Horror World Book Reviews
November, 2006

THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE by Brian Keene
Review by Dennis Duncan

Jesus of Nazareth is heading back Bethany, a small village outside Jerusalem on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus and his disciples had to flee the area because the priests there accused him of blasphemy, and they tried to have him stoned. He decides to risk everything and return because his dear friend Lazarus has passed away. He plans to show everyone there that he is the True Son of God by bringing Lazarus back from the dead. He has prepared himself for the murderous priests, and betrayal by one of his own disciples, but he soon finds out that these aren't the only things he has to worry about.

Ob , Lord of the Siqqusim, a race of demonic creatures that can posses the bodies of the dead, has been waiting for this day. He despises God for banishing him and his kind into The Void, and he vows revenge. He plans to bring about The Rising. A time when he and his brothers can bring destruction to all of God's earthly creations.

The forces of Good and Evil are about to collide, and there can only be one winner.

I had the good fortune of getting an advanced copy of this short story of Brian's. I love all of his work but The Rising and City of the Dead are my personal favorites, so when I started this story my expectations were as high as they could get and Brian didn't disappoint. This story completely blew me away.

I had to go back and read it again, that is how much I enjoyed it.

The Resurrection and the Life is somewhat of a prequel to The Rising, and a lot of questions I had about Ob and the Siqqusim were answered in this story. Brian reveals Ob's origins, when he fell out of favor with God, and the true extent to his, and the rest of the Siqqusim's power. I won't give away any spoilers, but I can only hope one day that Brian will give us one more story that shows how Ob's war against God turns out.

The Resurrection and the Life is a must read for anyone who enjoyed The Rising and City of the Dead.

Biting Dog Press

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CURRENCY OF SOULS by Kealan Patrick Burke
Reviewed by Joe Kroeger

As I listen to everyone debate of the state that the horror genre is in today, all I can think about is the high quality and originality of the fiction that a great number of new writers are bringing to the table. One of the new writers that have literally exploded onto the scene is Kealan Patrick Burke. His contributions to the genre has yielded an originality that has turned a number of horror templates on their heads giving the reader a refreshing view of what horror fiction has to offer. And, with rich writing that can literally transport the reader to the world of his creating, Kealan Patrick Burke is a writer with a grand future ahead of him.

Going off in a whole new direction from his previous works, Kealan offers up his most original and compelling novel, Currency Of Souls. Kealan creates a novel rich with desperation and horrors of both the human and supernatural kind. Once again, he takes his readers on a journey that will leave them breathless and awaken their imaginations to horrors that they did not know could exist.

Currency Of Souls starts on a Saturday night in Eddie’s Tavern in a near-dead town where a select few of the locals meet, like every Saturday, to wait for Reverend Hill to “tell them who's going to die, and who's going to drive”. From this point on, Kealan’s novel deviates from the path of normalcy to a Dali-like landscape where reality becomes an illusion and the characters enter a nightmare world of their own making.

One of the best aspects of Currency Of Souls is the unique cast of characters. Each one is completely drawn up with their own originality that shines through creating a vivid cast that seem as alive as anyone you would meet in the real world. You get to know each of their quirks and abilities as you follow them through the world of Kealan’s design. He makes you care about the people he has populated his book with.

As always, the richness of Kealan’s writing brings every scene to life with his vivid descriptions and clean crisp text. His views of even the most normal details of life are enriched with the originality of the way he describes them. His choice of words always fit perfectly into what he is writing so not even a single word is wasted. You find yourself pausing just to take in his exquisite writing but are still left with an urgency to get through to the end of his thrilling story.

I cannot recommend a book more than Currency Of Souls by Kealan Patrick Burke. If you are looking for what is new in the horror genre then this novel is the perfect example of where it is heading. With the future of horror in the hands of writer like Kealan Patrick Burke, I have no doubt that it will have a bright and prosperous future.

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AXIOM-MAN by A.P. Fuchs
Reviewed by Joe Kroeger

If you are an avid fan of the superhero genre like I am, then Axiom-Man, the new novel by A.P. Fuchs, is a must read that I cannot recommend enough. Fuchs takes the best from Superman, Spider-Man, etc. and infuses it with his own fresh originality and rich writing to create a whole new superhero that is sure to live on among the greats.

Axiom-Man tells the story of Gabriel Garrison who had super powers granted him by a nameless messenger, giving him the opportunity to be a force for good within the world. Everything seems fine until one night, while flying through the city, he comes across a black cloud that seems to exude powerful negative energy. After the cloud disappears, a new superhero by the name of Redsaw appears on the scene, but is he really on the side of good like Axiom-man?

Fuchs not only tackles the action scenes with an edge-of-your-seat genius, but he also lets you in on the personal side of the main character’s life. He convincingly shows the reader Gabriel’s struggle with his career, his newfound powers and the unrequited love of the woman who works across from him everyday.

Axiom-Man starts right off the block with a gripping, action-filled story peppered generously with flashback scenes, allowing the reader a secret view of Gabriel as he receives and learns to use his powers. Fuchs adds enough to his story so the characters come alive and make you care about them and what happens as the story unfolds before you.

A.P. Fuchs takes on the superhero genre with newest superhero, Axiom-Man, and succeeds with flying colors. He has created a mythos with a distinct line between good and evil and a hero that will stand out from the rest. I hope to see a lot more of Axiom-man.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Axiom-Man and enjoy a writer who has a great future ahead of him.

Coscom Entertainment

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WILD THINGS: FOUR TALES by Douglas Clegg
Review by Mark Justice

Wild Things is a brief collection. Four stories. Two new, two previously published. In Clegg’s foreword he notes that each of the stories concerns itself with predator, prey and those caught between.

The first new piece is “The Wolf” two men – one young, the other not, both unnamed – hunt for an animal that has been killing sheep. But for one of the men, the roles become reversed and the true wolf is revealed.

“The American” is the other new story in Wild Things. A sad tale of love and obsession set in a café in Rome. Clegg’s deft touch with character is on display here. With very few words, he creates three fully realized, if a bit unlikable, individuals and propels them into an innocent meeting that could lead to something far worse.

The two reprints are “The Madness of Starlings” and “The Dark Game”. The latter is the longest piece in the book and the strongest. While it stands alone, it will have greater resonance for those who have read the author’s novel The Hour Before Dark. “The Madness of Starlings” is also about obsession and what happens when we realize we’re a very small part of a much larger and savage world.

Wild Things can be easily read in one sitting, though you may wish to parcel these tales out to prolong the experience of the craftsmanship and sheer storytelling Clegg displays here.

Cemetery Dance

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A VIEW FROM THE LAKE by Greg F. Gifune
Review by Robert Dunbar

"I have to get them out. It's the only way I know how to do it. Ever since I was a little boy, I've written things down. Thoughts, dreams, stories, poems, all of it written down, pounded out on old typewriters or scribbled here or there on pads and scraps of paper, like once I'd written it down I'd be free of it somehow."

~ "A View from the Lake"
by Greg F. Gifune

No one writes like this.

No one. Not now.

But there was a time when all American horror literature was an exploration of metaphysical terrors.  "Varney the Vampire" and "Wagner the Werwulf" -- with their attendant tidal explosions of gore -- represented an exclusively European manifestation of the genre, but here higher levels of sophistication held sway.  And though horror traditions may have originated in the Old World, New World writers refined the concept.  Henry James' atmospheric nuances and subtlety of expression elevated it to an art form, while William Sloane explored apocalyptic levels of existential evil.  Shirley Jackson helmed a new breed of writers who applied the burgeoning science of psychology to Gothic situations with shattering results.  Their ghosts -- demons of the mind all -- were empowered by guilty memories and repressed yearnings.  In short, they were lethal.  These authors terrorized with nothing so quaint as monsters but with a pervasive sense of another reality, a realm moving near to this world and sometimes intruding: not so much the fear of the unknown as an apprehension of the unimaginable.

No one creates work like this now … except Greg Gifune.

The complete writers' writer, crafting novels and stories with an elegance almost unheard of within the contemporary genre, Gifune reveals roots in the noir wordsmiths of another, more cultured era. His characters tend to be articulate, intelligent, aware, which renders their predicaments all the more disturbing.  An author whose core popularity has always been among the literati (Brian Keene referred to him as the genre's "best-kept secret"), Gifune has only recently begun to attract media attention, but even after six published novels and two collections of short stories his work remains amazingly little-known by the general public.  (Among his most popular works are "Down to Sleep," "The Bleeding Season," and "Deep Night.")  Why the relative obscurity?  Some authors possess such high standards of integrity that they resist all impulses toward self-promotion, and -- though admirable -- this stance can render a disservice to readers frequently reduced to perusing overrated efforts by those who are simply tiresomely adept at marketing.  When press attention has focused upon Gifune, however, the excitement of discovery rings loud and clear. The Rosewell Literary Review recently called him "one of the best writers of his generation."  What tedious self-marketer wouldn't kill for copy like that?

Gifune's latest novel, A VIEW FROM THE LAKE (available through both Shocklines and Project Pulp) represents a near-perfect distillation of his oeuvre. Trapped by a blizzard in a holiday cottage, a young widow must contend with the phantoms of drowned children, slowly emerging from the frozen lake, as well as with a husband who may not be dead so much as transmuted into something infinitely more shocking than a mere ghost.  The setting alone proves chillingly well realized. Nor is this an ordinary blizzard.  An expression of the paralyzing emotional frigidity of the characters, this snowfall blanks out the world with surreal intensity, reducing it to a blank page, an empty stage on which the terrible inevitability of the plot must play itself out.  In this accomplished and mature work, a permeating dread suggests the underlying fears that fuel all superstitions, all nightmares.  Make no mistake -- this is a devastating novel, vastly superior to the usual genre fare, as intellectually stimulating as it is viscerally frightening.  And the horror lurking at its heart may well be the ultimate supernatural manifestation.

Some quotes leap with meaningless monotony from the covers of paperback books, words like "terrifying, bloodcurdling, a new voice in horror fiction." How predictable. How empty. A truly new voice must evoke a new lexicon, rife with words like uncanny … hypnotic … profound …

Blindside Publishing

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JIGSAW - By Gord Rollo
Review by H Casper

I like unlikely heroes. I also like love stories mixed in with the gore, mayhem, and typically, supernatural aspect of a good, original horror story. Gord Rollo impresses with his first novel that uses technological advances, rather than supernatural elements, to aid in making the unbelievable acceptable. He pulls it off with high emotional impact while melding many genres into one gut-wrenching, action packed story with characters you either love or hate with a passion. But it's really a love story. Love of life and kindness and the fight for it with someone who has none. However, it can be more horrific to be alive than dead. The protagonist becomes a patchwork man like Frankenstein's Monster, yet is a hero on multiple levels.

Psychological terror and physical agony are exquisitely twisted together to create intense scenes. The Bleeding Room is a frightening place that is both morbid and nurturing at the same time. If it doesn't send chills through your spine, there's something wrong with your tingler. The goings on in the clock tower room will surely make you wince a bit. Then there's the ending. You won't find a perfect Hollywood ending, yet it is perfect. Some will surmise it, but if you pay attention to the story behind all the action and pain and blood, you'll be very satisfied. This novel spends time forming characters and plot and then takes off into a suspense-thriller, pain-filled page turner that will surprise you right to the end. Oh, and it's a damn fun read. I nominate it for Best Horror Novel of 2006.

Delirium Books

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A HOUSE DIVIDED byDeborah Le Blanc
Review by Patricia Snodgrass

Morgan Devillier’s life is falling apart. Despite her marriage to a wealthy Louisiana industrialist, and having four perfect little boys, Morgan is desperately unhappy. Her marriage is falling apart. Her children are a burden, and now that she lost her last infant, Morgan no longer sees any reason to live. So after her husband comes in drunk and passes out in the bedroom, Morgan quietly walks from one room to the next, turning on the gas heaters. Without lighting them.

Several years later, Keith Lafleur is given the house. He has his contracting company move the house to a small unassuming town called Windham, Louisiana. They divide the house into two separate buildings and place them across the street from each other.

What Keith Lafleur and the new tenants of the buildings don’t know is that the original occupants of the house never left. But there’s more going on than the typical haunting. Much more. Moweeze is the only one who knows exactly what’s going on, and she can’t talk.

Le Blanc populates her novel with intelligent highly believable characters. Each and every one of them is as real and familiar as your next-door neighbor. The dialect is clean and pure. The plot is intense and exquisitely paced. The scenes are rich and powerful, right down to the dead birds, the horror at Windham’s Mardi Gras parade and of course, Keith Lafleur.

I loved this book and I’m sure you will too. Highly recommended.

Leisure Books

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NEVER CEESE By Sue Dent
Review by W.D. Gagliani

When you hear the term "Christian horror" it's likely you'll think of the Left Behind series first, even though its readers probably don't think of it as horror. But slowly, there appears to be a subgenre unfolding, coming to terms with the inherent contradictions of the term Christian horror and finding that (like "Christian rock" or "Christian metal") shades of light and dark can be used to impart a moral with or without overt bloodshed. And why not? Our fairy tales have sprung through Christian tradition and, whether in their original (bloodier) or more watered-down versions, they have always offered some message about the results of making wrong choices. There's no reason our beloved horror archetypes can't be coaxed into doing the same.

Sue Dent's YA-oriented Never Ceese is a good example of an approach that works despite a few minor flaws. Choosing humor over dread, Dent takes two familiar creatures of the night -- a vampire and a werewolf -- and crosses their paths as they struggle with their cursed existence. Richard is a vampire who's gotten used to the perks, but who longs for mortality. He lives in a Welsh castle and doesn't shy away from computers, using the internet to make blood purchases to keep himself away from the locals and their flocks. Penelope, an aging woman he calls Mama', lives with him and refuses his offer of immortality while longing for him to find what he seeks. Now near death, she "summons" Ceese (short for Cecilia), a young woman much more comfortable in her wolf skin, to the castle -- convinced her two friends can help each other reverse their curse and regain not only mortality, but the chance for a heavenly afterlife. Secretly, she's been corresponding with her granddaughter Cassie, a college grad student whose interest in genetics and DNA -- and belief in vampires -- just might hold some promise of a cure.

The book's publicity states: "Can two who were wronged make it right?" Herein lies one of its charming twists. Ceese and Richard hate each other on sight, and rub each other the wrong way no matter what they do. But Penelope coerces them into tolerating each other by using their love for her. The result is amusing. You might say, "Can a persnickety vampire and an uncouth werewolf share a Welsh castle without driving each other crazy?" (Cue pipe organ version of The Odd Couple theme.)

The two attempt to coexist without killing each other, which is impossible anyway because they're immortal. What's played as another neat little twist is how their cursed immortality cancels out the possibility of faith-based eternal life, and that speaking or thinking "holy" thoughts or even words hurts them physically like a crucifix or a silver bullet. The author makes the most of the curse and its cure, which allows her to pack them off on a quest, turning the book into a "fish out of water" story as they travel from Wales to New York to meet Cassie, whose secrets have been penetrated by Rodney, her unscrupulous roommate. The book's Dr. Frankenstein-figure, Professor Henderson, a disgraced stem-cell research scientist whose interest in cloning has given way to a lust for the immortality that vampire and/or werewolf blood may grant him, makes a belated villainous appearance here.

The chase is on as the evil scientist uses weapons at his disposal to track down the objects of his own quest. The spunky heroes learn a few lessons along the way, and we're left with the lead-in to a forthcoming sequel. Though the cautionary Frankenstein theme sneaks into the latter half by way of an over-the-top mad scientist caricature conveniently presented as an ethically-challenged college professor, the action rarely lags. Never Ceese is entertaining for middle readers up to adult level, making its spiritual points mostly without becoming pedantic. Older readers may wonder why Richard and Ceese don't utilize more of their powers against their enemies, but it's clearly done to de-emphasize the dark natures of the monsters in order to increase their humanity. That this is essentially contradictory may be the novel's point, but it seems occasionally overwrought. The straightforward prose, vivid action and moral crises of the rather chaste versions of our favorite so-called monsters will enthrall audiences who want less darkness in their horror. Those of us who may be somewhat jaded will find it mild, but may still appreciate the monsters' heroic efforts and the author's crisp storytelling.

Journey Stone Creations

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THE FLOCK by James Robert Smith
Review by Nate Kenyon

Smith’s first novel centers around the mysteries contained in a vast, mostly uncharted, wilderness preserve in Florida. Fish and Wildlife officer Ron Riggs is investigating a series of dog disappearances on the outskirts of Salutations, a planned community designed and built by the Berg Brothers Studio, a Hollywood moviemaking machine turned developer. The Studio has big plans for the rest of the 400,000 acres of wilderness next to Salutations, but they’re currently locked in a battle with billionaire environmentalist Vance Holcomb and retired Colonel Winston Grisham for control of the land.

What few suspect is that this wilderness is home to the last of a prehistoric bird-like predator, sort of a cross between an ostrich and a velociraptor, which possesses near human intelligence and an uncanny ability to conceal itself within its environment. The Flock has managed to avoid man for thousands of years, but now one of its own has gone rogue, and threatens to expose them to the world once and for all.

Riggs (along with new friends and a former lover) is caught in the middle, and it isn’t long before he’s fighting for his life with both animal and human enemies at every turn, each seemingly more vicious and cunning than the next.

The Flock is a more than capable thriller that echoes Crichton’s Jurassic Park in a number of ways. There are some particularly well-handled elements that make this novel stand out from the crowd. Smith has clearly done his research. The Flock itself is very well developed, with Smith taking care to demonstrate how such an animal could remain hidden for so long (he even chooses to write some chapters from their point of view, which sounds like it would fall flat, but actually works quite well).

Although the characters and some of the story threads are a bit predictable, the novel is very well written and nicely plotted. Fans of Crichton and readers looking for a fast and thrilling read will find exactly what they’re looking for here. Recommended.

Five Star Press

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BOUND IN FLESH by David Thomas Lord
Review by Mark Justice

Don’t start at the beginning, writers are told. Start in the middle.

David Thomas Lord has taken this advice to heart.

Bound In Flesh seems to start halfway into the story as we witness ex-cop Mike O’ Donald who has become half man, half vampire by – I’m not making this up – biting off a vampire’s penis and swallowing it. He’s quickly kidnapped by another vampire, who whisks him out of the country to do battle with an ancient –

Hold on.

Trying to summarize Bound In Flesh isn’t easy. There’s a lot of story crammed into the nearly three hundred pages, and it’s not easy reading.

Multiple viewpoints within the same scene and shifts from third to first person provide a challenge to the reader. Still, if one perseveres, Bound In Flesh is a satisfying experience.

Lord writes with manic energy, sort of like Anne Rice on crack. His vampires are nasty creatures, consumed with the sucking of blood and, uh, other things. In directly contrast to much of today’s mass market horror fiction, Lord doesn’t pad out his novel to stretch the word count. In fact, a few extra chapters might have added more to the story.

Ultimately, Bound In Flesh is a gory vampire novel with a unique depiction of those ubiquitous creatures of the night. It’s well worth a couple of evenings’ time.

Kensington Books

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SINISTER PURPOSES by Gary Raisor
Review by Joe Kroeger

I immersed myself into Gary Raisor’s new collection, Sinister Purposes, not knowing fully what to expect, but I came away (a little shaken I must admit) with a satisfying reading experience. However, I should put the warning out right off the bat that this book is not for the faint of heart. Gary does not leave anything out while spinning these tales dripping in vivid Technicolor gore. Fans of horror in all its gruesome details will not be disappointed.

The stories center around the quaint town of Eden, Georgia where death seems to be an everyday occurrence (and not just the peaceful in your sleep kind either). Each story provides the reader with a gruesome snapshot of the horrors that are enveloping this town. We are led through these tales with brief musings from the mysterious character of Father Aron who seems to know the face of the evil inhabiting Eden.

The one thing about this book that bothered me was the emphasis that was placed on the stories combining to create one novel rather than taking each story as an individual tale with the ability to stand on its own merits. This book would have been better served as a straight-forward story collection in the same vein as Gary Braunbeck’s Cedar Hill collections. Striving for a cohesive whole distracts the reader from the brilliance that is evident within each story.

Each story shows Gary’s talent in taking the reader into his world and leading them wherever he wants them to go. Not only does Gary go for the gross out in his stories, but he also sends a chill down your spine as the horror emerges from the most common facets of life in Eden.

Be sure to get your hands on a copy of Sinister Purposes by Gary Raisor, an author who fully understands what it takes to keep the horror genre alive and kicking..and slashing…and crushing…and…

Cemetery Dance

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DEMON THEORY by Stephen Graham Jones
Review by Nate Kenyon

Written as a “literary film treatment” for a trilogy of horror movies, Demon Theory tells the story of Hale and his med student friends as they struggle against a group of what appears to be winged demons or a serial killer, depending on the particular point of view. In part one, Hale and his friends travel to Hale’s childhood home to save his diabetic mother. When they arrive they discover she has disappeared, and a killer stalks them one by one as a snowstorm closes in. In part two, Hale is a comatose patient in a hospital under attack by the demons, and in part three, the crew once again returns to Hale’s home and tries to decipher their various scattered memories of the earlier events, before the killer can strike once again.

Yet there’s plenty more going on behind the scenes of Demon Theory. This is a novel/screenplay/film treatment/pop culture encyclopedia, littered with footnotes on obscure references from Sleepaway Camp to Hannibal Lecter. Everything in Demon Theory is born from something else, and that is both part of its charm and a nod to typical Hollywood cannibalism; the nature of cinema is parasitic at best, and Demon theory illustrates this point with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

So is this a ripping good yarn, or some sort of scholarly work in experimental form? The short answer is that it works on some level as both, but is not a perfect example of either. A good novel requires an effective suspension of disbelief, and Demon Theory is far too self-aware. The footnotes are often fascinating but equally distracting, and sometimes serve to yank readers out of the story. Demon Theory is the equivalent of watching a movie with the director's commentary turned on.

As a study of horror-as-pop-culture, Demon Theory provides just enough to tantalize us with its promise. Jones knows his stuff, and it would be interesting to see what he might do with a more complex look at the history of the horror genre. Still, the footnotes and asides are often fascinating insights into horror past and present.

Overall, Demon Theory is a worthy entry into the “intelligent horror” genre. Readers would do well to read the book twice--once through without the footnotes, and then again with them to fully appreciate both the story itself and the subtext.

MacAdam/Cage

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FOUR OCTOBERS by Rick Hautala
Reviewed by Joe Kroeger

As he himself states in the introduction of his new collection, Rick Hautala feels most at home writing novella length fiction. Four Octobers proves this without a doubt by bringing together four loosely connected novellas into one magnificent book just in time for Halloween. Each novella is a snapshot of a Halloween past. Each story practically drips with beautiful imagery and richly remembered nostalgia creating four stories that read like instant classics.

Rick Hautala starts out the collection with his short novella Tin Can Telephone, which I felt was the novella richest in nostalgia. The story, set in 1957, follows the main character that is heading out with his friend and sister in the early morning hours to witness as Sputnik travels across the evening sky. This in itself, mixed with his rich writing, is good enough for a story, but Rick takes it to darker territories with an original, but not completely explained, supernatural element.

Miss Henry’s Bottles, widely viewed as his best story to date, follows the chain of events that start with a harmless prank and lead to the revelation of secrets that are best left hidden. Although this is not strictly a horror story, I agree with the majority that this novella is Rick Hautala’s best written and wholly realized story I have come across. The darkness and atmosphere are subtle but pack an outstanding emotional punch.

The main character of Blood Ledge takes a literal leap and discovers a past that proves haunting and inescapable. Although this tale is as richly written and deeply nostalgic as the others, I was left feeling that there should have been more to complete the story.

He closes out the collection with the most emotional and richly imagined story of the book. In Cold River, the main character is so grief stricken over the loss of his wife that his life takes on a sleepless and surreal quality that has him questioning his own existence. This novella is so rich with emotion and atmosphere that you feel yourself actually pulled into his struggle with his own reality as you anxiously await the story’s outcome.

As a whole, these four novellas come together perfectly to create a complete Halloween collection that will have you reflecting back to that special time in your life. Rick Hautala perfectly captures the emotion and atmosphere of the Halloween season with stories that proves he has earned his place as a master of the horror genre.

I highly recommend Four Octobers by Rick Hautala for some great Halloween reading.

Cemetery Dance

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NIGHT WARS by Graham Masterton
Reviewed by Joe Kroeger

Having read the previous three books of the Night Warriors series, I was excited to hear that Graham Masterton was revisiting the series again after such a long hiatus. With Night Wars, Masterton continues the Night Warrior saga flawlessly with a story line that exceeds the other books with its originality and exciting pace. The only disappointment I had with this book was the long wait I had to endure to read a new Night Warrior novel.

In this chapter of the series, two demons are invading the dreams of unborn children because it is said that children “dream the secrets of the universe” until they are born and forget them. Like most demons, their intentions are far from honorable so it is up to a new breed of Night Warriors to enter the dream realm to protect the children as well as the entire world.

One major point that should be noted to anyone coming to this series for the first time is that, even though this is marketed as a straight horror novel, this book leans mostly towards the fantasy genre. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of horror elements that are sure to satisfy any reader of the horror genre, but the majority of this story line reads like a quest fantasy that seems more at home in the “Dungeons & Dragons” arena. If this horror and fantasy fusion does not bother you then let not your heart be troubled and dive right in to this well crafted tale.

The element that made this book a must read for me was the absolute originality that invades even the most basic elements of the story. After reading (and re-reading) the descriptions of the two main demons you may need to pause and take a breath just to give your own imagination a chance to catch with the rich imagery flowing from the page. It is this originality and imagery that takes this richly developed story and lifts it from your run-of-the-mill Nightmare On Elm Street wanna-be to an exceptional novel that stands out from anything that has come before it.

Any fan of Graham Masterton can safely add Night Wars to their library without fear of disappointment. This novel is a must read for anyone who enjoys the chills of horror and the rich imagery of fantasy.

Leisure Books

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BEASTS by Shannon Riley
Review by Angela Bennett

Diana always felt different but by trying to fit in she finds herself in an abusive relationship that threatens not only her life but the life of her daughter Chrissie. After awakening in the woods after another bought of sleepwalking, she returns home only to be beaten by her husband. She finds sanctuary with the grandmother who raised her. Her grandmother tells her of a family gift - one that can save her and her child if she is only brave enough to use it.

Part fairy tale, part legend, part story of survival - Shannon Riley weaves an compelling tale of woman's journey to find the inner strength to claim her birthright and protect her family. I highly recommend spending a few hours with Beasts.

Southern Rose Productions

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SPIDER PIE by Alyssa Sturgill
Review by Dennis Duncan

A woman gives birth to a litter of kittens. Another woman finds out that she is pregnant and about to give birth to a television. A man sells bags of hair on the black market. A man installs a zipper into his arm for drug use. A serial killer likes to prey on albinos.
Bunny aliens plan to invade earth. All of these things take place in Spider Pie. A short story collection from the genre of Irrealism or as most people refer to it as Bizarro. Alyssa Sturgill has written a collection of short stories that cant be defined.

Reading Spider Pie is like having the most bizarre dream you could imagine, or having a acid trip from hell. That is the only way I can describe this book. I have read a lot of different Bizarro stories but this one takes the cake. Spider Pie is on a level all its on and I loved every minute of the experience. It took a very vivid and wild imagination to comes up with these stories. I especially enjoyed Leviathan, Born, Not Made, I wear Black to Mourn Myself, and The Secret Ingredient. I had to go back and read them over and over again. They are gruesome, poetic, and satiric.

I highly recommend Spider Pie to anyone who enjoys the bizarre and surreal. This book was a pure joy to read and I won't soon forget it. If Carlton Mellick is the King of the Bizarro genre then Alyssa is the Queen. She is one of the brightest new voices out there and I can't wait to see what she gives us next. Go grab a copy for yourself and see what I mean. You wont be able to put it down.

Raw Dog Screaming Press

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