War, Ancient Rome, the Titanic, and finally, Atlantis. Their reason for traveling? The first night there are there their mom is kidnapped by a stranger named Taksidian and seemingly lost in time. The father reveals that he has returned to find his own mother who disappeared 30 years ago. Uncle Jesse, the architect of the house returns with his nurse and former military ace to help out but wind up caught in the web of destiny set in motion by Taksidian who wishes to unravel time until the apocalypse occurs – which the boys and father encounter during one of their many jaunts.
In this 6th installment, Xander revisits a young Jessie as he begins the building of the house with the news that David is dead in one timeline. The remainder of the plot revolves around how to keep that event from coming to fruition while finally locating their mother and preventing the end of the world. Where they unite as a family is truly mindbending and brings about a unique perspective on time travel that harkens back to Quantum Leap.
Recommended as a book and series, but please read in order. Amazing fun for any age.
-- Dave Simms
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The Butcher Bride by Vince Churchill; Black Bed Sheet/Diverse Media; 2009; 269 Pages; $18.95
Thirty years ago, Marlie was brutally raped at a Halloween party, an assault that drove the girl mad. Wearing a bloody wedding dress, Marlie exacted a gruesome revenge. That night ended with Marlie’s death. But it was only the beginning of the legend of the Butcher Bride. In the present day, another party is about to be held in Silas Mansion, and the mad ghost of the Butcher Bride is bringing the party favors.
Vince Churchill brings an impressive energy to The Butcher Bride and the result is a novel that reminded me of the manic slasher films of the 1980s. If you love your horror drenched in gore, sex and violence, you should be more than satisfied with Churchill’s efforts.
At several points in the novel, the pace of the narrative recalled the master of the “drive-in movie novel”, Richard Laymon. Like Laymon, Churchill seems primarily interested in heaping chill upon chill with barely a pause, resulting in a story that cries out for a tub of overpriced cineplex popcorn topped with a chemically dubious butter substitute.
Unfortunately, the B-movie analogy carries over to some of the dialogue, which is occasionally stiff and stilted. If you can overlook this one flaw, you’ll squirm with delight as The Butcher Bride takes her revenge. With a stronger editorial hand, Churchill will become a force to be reckoned with in horror.
--Mark Justice
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The Templar Throne, by Paul Christopher; Signet; 384 pgs; $9.99
Do you remember a little book called The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown that came out a couple years back? 2003 to be exact. It caused a bit of a stir. And a movie. And a sequel to the book. And a movie of the book sequel. And more. It was all quite popular despite being completely ridiculous. Thinking now, maybe it was because it was so absurd that it was so popular. It puts me in mind of National Treasure, a movie (part of the same wav as The Da Vinci Code) I liked a lot but that was laugh-out-loud stupid, plot-wise. In any case, the point is when something—a book, a movie, a video game—kicks up a bunch of money, imitators abound. So, starting about 2004/2005, anything that could remotely be spun into a Da Vinci Code-like or at least Da Vinci Code-looking enterprise was given a try.
According to his bibliography, Paul Christopher published his first novel in 2005. He has written several more since then, including the Templar Series. The third book in Christopher’s Templar series, The Templar Throne, has resilient senior citizen John Holiday continuing his Templar enthusiasm, this time with a maritime twist. It seems the discovery of a navigation device originating thousands of years earlier than previously thought possible has caused a bit of a furor in the usual sorts of ways (see any related work in the past five years). For the most part, the author hits all the requisite notes to complete the boilerplate symphony including the ever-popular derisive remarks about other similar books by competing authors. It is an enjoyable enough read, if fairly low impact and ultimately forgettable.
This book should appeal to people who have been reading the other entries in Christopher’s series and those tens of millions of people who like the related movies based on other writers’ books, too. The Templar Throne is sure to be a great success.
--Wayne Edwards
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Uttuke: The Book of Darkness by Robert N. Stephenson; Altair Australia; 246 pgs.; $19.95
Diana Arlyn exists as a writer of gothic horror yet lives true horror. She often goes to sleep and wakes to seeing Steven, the ghost of someone who died because of her. He haunts her life, literally, while she lives with the guilt, alone. That is, until Sarina enters her life. Not quite a lover, like the one Steven stole from her, but something quite more than human. Vampire? Think a little deeper as this is no bite into a well-trodden vein.
What is Uttuke (both the word and the novel)? Literally, when Diana Googles it, the definition of demon comes pops up. Possibly tied to the story of Lilith, the Uttuke feed off of human “light” and are seemingly immortal. Since they also are related to incubi and succubi, the story gets darker.
The Dark One (not as generic as it sounds) seeks a book from Diana that is inherent to its success somehow and sends the Ta’ibah after her. Is it the one which she accused Steven of plagiarizing? Something she herself is writing? As she slips further into depression and the black of Gothic lifestyle, Diana bonds further in a symbiotic relationship with Sarina. The immortal wish to have her own book written, by Diana, about her life with Bela Lugosi (again, much more interesting than it sounds here – trust me). What do the Uttuke and Ta’ibah wish with Diana? Do they want her dead or on their side? Diana keeps slipping further into madness as she fights to hold on and solve the riddle which seems to be killing her.
Robert Stephenson bites deep with this first novel and finds success. Diana is not a cookie cutter protagonist. Sarina promises to be a force in coming books as do the Uttuke and Ta’ibah. Stephenson’s writing is fine and well developed for a first attempt and hopefully, he finds a wide audience.
-- Dave Simms
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Pillar’s Fall by Ben Larken; www.ll-publications.com; 2010; 322 pgs.; $ 14.99
One of the neat things about reading so much genre fiction is that over time, you have the opportunity to watch how new authors mature. Though sometime the reverse is true.
An author who spent years working on his first published work might find himself with little time to pen the follow-up leaving his sophomore effort coming across as flat, rushed, and unimaginative. Then we can all guess what happens next. Unless that author hits gold with his third release, it may be the last we read of him.
Ben Larken’s debut novel, Pit Stop, was released to critical acclaim when it was published in 2008 and it landed on more than a few readers’ top ten lists of that year. Then, in 2009, Larken came out with The Hollows; a decent follow-up to Pit Stop, but it didn’t seem to generate the same buzz as his inaugural release. And now in 2010, Larken is back again with his third novel, Pillar’s Fall, and to all of those fans of Pit-Stop who are wondering…is it as good? I can report that it sure as hell is. Talk about striking gold, with Pillar’s Fall, Larken has hit the mother load!
Tom Pillar is a police detective for the city of Railston, who along with his partner Ross, are the new guys in the department. While Tom is a pretty conservative man in terms of logic and manner, Ross is his opposite; impetuous, rash, and egocentric. Early one morning Ross picks up Tom at his home and tells him that he’s been working undercover (without the departments knowledge) on a terrorist plot and that he and Tom are going to bust the terrorist that morning and then become hero’s on the force. Tom is dubious, but decides to go along with Ross to placate him. It turned out to be the wrong move on Tom’s part as things don’t work out quite as well as Ross had planned.
As they are crossing a suspension bridge on the way to arrest the terrorist, a decrepit looking man jumps out in front of their car. Ross is driving and he winds up crashing the vehicle into the bridge to avoid hitting the man, and while the air bags save both of them, it leaves Ross unconscious. When Tom leaves the car to see if the old man is all right, he discovers through the man’s ranting that he is a religious lunatic. And he also finds out that the man specifically targeted him and Ross as they drove over the bridge, forcing them to crash. When Tom approaches the derelict to arrest him, the guy opens his trench coat and reveals a young boy hidden within. The boy’s chest is strapped with dynamite, and there’s a timer on it that programmed to go off in less than a minute.
With a bridge full of stalled cars, curious onlookers gathered around, and a fuel truck close by, Tom has to make a decision on what to do, and make it quickly. And this decision is only the first of many scenes in this book that will have readers gritting their teeth in suspense, and then recoiling from the subsequent horror.
The remainder of Pillar’s Fall revolves around Tom and how his life is torn apart after his decision on how to handle the boy on the bridge, and then his involvement with another young boy named Seth. Through the course of the story, Tom discovers that the incident on the bridge was no coincidence, that he is a pawn, destined to combat the attempt of a demon to rule the earth. And this demon has taken residence in that young boy name Seth.
The first half of Pillar’s Fall contains some brilliant moments of horror, but Larken uses these pages primarily for exposition and to set up the action sequences to follow. It is in the second half of the novel where Larken shines, when he laces up the gloves and comes out swinging, then for the reader its one continuous punch in the gut after another.
Overall, the plotting in Pillar’s Fall is extremely thrilling and very often frightening, though the first half of the book felt a bit inconsistent in its pacing. But the second half of the novel is superb, standing head and shoulders with some of the best horror work released today, not only from the small press, but also from the mass-market publishers.
And, as entertaining as the blood bath in Pillar’s Fall gets, Larken wants us to dig deeper into his horror, to go beyond the obvious, and he does this by inserting a religious subtext surrounding the peripheral of the story. It is integral to the plot, never feels preachy, and readers should find it intellectually stimulating
As good as Pillar’s Fall is, it’s not a perfect novel. After the opening scenes, the first portion of the novel tends to drag occasionally, mostly due to the exposition which I thought it could have been edited down somewhat. And the initial dialog scenes where we are introduced to Tom’s wife were a bit too cutesy for me; portions of it didn’t really ring true. But these faults are very easy to overlook, and they fade from the mind quickly as readers find themselves more and more absorbed into the story.
Like the best of the new horror that I’ve read lately, Pillar’s Fall harkens back to the time when excellent dark fiction centered on plot development, atmosphere, and fully developed characters. Readers of Pillar’s Fall will not fail to be impressed, entertained, and most importantly, chilled to the bone by Larken’s latest. This one is highly recommended.
--T. T. Zuma
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Wicked Delights by John Llewellyn Probert; Atomic Fez Publishing; 352 pgs.; $39.99
John Llewellyn Probert is a unique man. Upon meeting him, one can tell that he is not the most “normal” individual. Then again, that can be a wonderful thing for a writer of the fantastic. His funny, charming, and odd personality reeks throughout every sentence of his writing – finding a voice that is like no other. Readers may compare his short fiction to Neil Gaiman, Jeremy Shipp, or Clive Barker (on helium).
Twisted Delights, his 5th collection has sold out printing both in the UK & USA already, giving Atomic Fez another feather in its… fez.
How would one describe Probert’s stories? Weird but frightening comes close but like those authors noted above, one must read and truly digest his stories first before beginning to understand what this man is capable of – and how to describe (rather, how description fails to capture their essence). Asylums run wild (of course) but twist in unique ways. Books which drink blood from children? A television station which takes care of one’s financial burdens? A corporation breaking apart not only departments, but humans themselves? Yeah, he’s odd but the stories work and his sparse prose allow the ideas and humor to ring the way they should.
Recently, Atomic Fez and Probert held a contest where the winner won a “Wickedly Delightful” champagne breakfast with the author to help market the collection. With these 18 tales, not much is needed to celebrate the writing within these pages. Another winner from a unique press.
-- Dave Simms
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Remember You’re a One-Ball!, by Quentin S. Crisp; Chômu Press; 270 pgs.
First things first: Quentin *S.* Crisp, the writer of fantastic fiction, not Quentin Crisp, the author of The Naked Civil Servant. It tripped me up at first but then I thought, Quentin Crisp died ten years ago…he probably doesn’t have a new book out. I’d never heard of Quentin S. Crisp so I did a little looking around and didn’t find much. The publisher of the book in question, Remember You’re a One-Ball!, has never published any other books. It is just getting going. The snippets from and about the author you read online and in the front matter / back flappage of the book indicate only that the book was written in 2005 and the author contacted one other publisher who rejected it. I started to get that uneasy self-published vibe at that point and seriously considered not wasting my time reading the book.
And then I thought, ah well, screw it. I get paid exorbitant amounts of money to read these things and write remarks off the top of my head about them, so I went ahead and squished my nose to the grindstone and started reading (out of one twitching eye).
The prose is surprisingly fluid and uncompromisingly candid. It is a bit like reading a diary or perhaps the transcript of confessional outpouring. The story is slowing moving and oratory (in the long tradition of island literature). It is also brooding and filled with heavy doses of spite, regret, and a cloying need for some demonstration of long suppressed destructive pondering. The sex and violence and torture, both mental and physical, are at times overwhelmingly brutal. At the end of the book I felt numb, unsure what I had read and feeling rather like, instead of having just read a book, that something had been done to me. There is a quotation on one of the front matter pages from that publisher who rejected the book. When first I read it I thought it was a hoax. Now, having read the book, I am not so sure. It reads: “You write like a dream, Quentin, and the novel is well paced, but the subject matter is so challenging[,] so unremittingly inhuman, cruel, and filled with hate that it is unbearable.”
The author, the press, and the work itself are all shrouded in cascading layers of mystery. I am going to go ahead and recommend this book for those of you out there looking for an adventure, but know now, before you start, you are traveling at your own risk. Any claims for damages should be addressed directly to Chômu Press.
--Wayne Edwards
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The Living Dead 2, edited by John Joseph Adams; Night Shade Books, 2010; 504 pgs; $15.99
From the editor and publisher that gave us the first Living Dead anthology comes another collection of zombie tales. What’s new this time around? Well quite a few of the stories, that’s what. While the first book was mostly comprised of reprinted tales, this book is about half reprint and half all new material written just for this anthology. There are also many new names to be found in undead outing. To be sure, there are still many easily recognizable heavy hitters of horror corralled in this collection, but there are a good number of fresh faces as well, or at the very least, people who aren’t household words in the world of horror. As there were only a scant few stories in this book that I didn’t care for, I think it’s safe to say that some of these new-ish authors may just start generating more buzz than a vibrator in a beehive.
Some of those big guns that I alluded to are bona fide zombie masters in every sense of the words. Max Brooks of World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide fame contributes a brand new story, “Steve and Fred”. Robert Kirkman, creator and author of the wonderful Walking Dead zombie comic book series also turns in a new tale with “Alone Together” and proves that he can write more than just “them funny books”. Another lord of the undying horde is David Wellington whose Monster trilogy (Island, Nation, and Planet) are three of the best zombie novels out there. David also gives us a new story with his “Good People”. Last, but certainly not the least of these zombie masters, there’s the guy that pretty much jump-stared the whole zombie novel craze, in my opinion at least, with his The Rising, City of the Dead, and Dead Sea books, Brian Keene. Well Brian also turns in a brand spanking new tale, “Lost Canyon of the Dead”.
If you are any sort of zombie fan at all, then those four authors, all doing band new stories, is all the reason you should need to get this book immediately. However as luck would have it, there are plenty of more meaty morsels for you to sink your teeth into with this book in addition to those prime cuts.
John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow, two authors I can’t ever get enough up, do another super-powered team up with “The Price of a Slice”. Sarah Langan was one of those authors whom I heard a lot about but never actually read until a year or so ago when I picked up her novel, The Missing. Since then I have been doing my best to rectify that horrible oversight on my part. Luckily for me, Sarah makes that a tad bit easier with her new story, “Are You Trying to Tell Me This Is Heaven?” David J. Schow delivers the ghastly goods, as he always does, with his excellent, “Where the Heart Was.” Hmm, you know what, that is the first reprint story I’ve mention so far in this review. Maybe my previous estimate on the percentage of new to old stories found in this book needs to be revised? Regardless, I loved this story the first time I read it many years ago and I still love it now. The last story I’m going to mention, simply because there are too many here to get into (43 to be exact, with the vast majority of them being winners), is Gary A. Braunbeck’s “We Now Pause For Station Identification” about a radio talk show from hell. Or is that in hell? Whatever the case may be, this is a great story and a reprint, but since the original was a limited edition chapbook, it’s great to see it here reaching a wider audience of zombiphiles.
The first Living Dead anthology was amazing. What’s truly amazing about this sequel is that it’s just as good, if not in some ways better, as it gives us zombie lovers a lot of new stories to devour. If you are not quite tired of the zombie invasion going on in horror fiction these days (hey, at least they’re not sexy vampires) then give this book a read. Whether you’re a parishioner in the Church of Romero, or just a passing acquaintance with the walking dead, I am sure you’ll find stories in this book that will touch your still, rotting, and slightly gnawed-on heart in some fashion. I highly recommend this book.
-- Brian M. Sammons
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Twisthorn Bellow by Rhys Hughes; Atomic Fez Publishing; $19.99
Rhys Hughes is a demented writer. That much the world knew before Atomic Fez took him over and unleashed TWISTHORN BELLOW upon readers. Anytime a story erupts with the concept of France taking over the planet and even the afterlife – can you imagine having to speak French to get past St. Peter? – you know the reading will be just a bit off center.
The good doctor loves to create golems out of clay. He also created a pretty big hand that only knows how to say “Ritchie!” and a sexy little virus who has a hankering for the five fingered mental midget. After a few missteps, he winds up with a “success” which falls into toxic waste and goes after the frogmen.
A weird, weird, weird but fun read.
-- Dave Simms
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Perfect Union, by Cody Goodfellow; Swallowdown Press, 2009; 254 pages; $12.95
The stories that Cody Goodfellow writes are like Chinese 1000-year-old eggs, chilled monkey brains, and soft-boiled fetal duck. While they seem unimaginably gross and icky to most, they are rare delicacies to others. Now while I am a happy member of the latter camp, I can see why people of the former could get their anti-Cody opinions from. Just reading the opening chapter of his latest novel, Perfect Union has a couple of mind-blown junkies doing the nasty, and I mean very nasty, while covered head to toe in honey. And I won’t even mention what happens when the bees start to buzz. If that kind of thing turns you off then you should probably skip this book, as it’s only going to get weirder and wilder from there. However if that sticky description intrigues you…then eww…but also congratulations, you might have the intestinal fortitude to make it through this book and enjoy every minute of it. Count yourself lucky, because the tale this book has to tell is a doozie.
The story begins with a nice guy named Drew going on a road trip with his two new brothers-in-law, twins by the names of Dean and Dom Kowalski. The three are off to help Drew’s new, mother-in-law move, despite the fact that Drew never met her and the twins and his wife, Laura don’t like the mean, ex-hippie much. What starts off as a noble idea to help bring family closer together turns into the stuff nightmares are made out of once the trio reaches the small, isolated town of Utopia.
This strange northern California berg stared as a hippie commune but became more of a little slice of Moscow once the communists showed up. The failed red menace and the flower children are now all inbred together into a weird cult of ultra socialist ideas. Individualism is bad, togetherness is best, and a hive mind is key. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the significance of the honey coated fornicating freaks that I mentioned before, the “hive” in question comes from bees. It seems that the Commie cult has been playing around with genetic manipulation of bees and mind control in order to create the perfect society. Who cares if the people aren’t really all that human anymore, they’re loyal and obedient. Or at least, they should be. The happy hippy commie commune is in a bit of a pickle when Drew and the twins show up. A schism has divided the colony and a bloody war has broken out for control. Naturally the twins also become divided on who they should support in the conflict, which leaves Drew alone with a bunch honey-tweaking, Stalinist psychos. And just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, Drew must battle to hold on to his sense of self as the commune works to bring him into the fold, whether he wants to or not.
Perfect Union is an ambitious novel that wants to be a gory shock fest, a sociopolitical commentary on both the strengths and inherit flaws of communism, and a dark look at family, government, and how people connect to each as reflected in a cracked, smudged mirror. With sights aimed this high, does Mr. Goodfellow hit the mark? Well with this much of a story to tell, and with this much crazy going on, it would be easy for an author to lose sight of his target, but amazingly Cody nails it and he makes it look easy while doing it. This is one novel that actually has something to say, but it never gets preachy, and it always gives horror fans plenty of things to shiver over and be sickened by while delivering its message. Such things are rare and should be applauded when they manage to pull off that high wire act without misstep, so consider this my standing O for Perfect Union. If you are into the weird and like some brains mixed in with your blood and guts, then do yourself a favor and get this book. I simply can’t think of a more perfect union than this novel.
-- Brian M. Sammons
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The Sculptor, by Gregory Funaro; Pinnacle; 385 pgs; $6.99
Freshman novels got a reputation boost with the publication of Gregory Funaro’s The Sculptor. It is a serial killer novel written with depth and precision. It is the best Kensington release I have read in a good long while. In fact, I am surprised to see this novel come out as a paperback original. This writing would be more at home between hardcovers.
For The Sculptor, the author roles up a new crime fighter, FBI Special Agent Sam Markham, whose reputation for finding serial killers is put to the test with this year’s model, a murderer who preserves and poses his victims in reverent homage to the greatest works of Michelangelo. I can already smell the movie trailer. The object of The Michelangelo Killer’s eye is Cathy Hildebrant, an art historian who can “appreciate” the killer’s work. Cathy and Sam are intertwined in the action, naturally, and work together to sort out the mystery.
This story has all the requisite elements of a thriller: grisly crimes, fast-paced action, plot twists, and love interest. Funaro’s writing is well paced and sharp, needle-in-your-eye sharp. The prose is never sloppy nor too bare and the narrative does not lose itself along the way. The author builds tension steadily throughout and is not afraid to slap readers in the face from time to time to make sure they are paying attention. The resolution to the plot is satisfying and not overdone. In all, this novel is extremely well put together and a great read.
The ending neatly sets up the next book in the series. We’ll have to wait and see if Funaro goes down the Sam Markham/Cathy Hildebrant road again for his next creation or if instead he veers off in a new direction entirely. Either way, that next novel is a good bet. Recommended.
--Wayne Edwards
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Lesser Demons, by Norman Partridge, Subterranean Press, April 2010; 280 pgs., $25
The Best of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R.Lansdale, Tachyon Publications; February, 2010; 384 pgs; $15.95
Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror edited by Ellen Datlow; Tachyon Publications; March, 2010; 424 pgs.; $15.95
If you’re looking to support Edgar Allan Poe’s assertion that the short story is the most effective means of conveying “terror, or passion, or horror, or a multitude of such other points,” you don’t need to look any further than three recent releases, all featuring definitive proof that the short story is alive and well and thriving, at least in the horror genre. One, Darkness, is an anthology featuring stories from 1984 through 2005. The other two, The Best of Joe R. Lansdale and Norman Partridge’s Lesser Demons, are one author collections; Lansdale’s showcases bits and pieces from his entire career, while Partridge’s features more recent work.
The pick of this impressive litter has to be Datlow’s Darkness. As a concept, it must have seemed a can’t miss proposition, what with Datlow, one of the top editors in the horror and fantasy genre, selecting her favorites tales from over two decades, beginning in 1984, the year Clive Barker’s landmark Books of Blood premiered. Indeed, Barker’s “Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament,” opens the book, then cedes the stage, in rapid succession, to “Dancing Chickens,” by Edward Bryant, “The Greater Festival of Masks,” by Thomas Ligotti, and “The Pear-Shaped Man,” by George R. R. Martin. What follows from there is an eclectic and entertaining smorgasbord of horror, with entries from old dependables such as Peter Straub (“The Juniper Tree”), Stephen King (“Chattery Teeth”), and Ramsey Campbell (“No Strings”) balanced by tales from relative newcomers like the gifted Kelly Link (“The Specialist’s Hat”), Glenn Hirshberg (“Dancing Men”) and Joe Hill (“My Father’s Mask”).
As you might expect, the contents of The Best of Joe Lansdale are wide and varied, reflecting Lansdale’s broad range. Lansdale’s work can be, by turns, outrageous (“Fire Dog”), violent (“Night They Missed the Horror Show”), horrific (“Steppin’ Out, Summer, ’68), shocking (“Incident on and Off a Mountain Road”), but also earthy (“Cowboy”), touching (“Not From Detroit”), sentimental (“Mad Dog Summer”), and humorous (“Godzilla’s Twelve-Step Program”). The two words that inevitably come to mind when describing his work, though, are fearless and ruthless: he will do whatever it takes to achieve his effects, as long as it serves his goal of providing an entertaining tale.
In that this is billed as the “Best Of,” there can of course be quibbles about individual selections. For instance, it’s interesting to compare this collection to 2009’s Sanctified and Chicken Fried, published by the University of Texas Press). Of all the stories available for selection, these collections only have four in common, but they turn out to be the best, namely: “The Big Blow,” “Bubba Ho Tep,” “White Mule, Spotted Pig,” and “Night They Missed the Horror Show.” Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading these gems know they all make a fine starting point for any Lansdale retrospective. Although the differing contents of both books raises the question of whether either is truly a “best of”?, the issue does not justify much debate. The explanation is simple: there’s so much of quality to choose from, it’s ridiculously easy to have two (or more) books with widely varying contents.
Another writer who is ruthless when it comes to storytelling is Norman Partridge, whose short fiction is all about grabbing and holding your attention; his enviable skills are on ample display in his latest collection, Lesser Demons, which features ten tales guaranteed to entertain.
Written over the last decade, several stories within (“Second Chance,” the title story, “Carrion,” “And What Did You See in the World,” and “Durston)”, were created for themed anthologies (In Laymon’s Terms, Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, Retro Pulp Tales, J. K. Potter’s Embrace the Mutation, and Hardluck Stories: Western Noir, respectively). Although you might think that the author would be restricted or restrained by the boundaries of each anthology, this is far from the actual case, as each is clearly identifiable as a “Norm Partridge” tale.
Other sources for Partridge’s stories include the genre magazines Subterranean (“The Fourth Stair Up From the Second Landing” and “Road Dogs”), and Horror Garage, from which a personal favorite, “The Big Man,” a story paying tribute to the giant monster movies of the fifties, was taken. The second runner up for best tale in this volume is the only one original to this collection, the gritty “The Iron Dead,” featuring the tortured demon hunter Chaney. Like Lansdale, Partridge rarely visits the same territory twice; if he does choose to revisit a topic, it’s usually to show us something new and delightful we never would have imagined on our own.
--Hank Wagner
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The Butcher of Box Hill/Monster Town by Logan Savile; Bad Moon Books; 114 pgs; $65.00
Visually, Bad Moon Books’ release of The Butcher of Box Hill/Monster Town is a throwback to the flipbook style made popular by the Ace Doubles of the 1950s. Stylistically, it goes back further, cultivating a deliberately pulpish attitude from the adventure-based story-telling of the 1930s. These two stories, a collaboration by Steven Savile and Brian M. Logan (hence, Logan Savile) set the template for a possible ongoing series.
In an alternate world, monsters are real, and the government has been struggling to contain them since the Eisenhower administration. When supernatural beings are found, monster “wranglers” employed by a government-sanctioned offshoot of the Catholic Church are dispatched to destroy them, or incarcerate them in Monster Town, a prison for the beasties in the New Mexico desert which has become a money-generating tourist trap. In the first story J. D. Enron, wrangler extraordinaire, is dispatched to deal with a nest of things that go bump in the night, with tragic results. In the second, he must infiltrate Monster Town in order to rescue a runaway teen.
The stories are told in a fast-paced manner, and occasionally there is a tendency to get a little too cute. Enron’s secretary is named Winifred Winifred, blood “ejaculates” on the snow, and a character is described as a “leggy blonde with breasts you could ski down.” Still, the stories were very enjoyable, the second more so than the first, and the possible series shows promise. Cover and interior illustrations are by Darryl Elliot, and the book is limited to 100 copies. A novel length version of Monster Town is forthcoming.
-- Joe Howe
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Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout; www.harpercollins.com; 2010; 369 pgs.; $ 7.99
Leopoldo Gout has written quite the intriguing, compelling, and very entertaining first novel. And surprisingly, its success is due in part to the author’s willingness to bend literary rules as the structure of Ghost Radio is anything but traditional.
Ghost Radio’s plot revolves around a radio show, broadcast late in the evenings in Mexico called Ghost Radio that discusses the supernatural and invites listeners to call in with their own brushes with the unknown. The host of the show, Joaquin, is a young man who is being courted by a large company in the U.S. to relocate his show to the States. Joaquin is interested, but his girlfriend, who is also his co-host, thinks it’s a big mistake. Her problem is that Joaquin has been acting odd for quite some time now and he seems to be getting progressively stranger.
When Joaquin was a young boy he was in a bad auto accident where his parents, and two adults in the car they hit, were killed. In a weird twist, he became pals while in the hospital with a young boy who was in the vehicle they collided with. The two orphans grow up to become best friends who start a band of sorts, and play their music live from pirate radio stations. One night while staging a broadcast during a bad rainstorm, tragedy strikes and Joaquin’s best friend is electrocuted. While the memory of Joaquin’s friend has never left his mind, it seems that lately Joaquin is preoccupied with him. To the point where he believes his friend’s ghost is constantly trying to contact him. It turns out that he is, but what readers are then treated to isn’t any ordinary ghost story.
Ghost Radio is written in a somewhat non-linear manner. There are time jumps that occur throughout the story, and the narrative changes often, sometimes abruptly. And occasionally, right in the middle of a story line, Gout will bring us back to one of Joaquin’s broadcasts where we are treated to a seemingly random supernatural spooky story from one of his listeners. And there is a mystical side to the plotting; mostly involving something called Toltec Wisdom which is a fascinating read, but like everything else in Ghost Radio, it can be confusing.
Part of the allure of Ghost Radio is trying to figure out if Joaquin is the victim of hallucinations, brain hacking, flashbacks, out of body experiences, or is there really some sort of mysticism involved. He even teases the readers at one point saying that if Toltec Wisdom was real and everyone practiced it, we would be overrun with a whole bunch of Carlito (Carlos) Castanedas running all over the place.
Despite a bit of heavy lifting, Ghost Radio delivers an exciting ghost story that is entertaining and above all, pretty damn spooky. For those readers that enjoy non traditional horror stories which contain some depth and heft to them, Ghost Radio is a must read.
-- T. T. Zuma
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The Loving Dead, by Amelia Beamer; Night Shade Books, 2010; 256 pages; $14.95
The Loving Dead is a smallish book and a very quick read so you’ll probably zip through it in no time, despite it starting off kind of slow. Yeah I hate to say it, but it’s true. However it is also true that once things get going, they go fast and before you know it, the story is over leaving you wanting more. As someone that reads a lot of zombie books, that was both surprising and welcome.
What starts as random homeless guys attacking people on the street culminates at a party at Kate and Mike’s place, two room and workmates. Before anyone knows it, the zombie plague is spreading. This affliction is slow and sneaky, a STD of sorts, jumping from person to person through kisses and sex. Smooch the wrong person and before long you’re getting hot and horny and wanting to do anyone in sight, thereby spreading the disease far and wide. A short time after infection and your hunger for warm, nubile flesh changes from lust to lunch. Oh, and you also die.
Thrust into this wet and wild world, Kate and Mike must struggle to survive, dodging fiends that crave flesh for both sex and snacks, not to mention still human creeps taking advantage of the end of the world panic to give into their own, baser natures. Luckily for them they have a plan. Since they live in the Bay Area if they can get to Alcatraz, then they know they’ll be safe. The trick will be in getting there, together, alive, and uninfected.
The Loving Dead is a thoroughly modern tale of the undead, and one that I could relate to. No, not the horny zombie thing, you sickos. I’m talking about the characters that have actually watched zombie movies and have wondered, sometimes idily, sometimes obsessively, just what they would do during the zombie apocalypse. As both a Romero fan and someone who worked in shopping malls for quite a few years, I spent many a boring shift at the game store daydreaming my own Dawn of the Dead dreams. So often in zombie books and movies the characters are like, “gasp, what is that shambling dead thing?” Come on; is there anyone in the world now days that doesn’t know what zombies are? No. even my grandmother knows what zombies are and she’s never seen a …of the Dead flick, so it’s nice to see characters like that. They instant recognize the threat, and they know how to best deal with it…well at least they think they do.
Furthermore, modern tech also plays a big part in this story. Most notably with cell phones. I won’t go into specifics on the hows and whys because that would ruin something that’s both kind of silly, but also kind of cool, but I will say that I liked it. However if you’re not a fan of cell phones, how do you feel about zeppelins? Yes, there’re freaking zeppelins in this book. Again that’s just cool. And yes I could make a “oh the humanity” joke, but I’ll resist the urge to do so.
I enjoyed The Loving Dead. The characters were real and I actually cared about what happened to them, unlike folks in a lot of zombie tales where I’m just waiting to see how they become tasty meat snacks. The book is also chock full of humor, and I appreciated the story as much for the humor as I did for the horror. Now this novel may not be for everyone. There’s quite a bit of graphic sex, and even more graphic violence, but in a book about horny flesh eaters, you should be expecting that. What you may not expect is how good this book is, being the first novel from a young author. I was certainly surprised by it and I think you will be too. I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing what Amelia Beamer does next.
-- Brian M. Sammons
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At The Gates of Darkness, by Raymond E. Feist; Eos; 302 pgs; $27.99
Who doesn’t like a good dark fantasy? All the better, as always, when they come from the mind of an accomplished talent in the genre. Raymond E. Feist, a widely acknowledged master of the form, has written more dark fantasy novels than I have digits. His latest is At the Gates of Darkness, the second book in the Demonwar Saga.
This new book starts right where the previous one, Rides a Dread Legion, left off, continuing the story set in Midkemia a decade after the earlier cycle, the Darkwar Saga, ended. The world Feist draws up from his boundless imagination is rich with vibrant action and vivd color. It is populated by the best and the worst of beings: horrifying throngs of demons, necromancers, elves, demon kings, and wizards of all stripes. The conflict this time involves repelling a new dark alliance between a demon and a dark magician who want to take advantage of the weakened state of people after the battles in the previous book and, really, after the Darkwar itself a decade ago. The fighting is certain to be bloody and victory is not a forgone conclusion. What is abundantly signaled at the end of this story is that it’s not over yet. There will be a Book Three.
The only real criticism I have of at the Gates of Darkness is that, while the book is fairly episodic (has a beginning, middle, and end all its own), it is hard to step into the story at this point and appreciate the full scope of the events given that so much has come before. The problem is easily remedied by the studious reader who goes back and does the necessary homework of reading the other books first. It is a long road but one well walked if you are a dark fantasy fan. Recommended.
--Wayne Edwards
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The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry; St. Martin’s Griffin; 496 pgs. $14.99
Jonathan Maberry is back in a big way with his latest Joe Ledger novel, The Dragon Factory.
Maberry’s recent Ledger outing, Patient Zero, was a unique mixture of zombie horror and mainstream terrorism/counterterrorism elements. It’s “Tom Clancy meets George A. Romero.” You get the picture.
The Dragon Factory takes yet another step into mainstream fiction. Gone are the zombies, having been replaced by clones and transgenic creatures. Oh yes, and there is also a megalomaniac bad guy out to murder billions of people across the face of the Earth using weaponized pathogens that target specific populations.
The Boys from Brazil would be proud of The Dragon Factory. ‘Nuff said.
That’s not to say that Maberry’s newest novel is derivative. It’s infused with great characters—especially the one-time-Baltimore-police-detective-turned-pseudo-military-strike-force-commando Joe Ledger. Maberry, as he did in Patient Zero, alternates between third-person narrative and Ledger’s personal POV, which works flawlessly. The action shines when Ledger and his team are kicking ass and refusing to take names, though Maberry doesn’t disappoint when his characters are just having a conversation. The author gives real dimension to his characters and, just like in real life, they have their own plots and schemes percolating behind the scenes.
Joe Ledger fans will enjoy The Dragon Factory and it’ll leave them begging for more. Still, with his apparent move toward more mainstream speculative fiction, one cannot help but hope that Maberry still has a few more pure-horror-oriented novels like Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man’s Song, and Bad Moon Rising up his sleeve.
-- William A. Veselik
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