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One More for the Road by Stephen King; PS Publishing; 38 pgs; $120 THC, $9.99 PB, $280 SLH
Most Stephen Kings fans rank Salem’s Lot near the top of their favorites list; many others ranking it as the penultimate vampire novel. Scary as hell yet as common to the towns we grew up in, the tale embedded itself in readers’ psyches for years. Hardly any other have come close (the “T” word isn’t uttered on this site).
Along comes One More For The Road, a beautiful albeit steep edition of the short story which was originally published in “Maine” magazine (1977) and then in the seminal collection Night Shift (1978). Registering at only 38 pages, one might wonder why PS chose this story. For one, it’s part sequel, or coda, to the novel. Set in Jerusalem’s Lot, the revisiting of the famed town is sure to please many fans. Another reason, the tale, while nostalgic for the novel, doesn’t do much except bring us back to the horrors which occurred there years ago.
There are, however, some very cool things about the PS edition (PS never disappoints its fans and isn’t about to here). First, the illustrations – from James Hannah who has drawn for many a classic – populate many of the pages which elevate the plot into something much more tangible. Second, having an addendum to one’s favorite King novel on the bookshelf, continuing that story, even for a short while, is something many readers wish would happen more often, especially when a sequel is deemed unnecessary.
The plot is simple. Booth, one of the town’s oldest residents is drinking in his friend “Tookey’s” bar on a hellacious snow-filled night when a man stumbles inside, frightened and suffering from frostbite. What kind of idiot would be driving in a blizzard? King finds it funny that a character from New Jersey would do so. Obviously, he’d been away from his New England neighbor, Massachusetts, for too long. That driver might have taken out a few vamps while ignoring any merge or yield signs! Back to the tale. The driver/father/husband/fool informs the men that his car is stuck in a snowbank and needs help. Of course, they help and find the infection which rendered Jerusalem so horrid to be just as deadly as ever.
-- David Simms
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BLOOD SPRING, by Erik Williams; Bad Moon Books; 112 pgs; $18.95
All Horror fans have their favorite Horror subgenre. For some, it's Vampires. For others, it's Werewolves. Or Slashers. Or Animals run wild. For me, it's always been the "Crazy, inbred Hillbilly". Judging by the robust selection of books dealing with that subject, I must not be alone in my love of all things Redneck. Jack Ketchum's Off Season and Offspring, Laymon's The Woods Are Dark, Lee's Creekers....They've all achieved legendary status among backwoods Horror enthusiasts. The latest Author to throw his hat into the ring is Erik Williams, with his novella Blood Spring.
Happily, Williams forgoes the standard "Teenagers get attacked by Hillbillies" plot, and goes with a more mature group of protagonists. Henry and Claire are a childless married couple with an unusual new addition to their family: Brownie, a Deer that Henry and Claire found struck down on the side of the highway, which has taken up residence in their garage while Claire nurses it back to health. After six months, the couple take a bittersweet trip into the deep woods to return the newly-recovered Brownie to his home. They wind up going a little bit deeper into the woods then they should have, and become lost, only to encounter a clan of bizarre, murderous Hillbillies.
Williams has created a realistic, sympathetic group of characters in Henry and Claire, who, along with their neighbor, Sheriff Nate Lewis, are drawn into the strange, violent world of the backwoods family. We get to know these people, and care for them, so the Horror they experience hits us incredibly hard. Williams delivers a fast-paced story, and his style is fun and easy to read. My only complaint about Blood Spring is that I would have liked to learn more about the villains of the piece. The little tidbits that Williams does provide us are very tantalizing, and left me wanting more. Fans of Deliverance and the legion of books and movies that it's spawned will find Blood Spring a welcome addition to the ever-growing subgenre.
--Daniel Reilly
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The Man of Mystery Hill, by Tracy L. Carbone; Quake Publishing; 2010; 226 pgs.; $12.99
Abby McNabb is a young girl with all the typical problems of someone attending elementary school. But in addition to having a bully to contend with and the troubles that come with her parents divorce, she soon will have one more problem to grapple with. And it’s a big one!
Even though Abby’s parents are divorced and seem to get along, her mom often gets quite frustrated with her dad and his eccentric ways. Abby’s dad is a famous author who writes books on the occult and the unexplainable oddities in life, but unfortunately her father’s books and fame are not appreciated by everyone in the town where they all live. For instance, her dad is considered goofy and a bit of an oddball and it doesn’t help that he was once put into a psychiatric hospital because of his belief in aliens and supernatural matters.
One day during a field trip to American’s Stonehenge (a.k.a. Mystery Hill in New Hampshire) Abby and her dad mysteriously faint while experimenting with dowsing rods. This sets off an adventure for her dad that is literally out of this world, and one for Abby that involves a physic encounter with an alien.
After a few of these meetings with the alien, Abby learns that her dad is no ordinary human; in fact, he’s not human at all. Her dad is an alien who has been sent to Earth to teach human’s about peace, but because of a strange circumstance, he wound up in the wrong human’s body and has since forgotten who he really is.
Which brings us to Abby’s big problem…does she help her dad remember who he really is and help the aliens with their quest to make Earth a peaceful planet, or does she leave things the way they are so she can still be with the father she knows and loves?
The Man of Mystery Hill from Tracy Carbone is a YA novel that really delivers the goods to young readers. Since Carbone and her daughter live in Massachusetts near the real Mystery Hill, her knowledge of the area brings an air of authenticity to the plotting which can be grounding and comforting, especially when you are trying to convince impressionable readers that they could be visited by beings from another planet. And her depiction of Abbey is also spot on; from the young girl’s fear of abandonment to the huge moral dilemma she faces, readers will have no problems identifying and even sympathizing with Abbey’s emotional struggles.
Parents should also be delighted with the teaching moments Carbone has sprinkled through out the story covering topics dealing with history, astronomy, divorce, bullying, and the natures of faith and love. Carbone approaches each of these topics prudently using historical or scientific facts when appropriate and an unbiased hand when dealing with personal matters, thus allowing the young readers to make their own judgments and come to their own conclusions.
With The Man of Mystery Hill, Carbone has not only written a story that is exciting from its first pages, but one that is steeped with enough imagination to keep anyone over the age of 10 wide eyed and engrossed throughout the tale. I can’t think of a better novel to introduce to young readers to get their imaginations kick started and to possibly put them on a path to a lifetime of adventurous reading.
-- T. T. Zuma
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EDISON'S FRANKENSTEIN, by Frederick C. Wiebel, Jr., Bear Manor Media, 278 pgs,
In 1910, Edison Studios released film #6604; To the studio, it was just one of the dozens of such films they had in various stages of production at any given time, but to Horror fans, film #6604 has become a legend, something we're all aware of, but precious few of us have ever seen. It was the first cinematic adaptation of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and after it's initial release, it would disappear for nearly a century before resurfacing. Edison's Frankenstein tells the story of the making, loss, and subsequent rediscovery, of the great-grandfather of all Horror movies.
Author Frederick C. Wiebel exhaustively details every aspect of the film's history, starting with the founding of the Edison Film Studios, including a history of their film productions, the cast and crew of Frankenstein, it's making and release, and the public's reaction. It's easy to see that Wiebel has done a great deal of research on the subject, and his love for this previously "Lost" film shows on every page. Wiebel is more of a fan than an author, and there are parts of the book that came perilously close to losing me. There's a 62-page stretch about the Actors who starred in the film, and other segments about the Producers and the Director, that are probably of interest only to people who are obsessed with silent movies. There's really nothing there that contributes to your understanding of the film we're there to read about, and it could have used some judicious editing. Another problem arises towards the end of the book, when we meet Alois Dettlaff, a bizarre character who claims to have a print of the film. Wiebel seems to vacillate between a grudging admiration and a scathing contempt for Dettlaff, and a strong Editor could have probably clarified Wiebel's feelings for the man. The stories he tells about his efforts to get Dettlaff's last surviving copy of the film out to the public are, by turn, bizarre, hilarious, and pathetic. Dettlaff seems desperate to make money off of the film, all the while unaware that very few people are even aware that the film ever existed, and even fewer people seem to care. I would have liked it if Wiebel devoted a little more space to this sad, strange person.
EDISON'S FRANKENSTEIN isn't for everyone, but film buffs and Horror fans should feel right at home. Wiebel isn't the most polished Author, but his love for the film and his sincerity come through loud and clear on every page. The book also includes an offer for a free (Postage and handling extra....) DVD-R copy of the film.
-- Daniel Reilly
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The Machineries of Joy by Ray Bradbury. Introduction by Neil Gaiman; PS Publishing; 285 pgs; $35 THC, $85 LHC signed (by Bradbury), and $160 Limited Traycase edition (signed by both Bradbury & Gaiman)
The godfather of science fiction, the patron saint of the October Country, distiller of Dandelion Wine, the man who scarred The Illustrated Man. The epithets could continue for longer than Ray Bradbury has been penning the magical tales as wonderful as those included in this reissue. Who better to sum up the fantastic of old than a modern master, Neil Gaiman. He states of Bradbury’s influence over, not just writers, but the everyday man: “He had been one of the first writers to have made the transition from the world of people who read that sort of thing to the world at large.” Even though Stephen King brought terror to the small towns we live in and made us afraid of the mundane; even though Richard Matheson before him beautifully tainted the newly formed suburbs of the content postwar era, there was Ray Bradbury, creeping into towns in the quiet Midwest.
This collection eschews the themes which define so many of his others. If one must draw a label on this volume, Gaiman offers that it is about people and places, the muting of genre of any kind which has identified him in the eyes of most readers. That’s not to say there aren’t tales of terror or the fantastic or of space and beyond within the pages. They’re in here but he focuses on the people, the everyday people who turn the wheels of the plot and drive along the streets and sidewalks of Everytown, USA.
Nothing here is new other than the beautiful presentation and illustrations by PS, along with Gaiman’s thoughtful words. There are three editions available, ranging from the casual collector to the extremist. The stories are and always have been what Bradbury books are about. Beginning with the titular story, one tale flows into the next with the rhythm of a master conductor. A group of priests debate the space program but doesn’t preach religion or launch into alien gods. It’s simply a tale of men who examine their beliefs and values. “The One Who Waits” ranks with the best of the author’s unsettling “quiet” horror about something which awaits within a well on another planet yet could be very easily set in your backyard. “Tyrannosaurus Rex” has nothing to do with “A Sound Of Thunder” but of egos and ambition while the familiar tale of a boy growing mushrooms in his basement taps into parents’ fears in a manner that never feels outdated.
A reader could never go wrong with any of Bradbury’s work. A nice addition for fans.
-- David Simms
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Where The Heart Is- A Guided Tour Of British Horror; Edited By Gary Fry; Gray Friar Press; 2010; 221 pgs; £ 8.99/$ 16.00
They say writers should only write about the things they know best. Hence, the basic idea of this horror anthology: nineteen British authors of dark fiction creating stories set in their native places.
The volume features a bunch of renowned names such as Andrew Hook, Rhys Hughes, Mike O’ Driscoll, Paul Finch, John Travis, Mark Patrick Lynch, Michelle James, Gary Mc Mahon and Carole Johnstone.
This, however, is the list of the authors who, despite their fame and their talent, failed to contribute quite accomplished stories. In some instances (Finch and McMahon, to mention just a few) the work included in the present anthology is definitely not up to their usual standard, which makes me sad and disappointed because they are among my favourite authors.
Let’s look then at the brighter side: the book does include a number of remarkable tales.
First of all I’d like to pay homage to DF Lewis, a capable editor but also a fine writer, whose work I haven’t always be able to fully appreciate. This time Des contributes an outstanding piece of fiction, “So,” a compelling, melancholy portrait of a seaside resort at the end of the summer season.
Other excellent stories are “Winter’s End” by Simon Bestwick, a deeply disturbing tale about a love affair gotten sour because of dark ghosts emerging from the woman’s past, Stephen Bacon’s “Last Summer,” a moving, compelling piece unearthing childhood memories and family tragedies taking place in a mining town and the atmospheric , frightening “Scale Hall” by Simon Kurt Unsworth, where the terrible truth about a missing little girl lies in an abandoned bungalow in which a hungry creature is lurking.
Allen Ashley contributes “Ticker”, a rather depressing but effective story about a Londoner trying to adjust to life and Stuart Young pens “A Killing in the Market” a nice piece of local folklore featuring a young man struck by the flu.
In “Easter” Stephen Volk effectively depicts the temporary disruption of a married couple’s reassuring daily routine, while Mark West’s “The City in the Rain” convincingly blends private grief and universal horror by vividly describing a city where brick walls are devouring people.
In Gary Fry’s “The Welcoming” a man’s car breaks down and he has to seek help at a lonely house, the inhabitants of which display an overwhelming hospitality… rather predictable plot grace by Fry’s steady hand as a narrator.
Lovers of dark fiction, especially if fond of British setting will find many reasons to rejoice if they’re smart enough to secure a copy of this new anthology.
-- Mario Guslandi
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Richard Matheson: Uncollected – Volume 2; Gauntlet Press; 337 pgs; $75 HC (signed & numbered) $50 HC (unsigned)
Most horror writers have read a good deal of Matheson’s work. Most fans know it, even if they don’t know he wrote the story, novel, or screenplay. Authors in general have at least sampled his work in the genre they prefer, whether it is horror, fantasy, suspense, noir, western, or military. From The Twilight Zone (scripts) to several novels to the many collections published over the years, fans have had almost as much access to his work as Ray Bradbury, King, or even Poe. However, finding those little nuggets of genius which have fallen through the cracks seems to be a task better suited for adventurous archeologists than hungry readers on Ebay or in used bookstores.
Gauntlet Press has been a treasure trove for many great authors, yet Matheson has been the recipient of some of the greatest attention, including the recent publication of his first novel, which I dare someone to find on their own. Barry Hoffman knows how to run a small press (not knocking others) and consistently put out one product after another which only improve upon the previous.
In this second collection of “uncollected” fiction, he gathers ten short stories, three unfinished (or “aborted” novels) and his “preferred” version of the screenplay for What Dreams May Come (the one the powers that be didn’t use in the film). Then there’s the lost western (“The Hunt”) and a previously unpublished story, “An Element Never Forgets.”
Many “lost” or “unfinished” novels and stories have that label for a reason. “Mountains of the Mind” reads like a brilliant book which could’ve been something on par with the author’s better work. A hideaway where geniuses of all kinds go to find inspiration of the highest type but only if they abandon love? Reads like a romantic Michael Creighton (odd, yes, but it works). The lost western is chilling in its subject matter whereas “Now Die In It” is simply amusing in its dark humor.
What Dreams May Come for this reviewer is the highlight, obviously remaining true to the novel and allows the reader to bend his or her memory of Robin Williams searching for truth after death in a manner that’s not syrupy or heavy-handed.
As usual, Gauntlet scores big.
-- Dave Simms
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The Art Of Zombie Warfare by Scott Kenemore, Skyhorse Publishing; 266 pgs; $12.95
Ok, more zombies, but this time I’m going to skip my usual “zombies, zombies everywhere” rant and get right to the point. Zombie Warfare is yet another comical look at the undead, a subgenre that I am getting rather sick of, and I’m an undeadhead from way back. That being said, I found this book both amusing and enjoyable. Here, let me prove it to you.
Scott Kenemore has written a charming book that “what ifs” a Sun Tzu’s Art Of War like manual that replaces sound tactical theory with generous applications of undead flesh eaters, or with good advice when facing the business end of someone else’s zombie army. What made this admittedly one joke premise bearable for me was the author’s obvious knowledge and love for zombie flicks. Anyone who can casually name drop both Bub and Tarman in the same sentence without feeling the need to explain those references is alright by me. Oh, that and the fact that the book is actually funny and clever for the most part. Sure, not every joke hits home, but I can’t think of any comedy where that’s not the case.
Zombie Warfare is a smaller than usual tome, but it’s a pretty book with plenty of illustrations to help bring the funny. The material is presented in a series of short chapters with a sound basis in military theory drizzled in fresh zombie juice. Such sage-like advice like; “Fight like you’re already dead”, “Fast-moving? Slow-moving? You need both”, “Zombie formations”, and “An army marches on its stomach” (ha, get it). Pretty much anything and everything you would need to lead an army of zombies, or how to survive should you find yourself in the ever popular zombie apocalypse can be found in this one simple package. That means that in addition to putting a smile on your face, this book just might save your life someday. Hey, you know World War Z is coming, right? Why not get prepared now?
-- Brian M. Sammons
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Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers by Rick Hautala; Ghost Writer Publications; 2010, 861 KB; $ 2.99
When making a list of the best contemporary horror writers in the last 25 years, Rick Hautala’s name should appear prominently and close to the top. Hautala has been around since the 80’s and has written many superb books (under his own name and as A. J. Matthews) that have gone on to be big hits with the reading public. Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers, is an updated e book release of the original novel published in 1988 with 8 additional stories.
When Little Brothers was originally released it was to wide acclaim. So much so that Hautala has recently confessed when at book signings, Little Brothers is the one book most of his fans love to bring up with him. And not only does this re-release of Little Brothers still hold up well after 20 plus years, it could be used as a textbook in this day and age on how to construct a brilliant horror novel, and more importantly, a scary one.
When he was 5 years old, young Kip was in the boonies of Maine helping his mom and dad build their new house atop the foundation of an older home. While his mom was down inside the cellar hole cleaning out brush, she was attacked by several small brown creatures with awfully sharp claws that came out of nowhere, leaving Kip a helpless witness to her brutal death.
Kip was so traumatized by the event (no one believes his story, they think a deranged man or an animal killed her) that for the next five years he’s had to see a psychiatrist. Things seem to be progressing for him, until his dad decides enough time has passed and he wants to go back to the site and start building the house again. Guess what’s waiting for them.
Hautala’s plotting in Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers is just about perfect. There’s plenty of action throughout the story, carried along by varying subplots that are never treated as filler and are all integral to the slam bang conclusion of the novel. In addition, Hautala nailed the characterization of young Kip perfectly…he’s done a remarkable job of getting into the mind of a 12 year old. All the angst due to his mother’s death, the sibling rivalry, the confusion that comes with a young boy approaching his teenage years, and especially his fear of the creatures are presented realistically and often touchingly... readers will have no trouble developing an emotional bond with the character.
If readers have any qualms with the plotting, it would be with the battle that takes place with the creatures during the last quarter of the story. But like that other famous horror writer that comes from Maine, Hautala’s story is so engrossing that the improbable not only seems natural, it becomes a whole lot of fun.
This edition of Rick Hautala’s, Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers, delivers great classic horror in an expanded format at an affordable price…all the things that were promised with the advent of e books. This one comes highly recommended.
-- T. T. Zuma
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The Disappearance by Bentley Little; Signet; 400 pgs; $7.99
Each year, countless fans await “THE” book. Not the Oprah book or new King nor a surprise offering from a new author. It seems that every September, Bentley Little delivers an entertaining, usually thought provoking novel with a title beginning with those same three letters. The Ignored. The Store. The University. The Walking. The Academy. And so on. Even his collection was called, well, you know.
Despite the repeated use of the word, his treatment of the supernatural was anything but usual. Little knows how to juxtapose the truly horrific in unique ways with the everyday life we all suffer through. He takes the most mundane institutions we take for granted and turns them on their ear.
However, there have been changes, as with any talented writer. Besides chiseling away at the lean, no frills prose which has characterized Little’s work since his Stoker-winning debut, in recent efforts, he veers away from the otherworldly and focuses on the frights of the everyday demons readers could actually face. Dispatch straddled the line of reality, but His Father’s Son gave fans a unique take on the serial killer tale in a manner most could relate to and likely annoyed the hell out of psychiatrists who have Bentley’s fans as readers.
The Disappearance focuses on cults and how they can infiltrate every area of one’s life, sometimes from birth, and more frightening, how they can affect others. Joan, Gary, Reyn, Stacy, and Brian drive into the desert to attend “The Burning Man” festival (a reference to another Little novel) with eco-friendly types (being nice to those tree-huggers & neo-hippy types!) They wake up feeling drugged – sans Joan – the straight arrow of the group and set off in an effort to find her. In her room, they find rolled papers (no, not that kind) which warn of “Outsiders” which each passage holds a prayer about.
After the typical police non-action in attempting to locate a missing college student, Gary and the others find that she has been “erased” ala “The Net” from life (college records, Facebook, MySpace, etc). Her roommate disappears as well and a friend who promises to contact her family suddenly dies in a hit and run accident. The perpetrators seem to be in Amish-like garb and often have deformities. How the supposed primitive cult has the capacity to wipe out someone’s identity is never explored, but that’s a minor quibble. Gary finds himself abducted next but escapes to launch an all out rescue effort with his friends while discovering just how far reaching and deadly the cult can be. Led by “Father,” the group has plenty of “Children” complete with their defects and converts, who can infiltrate society much easier.
Stripped of supernatural elements, The Disappearance focuses on the people involved and how normal lives can so easily be disrupted by groups which operate under the surface of the world we know and how invisible they can be to authorities.
Not quite up to the quality of The Ignored or Dispatch, but a fine effort.
-- David Simms
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The Spawning by Tim Curran; Eldersigns Press; 2010, 382 pgs.; $15.95
Tim Curran’s, The Spawning, is the most action packed, terror laden, and superbly written book that I have read in the past year. The plotting in this novel is amazing; it never bogs down and Curran keeps the tension tighter than the lid on a pressure cooker throughout the whole story. Curran’s imagination was in high gear when writing this one; it is equally as good, if not better than, Dead Sea, his earlier masterpiece.
The action takes place in Antarctica where several scientific teams and contracted support workers are housed and working on environmental studies. At least that’s what the contracted support workers are told. As it turns out, the military, including the Navy and the NSF, are also at the sites and there are a lot of rumors running around as to their involvement. These rumors consist of aliens found imbedded in the ice, ghosts possessing people, and monsters running amok. It doesn’t help matters much that recently, other encampments have been found deserted with no trace of any of their inhabitants. What they did find at these other encampments was blood, and lots of it.
The group at Polar Clime, one of the bases where the majority of the action in The Spawning takes place, soon discovers for themselves that the rumors are true. Unable to receive help from the mainland they are left to do battle against what covets them…and all the action and carnage that follows is amazingly brutal.
Curran uses the barren and frigid Antarctica backdrop to great effect in The Spawning. His writing is so effective that readers can’t help but experience the depths of isolation these characters go through as they live and survive while holed up in their snow bound shacks and ice caves. Readers will also find themselves shivering along with the characters in the 50 degree below zero temperatures and becoming suspicious of every sound resulting from the paranoia that comes from living in a world that’s extremely hostile and constantly dark. All of this is just icing on the cake, because when Curran decides it’s time to terrify you with his beasties, those characters fears become your own. And the horror feels as if it’s unrelenting.
The Spawning is so action packed and spring loaded with tension, Curran barely gives readers enough time to take a breath. Like the characters he bludgeons in the novel, Curran assaults his readers with one horrific scene after another. The deaths are gruesome, the suffering is immense, and the frights are plentiful.
The Spawning is book two in Curran’s, Hive Series, which is projected to total up to 8 tomes. For those wondering, it is not necessary to read The Hive (the first book in the series) to appreciate The Spawning as Curran quickly brings new readers up to speed.
This one comes with the highest of recommendations.
This book is a bit hard to describe accurately. It’s sort of like a coffee table book, but it’s not as large or showy as those books. It’s sort of a reference book, although it’s kind of light and breezy to be a “serious” book. What is certain about this book is that it collects a very wide variety of over 130 horror movies from the classics to the surprisingly very modern. Each entry has lots of nice photographs, most in color, and a one or two page write up by the author on why the movie is a “must see” for horror fans. However, it is in this last regard that I did some head-scratching.
If you are a diehard, big time horrorhead, like I am, then this book will offer nothing new to you. Not once did the author ever surprise me with a “wow, that’s a new one,” or a “hmm, I haven’t thought of that flick in years,” or even a “neat, that was an unexpected addition to the book”. Now that could just be because I’m an overly obsessive horror fan from way back, but if this book wasn’t made for obsessive horror fans, I’ve got to wonder who it was written for? Perhaps the uninitiated? If that’s the case then neophytes to the horror genre are sure to find tons of great titles here that upon watching are sure to give them a passing grade in Horror Movies 101. But being as I am a big time horror nerd, did that mean I didn’t like this book or was bored by it?
Hell no, I loved it.
True, there was nothing new in Horror Movie Freak for me, but you know what else isn’t new? Old friends, and that’s exactly what this book was like, a nice, fun visit with old, bloody, axe wielding, goo-dripping friends. Each entry is well written in a style that mixes the informative and the entertaining. Further, while the old standbys and classics are covered, it was nice to see some attention paid to some of the lesser known modern films like Slither, Frailty, Splinter, and Dead Silence. Although there were a few movies that I thought for sure would be in the book and wasn’t. The amazing Session 9 jumps quickly to mind.
The book is arranged in an easy to follow way, with chapters like Classics, Ghost Stories, Homicidal Slashers, Zombies, Foreign Horrors, and even a chapter for every horror fan’s favorite punching bag; Remakes. Further, to spice things up, there are chapters focusing of Scream Queens, a list for those new to horror and may want to “ease into” the genre, and a 10 Days to Halloween list of films to watch as the big day approaches to help get you in the mood.
As said at the start, this book is light and breezy, but it is also fun and very enjoyable. Horror fans of all stripes, be it newbie or veteran, will have a good time with this book, and when it is all said and done, that’s all that matters.
When an author writes as well as Tom Piccirilli does, there’s a tendency on my part to take any new work he comes out with for granted. With me it’s a foregone conclusion that any story the man releases is always going to be entertaining, the prose will be excellent, and that there will be a surprise or a twist somewhere near the end of the tale that will leave me shaking my head in awe. But what I anticipate more than anything in a new Pic tale is the introduction of a lead character that will get my imagination to soaring. Someone I would love to identify with, who I think would typify what a lead male character in a noir tale should be like.
As with so many of Tom’s characters in the past, I’ve come to expect a tough guy with a conscience, someone who always settles debts (even if the debts aren’t his), and who wears the stink of life on him like a bad cologne. So when I dug into The Last Deep Breath I expected more of the same, but what I took from it was a total surprise.
The Last Deep Breath centers on a man named Gray who comes home one day to find his long lost foster sister in front of his apartment and dying from a knife wound. Gray takes her in and finds someone to successfully tend her wound, only to lose her again shortly thereafter. Gray is determined to find out where she went and who stabbed her. So his odyssey begins.
Grey winds up in Las Vegas and his adventures take him through the seedy side of the movie business. Guided through Tinsel Town by a somewhat respectable actress, Grey gets involved with shady agents, cat houses, drug dealers, and porno producers while trying to get a bead on his foster sister.
I thought The Last Deep Breath was a great read. It’s a well told tale that has all the ingredients I’ve come to love in Tom’s noir stories (the violence, the sex, the booze, and the left turns), but surprisingly I found myself indifferent to his main character. Yes, he’s a tough guy, and yes he can drink and screw as well as the best of Tom’s other leading men, but the thing is, Tom has written him as so insecure that I found myself lacking an emotional connection to the character. I guess I was expecting Gray to be more Robert Mitchum-like, instead he seemed more Fred MacMurray like to me. Even with this, I found the story enjoyable and my eyes were glued to it until the very last page.
The bonus story included in the book, “Between The Dark And The Daylight”, ranks up there with some of the best short stories Pic has ever penned. Kinda, sorta ripped from recent headlines, “Between The Dark And The Daylight” is the story of a young boy who gets swept away in a hot air balloon and the everyman who had tried to assist in his rescue. This story has it all; death, violence, revenge, madness, and a twist that will take every reader by surprise. And I loved the main character, it was vintage Pic! The purchase of this book would easily be justified for this short story alone.
And as I have done with every Tasmaniac release I have reviewed, I have to give a shout out to Steve Clark for presenting his readers with another high quality publication at an affordable price. Tasmaniac and Tom Piccirilli make one hell of a team…here’s hoping they continue to work together for many years to come.
Shock Totem busted out of the gate with a great debut issue…but that was a good long while ago. This, their second issue was, well let’s just say it was fashionably late and leave it at that. So were those extra months of gestation put to good use polish this issue to a bright sheen or were they spent in damage control in an attempt to battle the dreaded sophomore slump? Let’s find out.
First, just like the premier issue, Shock Totem 2 delivers a great looking and captivating cover. I don’t know what the artwork of Hicham Haddaji is meant to depict, something creepy as hell to be sure, but I really dug it. Furthermore there are black and white photographs spread throughout to heighten the mood and I even really liked the smallish digest size of the magazine. So if this was a beauty contest, ST 2 would be sure to win. However there’s more to life than just good looks, at least that’s what my momma always said, so let’s get to the brains of this issue.
Although this magazine is 80% fiction, which is a good thing, the nonfiction isn’t fluff or filler. There’s a good selection of reviews covering books, movies, games, and music, an interesting interview with James Newman, and then there’s article by Mercedes M. Yardley that both blew me away and creeped me out to no end. Not only was that quite a feat but it spotlights how the real world can be more horrifying than any imaginary monster. I won’t say anything more about it than that; I’ll let you discover it for yourself. Trust me, you’ll want to.
Ok, finally we come to the meat of the magazine, the stories. The tales collected here range from good to very good for the most part. There were a few that missed the mark for me, but that’s to be expected as I am one fussy fright fan. Highlights for me include “The Rat Burner” by Ricardo Bare which was a very weird tale about a mysterious guide who take people to a very special black door in the back alleys of a rat infested slum. Why do people seek that door? Why because it grants wishes, but if you think that’s all there is to this tale then you really don’t know what kind of magazine Shock Totem is.
If I had to choose a favorite of the magazine I might have to pick Vincent Pendersgrast’s “The Rainbow Serpent.” This modern take on an old Australian Aboriginal myth was a surreal treat about a bad man taking a bus ride that ends up dropping him off where he least expected. I loved that it focused on a mythology that hasn’t been done to death by a million other writers already. Yes, I’m looking at you, vampire and zombie authors.
There were two tales that looked at modern technologies. “Messages from Valerie Polichar” by Grá Linnaea and Sarah Dunn was a fascinating take on the modern Facebook phenomena, not to mention a look at the nature of life and death as the titular character goes searching the social site for people she knows are dead. Christian A. Dumais’ “Leave Me the Way I was Found” deals with YouTube and a nasty video that could be found there if you knew what to look for. This one had a bit of Ringu (or The Ring as it was known in the US) to it, but it was far from a rip off as you could get. Shock Totem 2 carries on with the tradition of spooky, weird, and wonderful fiction, moody art, and intriguing non-fiction that the first issue began. I look forward with great anticipation to issue number three…I just hope that I won’t have to wait for it as long as I did for this one.
Long time author William Meikle looks to have found pretty good success with e-book publishing as The Invasion has become his best selling novel to date. The Invasion came out of gate fast lodging in the top 10 of various Amazon Kindle sci-fi and horror charts while reaching number 1 on two of them.
I’ve never read anything by Meikle and I am not a big sci-fi fan, but with the success of this e-novel, its low price, and the promise of horror elements in the plotting, I decided to download it and check it out.
First off, to call this a novel is a bit misleading. Its length is more akin to that of a novella. And what’s even more disappointing is that after it’s downloaded, the story ends at around the 60 % mark (the rest of the download is devoted to non The Invasion related material). This was frustrating for me because while reading, I thought I had a lot more story ahead of me when I got to that 60 % mark. So when it ended, it felt abrupt, and a bit unsatisfying. However, even as short as it is, the story is extremely entertaining and is exciting enough that most readers will finish it in one setting.
The plot of The Invasion is as simple as its title; strange invaders come from another galaxy and begin to invade the earth. What makes this tale so intriguing is that not only are the invaders extremely clever, they are unbelievably deadly and cruel in their purpose. Meikle starts their invasion with one hell of a premise, but the great thing is, he doesn’t stop there. Things just get worse and worse for the earthlings as they battle wave after wave of new and ingenious “things” thrown at them. Meikle doesn’t use retro or tired clichés when he plotted the weapons these invaders used against us. No, Meikle was thinking about massive carnage when writing The Invasion, and it comes across wonderfully from the first attack of the alien’s right up to the big bang conclusion of the story.
If you’re on the fence with this one, then climb down and give it a shot. The Invasion is great 50’s B-Movie fun and comes highly recommended.
-- T. T. Zuma
* * * * * * *
Soulstorm, by Chet Williamson;Crossroads Press; 562 KB (320 pgs.); 2010; $ 2.99
An awful lot of fiction (not to mention films) about haunted houses have been loosed upon the public since Soulstorm was first released in 1987, tending to make the storyline in this novel bit overly familiar. Adding to that sense of déjà vu is that in Soulstorm,Williamson appears to be paying homage of sorts to Shirley Jackson’s, The Haunting of Hill House and Richard Matheson’s Hell House in the first place. But don’t let that any of that turn you off to this re-release; Williamson’s Soulstorm is a damn fine haunted house novel that is well worth downloading.
David Neville is a man with riches that most of us could only dream about. On top of unlimited wealth, he’s got quite the young babe for a wife. However, the one thing that David doesn’t posses is good health and he’s only got a few months to live. Or does he?
David inherited a mansion somewhere in the mountains of Pennsylvania that’s rumored to be haunted. If this is true, it speaks of the afterlife and a chance to be immortal. Oh…and it might also be a way for him and that babe wife of his to be together forever. The problem is, he’s not exactly sure the spirits who inhabit the mansion are the benevolent type. In fact, later on we learn that they are all pretty much the scum of the earth featuring serial killers and even Adolph Hitler.
David has the mansion turned into a fortress with thick steel plates covering all the doors, windows, and other accesses. He then selects three seemingly random, but capable individuals to act as bodyguards offering them a million dollars apiece if they will stay with him and his wife in the mansion for 30 days. The three accept. Then the fun begins.
Soon after the five settle in, the house goes to work infecting their minds. It effects their perceptions of themselves, each other, and even changes the sexuality of one of the individuals. And the changes are not only physiological, but physical, and the results are carnage in the extreme.
Soulstorm is an excellently written horror novel that in retrospect, was ahead of it’s time. Plot points such as male homosexuality and delving deeply into the psyche of a combat hardened Vietnam War veteran weren’t all that common in horror novels of the 1980’s. Even reading them today, these themes seem refreshing and a welcome change of pace from the prevalence of exploitive, gruesome horror novels that have become so popular over the last few years.
But the best thing that Soulstorm has going for it is that it’s not only well written and entertaining, it also delivers the goods…big time! Soulstorm has interesting characters, is loaded with tension fueled scenes, and is genuinely scary. Once again, Crossroads Press has made an excellent choice in re-releasing some of the best horror from the 1980’s.
