Tag: Reviews

Review: The Line Between by Tosca Lee

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The Line Between by Tosca Lee
Howard Books (January 2019)
384 pages; $17.10 hardcover; $17.00 paperback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

I’ve been reading Tosca Lee’s work since her amazing and soul-shuddering debut novel, Demon: A Memoir, and have been a fan ever since. Her lyrical prose and sense of style is always a delight, and over the years she’s become a master at pacing the thriller novel. Her stories move at a furious clip, yet she still manages to weave clever plot twists and craft believable, intimate character portrayals.Continue Reading

Review: The Fearing, Book One: Fire & Rain by John F. D. Taff

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The Fearing, Book One: Fire & Rain by John F.D. Taff
Grey Matter Press (July 9, 2019)
$3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann

I think it’s a fact that human beings are obsessed with stories about our own cataclysmic demise. There’s something about this potential threat to the end of the world as we know it that inspires writers to pen epic sagas exploring humanity under extreme duress. Off the top of my head, I have enjoyed apocalyptic books like The Stand by Stephen King, Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and The Passage by Justin Cronin.Continue Reading

Review: The Widening Gyre by Michael R. Johnston

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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.

The Widening Gyre: The Remberance War Book 1 by Michael R. Johnston
Flame Tree Press (March 2019)
256 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.29 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Warning: The Widening Gyre: The Remembrance War Book 1 is the beginning of a series. The good news is this is a complete story. Should you decide not to read future tales in said series, you can rest assured you’ve read a great yarn. But, I can’t imagine you not wanting to read the rest of the stories Michael R. Johnston has planned. The Widening Gyre is the best Space Opera I’ve read in years.Continue Reading

Review: Neon Dies at Dawn by Andersen Prunty

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Neon Dies at Dawn by Andersen Prunty
Grindhouse Press (March 2019)
130 pages; $12.95 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I will admit that I was drawn to this book by the cover. That vaporwave, retro ’80s look is all the rage nowadays, and this one surely pops with just the right balance of bright light and dust. I was not prepared for the story inside, though, which is kind of my own fault for thinking I was prepared for anything Prunty writes.Continue Reading

Review: We Live Inside Your Eyes by Kealan Patrick Burke

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We Live Inside Your Eyes by Kealan Patrick Burke
Elderlemon Press (April 2019)
227 pages; $9.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

I’ve long considered Kealan Patrick Burke to be something of a throwback. I imagine him as one of those long-ago pulp writers who used to churn out stories by the fistful, back when there were magazine racks brimming over with periodicals hungry for tales. Like them, Burke never seems to run out of ideas, always finding fresh approaches to the tropes of his chosen genre. To see what I mean, look no further than his new collection We Live Inside Your Eyes, a batch of scary stories that run the gamut from quietly unsettling to downright terrifying.Continue Reading

Review: Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning by Michelle Scalise

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The cover of Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning by Michelle SclariseDragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning by Michelle Scalise
Lycan Valley Press (May 2019)
56 pages; $15 hardcover; $8.50 paperback
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Death may be our most common denominator, but loss is the thing that really connects all of us. While we all die eventually, we don’t usually have much to say about the experience afterwords. But, when someone we care about passes into the dense fog of whatever it is that follows, all of us are left dealing with the absence. That coping is what Dragonfly is about.Continue Reading

Review: The Gemini Experiment by Brian Pinkerton

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The Gemini Experiment by Brian Pinkerton
Flame Tree Press (May 30, 2019)
240 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

The premise is somewhat familiar and rather simple. Technology has advanced to the point where it’s possible to digitize the mind. Combine this with the ability to create a perfect, nearly indestructible, mirror-image of a human body and you have the recipe for immortality…or disaster.Continue Reading

Review: The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read

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The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read
Trepidatio Pub (February 2019)
194 pages; $12.36 paperback; $4.95 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie Hartmann

Where are my fellow John Bellairs fans? Raise your hands and be counted. I need to know who you are. It’s important to this review because I’m an avid horror fan who was first nourished on the horror milk of John Bellairs novels. Bellairs wrote dark, gothic mysteries for young readers and he never shied away from being “too scary” for kids. I relished my time in those pages.

Here I am now at forty-two years of age and Sarah Read, the talented author of The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, has just rekindled that fire by tapping some of my favorite things I loved as a young reader.Continue Reading

Review: The Judas Hit by W.D. Gagliani

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The Judas Hit by W.D. Gagliani
Tarkus Press (December 2018)
298 pages; $1.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

W.D. Gagliani returns to gift readers with a novel that combines James Bond with Constantine, but with a darker flair in a story that is pure fun to read. Those familiar with his excellent Wolf’s Trap/Nick Lupo series will find plenty of familiar elements here, yet the humor the author imbues ratchets up the entertainment level, along with action scenes that leap off the page in a style that is flawless.Continue Reading

Review: The Murder of Jesus Christ by John R. Little

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The Murder of Jesus Christ by John R. Little
Bad Moon Books (May 2019)
200 pages; $40 limited edition hardcover
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Books of controversial topics fall into two categories in most cases: shock value stories with poor writing, or historical revelations (a la Dan Brown) that at least convey a message. John R. Little has never been afraid to delve into sensitive areas and rile up the emotions where other authors fear to tread (see The Memory Tree). The title of this book may deter some readers, but those who know of Little and who embrace the uncomfortable will flock to this intriguing story, which is sure to not only ruffle some feathers, but scorch them.Continue Reading

Review: Halloween Fiend by CV Hunt

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Halloween Fiend by C.V. Hunt
Grindhouse Press (February 2019)
112 pages; $12.95 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

CV Hunt is becoming a legend in extreme circles, but I don’t think she gets nearly the credit she deserves for her ability to work in quieter spaces. Luckily, we have Halloween Fiend, a South of Heaven move to follow the Reign in Blood that was last year’s Cockblock.Continue Reading

Review: The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell

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The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell
Flame Tree Press (April 2019)
368 pages; $18.19 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

It had to happen sooner or later. I found a Ramsey Campbell book I actually liked.  

Mostly.Continue Reading

Review: At Home in the Dark edited by Lawrence Block

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At Home in the Dark edited by Lawrence Block
Subterranean Press (April 2019)
326 pages; $14.99 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

“So here we have seventeen stories,” Lawrence Block writes in the Foreward to At Home in the Dark, “and what they all have in common, besides their unquestionable excellence, is where they stand on that gray scale. They are, in a word, dark.”Continue Reading

Review: Growing Things by Paul Tremblay

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Growing Things by Paul Tremblay
William Morrow (July 2, 2019)
352 pages; $25.99 hardcover; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie Hartmann

“I’m terrible at remembering plot and character specifics…if the story is successful, what I do remember and will never forget is what and how that story makes me feel.”—Paul Tremblay in the “Notes” of Growing Things.Continue Reading

Review: The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden

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The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden
St. Martin’s Press (April 23, 2019)
320 pages; $18.29 hardcover; $14.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Christopher Golden returns to the realm of high concept thrillers with The Pandora Room, a novel chock full of action, horror, mythology, and history. Following in the footsteps of Ararat, the story that successfully combined the aforementioned elements in one of the best novels of the year, this entry also keeps the setting claustrophobic and tight, a motif that could be a mess in less capable hands.Continue Reading