Josh Malerman’s Black Mad Wheel is an excellent tale of a 1950s army band recruited to track down a mysterious musical weapon (and its equally mysterious owner) in the South African desert. The title could refer to vinyl records or the spin of reel-to-reel recording decks. It might refer to the tires of an army […]
And Her Smile Will Untether The Universe By Gwendolyn Kiste
Gwendolyn Kiste has a wonderful way with words. In her hands they are beautiful and savage, comforting and terrifying, heart-wrenching and healing. And Her Smile Will Untether The Universe contains some true gems, tales thick with atmosphere and murky mood. “Evening settles softly on the orchard like black tar dripping from the sky” and later, […]
Panic by K.R. Griffiths
K.R. Griffiths isn’t blazing any new ground in Panic, the first of his six-volume Wildfire Chronicles series. We’ve seen the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse before in Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead, and Fear The Walking Dead, and all of the familiar horror tropes are employed in Panic (though the Infected of Panic […]
Write, Print, Publish, Promote by Kyle Burbank
Write, Print, Publish, Promote The complete guide to writing and publishing a book by Kyle Burbank There are a million different do-it-yourself guides to publishing an e-book, and Kyle Burbank’s Write, Print, Publish, Promote is as good as any at introducing authors to the basics of digital publishing. Burbank published a successful niche book —The E-Ticket […]
Chills by Mary SanGiovanni
Kathy Ryan has problems. Her brother is a psychopath who tried to kill her when they were young, and now a band of cultists have unleashed an otherworldly invasion on the otherwise quiet town of Colby, Connecticut. Kathy is also emotionally drained from her job battling supernatural monsters. Guarding the inter-dimensional gateway against ancient intruders […]
What Do Monsters Fear? by Matt Hayward
What do monsters fear? Responsibility. Withdrawal symptoms. Owning up to their past mistakes. One of the recovering addicts in Matt Hayward’s creep-fest What Do Monsters Fear? sums up the plot in a few well-chosen words: “Three strung-out fucks are gonna stop an ancient evil god?” Hell, yeah, they are! Because the ancient evil god—a body-snatching baddie […]
Brain Dead Blues by Matt Hayward
Irish author/musician Matt Hayward puts his impressive writing chops on display in his short story collection, Brain Dead Blues. The lead story, “God Is In The Radio,” owes much to H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Music Of Eric Zahn,” only it’s more coherent and satisfying than the original. An aging rock star finds an inter-dimensional doorway hidden inside […]
A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full Of Ghosts is a beautiful novel, a post-modern tale of demonic possession that leaves you questioning where truth lies in our surreal/unreal world. Publisher William Morrow sums up A Head Full Of Ghosts: The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie […]
Editorial: Harry Potter and the Pretentious Book Reviewer
I made a social blunder recently when I disparaged Harry Potter during a family vacation. I started reading the Harry Potter series this summer, along with my wife and our 11-year-old daughter. There are lots of Harry Potter fans in our extended family. I have several nieces and nephews that grew up with author J.K. […]
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is funny, wise, and as close to a perfect novel as you’re likely to find. Protagonist Ignatius C. Reilly is a bloated buffoon, a man-baby who lives with his mother, has a troubled digestive valve that causes him to burp and fart with great frequency, and possesses […]