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Review: All The Living And The Dead by Hayley Campbell

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 19, 2023April 17, 2023ReviewsAll the Living and the Dead, Haley Newlin, Hayley Campbell, ReviewsLeave a comment

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work by Hayley Campbell
St. Martin’s Press (August 2022)
288 pages; $21.49; $19.00 paperback; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

None of us are born with the knowledge of death. We have to stumble upon a fallen bird fluttering its wings, desperate to live. Or we lose a grandparent, a sibling, a classmate, and someone breaks the news: the deceased, those “in a better place,” won’t, can’t, ever come back.

The author of All the Living and the Dead, Hayley Campbell, couldn’t pinpoint the moment she learned of death. She tells readers she can’t recall a time before death, stating, “Death was just there, everywhere, always.”Continue Reading

Review: Weird Fiction Quarterly

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 18, 2023April 17, 2023ReviewsJoshua Gage, Reviews, Russel Smeaton, Weird Fiction QuarterlyLeave a comment

Weird Fiction Quarterly edited by Russell Smeaton
Independently Published (Winter 2022 | Spring 2023)
120 pages; $10.00 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Weird Fiction Quarterly is a quarterly anthology series that deserves some attention. What makes this series intriguing is that each story must be five-hundred words exactly. Continue Reading

Review: A Lovely Girl by Deborah Holt Larkin

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 12, 2023April 11, 2023ReviewsA Lovely Girl, Deborah Holt Larkin, Haley Newlin, ReviewsLeave a comment

A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California’s Most Notorious Killers by Deborah Holt Larkin
Pegasus Crime (October 2022)
528 pages; $21.60 hardcover; $18.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

From the iconic mothers in horror fiction, like Norman Bates’ tormenting, ever-invasive mother, Norma, and Stephen King’s evangelically evil Margaret White from Carrie, to real-world terrifying tales of mommy dearests, motherhood captivates audiences. Continue Reading

Review: The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Rachel Eve Moulton

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 10, 2023April 9, 2023ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Rachel Eve Moulton, Reviews, The Insatiable Volt SistersLeave a comment

cover of The Insatiable Volt Sisters The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Rachel Eve Moulton
MCD x FSG Orginals (April 2023)
464 pages: $16.20 paperback; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Rachel Eve Moulton mixes familial drama and supernatural horror in The Insatiable Volt Sisters, a long, eerie novel that lulls you in but never lets you get too comfortable.Continue Reading

Review: Sifting the Ashes by Michael Bailey and Marge Simon

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 5, 2023April 3, 2023ReviewsCrystal Lake Publishing, Joshua Gage, Marge Simon, Michael Bailey, Reviews, Sifting the AshesLeave a comment

cover of Sifting the Ashes Sifting the Ashes by Michael Bailey and Marge Simon
Crystal Lake Publishing (April 2022)
222 pages; $15.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Michael Bailey is a freelance writer, editor and book designer, and the recipient of over two dozen literary accolades, such as the Bram Stoker Award and Benjamin Franklin Award. Composite novels include Palindrome Hannah, Phoenix Rose, and Psychotropic Dragon, and he has published two short story and poetry collections, Scales and Petals, and Inkblots and Blood Spots, as well as a children’s book, Enso.

Marge Simon lives in Ocala, FL, City of Trees with her husband, poet/writer Bruce Boston and the ghosts of two cats. She edits a column for the HWA Newsletter, “Blood & Spades: Poets of the Dark Side.” A multiple Bram Stoker award winner, Marge is the second woman to be acknowledged by the SF &F Poetry Association with a Grand Master Award. She received the HWA Lifetime Achievement award in 2021.

Their recent post-apocalyptic horror prose and poetry collection is Sifting the Ashes.Continue Reading

Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 3, 2023March 26, 2023ReviewsHolly Lyn Walrath, Joshua Gage, Numinous Stones, poetry, ReviewsLeave a comment

Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath
Aqueduct Press (April, 2023)
98 pages, $10 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Numinous Stones is a collection of speculative pantoums, a form derived from the Malay verse pantun berkait, which is a form of interwoven verses of alternating lines. This is a difficult form to accomplish, as the repeated lines need to seem fresh each time the reader encounters them, but also echo back to the previous stanza. The tightly entwined stanzas, when executed well, create a rhythmic and incantatory experience for the audience, hypnotizing them in a sonic spell.

Readers, if you read Numinous Stones, be prepared to be hypnotized. Continue Reading

Review: Dracula of Transylvania by Ricardo Delgado

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 29, 2023March 20, 2023ReviewsDanica Davidson, Dracula of Transylvania, Reviews, Richard DelgadoLeave a comment

Dracula of Transylvania by Ricardo Delgado
Clover Press (November 2021)
560 pages; $45 hardcover, $9.99 paperback
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Ricardo Delgado’s illustrated novel Dracula of Transylvania is not only full of blood, guts, monsters and gore, but chock-full of history and references to art. It’s a great addition to the Dracula lore. Continue Reading

Review: American Cannibal edited by Rebecca Rowland

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 27, 2023March 26, 2023ReviewsAmerican Cannibal, Clay McLeod Chapman, Dave Simms, Elizabeth Massie, Jeff Strand, Owl Goingback, Rebecca Rowland, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of American Cannibal American Cannibal edited by Rebecca Rowland
Maenad Press (March 2023)
352 pages; $19.99 hardback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

This is what’s needed right now: a wonderfully brutal anthology about cannibalism in American history. At first, readers may feel a touch of reluctance due to the subject matter. My advice? DO NOT HESITATE.

These stories, chosen with exquisite taste by editor Rebecca Rowland, are all about the story and characters as the history of this country frames some truly unique tales. I’m not one for gore and this anthology, again, focuses on the true horror: human behavior and the awful acts people inflict on each other before the blood begins to spill.Continue Reading

Review: Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology edited by Sadie Hartmann & Ashley Saywers

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 24, 2023March 23, 2023ReviewsAshley Saywers, Haley Newlin, Human Monsters, Mother Horror, Reviews, Sadie HartmannLeave a comment

cover of Human Monsters Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology edited by Sadie Hartmann & Ashley Saywers
Dark Matter INK (October 2022)
376 pages; $19.99 paperback; $6.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

There’s something incredibly profound about horror anthologies. Organizers and editors decide on one bloodied but beating heart that thrums aching, booming life into stories. But it is the minds of the authors — those who conjure the devilish indulgences, the unquestioned yet morally gray, ahem, black methods of group leaders, and the deceiving nature of the desperate, and who reveal the snapping jowls of humanity — that give collections such as Human Monsters breath and mobility. Continue Reading

Review: Scratching the Flint by Vern Smith

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 22, 2023March 20, 2023ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Reviews, Run Amok Crime, Scratching the Flint, Vern SmithLeave a comment

cover of Scratching the Flint Scratching the Flint by Vern Smith
Run Amok Crime (April 15, 2023)
242 pages; $17.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Vern Smith’s Scratching the Flint is a street-level look at crime and punishment revolving around a small-time auto theft ring and the two detectives tasked with busting it up.

Alex Johnson, a veteran of the Toronto police force, is teamed up with — some might say burdened with — Cecil Bolan, a hot-headed detective who often bucks against the obstacles that bureaucracy and politics place in the path of police work. When an old buddy Cecil uses as an informant is murdered, followed closely by a prostitute Cecil has befriended, he sets his sights on the crew of car thieves and their nervous, paranormal leader.Continue Reading

Review: Angels of Hell: Poetic Tales of the Apocalypse by Christopher ~cliff~ Reichard

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 20, 2023March 18, 2023Reviews, The Comic VaultAngels of Hell: Poetic Tales of the Apocalypse, Christopher ~cliff~ Reichard, Columns, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Angels of Hell: Poetic Tales of the Apocalypse by Christopher ~cliff~ Reichard
Self-Published via Kickstarter
191 pages; $21.99 hardcover
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Chris ~cliff~ Reichard is the writer and creator of the Angels of Hell comic book and poetry series. Their dark writing style has been influenced by various horror, Gothic and religious media that has only been darkened further from the worldly experience of being a combat veteran and a social activist. They successfully ran a Kickstarter campaign to get the comic series started. Chris is a simply, complicated person that lives and breathes in his Midwest American roots, the Greater St. Louis area of Missouri. Their newest collection is Angels of Hell: Poetic Tales of the Apocalypse. Continue Reading

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

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 15, 2023March 12, 2023ReviewsAnton Cancre, Lucy A. Snyder, Reviews, Sister Maiden MonsterLeave a comment

cover of Sister, Maiden, Monster Sister, 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: What Lies In The Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 13, 2023March 12, 2023ReviewsHaley Newlin, Kate Alice Marshall, Reviews, What Lies in the WoodsLeave a comment

What Lies In The Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
Flat Iron Books (January 2023)
336 pages; $26.09 Hardcover, e-book $14.99
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Little girls follow adventure. There’s a wilderness to them, as Kate Alice says in What Lies In The Woods. The local woods was the heart of Naomi, Cass, and Olivia’s childhood fantasies…and nightmares. Among the trees, they created a mystical game, “The Goddess Game,” which guided their lives, fate, and friendship. It was their secret, one they only shared with someone who could never speak the truth. Continue Reading

Review: Dead Dudes by Christopher Sebela and Ben Sears

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 10, 2023March 5, 2023Reviews, The Comic VaultBen Sears, Christopher Sebela, Columns, Dead Dudes, Joshua Gage, Oni Press, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of dead dudes Dead Dudes written by Christopher Sebela, illustrated by Ben Sears, colored by Ryan Hill and Warren Wucinich, lettered by Crank!
Oni Press (September 2020)
126 pages; $19.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Trev, Kent, and Brian, collectively known as Ghostbros, are three struggling television paranormal investigators. Their show is about to be cancelled due to low ratings. Their competitors, Parawarriors, are stealing their audience with their new gadgets and their ability to not just investigate ghosts, but actually fight them. To save their show, Trev forces Kent and Brian to go to the most haunted place he can imagine: Edgeway Penitentiary in rural Montana. The team gets there and, within hours, discover that not only are ghosts real, but they are willing to kill. That’s when the problems really being in the young adult graphic novel, Dead Dudes.Continue Reading

Review: Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nesseth

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 8, 2023March 5, 2023ReviewsHaley Newlin, Nightmare Fuel, Nina Nesseth, ReviewsLeave a comment

Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nesseth
Tor Nightfire (July 2022)
304 pages; $20.49 hardcover, $13.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

“Do you like scary movies?”

Ghostface asks this as he stands outside an unsuspecting Casey Becker’s (Drew Barrymore) house. Becker entertains the raspy voice on the other end of the line and plays horror movie trivia. But the game turns deadly when she wrongfully answers Jason Vorhees as the killer in the 1980 slasher film Friday the 13th instead of Mrs. Vorhees.

Cut to Barrymore strung up on a tree in her front yard, disemboweled. And to make it worse, the killer escaped.

Sounds intense, maybe even offensive to some. So that leaves the question: why do we like scary movies? Why subject ourselves to this kind of distress?Continue Reading

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