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Review: Spungunion by John Boden

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 8, 2018January 7, 2018ReviewsChad Lutzke, Dynatox Ministries, John Boden, Reviews, Spungunion2 Comments

Spungunion by John Boden
Dynatox Ministries (2017)
123 pages; $12.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke

The reality is this: Life is just a balloon floating dangerously in a roomful of lit cigarettes.

A lonely truck driver sets out on a desperate course to find the one who killed his wife. A path that leads to mingling with the oddball, the grotesque, and the surreal in this weird fiction trucker tale by an author who is certainly no stranger to offering heartbreaking stories, of which Spungunion is above par.Continue Reading

Review: Wicked Haunted: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 3, 2018January 1, 2018Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, New England Horror Writers, Reviews, Wicked HauntedLeave a comment

Wicked Haunted: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers edited by Scott T. Goudsward, Daniel G. Keohane and David Price
NEHW Press (October 2017)
274 pages; $14.99 paperback, $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I am happy to report there isn’t a bad story in this entire anthology. Sure, some are better than others, but each original story has its own unique twist to the ghost story trope. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a good ghost story and this collection has filled that void nicely.Continue Reading

Review: It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland edited by Robert Bose and Axel Howerton

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 27, 2017December 22, 2017ReviewsAnton Cancre, Axel Howerton, Coffin Hop Press, It's a Weird Winter Wonderland, Reviews, Robert BoseLeave a comment

It’s a Weird Winter Wonderland edited by Robert Bose and Axel Howerton
Coffin Hop Press (October 2017)
276 pages, $14.95 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

Call me a grinch, or whatever. I’m cool with it. I’m just not that into Christmas themed stuff. The fluff and crass commercialism bugs me. At the same time, I love weird stories and I’ve been on a crime kick lately, so I was still drawn to this one.Continue Reading

Review: Weekend Getaway by Tom Deady

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 20, 2017December 17, 2017ReviewsGrinning Skull Press, Reviews, Tom Deady Frank Michaels Errington, Weekend GetawayLeave a comment

Weekend Getaway by Tom Deady
Grinning Skull Press (October 2017)
142 pages; $10.95 paperback, $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Weekend Getaway is the new novella by the author of Haven, the 2016 Bram Stoker winner for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. This new work is decidedly different in tone from his debut work, which was a lovely coming of age story. Weekend Getaway has more in common with some of Jack Ketchum’s more graphic works, and it’s every bit as good.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Cry Your Way Home’ by Damien Angelica Walters

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 18, 2017December 17, 2017ReviewsAnton Cancre, Apex Publications, Cry Your Way Home, Damien Angelica Walters, ReviewsLeave a comment

Cry Your Way Home by Damien Angelica Walters
Apex Publications (January 2, 2018)
240 pages, $14.95 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

I’m hoping by now that you already know who the esteemed Ms. Walters is. The queen of deft, delightfully flowing, yet quietly unobtrusive words, and the wielder of one hell of a wicked blade aimed right at your weak spots, is back with another handful of slender needles to poke holes in the red lump of knotted muscle. It doesn’t disappoint.Continue Reading

Review: Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever: Completely Ridiculous Edition by Tom Neely

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 13, 2017December 12, 2017ReviewsAnton Cancre, Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever, Reviews, Tom NeelyLeave a comment

Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever: Completely Ridiculous Edition by Tom Neely
Microcosm Publishing (September 2017)
288 pages, $17.,64 hardcover; $11.99 paperback; $5.39 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

It seems like a silly idea at best. At worst, a bro-heavy homophobic mess masquerading as satire. You take the two loudest, virulently masculine icons of the early Hardcore movement, Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig, and make a series of comics about them in a relationship. Heck, the standard Odd Couple tripe pretty much takes care of itself. Who would have thought it would turn into something much more over the decade-plus long run collected here?Continue Reading

Review: The Weight of Words edited by Dave McKean and William Schafer

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 7, 2017December 7, 2017ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Dave McKean, Reviews, Subterranean Press, The Weight of Words, William SchaferLeave a comment

The Weight of Words edited by Dave McKean and William Schafer
Subterranean Press (December 2017)
248 pages; $40 hardcover
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Like all great artists, Dave McKean has a style that is immediately recognizable as his and his alone. His unique visuals have graced everything from comic books (perhaps most notably his eight-year run as cover artist for Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series and his collaboration with Grant Morrison on the graphic novel Arkham Asylum) to album covers. book covers….even stamps. So, what happens when you ask a group of authors to filter that style through their own distinct voices?Continue Reading

Review: A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss as A Collection of Short Fiction and Essays by Kit Power

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 4, 2017December 3, 2017Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss as A Collection of Short Fiction and Essays, Kit Power, ReviewsLeave a comment

A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss as A Collection of Short Fiction and Essays by Kit Power
Amazon Digital Services (November 2017)
268 pages; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Nearly two years ago to the day, I read and reviewed Godbomb! by Kit Power. It was one of the most amazing books I read in 2015. Now Kit has returned with a collection of short stories and essays which are hard to describe, but I’m willing to give it my best shot here.

A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As a Collection of Short Fiction and Essays covers a lot of ground and is loosely woven together with a story set in a future where most of human history has been forgotten or purposely covered up. A mid-level government employee is doing his best to uncover the truth through a series of stories uncovered in a hidden mainframe.Continue Reading

Review: Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers by Joe R. Lansdale

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 27, 2017November 26, 2017ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers, Joe R. Lansdale, Reviews, Subterranean PressLeave a comment

Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers by Joe R. Lansdale
Subterranean Press (October 2017)
200 pages; $31.84 hardcover; $6.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Back in 1994, Joe R. Lansdale wrote a story called “Bubba Ho-Tep” about an elderly Elvis Presley teaming up to fight a mummy with a fellow nursing home resident who thought he was JFK, and I read it and thought, “Welp, it doesn’t get much crazier than that.” Boy, was I wrong.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Stephen King and Philosophy’ edited by Jacob Held

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 24, 2017November 22, 2017ReviewsJacob Held, Kevin Lucia, Reviews, Stephen King, Stephen King and PhilosophyLeave a comment

Stephen King and Philosophy edited by Jacob Held
Rowman & Littlefield (August 2016)
328 pages; $13.56 paperback; $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

In a documentary filmed many years ago, bestselling author Peter Straub lamented the fact that, ever tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, Stephen King once referred to his own work as the equivalent of a “Big Mac and fries.” Straub considered it an unfortunate comparison which didn’t do King justice, that his work was far more substantial than mere intellectual junk food. Continue Reading

Review: We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 22, 2017November 22, 2017Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, JournalStone, Reviews, Ronald Malfi, We Should Have Left Well Enough AloneLeave a comment

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi
JournalStone (November 2017)
299 pages; $29.95 hardcover; $16.67 paperback; $9.95 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone, the debut short story collection from Ronald Malfi, is a bit of a mixed bag. Although the twenty shorts included do make for an enjoyable read, I have to say I much prefer Malfi’s recent novels to the tales included here. Little Girls made my top ten list in 2015, The Night Parade did the same in 2016, and Bone White is my favorite read so far in 2017.Continue Reading

Review: Unspeakable Horror 2: Abominations of Desire edited by Vince Liaguno

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 16, 2017November 15, 2017ReviewsAbominations of Desire, Blu Gilliand, Evil Jester Press, Reviews, Unspeakable Horror 2, Vince LiagunoLeave a comment

Unspeakable Horror 2: Abominations of Desire edited by Vince Liaguno
Evil Jester Press (October 2017)
404 pages; $14.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

In his introduction, accomplished author and editor Vince Liaguno describes the theme of Unspeakable Horror 2: Abominations of Desire as “desire gone awry.” This theme winds through a strong slate of stories selected by Liaguno for his follow-up to the Bram Stoker Award-winning collection Unspeakable Horror (2008). As we often see in real life, these stories portray desire as a catalyst for more than pleasure; often, desire leads to unintended consequences, bad decisions, and terrible results.Continue Reading

Review: Teeth of the Sea by Tim Waggoner

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 13, 2017November 12, 2017ReviewsFrank Michaels Errington. Severed Press, Reviews, Teeth of the Sea, Tim Waggoner1 Comment

Teeth of the Sea by Tim Waggoner
Severed Press (October 2017)
182 pages; $10.95 paperback; $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

Teeth of the Sea begins from the point of view of some very large sea creatures and returns to that viewpoint periodically throughout, to great effect.

Most of the action takes place in and around the relatively new luxury resort, Elysium, far from anywhere, in the middle of the ocean. Ancient sea creatures return to the place where they’ve come every ten years or so to lay their eggs and they are terribly hungry.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Buffalo Soldier’ by Maurice Broaddus

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 10, 2017November 7, 2017ReviewsAnton Cancre, Buffalo Soldier, Maurice Broaddus, Reviews, TorLeave a comment

Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus
Tor (April 2017)
144 pages, $9.57 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Anton Cancre

So, we’ve got Desmond Coke, right? He’s a former James Bondian spy (full of all the expected baddass, class and Dapper Dan style that goes with the title) who found out a little too much. There’s also this boy, Lij Tafari, stuck at the center of the “too much” I just mentioned. They strike off from their home to find a place where the boy can live a normal life in peace, without being the pawn of political figureheads.Continue Reading

Review: ‘Black Bottle Man’ by Craig Russell

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 8, 2017November 7, 2017ReviewsBlack Bottle Man, Craig Russell, Joshua Gage, ReviewsLeave a comment

Black Bottle Man by Craig Russell
Great Plains Teen Fiction (February 2012)
176 pages, $9.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Black Bottle Man is a young-adult horror story based around the traditional “deal with the devil” plot. Russell, however, makes the plot seem fresh with his historical take. He also twists the traditional roles of the devil’s bargain into a unique novel which is sure to entertain audiences.Continue Reading

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