Tag: Anton Cancre

Review: Every Woman Knows This by Laurel Hightower

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cover of Every Woman Knows ThisEvery Woman Knows This by Laurel Hightower
Death Knell Press (March 2023)
189 pages; $14.98 paperback; $4.49 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Every Woman Knows This is a very personal, very pointed collection of stories that reflect Laurel Hightower’s experience of the world as a woman. Experiences that are common enough she can comfortably state that commonality in the title (and yes, she is explicit in her belief that this stands for all women, so please step aside with any gender essentialism). These stories hit on everything from dealing with stalkers to the perils of motherhood to always having to clean up after some manchild that never listens to reason and climbs down into an abandoned submarine just to poke around for a bit BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DID, and every one of them hits right in the gut.Continue Reading

Review: Sister, Maiden, Monster, by Lucy A. Snyder

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cover of Sister, Maiden, MonsterSister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
Tor Nightfire (February 2023)
272 pages; $14.99 paperback; $12.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Admittedly, I’m a Lucy Snyder fan. Ecstatically so. Still, I’ve been found wanting of her longer fiction for awhile now. Thankfully, I now have Sister, Maiden, Monster to shove into my brainmeat.

A new virus has found itself among and within humanity. It changes us in ways we don’t really understand. We follow three women, Erin, Savanna, and Mareva as they find their place in this new world of murder, brain devouring, and grotesque teratomas. Unfortunately, there isn’t much more I can say without giving away the fun.Continue Reading

Review: Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica by Susan Snyder

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cover of Encyclopedia SharksploitanicaEncyclopedia Sharksploitanica by Susan Snyder
Madness Heart Press (June 2021)
312 pages; $12.95 Paperback; $4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I ADORE SUSAN SNYDER. Like, seriously. My girl has so much personality clawing its way through these pages. You don’t even know.

But, fine. Let’s back up a tick.

Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica is a movie guide book. You know the type. Movies are listed. Reviews are given. Yawn. We’ve been here a thousand times.

What makes the difference here is the abject joy and love Susan has for sharks in general and these stupid movies that have taken up so much video, TV, and streaming space in our consciousness. Have you seen her Sharksploitation Sunday YouTube channel? You should. She is cute and fun and a great time to hang out with while she talks about sharky stuff. This book has all of that same personality and exuberance, but in a more compact and oddly more silly format.Continue Reading

Review: Aliens: Vasquez by V. Castro

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cover of Aliens: Vasquez by V. CastroAliens: 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: Dear Ted by Kim Vodicka

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cover of Dear TedDear Ted by Kim Vodicka
Really Serious Literature (June 2022)
202 pages; $19.95 paperback
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

In 2020 Kim Vodicka gifted us with The Elvis Machine, one of the most compelling, and honest collections of the year. This time, she is focusing on Ted Bundy. It would be easy to go with straight depictions of the murders. Instead, Kim pictures herself as both the fangirl obsessed with Bundy and as his victim. She delves deep into the squishy desire to be both a dehumanized thing of flesh to be used and an object of adoration.Continue Reading

Review: Maggots Screaming by Max Booth III

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cover of Maggots ScreamingMaggots Screaming by Max Booth III
Ghoulish Books (April 2022)
342 pages; $17.67 Paperback; $5.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Max Booth III has set himself up as the king of turning the worst ideas on the planet into absolute gold. Two old friends arguing in a basement because one thinks he is a werewolf? Killer. A family stuck in their bathroom? Heartbreaking. A father and a son dig up their own corpses from the back garden…

Yup, that is the elevator pitch here. At best, a minute-long gag filling space in a cheap anthology film. WEIRD! CREEPY! DONE! And we move on with our lives.

But not Max. Nope. He manages to turn it into a stupidly engaging  book.Continue Reading

Review: Below by Laurel Hightower

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cover of BelowBelow by Laurel Hightower
Ghoulish Books (March 2022)
115 pages; $12.95 Paperback; $4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I dug the hell out of Laurel Hightower’s previous book, Crossroads. It had that heart I am always looking for, a fair amount of “messeded up,” and an attitude that took zero percent of my guff. So, of course, when I found out that she had a new one coming out, and that it involved Mothman, I was down as a clown in D-town.Continue Reading

Review: Entomophobia by Sarah Hans

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cover of EntomophobiaEntomophobia by Sarah Hans
Omnium Gatherum Media (January 2022)
178 pages; $14.99 Paperback; $3.49 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Bugs, amiright? Creepy little bastards. Skittering around on too many legs. Staring at us with too many eyes. Click-clacking their chitinous carapaces from the dark corners. Then they have the nerve to squirt out all those gloppy bits when you squish them. EW!Continue Reading

Review: Dancing With Maria’s Ghost by Alessandro Manzetti

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cover of Dancing with Maria's GhostDancing With Maria’s Ghost by Alessandro Manzetti
Independent Legions (December 2021)
65 pages; $11.90 paperback, $2.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Alessandro Manzetti always does a great job of evoking a narrative with his poems. He has figured out a great balance of information given and withheld within the swirling images his poems paint that hints at the larger narrative beyond what we are given. I love it. So, when he has a narrative stretched over fifteen poems, you know I’m in. Continue Reading

Review: Straight by Chuck Tingle

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cover of Straight by Chuck TingleStraight by Chuck Tingle
Self-Published (May 2021}
129 pages; $13.99 Paperback; $6.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Most likely, you know Chuck Tingle. Also incredibly likely, you have never read more of his work than the covers. Which is a shame, because Dr. Chuck Tingle is honestly a hell of a writer. But, if you are too scared of a little butt pounding, then maybe his first foray into full-out horror will get you to give the dude a chance. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.Continue Reading

Review: Revelation: The Poppet Cycle Book 1 by Donna J.W. Munro

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cover of Revelation: The Poppet Cycle Book 1 by Donna J.W. MunroeRevelation: The Poppet Cycle Book 1 by Donna J.W. Munro
Omnium Gatherum (January 2021}
229 pages; $14.99 Paperback; $3.99 ebook
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

In the decently distant future, most population centers of the United States of North America are domed cities where even the poorer members of society live in relative ease and comfort. Poppets, the reanimated and mechanized bodies of the deceased, have taken over most manual labor. Outside of the domed cities lies the chaos of the wilds. Ellie, the assumed heir of the company that makes and runs the Poppets, is about to learn that life within and without the domes is far uglier and more complicated than she realizes.Continue Reading

Review: We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III

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We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III
Perpetual Motion Machine Press (May 2020)
12cover of we need to do something by max booth III2 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: Whitechapel Rhapsody by Alessandro Manzetti

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cover of Whitechapel RhapsodyWhitechapel 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: Devil’s Night: Bite-Sized Horror for Halloween by Pippa Bailey and Myk Pilgrim

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cover of Devil's Night Bite-Sized HorrorDevil’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 Masque of the Red Death (Fine Art Edition) by Edgar Allan Poe and Steven Archer

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cover of the masque of the red death fine art editionThe Masque of the Red Death (Fine Art Edition) by Edgar Allan Poe and Steven Archer
Raw Dog Screaming Press (January 13, 2021)
72 pages; $26.95 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I know what you are thinking: we can all get this story for free. At the very least, we can get it in a collection with plenty of other stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Why would anyone want to pay $27?Continue Reading