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Review: Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 1, 2023February 25, 2023ReviewsDave Simms, Lone Women, Reviews, Victor LaValleLeave a comment

cover of Lone Women by Victor LaValle Lone Women by Victor LaValle
One World (March 28, 2023)
304 pages; $27 hardback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Some books, special books, have a narrative style that grab the reader by the throat while whispering the words of angels in the ear. When that writing connects with a story so mesmerizing, the result is a reading experience that whisks away the hours.

When attempting to explain the plot of Lone Women, one might find themselves a bit tangled. Victor LaValle has been know to accomplish this before. The Changeling, The Ballad of Black Tom, and The Devil in Silver all exemplify this in stories that meld genres, the fantastic with the grotesque, the beautiful with the grittiest of settings.Continue Reading

Review: Scream Vol. 1: Curse of Carnage by Clay McCleod Chapman and Chris Mooneyham

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 27, 2023February 25, 2023Reviews, The Comic VaultClay McLeod Chapman, Curse of Carnage, Joshua Gage, Marvel Comics, Reviews, Scream, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of Scream Vol. 1: Curse of Carnage

Scream Vol. 1: Curse of Carnage by Clay McCleod Chapman
Marvel (August 25, 2020)
120 pages; $15.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

For those unaware of the Marvel Universe, specifically Earth-616, the Klyntar are a race of conscious symbiotes. While Klyntar are fully sentient creatures, in their natural state they are predators who feed on the darkest emotions of their hosts, compelling their hosts to violence and corrupting them. Scream: Curse of Carnage, written by Clay McCleod Chapman and illustrated by Chris Mooneyham, focuses on one of these symbiotes, Scream, and its host, Andi Benton. For fans of the Marvel Universe, this is a really compelling tale, and for fans of horror, the allusions to classical myth and horror will be entertaining as well.Continue Reading

Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 24, 2023February 23, 2023ReviewsHaley Newlin, Reviews, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Daughter of Doctor MoreauLeave a comment

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Del Rey (Hardcover – July 2022) (Paperback – April 11, 2023)
320 pages; $16.60 hardcover; $18 paperback
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Horror icon Vincent Price once said, “Science is frighteningly impersonal.”

What if the scientist’s work becomes his family, his children, in a way? Some argue this is evolution, a matrimony of a creator and his work. Others argue ethics.

But in The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s reimagination of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, Carlota, the doctor’s only daughter, lives in a static and balanced world in the jungles of Yucatan alongside the human-animal hybrids. She is happy to assist her father with his research and befriends most hybrids, but despite the idyllic scope Moreno-Garcia introduces, there’s a lingering dread. Dr. Moreau punishes the hybrids for “losing control,” yet Carola believes her father would never truly harm anyone. He is reclusive and sometimes spends days mourning a lost love. This emotional side, however, is kept behind closed doors and never relayed to others.Continue Reading

Review: Shadowman: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of Criminal Profiling by Ron Franscell

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 22, 2023February 19, 2023ReviewsHaley Newlin, Reviews, Ron Franscell, Shadowman, True CrimeLeave a comment

Shadowman: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of Criminal Profiling by Ron Franscell
Berkley (March 2022)
304 pages; $23.19 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

“Assertive, confident women unnerved the UnSub– (…) his emotional reaction had shown, a strong woman might disarm him.” – Ron Franscell

Review: Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower by Ronald J. Murray

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 20, 2023February 19, 2023ReviewsCries to Kill the Corpse Flower, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Ronald J. MurrayLeave a comment

cover of Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower by Ronald J. Murray
Bizarro Pulp Press (June 2020)
64 pages; $12.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Ronald J. Murray is a fiction writer and poet living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His short fiction has appeared in various anthologies. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association. When he is not writing, he can be found drinking entirely too much coffee and staying awake far too late. His newest dark poetry collection is Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower, a collection of visceral mythic and grisly body horror poetry.Continue Reading

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

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