Review: Hank Flynn: The Return by Candace Nola

cover of Hank Flynn: The ReturnHank Flynn: The Return by Candace Nola
Uncomfortably Dark (July 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

I’m generally not a fan of Western horror, though it’s an interesting subgenre. I’m revising that idea after Candace Nola’s Hank Flynn: The Return. Haven’t read the original Hank Flynn? Don’t stress. I hadn’t either. In Hank Flynn: The Return, Nola pulls off an incredibly difficult trick: a sequel with familiar characters and storylines that can still be read solo (though it will spoil the first Hank Flynn, so reader beware). Continue Reading

Ben Wickey on More Weight: A Salem Story

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cover of More WeightArtist, writer and animator Ben Wickey has turned the infamous Salem Witch Trials into a graphic novel, titled More Weight, concentrating on the life of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death during the trials. While working on it, Wickey learned that he was the descendant of one of the people hanged as a witch. Cemetery Dance spoke to Wickey about his personal connection to this story, how he did his research, and how he approached adapting history into graphic novel form.

Stick around after the interview for a couple of preview pages from More Weight.

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Review: If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski

cover of If You Knew MeIf You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski
Thomas & Mercer (September 23, 2025)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Move over Annie Wilkes — there’s a new ultra fan in horror-thriller literature: Ann Mason (yes, the first name checks but the author goes way beyond the iconic character here). If you’ve never read S.P. Miskowski, this is a fine place to start. If you’re a fan of the Skillute cycle of stories, this is a step up in storytelling, which is quite a high bar to jump. She wields the exquisite skills to marry the best of horror with the razor wire tension of thrillers.

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Review: Spectators by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon

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cover of ScavengersSpectators by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon
Image Comics (September 23, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Brian K. Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer, best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Saga, and Paper Girls. His newest book, Spectators, is a violent, sexual exploration at a voyeurism set against an apocalyptic nightmare.Continue Reading

Double Feature: Bev Vincent explores The Long Walk and The Institute

Stephen King News From the Dead Zone

The Kids Aren’t All Right

Two adaptations of King novels — one from six years ago, the other first published forty-six years ago — landed recently. They have one thing in common: kids in jeopardy being subjected to cruel treatment (The Institute) and execution (The Long Walk). Here are my thoughts.

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Preview – MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE

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The magazine Monstrous: The Kaiju Issue from Monstrous Books is currently on Kickstarter, and this volume includes a new Konga vs. Gorgo comic, the sci-fi short story “The Colossus From the Crater” by novelist Greg Cox, and a new kanji design from Itaru Kinoshita, the manga creator behind Dinosaur Sanctuary. Cemetery Dance gets an early look at some Monstrous covers.Continue Reading

Review: The Beast in the Pines by S.W. Lynch

cover of The Beast in the PinesThe Beast in the Pines by S.W. Lynch
Serotonin Press, October 2024
Reviewed by Rowan B. Minor 

S.W. Lynch is a writer and editor who lives in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. He has worked for nonprofit organizations such as Moonstone Arts Center and the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association. Lynch has been the editor of various journals, magazines, and anthologies, such as Rocky Wilson’s The Last Bus to Camden and Chidi Ezeobi’s Remind the World: Poems from Prison. He is the author of five books of poetry: the city of your mind (Whirlwind Press, 2013), Broad Street Line (Moonstone Press, 2016), 100 Haiku (Moonstone Press, 2017), On Violence (Radical Paper Press, 2019), and Halo Nest: Poems on Grief (Alien Buddha Press, 2024). Lynch’s debut novel is The Beast in the PinesContinue Reading

Review: Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls by Adam Bolivar

cover of Told by Firelight and Timbered HallsTold by Firelight in Timbered Halls by Adam Bolivar
Jackanapes Press (September 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Adam Bolivar is the author of The Lay of Old Hex (Hippocampus Press, 2017), The Ettinfell of Beacon Hill (Jackanapes Press, 2021), Ballads for the Witching Hour (Hippocampus Press 2022), and A Wheel of Ravens (Jackanapes Press, 2023). A marionette-maker as well, he has written a multitude of original puppet-plays which have been performed in a wide variety of peculiar venues. A native of gambrel-roofed Boston, Massachusetts, he currently resides in the gloomy dreamlands of Portland, Oregon with his golden-haired wife and son. His newest collection is Told by Firelight in Timbered HallsContinue Reading

Review: Moonflow by Bitter Karella

cover of MoonflowMoonflow by Bitter Karella
Run For It (September 2, 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

Among other things, Bitter Karella’s Moonflow promises “fungus gods, trans feels, haunted forests, weird rituals, lesbian hippies, fat sex, humongous gahungawungas, and raccoons.” It certainly delivers. Moonflow is a magnificently queer magical mystery trip into the darkly bizarre heart of Pamogo Forest. A psychedelic-fueled, rainbow trip of a novel, this book is everything you’d hope for from Bitter Karella: wickedly funny, bracingly bizarre, frequently off-color, and yet, somehow, heartfelt. Continue Reading

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #242

Stephen King News From the Dead Zone

A new book! A NY Times bestselling anthology inspired by The Stand! Two feature films coming before the end of the year, along with a streaming series! A new Talisman novel! Another collaboration forthcoming! A miniseries renewed for a second season! New interviews, including a Reddit AMA! Buckle up!

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Interview: Breathing In, Bleeding Out with Brian McAuley

photo of author Brian McAuley
Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter and HWA author. His debut novel, Curse of the Reaper, was named one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2022. His novellas, Candy Cain Kills and Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying, are essential holiday horror reads and dubbed “A masterclass in slasher fiction” by FanFiAddict. This fall, McAuley returns with a bloody-good slasher called Breathe In, Bleed Out

McAuley’s upcoming novel has already garnered praise from some of the biggest names in Horror. Upon reading Breathe In, Bleed Out, Nat Cassidy, author of When The Wolf Comes Home and Mary: An Awakening of Terror, said McAuley is “the crown prince of slasher literature.” Continue Reading

Review: Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley 

cover of Breathe In, Bleed OutBreathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley 
Poison Pen Press (September 2, 2025) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Brian McAuley’s slasher novel Breathe In, Bleed Out is an absolute scream and an instant classic.

In this fast-paced and shocking horror novel, Hannah, a woman haunted by the ghosts of grief, and her friends are invited to a secluded healing retreat in the desert. With constant nightmares and a drug dependency, Hannah thinks this trip could be just what she needs: a chance to heal.Continue Reading

Bev Vincent reviews Wreckage, Peter Straub’s final, unfinished novel

The Gathered Hayward Clan

Reviewed by Bev Vincent

The appearance of a new Peter Straub novel has always been a cause for celebration. During his 50-year career, he published only seventeen others, including two co-written with Stephen King, and there were several lengthy gaps between books. Even though Wreckage is incomplete, it represents a major addition to his oeuvre.Continue Reading

Review: Come What May by Lindsey Goddard and Suzie Lockhart

cover of Come What MayCome What May by Lindsey Goddard and Suzie Lockhart
Independently Published (July 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Convinced she was destined to be an artist, Suzie Lockhart attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh after graduating high school, but the gnawing urge to write continued to challenge her. Originally, her desire was to write romance novels, but after discovering the innate ability to tell chilling tales, Suzie embraced her inner creepiness. Her middle son, Bruce, realized the same passion for the macabre, so it was a natural progression to team up. Over a decade later, they have published enough short stories that they can no longer remember all of them! Co-author Lindsey Goddard is an author of dark fiction, poetry, and true crime, living in Missouri, whose short stories have been published in e-zines such as Gamut Magazine and Carnage House, as well as in anthologies such as Error Code (Riverfolk Books). Her work has been performed on popular podcasts like Creepy Podcast and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. She is the author of four short story collections, two poetry books, and a novel, Ashes of Another Life. Their newest collection is Come What May, a collection of short stories and poems. Continue Reading

Nat Cassidy on When the Wolf Comes Home

photo of author Nat CassidyNat Cassidy is a USA Today bestselling horror author. He’s received wide acclaim for his work, including his supernatural, perimenopausal horror novel, Mary: An Awakening of Terror, and his Bram Stoker-nominated contemporary horror novella, Rest Stop, that explores historical trauma and reads like a bloody slasher leaping from the page.

He was named one of the “writers shaping horror’s next golden age” by Esquire and his recent release, When The Wolf Comes Home, has been praised by THE KING of horror, Stephen King, who said:“It’s terrific…a classic.”

Cassidy is infamous for bringing the angst and dread, but especially the feels, and his fairytale-inspired horror novel, When The Wolf Comes Home promises all of that and more.

You can find the author on Instagram and TikTok – @catnassidy and on his website.Continue Reading