Review: Leviathan Volume 1 by Shiro Kuroi

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cover of Leviathan Volume 1Leviathan Volume 1 by Shiro Kuroi
Abrams Comic Arts (October 29, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Shiro Kuroi is a rising star manga author who lives in Toyko, Japan. Leviathan is his first international serialized work, which has been published simultaneously in France and Japan. Highly praised for his character writing and illustration, Leviathan went on to become one of the top 10 bestselling new manga titles in France, and he has already received international attention online from manga fans hoping for an English release of his work. Fortunately, the wait is over, as Leviathan, Volume 1 has finally arrived. Continue Reading

Review: Inside Every Dream, A Raging Sea by Liz Worth

cover of Inside Every Dream, A Raging SeaInside Every Dream, A Raging Sea by Liz Worth
Book*Hug Press (October 22, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Liz Worth is a poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer. She is a two-time nominee for the ReLit Award for Poetry for her books The Truth Is Told Better This Way and No Work Finished Here: Rewriting Andy Warhol. Her first book, Treat Me Like Dirt, was the first of its kind to provide an in-depth history of Southern Ontario’s first wave punk movement. Her other works also include Amphetamine Heart, PostApoc, and The Mouth is a Coven. Her writing has appeared in Chatelaine, FLARE, Prism, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Broken Pencil, among others. Liz is a professional tarot reader and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. Her newest collection is Inside Every Dream, A Raging Sea.Continue Reading

Review: Invasive by Cullen Bunn, Jesús Hervás, and Federico Sabbatini

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cover of InvasiveInvasive by Cullen Bunn (Author), Jesús Hervás (Illustrator), Federico Sabbatini (Illustrator)
Oni Preess (October 22, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Cullen Bunn is the writer of comic books such The Sixth Gun, Shadow Roads, The Damned, and Helheim for Oni Press. He has also written titles including Harrow County (Dark Horse), Uncanny X-Men, and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (Marvel). Cullen claims to have worked as an alien autopsy specialist, rodeo clown, pro wrestling manager, and sasquatch wrangler. He has fought for his life against mountain lions and performed on stage as the world’s youngest hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime and he’ll tell you all about it. His newest graphic novel is Invasive, illustrated by Jesús Hervás and Federico Sabbatini.Continue Reading

Review: Meet Me in the Flames by Greg Jones

cover of Meet Me in the FlamesMeet Me in the Flames by Greg Jones
Wild Ink Publishing LLC (October 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage 

Born in 1970, Greg Jones grew up,  in his opinion, in the pinnacle of all things. The best films, music, comic books and those fantastic ’80s horror novels. No matter where his mind wandered, it eventually found it’s way back to something with a monster in it. He spent his adolescence hunched over a drawing table, occasionally writing and living his life in pursuit of personal creative goals. In his current role at the local library, he is surrounded by books all day and inspired daily to keep creating his horror inspired poetry. Meet Me in the Flames is his first published work.Continue Reading

Review: Self-Made Monsters by Rebecca Cuthbert

cover of Self-Made MonstersSelf-Made Monsters by Rebecca Cuthbert
Alien Buddha Press (October 5, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Rebecca Cuthbert writes dark fiction and poetry. Readers of Cemetery Dance will be familiar with her work Creep This Way: How to Become a Horror Writer with 24 Tips to Get You Ghouling and her debut collection, In Memory of Exoskeletons. In the meantime, readers can enjoy Cuthbert’s work in her newest hybrid collection Self-Made MonstersContinue Reading

Review: Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo

cover of Always HauntedAlways Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Wild Ink Publishing LLC (October 1, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a dramatist, writer, and poet. A native New Yorker, LoSchiavo has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, Best of the Net, the IPPY Award, CLMP’s Firecracker Award, Balcones Poetry Prize, and Dwarf Stars. She is a member of Science Fiction Poetry Assoc., The British Fantasy Society, and The Dramatists Guild. Her newest collection is Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems.Continue Reading

Review: A Glimpse of Fear: A Small Collection of Short Stories by B.S. Miller

cover of A Glimpse of FearA Glimpse of Fear: A Small Collection of Short Stories by B.S. Miller
Page Street Publishing (August 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

B.S. Miller is a horror writer and teacher who lives with her husband and children in a somewhat secluded area south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, surrounded by critters, crows, and coyotes. Miller earned her MA in Literature from the University of New Orleans and is a member of the Horror Writers Association. Her newest collection is A Glimpse of Fear, a collection of short stories and two poems, currently available for less than a dollar on Kindle. Continue Reading

Review: Hide: The Graphic Novel by Scott Peterson and Kiersten White

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cover of Hide: The Graphic NovelHide: The Graphic Novel by Scott Peterson and Kiersten White
Ten Speed Graphic (September 2023)
240 pages; $24.95 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning, and critically acclaimed author of many books, including The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, the And I Darken trilogy, the Slayer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, and her adult debut, Hide. Kiersten lives with her family in San Diego, where they obsessively care for their deeply ambivalent tortoise, Kimberly. Her novel, Hide, was recently adapted to graphic novel format by Scott Peterson. Continue Reading

Review: Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self-Destructions by Maxwell I. Gold

cover of Tiny OblivionsTiny Oblivions and Mutual Self-Destructions by Maxwell I. Gold
Raw Dog Screaming Press (August 22, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish-American cosmic horror poet and editor, with an extensive body of work comprising over 300 poems since 2017. His writings have earned a place alongside many literary luminaries in the speculative fiction genre. His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies such as Spectral Realms, Weird Tales Magazine, Startling Stories, Space and Time Magazine, Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology, Chiral Mad 5, and many more. Maxwell’s work has been recognized with multiple nominations including the Eric Hoffer Award, Pushcart Prize, and Bram Stoker Awards. His newest collection of prose poetry is Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self-Destructions.Continue Reading

Review: Assorted Malignancies by Dale W. Glaser

cover of Assorted MalignanciesAssorted Malignancies by Dale W. Glaser
LVP Publishing (June 2023)
234 pages; $20 paperback; $5.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Dale W. Glaser is a lifelong collector, re-teller and occasional inventor of fantasy tales. His lifelong love of written words has manifested as a devotion to the English language almost exclusively, which is probably just as well because if he were to master any of the dead tongues that conceal ancient mysteries and invoke malevolent forces, we’d all be in trouble. He currently lives in Virginia with his wife, their three children, and a rotating roster of pets.  Six is a good estimate of how many animals cohabit with the family at any given time. His first book, Assorted Malignancies¸ was recently published and is available.Continue Reading

Review: Unwilling: Poems of Horror and Darkness by Gerri Leen

cover of UnwillingUnwilling: Poems of Horror and Darkness by Gerri Leen
Gerri Leen (May 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Gerri Leen spent her childhood and early adult years in the Seattle area but moved to Northern Virginia in the late eighties and has stayed there ever since. She began writing in her forties and credits fanfic over the public school system for teaching her how to punctuate and plot. She prefers writing speculative prose and poetry. She also writes romance under the pen name Kim Strattford. She is a full member of SFWA and HWA. Gerri follows horse racing avidly, is big into single-origin tea, and collects art, focusing on encaustic (especially mixed media) and raku pottery. Her newest collection of poetry is Unwilling: Poems of Horror and Darkness.Continue Reading

Review: Ignited Melodies by Emberly Lily Summers

cover of Ignited MelodiesIgnited Melodies by Emberly Lily Summers
Independently Published (March 2021)
128 pages; $7.24 paperback, $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Emberly Lily Summers (Lauren Adele) is native to Baltimore, Maryland, and has been writing for the last ten years. She is a blind author and writes poetry, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. Her debut novel HUNTED: The Immortal’s Kiss cowritten with Luna Nyx Frost is available on Amazon. She has had several poems featured in Maryland’s Best Emerging Poets 2019 by Z Publishing and Fae Thee Well: An Anthology and Rogues and Rebels: An Anthology both published by Dreampunk Press. Her inspiration comes from nature, the fantasy and paranormal literature, classic musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked and of course, her favorite music ranging from showtunes to punk rock. Emberly also loves reading about magic, mythology, faeries, witches, and dragons. Her newest collection is Ignited Melodies.Continue Reading

Review: Slow Burn by Mike Allen

cover of Slow BurnSlow Burn by Mike Allen
Mythic Delirium Books (July 16, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

As Christina Sng writes in the introduction to this collection, “Mike Allen is synonymous with the mysterious and the macabre.” He’s been a Nebula, Shirley Jackson, and World Fantasy Award finalist. He’s won three Rhyslings from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. He’s edited a number of award-winning books and anthologies. It’s no surprise, therefore, that his newest collection, Slow Burn, is yet another incredible read by an incredible horror author and editor. This collection of horror and dark fantasy poetry and short fiction needs to be on the shelf of any horror reader. Continue Reading

Review: Unwelcome Guests by David Kopaska-Merkel

cover of Unwelcome GuestsUnwelcome Guests by David Kopaska-Merkel
Weird House Books (June 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

David C. Kopaska-Merkel is the editor and publisher of Dreams and Nightmares magazine, and was for six years the editor of Star*Line, the journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Thirty-two books and thousands of poems and stories have been published in over a thousand venues since the early 1980s. The latest poetry collection is Unwelcome Guests.Continue Reading

Review: Shadows Abyss by L. N. Frost

cover of Shadows AbyssShadows Abyss by L. N. Frost
Independently Published (December 2020)
116 pages; $10.24 paperback, $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Luna Nyx Frost (Nicole) is a native to Baltimore, Maryland, and has been writing for the last twenty years. She is a blind author and writes poetry, urban fantasy, and paranormal. Her debut novel HUNTED: The Immortal’s Kiss cowritten with Emberly Lily Summers is available on Amazon. After publishing her poetry book. Shadow Abyss: A Book of Poetry, she has had other poems featured in anthologies such as Maryland’s Best Emerging Poets by Z Publishing and in Fae Thee Well by Dreampunk Press. Her passion for writing and reading doesn’t stop at sonnets and novels. Her inspiration mostly comes from nature, ancient history, and classic literature. Luna has also looked up to the magnificent work of poets such as Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickens. She has also read many works by Shakespeare and fables by The Brothers Grimm. Luna has also been intrigued by the great ancient civilizations. Her collection, Shadows Abyss, is available now. Continue Reading