Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Stuck on You and Other Prime Cuts' by Jasper Bark 
Stuck on You and Other Prime Cuts by Jasper Bark
Crystal Lake Publishing (September 2014)
274 pages; $12.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Brian Moser
Stuck On You and Other Prime Cuts is a series of short stories which range from the gut-wrenchingly grotesque to the more unsettling horror that keeps the reader guessing the whole way through.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.
Misery on Broadway – What Every Other Review Won’t Tell YouIn the Fall of 2015, Misery came to Broadway – but that’s not necessarily as bad as it sounds.
The stage adaptation of the novel by Stephen King made its run at the Broadhurst Theater from November 15th, 2015 to February 14th, 2016, starring Bruce Willis as romance novelist Paul Sheldon (who has suffered a near fatal car accident in a snow storm), and Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes, his “#1 fan” who has rescued him from said crash only to hold him captive in her home.
Now, we could have reviewed Misery on Broadway during its run, but where is the fun in all that?Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever' by Jeff Strand 
The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand
Sourcebooks Fire (March 2016)
272 pages; $7.42 paperback; $7.02 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
When reading a new work from Jeff Strand, I’m frequently reminded of the popular line from Forrest Gump: “My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.'” Will I get something in the horror genre, something delightfully demented, strange, or even charmingly romantic like his Kumquat novel from a couple of years back? Or will I just get chocolate all over the pages of the book?Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Echoes of Darkness' by Rob Smales 
Echoes of Darkness by Rob Smales
Books & Boos Press (February 2016)
265 pages; $10.79 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Echoes of Darkness is a baker’s dozen of high caliber horror shorts; some have been published elsewhere and several are new to this collection. I can’t say I’ve read a lot of Rob Smales’ writing, but this collection has propelled him to the top of my list of writers to keep an eye on. His stories are compelling, entertaining and, on occasion, horrific.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Reviews2 Comments on Review: 'Children of the Dark' by Jonathan Janz 
Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz
Sinister Grin Press (March 15, 2016)
293 pages; $6.49 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
Reviews for Children of the Dark, the new novel from Jonathan Janz via Sinister Grin Press, have been flowing freely for the last couple of weeks, and if I’ve seen one reference to Stephen King’s “The Body” or Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life, I’ve seen a dozen. Each time I’d think, if I was Jonathan Janz I might ask people to ease back on that, because…talk about setting expectations on “High.”
Then I dug into the book itself and, well, I can see where those other reviewers are coming from.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Wrapped in Skin' by Mark Morris 
Wrapped in Skin by Mark Morris
ChiZine Publications (February 2016)
300 pages; $16.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
Until now, my only experience with Mark Morris’s work was the first two
excellent books in his Obsidian Heart series (The Wolves of London and The Society of Blood). Those books, coupled with this collection just released by ChiZine Publications, have motivated me to explore the rest of the author’s deep back catalog. After spending a few days wandering through the wastelands of Wrapped in Skin, I’m in awe of the sheer breadth of talent Morris brings to the table, and I can’t wait to read more of his work.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Reviews1 Comment on Review: 'Good Girls' by Glen Hirshberg 
Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg
Tor/Forge (February 2016)
352 pages; $20.44 hardcover; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Top notch writing, enjoyable prose, a twisted and demented story… but I was a bit lost at times. Seems Good Girls is book 2 in the Motherless Children Trilogy, something the publisher failed to mention when promoting the book. Now that it’s for sale to the public, I see that it’s listed that way, but it’s also being touted as a stand-alone novel. I, personally, would have preferred reading Motherless Child first.
That being said, there is some wonderful story-telling going on here. From the opening line, there’s magic in the words…Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'While the Black Stars Burn' by Lucy Snyder 
While the Black Stars Burn by Lucy Snyder
Raw Dog Screaming Press (November 2015)
166 pages; $13.95 paperback; ebook $4.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre
I’ve been a huge fan of Lucy Snyder’s work for years. Her yarns are fun, gutsy and weird as all get out. While the Black Stars Burn, though, has caused me to realize how important it is in the pantheon of full out capital-L Literature.
“Mostly Monsters” makes this indisputably clear from the first page. On the surface, we have the destructive relationship between a father and his daughter and the damage it causes. A sharp, heartbreakingly personal tale of familial horror that kicked me right in the teeth. At the same time, it screams its manifesto to refuse to look away from the small terrors that shape us daily. The sense of causation here, the implications of what went wrong, where and what could be done to keep it from happening in the future are woven through every word without ever stopping the story itself or robbing it of emotional impact.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Northwoods' by Bill Schweigart 
Northwoods by Bill Schweigart
Hydra (February 2016)
202 pages; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
It’s been a year since the events in The Beast of Barcroft, and friends Ben McKelvie and Lindsay Clark are still trying to put their lives back together when they each get a call from the mysterious and very wealthy Richard Severance, asking them to drop everything and head to Minnesota.
Richard has a fascination with cryptozoology, a pseudoscience involving the search for animals whose existence has not been proven due to lack of evidence. This includes living examples of animals that are otherwise considered extinct, animals whose existence lacks physical evidence but which appear in folklore, such as Bigfoot and Chupacabra; and wild animals drastically outside their normal geographic ranges.Continue Reading
SNAFU: Hunters edited by Amanda J. Spedding and Geoff Brown
Cohesion Press (February 2016)
327 pages; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a pessimist. I see an anthology series in its fifth incarnation and I fully expect it not to be as good as its predecessors. I’m overjoyed to say that is not the case with the SNAFU series from Cohesion Press. It’s hard to believe that a little over eighteen months ago the very first SNAFU anthology saw the light of day.
Here’s what I said about the first book…
My expectations were not that high for this anthology. Although I love horror in all its many forms, I’ve never been that big a fan of the military story. Well, I needn’t have worried at all. SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror delivers. Every story killed (pun intended).
Each book in the series has taken a slightly different approach to the military horror theme. This time it’s all about hunters, both the hunter and the hunted.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: 'Paper Tigers' by Damien Angelica Walters 
Paper Tigers by Damien Angelica Walters
Dark House Press (February 29, 2016)
286 pages; $10.63 paperback
Reviewed by Jonathan Reitan
In a horribly tragic apartment fire, Allison is left disfigured and emotionally haunted by the inner ghosts of pain the trauma has caused. Her disfigurement is so overpowering, Allison confines herself to her home to escape the constant stares and whispers from the outside world. A nagging mother and routine visits with a therapist are her only connections to reality.
In her own personal confinement, Allison finds solace in collecting old photo albums and forgotten photos from sales and thrift stores. It’s through these photos of other people’s families and other people’s memories that Allison escapes. She transforms herself into their memories, their past…while leaving her sorrowful and somber self in another plane.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Reviews1 Comment on Review: 'Ritualistic Human Sacrifice' by C.V. Hunt 
Ritualistic Human Sacrifice by C.V. Hunt
Grindhouse Press (October 2015)
200 pages; $12.95 paperback; ebook $3.99
Reviewed by Anton Cancre
So, there’s this guy. Nick Graves. Nick is a bit of a jerk. He hates his wife, but when her surprise pregnancy derails his plan to divorce her, he decides to move them both far from friends, family and anything they know. That’ll show her. Too bad he didn’t look into the neighbors a bit closer as everyone he meets seems to act very strange and they have their own plans for him.
Let’s be straight here: this is not a book for most of you.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Reviews1 Comment on Review: 'This Year's Class Picture' by Dan Simmons 
This Year’s Class Picture by Dan Simmons
Subterranean Press (March 2016)
54 pages; $20 hardcover; $50 signed, numbered limited edition
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
The limited edition hardcover treatment for a short story might seem like overkill, but some pieces deserve to be highlighted on their own. Such is the case with This Year’s Class Picture, a classic zombie tale by Dan Simmons that first appeared nearly 25 years ago in John Skipp and Craig Spector’s stellar anthology Still Dead: Book of the Dead 2.
Ms. Geiss is dealing with the aftermath of the zombie uprising as best she can – staying vigilant, fortifying her sanctuary, keeping a watchful eye out at all times. She’s also trying to maintain some sense of normalcy, albeit through some rather extreme measures. Ms. Geiss was a fourth grade teacher in another life and another world; a dedicated educator who chose the school she taught in for years as her safe place during the end of the world; a woman who now maintains and attempts to teach a small class of undead children in her former classroom.Continue Reading
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