Review: 'Tortures of the Damned' by Hunter Shea

Tortures of the Damned by Hunter Shea
Pinnacle Books (July 2015)
439 pages, paperback $6.02, ebook $5.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

TorturesHunter Shea lives in New York with his family and one vindictive cat. Aside from writing horror he’s been involved in real life exploration of the paranormal, he interviews exorcists, and has been involved in other things that would keep normal people up at night.

Tortures of the Damned manages to avoid many of the clichés found in the typical apocalyptic horror novel and the result is a terrifying read that left me wanting more. Continue Reading

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

SporeThe 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

Review: 'The Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven' edited by Ellen Datlow

The Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven edited by Ellen Datlow
Night Shade Books (August 18, 2015)
416 pages; $7.64 paperback/$7.26 ebook
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

BestHorror7The Best Horror of the Year Volume 7, edited by the amazing Ellen Datlow, brings together twenty-two diverse authors in a collection that features a little bit of everything the horror genre has to offer. It truly does have something for everyone. Ellen has been at this for a long time. An editor of science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for more than 30 years and has more than 50 anthologies to her credit.Continue Reading

Review: 'King of the Bastards' by Brian Keene and Steven Shrewsbury

King of the Bastards by Brian Keene and Steven Shrewsbury
Apex Book Company (July 2015)
182 pages, e-book $6.99, paperback $15.95
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00021]Brian Keene, a name synonymous with horror, and Steven Shrewsbury, best known for his work in the sword-and-sorcery genre, have combined their considerable talents and given us King of the Bastards. Told as a story to a small group of children, it was to be about their grandfather, the king…

“Was grandfather king of the entire old world?”

“No, he ruled but a small part of it. But he was known, feared, and lusted after throughout the entire old world. Kings, women, brigands, and bards—all knew his name. It is KING OF THE BASTARDS.”Continue Reading

Review: 'The Hunt' by Tim Lebbon

The Hunt by Tim Lebbon
Avon (July 2015)
400 pages, paperback $6.68
Reviewed by David Simms

HuntThe transition from writing horror to thrillers sounds like it should be an easy move, yet very few authors have mastered the art of actually “thrilling” the reader from the first page to the last without letting up. Tim Lebbon pretty much pulled off the task in his first attempt in a definite departure from horror and fantasy. That might be due in part to Lebbon’s training in endurance sports, entering triathlons, Iron Man, and Outlaw competitions. The man knows how to sustain pace and suspense.Continue Reading

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

GoblinsDavid 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

Review: 'Devil's Pocket' by John Dixon

Devil’s Pocket by John Dixon
Gallery Books (August 4, 2015)
352 pages, e-book $8.99, paperback $10.99
Reviewed by David Simms

DevilsPocketJohn Dixon gave the YA world a much needed punch to the throat last year with Phoenix Island, a novel that was filled with brutality, humanity, and intelligence. It launched the television series Intelligence, but even better, won the Bram Stoker Award for “Best YA Novel” this past May.

Sequels in book series usually tail off a bit, even in the most successful books, typically a rehashing of the first book. What does Dixon do? He takes a wide left turn into uncharted territory where it could have been disastrous for the many fans he accumulated.Continue Reading

Review: 'The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City' edited by Jason Blum

The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City edited by Jason Blum
Doubleday (July 2015)
384 pages, e-book $5.99, hardcover $18.33, paperback $10.32, Audible $29.95
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
 blumhouseThe Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City is a stunning anthology from some of the biggest names in horror film and literature.

Continue Reading

Review: 'Hannahwhere' by John McIlveen

Hannahwhere by John McIlveen
Macabre Ink (a division of Crossroad Press) ( June 2015)
379 pages, $4.99 Various e-book formats
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
hannahwhereJohn McIlveen is a relatively new voice in horror, having appeared in a number of high profile anthologies over the last few years including Epitaphs, Borderlands 5, Eulogies II, and Of Devils and Deviants.  October of 2014 saw publication of his first collection of short fiction, Inflictions from Macabre Ink, a division of Crossroad Press. Hannahwhere is his first full-length novel and it was worth the wait.

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Review: 'B-Movie War' by Alan Spencer

B- Movie War by Alan Spencer
Samhain Publishing (November 2014)
248 pages; $10.28 paperback/$4.24 ebook
Reviewed by Damon Smith 

b-movie-warVery quickly into B-Movie War, I realized that it’s a sequel to Spencer’s other B-Movie books, all of which are also published through Samhain. However, outside of a few cameos and references, knowledge of the previous books isn’t necessary to understand what is happening in B-Movie War.Continue Reading

Review: 'Devil's Breath' by Greg F. Gifune

Devil’s Breath by Greg F. Gifune
Darkfuse (July 2015)
90 pages, $3.99 Kindle
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

devils_breathGreg. F. Gifune is a best-selling author, called “one of the best writers of his generation” by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene. Devil’s Breath is his newest novel published by Darkfuse. “Devil’s Breath” is a real thing – go ahead and Google it. It’s pretty scary stuff and was the direct inspiration for this wonderful work of fiction.Continue Reading

Antics on the Web: Nightmare at Nibler's Review by Robert Brouhard

Antics on the Web: Nightmare at Nibler’s Review by Robert Brouhard

Funemployment Radio’s episodic podcast, starring Greg Nibler and Sarah X. Dylan, is a five-time-a-week stop for many people around the globe. The show is one of the few “funny” podcasts that really works, and it’s because of the chemistry of the duo of Nibler and Dylan.

A few years ago, Mr. Nibler started mentioning that he felt his house was haunted. Well, Sarah X. Dylan took this as a challenge and started a full paranormal investigation of his house (after winning a challenge that Greg Nibler thought she’d never be able to accomplish).Continue Reading

Review: 'Little Girls' by Ronald Malfi

Little Girls by Ronald Malfi
Kensington (June 2015)
384 pages, $10.35 paperback/$9.83 ebook
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

LittleRonald Malfi is the award-winning author of the novels Floating Staircase, Snow, The Ascent, and several others. He currently lives along the Chesapeake Bay where he is at work on his next book.

Laurie Genarro’s estranged father has passed away, an apparent suicide, and Laurie, her husband, Ted, and ten-year-old daughter Susan have traveled from Connecticut to Maryland to deal with the estate. When they pull up to the house on Annapolis Road Susan comments, “It looks like a haunted house.” Little did they know what they’d find.Continue Reading

Review: 'Working for Bigfoot' by Jim Butcher

Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher
Subterranean Press (June 2015)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Working_for_Bigfoot_by_Jim_ButcherLong-time fans are likely to be the biggest benefactors of Working for Bigfoot, Jim Butcher’s collected trio of Harry-Dresden-meets-Sasquatch stories, but newbies (like me) may find it the perfect gateway into the world of the author’s popular Chicago-based wizard.Continue Reading

News from the Dead Zone #180: DRUNKEN FIREWORKS Review

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Featured review: Drunken Fireworks

drunken-fireworksThose of us who’ve read our work in public understand how difficult it is to keep an audience engaged for longer than about 15 or 20 minutes. Unless you’re a skilled performer (Tom Monteleone comes to mind among that group), the audience will get restless if you go on much longer than that.

Which is why the producers of audiobooks so often turn to actors as narrators. Or, as in the case of “Drunken Fireworks,” the new audiobook-only story from Stephen King, to someone like Tim Sample, who has produced the “Postcards from Maine” segment for CBS Sunday Morning. Other people in his category who come to mind are Garrison Keillor of The Prairie Home Companion or, a personal favorite, Stuart McLean from The Vinyl Cafe. These are raconteurs, people you don’t mind listening to for extended periods of time as they spin out their stories.Continue Reading