Horror World Book Reviews
October, 2006

HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill
Review by Joe Kroeger

Still fresh from the success of his highly celebrated short story collection, Twentieth Century Ghosts, Joe Hill storms his way into the fiction mainstream with his debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box. Fast-paced, thrilling and at times hauntingly disturbing, Joe Hill creates a novel that is sure to stand up proudly against any of the classic ghost stories that reside on your bookshelf.

Judus Coyne, a Goth/Rock star at the end of his career, receives an email that says “buy my stepfather's ghost” so he does because it will fit perfectly into his gruesome collection along side his used hangman’s noose and real snuff film. Joe Hill tells the story of what happens after the dead man's suit is delivered within a black heart-shaped box and turns Jude’s world upside down. This all happens within the first three chapters. To go any further into the intricate plot would ruin the puzzle that Hill so expertly reveals to us as the story propels us forward with a white-knuckled grip on the book.

Like many of the greats before him, Hill weaves more into his story than meets the eye. A simple story about a ghost turns into a man whose past has come back to haunt him with a vengeance making him realize you can’t change who you really are or where you come from.

Breathing new life into the ghost story, he tells this tale with his own distinctively unique view of the afterlife haunting the pages with a ghost that has “black scribbles over his eyes”. Using rich imagery that at times ran a chill down my spine, Joe Hill’s writing will haunt your mind long after the final page is turned.

Already optioned to be made into a motion picture, this novel reads like it belongs on the big screen. Without any wasted words or images. Joe hill takes the reader on an exciting and haunting thrill ride that does not let up until the final chilling pages.

Heart-Shaped Box is destined to be the breakthrough horror debut of 2007 featuring a writer starting out with a level of maturity that most writers search for their entire careers.

Subterranean Press

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

DESTINATIONS UNKNOWN by Gary Braunbeck
Review by Patricia Snodgrass

There is only one word you can use to describe Gary Braunbecks’ writing. Outstanding! Braunbecks’ stories are more than just wonderful story telling, they’re a phenomenon unto themselves.

Take for instance, the three stories contained in his latest book, Destinations Unknown. The first story, a novella entitled The Ballad of Road Momma and Daddy Bliss, shines a whole new light on the concept of roadside repairs. The protagonist, a man innocuously called “Driver,” by Daddy Bliss becomes entangled in an unseen world where the Highway is more than just a place to get you from point a to point b

Driver has no knowledge of this. But he finds out more than he ever wants to know when he enters Mrs. Driscoll’s posh apartment and finds it jammed with tiny cars and racing tracks. The story really moves when he has to take the late Mrs. Driscoll home to her relatives in another state.

The second offering is entitled Congestion. Like The Ballad of Road Momma and Daddy Bliss, Congestion is written in the first person and involves a man who is in the process of having a heart attack. He hates cars, but instead of calling an ambulance, he decides to drive himself to the hospital. As luck would have it, he gets stuck in a traffic jam.

In the final story, Merge Right, Matt Leigh drives out to Niagara Falls to fulfill his late wife’s final request. To have her ashes scattered in winter. She was romantic that way. Instead, Matt finds himself being forced to merge right several times while driving. And the bad thing is, he has to keep driving or he’ll never find his way home.

These are all excellent stories, well executed, and impeccably paced. I couldn’t stop reading. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I have placed it back in my to be read pile. The only drawback is the price tag, but I promise it’s worth every penny.

Highly recommended.

Cemetery Dance

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

DARK HARVEST By Norman Partridge
Review by Nate Kenyon

A Midwestern town. You know its name. You were born there. It’s Halloween, 1963…and getting on towards dark. Things are the same as they’ve always been. There’s the main street, the old brick church in the town square, the movie theater—this year with a Vincent Price double-bill. And past all that is the road that leads out of town. It’s black as a licorice whip under an October sky, black as the night that’s coming and the long winter nights that will follow, black as the little town it leaves behind.

Thus opens Dark Harvest, Norm Partridge’s newest novel from Cemetery Dance Publications, a tour-de-force of Twilight Zone noir that reads like a half dream, half drug-induced hallucination of what Rod Serling might have come up with at one a.m. on a particularly dark Halloween night.

Told in a second-person narration that lends credence to its surreal, alternate-universe vibe, Dark Harvest introduces us to the October Boy, a local legend with a pumpkin for a head and a mean streak a mile wide. At least, that’s the rumor, and all the teenage boys in town have been locked up for five days straight without food to get them hungry enough to hunt him down. They call this the Run.

The October Boy is grown every year in a field full of corn husks and vines, and every year he’s cut down, carved up, and stuffed with candy. Then he’s set free. His goal: to reach the little church in the center of town in one piece, and he’s ready to slice up anyone who stands in his way. Whoever takes him down will become the chosen one, showered with gifts and given a free ticket out of town, while all the rest remain behind for another year.

In the middle of all this is Pete McCormick, a local boy who dreams of winning the Run and escaping town once and for all. He’s got an alcoholic for a father and he’s just a little too smart for his own good. The town badge already hates him, he’s been in trouble before, and things are about to get rapidly worse.

Because the October Boy is not what he seems, and Pete’s about to find that out the hard way.

Dark Harvest is nothing short of spectacular, a refreshingly different and oddly heartwarming tale of myth and magic that makes full use of Partridge’s unique voice. This is a story only he could have written, with open nods to Bradbury, Serling, and some of the greatest American westerns. In many ways, this is a classic gunslinger tale told in a fresh setting, complete with wild western showdown at the climax, albeit with a rather unique hero. It’s also a coming of age story where the teenagers in this little Midwestern town must literally fight to escape the clutches of childhood—only to find that becoming an adult is nothing like what they thought it would be.

Whether intentional or not, Dark Harvest has a lot to say about military culture as well. Readers from that era (and this one, for that matter) might recognize a 60s/Vietnam draft vibe, where leaders try to pump up the youngsters who don’t know any better to go out and fight for love of God and country (or in this case, their families). It isn’t long before the youngsters find out that war isn’t like what they’ve been told, but of course, for many of them it is too late.

The only problem with Dark Harvest is that it ends far too soon. Partridge is one of the horror genre’s most talented stars, and he shines very brightly here. Highly recommended.

Cemetery Dance

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

DAMAGE by Lee Thomas
Review by Michael Myers

Something’s wrong in Pierce Valley. A sinister presence is pulling the strings as tempers flare and blood is spilt in this once quiet town. Doug McQueen awakens from a coma, induced by a vicious attack that is somehow connected with what is going on. Shunned by his wife for an infidelity he can’t remember, Doug gets taken in by his brother Frank. Suffering from selective amnesia, Doug must face the reality that he was not the loving husband and father that he remembers. Also lost is his possible connection to the growing darkness enveloping the citizens and animals of his town.

Deftly written into this story of mystery, murder and dark arts, Lee Thomas tackles some to life’s greatest questions in the upcoming Sarob Press release Damage. Who are we? Is a person defined by who they were or who they are? Can a person truly change? Can someone redeem themselves from a lifetime of selfish decisions?

I enjoyed Damage which is rich with colorful and deep characters, Doug’s brother Frank chief among them. The one shortcoming is the feeling that Damage should be a longer work. Mr. Thomas has packed a lot of punch into what amounts to a short novel, and I think a very good story could have been great with a bit more meat on its bones. Perhaps I’m greedy and am just a bit spoiled from the quality of Lee’s writing, left wanting more. Still, I highly recommend Damage as Mr. Thomas has the skill and does pull off fitting so much into a scant 192 pages.

Sarob Press

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

THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS by Harry Shannon
Review by William Gagliani

Author Harry Shannon already has one great franchise protagonist -- the part-time detective, full-time radio therapist Mick Callahan (Memorial Day, Eye of the Burning Man), but now he also has brought aboard one Jack Burke, troubled ex-Ranger, part-time spook, part-time mob thug (with a heart of, you guessed it, gold), and full-time tilter at windmills.

Burke and Callahan share some similar background -- Callahan washed out of the SEALs, while Burke was a Ranger in Somalia in the 90s and apparently also participated in fairly secretive ops in various hot-spots (such as South America), thanks to his continued association with a CIA spook from the old days. Burdened with a wife on life support and the associated medical bills, Burke can't turn down jobs, even if they mean stepping over the line of legality. He attempts to come down on the side of the good guys in most cases, though, for instance refraining from breaking a priest's limbs when payment of a gambling debt is slow in coming. Burke shares his knight-errant tendencies with Callahan -- both obsess over doing the right thing, and Burke meditates and philosophizes about his violent past and even more violent calling (which he perversely enjoys).

One of the survivors of Burke's Somalia special ops team is Scott Bowden, a good cop slowly gone bad due to poor decisions and an association with a shadowy underground group not above killing innocents and using cops and the mayor's office to cover it up. Bowden passes jobs on to Burke, and this one revolves around a Stephen King-like author found dead in a hotel suite, apparently the result of a bizarre suicide. The author's daughter wants to know what happened to make her father engage in grotesque self-butchery. Soon, Burke needs to learn why the case is endangering everyone he knows.

The author's gruesome death and its meaning lead Burke down several paths into his past, one of which is a woman he loved before his marriage and another of which was a target of an earlier secret op. Several threads tie together as one would expect, though one or two are left loose. A few quibbles: the mob guy's too much of a pushover at the most opportune time, a tense scene near the end is too easily defused, and part of the ending seems suddenly rushed. However, a weird cult, some unexplained street deaths, well-choreographed fight sequences, and an explosive Bondian climax help make The Pressure of Darkness a solidly entertaining thriller hybrid with roots in the horror camp, a toe in the noir camp, and just a hint of sf influence. All in all, the novel works splendidly to introduce a hero just shady enough to be interesting and just heroic enough to please fans of other "lone wolf" type adventurers – Reacher, Rain, Rambo, and even Parker come to mind, though the list is potentially endless. Good stuff!

Five Star

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

THE CHURCH OF DEAD LANGUAGES by James Newman and Jason Brannon
Review by Angela Bennett

What could be more a part of growing up than the camping trip? Alone in the forest, surrounded by friends, roasting hot dogs and telling ghost stories. For 6 young boys and their youth counselors – it doesn't get any better than that.

The opening of The Church of the Dead Languages reads like the route to manhood from such classics as Stand By Me and Boy's Life. The boys and their camp counselors are enjoying the trip and the camaraderie; the usual boy bantering of insults and abuses masks the true friendship they have for one another.

Camp counselor Lee is awakened in the middle of the night and he checks in on the boys and discovers one missing. A subsequent search leads him and his charges to a dilapidated church and a congregation straight out of hell.

The Church of Dead Languages blends a variety of ancient and modern religious beliefs to create a terrifying vision of hell.

Well written and fast paced, you can't go wrong with this beautifully crafted chapbook from White Noise Press.

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

 VESSELS by Kealan Patrick Burke
Review by Joe Kroeger

It felt as if I was returning to the comfort of a familiar place as I settled into VESSELS, the third installment of the Timmy Quinn series, by Kealan Patrick Burke. However, don’t get me wrong, there is very little to feel comfortable about within this dark and disturbing tale that Kealan so expertly leads us through.

Timmy Quinn is seeking a sanctuary on a small island off the coast of Ireland in which he hopes to escape the dead who seek him out. However, like any other place, Blackrock Island has it secrets hiding under the churning water ready to use Timmy and the power he possesses.

Kealan takes the all too familiar “I see dead people” storyline and infuses it with a shockingly original perspective and a unique darkness that you have come to expect from his poetic and detailed fiction. His writing is so enriched with imagery and atmosphere that you can’t help feeling that you have been pulled into the dread and horror of his character’s world. You feel like you haven’t just read a story, you are left feeling as if you have had an experience.

If you were unfortunate enough to have missed the two previous Quinn books, THE TURTLE BOY and THE HIDES, Kealan sprinkles the story with enough history, without being too intrusive, to make this story work perfectly as a stand-alone piece. And once again, he has written an ending that leaves you breathless for a finale that Kealan promises will “blow the door off the hinges”.

I highly recommend that you get a hold of a copy of VESSELS by Kealan Patrick Burke. I promise you will not be disappointed, but be prepared for a haunting ride into the mind of one the most original horror authors writing today.

Bloodletting Books

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

THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE by Jeff Strand
Review by Mike Myers

Life sucked for Stanley and things aren’t much better now that he’s dead. In the upcoming Delirium Books release The Sinister Mr. Corpse, Jeff Strand casts his unique comical insight towards the popular sub-genre of the living dead. Those expecting the typical apocalyptic world full of flesh eating corpses will quickly realize they are in for a different treat altogether. For those familiar with Mr. Strand’s popular Andrew Mayhem novels, take the witty banter, sharp one liners and laugh out loud moments, then turn it up a notch or three.

The Sinister Mr. Corpse is the tale Stanley Dabernath, a lowlife given a second chance thanks to an experimental procedure televised by the mysterious Project Second Chance on live TV. The catch is Stanley is now a hideous living corpse, with the partially decomposed body and accompanying not that recently dead stench to go along with it. Rather then living off the flesh of the living, Stanley is sustained by a daily injection given by his revivers. This injection keeps Stanley “alive” but also places him squarely under the thumb of Project Second Chance. We follow Stanley who now finds himself an instant celebrity struggling to find himself in a world where everyone wants a piece of him. Some quite literally.

Along with the laughs, Mr. Strand tackles the tough questions facing Stanley. What rights does a person have once they are legally dead? What should Stanley do with this second chance at life? Does Stanley’s penis still function? If it does, what type of women would want to procreate with a corpse anyway? Will Stanley ever get to see his hot assistant naked? If you want the answers to these questions, and a bucketful of belly laughs to go with it, I recommend you hunt down a copy.

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

BREEDING GROUND by Sarah Pinborough
Review by Dennis Duncan

Matt and Chloe are a happily married couple who are looking forward to their first child. Everything is going normal until Matt starts noticing that Chloe is putting on a lot more weight than normal. Her mood is also changing. She is becoming very depressed and combative. He soon learns that he and Chloe aren't the only ones this is happening too. Women all over town are pregnant and are going through the same changes that Chloe is experiencing. Matt soon finds out that this is a global phenomena and no one can explain what is happening. He prepares himself for the worst but he soon learns that that there isn't anything he could have done to be ready for what Chloe gives birth too.

What she gives birth too isn't a baby. It isn't even human. It is a nightmarish spider like creature. She isn't alone. Women all over the world are giving birth to these hideous creatures and they only want us for two things. Food, and as hosts to birth their young.

Matt flees his home and soon finds other survivors.

Together they must find a way to fight and survive these creatures that have now become the new dominant species of what is left of the world.

I must admit I didn't know what to expect when I started Breeding Ground. I had never read any of Ms Pinborough's work before. The premise caught my eye though, and I tore into it with high hopes. To say my hopes were exceeded is a major understatement. I simply could not put this book down.

Breeding Ground hits the ground running on the first page and never lets up. I found myself staying up to the crack of dawn on a couple occasions consumed in this story. I haven't had this much fun reading an author's work since Brian Keene's The Rising.

I've recently learned that Ms. Pinborough has a sequel planned. I can't wait to see were she takes this story next.

Leisure

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

STEPHEN KING: A PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY by Justin Brooks
Review by James R. Beach

I was a bit excited to get this one to review as I had a very small part in this myself. A couple of years ago, I published an extensive nonfiction Stephen King Bibliography in my magazine Dark Discoveries. I discovered a few things that either weren’t known about or at least hadn’t been announced anywhere. Since then I have helped Rocky Wood and a few other King experts with info and images here and there and this project was one of them. I really enjoy being a consultant on things like this.

Enough of my blather then. On to the book!

This is a very complete bibliography of King’s body of work. Although other books have appeared attempting to catalogue his vast body of work, most of them are incomplete. This one has it all. Most notably it includes the largest nonfiction bibliography of Steve’s out there. This is one category that is often overlooked and is a big part of his writing output. It also includes every novel, short story, poem, recipe and puzzle King ever wrote in all known incarnations (including the unpublished ones), and features a short synopsis for each (and for the nonfiction work as well). There is also an easy to reference index in the back of the book.

Justin did a commendable job on this handy collectors guide. Kudos as well to Cemetery Dance, who understands the need for a guide like this. Being a collector myself for many years, I can attest to the need for a book like this. The price is reasonable for a 560 page reference guide ($25 for a large sized trade paperback). If you are limited collector and want a hardcover instead, they will be doing those as well for a bit more. If you’re a Stephen King collector this is a must have! If you are the casual reader, it might not be for you although it would probably still be an interesting thing to flip through and get an overview of King‘s work.

Cemetery Dance

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

MAMA’S BOY by Fran Friel
Review by Nate Kenyon

Penn’s Asylum holds a dark and deadly secret. A terribly disfigured and unresponsive man without a past lurks there, waiting to be brought out into the light. Known only as Frank Doe, the man eventually begins to tell his story to Rebecca, a young, pretty doctor who is assigned to his case.

That story holds a number of very unpleasant surprises, as Rebecca helps Frank slowly begin to unlock the secrets from his mind; whispers of kidnappings, rape, incest and murder. Rebecca has her own reasons for working with this particular patient, reasons that will only come to light as Frank reveals more of his past. As he opens up to her with even deeper and more unsettling confessions, the tension and promise of violence builds to a shocking conclusion.

Mama’s Boy is a compelling read, full of raw power and emotion. Though a relative newcomer (this is her first novella), Fran Friel knows how to hook readers and keep them turning the pages. Mama’s Boy is not for the squeamish, as Friel does not shy away from violence, bloodshed and abuse, which is made all the more disturbing due to the flat, matter-of-fact way it is related in conversations between Frank and Rebecca.

That plot device also proves to be the novella’s biggest stumbling block. Having a character telling the entire plot to another is a difficult thing to do, particularly at novella or novel length—very few people naturally speak in the type of descriptive language that makes a story glow, and Frank Doe is a disturbed man who is most certainly rough around the edges in more ways than one. Portions of the story just don’t ring true as dialogue, and those aspects might have been better handled through flashbacks.

Friel certainly proves to be a powerful storyteller, giving a nice twist to the asylum inmate tale, with one very disturbed and fascinating individual at its center. Equal parts Psycho and Silence of the Lambs with a bit of Laymon for seasoning, Mama’s Boy is a fine debut from a promising new voice, and will surely leave readers wanting more. It will be very interesting to see where she takes us next.

Insidious Reflections

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

ISIS by Douglas Clegg
Review by Mark Justice

In this short novella, Douglas Clegg provides a brief and engaging look at one of the central (if mostly off stage) characters in his Harrow mythology.

We meet Isis Villiers, later Isis Claviger, in her early childhood, as her American mother, a retired actress, moves Isis and her brothers to England and the Villier’s family estate, to care for Isis’ demented and evangelistic grandfather, while her own father tends to his war profiteering in other parts of the world.

It’s in England that the young girl’s interest in mysticism is first awakened. Among the Cornish people myths abound regarding the Villiers estate and surrounding land, particularly the Tombs, a series of underground burial chambers used as the final resting place for the Villiers. In older times, Clegg tells us, the Tombs were sacred to the locals and were believed to be an entrance to the next world.

Through a series of tragedies, Isis’ idyllic childhood is transformed by a dawning realization of what lies beyond this life.

When the story ends, Isis is just beginning the journey that will take her to Justin Gravesend and the house called Harrow. Clegg has offered a tantalizing appetizer, a first chapter. I certainly hope he chooses to continue the tale of Isis.

One odd note: the back cover of my review copy of Isis seems to describe an entirely different story, one involving a slightly older Isis. Hopefully Clegg will one day tell this part of the saga as well.

Cemetery Dance

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

SHIVERS IV edited by Richard Chizmar
Review by Mario Guslandi

Richard Chizmar and his Cemetery Dance crew come back once more to produce shivers on the readers' back with the fourth volume of the successful horror anthology.

Featuring twenty brand new stories, "Shivers IV", consistently with the previous volumes, provides a medley of different styles, themes and atmospheres which cover the full range of what is supposed to unsettle and scare people , at least in the fictional world. ( Nowadays the real world is much scarier than any product of human imagination, just as real crime is much more terrifying than what we read in crime novels).

Granted that scaring people is getting harder for any horror writer, the present book appears equal to the task, although of course not every story will please anyone , including your reviewer.

Unless a piece of fiction is so outstanding to captivate everybody, personal taste sensitivity and culture greatly influence the reader's reaction to a certain tale and his private fears make him more susceptible to certain subjects. Quite obvious? Agreed, but it's always advisable to emphasize that reviewers are only human before I start to tell what, among so many contributions, I've found so good to deserve a mention.

Kealan Patrick Burke's "Prohibited" is an offbeat, compelling anti-smoking tale featuring an unrepentant smoker, a bus running late and an empty pub with a surly bartender and very filthy lavatories.

Tim Lebbon provides "Lost Exit For The Lost", an excellent, moving piece depicting a man tracing her lost daughter's life through the portraits of a Venetian family members.

In the dark "Something to be said for the waiting" by Brian Freeman we hear the dramatic confession of a man haunted by the murder of his own family.

Stephen Mark Rainey ("LZ-T16; Das Flegenschloss") contributes a very entertaining and enjoyable mix between SF and pulp fiction where a Zeppelin fights for the world's safety against an alien menace.

In the captivating "The Bittersweet Deafening Sound Of Nothing" by Robert Morrish a complex of office buildings literally comes to life after a long period of emptiness…

Keith Minnion's "Up In The Boneyard" is a very original, fascinating story where a young aeronaut has a weird experience up in the skies. Seventy-odd years later the day of reckoning will come.

"Mom And Dad At Home" is yet another typical Ed Gorman story – smooth, solid storytelling, credible characters, smart dialogue- about the hidden secrets of a travelling salesman.

I found the remaining stories fair, but no more than ordinary. Again, most likely a matter of personal taste. On the other hand the volume doesn't include any poor quality material , not a minor accomplishment for a short story anthology at a time when junk fiction is available galore.

Cemetery Dance

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

TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD by Travis Adkins
Review by Dennis Duncan

It is five years after a Zombie Plague and most of humanity is wiped out. The dead are now the rulers of the world. Those still alive struggle to survive Courtney Colvin was still a teenage kid when the plague started, but somehow she survived in the nightmare world of the dead and found the fortified town of Eastpointe. She lives a quiet but lonely life.

She isn't as content as the others in town. She wants to know if there are any other survivors. She soon gets her answer. A mysterious stranger arrives claiming to know the location of the antidote to the plague. To retrieve this cure, she and other survivors must leave the safety of Eastpointe and into a world of the flesh-eating dead.

I love a good Zombie Story so when I saw Twilight of the Dead I had to grab a copy. It ended up being a very wise decision. Twilight is one of the better Zombie stories I've read and I have read just about all of them. Travis follows the Romero style Zombie formula, but he adds his own twist that I thought was very clever and entertaining. It gives the Zombie Genre a real boost. You can tell from Travis's writing style that he is more than just a fanboy. He has real writing skills, and I think that he has a lot to offer to the Horror Genre.

Travis has written a story that is very character driven. A lot of times in Zombie stories the author focuses so much on the gore, carnage, and action that the character development suffers for it. Travis doesn't make that mistake. The gore, carnage, and action are there, but he takes the time to develop the characters. I didn't find one that was wooden or hollow.

Twilight takes off from the first page, and it never lets up. Travis creats a world that completely consumed me, and that is a sign of really good storyteller. I didn't want Twilight to end. It was a true pleasure to read. The only complaint I had was the way the it ended, but I found out Travis plans a sequel so that took care of that.

I recommend Twilight of the Dead to anyone who loves an original and character driven Zombie story. Travis is a very good writer and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the future. Twilight of the Dead is one of the best stories the Zombie genre has to offer.

Permuted Press

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

Previous reviews now appear in the Archives

 

Sponsored by: