Book Reviews

Unpleasant Tales EibonVale, July 2010 321 pages “From the comic to the shocking, from the refined to the visceral, and blurring the boundaries between all four – Unpleasant Tales is a remarkable new collection of some of Brendan Connell’s darkest stories. Drenched in gluttony and decadence and with a scope stretching from the depravity of rulers in ancient Greece and …

Another batch of pulp horror from the One Buck team. Another excellent collection of short stories to get your teeth into. If you’re wondering what to expect, it’s like an old horror comic without the pictures. It won’t take you long to get through, but as you’ve only paid a buck, you don’t begrudge its brevity. Non-spoiling taster to follow. …

Our lovable mass murderer has returned for a sequel written by Rod Glenn. If you have not read the first book yet then you might as well stop reading now. Spoilers, pet, spoilers… Ok – if you are still with me here then I am going to assume you have read Sinema. Han Whitman returns to his normal life but …

Little Boy Lost by T.M. Wright (Uninvited Books) WHY WOULD A DEMON WANT A CHILD? When his six-year-old son vanishes, Miles Gale is suspected of having committed an unthinkable crime. He alone knows that the truth is even more unthinkable: his son has been taken by a creature out of time, a creature out of nightmare. The boy’s mother has …

Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of The Ghost Adventures Crew By now if you haven’t seen a half dozen or more of the “Ghost Adventures” episodes, it’s quite possible you’ve been living under a rock or haven’t paid your cable bill for the last few years. This unique exploration of all things paranormal conducted by a …

Roads Less Traveled: The Plan By C. Dulaney Permuted Press Apocalyptic zombie fiction from a very promising author? Yes please. Roads Less Traveled: The Plan may be yet another genre novel told in the first person (this is really bugging me of late), but it’s one that has a superb balance of plot, character, fun and carnage. Getting underway the …

“Someone stole the world and packed it up in a briefcase.”  We all know how to deal with ghosts (salt, prayers, just move out of the friggin house already), vampires are old hat (stake, decap or wait til sunrise for the sparklies) and no matter what new permutation on zombies you may come up with, we have our plans ready …

This beautiful hard cover release is actually the first I’ve seen of the “head press” magazine article releases. It’s binding and full color printing is a “must see” that captures all the elements of what a cooly designed and written book “should” be. This edition “Headpress 2.6” is noted as being split into 2 parts, so to speak. The first …

It seems that the devil has been rearing his ugly head for quite sometime. Of course he has been the inspiration for countless films over decades past with many of them becoming fan favorites for years to come. The subject of Satan, the occult and ritualistic gatherings have arose in music as well. More so than most think and many …

“I’m no Hero,” she repeated. “Real Heroes die young. Their too honest, too good. I can’t help playing dirty. That’s why I’m just a sidekick.” She shrugged. “At least I get to live.” -“Worthy”, M.E. Garber When someone decides to write about a sidekick, they’re deciding to write a different kind of story. It isn’t going to be about glory …

A suspenseful tale of both ancient and modern horror, Witch is a breath of fresh air in this time of zombie trending and vampire romance. Patterson returns to the roots of the genre, generating a natural sense of foreboding that builds and builds, while at the same time maintaining a stylized tone that is both bleak and beautiful at once—comparable …

Halloween Spirits – 11 Tales For The Darkest Night Edited by Lisa Morton TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction by Lisa Morton Someone to Carve the Pumpkins by Kealan Patrick Burke Carrion Man by Joseph Nassise The Devil Came to Mamie’s on Hallowe’en by Lisa Morton The Gunner’s Love Song by Joe McKinney The October Girls by Scott Nicholson Trick or Die …

The Kult by Shaun Jeffrey People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill. Out of misguided loyalty, police officer Prosper Snow is goaded into helping his friends perform a copycat killing, but when the real killer comes after him, it’s not only his life on the line, but his family’s too. Now if he goes to his colleagues …

The Red Empire by Joe McKinney Bad Moon Books Hell to Pay The Red Empire is the U.S. Army’s secret weapon against insurgents the world over. A gigantic colony of inch long, super-intelligent fire ants, The Red Empire is capable of fighting any enemy, no matter where they’re hiding. But when the military transport tasked with delivering this weapon washes …

Have any of you heard that there might be some kind of glut in the zombie market? It’s like a plague has been released, infecting us all and overrunning the streets. As can be the problem in any flooded market, individuals damn well better have something to make them stand out if they are going to be worth dropping our …