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Review: Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 13, 2023February 13, 2023Reviews, Spotlight on Cemetery Dance eBooksDon't Fear the Reaper, Gabriel Hart, Reviews, Stephen Graham JonesLeave a comment

cover of Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
Gallery/Saga Press (February 2023)
464 pages; $23.99 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Gabriel Hart

The slasher flick genre, and perhaps horror literature in general, isn’t likely to be the same after Stephen Graham Jones concludes his Indian Lake Trilogy; the way he’s blown it apart and reassembled it, using its well-worn tropes as trap doors to cavernous and kaleidoscopic subplots, rubbing its masked face in its own fake blood without disrespecting its vital primitive idiocy we’re unabashedly attracted to. In fact, Jones has intellectualized a genre many attempt to dismiss as trash, begging the question why so many of us intelligent, inquisitive people can’t stay away from it? The answer is simple: we cannot survive unless we go through something.Continue Reading

Review: Delevan House by Ruthann Jagge and Natasha Sinclair

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 8, 2023February 9, 2023ReviewsDelevan House, Natasha Sinclair, Reviews, Ruthann JaggeLeave a comment

cover of Delevan House Delevan House by Ruthann Jagge and Natasha Sinclair
Independently Published (February 2023)
240 pages; $21.95 hardcover; $14.95 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Folk horror tends to be an intriguing subgenre. It runs deep in our veins and roots in our DNA, no matter what the setting. Collaborative novels are always a mixed bag as the stylistic mix between two minds walks the artistic tightrope.

Yet these two authors forge something special here, as Ruthann Jagge and Natasha Sinclair — the former a Texan/NY hybrid, and the latter hailing from Scotland — have produced a story that is both gorgeous and vicious. The mystery surrounding the story is intoxicating as the question is posed: what is Delevan House? The answer to that is labyrinthine in construction.Continue Reading

Review: Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 6, 2023January 12, 2023Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Joshua Gage, Norman Shurtliff, Reviews, Skull Cat and the Curious Castle, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff
IDW Publishing (February 21, 2023)
112 pages; $14.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Scully the Cat’s father was injured hunting gold on a mountain, so Scully has to get a job with a local garden crew. His first job is at Le Dark Chateau, a haunted mansion rumored to have a hidden treasure, but it’s protected by unknown evil. When Scully’s new crew goes missing and he catches the lady of the manor drinking red liquid from a mug, surely she has murdered everyone and is drinking their blood! Will he have the same courage as his father? Will he find the treasure of Le Dark Chateau, or will he find a different type of treasure, instead?Continue Reading

Review: This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 1, 2023January 29, 2023ReviewsCaitlin Marceau, Haley Newlin, Reviews, This is Where We Talk Things OutLeave a comment

This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Dark Lit Press (September 2022)
114 pages; paperback $13.00; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Imagine that every event in your life is unwound, beaten down to bones, and restructured from top to bottom. The funereal routine repeats again and again until you can’t tell your truth from the rescript. That’s how life was for Miller — growing up with a narcissistic mother who was MIA most of the time and emotionally manipulative whenever present. Continue Reading

Review: The Drift by C.J. Tudor

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 30, 2023January 24, 2023ReviewsC.J. Tudor, Dave Simms, Reviews, The DriftLeave a comment

cover of The Drift by C.J. Tudor The Drift by C.J. Tudor
Ballantine Books (January 31, 2023)
352 pages; $28 hardcover; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

It’s always a wonderful thing when readers discover a talented new writer whose every offering is rock solid, the quality high yet never failing to break out of comfort zone. C.J. Tudor has become something of a superstar in the thriller and darker tales in the past five years. From the most recent The Burning Girls, an almost folk horror thriller, to her debut The Chalk Man, one of the best thrillers in recent memory, Tudor has played it small, meaning the settings have centered around small, claustrophobic towns and characters who are anything but what readers expect them to be. With The Drift, the author goes big. High concept, end of the world scenario, and a situation that’s horrific, weaving in terror that would find itself familiar in tales of that guy from Maine.

Review: The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 27, 2023January 23, 2023ReviewsDavid Niall WIlson, Johnny Compton, Reviews, The Spite HouseLeave a comment

The Spite House by Johnny Compton
Tor Nightfire (February 7, 2023)
272 pages; hardcover $27.99; e-book $14.99
Reviewed by David Niall Wilson

The Spite House, the debut novel from Johnny Compton, is a very complex story. There are a lot of well-developed characters, and each of them has secrets, and stories, things they are keeping to themselves and things they want to share. And, of course, there’s that house.Continue Reading

Review: Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 25, 2023January 22, 2023ReviewsHaley Newlin, Krampus, Lucky Girl, M. Rickert, ReviewsLeave a comment

Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert
Tordotcom (September 2022)
108 pages; $13.69 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

The holiday season screams merriment and cheer, a time for friends and family, and a time to compartmentalize evil. But what if something far more sinister than an old family spat is at work? We’ve heard its name and feared its wicked horns, obscene tongue, and fiendish fangs: Krampus.Continue Reading

Review: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 19, 2023January 16, 2023ReviewsGrady Hendrix, Haley Newlin, How to Sell a Haunted House, Reviews1 Comment

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Berkley (January 2023)
432 pages; $19.60 paperback; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Grady Hendrix’s new release, How To Sell A Haunted House, looms over the haunted house trope with puppets, gore, and restless spirits, but the family lies and sheer shock of how it unfolds will make readers eat this story up right down to the bone.Continue Reading

Review: Marla by Jonathan Janz

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 18, 2023January 12, 2023ReviewsDave Simms, Earthling Halloween Series, Earthling Publications, Halloween, Jonathan Janz, Marla, Reviews1 Comment

cover of Marla by Jonathan Janz Marla by Jonathan Janz
Earthling Publications (October 2022)
SOLD OUT Limited Edition; $TBD Lettered Edition
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Another year, another home run for Earthling, this time thanks to the magic of Jonathan Janz. This offering is no different than any of the other great stories Paul Miller has unleashed unto the world of horror.

MARLA is a fascinating read that can be devoured quickly, but shouldn’t, especially if intriguing writing and deep characterization is your thing. In a year full of quality horror, it takes a massive work of art to stand out from the crowd.

Review: All Hallows by Christopher Golden

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 16, 2023January 11, 2023ReviewsAll Hallows, Blu Gilliand, Christopher Golden, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of All Hallows by Christopher Golden All Hallows by Christopher Golden
St. Martin’s Press (January 24, 2023)
336 pages: $22.99 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Christopher Golden sets us up for what sounds like a perfect Halloween night in the opening chapters of his novel All Hallows…and then viciously, gleefully rips it all apart.

It’s 1984 in Coventry, Massachusetts. The kids on Parmenter Road are looking forward to a night of trick-or-treating; the adults are looking forward to the party that starts once the trick-or-treating is done; and everyone is looking forward to a visit to the Haunted Woods, one family’s tradition that’s grown into a much-anticipated annual event. On the surface, things are great. But behind that thin veneer of neighborly civility, things are coming to a boil.Continue Reading

Review: The Vessel by Adam L. G. Nevill

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 12, 2023January 11, 2023ReviewsAdam L.G. Nevill, Haley Newlin, Reviews, The VesselLeave a comment

The Vessel by Adam L.G. Nevill
Ritual Limited (October 2022)
170 pages; $10.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

In his eleventh book, The Vessel, Adam L.G. Nevill summons readers with another eerie folk horror story with his usual ethereal atmosphere, creative conjurings of terror, and family at the heart of it all. Only this time, Nevill offers a cinematic approach — removing access to the character’s inner dialogue.Continue Reading

Review: Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 9, 2023January 8, 2023ReviewsCraig Dilouie, Dave Simms, Episode Thirteen, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie Episode 13 by Craig DiLouie
Redbook (January 24 2023)
464 pages; $18.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

The new year might kick off with its first amazing novel. Episode Thirteen is different. For a fan of the paranormal, it checks all the right boxes. For horror fans, even more. For those who love different modalities of storytelling, well, double check.Continue Reading

Review: Aliens: Vasquez by V. Castro

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 3, 2023January 2, 2023ReviewsAliens, Anton Cancre, Reviews, V. Castro, VasquezLeave a comment

cover of Aliens: Vasquez by V. Castro Aliens: Vasquez by V. Castro
Titan Books (November 2022)
432 pages; $22.49 hardcover; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Horror hot take: I’m not that into Aliens as a film. But I dig the heck out of Jenette Vasquez’ take no crap, tear everyone to bits attitude. Without question, I absolutely adore the heck out of everything I have read from V. Castro. While Vasquez ended up being quite different from what I expected, it also ended up being much better.Continue Reading

Review: Shagging the Boss by Rebecca Rowland

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 30, 2022December 18, 2022ReviewsDave Simms, Rebecca Rowland, Reviews, Shagging the BossLeave a comment

cover of Shagging the Boss Shagging the Boss by Rebecca Rowland
Filthy Loot (June 2022)
82 pages; $12 paperback
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Okay, before anyone starts quoting Austin Powers in a bad accent, the shagging Rebecca Rowland refers to might be a bit different. Well, quite different. The title does fit, though, yet I can’t divulge too much of this novelette’s plot. It’s unique and a quick read, easy for one sitting…but this story stuck to me like a great meal. More on that later.Continue Reading

Review: Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Robert Guffey

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 28, 2022December 18, 2022ReviewsBela Lugosi's Dead, Haley Newlin, Reviews, Robert GuffeyLeave a comment

cover of Bela Lugosi's Dead Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Robert Guffey
Macabre Ink (April 2021)
264 pages; $17.99 paperback; $4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Universal monsters Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man and others, primarily produced between the 1930s and 1950s, still stand today as not only icons of horror but pop culture.

And yet, so many of the horrifically haunting films featuring these creatures, including Bela Lugosi’s infamous bloodthirsty Count Dracula, have been buried away and forgotten. Continue Reading

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