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 […]
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 […]
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
The Twelve is a well-written action thriller, a good, solid novel. But it doesn’t hold a candle to The Passage, the first book in author Justin Cronin’s post-apocalyptic vampire series. The Twelve suffers from the same “middle child syndrome” that plagues so may “Book 2s” in a trilogy series. It’s neither a beginning, nor an […]
Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines by Richard Laymon
These stories are a throwback to a simpler time; a time when people drove around in faux wood panel station wagons, wore bell bottoms, and read fiction magazines for entertainment. That’s right. People used to read. Fiction. For fun! In magazines! The first Richard Laymon story I ever encountered was “The Champion” published in an […]
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Stephen King brings these things upon himself. It isn’t fair to compare his latest novel, Doctor Sleep, with his landmark work, The Shining. But comparisons are inevitable — Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining. Critics will rightfully say, “Doctor Sleep is okay, but it isn’t as good as The Shining.” But how could […]
I’m Not Sam by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
What if you awoke one morning to find your wife — your soulmate, the love of your life, the person you know better than anyone else — is no longer herself? Instead, she insists she’s a seven-year-old named Lily. This is the simple-yet-effective premise that drives I’m Not Sam by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee. […]
Blood & Sawdust by Jason Ridler
Jason Ridler takes a bite out of the vampire genre with his action-packed, fast-paced novel, Blood and Sawdust. B&S reads like a backroom MMA bout with vampires, or Fight Club with a supernatural twist. B&S has its origins in movies like Bloodsport and Street Fighter as much as it does the novels of Raymond Chandler […]
Desperation by Stephen King and The Regulators by Richard Bachman
Sifting through old computer files, I found this November 1996 review of Stephen King’s Desperation and Richard Bachman’s The Regulators. Enjoy! — R Stephen King’s Desperation, and The Regulators — penned by King’s alter ego, Richard Bachman — feature the same cast of characters in polar opposite roles. In Desperation, the Carver family of Wentworth, Ohio […]
Horror! Mystery! Cheap! Free!
One of the drawbacks of the ebook revolution is the lack of used bookstores. What was better than searching the shelves for second-hand bargain reads? You could walk out with a big bag of books for twenty bucks. Awesome! Fortunately, Brian James Freeman has made the hunt for ebook bargains a breeze. Check out these […]
Afraid by Jack Kilborn
Joe Konrath (aka Jack Kilborn, aka J.A. Konrath) is a kind of folk hero to struggling authors everywhere. His blog, A Newbie’s Guide To Publishing, outlines his success as a self-published novelist, and encourages others to follow a similar path. He makes a compelling argument for DIY book publishing, and the demise of the industry’s […]