Life and death in Baghdad

Frankenstein in Baghdad

Ahmed Saadawi

Penguin Books

January 23, 2018

5 stars

Hadi is a junk yard dealer living in one of the most ravaged areas in war-torn Baghdad. He is an eccentric man known locally as a teller of tall tales aka "pathological liar" but his latest story may actually be true. He has taken to scavenging for dismembered body parts of the war victims to make a whole "person". His vague objective is to deliver it to the authorities as a form of anti-war protest. But when the sewn together body comes alive the creature has his own mission; to avenge the deaths of those persons that now make up his animated form. Soon after his creation, reports of killings rise and are attributed to a grotesque looking individual who cannot be killed. Many people take an interest in Hadi's story including a reporter named Mahmoud and a brigadier general who seizes any opportunity to play the various factions of the unrest against each other. After all, is Whatitsname, the name Hadi gives the monster, any less horrific as what takes place everyday in Baghdad?

Frankenstein in Baghdad was written by Admed Saadawi in 2014 and won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in the same year. The first American publication occurred in January of 2018. While promoted as a horror novel, it far surpasses a simple genre. The reference to Shelly's Frankenstein monster is obvious but it is not the horror of the monster that takes center stage here. While Whatitsname is extracting the life from his victims, the range of terror and atrocities stemming from the war overshadows anything he could possibly do. Saadawi's novel has a a large quantity of characters. The "cast" list at the beginning of the book certainly helps keep them straight. It is essentially their story and not the creature's that is being told here. The "Frankenstein" of the novel pales to the atrocities of war and the resulting corruption on all sides. The author uses the Frankenstein legend to tell his own story and that is the story of the deterioration of Baghdad and its residents in the midst of an unending civil war.

Make no mistake. This is an anti-war story. Yet our monster is a sufficiently odd and unsettling one. Like the original Frankenstein, he is not always sure of his existence and purpose. Different people see it in different ways from his "creator" Hadi to a grief stricken neighbor to the madmen who become his assistants. Evil is everywhere in Sadawi's book but not always distinctly defined. I suspect that is a given in the war torn Baghdad of the 21st century

Frankenstein in Baghdad may be billed as a horror novel but it is man many non-fiction works. If I had to pigeon-hole it, I would call it a dark satire. There is much humor here but it is humor steeped in misfortune and misery. This is literary horror at its finest and one that should be read and appreciated way beyond the genre of horror. It may also be the best anti-war novel I've read in ages. This is an important novel and I do hope it is given the attention it deserves. The fact that this debut novel appears on the 2018 Man Booker International shortlist is an indication of its literary power. Do place this on your to-read list even if you are not necessarily a horror fan. This book may speak to you on a whole different level.

Golems, Mitzvahs, and a burning bush

The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook

Maxwell Bauman

CLASH Books 

December 12, 2017

4 stars

Upon reading the last page of The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook and putting it down, I began to mull over the lack of multi-cultural influences and references in Bizarro literature. Frankly, it is not a genre that encourages the liberal use of ideological, ethical, or religious references. Its surrealism and its tendency to stretch imagery to unbelievable levels don't always gel well with presenting ideas and humor of a down-to-earth ethnic and cultural nature. Yes I sure there are exceptions but none jump out at me immediately.

Except for Maxwell Bauman. The author has presented a sort of "cookbook" on how to meld the traditions of Judaism into the passages of horror and Bizarro. Here are a half dozen tales all centering around Jewish culture and traditions and all unique. Hail the birth Kosher Bizarro!

It is that weird and bizarre turn on Jewish myths and traditions that make the collection. The first story, "When the Bush Burn" is a take on Noah and the burning bush without Noah and that particular type of bush. "The Messiah in New York" is all about the coming of the Messiah. Unfortunately he gets a little carried away with the raising of the dead. "You've Lost That L'Chaim" Feeling" takes place in 1831 is both a love story and a ghost story. It's has a clever winsomeness for its rather Orthodox setting ("Granted, all the girls looked that way for modesty's sake, but something about Isha made Chaim hot under the yarmulke"). It also tells us what what spirits do for kicks. It's my second favorite piece of short fiction in the book.

"The Leviathan Blues" is about the Creation. It is the saddest story of the collection, sad and beautiful. The title story of this collection is just what is should be, a recipe or more accurate a set of instructions. It might come in handy if you ever need to make a Golem when the Nazi hordes invade.

The gem of the book though is "Baphomitzah", involving two twins who are about to have their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. It's a funny and eventually horrific tale of becoming 13 and being a insecure middle class Jewish girl with a touch of evil...or is it just teenage angst?... in her. It alone is worth the price of admission.

Themed collections based on ethnic or religious themes, rise or fall on the ability to install an authentic sense of culture in the stories. You wouldn't think that is easy when you are writing horror and Bizarro but these six stories succeed quite well. The short fiction is also less enmeshed with the usual excesses of horror and surrealism found in this genre. This book would actually be good for those reader who just want something different and not necessarily caught up in genres. I am not sure The Anarchist Kosher Cookbook would be rabbi approved but Maxwell Bauman should certainly be pleased with his finished product.

Keep digging!

He Digs a Hole

Danger Slater

Fungasm Press

February 14, 2018

4 stars

Harrison Moss decides to dig a hole. It isn't so much a desire as a compulsion and it may have something to do with the seed that he swallowed that came from the unusual tree in his backyard. He goes into the tool shed, cuts off his hands, and replaces them with digging implements. His wife Tabitha is understandably upset with this and his neighbors are a little confused. Yet this is nothing compared to what happens when Harrison and Tabitha falls into the newly dug hole.

Not all Bizarro novels are horror but this one certainly is. Yet Danger Slater is not happy with just scaring you and grossing you out. There is something else happening here. The author occasionally takes a Italo Calvino styled look at the mechanics of the novel, letting the reader look inside his mind. In doing so, he involves the reader and addresses the reader as the pages are turned. From the books I have read by the author I am fairly sure he has some kind of obsession with insects and he does not back down on that obsession. It is difficult to describe what goes on in this book except to say Slater has a gift at describing the grotesque. However among all the weirdness, this seems to be a novel about relationships, separations, and reunions. He Digs a Hole is a joy to read. No matter how strange it gets, the author still has both feet on the ground and knows the reader must see some type of connection between holes, bugs and their own life. It is a feat Slater completes effortlessly.

Yet it is important to state when all is said and done, this is a horror novel. There is much about physical transformation which puts it into the strange and uncomfortable genre of body horror. For those who can understand and revel in such weirdness, He Digs a Hole will be well received. It also will be well received by anyone who enjoys masterful writing.

Just another apocalypse

Hold for Release Until the End of the World

C.V. Hunt

Atlatl Press

January 1, 2018

4 stars

Currie lives in the city of Daxton (Are you sure you spelled that right?) and it does not sound like a nice place. She has a terrible crazy neighbor and a roommate named Kebin (Thank God you didn't spell that A-n-b-y) who pursues any monetary scam possible without consulting her. She is humiliated constantly at her job, and buying groceries seems like a good way to get shot. Oh, and there just might be an apocalypse complete with rampaging fires heading for Daxton.

Hold for Release Until the End of the World is a look at Mid-East America as might have been envisioned by Hieronymous Bosch. But what makes this one intriguing is how C.V. Hunt expresses this nightmare. It is with comic resignation and the sense it is just another day. This is maybe the author's funniest novel to date and "funny" isn't necessarily a word I would use regularly for her writings. Yet it is a "Shake your head" and "isn't that the way it always is" laughter that meets these outrageous and surreal incidents that the narrator regularly gets into. Of all the awful things that happens I am sure there is one or more that everyone can identify with. The novella is essentially black comedy and, as such, speaks to us even if we don't necessarily have a psychotic neighbor and corpses piled up in the back shed.

Oh. And CV. I still think you and you-know-who really need to consider moving.

Dinosaurs in the Amazon

Monsters in the Clouds

Russell James

Severed Press

January 29, 2018

4 stars

Grant Coleman is a paleontologist with a best selling novel and a greedy ex-wife. What few people know is that his novel is actually a true story about a cave in the southwest with huge scorpions, giant bats, and other creatures. He wrote it as a novel since he is afraid that making the unsupported claims of what he actually found would not bode well for his reputation. Thana Katsoros, a shady employee of a exploitative energy company (is there any other kind in novels like this?) enlists Grant's help using monetary encouragement and blackmail. They are going to check out an area in the rain forests of the Amazon that may still have dinosaurs or other supposedly long extinct creatures. Grant is hoping for a new discovery and excitement but doesn't necessarily want to relive the terrors of his last adventure. Of course, that is exactly what happens. It doesn't help that the trip isn't really what the organizer said it was and it doesn't seem to matter to her if some of the participants don't return.

Monsters in the Clouds is the second novel by Russell James that feature the amiable and somewhat harried paleontologist. The first, Cavern of the Damned, is a exhilarating mixture of giant monster movies and Jules Verne-like cave adventures. In this second book the author appears to be channeling a little Arthur Conan Doyle of The Lost World variety. Indeed, Grant feels like a bit of a stand-in for Professor Challenger although Grant is a likeable, less explosive type than Doyle's hot tempered protagonist. The similarity to The Lost World quickly dissipates though, mainly due to a more modern corporation conspiracy theme and the addition of a mild love interest for our paleontologist. Just like the first novel this is an equally fun ride that evokes the early pulp novels and those grade B horror movies with monsters and big creatures that shouldn't be big. Grant Coleman is a bit faster on the clever comebacks here and it suits him. There is an interesting array of companions for him to play against. A few are simply fodder for what attacks them but enough have an important role in the on-going tension of the book.

These Grant Coleman books are a hell of a lot of fun. Again, James places enough science in it to avoid a total pulp feeling but still remains quality pulp adventure. There are a lot of thrilling action segments. The one that sticks with me the most involves a jungle bridge that has a surprise to it. Monster in the Cloud qualifies as pure entertainment. That may not sound like much but how many novels have you read just for the visceral escape quality. Anyone wanting to write a horror or science fiction based adventure novel could learn something by either reading Cavern of the Damned or Monster of the Cloud. Despite a rather open ended conclusion that screams novel three. I still highly recommend this to any lover of adventure and monsters.

Of Skeptics and Spectres

The Elvis Room

Stephen Graham Jones

This is Horror

March 13, 2014

4 & 1/2 stars

"There’s a reason that other guest pacing you, three steps ahead, is so silent. It’s that, under his hat, he has no eyes."

When I think of writers who can do no wrong, Stephen Graham Jones immediately comes to mind. By that, I mean that he has such impeccable skills as a writer he will transform any plot line he brings to his pages. The short but haunting The Elvis Room is a good example of this. With its scholarly professor set-up and its "skeptic is challenged" beginning, it is reminiscent of older works from Blackwood and Machen. Yet it is thoroughly contemporary and has its own devious twists and turns.

A scientist studying sleep behavior has a subject who is terrified of the dark because she thinks she is haunted by the her unborn twin sister. He rigs an experiment to prove to her there is nothing in the dark with her but it tends to suggest the reverse. As this gets out in the tabloids, he is labeled as sort of a paranormal crackpot. He looks for a clearly provable incident that lifts him back into the reputation of a serious scientist. He discovers that every time a hotel books the very last empty room someone dies. He becomes obsessed with proving the hypothesis of "The Elvis Room".

Both the first incident in the story and the scientist's Elvis Room experiment become connected and that is where the horror is. This is a tightly structured story that wastes few words. Its power hinges on everything coming together at the right time. In others words, it is a good example of why SGJ is as good as he is. I would call this a excellent beginning novella for those who want to delve into his work. Then as soon as you finish it run out and get Mongrels. You will get my drift.

The Ring trilogy becomes a series

S:Es

Koji Suzuki

Vertical

December, 19, 2017

4 stars

 

 Ring Trilogy by Koji Suzuki, who is often called the Japanese Stephen King, is an amazing set of three books. While everyone knows the first Ring novel mainly due to the movie, few have read the second two books, Spiral and Loop, and hence do not know the strange twists and turns the plot takes. I heartily recommend all three books.

But until recently I did not know there were other books is the series. Book #4, Birthday, is a collection of short stories based in the Ring universe. Now for the first time in English, we have the fifth book, E:Es, originally written in 2012 but released in English at the end of 2017. I would have initially wondered if two more books were needed since the Ring Trilogy wraps up beautifully and needs no followup. But Suzuki disagreed obviously and the author is always right.

S:Es is said by the publisher to be a stand alone novel set in the Ring universe. I'm not sure I agree with "stand alone" but the author gives you enough back ground to understand what is going on. I'm going to make the assumption every one knows the premise of Ring and the cursed videotape where people die seven days after watching it. The problem is the next two novels add so much more and I'm a little afraid to spoil it by saying what it is. So let's see if I can give an adequate synopsis of S:Es without giving too much away.

Takanori Tando, the son of a character in the trilogy, has come across a video of a hanging execution. The one executed was a killer of four women. But as Takanori watches the video several times he sees the perspective of the video is changing. His fiance Akane who is currently pregnant watches the video by accident and something connects with her. Takanori begins to realize Akane has a deeper connection and may be related to some of the personages involved in the original Ring videos and the virus it carried. The novel becomes a race for knowledge during a time when both Takanori's and Akane's lives may depend on that knowledge.

First, I think it is important to mention this is not about a tape that kills people in seven days even though that part of the story does figure into the final resolution. The plot has gone way beyond that. It is partly a mystery tale, partly a technological thriller thanks to all that computer and video equipment, and very much of a horror tale. S:Es succeeds because it fits so tightly into the sum of the trilogy's scenario but mostly because Takanori and Ando are interesting characters with fully realized dilemmas. They are embarking on a new life with child but Takanori is not sure this will be possible due to what he now knows. Kayane is also perplexed at the vague implications but dives into the fog hoping to see clearer skies ahead. This is not an easy book to follow, especially if you haven't read the first three, but Suzuki does manage to pull the complex plot together.

I'm not sure I can recommend you read this unless you read at least the first three books. However, if you have it fills in a number of areas and manages to be vastly entertaining. E:Es, like the others, are intellectual horror thrillers with a dose of science fiction. They are in some ways a mind game and I feel for that reason one is richer to have read them. E:Es is not as riveting as the Trilogy but still solid in its four stars.

The

A Wild West allegory/fantasy

Unbury Carol

Josh Malerman

 

Del Rey

April 10, 2018

5 stars

 

Anyone who reads my review knows that I am heads over heels in love with the novels of Josh Malerman. You must believe me when I say I am not being paid to say that. He is that good. His first novel was Bird Box which is the type of horror novel veteran writers would give their non-dominant arm for. The second novel, Mad Black Wheel, is just as good. Now we have his third novel, Unbury Carol and, for reasons to be related soon, it is the most unusual of the three and the most exciting in many ways.

Carol Evers has a very rare condition. She can elapse into a coma at any time which can persist from 2 days to a week. it is so deep that even doctors mistake it for death. The only people alive who know about the condition is her ex-lover outlaw James Moxie and her husband Dwight Evers. When Carol falls into her coma this time, Dwight is prepared to tell all that Carol is dead. He intends to bury her alive in what he sees as the perfect murder. it is up to James to ride to her rescue, a task that will not be made easy since an arson loving hit man is also on his trail.

Unbury Carol is a departure for the author in several ways. Like his last two books, it has clear aspects of horror especially in the segments that depicts Carol's dream-like coma and some vague supernatural aspects. What is perceived as magic and what isn't is a regular theme in the book. But it also threads finely between horror, western, and suspense. The world depicted in the novel is very much that of a Wild West environment and the era of the late 19th century. Yet it isn't really stated as such. The region is essentially a closed system independent of any known references, consisting of two main towns, Carol's Harrows and James' Mackatoon, connected by a route simply known as the Trail. The rest of the towns on the Trail are little more than watering holes and traps of temptations for the traveler. There is a Pilgrim's Progress sense of allegory here. James Moxie is a lost soul haunted by his decision to leave Carol due to her illness. The Trail is his pilgrimage to save Carol and redeem himself. James find both villains and allies on this path but it is Smoke, one of the most evil bad guys I've read about in ages, that dominates the horror of the chase. While James races to get to Carol in time her husband, who is pretty despicable in his own way, attempts to fulfill his "perfect murder" plot despite a mortician and a lawman who senses something isn't right.

On top of all this, we also get an account of Carol's residence in her coma which she calls Howltown. These are the most horrific segments in the novel and probably the segments that will scare most people. Being caught in a coma is terrifying enough but to know you have full conscience and helplessly waiting to wake up six feet under is the stuff most people would rather not think about. Carol's Howltown though, has its own dreads to pile on top of Carol's very real fear of premature burial.

Under a less skillful writer, and presuming it was written as a straight Western genre novel, it still would have been an intriguing idea. But there is something about Malerman's setting and how he employs it that sends it into pure wonder. The author's Wild West world is a fantasy world of his own. There is no real life references to where it is or even to the actual time frame. Most of the action in the novel could be explained by our real world environment but there are hints and actions that tip us off to that not being the case. This hedging of realities gives this novel an uniqueness that I believe most writers would have trouble pulling off. Malerman doesn't just pull it off but shoots it with all barrels out of the park. The other great strength of the book is its characters. The four main character, being Carol, Dwight, James, and Smoke are also incredibly strong and three dimensional. But even the more minor players such as Sheriff Opal, The mortician Manders and an especially hyper but marginally moral Rinaldo becomes essential in this impossible to put down fable.

I use "allegory" and "fable" intentionally for this is what really stays with me. It's about correcting past mistakes and redeeming ones' self and the consequences of ignoring both. It is based on a vaguely familiar world but filled with the type of actions similar to those we have made, regretted and wish to amend. it is also filled with those less admirable character who made evil decisions and are unable or unwilling to recognize them or correct them. Unbury Carol works on so many levels it's almost ridiculous. it can be scary as hell, It is a story of love and redemption, and it is a vastly entertaining western action saga. And this is where those "reasons to be related soon" comes into account. Where Bird Box and Mad Black Wheel were superb horror novels by a creative writer, Unbury Carol shows that he can be unlimited in where his imagination takes him and he can turn what would be a good but conventional idea into something that aggressively gnaws at your imagination.. The idea of Josh Malerman let loose in the literature world is most exhilarating and pleasantly terrifying by itself.

Hunted

The Tracker

John Hunt

Black Rose Writing

March 1, 2018

4 stars

With only two novels out, John Hunt is the author to watch in the horror and suspense genre. His first novel, The Doll House is a tight mystery thriller that keeps you guessing. His new novel is The Tracker and while The Doll House was a mystery with strong elements of horror, The Tracker is all horror.

Taylor is an young but obese man with a even more obese mother who dies and leaves Taylor alone in their house. Taylor has no real friends and, like many with severe weight problems, grew up with his share of peer persecution and misery. Shortly after his mother dies, he begins to see a strange man in a fedora. That man starts breaking into his home although the police can find no evidence and no signs of entry by anyone but Taylor. The man finally reveals himself to Taylor as "The Tracker" with an ultimatum; Evade me for 2 days and you live. If i catch you I will brutally kill you. Do not reveal who I am or ask for help for there will be consequences. Taylor does ask for help, and the consequence only digs Taylor in deeper and makes him the subject for several murders.

John Hunt has a casual but riveting style. He gets into the meat of the novel rather quickly. In fact maybe too quickly since at first I thought the premise did not have enough grounding for the reader to believe the unbelievable. I was wrong though as the author throws a few curve balls at us and the reader is wondering who the killer really is. A good part of the novel centers around Taylor telling the interrogating detective his story. The detective is a good listener and a good questioner for it is the questions he asks that causes the first half of the book to unravel into something even more creepy. Of course I am not going to tell you what that is.

The Tracker is a book where the thriller lover may protest the strong domination of the horror elements, sort of the exact opposite of The Doll House where after a terrifying beginning it calms to a psychological aftermath story and a whodunnit. The Tracker starts out slower for a few pages then goes full terror fest. The amount of taut plot structuring is quite impressive and rarely allows the reader to take a breath. Hunt's novel is essentially a variation of the innocent man on the run and being terrorized by both villain and police. However once the twists show up in the second half it becomes something else. It will be interesting to see where Hunt goes next. Will he become a suspense writer, a horror writer, or will he dabble in a bit of both. He has the chops to do either or both and it will be intriguing to see what twisted little scenario he will conjure up next.

A terrifying take on the Donner Party

The Hunger

Alma Katsu

G.P. Putnam's Sons 

March 6, 2018

4 & 1/2 stars

 

For those who never opened their American history textbook in school, The Donner Party was a group of families, a total of about 90 individuals, who were traveling by horse and wagons to California in the years of 1846 and 1847. After a series of misfortune and tragedies, they became trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter. Only 45 survived to make it to Sutter Fort. The stories that came from the survivors were those of vast misfortune, fatal decisions and accusations of cannibalism.

Alma Katsu's fictional account of the Donner Party misfortunes comes with another imaginative addition, that of the supernatural. The Hunger is a highly successful mixture of the historical novel and the horror tale. The author for the most part uses the name of the actual persons in the party, adds a few other historical personages like the trapper and scout Jim Bridger, and adds just a few fictional characters. Even though several characters figure in the main narration, the main protagonist is James Stanton, a single man on the trip who has secrets of his own. In a sweeping narration like this it often becomes difficult to keep track of all the characters. I found myself, after a few pages, perusing over the actual history of the Donner Party just to get a better idea of the events. I found that Katsu's account, with a major and obvious exception, was fairly loyal to it. That exception is "The Hunger".

The Hunger is both an historical novel and a fantasy. I imagine this is a difficult thing to do. Katsu uses some back stories to give us an view of the various persons that figure in the telling and to be honest, I do not know how much of their back stories was real, especially for James Reed, Tamsen Donner, and Charles Stanton. These three characters figure strongly in the events to come. The author manages to do an impressive job telling the story in an historical sense but deftly adds a sense of terror as she introduces an element of horror into it. Another historical element that is important is that the Donner Party's misfortunes starts a long time before they reach the Sierra Nevada. The novel begins in Wyoming slightly before they reach Fort Bridger and the tragic events that befall the pioneers starts pretty much at that point both historically and in this fiction.

This is where this review gets tricky. The Donner Story is horrific enough without adding a supernatural element. Much of the novel is based on the complex interactions of the members of the party. Stanton's tenuous relations with the Donners is much at play here as well as his troubled past. James Reed's falling out with the travelers plays a role yet I suspect the reason it does is partly fictional . At some point, the reader must put aside Katsu's deft handling of the historical aspects and realize this is a horror novel. That horror is added subtly while the author immerses the reader into the interactions and tribulations of the party members. Yet that horror finally takes hold of us. This is where Katsu shines. From the beginning I expected the horror to be of a much more traditional nature and I do believe the author intentionally leads us that way. Yet Katsu has her own tricks and we get something different than what we expect. It is a neat trick and one that fits keenly into the characters that we have become involved with.

Throughout the novel, the author plays with our sense of wonder and curiosity. She gives us enough historical background to feel rooted while keeping us informed now and then that we are essentially reading a horror novel. She adds a creative something to an incident that was already pretty horrific. Most interesting to me is that, despite the creative addition of her own imagination, we do get a strong sense of the difficulties that the Donner Party went through and what their own frailties added to their bleak tale. It is sometimes hard to separate the real and the imagined in this novel and I believe that is the strength. We could always read an historical account if we want to know what exactly happened to the Donner Party. But it is a story that even in its historical reality confounds the imagination and makes one wonder how something like this could happen in spite of the many warnings the Donner Party received on the way.. Katsu teases it with a tale of horror that relies on a combination of folk legend and our own human nature and makes it just a little more terrifying and therefore entertaining to the reader that dares to stretch the imagination. There were a few times where the imbalance between historical and fantasy stretches a bit but overall The Hunger becomes a riveting tale of human nature and the fear of the unknown.

An unsuccessful mix of miltary tale and vampires

Blood Demons

Richard Jeffries

Lyrical Underground 

March 20, 2018

2 stars

 

In South Dakota, a couple throw a child with a bomb off the top of Mount Rushmore and destroys the monument. In the middle east, a secret military unit is exploring a tip that might link to the planned destruction of the monument and find signs of a secret group that may be the original source for the legends of vampires.

In a nutshell, this is the idea behind Blood Demons by Richard Jeffries. It is an intriguing one and I was really looking forward to it. The basic plot is inspired and the combination of military adventure and horror is a nice touch. I really wished it took off but it didn't. I think there is a lot of blame to be spread around for this. But if I picked one it would be characterization. No one character ever become real and this is especially true for the main protagonist /unit leader Major Josiah Green. At least one character should stand out for the reader and it just doesn't happen. Add on some stiff and forced dialogue that doesn't always fit the situation and the desire to root for the characters disappears. Jeffries' demons, The Vetala, fares slightly better mainly due to attention regarding their origins and rituals and a link to vampire legends, but it just doesn't meld well especially when the Mount Rushmore attack, one of the best written scenes in the book, is largely forgotten as rather muddled action scenes in Afghanistan takes center stage.

So all in all I found it to be a choppy book. There wasn't really enough to keep my attention even though I struggled through it. I really cant give it more than two stars which I admit are mainly for what the book could have been rather than what it is.

From the frying pan....

Broken Shells: A Subterranean Horror Novella

Michael Patrick Hicks

 

High Fever Books

February 2, 2018

4 stars

 

 

First, I want to say I liked the main character Antoine DeWitt immediately from the first page. I am not going to say why for the fear of alienating some of my readers who may not have the same lack of affection for a person, or type of person, as I do.. But it placed me on his side and I stayed there to the ending of this action packed horror novella.

Antoine is fired from his job for doing something that would cause me to hire him. Antoine has not lived an easy life. He has spent two years in jail for what was basically a frame-up and is now jobless with a girl friend and a child struggling in the poor part of the city. When he gets home he has mail from a car dealership that tells him he won five grand. He knows its a scam but his girl friend convinces him to check it out. From that point on, Antoine's life goes from shitty to terrifying.

Broken Shells: A Subterranean Horror Novella is more than a moral tale about "no free lunch". It is a novella that is all terror and action. Antoine finds himself fighting off insect-like demons and wondering whether the life he had was really that bad and realizing how much he has taken for granted. Of course this is in between trying to keep his head from being bit off and chewed. The "Subterranean" in the title tells you this takes place mostly underground but the real villains are above in the car dealership practicing their evil tradition. This is not by any means an unique idea. We've seen it before. But there is something fresh about it and I think it is Antoine himself that gives us that freshness. He is not our usual hero. He had made mistakes before, he is given a chance which turns bad, and we root for him even in the most hopeless situation. He is Everyman trying to do good in the most extreme situation. Think Die Hard with humanoid insects.

Broken Shells is a fast read and always an entertaining one. While it breaks no new ground, it does a lot with old soil. It is a fun read to start off this new year.

What does your dog really think of you?

Hell Hound

Ken Greenhall

Valancourt Books

March 14, 2017

5 stars

Baxter is a bull terrier. He lives with in a precarious relationship with an elderly woman. Baxter sees the young couple next doors and wonder if that would be a better match for him as he tries to figure out these strange two legged creatures called humans. So one night, he places his body between the woman's legs and the long flight of stairs going down.

Baxter is a sociopath. He loves nothing yet has a curious obsession with humans and what they can teach him and what he can teach them. After a try with the young couple, that ends up for them no better than that of the old lady, he finds what may be a kinship with a young boy who is fascinated by Hitler and has as little capacity for love as Baxter. It is a match that will not bode well for anyone.

Hell Hound was written in 1977 by Ken Greenhall. If you never heard of him, you are not alone. We learn from the excellent introduction by Grady Hendrix that Greenhall wrote only six books before he passed away in 2014, not writing anything for 16 years before that. Hell Hound came out during the flood of horror paperbacks in the 70s and was undeservedly neglected. It is a minor masterpiece and certainly a horror novel ahead of its time. While other books of the 70s delighted in demon children, slashers and a bevy of visceral horrors, Hell Hound is deceptively quiet and vastly disturbing. Its sense of horror is directly related to Greenhall's subtle style. While murder and violence is present in the book, it is more unsettling to hear Baxter's own thoughts as he ponders over those who "own" him.

People have a great capacity for loyalty for those who seem to depend on them. I have benefited from that loyalty but I don't understand it. Urinate on their carpets, chew up one of the objects they endlessly accumulate. They sometimes punish but in their loyalty they always forgive. Does their loyalty have any limits? Some day I'll know. Soon, perhaps.

While most of the novel is in third person narration, there are interspersed passages that are from Baxter's first person...er...dog...viewpoint. And therein lies the brilliance of this tale. We usually view dogs, as least the pet variety, as an extension of their person. Baxter's evilness does not come from nurturing. He is truly evil. In fact, we see that his later ward's control of him doesn't make him meaner or more violent than he already is. Baxter is actually rather philosophical about who he kills and insists on being the one who decides. His equally sociopathic ward focuses him and give an understanding of the evil existing beyond him. The kind he must learn from and conquer.

Despite the stylish subtlety that we don't usually see in a book like this, Hell Hound fits quite well among the horror novels of today. It has a cynical look on love and loyalty all the more disturbing since it is coming from man's best friend. It is certainly different from anything of its nature that I have read before . Comparing it to a contemporary canine of its time, Cujo was a sick doggie. Baxter is an intelligent bundle of terror. Of the two, Baxter is the one that will keep me up at night wondering what my pets really think of me.

Don't touch the doorknob!

Sick House

Jeff Strand

 

Amazon Digital Services LLC 

January 17, 2018

4 stars

It's nice to see Jeff Strand returning to straightout horror. He never really left it but the past books have really run the gamut from YA to ogre fantasy to road trip romance. Sick House is pure unadulterated horror, a combination of breaking and entering terror and haunted house thrills. Strand's infamous wit is still intact of course but....boy! Does he lay on the horror and gore in this one!

Boyd Gardner gets a promotion and moves his wife and two daughters into a new house rental. Unbeknownst to him, a gruesome trio of murders happened in the house . More disconcerting is the fact that three hit men were killed in the house to avenge for the death of a witch and their ghosts are still in a murderous mood. As far as hauntings go, this one is one of the more visceral ghost novels you will find. There is a short amount of buildup with strange happenings but it doesn't take long for the author to hit full stride with non-stop action. The Gardners are the type of family that makes for a fun read, complete with a smart-ass teenager and a quick witted mother. Boyd is no wimp either, going head on with the killer ghosts all the way to the end. Despite the heavy horror and gore, this is actually a fairly fun read, going full roller coaster throughout.

I like this type of Strand novel. I like most Strand novels but this feels like a step back to the roots. I suspect it was as much fun to write as to read. Fact, exciting and entertaining. If that is what you are looking for in a haunted house story with undead hit men then this is a must read.

Immortality has a price

Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra

Anne Rice & Christopher Rice

Anchor Books

November 21, 2017

3 & 1/2 stars

I believe Anne Rice lost her charms with me after the fourth or fifth vampire novel. The first three, starting with Interview with the Vampire, are masterpieces and cemented Rice's fame no master what she ended up writing. But even those novels soon started feeling like she wasn't really into it anymore. They became extended and tired run-throughs of the same ideas. The few other novels I read outside of the vampire niche didn't really grab me . But there is no denying Rice can be a mesmerizing writer in her best moments.

Her newest novel, Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra is a sequel to her 1989 novel The Mummy which I have not read. To be honest, this particular book got my attention because it was co-authored with her son, Christopher Rice. In some ways, Christopher Rice is a more interesting writer for the 21st century and if you have not read him you should. Check out The Heaven Rises. Rice's style has many similarities to his mother and in this new book, they mesh well but I believe I see a little spark in Anne Rice's writing I haven't seen for a while. Perhaps it is the spark of a proud mother.

The Passion of Cleopatra starts where the first one left off. It would probably be best to read The Mummy first but the authors give us enough background to proceed if you didn't. Ramses and Julia are betrothed. Cleopatra does not die in the train accident and fire but is cared for by a doctor who develops a slavish devotion to her. Most importantly we discover that the originator of the immortality potion is still alive and another immortal who is looking for the potion is searching has his own obsessive reasons for doing so. It appears, as Cleopatra has already found out, a little potion is not necessarily a good thing.

There is of course much more with lots of sub-plots and characters. Julia's brother who had a tragic romance with Cleopatra in the first book and a woman named Sibyl who has a mysterious and disturbing connection with Cleopatra are two of the more interesting characters asides from the lead protagonists. But this introduction, or rehashing, of these plots and characters tend to slow down the novel and it really doesn't go into full gear until about halfway through. It pays to get there though and it does give us a connection to the characters when it goes into full swing. Anne Rice always had a very Victorian feel, in my opinion, despite her modern sensitivity to emotions and sex and her son seems to play into that well enough to blend in with the style.

Overall, The Passion of Cleopatra is an entertaining read. I think those, like myself, who soured a bit on Anne Rice novels in the past will find this to be worth reading. Those who love Anne Rice or liked the first Ramses the Damned book will not be disappointed.

It's all about the Ouji

Tales from a Talking Board

Edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Word Horde

October 24, 2017

3 stars

"What do you mean you don't believe in ghosts? You read horror books!"

I get that a lot. It is surprising how many people think that because you love a literary genre titled horror you must believe in all the things between the pages. Ghosts, Demons, anything supernatural. I used to reply. "If you like to read Tolkien. do you believe Hobbits are real?" but I got tired of the blank looks. No, I do not believe in the supernatural. I believe in the preternatural. For me, Horror is not about understanding the supernatural but understanding ourselves and the fear and doubts that bind us.

And if one more person says, "I like horrors books too. Especially true ones like The Amnityville Horror" I'm going full Jody on them.

Now to the review...

Full discloser. I have never used a Ouji board, either by myself or with others and probably never will. First of all, if you know they are not real, they are kind of boring. Second, while it is not real. our imaginations are and I do believe believing something is happening when it isn't affect us and not always positively.

But Ouji boards are part and parcel to many plots of horror stories. They are the conventional gateway to the spirit world for many residents who live between the pages of a horror novel. Tales from a Talking Board edited by Ross E. Lockhart consists of 14 pieces of short fiction covering the board but isn't limited to it. Some of the stories involve seances, divination, tarot cards among other things. But they all have to do with conversing with the spirits in one way or another.

There are some good stories here but none that really blow me other into the other dimension. All the authors are skillful but not all caught me up in their story. This is not to say it isn't quite entertaining. it is. Interestingly I wanted more stories actually about Ouji Boards and I found those that kept to the traditional the most satisfying. On the other hand, I did appreciate how many of the writers seem to be looking for something new to say about this tried and true warhorse.

Of the stories, I especially liked the early 20th century vaudeville setting of "Wegee Weegee, Tell Me Do" by Anya Martin. It captures the early days of the Ouji board craze with a feminist twist. "Spin the Throttle" by David James Keaton tells us we can have the frights of the board without the board. But the one that made my hairs stand on end was Tiffany Scandal's "Grief"which is about as straight a horror story you will find here.

There were others that stood out. Nathan Carson's "When the Evil Days Come Not" is part mystery, part horror and very different. Nadia Bulkin's "May You live in Interesting Times" is a much needed look at the subject from another culture. Finally for this short and incomplete survey, "Questions and Answers" by David Templeton is a humorous look at the Ouji while giving us a glimpse on what is happening n the other side.

There are eight other tales or varying quality but the above six stands out. As with many anthologies there is the usual unevenness but certainly there is enough to entertain. This collection would appeals mostly to those who either have an interest in Ouji boards or just likes tales about communication with the dearly departed. It's a good if not exceptional collection.

The perils of high school

We Came Back

Patrick Lacey

Sinister Grin Press 

April 15, 2017

4 stars

 

 Some people see high school as the best years of their lives. Other see it as the horror they do not want to go back to. I'm in the latter group. Maybe it's why I liked We Came Back so much because the demons of my high school would have felt at home in the old haunts of Patrick Lacey's Lynwood High School.

Melvin Brown is one of those kids for which high school was hell. At the bottom of the food chain and ignored by even the teachers, he takes a gun to himself in the cafeteria and kills himself. The creatures he drew endlessly in his notebook may or may not have had anything to do with it. Ten years later, The now abandoned old Lynwood High seems to be calling the best and the brightest and now they are dressing Goth and calling their "club" the Lynwood Vampires.

To be sure, the monsters of We Came Back seem more demonic than vampiric to me. Yet they are at the heart of this novel which makes some interesting twists on the theme of teen cliches and angst. Also at the center of this book is Frank, a high school teacher who was present at Melvin's death and is now attempting to protect his daughter Alyssia from the evils of the world. Needless to say, Alyssia is led straight to the allures of the Lynwood Vamps.

Patrick Lacy's tale has some very scary moments and is quite entertaining as a straight horror story. The perspectives of the teens and one teen's parent is at the heart of this book and, despite a good amount of gore, I think the young adult crowd would enjoy it. Melvin, or more precisely what he becomes, is a first class terror which feels like a cross between a Lovecraft monster and a vampire. There are a few problems that crop up. For instance, the late introduction of a weapon to fight the monsters that comes out of left field and challenges one's ability to accept the farfetched. However there isn't anything that takes away from the fun. Others might want to know why it is The popular students and the jocks that are initially drawn to the strange cult but for those who remember high school in a darker light, we know that many of those students are one step from the demonic to begin with.

OK, so I read my own baggage into this a bit. I think others will too. We Came Back is a good horror tale but its setting and its character are likely to take you back to your own school experiences and that is part of the fun. This is straight horror and a very entertaining read at that.

The wild west and wilder werewolves

The Wolves of El Diablo

Eric Red

 

Short, Scary Tales Publications

August 1, 2017

4 stars

Tucker, Fix and Bodie are three 19th century American outlaws in the desert and mountains of Mexico. They have already fought a gang of werewolves to save a small village for little profit. So they are about to rob a train to make up for that loss of profit margin. It looks like an easy job but they are unaware that there is a troop of Mexican Federales abroad guarding a shitload of silver. On top of that, the sister of the leader of the werewolves they killed is hunting them down for revenge. Outlaws, soldiers, werewolves and silver is not the kind of mix that will ends in any way but terror and violence.

Eric Red's The Wolves of El Diablo is a sequel to The Guns of Santa Sangre where the outlaws meet The Men Who Walk Like Wolves for the first time. I have not read the first book and there may be some back story in it that might help in this one. However not reading it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the second book. The author gives enough background so you can understand what took place previously and whiz through this enjoying every minute. If your idea of a novel is action packed and full throttle adventure then that is exactly what you will do. There is a very cinematic feel throughout the book which makes sense considering the author's day job as screenwriter. The action scenes are as descriptive and tight as one would want. But what I like is how, mixed in with the endless action, we get some actual character development. The three outlaws are about as three-way bromance buddies as you can get. There is a tough but honorable captain who is out of his element when confronted with the supernatural. There is even a bit of a romance with Tucker and a girl from the village, However that girl is definitely not the weeping willow type and holds her own through all the shooting and attacking. But the real star of the novel is Azul, the she-wolf. We get an lot of back story for her that explains her obsession and viciousness. This is all top notch pulp adventure. The author keeps you interested in what will happen and makes you care about what will happen later to the main characters. For while the novel does have a satisfactory ending, there will definitely be a third one. I'm looking forward to it.

Eric Red writes tight horror and tight suspense. The Wolves of El Diablo has both. It is basically a western in wolves' clothing. Red writes visually. He envisions each scene and communicates it so well that you can see it too. For this type of novel it is what makes it works. But when a writer writes like this you don't need to ask if they can write and ask for their credentials. You just enjoy it. . He don't need any stinkin' badges.

Weirder than weird

This Town Needs a Monster

Andersen Prunty

Grindhouse Press

May 16, 2017

4 out of 5 stars

When super weird author Lance Carbuncle says a writer are weirder than he is. You gotta pay attention!

In Andersen Prunty"s very weird and borderline pornographic / erotic horror work, we find unambitious in-a-rut 40ish Brad Renfield (interesting last name reference by the way) talking to his often suicidal and only friend Travis, both residents of Gethsemane, Ohio. Remind me never to go there. In a early flashback, they are discussing a rash of suicides that happened in Gethsemane decades ago. It woke the town up but afterwards the residents went back to their dull sometime hateful routine to which Travis responds, "This town needs a monster".

In This Town Needs a Monster, Brad finds one is a beautiful young sociopathic girl named Dawn. Brad is quickly trapped in a world of violence and sexual deviancy that is above anything he ever imagine. He even tries to leave but Dawn's hold goes beyond blackmail. There is a dark hold she has on him and that is what ignites the story.

I'm not sure how to put this. The novel has levels of extreme violence and sex that even shocks me and that is saying a lot. It is also quite strange since Prunty's last novel, Squirm With Me was a more subtle work that was surprising in its quiet mundane style. This new novel is a step back into Andersen's more horrific works. But a regular theme youfind in many of his books is the older person who is snatched out of his aimless life into something that is both horrifying and exhilarating. It leads one to wonder if the real monster is the horror of the unfathomable or the aimless meaningless regular life.

In some ways, the violence and brutal sex is too much. I think he did it better in Sociopaths in Love and I sort of miss the quiet mundane horror of Squirm with Me which brought it closer to what we see as reality. But there is no one who writes like Andersen Prunty and it is impossible to maintain a neutral stance when bombarded by this new novel. I wouldn't necessarily make this my first Prunty read but those who know what to expect from him should definitely dive into the muck.

A journey into urban weird

Secrets of the Weird

Chad Stroup

Publisher: Grey Matter Press

Pub. Date: July 11, 2017

Ratuing: 5 out of 5 stars

Sweetville sounds like a place I'd want to visit but wouldn't want to live there. At least that is true for the part of Sweetville that Chad Stroup explores in Secrets of the Weird. At first it doesn't seem all that different than the shady parts of any city that include the downtrodden, hopeless and outcasted. It has its share of people who choose a marginal and conventionally frowned upon lifestyle. We got neo-nazis, drug addicts, prostitutes...you name it. They make what is the skids of Sweetville. But then we get to find out about those residents who don't necessarily fit our own world. We have an odd cult called The Withering Wyldes whose emaciated bodies seem anything but natural. A transforming Angelghoul who sells a drug called Sweet Candy and feeds upon human flesh. A dwarf plastic surgeon who seems to love his job too much. If the city of Oz was created by Williams S. Burroughs it might be something like this. The author's depiction of this normal yet not normal city is a strong aspect of the book. It seems like an environment meant to be visited again. I thinks we are only getting the tip of the iceberg and what a tip it is.

Then something happens. With the interesting city building taking place, Stroup throws us a curb ball . Amidst the insanity a personal story develops. Trixie is a boy who is really a girl. The first sentence of the book set her dilemma up. "Trixie loathed her penis". Trixie is quite a character. She struggles through some of the roughest of situations slowly making her life tolerable yet knowing she won't be really accepted in society as she is. Kast, the plastic surgeon who is allied with The Withering Wyldes, has offered her a dubious solution and she is reluctant to go the full mile. Then a boy shows up, Christopher who is a member of a punk band called The Civilized Cannibals. He is one of the good guys and it would be nice to say he accepts her how she is but then we wouldn't have a story.

Now we come to the intriguing issue of the novel. There really isn't too much of a plot here. The real story is Sweetville and the interaction of its denizens. Yet Trixie plays a key role and brings us the real human condition of the story. Stroup does a very good job creating a character who may elude some readers unless they actually are personally intimate in the trials and emotions of being transsexual. The author makes this all work. Though the heart of the narration is third person and seen though the perceptions of several characters, there is plenty of back story received through the pages of Trixie's diary. Stroup also adds interludes through magazine ads and articles that give us a stronger glimpse of the topsy turvy consumerism in Sweetville. They tend to be more amusing than revealing. I wish I could say both city building and personal story comes together but I'm not sure they do. They seem disjointed when brought together but they are both very strong and I kept reading for both.

Secrets of the Weird is often more like a painting than a novel. It is a both landscape and portrait. One cannot help becoming immersed in this urban world with its body horror and psychedelic terrors but you also feel for the character of Trixie. If there isn't a slam bang thank you ending, you still are dumbfounded by the time you get there. I previously described Sweetville as the city of Oz as seen by Burroughs but perhaps it's more like Cannery Row as written by Phillip K. Dick. I think Stroup's influences for this novel are a bit of all four but for a debut work it has a lot of individual brilliance. While I had minor issues with the book, in the last analysis I cannot give such a strong first novel anything but 5 stars. Perhaps the true secret of the weird is that it is nothing without a strong dose of humanity