Tag: Reviews

Review: Doorways to the Deadeye by Eric J. Guignard

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Doorways to the Deadeye by Eric J. Guignard
JournalStone (July 26, 2019)
328 pages; $18.95 paperback
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Novels about riding the rails have always been exhilarating journeys if left in the right hands. Eric J. Guignard is fresh off his Bram Stoker win for best fiction collection (That Which Grows Wild), so he has the skills to terrify his audience. Luke Thacker is a victim of the Great Depression, scraping by to survive on the dangerous rails of America. Along the way, he learns many secrets to staying alive, one of them being a code left by other hobos, often warning them of strangers who would sooner leave them bleeding in a ditch, or indicating a friend ready to help out a guy in need, through symbols carved into trees. When he discovers one odd symbol, an infinity sign, he learns that reality is a bit broken.Continue Reading

Review: In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant

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In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant
Subterranean Press (June 2019)
200 pages; $31.71 hardcover; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

I love haunted house stories where the house is a central character. The Overlook Hotel, Hill House…those are places where malevelonce seems to rise not only from the characters that inhabit(ed) them, or from the actions that took place within their walls, but from the very brick and mortar itself. Mia Grant opens her short novel In the Shadow of Spindrift House with a spooky welcoming chapter that paints her own seaside creation in much the same light.Continue Reading

Review: Castle of Sorrows by Jonathan Janz

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Castle of Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
Flame Tree Press (July 25, 2019)
288 pages; $24.95 hardcover; $14.95 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

“The Sorrows  is a wonderful example of a place exercising its influence over its occupants. Gothic horror at its finest.”—Frank Errington for Cemetery Dance

This review is dedicated to Frank who would have loved to read and review the sequel to The Sorrows. I miss my friend.Continue Reading

Review: Choking Back the Devil by Donna Lynch

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Choking Back the Devil by Donna Lynch
Raw Dog Screaming Press (July 17, 2019)
98 pages; $13.95 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

This collection opens with a four line poem. A simple, unintimidating sentence:

Demons come in many forms Some with teeth and some with horns But none so vicious as the hordes That came to be when you were born.

Continue Reading

Review: Boomtown by James A. Moore

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Boomtown by James A. Moore
Twisted Publishing (April 2019)
354 pages; $30 hardcover; $18 paperback; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Though I’ve heard a lot about Jim Moore’s recurring character Jonathan Crowley, I’ve never read him. Now that I have, I can add another recurring character (joining F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack and Peter Laws’ Matthew Hunter) to my list of “must read characters.” Boomtown is a fast-paced, smooth-reading weird western which hits all the right notes, and now I want to find every Crowley story and read them, yesterday.Continue Reading

Review: The Buzzard Zone by Ronald Kelly

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Book cover showing a zombie eating fleshThe Buzzard Zone by Ronald Kelly
Macabre Ink (November 2018)
272 pages; $85 limited edition; $13.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Right out of the gate, Ronald Kelly makes a point about zombies I’d never thought of before—wherever a pack of rotting corpses roams, a kettle of buzzards is sure to follow. Makes sense, just as it makes sense that savvy survivors would watch for buzzards, using their presence as a signal to avoid areas of potential trouble.Continue Reading

Review: Spirits by Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel

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Spirits by Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel
Haverhill House Publishing (July 22, 2019)
210 pages; $30 hardcover; $7.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Spirits come in many forms, and some say that those in the liquid form can lead to those of the demonic sort. Newcomer Sheri Sebastian-Gabriel rocks this debut that not only tackles but beats the everloving snot out of alcoholism. This is a novel that delves into the horrors that can come out of falling prey to a crippling disease that affects so many.Continue Reading

Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Quirk Books (July 2017)
336 pages; $10.19 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke

Let’s skip the synopsis. The title and the cover say it all. And it was the cover that sold me.

Is the ’80s retro VHS/tattered book cover thing a dead horse? Not for me. I love nostalgia. I’m all about it. The ’70s, the ’80s. Anything that takes me back to carefree days, void of responsibility. Give me extra helpings please.Continue Reading

Review: The Seven Deadliest edited by Patrick Beltran and D. Alexander Ward

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The Seven Deadliest edited by Patrick Beltran and D. Alexander Ward
Cutting Block Books (May 2019)
232 pages; $13.38 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Normally, an anthology based on the seven deadly sins would get a bit of a side-eye from me. I hate to say this, but my thoughts would immediately leap to contrived and cliched attempts to take “sins” and turn them into horror stories built out of shock value, nothing more. Continue Reading

Review: Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

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Editor’s Note: Our friend and colleague Frank Michaels Errington passed away on May 31. Since then, it’s been our honor to continue to run, with the gracious permission of Frank’s family, the reviews Frank had filed with us before his death. Today, it’s with great sadness and great pride that we run our final Frank Michaels Errington review. We miss you, buddy.

Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
Flame Tree Press (May 30, 2019)
288 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Stoker’s Wilde is the first novel by the writing team of Steven Hopstaken & Melissa Prusi. At first look, readers may be tempted to skip this book—after all, the authors are relatively unknown. It’s written entirely in journal entries, letters, and various articles, a format I generally find off-putting. And then there’s the subject matter: Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde fighting werewolves and vampires.Continue Reading

Review: Ghoul by Brian Keene

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Ghoul by Brian Keene
Eraserhead Press (2012)
228 pages; $11.59 paperback; $7.95 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie Hartmann

“Boys have scars”, he thought. “Some of them fade—and others don’t. Some scars stay with us for life.”—Brian Keene, Ghoul

Even though this book was originally published some years ago, stories this good are timeless and a well-written book can find its audience yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Ghoul will now join the ranks of my favorite coming-of-age horror tales. And I know what some of you are thinking right now, “We know all about Brian Keene and Ghoul, Sadie. You’re a little late to the party!”Continue Reading

Review: Recursion by Blake Crouch

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Recursion by Blake Crouch
Crown (June 2019)
336 pages; $16.30 hardcover; $17.98 paperback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

What happens when reality…isn’t? When memories can’t be trusted, but they can possibly be manipulated to hold onto the times we hold most dear. If you could talk to that parent who’s slipping away into dementia, re-experience the birth of your first child, hear his/her first words, or keep that love burning by forever traveling back to that exhilarating time in your relationship—would you do it? Most of us would, even if we won’t admit it.Continue Reading

Review: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

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Editor’s Note: Our friend and colleague Frank Michaels Errington passed away on May 31. Frank was a voracious reader and prolific reviewer, and had filed several reviews with us before we lost him. His family has granted us permission to run those reviews, including the one below.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Del Rey (July 2, 2019)
800 pages; $18.89 hardcover; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Every now and again a book comes along which raises the bar in its genre to new heights. In 1978, Stephen King did just that with the apocalypse. For more than forty years The Stand has been the standard-bearer when it comes to decimating humanity. If I remember correctly, Captain Trips killed off 99% of the global population. Along comes Chuck Wendig, who walks up to Steve and says, “Hold my beer.”Continue Reading

Review: Second Lives by P.D. Cacek

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Editor’s Note: Our friend and colleague Frank Michaels Errington passed away on May 31. Frank was a voracious reader and prolific reviewer, and had filed several reviews with us before we lost him. His family has granted us permission to run those reviews, including the one below.

Second Lives by P.D. Cacek
Flame Tree Press (April 2019)
304 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

P.D. Cacek’s brilliant novel, Second Lives, tells the stories of Henry, Sara, Jaime, and Helen, who all pass away in the present day. It also tells us about Timmy, Elisabeth, Aryeh, and Crissy, who have all died at various times over the last century.Continue Reading

Review: A Hawk in the Woods by Carrie Laben

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A Hawk in the Woods by Carrie Laben
Word Horde (March 2019)
270 pages; $15.42 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie Hartmann

This debut novel from Carrie Laben sure sticks to your ribs long after you’ve read it. The prose itself is rich but it’s all the subtext and symbolism that fills up your mind with food for thought. Continue Reading