Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp 
The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp
Tor (April 2018)
112 pages; $10.53; paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie Hartmann
When a novella starts off with a line like, “Turn left at the screaming woman with a collapsing face,” I’m going to sit up a little straighter in my chair and pay close attention. And that was my reading posture during the duration of time it took me to get to the one hundredth page. Focused.
Captivated.Continue Reading
Author Bev VincentPosted on Categories Reviews, Stephen King News from the Dead Zone2 Comments on Bev Vincent Reviews Elevation by Stephen King 
“The Incredible Lightness of Being”
Stephen King’s most recent published work, “The Turbulence Expert” in the anthology Flight or Fright (which he co-edited with yours truly), suggests the existence of people who prevent airplanes from crashing. It’s an uncharacteristically encouraging notion.
His new novella, Elevation, has an even more positive outlook, despite its setting: Castle Rock, a small town in Maine where terrible things have been happening for decades.
That’s not to say bad things aren’t happening to protagonist Scott Carey, forty-two, recently divorced and dealing with the repercussions of that life change. He’s living alone (with a cat) in a too-large house on Castle View, and he’s having problems with his new neighbors.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Scapegoat by James Newman and Adam Howe 
Scapegoat by James Newman and Adam Howe
Honey Badger Press (October 2018)
215 pages; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
James Newman lives in North Carolina, USA, and Adam Howe makes his home across the Atlantic in England. Thanks to the power of the Internet, collaborations like this one are possible. The result is both wondrous and wonderful.
So what’s Scapegoat about? Well, I’m glad you asked…Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Frankenstein in Baghdad 
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Books (January 2018)
288 pages, $10.87 paperback; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Ahmed Saadawi is an Iraqi novelist, poet, screenwriter and documentary film maker. He won the 2014 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for Frankenstein in Baghdad, which was recently translated into English and published by Penguin.
Frankenstein in Baghdad is a Dickensian novel, focused on multiple characters. The titular character, also known as Whatsitsname, comes into being when Hadi, a junk dealer, collects the body parts of bombing victims throughout Baghdad and sews them together in order that there be a body to bury and perform holy rituals for. This piecemeal body gains consciousness and begins to take revenge on the people who are responsible for the death of its individual parts; however, once an individual part is avenged, it begins to disintegrate, requiring the body to constantly be updated with new parts. This starts a vicious cycle of finding parts quickly enough to replace the disappearing parts, and soon the bodies of terrorists and criminals are used, which causes a madness in the creature. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: The House by the Cemetery by John Everson 
The House by the Cemetery by John Everson
Flame Tree Press (October 2018)
256 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $13.86 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
John Everson writes some of the darkest horror imaginable, sprinkles it with a healthy dose of sex, and yet it’s easy to believe every word he puts to paper. His latest story, The House by the Cemetery, is the quintessential October release. It’s the tale of a purportedly haunted house by a cemetery being refurbished as a Halloween attraction.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Episodes of Violence by David Bernstein 
Episodes of Violence by David Bernstein
Sinister Grin Press (October 2017)
276 pages; $16.99 hardcover; $5.99 e-book
Reviewed by Jonathan Reitan
If you think you’re ready for some of the most brutal, sadistic and in-your-face violent horror that you’ve ever read, then continue reading this review and go ahead and add Episodes of Violence to your shopping cart. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Nightingale by Amy Lukavics 
Nightingale by Amy Lukavics
Harlequin Teen (September 2018)
352 pages; $12.91 hardcover; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms
1951 isn’t the best time to be a teenage girl, especially if she doesn’t feel compelled to fit into the cookie-cutter demure housewife role that was the norm then. Talk about horror! Amy Lukavics follows up her frightening YA breakout The Wolves in the Walls with Nightingale, which readers may feel is on par with Sarah Pinborough with a plot that twists and turns until it constricts like a snake in the shadows.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: The Toy Thief by D.W. Gillespie 
The Toy Thief by D.W. Gilliespie
Flame Tree Press (October 18, 2018)
240 pages; $16.48 hardcover; $10.37 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
To date, I’ve read all but one of the first nine offerings from Flame Tree Press and I’ve been quite impressed with everything thus far. I’ve actually raved about the first seven books, so to experience a hiccough here at book eight is no real surprise.
The Toy Thief is a creepy tale of two siblings and what they encounter over of the course of one summer in their young lives.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Triple Axe by Scott Cole 
Triple Axe by Scott Cole
Grindhouse Press (July 2018)
134 pages; $11.95 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre
Triple Axe is essentially a murder-revenge story involving the serial murder of porn actresses and the decision of a few to fight back. There isn’t much more to the plot itself than that and you likely already know whether or not you want it.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Silverwood: The Door 
There’s collaboration, and then there’s art by committee.
Art by committee rarely works. The committee might have formed in order to pursue a common goal, but it’s typically made up of people with different agendas and different ideas on how to reach that goal. These individuals are often more interested in how this committee is going to elevate them to the next, more important committee than whether or not this committee achieves its goal.
Collaboration also involves individuals working together in pursuit of a common goal, but the difference lies in the approach. Collaborators blend their ideas and visions and voices in service of that goal. The idea isn’t to stand out, but to choose the right ingredients to achieve the best possible end result.
Silverwood: The Door is a collaboration…and a successful one, at that.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Kill Hill Carnage by Tim Meyer 
Kill Hill Carnage by Tim Meyer
Sinister Grin Press (July 2018)
288 pages; $12.59 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
Kill Hill Carnage is the quintessential Halloween book for any seasoned horror fan or avid reader looking to make an October TBR (to be read) list. The story covers a lot of ground for the genre; easily shelved under several horror sub-genres, which makes it appealing for a wide audience. There’s a little bit of everything here: Teen Drama, Creature Feature, Disaster Horror and Comedy Horror. Continue Reading
Driving to Geronimo’s Grave and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale
Subterranean Press (October 2018)
272 pages; $26.70 hardcover
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing several Joe R. Lansdale novels, collections and stories in my time. It’s almost to the point where I’ve run out of superlatives to share; where the limitations of my vocabulary and ability make me want to just say, “Here’s a new Lansdale book. It’s good, as usual. Go throw money at it.”
But Lansdale deserves better, and you do, too. So, please follow along as I attempt to find new and interesting ways to heap praise upon Lansdale and his new collection, Driving to Geronimo’s Grave and Other Stories.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: The Mouth of the Dark by Tim Waggoner 
The Mouth of the Dark by Tim Waggoner
Flame Tree Press (September 2018)
240 pages; $24.95 hardcover; $14.95 paperback; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Jayce Lewis’ daughter Emily has gone missing and Jayce is doing all he can to find her. The more he seeks the more he learns about her life and his own. From the strange concoctions sold at the Crazyqwik, to the dog-eaters who think he’s a meat thief, to the Harvest Man, and just wait until you encounter the pink devil. It’s all like his mother told him time and again…
The world is a dangerous place.
Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Our Lady of the Inferno by Preston Fassel 
Our Lady of the Inferno by Preston Fassel
Fangoria Presents (September 2018)
376 pages; $13.50 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
Two women.
One is a businesswoman navigating the male-dominated world of the Staten Island landfill system. She is respected, if not entirely understood, by her peers.
The other is a businesswoman, too; she’s also a den mother of sorts, fighting hard for a group of girls who see her as protector and savior. Under her guidance, they navigate the flesh-for-cash trade of New York’s 42nd Street. She is both respected and feared by her peers.
One of these women is deeply, dangerously insane.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Skullface Boy by Chad Lutzke 
Skullface Boy by Chad Lutzke
CreateSpace (August 2018)
202 pages; $9.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann
This book had me at the dedication:
Dedicated to the bullied, the parentless and the unique. May the shallow assholes one day envy you.
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