Tag: Featured

Review: 'American Nocturne' by Hank Schwaeble

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AmericanAmerican Nocturne by Hank Schwaeble
Cohesion Press (January 2016)
287 pages; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

There are so many talented writers working in the fields of horror and speculative fiction that I’m constantly discovering authors I’ve not read before who immediately leave me wanting to read more of their work. Case in point: Hank Schwaeble. Prior to being sent a copy of this new collection from Cohesion Press, I’d never even heard of him. Maybe I just need to get out more or stay in and read more.

Jonathan Maberry, an author I have read and greatly respect, has penned an excellent introduction to Hank Schwaeble in general and specifically to American Nocturne. In essence, he says Hank is the real deal, and that’s good enough for me.Continue Reading

Review: 'Hell's Bounty' by Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale

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Hells_Bounty_by_Joe_R_Lansdale_and_John_L_LansdaleHell’s Bounty by Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale
Subterranean Press (February 2016)
190 pages; $40 hardcover
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

I don’t know how the Lansdale brothers divvied up the writing duties on Hell’s Bounty, and, truth be told, it doesn’t matter. Storytelling runs deep in the Lansdale family, and Joe and John’s new novel is a seamless powder keg of a collaboration, packed tight with wild, weird western fun.

Something has emerged from an old mine shaft near the town of Falling Rock. Moving about as it does on bat wings, leaving a whiff of sulfur in its wake, chances are it’s nothing good. Typical for Falling Rock, which seems to attract bad things – and bad people. Take Trumbo Quill for example, a man bad enough to shoot another man dead just for accidentally sitting on his hat. Or Smith, a newly-arrived bounty hunter whose explosive confrontation with Quill lands him, literally, in Hell.Continue Reading

Review: 'The Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools' by Nick Mamatas

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LastThe Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools by Nick Mamatas
Night Shade Books (January 2016)
252 pages; $33 hardcover; $12.22 paperback; $9,99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Despite having the word “Zombies” in the title, this novel is far from your typical zombie fare. If you’re looking for a brain munching gore-fest, you may want to look elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you’re familiar with the Billy Wilder directed film-noir, The Lost Weekend,  based on Charles R. Jackson’s 1944 novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer, then you’re in for a real treat.Continue Reading

Horror Drive-In: Retro Drive-In Snowstorm

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HorrorDrive-In-web

Retro Drive-In Snowstorm

vhsTimes change. People change. Priorities change.

I was one of the most enthusiastic and money-stupid movie/home video fanatics you ever met. This lasted from the early days of VHS on through the DVD revolution and the decline of interest in physical media. I watched at least a movie a night, and often it was more than that. The memories are great, and I loved every every minute of it.

I always loved the movies, and I am old enough to remember times even before cable TV. I loved all kinds of motion pictures, and I enjoyed them at home on TV, in walk-in movie houses, but especially at drive-in movie theaters. There wasn’t, isn’t, and never will be a greater place to enjoy a movie than under the stars, with the biggest screen in all of history up there against the night sky.Continue Reading

Review: 'Dust of the Dead' by John Palisano

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dustofdeadDust of the Dead by John Palisano
Samhain Publishing (June 2015)
216 pages; $14 paperback; ebook $5.49
Reviewed by Jonathan Reitan

Oh God, another zombie book? Wait, before you jump to conclusions, sit a spell and give Dust of the Dead by first-time novelist John Palisano a chance, for what he offers is a fresh look at the zombie mythos.

The zombie apocalypse came, and then life returned to normal. Late night TV talk shows were back on the air, iPhones were re-charged, people returned to work, and life resumed, but not entirely as it once was. Zombies still existed but were contained and were few and far between.Continue Reading

Review: 'Death Do Us Part' by JG Faherty

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deathDeath Do Us Part by JG Faherty
Samhain Publishing (January 2016)
76 pages; $2.66 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

A marriage that’s falling apart, an apparent suicide, and a haunting that turns out to be so much more. Death Do Us Part by JG Faherty is a thrill ride from start to finish. A complex tale of the lengths one will go to for love and what the dead will do for revenge. This is one of those stories that just reaches out from the pages, grabs you by the collar, and shakes and shakes until you collapse from exhaustion.Continue Reading

Review: 'Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast' by Jonathan Winn

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eidolonEidolon Avenue: The First Feast by Jonathan Winn
Crystal Lake Publishing (January 2016)
212 pages; $12.99 paperback/$3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

2016 is only a few weeks old and already it’s showing signs of being a banner year for horror.

Whether you’re snowbound or it’s too cold to venture outside or you’re just looking for a great read, Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast will keep you warm and entertained for hours.

From the description of the book on the publisher’s website:

One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. 

If that’s not enough to drag you kicking and screaming through the front door, let me introduce you to the tenants on the first floor.Continue Reading

Review: 'Familiar Spirits' edited by Donald J. Bingle

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familiarspiritsFamiliar Spirits edited by Donald J. Bingle
Orphyte, Inc. (September 2015)
131 pages; $14.99 paperback/$4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I grew up with ghost stories, passed down from my mother while sitting around a fire or simply hanging out and chatting after watching the X-files or Tales from the Darkside. I am sure that’s why I feel such a comfy, cozy connection to them. Admittedly, I warmed up quite a bit when I saw this anthology arrive in the mail.

Right off the bat, Sarah Hans kicks the door off the hinges with “The Cold Earth,” making it clear that this won’t be a simple collection of traditional drafty-old-mansion tales. We are placed square in the POV of our dear departed, a poor girl murdered by her ne’er do well husband, but it doesn’t devolve into the simplistic revenge story it so easily could have. Instead, we are shown a victim working to stop the cycle of violence and predation of the past, instead of simply exacting revenge for it.Continue Reading

Review: 'Flowers In a Dumpster' by Mark Allan Gunnells

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FlowersFlowers In a Dumpster by Mark Allan Gunnells
Crystal Lake Publications (November 2015)
314 pages; $13.99 paperback/$3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I’ve found myself reading more and more anthologies and collections these days. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy story-telling in the long form, but there’s something about anthologies that allow you to get to know a lot of new authors quickly, and then there are the collections for a single author which permit a more in-depth look into what makes a particular author tick.

Prior to reading Flowers In a Dumpster, I had not read anything by Mark Allan Gunnells. Now that I’ve gotten to know his work, I’m pretty sure I’ll be returning for more.Continue Reading

Review: 'Prince of Nightmares' by John McNee

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PrincePrince of Nightmares by John McNee
Blood Bound Books (January 2016)
189 pages; $11.99 paperback/$3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Prince of Nightmares begins with a Traditional German charm against nightmares…

I lay me here to sleep;
No night-mare shall plague me,
Until they swim all the waters
That flow upon the earth,
And count all the stars
That appear in the firmament.
Thus help me God Father, Son, and Holy host.  Amen.

Continue Reading

Review: 'Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series' by Alyse Wax

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Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series by Alyse Wax
Curious-Goods-Behind-the-Scenes-of-Friday-the-13th-The-Series-951x1427BearManor Media (October 2015)
490 pages; $36.95 hardcover/$26.95 paperback/$9.95 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand 

Alyse Wax first encountered Friday the 13th: The Series at the age of nine. It was an episode called “Stick it in Your Ear,” a tale about a haunted hearing aid from the show’s third and final season, and Wax was hooked. Her interest blossomed into an obsession that led to an Internet fan club, a fanzine, and, finally, this book.

Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series is Wax’s massive guide to Paramount’s short-lived attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Friday the 13th film series. Muuch more than just an episode guide, this book is a comprehensive account of the difficulties faced when trying to produce good entertainment under difficult circumstances.Continue Reading

Review: 'I Will Rot Without You' by Danger Slater

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rotwithoutyouI Will Rot Without You by Danger Slater
Fungasm Press (February 8, 2016)
143 pages
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I Will Rot Without You is not a book I would have sought out on my own. I’ve never read anything by the author, other than some of the reviews he’s written on Goodreads. I’ve never read anything from the small press responsible for its publication, although I have read a number of short stories from John Skipp, the owner of Fungasm Press.

I Will Rot Without You was sent to Cemetery Dance for review and when I saw it on the list of books offered this month, I recognized the name from Goodreads and thought this might be interesting. I love it when I’m right.Continue Reading

Paper Cuts: Option This! Vol. 2

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PaperCuts-web

Paper (n): material manufactured in thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, used for writing, drawing, or printing on
 
Cut (v): make (a movie) into a coherent whole by removing parts or placing them in a different order.

Option This! Vol. 2

Hey y’all. Happy New Year!

Back in August I posted up a list of three literary works (two novels and a short story) that I think are ripe for film or television adaptation. You can click over to that article and check it out, along with a quick rationale behind why I like adaptations, for the most part.

This month’s article was originally going to be about something different, but that idea has now become so research intensive that it’s threatening to become a two-parter.

I was reminded to run another “Option This!” column last week when I saw a post on author Jeremy Robert Johnson’s Facebook page: Skullcrack City, one of the books I recommended that Hollywood jump on last time, is inching closer to actually becoming a movie.Continue Reading

An Interview with Richard Chizmar: Looking Forward to 'A Long December'

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An Interview with Richard Chizmar: 
Looking Forward to A Long December

LongDecemberRichard Chizmar is perhaps best known as the founder of Cemetery Dance magazine and Cemetery Dance Publications. He is also an accomplished writer, with fiction appearing in dozens of publications, including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. HIs fiction has netted him several prestigious awards, including two World Fantasy Awards, four International Horror Guild Awards, and the Horror Writers Association’s Board of Trustees Award.

Recently, Chizmar announced that Subterranean Press will be publishing A Long December, a massive collection of thirty-five stories spanning his career. The book comes twenty years after Chizmar’s first collection, Midnight Promises, itself a finalist for a World Fantasy Award. Advance buzz on A Long December has been strong, with novelist Scott Smith (The Ruins, A Simple Plan) saying, “…Chizmar does a tremendous job of peeling back his world’s shiny layers, revealing the rot that lies underneath. His stories feel like so many teeth: short and sharp and ready to draw blood.”

Read on for insight from the author about this upcoming collection, including what was behind his decision to publish it through a press other than his own.
Continue Reading

Review: 'Dark City: A Novella Collection' by Brian Hodge and Gerard Houarner

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darkcityDark City: A Novella Collection by Brian Hodge and Gerard Houarner
Necro Publications (August 2015)
240 pages; $11.95 paperback/$3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Dark City is a collection of three novellas with varying takes on the apocalypse and the times following such a catastrophic event. The book features one longer piece from Brian Hodge and a couple of smaller novellas by Gerard Houarner.Continue Reading