Review: Strange Weather by Joe Hill

Strange Weather by Joe Hill
William Morrow (October 2017)
448 pages; $16.67 hardcover; $16.99 paperback; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

There’s something decidedly different about Joe Hill, besides the obvious relation. His novels and short stories defy categorization, often eschewing the conventions of horror and tropes of speculative fiction in favor of something much more… interesting.Continue Reading

Review: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
William Morrow (June 26, 2018)
288 pages; $21.59 hardcover; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Jonathan Reitan

Before you know it, and in just one breath, you’ve already read the first 50 pages of Paul Tremblay’s summer release The Cabin At The End Of The World. It’s that good.Continue Reading

Walking Alone by Bentley Little: Trade Hardcover Now In-Stock!

We’re extremely pleased to report our trade hardcover of Walking Alone: Short Stories by Bentley Little is now in-stock and all preorders have shipped! Please be sure to order ASAP if you want the 1st Printing, 1st Edition!

Walking Alone

Read more or place your order while our supplies last!

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

The Spirituality of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Wait a minute. Let’s get this straight. The idea that an eighties slasher sequel is somehow spiritual? Can even I make such a claim with a straight face?

Well, yes and no.Continue Reading

Walking With Ghosts by Brian James Freeman: PS Publishing Hardcover Special Edition!

We’re extremely pleased to report we’ll be receiving some copies of Walking With Ghosts by Brian James Freeman from PS Publishing in the UK!

Brian is a long-time CD staffer, of course, and Walking With Ghosts is his first full-length short story collection featuring 29 stories, author notes for each of them, and a wonderful introduction by horror legend William Peter Blatty. The cover and endpaper artwork is by the amazing Vincent Chong and this will be a truly beautiful 1st edition.

Walking With Ghosts

You can read more or order the hardcover edition on our website!

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

Review: Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle

Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle
Macabre Ink (September 2017)
174 pages; $9.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Haunted house stories have been run into the ground and, in most cases, should be boarded up due to the tropes that lazy writing cannot fix. In recent years, only a few have managed to introduce something new. Examples include House of Leaves, The Unseen, and The Haunted, each bringing a new wrinkle to the subgenre.Continue Reading

Review: Relics—The Folded Land by Tim Lebbon

Relics—The Folded Land by Tim Lebbon
Titan Books (March 2018)
336 pages; $13.09 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Tim Lebbon knows how to spin a tale that envelops the reader in a world they know, and then twists that reality into a unique playground for his characters to battle monsters and create stories which always sidestep cliché.

After a couple of straight-up thrillers, Lebbon returned to the land of weird horror with Relics last year, a novel that detailed the hidden world of the Kin, creatures who existed alongside humans yet are rarely seen. Fairies, nymphs, and monsters beyond description fought for their survival against enemies both human and supernatural.Continue Reading

On This, the Day of the Pig by Josh Malerman: a new Signed Limited Edition hardcover!

We’re thrilled to report we’ll be publishing On This, the Day of the Pig by Josh Malerman, an original novel by the acclaimed author of Bird Box, Unbury Carol, and Black Mad Wheel!

About the Book:
Jeff looked over his shoulder back to the hidden pigpen.

Pearl was all he could see. Pearl. Sitting on his ass like a person might, his front hooves limp at the sides of his belly, his head was cocked slightly to the side, his pink ears straight high above his head. His bad eye looked dark, hidden, but his good one was fixed on Jeff.

In it, Jeff saw an intelligence that scared him.

A half smile appeared under the pig’s snout, or maybe it was just the way his lips naturally curled up at their ends.

Jeff fingered the latch. Pearl watched him. Staring. Assessing. Planning?

Jeff pulled his fingers away. A streak of shame ran down his back, like he’d come close to letting something very bad out of the pen…

On This, the Day of the Pig

You can read more or order the hardcover edition on our website!

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

Review: Cold Cuts by Robert Payne Cabeen

Cold Cuts by Robert Payne Cabeen
Omnium Gatherum Media (July 2017)
228 pages; $12.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by C.W. Briar

Monster stories generally work best when approached in one of two ways. The first is to have a well-executed tale where intriguing characters clash with a unique creature. The other is for the story to double-down on clichés and formulas, preferably with a more tongue-in-cheek tone. Cold Cuts by Robert Payne Cabeen is squarely the latter.Continue Reading

Review: Cut You Down by Sam Wiebe

Cut You Down by Sam Wiebe
Quercus (February 2018)
288 pages; $15.91 hardcover; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Noir fiction can be a mixed bag in today’s market. Many of the writers seem content to channel Raymond Chandler and roll through a murder-by-numbers plot with the most clichéd characters. Thankfully, a few breathe new life into the mix. Sam Wiebe is one of them. Last year’s The Invisible Dead introduced private investigator Dave Wakeland in the underused but vibrant setting of Vancouver. Coupled with the PI’s journeys into northern Washington State, the book feels fresh and avoids the pseudo-early twentieth century language and tropes.Continue Reading

Review: Cockblock by C.V. Hunt

Cockblock by C.V. Hunt
Amazon Digital Services (June 25, 2018)

108 pages; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Sonya and Callie just want to go out for a date. What they don’t want is to find themselves surrounded by men who seem incapable of doing anything but spout lame pick up lines and force themselves on anyone or anything they come across. What follows is a surprisingly harrowing ordeal of survival that reminded me quite pleasantly of Jack Ketchum’s Ladies’ Night.Continue Reading

Review: It, Watching by Elizabeth Massie

It, Watching by Elizabeth Massie
CreateSpace (June 2017)
220 pages; $13.95 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

In her first collection in several years, Elizabeth Massie returns with a thrilling collection of short stories. The Bram Stoker-winning author has put together eighteen tales, several of which are new to readers, and there’s not a clunker in the bunch.Continue Reading

Review: Nightly Owl, Fatal Raven by Jessica McHugh

Nightly Owl, Fatal Raven by Jessica McHugh
Raw Dog Screaming Press (June 14, 2018)

220 pages, $15.95 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

You know what I was just thinking we don’t have nearly enough of? Hyper-violent, dystopian, post-apocalyptic sword and sandals-style fantasy with a hefty seasoning of Shakespearean drama. Luckily, we have Jess McHugh’s Nightly Owl, Fatal Raven swooping in to pluck out our eyes.Continue Reading

Review: And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste

And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
JournalStone (April 2017)
210 pages; $15.95 paperback; $3.95 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Remember this name. Gwendolyn Kiste will one day rule the world of dark short fiction if there’s any justice. Every once in a while, a new voice emerges and takes the genre by storm. Several have broken the surface lately and shown tinges of greatness to be, but rarely is one “born” with a style and substance this mind-boggling.Continue Reading