Reviews Archives - Page 27 of 67 - Cemetery Dance Online

Review: King of Eden by Takashi Nagasaki and Ignito

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 19, 2021May 18, 2021Graven Images, ReviewsColumns, Danica Davidson, Graven Images, Ignito, King of Eden, Reviews, Takashi Nagasaki, Yen PressLeave a comment

cover of King of Eden volume 1, showing a man in a trenchcoat with his back to us

King of Eden by Takashi Nagasaki and Ignito
Yen Press (September 2020)
384 pages; $24 paperback
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

In Spain, some police officers find a mountain of grotesque bodies that no longer look quite human. One man, a Korean archeologist named Teze Yoo, is there to burn the bodies. He’s taken into police headquarters for questioning, where he tells police they must evacuate the area, because it’s a virus that attacked all those people, and then he starts talking about the world’s first murder. He asks the police if they’ve ever heard of the neuri, because all this began with them. Some sort of human-turned-beast attacks the police department and Teze walks off into the night.Continue Reading

Review: Transmutation by Alex DiFrancesco

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 17, 2021May 16, 2021ReviewsAlex DiFrancesco, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Seven Stories Press, TransmutationLeave a comment

cover of Transmutation buy Alex DiFrancesco Transmutation by Alex DiFrancesco
Seven Stories Press (June 8, 2021)
140 pages; $16.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Alex DiFrancesco is a multi-genre phenom who is taking the literary world by storm. In 2019, they published their essay collection Psychopomps (Civil Coping Mechanisms Press) and their novel All City (Seven Stories Press), which was the first finalist for the Ohioana Book Awards by a transgender author. DiFrancesco is the human companion of a rescue Westie named Roxy Music, Dog of Doom. Their newest book is a collection of short stories titled Transmutation, and it is a necessity for any fan of horror literature.Continue Reading

Review: The Golem & the Nazi by Anna Cates

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 12, 2021May 11, 2021ReviewsAnna Cates, Joshua Gage, Red Moon Press, Reviews, The Golem & the NaziLeave a comment

cover of the golem & the nazi by anna cates The Golem & the Nazi by Anna Cates
Red Moon Press (2020)
118 pages, $15 Paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Haibun is an interesting form. From 17th-century Japan, the term was first used by haiku poet Basho to describe a hybrid writing style of terse prose accompanied by haiku. In her book The Golem & the Nazi, Anna Cates uses a Western version of this form to weave a very dark and fantastic spell for her readers.Continue Reading

Review: Necronomicon – A Manual of Corpse Eating by Martin Llewellyn

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 7, 2021May 1, 2021ReviewsBiting Dog Press, Martin Llewellyn, Necronomicon, Reviews, Rick HipsonLeave a comment

Necronomicon: A Manual of Corpse Eating by Martin Llewellyn
Biting Dog Press (December 2019)
42 pages; Limited Edition (35 copies)
Reviewed by Rick Hipson

Welcome to a grotesque and fascinating journey into the historical depths of the Book of the Dead and its curator, the mad alchemist, Abdullah Alhazred. Martin Llewellyn, who provides translations from Alhazred’s ancient texts, proclaims he obtained the pages in error when they fell from another book he had requested from the Rare Books and Music in the British Library. Knowing he shouldn’t scour the third century torn, scorched and barely illegible texts, how could he resist? His translations now remain for your eyes only. Or, at least for those lucky enough to own one of only thirty-five copies produced.Continue Reading

Review: Daphne Byrne by Laura Marks, Kelley Jones and Michelle Madsen

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 28, 2021April 25, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, Daphne Byrne, DC Comics, Hill House Comics, Joe Hill, Kelley Jones, Laura Marks, Michelle Madsen, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of the graphic novel Daphne Byrne Daphne Byrne by Laura Marks, Kelley Jones and Michelle Madsen
DC Comics (November 2020)
160 pages; $24.99 hardcover
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

14-year-old Daphne Byrne lives in a world where she doesn’t belong. Her father was the only person who understood her, but he died in a disgraceful way, a way that gives gossips plenty to talk about. This is 1886 in New York, and Daphne’s morbid, literate, precocious personality doesn’t fit well in a time and place where women are expected to be docile and obedient. The other girls at school all make fun of her, so she doesn’t fit in anywhere.Continue Reading

Review: Your Turn to Suffer by Tim Waggoner

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 26, 2021April 25, 2021ReviewsFlame Tree Press, Mother Horror, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, Tim Waggoner, Your Turn to SufferLeave a comment

cover of your turn to suffer by tim waggoner Your Turn to Suffer by Tim Waggoner
Flame Tree Press (March 2021)
256 pages; $21.74 hardcover; $14.16 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

Lori suffers from stress-induced migraines. She is enjoying a pain-free day shopping for groceries when she is approached by a woman crowding her personal space. Lori notices the woman has peculiar eyes… a slit instead of a round pupil.

“Confess and atone-or suffer.”Continue Reading

Review: We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 22, 2021April 21, 2021ReviewsAnton Cancre, Max Booth III, Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, Reviews, We Need to Do SomethingLeave a comment

We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III
Perpetual Motion Machine Press (May 2020)
122 pages; $12.95 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Max Booth III is carving a niche out for himself as the king of premises that should not, in any way whatsoever, work. Yet, somehow, he does it. Every frickin’ time. Even with that anthology that every editor on the planet curses him for. I’ll be damned if he doesn’t pull it off again with We Need to Do Something.Continue Reading

Review: Take Your Turn, Teddy by Haley Newlin

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 20, 2021April 19, 2021ReviewsHaley Newlin, Mother Horror, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, Take Your Turn TeddyLeave a comment

cover of Take Your Turn, Teddy by Haley Newlin Take Your Turn Teddy by Haley Newlin
New Degree Press (December 2020)
382 pages; $18.04 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

Haley Newlin’s Take Your Turn, Teddy is a dark, psychological horror story exploring the manifestations of early childhood trauma. Newlin uses themes of domestic violence, anxiety, and isolation to create a provocative landscape, The Shadow, for her characters to encounter and battle. A disturbing glimpse of how a broken spirit can unleash powerful demons of the soul. Absolutely captivating, I couldn’t put it down.Continue Reading

Review: A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 14, 2021April 10, 2021ReviewsA Collection of Dreamscapes, Christina Sng, Joshua Gage, Raw Dog Screaming Press, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng
Raw Dog Screaming Press (April 2020)
169 pages; $14.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Christina Sng’s collection A Collection of Nightmares won the Bram Stoker award for best poetry collection in 2017. Her follow-up book, A Collection of Dreamscapes, has all the promise of her previous successes. It’s already been listed as one of Reading Vicariously’s Must-Reads from 2020, Tor Nightlife’s Ten Best Horror Poetry Collections of 2020, and Well Read Beard’s Top Five 2020 Poetry Collections, as well as being short listed for the 2021 Stoker Award. Reading the collection, it is obvious why it is receiving so many accolades. It’s a very strong collection of mythic horror poetry that readers will enjoy.Continue Reading

Review: The Crossroads at Midnight by Abby Howard

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 12, 2021April 10, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultAbby Howard, Columns, Iron Circus Comics, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic Vault, The Crossroads at MidnightLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of The Crossroads at Midnight by Abby Howard

The Crossroads at Midnight by Abby Howard
Iron Circus Comics (February 2021)
320 pages; $18 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Abby Howard is a cartoonist whose interests include dinosaurs, horror, and Spoons, her beautiful cat. She’s been drawing comics since she first discovered there was such thing, eventually putting them online and gaining a following of over 30,000 fans. Her newest collection is The Crossroads at Midnight, a teen horror collection of five short comic stories.Continue Reading

Review: The Wind in My Heart by Douglas Wynne

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 7, 2021April 4, 2021ReviewsCrystal Lake Publishing, Douglas Wynne, Janelle Janson, Reviews, The Wind in My HeartLeave a comment

cover of The Wind in My Heart by Douglas Wynne The Wind in My Heart by Douglas Wynne
Crystal Lake Publishing (January 2021)
362 pages; $8.75 paperback; e-book $3.99
Reviewed by Janelle Janson

Douglas Wynne’s The Wind in My Heart has a fun premise and is a quick read! This story kept me engaged with its touch of mystery and quirky characters.

Miles Landry is the private detective at Insight Detective Agency. Known around the local bar scene as “Dirty Laundry,” he tends to handle extramarital affairs. Immediately after a scorned woman shows up at his office to teach him a lesson, he receives a call for an unusual job. A Buddhist monk named Jigme Rinpoche wants to hire him to find a former student’s reincarnated soul. A series of murders against gang members have popped up in Chinatown, and he believes this former student is responsible. Even though Landry thinks this monk is wasting his time, he’s curious nonetheless and heads to the temple for the meeting.Continue Reading

Review: There Comes a Midnight Hour by Gary A. Braunbeck

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 5, 2021March 30, 2021ReviewsDave Simms, Gary Braunbeck, Reviews, There Comes a Midnight HourLeave a comment

cover of There Comes a Midnight Hour by Gary A. Braunbeck There Comes a Midnight Hour by Gary Braunbeck
Raw Dog Screaming Press (March 2021)
226 pages; $17.95 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Gary Braunbeck is back! Many horror and dark fantasy fans have been anticipating this day for a long time. Raw Dog Screaming Press, a stellar entity, rarely misses on producing something special for readers. There Comes a Midnight Hour is one of their greatest achievements, from the stunning (and warped) cover to the arrangement of stories which first grasps the reader by the hand with the apocalyptic “We now pause for station identification” to the stylish closer “Down in darkest Dixie where the dead don’t dance.”Continue Reading

Review: The Writing Life: Reflections, Recollections, and a Lot of Cursing by Jeff Strand

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 2, 2021March 28, 2021ReviewsJeff Strand, Kevin Lucia, Reviews, The Writing LifeLeave a comment

cover of The Writing Life by Jeff Strand The Writing Life: Reflections, Recollections, and a Lot of Cursing by Jeff Strand
Independently Published (December 2020)
276 pages; $11.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

If you’re a horror writer or even just a Stephen King fan, you’ve probably read his treatise on the writing biz, On Writing, multiple times. And for good reason, because it’s one of the best books on writing there is, imparted in that casual storyteller way only King has mastered. If I were to recommend only three writing books to prospective writers, On Writing would be the first book I’d recommend. A close second would be Zen in the Art of Writing, by the venerable Ray Bradbury.Continue Reading

Review: Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 31, 2021March 30, 2021ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Clay McLeod Chapman, Quirk Books, Reviews, Whisper Down the LaneLeave a comment

cover of Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman
Quirk Books (April 6, 2021)
307 pages; $19.99 hardcover; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

It’s the early 1980s, and Satan is everywhere. He’s lurking in the lyrics of heavy metal music. He’s hiding among the marshmallows in your Lucky Charms. He’s capering through our neighborhoods, our basements, or churches, our schools.

Welcome to the era of Satanic Panic.Continue Reading

Review: The Gulp by Alan Baxter

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 24, 2021March 21, 2021ReviewsAlan Baxter, Janelle Janson, Reviews, The GulpLeave a comment

cover of The Gulp by Alan Baxter The Gulp by Alan Baxter
Independently Published (January 2021)
316 pages; paperback $14.25; e-book $4.99
Reviewed by Janelle Janson

Alan Baxter is a relatively new author for me, but I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve read so far. His newest short story collection, The Gulp, is most certainly my favorite book to date. With five novellas all woven together within a common setting, this collection delighted as much as it intrigued me.Continue Reading

FREE email updates!

Categories