Book Reviews

A blast from the past this week, with this classic Bram Stoker winning horror tome from the late 80s. I read this on the trusty Kindle. I dread to think how thick the print version is. You could probably hollow it out and live in it. Still, if you’re going to write about the end of the world then you …

As I read the synopsis for Rob Smith’s Night Fighters, a mild wave of trepidation began to sink in. A battle between Nazis and vampire fighter pilots? It brought to mind campy B-movies lacking in substance and quality writing. I then began to wonder what I was even worrying about. Vampire stories set during WWII have been done well. Dan …

Mask of Cybele, the new novel by Erik Greenman, published as an e-book for multiple platforms, is the kind of book that gives self-publishing and POD books a bad name. It is tedious, boring, lacks a narrative drive and conflict, and is nothing short of a self-indulgent mess. It is the type of book that traditional publishers would shun, as it lacks …

Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Plains Drifter (Episodes 1-4) Published By: Damnation Books, LLC Published Date: December 1, 2009 Format: Oversized Paperback, Black /White – 286 pages Price: $21.65 ($5.95 on Kindle) Stop wasting your time reading this review and read Ed Ederlac’s amazing episodic novel Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Plains Drifter. Do so, and there is …

Blood Society Author: Jeffery Thomas Publisher: Necro Publications Price: $17.99 It’s tempting to start off with a trite rant about how defanged and bloodless vampire stories have become, but Blood Society isn’t really about vampires. I don’t just mean in the sense that we never truly know what protagonist Dragna and his ilk are; the monsters simply are not the …

BEYOND THE BARRIERS Author: Timothy Long Permuted Press And the zombie fiction juggernaut thunders on with another addition to the genre. This time it’s by Timothy Long, and has the potential to be a better book than many of your run-of-the-mill zombie yarns. Once again we’re stuck with the damn first person narrative though, which is getting more annoying as …

Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 6 SYNOPSIS: A companion piece for season 6 of the television show Supernatural that includes an overview of the season, a detailed episode guide for each episode of the season, character and crew profiles, and some other cool stuff related to the show (including a photo gallery and a look at some of the creatures …

The Undead Situation Eloise J. Knapp Permuted Press I don’t know about you, but I’m really getting tired of genre novels written in the first person. Genre novels, for the most part, work best when the story unfolds via an unaffected third person narrative. The first person narrative is great for getting a sense of character across, but not so …

2011, ebook $.99 Synopsis: A dark, sinister, sexy and clever take on the origins of The Brides of Dracula. Think cross between an old school horror book and the TV show Dexter (yes, the one about the serial killer). A new, original twist on the classic vampire tale, set in present-day Las Vegas. Review: The thing about the world today …

Issue: Critical Millennium Hardcover Writer/Creative Director: Andrew E. C. Gaska Artist: Daniel Dussault Letters: Nina L. Kester Proofs: Duncan Mc Lachlan Publisher: Archaia Pages: 176 Price: $24.95 “Mankind’s rise and fall in space begins here! Two thousand years from now, the Earth is nearly dead. A bold group of explorers led by philanthropist Thomm Coney pushes forward to take the …

Issue: Charley’s War (Vol. 8): Hitler’s Youth Writer: Pat Mills Artist: Joe Colquhoun Publisher: Titan Publishing Release Date: Oct. 2011 Pages: 112 Price: $19.95 “In this explosive new volume of never-before-collected comic strip, Charley comes face to face with a young corporal who will eventually change the face of the world as leader of the Nazi party: Adolf Hitler. The …

Published by Starwarp Concepts 2011, $14.94 310 pages Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Goth girl Pandora Zwieback has a major problem: she’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every monster and ghoul out to raise a little hell (literally!) . . . BUT she’s apparently the only one who can see them. That means she can’t …

It’s not everyday you get a book sent to you exclusive from A&E, and exclusive to the Stephen King film “Bag of Bones” (TV 2 part mini series). Though it is worth mentioning when the product is beautifully written and photographed. The book itself is simpl;y titled “Dark Score Stories”. It contains 64 pages which mainly include the photography of …

Darkness Falls by Allan Leverone (DarkFuse) In this tale of creeping horror, down-on-his-luck novelist Tyler Beckman returns to his old hometown of Darkness Falls, New Hampshire, hoping to resurrect his career. Tyler fled the town of his youth nearly two decades earlier following the brutal triple murder of his parents and sister, landing in New York and eventually writing six …

Time traveling zombies in New Jersey amounts to a b-movie version remake of the worst ever made SyFy Channel original of Doctor Who visits the Jersey Shore. Yea – it’s THAT bad. The best part is that the author knows it and embraces it in all of its absurdities. There are small glimmers of hope no matter how minute they …