Horror World Book Reviews
May, 2006

THE CONQUEROR WORMS by Brian Keene
Review by Dennis Duncan

One day it starts raining and never stops. Along with the rain comes super tornadoes, massive earthquakes and monster tsunamis. Farmlands are submerged and cities are flooded or washed away. Every inch of the planet is affected. Scientists can't explain what is causing the phenomenon.

The Polar Icecaps eventually melt and soon the only safe places on the planet are on mountain tops. Teddy Garnett and his friend Carl Seaton are two elderly men that live in the mountains of West Virginia. They spend their days trying to stay dry and debating on what is causing the global catastrophe. They soon discover that the rain isn't the only thing that they should be worried about. Weird sounds from outside are waking them at night. A unknown fungus is starting to grow all over the plants and animals that are still alive. Giant slime coated holes are popping up outside Teddy's house. They soon find themselves fighting for their lives against giant man eating Earthworms. The old world is passing away and a ancient evil from deep within the earth is rising to lay claim to the planet.

Brian is one of the best new horror authors in the game today and The Conqueror Worms is one of the reasons why. I was hooked on the first page. I story is original and moves at a very fast pace. The cast of characters in The Conquer Worms are very believable. I especially liked Teddy; Brian made him jump out of the pages. A lot of people that read this book say that Teddy reminds them of their grandpa and I totally agree. He is one of the most memorable characters of any story I've read.

Fans of apocalyptic fiction or horror in general must grab a copy of The Conqueror Worms. It is one heck of a ride that never disappoints.

Leisure

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PANDORA DRIVE by Tim Waggoner
Review by Nate Kenyon

There's something very odd about Damara. When she was just eleven years old, her father disappeared into a house of mirrors at an abandoned amusement park. He never came back. And that wasn't the only strange disappearance in her family; her five year-old brother was dragged through the bathtub drain by some sort of monster, never to be seen again. These two events have shaped her life forever, and turned her into a recluse-she never leaves her mother's house. She's discovered a terrible secret about herself: it seems that when people are around her, their deepest, darkest fears come to life. And she can't afford to let it happen anymore.

But all that is about to change. Damara, now in her twenties, is having more and more trouble keeping her special abilities in check. When childhood crush Tristan returns to the neighborhood, things get progressively worse. A suspicious gray ooze begins to seep from Tristan's basement. Damara's next-door neighbor, Kenneth, finds that his erectile dysfunction has been cured, and his member becomes a deadly weapon. And Kenneth's wife finds her green thumb has become useful for more than just gardening.

All that's just for starters. Like Damara's deadly gift, Waggoner's wild and inventive imagination is given free reign in Pandora Drive, and the result is an acid trip through hell, sprinkled with Freudian sexual undertones and a generous helping of blood and gore. Those with strong stomachs will be well rewarded with a story that is expertly plotted and refreshingly unique. In fact, Pandora Drive is all story; Waggoner seems to work hard at keeping the prose from getting in the way. The result is a novel that is easy to read and surprisingly fast-paced, even with the surreal nature of the plot. As weird as Pandora Drive gets (and it gets very weird, indeed), it never veers off course-that is until the very end. The climax of the novel will leave more than a few readers scratching their heads with the nature of Damara's talent-and who is actually in charge.

Still, Pandora Drive is well worth the price of admission. Waggoner is swiftly gaining a reputation as one of the best working in the horror field today, with his last novel Like Death on many reader's best of 2005 lists. This latest effort may just keep him there for 2006.

Leisure

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THE ATTRACTION by Douglas Clegg
Review by Dennis Duncan

Five college friends decide to take a road trip cross country to California for spring break. They want to get away from their little private college in the Virginia mountains and see the country. They start noticing road signs in Arizona that say "Come see the Attraction! The unspeakable unknowable Mystery!" They end up having a breakdown in the Arizona Desert and a trucker gives them a lift to a local gas station.

It is called the Breakdown Palace and it is the very place where the "Mystery" is kept. They decide to go have a look and see what it is all about. Located in the back of the store in a glass case with a sign above it saying "Do not feed" is a small, mummified corpse with long, sharp fingernails. It is called a Flesh-Scraper. The ancient Aztecs used it to scrap the flesh off the bones of sacrifices. One of the friends thinking it is all a stupid hoax decides to steal it, but when they have another breakdown in the desert they soon realize that Flesh-Scraper is a lot more than just a road side attraction hoax. They have awaken an Ancient Evil with one thing on its mind. "Human Flesh"

I had never read any of Clegg's work before so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started. I am kicking myself now for not giving his stories a chance sooner. I couldn't put this book down. It grabbed me on the first page and wouldn't let go. I ended up reading most of the night away. I had a stiff neck and only got a few hours sleep, but it was worth it. The Attraction has a original plot and very believable characters. The story moves at a incredible rate and never lags. The only complaint I have is that it was a little short. I thought it could have been at least a lot longer than 175 pages, but that aside The Attraction is worth every cent.

There is also a Novella called The Nercomancer in this book. It is a prequel to the Harrow House novels and it is mainly drawn from the diaries of a young Justin Gravesend. Fans of the Harrow House books will love this story. I have got to read the Harrow House trilogy now.

To sum up The Attraction is one of the best stories I've read this year. I got a whole lot more than I expected, and I am now a Clegg fan.

Leisure

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WOLF'S TRAP by W.D. Gagliani
Review by Gary Frank

Detective Nick Lupo isn't your average police officer. As a matter of fact, he's not your average human being. Years ago, Nick was bitten by a huge German shepherd that turned out to be a werewolf. Now Nick suffers from lycanthropy and each time the full moon arrives, he heads north to a secluded bungalow. Martin Stewart knows all about Nick and what he is and hasn't forgotten what the cop stole from him. Martin has been biding his time and he's decided the time is right to make Nick pay.

Mr. Gagliani has written an exciting, fast-paced thriller with plenty of sex, violence, and blood with a dash of prog-rock thrown in (Nick is very much into Genesis). He could've approached the werewolf theme in the same way it's been done before, but he offers us a cross between traditional European werewolf mythology and present day police procedural so the result is something new and fresh.

There are a number of metaphoric comparisons going on, including monster vs. monster (werewolf versus serial killer), the dark wilderness of the big city and the dark wildness of the Wisconsin wilderness. This is more than your typical werewolf novel, it is a glimpse into one man's inner struggle to control his darker impulses, even using them without being consumed by them.

The true terror comes from Martin Stewart who is one of the more sadistic and ruthless men in horror literature. What has happened to make him the person he is now is quite twisted and yet Mr. Stewart could very well be the person sitting next to you on the bus or in the movie theater. I won't go into his psychosis, suffice it to say I will never look at lipstick the same again!

Mr. Gagliani's writing is smooth and easy to read and even when he switches characters, which, towards the end of the book he does quite often, I never felt confused or pulled out of the story by the shifting points of view. His characters are compelling and real so that you care about them, despising the vulgar bullies and cheering on the "good" guys.

Simply put, this book rocks. It's fun, exciting, gritty, sexy, and nasty, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

Leisure

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NIGHT PRAYERS by P.D. Cacek
Review by Patricia Snodgrass

PD Cacek gives the reader an excellent reason as to why it's never a good idea to pick up men in singles bars. Her protagonist, Allison, meets Seth in a seedy Country and Western bar. He lures her with his good looks, charm, and champagne, and a weekend in an equally seedy hotel. When she wakes up she discovers Seth is a vampire, and now, so is she. After a weekend of bloodlust, he abandons her. As he leaves he offers her only one piece of advice. It's best to be on your own. Not long afterwards, she discovers why.

Night Prayers isn't the typical story of vampire angst. And Allison isn't your typical vampire. Disoriented and abandoned, she must make her way in a world that no longer makes sense to her. She is befriended by Luci, a fellow vampire and exotic dancer who introduces her to a night club that caters to 'furverts.' Mica the preacher boy is an evangelical Christian and unlikely ally who assists her, although its not by choice on Allison's part. She's allergic to him, it seems.

Night Prayers is probably one of the funniest and best-written vampire books I've read in a long while. Cacek's sardonic humor is a perfect match for the plot, and the wit and puns that accompany the story line fortifies an already interesting take on an age-old tale about vampires, lust and retribution.

Cacek's story is seamless, interesting and entertaining. It is a genuine page-turner, with room to grow a sequel or two. Night Prayers is a tale I am most happy to recommend.

Leisure

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VAMPIRE HUNTER D: RAISER OF GALES by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Translated by Kevin Leahy. Illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano.
Review by Steve Middaugh

The adventure continues with, "Raiser Of Gales," where Vampire Hunter D breezed into town to negotiate with the mayor. Before that happens, he goes into the ruins of what was once a castle belonging to the Nobility commonly known to be vampires.

When he sees the mayor, he learns what happened ten years ago, when four children went AWOL and the villagers were in a state of panic. Only three children returned but the fourth remained missing. They had no recollection of what had transpired. Two children were normal but the third later went insane.

This happened ten years ago. Now the villagers have had vampire attacks and it's deja vu. The mayor went further and claimed that vampires were now walking in daylight. However, D suspects there's more to the story than meets the eye. As the attacks became more frequent and getting stranger and stranger involving the figure in grey, D also discovered that this town was harboring more dark secrets than what was being told to him.

He suspects the connection lies between the ruins and the three survivors. As the attacks had gotten progressively worse, Lina, one of the three survivors, is treated badly at the hands of villagers, especially the mayor who's not all that innocent as the reader will find out later.

Hopefully, this will wet your appetite to get a hold of this copy of D's further adventures. Like with the first Vampire Hunter D novel, it's fast paced, crisp dialogue, with several frightening moments of horror. It gets even darker by the time the story ends in a tragedy when D finally solves the mystery. Just because when you think the Nobility's finally extinct, you can't help but wonder if the vampires ever had problems staying dead.

Several baffling scenes would cast suspicions on certain characters that D has come into contact with. Like Lina who seemed intent on following D whenever he went not to mention latching onto him. What were her motivations here? Is it curiosity? Or is it that she wanted to know what really happened to her ten years ago when she and her three companions disappeared.

Still a damn good book. It's even better than the first one, if a reader doesn't get too annoyed with some clichéd phrases like "...cockles of her heart"; although this problem lies mostly in Kevin Leahy's translation

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