Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'The Sound of Time' by Jeremy Essex 
The Sound of Time by Jeremy Essex
Samhain Publishing (February 2016)
60 pages; $2.10 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
The Sound of Time is a quick and surreal novella. The story takes place during the late night move of a business from its old location to its new. As the old place is emptied out, it becomes rather creepy. A discussion of time, and the perception of it, sets the mood for some truly bizarre events.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Demon with a Comb-Over' by Stuart R. West 
Demon with a Comb-Over by Stuart R. West
Samhain Publishing (March 2016)
168 pages; $4.50 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Demon With a Comb-Over is a novel that combines the world of stand-up comedy with a compelling tale of horror.
Here’s the setup:
Talk about a tough crowd.
Take Charlie Broadmoor’s life. Please. Charlie sucks at stand-up comedy. He gets by, though. Things are okay. His life is decent. Until the night he makes fun of a demon’s comb-over. Big mistake. What kind of demon wears a comb-over? The sensitive kind. The kind who’s not going to let an insult slide. A demon who’s going to take Charlie down. As in down to Hell. And he intends on dragging everyone Charlie cares about along for the ride.
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Ghost Heart' by John Palisano 
Ghost Heart by John Palisano
Samhain Publishing (February 2016)
218 pages; $14.99 paperback; $4.24 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Get this book. Don’t even bother reading my review, just drop everything and get yourself a copy. You won’t regret it.
Here’s the synopsis you’ll find on the first page:
Live fast, die young, and leave a bloodthirsty corpse.
That’s the saying of a new pack of predators infesting a New England town. They’re infected with the Ghost Heart, a condition that causes them to become irresistible and invincible…as long as they drink the blood of the living. But these vampires don’t live forever, and as the Ghost Heart claims them, their skin loses color and their hearts turn pale. When a young mechanic is seduced by the pack’s muse, he finds falling in love will break more than his heart.
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Dust of the Dead' by John Palisano 
Dust of the Dead by John Palisano
Samhain Publishing (June 2015)
216 pages; $14 paperback; ebook $5.49
Reviewed by Jonathan Reitan
Oh God, another zombie book? Wait, before you jump to conclusions, sit a spell and give Dust of the Dead by first-time novelist John Palisano a chance, for what he offers is a fresh look at the zombie mythos.
The zombie apocalypse came, and then life returned to normal. Late night TV talk shows were back on the air, iPhones were re-charged, people returned to work, and life resumed, but not entirely as it once was. Zombies still existed but were contained and were few and far between.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Death Do Us Part' by JG Faherty 
Death Do Us Part by JG Faherty
Samhain Publishing (January 2016)
76 pages; $2.66 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
A marriage that’s falling apart, an apparent suicide, and a haunting that turns out to be so much more. Death Do Us Part by JG Faherty is a thrill ride from start to finish. A complex tale of the lengths one will go to for love and what the dead will do for revenge. This is one of those stories that just reaches out from the pages, grabs you by the collar, and shakes and shakes until you collapse from exhaustion.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Sacrificing Virgins' by John Everson 
Sacrificing Virgins by John Everson
Samhain Publishing (December 2015)
282 pages; $16.99 paperback/$5.00 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
First let me say I am ashamed I have never read anything from John Everson before. Why didn’t someone tell me about this guy? Wow. Sacrificing Virgins is Everson’s fourth collection and contains twenty-five of the darkest, most sexually perverse stories I’ve ever read, and I mean that as a complement. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'The Unhinged' by David Bernstein The Unhinged by David Bernstein
Samhain Publishing (November 2014)
226 pages; $14 paperback; ebook $5.50
Reviewed by Damon Smith
In some ways reading David Bernstein’s The Unhinged reminded me a lot of Brian Keene’s The Rising; not in themes or setting, but in terms of emotions the book got out of me. I felt emotionally drained after finishing The Unhinged. While Keene’s zombie magnum opus earned that emotional drainage on me with character development and interesting plotting and twists in its respective genre, The Unhinged is merely an unpleasant slog at best.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Hot Blood' by Tony Richards Hot Blood by Tony Richards
Samhain Publishing (September 2014)
362 pages, e-book $6.50, paperback $17.42
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Hot Blood is the story of Tanya Merrit, a Ykraal. Ykraal are night based creatures who burn in the sunlight and require the blood of human beings for strength. They are not, however, vampires. Ykraal have a more symbiotic relationship with their victims, and Tanya is often seen seducing and making love to her victims before drinking their blood, mesmerizing them in the process so there is no pain or fear. When Tanya’s girlfriend, Kathy, is stolen away by a true, parasitic vampire, Wolkran, the novel follows Tanya as she chases Wolkran across the globe in an attempt to stop him and get Kathy back.
For readers looking for an international adventure story, Hot Blood delivers. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'It Waits Below' by Eric Red It Waits Below by Eric Red
Samhain Publishing (2014)
282 pages, e-book $4.24, paperback $14.13
Reviewed by Damon Smith
Once it hits its stride, It Waits Below has a blistering pace that is only helped by the relatively short chapter length. But it sadly takes a bit to build up to that breakneck pace, and during that phase the book is somewhat of a slog.
Hundreds of years ago, a meteorite crashed into a Spanish Galleon, sinking both it and a massive hoard of gold to the bottom of the sea. Now in the modern day, a salvaging company is sending down a three-man sub to retrieve that treasure. Little do they know, the meteorite brought an organism to earth with it; a parasite that is more than ready to come to the surface and infect anything it touches…Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Childhood Fears' by Various Childhood Fears by Various
Samhain Publishing (October 2015)
306 pages, e-book $9.99, paperback $16.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
In May of 2015 Samhain Publishing released four new novellas exploring things that go bump in the night, the things that scared us as kids, and in many cases still frighten us as adults. Now, those four stories are available in a single volume called Childhood Fears.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Check-Out Time' by Mark Rigney Check-Out Time by Mark Rigney
Samhain Publishing (October 2014)
229 pages; $12.32 paperback/$4.99 ebook
Reviewed by Damon Smith
Check-Out Time is actually the fourth book in Mark Rigney’s “Renner & Quist” series, but outside of a few nods in the early part of the novel, knowledge of the prior books in the series are not necessary for you to enjoy this new entry.
While the book has a bit of trouble reaching its stride in its early pages, once it does, it truly becomes something unique, often showing a very refreshing take on what could be a run-of-the-mill ghost story in the hands of another writer. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Spore' by Tamara Jones Spore by Tamara Jones
Samhain Publishing (June 2015)
266 pages, e-book $4.24, paperback $15.99
Reviewed by Frank Michael Errington
The author started her academic career as a science geek, earned a degree in art, and, when she’s not making quilts or herding cats, writes tense thrillers as Tamara Jones and the award-winning Dubric Byerly Mysteries series (Bantam Spectra), as Tamara Siler Jones. Despite the violent nature of her work, Tam’s easygoing and friendly. Not sick or twisted at all. Honest.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Goblins' by David Bernstein Goblins by David Bernstein
Samhain Publishing (August 4, 2015)
210 pages, e-book $4.24, paperback $14.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
David Bernstein makes his home in NYC and is likely hard at work on his next novel. David writes all kinds of horror, from hair-raising ghost stories to gore-filled slashers to adventure-filled apocalyptic tales of terror. Recent works include The Unhinged, Witch Island, and Apartment 7C.
His latest book, Goblins, is a genuine monster-fest featuring…are you ready for it? GOBLINS. I don’t think you can call that a spoiler since it’s the title and there’s a nice picture of one right there on the cover.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'White Knuckle' by Eric Red White Knuckle by Eric Red
Samhain Publishing (June 2015)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
If White Knuckle reads like the tie-in novel to a classic 1980s slasher flick, it’s understandable – author Eric Red counts the original screenplays for 1980s horror classics The Hitcher and Near Dark among his accomplishments. White Knuckle benefits from Red’s cinematic background, as he tells the story – a rig-driving serial killer plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a determined, if inexperienced FBI agent – at a breakneck pace right from page one.
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