Cemetery Dance Reviews

Review: ‘The Final Reconciliation’ by Todd Keisling

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The Final Reconciliation by Todd Keisling
Crystal Lake Publishing (February 2017)
106 pages; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

First, some background on The King in Yellow. Prior to season one of HBO’s True Detective series, many folks had never heard of Robert W. Chambers or his book of short stories by the same name. The book is named after a fictional play with the same title. The first half of the book features highly esteemed weird stories, and has been described by critics as a classic in the field of the supernatural. There are ten stories, the first four of which mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Universal Harvester’ by John Darnielle

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Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (February 7, 2017)
224 pages; $15.00 hardcover; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

When you work at Cemetery Dance, you tend to make certain assumptions about the books publishers send to you for review. Sometimes, those assumptions are way off. John Darnielle’s Universal Harvester proved to be one of those instances….in the best possible way.

When I got the book (cleverly packaged in a plastic clamshell case like an old VHS tape, for reasons that would become clear when I read it) and scanned its press sheet, a few things jumped out at me: mentions of the “haunted, open landscape of middle-America;” “ominous and disturbing footage” spliced into a video store’s rental tapes; an investigation into “the origins of these unsettling scenes.” I took these tidbits and began to splice together my own version of the book.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Greetings from Moon Hill’ by Anthony J. Rapino

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Greetings from Moon Hill by Anthony J. Rapino
Precipice Books (October 2016)
300 pages; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I wanted to love Greetings from Moon Hill and I can’t quite put a finger on what went wrong. Conceptually, it’s a great idea. A small town “tucked into the folds of the Pennsylvania countryside.” A place of “Unseen things that are all around us. Impossible flowers, witches, interdimensional beings, murder cover-ups” and more. These are all things I love, so what went wrong?Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Devil Crept In’ by Ania Ahlborn

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The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (February 7, 2017)
374 pages; $11.04 paperback; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

The Devil Crept In is the second people-go-into-the-woods-and-bad-things-happen book I’ve read this year (after Nick Cutter’s excellent Little Heaven), and the third in recent memory (including Paul Tremblay’s excellent Disappearance at Devil’s Rock). Ania Ahlborn’s latest novel stands shoulder-to-shoulder with those two—not just because of the premise, but because of the excellence of its execution. Continue Reading

Review: ‘Too Soon Dead’ by Michael Kurland

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Too Soon Dead by Michael Kurland
Titan Books (November 2015)
320 pages; $12.95 paperback; ebook $7.99
Reviewed by Peter Tomas

Michael Kurland’s little misadventure, Too Soon Dead, is a wild goose chase of moderately restricted proportions. Columnist Alexander Brass and his small team, when approached by a rather large man with some very interesting pictures (whom also happens into quite a bind later) run from here to there, asking questions, being profound, finding corpses and making witty remarks. They discover all kinds of interesting things about individuals involved in government during their exploratory run, and in the end, uncover a conspiracy that could have very well led to a disaster.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Of Saints and Shadows’ by Christopher Golden

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Of Saints and Shadows by Christopher Golden
JournalStone (September 2016)
340 pages; $29.95 hardcover; $19.95 paperback; $7.95 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

JournalStone has been a treasure trove of new authors and new stories which rarely disappoints. For years now, each release has drawn strong attention from readers of horror, dark fantasy, and other speculative fiction. This time, they made a smart decision to reprint Christopher Golden’s “Shadow Saga” series.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Pinball Drugs Aliens Satan’ by Fiada Fey

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Pinball Drugs Aliens Satan by Fiada Fey
Furtive Labors (October 2015)
36 pages, $4.00 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Fiada Fey (1980-2008) was a St. Paul-based novelist, short story writer and cut-up artist. His prose, while lacking in craft, shows a lot of passion for the bizarre horror genre. Pinball Drugs Aliens Satan is his posthumous collection.

Readers will immediately feel Fey’s desire as a writer. His collection of stories speaks to an author passionate about the tales he has to tell, and readers will be able to empathize with that urge. Fey clearly had a vision for his art, and used cut-up techniques to attempt to bring that vision to life. Pinball Drugs Aliens Satan speaks of notebooks filled with stories and story ideas, and as a posthumous collection, leaves the reader wishing that Fey had had the time and skill to carry them out. Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Rib From Which I Remake the World’ by Ed Kurtz

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The Rib From Which I Remake the World by Ed Kurtz
ChiZine Publications (September 2016)
350 pages; $10.39 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

The Rib From Which I Remake the World  is one of those books which doesn’t fit neatly into any category. Is it noir? Horror? Psychological Thriller? Occult? The list could go on, but truthfully, what Ed Kurtz’s latest is, is a helluva read.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Blue Demon’ by David Bernstein

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Blue Demon by David Bernstein
Sinister Grin Press (December 2016)
134 pages; $11.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

David Bernstein is rapidly becoming a MUST READ author for me.  His stuff tends to be raw, gripping, compelling and, above all, imaginative. Sometimes played for fun, but more often for vengeance.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Season of the Witch’ by Charlee Jacob

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Season of the Witch by Charlee Jacob
Necro Publications (September 2016)
367 pages; $15.95 paperback; ebook $3.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

A book of gorgeously rendered and lusciously poeticized violence. An on-the-cusp scream queen goddess of the local goth TV channel, who survived the brutal violence which tore her family apart, quite literally. A newly appeared 1-900 service that begs you to find the worst in yourself and reveal it to them. Gangs of thematically self-mutilating freaks roaming the streets. All through the background, the seductive voice of Pirsya Profana slithering between neurons. Welcome to the Season of the Witch.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Little Heaven’ by Nick Cutter

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Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (January 10, 2017)
496 pages; $19.87 hardcover; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Little Heaven is the first major horror novel of 2017, and it’s going to take a monumental deluge of quality horror to keep it off of those end-of-year best-of lists that will start popping up 11 months from now.Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Fathom Flies Again’ by James Walley

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The Fathom Flies Again by James Walley
Ragnorak Publications (January 2017)
286 pages; $13.95 paperback; $5.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

If you read The Forty First Wink, the debut novel by James Walley, then you’ve more than likely been waiting for the second book in the trilogy, and why not? Book one was so much fun. Walley writes with a whimsical flair I find nowhere else in my ever-growing library.Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Progeny’ by Tosca Lee

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The Progeny by Tosca Lee
Howard Books (May 2016)
336 pages; $17.10 hardcover; $15.99 paperback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

I first encountered Tosca Lee’s work in her debut novel, Demon: A Memoir. A moody, tense, gripping story about a down-on-his-luck literary agent and his encounter with a demon who demands he tell Its story told to the world, Memoir predicted big things for Tosca, big things which have come to pass. Continue Reading

Review: ‘Children of God’ by Craig Dilouie and Jonathan Moon

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Children of God by Craig Dilouie and Jonathan Moon
 Zing Communications (May 2016)
148 pages; $9.99 paperback; ebook $2.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Cults are fascinating; the tragedy which follows so many of them doubly so. We sit on the outside, talking about how crazy those people must be. When all we see is the smoke and the bodies and the ramblings of their leaders, it is easy to disassociate ourselves. Continue Reading

Review: ‘The Train Derails in Boston’ by Jessica McHugh

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trainderailsThe Train Derails in Boston by Jessica McHugh
Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing (June 2016)
346 pages; $14.95 paperback; ebook $3.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

What in the ever loving…

Okay, the usual review format (hook, blurb, opinion) just ain’t gonna cut it here. Call me unprofessional or just a plain fool if you want. I’m okay with that. When a train runs this far off the rails, honey, you just have to look at the wreckage from a different angle.Continue Reading