Books

I really liked the writing I found in Sixty Five Stirrup Iron Road, the nine author collaboration put out by Sinister Grin Press at the end of last year. So much so, in fact, that I decided to check out some of the contributing authors’ other books, hoping for more of the same. My first stop was Shane McKenzie’s Muerte …

My first encounter with the writing of Jessica McHugh showed me an inventive horror short story called Food For Thought. Turns out, that’s just a tiny part of the McHughniverse. There’s also Pins, a suspenseful dark thriller involving strip clubs and bowling alleys. There’s the young adult mystery/thriller, Rabbits in the Garden. There’s her trip into the world of steampunk, …

When you’re a horror writer, and blurbs for your book are being written by Jack Ketchum and Edward Lee, you know you’re doing something right. This is definitely the case with Shane McKenzie, a writer who is absolutely tearing up the extreme horror landscape. The guy has written twelve books (at least, maybe more by the time I finish writing …

The spirit of D.I.Y. is alive and well within the pages of Jack Bantry’s Splatterpunk, but just because it has the look of an old cut and paste style, made in your basement, punk zine doesn’t mean it’s lacking in quality. The complete opposite, actually; these forty pages are packed with great in your face, extreme horror fiction. Not only …

With his newest release, Toxicity, Max Booth III has taken a break from the wild western zombies of Black as well as the flash fiction of They Might Be Demons and thrown us into the complex, nasty world of the suburbs of Chicago. Having grown up there, I can vouch for this; they are truly frightening, indeed. The world he …

Published under Applause Books, arrives a brand new zombie filled edition by the name of “The Zombie Film: From White Zombie to World War”. Despite the last few years being pretty busy in the zombie publishing industry, This 384 page color book is more than a welcome new edition easily put many of the others to shame. In first look, …

I say this with complete honesty, “The Handy Science Answer Book” may be just one of the most interesting all around reads for any occasion. Whether you are a student, a professor, a trivia wiz or just a curious reader looking for quick information about subjects that might escape you, this book is really a treat in surprise. Packed full …

The thing I really like about the stories of author P.A. Douglas, whether it be his Lovecraftian The Old One or his anti-establishment, bizarro novel Cucumber Punk, is that he knows how to hook you from the start and then keep your interest levels high all the way through to the final page. With The Remnant: Into the Collision, Douglas …

First things first, Sixty-Five Stirrup Iron Road is bigger than your average horror novel. When fellow author Tom Piccirilli (four time Bram Stoker award winner, author of The Last Kind Words, A Choir of Ill Children, etc…) ran into health problems and subsequent medical bills, some friends decided to lend a hand. And what better way to raise money than …

DEAD HUNGER VI: THE GATHERING STORM By: Eric A. Shelman Dolphin Moon Publishing 428 Pages “You never think of that crap do you? Civilization man. We take a lot of things for granted,” Punch. Life goes on for the small society that has come to know one another as family after the zombie apocalypse. While Flex, Gem, Hemp, Charlie, Trina …

To stand out in the indie publishing world, you not only have to put out quality work, but you often have to do something to grab people’s attention and get your name remembered. Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing (or PMMP, as the kids might be calling them) is doing just that, with a relatively new series they’re calling One-Night Stands. Rather …

I usually have some snarky lead in, but could not come up with one here that did not come across as completely dickish. Make up one of your own, then place it here in your mind. The Drunken Exorcist is the incredibly short tale of Father Schnitt, an exorcist who is drunk. I know, who could have seen that coming, …

OMINOUS REALITIES Edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson Grey Matter Press 317 Pages A collection of sixteen tales with a common theme surrounding the twisted, macabre and often sinister tendencies in post-apocalyptic times: How To Make A Human By Martin Rose-A robot named Romeo Dyer learns there are consequences to playing God even after Armageddon. Angie By John F.D. …

Princesses are not meant to pickup slimy, spit covered things from an animal’s mouth, especially if that animal is a scary ghost-demon wearing a crown of smoldering napalm. -“Diary of a Ghost’s Mistress” Before anything else is said, please note that both the title and cover art are at best uninspired and are not particularly representative of the contents. Remember …

THE DARK SIDE ISSUE 158 Ghoulish Publishing Editor: Allan Bryce The central theme for this latest issue of the DARK SIDE is once again a chunky retro feature on scares of yesteryear, this time beginning a semi-regular look at a particular year in the annals of horror. This issue’s feature takes a look at 1960 and all that it brought …