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Review: You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife edited by Kel McDonald and Andrea Purcell

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 22, 2021March 15, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultAn Anthology of the Afterlife, Andrea Purcell, Iron Circus Comics, Joshua Gage, Kel McDonald, Reviews, The Comic Vault, You DiedLeave a comment

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You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife edited by Kel McDonald and Andrea Purcell
Iron Circus Comics (March 31, 2021)
260 pages, $20 Paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

In her introduction to You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife, Caitlin Dougherty compares the anthology to a medieval memento mori. This is a fitting comparison. This book is both a reminder, to the reader, that they will die, but also about the equanimity of death. Everyone will die, and once they’re dead, there’s nothing in this world that they can do about it. This anthology confronts these facts head on, and in a way, helps the reader confront their own deaths as well as the deaths of those they love.Continue Reading

Review: Cradleland of Parasites by Sara Tantlinger

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 18, 2021March 16, 2021ReviewsCradleland of Parasites, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Sara Tantlinger, Strangehouse BooksLeave a comment

cover of Cradleland of Parasites by Sara Tantlinger Cradleland of Parasites by Sara Tantlinger
Strangehouse Books (October 2020)
89 pages; $14.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Sara Tantlinger is a phenom when it comes to horror poetry. Author of three poetry collections, including the award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland, Tantlinger is one of the vibrant new voices in horror poetry. Her newest collection, Cradleland of Parasites, is no exception, and this take on the Black Death is a brilliant and chilling book of poetry.Continue Reading

Review: In Nightmares We’re Alone by Greg Sisco

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 17, 2021March 19, 2021ReviewsGreg Sisco, In Nightmares We're Alone, Mother Horror, Off Limits Press, Reviews, Sadie HartmannLeave a comment

In Nightmares We’re Alone by Greg Sisco
Off Limits Press (March 2021)
260 pages; $16 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

As far as introductions to an author’s work goes, I can’t think of a better offering than a collection of three, novellas differing in style and substance but sharing the same universe and characters.

All three tales in In Nightmares We’re Alone are told from a first person POV. Greg Sisco takes readers through a character’s own, personal nightmare as they are living it. . .alone. But they’re not really alone, are they? We are with them.Continue Reading

Review: Later by Stephen King

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 10, 2021March 7, 2021ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Hard Case Crime, Later, Reviews, Stephen KingLeave a comment

cover of Later by Stephen King Later by Stephen King
Hard Case Crime (March 2021)
266 pages; $9.62 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

This is a horror story.

Yes, it’s a Hard Case Crime release, and yes, it has plenty of the necessary ingredients for a crime story. It has drug dealers and dirty cops and kidnapping and a serial bomber.

So yes, this is a crime story…but mostly it’s a horror story. A damn good one, I’m happy to say.

Review: Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 8, 2021February 28, 2021ReviewsDevil's Creek, Kevin Lucia, Reviews, Silver Shamrock Publishing, Todd KeislingLeave a comment

cover of Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling
Silver Shamrock Publishing (June 2020)
404 pages; $15.99 paperback; $5.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Todd Keisling’s Devil’s Creek recently made it onto the Final Ballot for the Bram Stoker Award in Superior Achievement in a Novel, and there’s good reason for that. It’s very likely the best thing I read in 2020, and also one of my favorite contemporary horror novels, period. Reviewers have compared it to Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, and while usually I might roll my eyes slightly at such a comparison, in this case it’s very apt. Continue Reading

Review: His Own Devices by Douglas Wynne

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 3, 2021March 3, 2021ReviewsChris Hallock, Douglas Wynne, His Own Devices, Promethean, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of His Own Devices by Douglas Wynne His Own Devices by Douglas Wynne
Promethean (March 4, 2021)
246 pages; $4.99 Kindle
Reviewed by Chris Hallock

Generations before cyberspace was a practical application, the pioneers of weird fiction toiled in artificial worlds beset by shadowy cabals and god-like monstrosities. Imagine the possibilities open to Clark Ashton Smith or Algernon Blackwood had the tendrils of the internet penetrated early twentieth century life, offering another vast dimension for them to explore in their eldritch tales.Continue Reading

Review: Whitechapel Rhapsody by Alessandro Manzetti

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 26, 2021February 25, 2021ReviewsAlessandro Manzetti, Anton Cancre, Independent Legions, Reviews, Whitechapel RhapsodyLeave a comment

cover of Whitechapel Rhapsody Whitechapel Rhapsody by Alessandro Manzetti
Independent Legions (October 2020)
85 pages; $10.90 paperback, $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Alessandro Manzetti has quickly made a fairly large stamp on the genre. I remember hearing his name some a couple years ago, seeing something from him pop up here and there. Now, dude’s name is moving mountains. Whitechapel Rhapsody is a marvelous example of why.Continue Reading

Review: Shiver by Junji Ito

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 22, 2021February 21, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultDanica Davidson, Graven Images, Junji Ito, Reviews, ShiverLeave a comment

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Shiver by Junji Ito
VIZ Media (December 2017)
400 pages; $22.99 hardcover, $15.99 ebook
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Junji Ito is one of Japan’s top horror manga creators. His short story collection Shiver — which at almost 400 pages of length is longer than average for manga — gives a glimpses into what makes him so popular.Continue Reading

Review: Wicked Women: An Anthology by The New England Horror Writers

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 17, 2021February 14, 2021ReviewsDave Simms, New England Horror Writers, Reviews, Wicked WomenLeave a comment

cover of Wicked Women showing a witch-like character Wicked Women: An Anthology by The New England Horror Writers edited by Trisha J. Wooldridge & Scott E. Goudsward
NEHW Press (November 2020)
242 pages; paperback $14.99; e-book $4.99
Reviewed by Dave Simms

February is Women in Horror Month, a time to celebrate those who have altered the dark landscape and pioneered the path forward into nightmares anew and fresh trails into the abyss. Note: this shouldn’t just be one month — it’s tough to highlight all of the new stars in the genre while looking back to those who paved the way.Continue Reading

Review: Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 15, 2021February 14, 2021ReviewsBlack Lawrence Press, Gayle Brandeis, Joshua Gage, Many Restless Concerns, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis Many Restless Concerns by Gayle Brandeis
Black Lawrence Press (February 14, 2020)
160 pages; $17.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Most horror readers are familiar with Elizabeth Batharoy, one of history’s most famous murderers and the source of much vampire lore. Much less is known about her victims, which leads readers and historians to a lot of speculation as to who these young women were and what drew them towards Batharoy’s clutches. In her newest poetry collection, Many Restless Concerns, Gayle Brandeis uses hybrid text techniques to give voice to these victims, channeling the idea of a collective voice, or chorus, as the persona in this really dark and enticing collection.Continue Reading

Review: The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 11, 2021February 10, 2021ReviewsDave Simms, Oblivion Publishing, Patrick Delaney, Reviews, The House that Fell from the SkyLeave a comment

cover of The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney
Oblivion Publishing (September 2020)
566 pages; $28.99 hardcover; $17.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

This is a great fall book — perfectly placed for those who miss the weird horror of Ray Bradbury and Bentley Little but are aching for something new. Patrick Delaney has arrived with a strong entry into horror that is tough to classify here — is it weird horror, cosmic horror, or something else? Read on. The journey (quite long at 566 pages) is a wild and rewarding one.Continue Reading

Review: Hearts Strange and Dreadful by Tim McGregor

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 8, 2021February 2, 2021ReviewsHearts Strange and Dreadful, Mother Horror, Off Limits Press, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, Tim McGregorLeave a comment

Hearts Strange and Dreadful by Tim McGregor
Off Limits Press (February 15, 2021)
276 pages; $16 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

My favorite book series for the longest time was “The Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. These books were set in the American Midwest in the late 1800s.
Hearts Strange and Dreadful transports us to New England in 1821 and I, for one, could not have been more eager to make the trip back in time to this familiar era.Continue Reading

Review: Devil’s Night: Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween by Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 3, 2021January 31, 2021ReviewsAnton Cancre, Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween, Devil's Night, Myk Pilgrim, Pippa Bailey, Pugnacious Press, ReviewsLeave a comment

Devil’s Night: Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween by Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim
Pugnacious Press (May 2020)
111 pages; $9.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I generally don’t spend time talking about the personalities of writers when reviewing their work. Here, though, personality is the point of the whole thing. Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim have established themselves as playful, boisterous members of the horror community over the years they have been a part of it. They walk that line between the dark and the heart and the weird little dancey places in between very well and it comes across clearly that this is just who they are.Continue Reading

Review: The Searching Dead by Ramsey Campbell

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 1, 2021January 31, 2021ReviewsMother Horror, Ramsey Campbell, Reviews, Sadie Hartmann, The Searching Dead, The Three Births of DoalothLeave a comment

The Searching Dead by Ramsey Campbell
Flame Tree Press (February 16th, 2021)
256 pages; hardcover $24.95; $14.95 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

“The Three Births of Daoloth” series is a trilogy that was previously released in hardcover, limited editions by PS Publishing. Now, the series is getting a reprint by Flame Tree Press and is poised to get a whole new fanbase for this epic, cosmic horror story.Continue Reading

Review: Last Dance by Hanna Schroy

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 27, 2021January 20, 2021Reviews, The Comic VaultHanna Schroy, Iron Circus Comics, Joshua Gage, Last Dance, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

Last Dance by Hanna Schroy
Iron Circus Comics (January 2021)
200 pages; $11.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Hanna Schroy is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Austin. She has participated in a multitude of self-published anthologies including Girls! Girls! Girls! curated by Alex Perkins and Thicker Than Blood curated by Mengmeng Liu. She is a long-time dance enthusiast and recent amateur gardener. Her newest endeavor is the middle-grade graphic novel Last Dance.Continue Reading

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