Review: The Soul of Wes Craven by Joseph Maddrey

cover of The Soul of Wes CravenThe Soul of Wes Craven by Joseph Maddrey
Harker Books (June 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
From Last House on the Left to Scream, Wes Craven had been a staple of horror. He rubbed dark souls with John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, carving out his own legend in the Mount Rushmore of the genre. Fans knew him from the obvious Nightmare on Elm Street series, but diehards will never forget even the oddball films, such as The People Under the Stairs and Vampire in Brooklyn.

Continue Reading

Review: The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks edited by Tom Deady

cover of The RackThe Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks edited by Tom Deady
Thomas E. Deady (September 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Who in their right minds (okay, readers of a certain age) hasn’t been excited to walk into a drug store or supermarket to find THE rack. That spinning metal beast of wonder that held so many amazing covers; some cheesy, some over the top, and others that make your head spin. It always signaled that fun times were on the way as we turned and swiveled and reached behind the book in front to find an even better book behind it. Many found it more exciting than heading to the Waldenbooks or Borders Books (different eras, but same good times). The thrill of discovering a frightening story with cool cover prompted so many of us to ride our bikes, walk, or drive on over on the day when we knew the manager would break open the new stock. Finding treasures behind that first book was even better, possibly hid by another horror fan to buy at a later time.

Continue Reading

Review: Lexie by F. Paul Wilson

cover of LexieLexie by F. Paul Wilson
Crossroad Press (September 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Recommending an F. Paul Wilson novel is akin to saying oxygen might be good for you. Over the course of his career, there hasn’t been a bad book in his vast catalog. Lexie is no different — it’s the stunning second book of his duology that began last spring with The Upwelling and a fitting conclusion to a tale that holds all the tenets of a classic Wilson story. The characters are intriguing and fully fleshed out, the plot twists and turns yet plays fair with the reader, and the mythos he’s created is on full display.

Continue Reading

Review: The Damage Done by Tony Tremblay

cover of The Damage DoneThe Damage Done by Tony Tremblay
Haverhill House Publishing (July 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Old-school horror. It’s a term that’s tossed around lightly these days but many are unfamiliar with that entails (save for those who lived through the first golden age of paperbacks). What it truly means to many is a solid scary story with real people — just full bore ahead without stopping for subtleties, which is refreshing if the reader craves pure entertainment. There’s enough deep tomes in the dark realm to rip hearts and morals apart. Sometimes, a good story is just a good story.
Tony Tremblay knows how to spin a good — and great — story. The Damage Done is 100% great storytelling that makes the reader strap in, thrill ride style, and produces a smile that doesn’t let up until long after the final page.

Continue Reading

Review: Sarafina by Philip Fracassi

cover of SarafinaSarafina by Phillip Fracassi
Earthling Publications. (September 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Phillip Fracassi has emerged as a force in horror over the past few years, as his Boys in the Valley rocked the genre, and rightfully so. After a pair of solid follow ups (Gothic and A Child Alone with Strangers), he’s hit another home run with Sarafina.

Continue Reading

Review: When You Leave I Disappear by David Niall Wilson

When You Leave I Disappear by David Niall Wilson
Shortwave Media (August 20, 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

When can a novella be accurately described as a mindf**k? One can imagine David Niall Wilson arching his fingers and giggling like a cartoon villain, just waiting for readers of When You Leave I Disappear to have their heads explode. It’s likely best as a one-sitting read, but slowing it down accentuates the fine lines and threads which weave their way through this nesting doll of horror mystery. It’s that good.Continue Reading

Review: Chisel the Bone by Renee S. DeCamillis

cover of Chisel the BoneChisel the Bone by Renee S. DeCamillis
Encyclopocalypse (July 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

When I first read The Bone Cutters by Renee S. DeCamillis a few years ago, I was impressed by the brutal talent of the author in a way that knocked my psyche out of my comfort zone — in a very cool way.
Now, she returns to that world in a full novel that allows her story to breathe, expand, bleed, and chisel itself into the reader’s primal fears.
Chisel the Bone is beautifully vicious, both in story and writing. Dory, the main character from the novel, returns. She’s damaged from her stay in the mental hospital, but safe from her attackers. Living with a friend who watches her back, she’s almost able to put the nightmares behind her.
The nightmares? A good cult almost always makes a novel fun. DeCamillis does that here with her “Dusters,” a sick group who are addicted to chiseling the bones of their victims. They grind the slivers of bones into a fine dust and, well, snort them like cocaine. Disturbing? Definitely. Yet the story is so much more than that. Dory barely escaped the hospital the first time but burns for revenge. Her friends who helped her stick with her; a father and daughter, both who bring out the best in the main character while becoming strong elements themselves.
On the flip side, there’s a cast of baddies who range from the head doctor who organizes the movement, hoping to grow his movement of dusters, to the addicted and unhinged members both within and outside the hospital.
What resonates here is how the DeCamillis imbues all of her characters with distinct personalities. Each rocks their scenes and punctuates the horror in a way that speaks of a talented hand. The writing is as cutting as the tools the cults utilize. The words dig deep, and her prose is electric. For those expecting “quiet horror,” look elsewhere. This is “loud horror,” if that term actually exists. That doesn’t mean it isn’t quality — it holds plenty, but this is metal in style: beats pumping, staccato rhythms with smooth breakdowns, and lyrics that bounce off the page.
Recommended.

Continue Reading

Review: The Upwelling by F. Paul Wilson

cover of The Upwelling
Version 1.0.0

The Upwelling by F. Paul Wilson
Crossroads Press (July 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

F. Paul Wilson has been a grandmaster of horror, thrillers, science fiction, and medical mysteries, but it somehow feels natural when he slips into this mythos that he’s built for decades. Beginning with The Keep, and through the Adversary series, which launched the iconic Repairman Jack series, the tales of the Otherness thread through novels, sometimes peripherally, sometimes head-on.
While recent novels have been entertaining and well-written, it’s in this novel, The Upwelling, that Wilson reclaims the throne of what he has built — awesome storytelling with interesting characters that readers root for and wish for future adventures to enjoy.

Continue Reading

Review: Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

cover of Incidents Around the House
Version 1.0.0

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Del Rey (June 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

The early buzz about Josh Malerman’s newest novel was high. Yet, an eight-year-old narrator? How is that scary? How could he pull off detailed, intense scenes with a sense of dread through an entire novel? I wish I knew, but all doubts fell by the wayside after a few chapters. Incidents Around the House is a stunning achievement in the most fascinating ways.

Continue Reading

Review: All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

cover of All the Covers of the DarkAll the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Crown (June 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

This novel just might be this year’s Whalefall, a story which defies true categorization but is full of darkness, mystery, and enough emotion to bring a lumberjack to tears.

2024 is shaping up to be even better than last year, which was astounding for dark fiction. Making a best-of list is going to be a tough one, and it’s only July.Continue Reading

Review: The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

cover of The GatheringThe Gathering by C.J. Tudor
Ballantine Books (April 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Full disclosure here: not a vampire fan, because most fiction and movies aim for the tried and true tropes rather than injecting new blood into the subgenre. Once in a while, a novel changes that view. The Gathering is one of those, an enjoyable, left turn of a blood-sucking story that can make the reader forget about the bad stories.Continue Reading

Review: Necrotek by Jonathan Maberry

cover of NecrotekNecroteck by Jonathan Maberry
Blackstone Publishing (May 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Military science fiction crossed with Lovecraftian horror with a cast of offbeat characters in an adventure that begs for a film adaptation? Yes please!

Jonathan Maberry has conquered a bit of everything in his career, from the straight-up horror that won him a Bram Stoker award to the popular weird adventure series starring Joe Ledger to resurrecting the Weird Tales franchise in style. His style combines Matheson and Bradbury, a pair of giants he knew as a child, along with the fun adventure tales that filled drugstore spinner racks. This is all strong praise, especially for this new novel, which promises to be the start of another successful series.Continue Reading

Review: Hellweg’s Keep by Justin Holley

cover of Hellweg's KeepHellweg’s Keep by Justin Holley
Flame Tree Press (November 2023)
256 pages; $16.77 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Horror in space has always held a special place in many readers’ hearts. However, for the most part it’s been more prevalent on the screen than on the page. Thankfully, the subgenre has been making a comeback in the past few years, striking a fine balance between science fiction and dread.

Justin Holley has added an interesting entry into this canon with Hellweg’s Keep. a novel that brings to mind several elements of well-known and well-loved stories, including The Thing, the worlds of Philip K. Dick and H.P. Lovecraft — all while keeping it grounded, no pun intended.Continue Reading

Review: Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent

cover of Ink VineInk Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent
(April 2024)
118 pages
Reviewed by Dave Simms

The horror novella can be a powerful entity. When handled properly, it’s a gut punch, a blade twist to the heart, and a mind screw all at the same time. Elizabeth Broadbent has penned one of those stories here in Ink Vine, a tale that is deeper and more dangerous than the swamp she created within. At 118 pages it hits hard, managing to build an effective setting in a South Carolina that reeks of the dank water, humidity, and scent of the trees which smother visitors who dare to enter. The story manages to be a strong character study with a taut element of horror, yet is so much more.
Labeled by many as a sapphic horror tale, which is true, it’s also an entertaining, quick read that begs to be savored slowly.

Continue Reading

Review: Where the Dead Wait by Allie Wilkes

cover of Where the Dead WaitWhere the Dead Wait by Allie Wilkes
Atria (December 2023)
400 pages; $20.49 hardcover; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

What do you get when gothic horror goes to the arctic? Pure poetry with a fiendish dark heart.

For those who read the pitch-dark All The White Spaces from Allie Wilkes two years ago, this is a worthy follow-up. It’s not a true sequel, meaning readers can start with this novel and enjoy it, as Wilkes covers the backstory in a manner that isn’t overkill with infodumps. Instead, readers are treated to another great study in character building and setting.Continue Reading