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Review: And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 5, 2022July 4, 2022ReviewsAnd Then I Woke Up, Janelle Janson, Malcolm Devlin, Reviews, TorLeave a comment

And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin

Tordotcom (April 2022)

176 pages; paperback $13.99; e-book $3.99
Reviewed by Janelle Janson

At first glance, you see the flamingo pink and mauve-ish cover. It’s quite pretty with its edgy white font and really catches your attention. Then you look a little closer and see a dark figure in shades of black and grey, in a cloud of gloomy brush strokes, sitting on a chair with a knife at his feet. This figure is difficult to make out, but what you do see is frightening. Of course, being the twisted person that I am, I think it’s just as pretty as the pink. Tordotcom always manages to publish the best novellas with the most striking covers, and as per usual, And Then I Woke Up written by Malcolm Devlin, is outstanding on both fronts.

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Review: Black Mass Rising by Theo Prasidis and Jodie Muir

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 30, 2022June 26, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultBlack Mass Rising, Jodie Muir, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic Vault, Theo PrasidisLeave a comment

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cover of Black Mass Rising Black Mass Rising by Theo Prasidis and Jodie Muir
TKO Studios (May 2022)
170 pages; $19.99 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Theo Prasidis is the author of The Doomster’s Monolithic Pocket Alphabet (Image Comics), Black Mass Rising (TKO Studios), and Swamp Dogs: House of Crows (Black Caravan). A fantasy devotee and cult media specialist by degree, he’s a zealous propagator of the magical and the mystical, the nostalgic and the psychedelic, the pulp and the weird. He lives a rather undramatic life in his hometown Drama, Greece, with his wife and two sons, heirs to a kingdom of horror books, heavy metal vinyl, and more band t-shirts than any sane person should ever be allowed to own. Jodie Muir is a freelance illustrator, based in the UK. Having previously worked in comics (Marvel, TKO) and concepting, she is currently an illustrator on Magic: The Gathering. Their newest book is Black Mass Rising, a sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Continue Reading

Review: Garden of Earthly Bodies by Sally Oliver

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 29, 2022June 26, 2022ReviewsGarden of Earthly Bodies, Haley Newlin, Reviews, Sally OliverLeave a comment

Garden of Earthly Bodies by Sally Oliver
Harry N. Abrams (June 2022)
320 pages; $26.00 hardcover; $9.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Sally Oliver’s Garden of Earthly Bodies is a visceral vortex of blood and trauma.

In a uniquely elegant literary style, Oliver’s novel follows Marianne, whose life has become tense and overgrown with the weeds of trauma and enmeshment. Marianne’s younger sister, Marie, falls deathly ill and experiences heavy mood dips, frequent exhaustion, and severe depression — the three settling in as her reformed default personality. Continue Reading

Review: Jacked: A Crime Anthology edited by Vern Smith

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 28, 2022June 26, 2022ReviewsBlu Gilliand, crime, Jacked, Reviews, Run Amok, Vern SmithLeave a comment

cover of Jacked Jacked: A Crime Anthology edited by Vern Smith
Run Amok Books (July 1, 2022)
242 pages; $18.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Jacked: A Crime Anthology features stories that cover a wide swath of the crime genre, giving readers the chance to indulge in their favorites while also discovering some new approaches to classic crime tropes.Continue Reading

Review: The Stranger Beside Me: The Shocking Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy by Ann Rule

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 21, 2022June 20, 2022ReviewsAnn Rule, Haley Newlin, Reviews, The Stranger Beside MeLeave a comment

cover of The Stranger Beside Me The Stranger Beside Me: The Shocking Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy by Ann Rule
W.W. Norton & Company (May 2022)
640 pages; $17.95 paperback
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

The most unnerving true crime book is unearthed and shocked back to life in W.W. Norton & Company’s newest edition of The Stranger Beside Me by Anne Rule.

Rule is the undefeated champion of true crime writing, but this particular book will always be her most memorable. Unlike Rule’s other books, such as The I-5 Killer and Lust Killer, which focus heavily on the perpetrator, The Stranger Beside Me feels part investigative journalism, part memoir. Continue Reading

Review: Venomous Words by Jeff Oliver and Gordon Reilly

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 15, 2022June 16, 2022ReviewsGordon Reilly, Jeff Oliver, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Venomous WordsLeave a comment

cover of Venemous Words Venomous Words by Jeff Oliver and Gordon Reilly
Blurb (May 2022)
126 pages; $148 deluxe hardcover edition (buy direct from Blurb)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Born in Baltimore Maryland in 1982, Jeff Oliver has been writing from his soul for many decades. Gordon Reilly is a Special Operations Veteran who found macro photography of scorpions and invertebrates as a hobby. Their newest collaboration is Venomous Words, a collection of macro photos of scorpions and other invertebrates combined with poetry. Continue Reading

Review: Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine by Jo Rioux

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 13, 2022June 12, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultCat's Cradle, Jo Rioux, Joshua Gage, ReviewsLeave a comment

Cat’s Cradle: The Golden Twine by Jo Rioux
First Second (June 21, 2022)
128 pages; $21.99 hardcover; $14.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Jo Rioux is an author, an illustrator, and a life-long space cadet who flies by the seat of her rocket pants. Since graduating Sheridan College in illustration, she’s illustrated picture books and novels, but her favorite medium remains comics. Her debut graphic novel, Cat’s Cradle, was recently printed by First Second Books.Continue Reading

Review: Black Beth: Vengeance be Thy Name by Blas Gallego, Alec Worley, DaNi

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 9, 2022June 7, 2022Reviews, The Comic VaultBlack Beth, Columns, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comics VaultLeave a comment

Black Beth: Vengeance be Thy Name by Blas Gallego, Alec Worley, DaNi
Rebellion (June 7, 2022)
80 pages; $24 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Black Beth was a one-time character published by Scream in the 1980s. She was a combination of Red Sonja and The Punisher, an armor-clad woman warrior who sought vengeance against the tyrants that slaughtered her love and her village. Aided by her mentor, the blind wild man Quido, she sought vengeance for 23 pages before disappearing into the memories of comic aficionados until 2016, when Rebellion purchased the rights from the original publisher. Alec Worley and artist DaNi have reinvented Black Beth for modern audiences in a dark fantasy tale that is sure to thrill readers. Continue Reading

Review: From Below by Darcy Coates

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 8, 2022June 7, 2022ReviewsDarcy Coates, From Below, Haley Newlin, ReviewsLeave a comment

From Below by Darcy Coates
Poisoned Pen Press (June 7, 2022)
352 pages; $14.39 paperback, $4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

No light. No air. No escape.

Darcy Coates’ From Below is hopelessly suffocating in the darkest, most devouring sense. And, god, is it brutally brilliant. Continue Reading

Review: Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 2, 2022May 29, 2022ReviewsJoshua Gage, Patrick Delaney, Reviews, Witch 13Leave a comment

Witch 13 by Patrick Delaney
Oblivion Publishing (June 7, 2022)
358 pages; $28.99; $17.99 paperback; $3.99
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Award-winning author Patrick Delaney grew up in varying cities in the greater Los Angeles County, where he attended Canyon High School. Throughout his childhood he pursued various forms of art, from writing short stories to drawing and modeling. Throughout his undergraduate career he gradually polished his debut novel Dante’s Town of Terror, which would go on to win the gold medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards(IPPY) in the horror category for 2018. His most recent novel is Witch 13.Continue Reading

Review: Generation X-Ed edited by Rebecca Rowland

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 31, 2022May 23, 2022ReviewsDave Simms, Generation X-Ed, Rebecca Rowland, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Generation Ex-ed Generation X-Ed edited by Rebecca Rowland
Dark Ink (January 2022)
350 pages; hardcover $27.71; paperback $19.99; e-book $9.99
Reviewed by Dave Simms

What’s the coolest generation in the history of mankind? Those born from 1965 to 1980 know this by heart and feel for those peons who look up to us. The best horror movies? Same — what’s better than what we grew up with? A bit, but not much. As for the horror writers, the novel was king and those fortunate enough to be conceived during this amazing time have a dark streak in their DNA that casts a long shadow.

Review: The Fervor by Alma Katsu

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 25, 2022June 1, 2022ReviewsAlma Katsu, Dave Simms, Reviews, The FervorLeave a comment

cover of The Fervor The Fervor by Alma Katsu
G.P. Putnam’s Sons (April 2022)
319 pages; $27.00 hardcover
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Sometimes a book comes along that is so special, it moves rather than frightens the reader, and gives a history lesson that likely won’t be found in anything we experienced in school.

When that same book also is relevant to society today, especially in the past few years within this country, it makes for an event that transcends genre.

The Fervor is that book.Continue Reading

Review: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 23, 2022May 23, 2022ReviewsHelpmeet, Joshua Gage, Naben Ruthnum, ReviewsLeave a comment

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
Undertow Publications (May 24, 2022)
94 pages; $11.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Naben Ruthnum is the author of A Hero of Our Time, and Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race. He lives in Toronto and also writes thrillers as Nathan Ripley. His newest horror novella is Helpmeet.

“Helpmeet” is an outdated term for a spouse. Updated to “help mate,” it’s defined as “a helpful companion or partner, especially one’s husband or wife.” In this novella, Dr. Edward Wilk is dying of a disease that’s rotting him from the inside out. His wife, Louise, is there to support and help him until his dying breath, but she realizes that his ailment is not actually a disease, but merely a transformative phase leading to something far darker or insidious than readers could possibly imagine. Continue Reading

Review: Silk Hills by Brian Level and Ryan Ferrier

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 19, 2022May 16, 2022ReviewsBrian Level, Joshua Gage, Oni Press, Reviews, Ryan Ferrier, Silk Hills, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Silk Hills by Brian Level and Ryan Ferrier
Oni Press (May 24, 2022)
176 pages; $24.99 hardcover
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Brian Level is a cartoonist, tattooer, and a writer who has contributed to premiere comic books including Star Wars, Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers and Deadpool. Ryan Ferrier is a Canadian comic book writer, published by every major North American comics company, and best known for his original comic series such as Kennel Block Blues, Death Orb, I Can Sell You A Body, the highly celebrated D4VE trilogy, and the acclaimed graphic novel Criminy. Ryan has also written for some of pop culture’s most beloved properties, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel’s Deadpool, DC’s Batman, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, and Planet of the Apes. Their newest graphic novel is Silk Hills, a really strong paranormal horror story that is sure to entertain readers.Continue Reading

Review: Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 18, 2022May 16, 2022ReviewsAnne Hetzel, Haley Newlin, Just Like Mother, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Just Like Mother Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel
Tor Nightfire (May 17, 2022)
320 pages; hardcover $26.99, e-book $13.99
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

The Stepford Wives meets Rosemary’s Baby in Anne Heltzel’s adult debut Just Like Mother.

On a GoodReads list, “Get Creeped Out With These 33 New and Upcoming Horror Novels,” I discovered Just Like Mother.

Heltzel’s novel became a haunting, inescapable image in my brain, with a wonderfully lurid cover featuring…. a baby doll. Continue Reading

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