Cemetery Dance Online

Brian Keene’s End of the Road: Confluence

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 30, 2016September 30, 2016Brian Keene's End of the RoadBrian Keene, Columns, End of the Road, Featured1 Comment

The fog burned off with the sunrise, the new radiator worked fine, doing what radiators are supposed to do, and the storm was now yesterday’s memory. I reached Chattanooga in record time, arriving at noon. I was due to sign at a wonderful independent store called Star Line Books at three that afternoon. With time to kill, I checked into my hotel, and then met up with Eddie Coulter and Gavin Dillinger for drinks and a quick bite. Continue Reading

Review: ‘Last Train from Perdition’ by Robert McCammon

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 29, 2016September 29, 2016ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Featured, Last Train from Perdition, Reviews, Robert McCammonLeave a comment

Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon
Subterranean Press (October 2016)
181 pages; $35 hardcover
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Sometimes, horror is the perfect genre for exploring universal themes such as loss, isolation, or grief.

Sometimes, horror is the perfect genre for exploring how humans react to adversity, loneliness, temptation or, naturally, fear.

And sometimes, horror is the perfect genre to take a group of people, strand them on a train in the dark frontier, and unleash a siege of bloodthirsty creatures upon them.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Children of Lovecraft’ edited by Ellen Datlow

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 26, 2016September 28, 2016ReviewsChildren of Lovecraft, Dark Horse Books, Ellen Datlow, Featured, ReviewsLeave a comment

Children of Lovecraft edited by Ellen Datlow
Dark Horse Books (September 2016)
384 pages; $12.81 paperback; $10.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over thirty years. She has won numerous awards for her work and is certainly one of the best in the business. As a result, she attracts some of the best writers when she puts together a new project, and Children of Lovecraft is a fine example of this effect.Continue Reading

Exploring the Dark Side of Sci-Fi with Michael Bailey and Richard Chizmar

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 23, 2016September 27, 2016InterviewsDark Regions Press, Featured, Interviews, Michael Bailey, Richard Chizmar, You HumanLeave a comment

Dark Regions Press has enlisted Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Michael Bailey to christen the new Dark Regions Sci-Fi imprint with You, Human, a genre-bending anthology of dark science fiction and poetry. The collection, featured as part of an Indiegogo campaign (which also seeks to produce Return of the Old Ones: Apocalyptic Lovecraftian Horror and The Children of Gla’aki: A Tribute to Ramsey Campbell’s Great Old One) is illustrated by world-renowned artist L.A. Spooner, with poetry and spot illustrations supplied by Orion Zangara.

The campaign is entering its final days, and stands very close to its funding goal as of this writing. We were able to send a few questions to Bailey and one of You, Human‘s contributors, Cemetery Dance’s own Richard Chizmar, about their journey into the dark side of sci-fi.Continue Reading

The Tao of the Cow

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 23, 2016Brian Keene's End of the RoadBrian Keene, Columns, End of the Road, FeaturedLeave a comment

EndofRoad-web

The Tao of the Cow

Cow (Photo Copyright 2016 Brian Keene) — (Photo Copyright 2016 Brian Keene)

The storm reached its peak somewhere near the border of Virginia and North Carolina. The rain seemed to fall almost horizontally, and the wind rammed into vehicles, pushing cars and tractor trailers alike across entire traffic lanes. I gripped the wheel until my knuckles turned white, and chomped my cigar—a Drew Estate Tabak Especial—a little harder between my teeth. My coffee, long since cooled, sat perched against my crotch. Eyes on the road, I switched off my radio, and Clyde Lewis’s Ground Zero podcast vanished. I risked a glance in the back of the Jeep, making sure my cargo was safe and dry. Everything seemed fine. My duffel bag and laptop case were still there, as were the dozen boxes of Joe R. Lansdale’s books, which I was transporting to a convention for him. Continue Reading

Review: ‘Mysterion: Rediscovering the Mysteries of the Christian Faith’

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 22, 2016ReviewsDonald S. Crankshaw, Featured, Kevin Lucia, Kristin Janz, Mysterion, ReviewsLeave a comment

Mysterion: Rediscovering the Mysteries of the Christian Faith edited by Donald S. Crankshaw and Kristin Janz
Enigmatic Mirror Press (July 2016)
300 pages; $16.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Writers grappling with faith through the trappings of speculative fiction isn’t new. George MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, J. R. R. Tolkien, Madeleine L’Engle, Russell Kirk, William Peter Blatty and others did it long before now. There are many industry greats—such as Dean Koontz, Anne Rice and Stephen King, only to name a few—who have also written powerful works which address both the inspirational and also terrifying aspects of the Christian faith.

It’s a tricky balance, however, honestly grappling with these questions without proselytizing in the fashion of a preachy “Sunday School Lesson Wrapped Up in a Story.” All too often, “Christian” fiction errs too much on the side of “doctrinal correctness,” “proper theology” and an almost Puritanical “cleanliness,” completely missing out on the transformational power fiction has to impact humanity by sharing deep tales of the human experience and what it means to believe, hope, grieve, sacrifice, and trust in a higher power. Continue Reading

Review: ‘Stranded’ by Bracken MacLeod

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 20, 2016ReviewsBracken MacLeod, David Simms, Featured, Reviews, StrandedLeave a comment

Stranded by Bracken MacLeod
Tor Books (October 4, 2016)
304 pages; $24.99 hardcover; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by David Simms

Stranded is the kind of book which generates plenty of hype and high expectations—like many others every year. This one delivers on all that’s promised, and more, in a genre-hopping blockbuster which draws immediate comparisons to The Terror, The Thing, and even The Twilight Zone. Strong comparisons, yet in this case, apt words. A tour-de-force of claustrophobic thrills which places the book in the same field as Simmons, Koontz, and Golden.Continue Reading

Darkness Whispers by Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman!

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 19, 2016June 12, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

Darkness Whispers by Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman
BRAND NEW Signed Limited Edition Hardcover From Scarlet Galleon Publications!

“Richard Chizmar writes terrific stories served with a very large slice of Disquiet Pie.”
— Stephen King

“Brian James Freeman’s writing will leave you both chilled and deeply moved.”
— William Peter Blatty

Hi Folks!

We’re thrilled to announce Darkness Whispers, the first-ever colloboration by Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman, which will also be the first signed Limited Edition hardcover from one of the hottest new collectible publishers around: Scarlet Galleon Publications.

We recommend you get in on the ground floor of this exciting new publisher while you can because we don’t expect copies to last long given the extremely low print run!

About the Book:
Darkness Whispers will introduce you to the town of Windbrook, a sleepy little community nestled deep in the secluded Skullkin Valley of western Pennsylvania.

All is well in Windbrook, just like usual, just like always. Nothing changes here, nothing is different.

Except… except today something is different.

An old man with piercing gray eyes will arrive in town this morning. This man isn’t human. Not even close. And he isn’t coming alone. Death travels with him.

Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December, and Brian James Freeman, acclaimed author of The Painted Darkness, have combined forces to create an old-fashioned tale of horror, full of good and evil, with a breathtaking ending that will leave you wondering when this peculiar old man might be coming for you…

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: ‘Savages’ by Greg F. Gifune

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 19, 2016Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, Featured, Greg F. Gifune, Reviews, Savages, Sinister Grin PressLeave a comment

Savages by Greg F. Gifune
Sinister Grin Press (September 2016)
168 pages; $17.00 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Reminiscent of the pulp fiction stories of the ’30s through the ’50s, or perhaps the B-Movies popular at drive-ins in the ’70s and ’80s, Greg F. Gifune’s new novel, Savages, is every bit as good as the best of those sub-genres. Prior to the start of the book, the author quotes the 1920 film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”:

A man cannot destroy the savage in him by denying its impulses. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…

The story which follows is about a group of friends and acquaintances, shipwrecked, adrift for days, and washed ashore on a seemingly uninhabited island…and that’s the good news.Continue Reading

Homecoming

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 16, 2016Brian Keene's End of the RoadBrian Keene, Columns, End of the Road, FeaturedLeave a comment

EndofRoad-web

Homecoming

Sunlight reflected off Three Mile Island’s nuclear cooling towers as my plane landed. After three weeks of traversing California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, I was home for seven days. The first thing I did (after getting my Jeep out of long-term parking) was drive to my ex-wife’s house. She and my son had been babysitting my cat while I was away. I hugged all three of them and then sat down on their couch and accidentally fell asleep for fourteen hours.Continue Reading

Dark Screams: The Complete Signed Limited Edition!

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 14, 2016Breaking NewsLeave a comment

Dark Screams: The Complete Signed Limited Edition!
Featuring 160,000 words of horror and dark suspense from Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Kelley Armstrong, Bentley Little, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, Ramsey Campbell, Darynda Jones, Jacquelyn Frank, Brian Hodge, Norman Prentiss, Lisa Morton, Shawntelle Madison, Graham Masterton, Heather Graham, Ray Garton, Ed Gorman, Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Richard Christian Matheson!
Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Already More Than 70% Sold Out!

Hi Folks!

Big news on the Limited Edition front! The first five volumes in Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman’s acclaimed eBook anthology series Dark Screams will be published next year as an omnibus Limited Edition hardcover, and due to the number of orders received from the members of our Cemetery Dance Collectors Club, this title is already more than 70% sold out!

About the Book:
Dark Screams presents 25 stories written by the biggest names writing horror today including Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Kelley Armstrong, Bentley Little, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, Ramsey Campbell, Darynda Jones, Jacquelyn Frank, Brian Hodge, Norman Prentiss, Lisa Morton, Shawntelle Madison, Graham Masterton, Heather Graham, Ray Garton, Ed Gorman, Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Richard Christian Matheson.

These stories add up to more than 160,000 words of terror, which were originally published as eBook mini-anthologies by Random House, and this omnibus edition will see them in print together for the first time as one big oversized signed (by the editors and artists) Limited Edition hardcover.

Featuring full-color cover artwork by Vincent Chong and full-color endpapers by Alan M. Clark, this special edition is being designed with both general readers and serious book collectors in mind. Signed by all of the artists and editors, this will be a beautiful collectible that you’ll treasure for years to come!

Add a Special Exclusive Slipcase to Protect Your Book!

Due to demand from some of our most serious book collectors, we will be producing one of our popular custom-made slipcase for this title, but to keep this special edition afforable for general readers, we’re making this slipcase an option. Whether you want a slipcase or not is completely your choice, depending on what’s most important for your collection.

The only way to purchase a slipcase for your book is to select the Signed Limited Edition Hardcover with Slipcase ($84.95) option on the product page. We will not be able to offer these separately later on or to retailers, but right now we’re selling these special slipcases for just $24.95, making them an extremely affordable way to protect your book. We think our collectors will be very pleased with what we have in mind for these very special cases, so please don’t wait to place your order!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: ‘Hunter of the Dead’ by Stephen Kozeniewski

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 14, 2016ReviewsFeatured, Reviews, Stephen Kozeniewski, The Hunter of the DeadLeave a comment

Hunter of the Dead by Stephen Kozeniewski
Sinister Grin Press (August 2016)
402 pages; $17.59 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Hunter of the Dead is a sprawling, epic tale of vampire houses, the Inquisitors who seek to destroy them, and the one both vampires and Inquisitors fear the most, simply known as The Hunter.

Kozeniewski wastes no time setting the bloody tone for the tale which follows. I have never read anything like this. At times mesmerizing and breathtaking, Hunter of the Dead is every bit as entertaining as The Strain, but dissimilar in many ways. Multiple story-lines are woven together in a complex tapestry of blood and violence. No sparkly vampires here, these undead are definitely hardcore.Continue Reading

Review: ‘They Say a Girl Died Here Once’ by Sarah Pinborough

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 13, 2016ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Earthling Publications, Halloween Series, Sarah Pinborough, They Say a Girl Died Here OnceLeave a comment

They_Say_a_Girl_Died_Here_Once_by_Sarah_Pinborough They Say a Girl Died Here Once by Sarah Pinborough
Earthling Publications (October 2016)
202 pages; $35 signed & numbered hardcover; $400 lettered edition
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Every year for the last 11 years, Earthling Publications has played Santa on our “Horror Christmas,” a/k/a Halloween. Their gift to us each year: a new entry in the Halloween Series, a collection of short novels written by some of the best the horror genre has to offer. We’re talking your Peter Crowthers, your Gary McMahons, your Glen Hirshbergs, your James A. Moores, etc. The cream of the crop.

You’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of this series or read any of them—they are published in extremely limited quantities of 500 copies plus a smaller run of deluxe editions (the series starter—Mr. Dark’s Carnival by Glen Hirshberg—was only offered as a run of 15 handmade hardcovers), so they tend to disappear quickly. I fully expect that to be the case with this year’s entry, They Say a Girl Died Here Once, written by soon-to-be-an-overnight-success Sarah Pinborough.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Stay Crazy’ by Erica L. Satifka

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 12, 2016ReviewsErica L. Satifka, Featured, Reviews, Stay CrazyLeave a comment

Stay Crazy by Erica L. Satifka
Apex Book Company (August 2016)
254 pages; $14.67 paperback; ebook $6.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

If you knew that your brain made up its own narrative sometimes, how would you know what to believe? Beset by manipulative self-help gurus, religious cults, corporate brainwashing and other-dimensional beings that might want to destroy our entire universe, you have to decide what you will believe. That’s where we find Em in the course of Stay Crazy.

Warning: This is mostly a character piece. It moves incredibly slow at first while Satifka builds up the character and life of Emmaline Kahlberg. People that want to jump into a book running breakneck right from the start will not be happy. That’s sad, though, because the time spent establishing the day-to-day reality of Em pays off once everything falls off the rails and the crazy promised in the title hits home. The ride from there isn’t what I would call fun, but it’s a hell of a powerful one.Continue Reading

Once Upon a Time…

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 9, 2016Brian Keene's End of the RoadBrian Keene, Columns, End of the Road, Featured, Tom PiccirilliLeave a comment

EndofRoad-web

Once Upon a Time…

For the last few months, this weekly column has focused on my current book signing tour for Pressure and The Complex. If I’ve done my job correctly so far, then you’ve gotten a good look at what such an undertaking is like for me at my age and at this point in our genre and industry’s history.

You’ve also probably seen the ghosts of Tom Piccirilli and J.F. Gonzalez flitting around between the sentences—sometimes subtly, and sometimes with hammer-force blows. They’re going to start making their presences known more fully in the weeks to come. But before I begin recounting the second leg of the book tour, and telling you about what went down in July and August, I thought perhaps we should travel back in time to the year 2008. Continue Reading

The Tao of the Cow

Homecoming

Once Upon a Time…

FREE email updates!

Categories