Title: Ashtrays and Kittens

Author: P.A. Sheppard

Release date: May 31st, 2023

Thanks again to P.A. Sheppard for sending me some of his books to check out. After reading the fun ‘The Nightcrawler,’ his latest, ‘Ashtrays and Kittens’ was up. I had zero idea going in what it was even about, but Sheppard had said that it was one of his personal favorites, so that had me intrigued, knowing this one excited the author as much as it did.

What I liked: The story follows a former Army member who is now an investigative journalist. He’s been tasked with interviewing a notorious serial killer, a guy who believed strange objects were in each of his victims and he’d have to kill them and cut them out.

From there, Sheppard takes us on a crazy Urban Fantasy tale that rips back and forth between the history of the events that led us to this moment, as well as the current battle raging that brings about the potential demise of the human race.

We get plenty of great world building and historical context, which gave us the ‘why’ about is happening and as some betrayal’s stack up and the reader no longer can trust who we think we can trust, it heightens the tension.

The ending was great. A very cinematic finale that ‘wraps’ things up but with a cheeky grin suggesting more is to come.

What I didn’t like: Urban Fantasy can be hit or miss for me. It sometimes can come off as very silly. That wasn’t the case here, but what it did create for me was some odd moments when people were no longer called by their names and were sudden Bear or Cat etc and I had to try and recall who was who.

As well, for our MC being a former Army Ranger, he seemed very timid and meek and not someone who had experienced the front line of war or the rigors with getting to that rank.

Why you should buy this: Fans of fast-paced, mildly bonkers Urban Fantasy should be all over this. It starts out with a very intriguing opening and explodes from there. Definitely a fun read and one that goes in a number of very exciting directions.

4/5

Title: Death Freaks on Hell’s Highway

Author: Carl John Lee

Release date: July 22nd, 2023 on Godless, August 18th, 2023 on Amazon

UNCLE CARL is back!

Carl John Lee is an enigma. A time traveler. Living his life off the internet grid, off the social media highway, just existing enough to share that a new book is out and kindly replying when someone tags him in a review.

I’ve been fortunate to have developed a bit of a relationship with Carl since his debut ‘The Blood Beast Mutations’ was released and I’ve been lucky enough to have him to a cover for one of my novels (Incarnate).

But that doesn’t mean Carl doesn’t have any tricks up his perverted sleeve.

No, he surprised everyone by stealth releasing this, his newest piece of filth, just last Saturday, the 22nd of July. We’d had a few emails back and forth, with him asking me my thoughts on the Godless website, he was curious, and I swore up and down that it was the perfect home for Uncle Carl’s brand of voyeuristic debauchery. When I got an email from him saying – ‘hey, here’s my newest, it’s on Godless today,’ I was over the moon and once I was back home from our mini-vacation dove right in.

What I liked: ‘Death Freaks on Hell’s Highway’ is everything you would expect from a Carl release and more. We have horny men, horny women, dicks, pussy, tits, death, gore, sodomy, rape, cemetery filth, forced voyeurism, blood drinking, and slit throats. And that’s all in the first section of the book at the hotel.

We follow Roy and his wife Michelle, as Roy escorts her to a wellness retreat. Roy has severe PTSD from Vietnam. Michelle has some sort of complex mental condition where she blacks out, kills things and doesn’t remember it. After they pick up a hitchhiker, things go balls out as Michelle turns on her husband and joins forces with the hitchhiker, a man named Carter, who lives to kill and fuck. And kill. Leaving Roy for dead, they continue on to the aforementioned hotel, where blood is painted on every wall and semen almost follows after. Almost. But I won’t spoil the ‘why,’ and I don’t want to get ahead of myself. There’s a funny pun there, but you’ll have to read the book to understand it!

As the story goes on, we get a new female character with a mysterious backstory, who Roy uses to steal her car and continue on his way, trying to track down Carter and Michelle.

Look, the closet I can get to describing this is as though Rob Zombie released an NC17 version of The Devil’s Rejects, but before anyone was allowed to watch it, they had to do a bag of coke, wrap an elastic around their cock or have a vibrator shoved up their vagina turned on to full blast and then sit back and enjoy it.

It’s a lot to take in and a fucking great time while you’re entrenched in that world.

The ending is a two-parter, Roy’s storyline finishes as does the secondary female character. I’ll talk about that in a second, but with Roy’s part coming to an end, it was as fitting way for it to conclude and made for a gruesome adios.

What I didn’t like: Well, for other readers, this hits every single trigger warning well out of the park, so reader – enter at your own risk. Carl just may get himself cancelled with this one.

As for me – I had no care in the secondary character. She came, was there, and then her story returned at the end and was closed off. I don’t think she was necessary and other than adding in some grotesque kills, the story would’ve been just fine without her.

Why you should buy this: Carl John Lee writes the books that were the movies we all snuck back out to the living rooms after our parents went to sleep, to watch. They are the soundtrack to us kids born in the early eighties who loved Easy Rider just as much as Friday the 13th. We get fun characters, tons of T & A (and C for the ladies), and we get a story that is such a fun distraction from everything else, you just can’t help but smile.

I’m a huge fan of Carl John Lee and I’m hoping that with this one being his first entry into the Godless world, more extreme horror fans will find his work and discover a refreshing writer from a bygone period.

5/5

Available here on Godless as an ebook now;

Death Freaks on Hell's Highway by Carl John Lee

Amazon Kindle Preorder and Future Paperback link here;

Title: We Spread

Author: Iain Reid

Release date: September 27th, 2022

After the one-two punch of ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ and ‘FOE’ I was very, very curious of what Reid would offer up for the trifecta of creepiness. I personally enjoyed ‘FOE’ more than ‘ITOET’ but I imagine each reader will have a different favorite based on the order of having read those.

See that banner up there? I made it!

Canva is cool for simple stuff like this. But also, those are my most three recent ‘real’ releases. I say that with no disrespect meant to ‘An Endless Darkness: The Novellas,’ but that was all reprints of one type or another.

Hello, my name is Steve Stred and you might wonder just what in the Hell is going on.

In what way do you mean?

Throw out a category and something WTF is going on.

But, if you mean this post – well – there’s a reason for that.

See, I’ve had this website for years, and for a while, I used it mainly as a blog, in that I post my book reviews here, the 3Q’s series, etc and my new releases. And for a while, I did a what’s up, where weekly and then monthly, I wrote a true and true ‘newsletter.’ I don’t have a real newsletter, nothing like the – sign up and get a free book – type dealy.

No, I have this.

And I often have books on super discount or free, so I’ve just never made an effort to do a ‘newsletter.’ But, the times they are a changin’.

So, every few months, I’ll do a wrap up and fill you in on what you might’ve missed over the previous few months. I’m active on almost every social media site there is, but not everyone is, so this makes sure those who only follow me here don’t miss any of the good stuff.

Buckle up, this one’s a bit longer!

With us almost at the end of July, I figure let’s jump back to the start of the month and go from there.

We started the summer off with a bang – heading out to Jurassic Forest for Canada Day! Jurassic Forest is only about a 40 minute drive for us, just north of Gibbons, and we get an annual membership as we often go a half dozen times over the summer.

This trip started with excitement for Auryn, as when we arrived, they had a Jurassic Park replica Jeep, complete with a crazy raptor!

After seeing that, we went and did mini-golf there for the first time!

We had a blast and then made our way around the trails. Just as we were nearing the end of the second trail, the sky opened up and rain, thunder and lightning began. Luckily, our trip was at its end, so we didn’t miss out on anything, unlike those who had just arrived. The lightning strikes were so close that the trails had to be evacuated!

Our next adventure was heading out to Chickakoo Lake a week later. It is also about a 40 min drive for us, heading north west. We love visiting the area and hiking around the paths. Sadly, this day wasn’t to be enjoyable, as our bug spray was empty! I even thought it was low but didn’t think to grab the other can. We were swarmed for the duration of our 5km hike, but as always, the mosquitos seem to like me more than Amanda or Auryn!

Like most of Canada, our summer has been dictated by the horrendous wildfires and poor air quality. For us, it actually started back in May, even before I ventured to Toronto for the Andrew Pyper/Demonologist celebration. Here’s a photo I took a few weeks back that kind of sums up our everyday.

This was taken from the parking lot of Kingsway Mall, here in Edmonton, looking back at downtown. This was taken around noon on a Saturday, but for the most part, this could’ve been taken at anytime during any day of the week. It has put a bit of a damper on some of our outdoor time, as the smoke somedays is too thick to be out in, but we have still been managing to get out and about.

Just this past weekend, I turned 42 years old. On Friday, July 21st to be exact!

On that day, two things happened. The first was that I had a book come out. The second was that we decided to take a trip up to Grande Prairie, Alberta to visit the Philip J. Currie dinosaur Museum. If you’ve followed along with me on social media, you’ll know that Auryn is dino-obsessed. So much so, that Drumheller has become an annual visit spot for us – and we’ll be going there in August again.

But, we’d never been to the museum just west of Grande Prairie, and decided it would make for a fun trip. Auryn was excited for a few reason. 1 – we were going to stay in a hotel. 2 – the hotel had a pool. 3 – we would be going to a dinosaur museum AND then go bowling later on.

(The Grizzly Bear in the conservation room at Philip J. Currie)

(Auryn being attacked by fossils!)

The museum was solid. Maybe a quarter of the size of Drumheller’s Royal Tyrell, it’s one that we’re glad to have gone and visited, but not one we’d specifically make the trip to see again. If we are passing through, then we definitely will stop, otherwise, it wasn’t what we expected especially as a destination place.

That evening, Auryn and I went bowling and arcading while Amanda got some well deserved down time.

For bowling, Auryn and I met up with my friend, Brett Plaxton. Brett and I connected some time back on social media, and have stayed in touch ever since. This was our first time meeting in person and it was great! We bowled, arcaded and then ate pizza on a giant rock in the parking lot, much to Auryn’s hilarity.

Say what you will about the negative aspects of social media (and I’ll write about social media further on) but so far, every person I’ve connected with and met in real life has been just wonderful. Whether it was J.H. Moncrieff in Winnipeg, the dozens of folks in Toronto, or meeting Brett in GP, it has been fantastic having this tangible connection after developing a digital relationship.

Now, before I move on, I do need to circle around to one of the reasons Auryn was excited for the hotel – the pool.

We checked in at about 3pm on Friday. Auryn immediately wanted to go to the pool. So, him and I went and spent about 90 mins there, before going to dinner. Saturday morning, we got another 90 mins or so in between breakfast and needing to leave for the museum. When we returned from the museum, we hit the pool again for almost 3 hrs. AND – not done yet – Sunday morning, before check out, we got almost another hour in. That’s right. We were in the pool for around seven hours!! Holy moly, was Auryn excited to spend time in the pool!

After we checked out, we then drove from Grand Prairie to Wandering River, where we spent the night with Amanda’s mom at their seasonal camping lot.

Now, I’m back in Edmonton for the week, while Auryn and Amanda are in Fort Mac for the week.

At the end of August, we’ll be heading to Calgary for Auryn’s 7th birthday, which is crazy. We’ll be doing the usual fun stuff, so I can’t wait!

Now, jumping back up – the other thing I did on Friday, July 21st, was release my first non-fiction piece – my memoir – ‘The Color of Melancholy.’ This is a very personal project. It is an examination of my life, my struggles with depression, my goal/attempt (and failure) to reach the Olympics and how I found Andrew Pyper’s novels and developed a friendship with Andrew. Andrew kindly provided a phenomenal and moving foreword and for those who like collecting books, the ebook and paperback feature a stunning cover by Christy Aldridge and the hardcover has a gorgeous cover from Don Noble!

To my utter surprise – the memoir has been very well received! My first best seller banners on Amazon US and CAN, hitting number one on both sites in a number of categories AND getting the new release banners as well! INSANE!

If you still haven’t snagged a copy – no worries – but here is the universal link to make it easier for you ha!

mybook.to/thecolorofmelancholy

As well, I just wanted to showcase how wonderful my readers have been.

let’s start with Mastodon. I would say Mastodon is the novel I’m now known for, was released in January of 2022. It seems like just yesterday! But nope, 18 months have come and gone and now, the book is starting to hit some huge milestones. Namely, it has passed 500 ratings on Amazon US and is approaching 500 ratings on Amazon CAN! It is also closing in on 800 ratings over on GR! Not bad for a book about the forests of the Rocky Mountains and an author who spends exactly ZERO dollars on marketing haha!

Mastodon is also nominated for a Splatterpunk Award for best novel and in August we’ll find out if it takes home the hardware or not!

And let’s not forget about my February 2023 novel, Churn the Soil. It has been finding new readers as well and it’s been amazing seeing the response to this one! Nearing 250 ratings on Amazon CAN and passing 250 ratings on Amazon US already has been very unexpected and just so amazing!

As well, I recently had Don Noble redo the cover/wrap for my novella, The Girl Who Hid in the Trees.

I was finding more and more covers far too similar to the original and decided to go with a very vibrant and different direction!

You can snag a copy here;

mybook.to/girltrees

Lastly, I want to touch on Social Media.

Now, nobody cares about my thoughts on this, but here we are!

Twitter is now apparently X. Threads has started – emerged – faded – returned. Facebook keeps kicking. IG is there but wants to be Tik Tok. Tik Tok is tough and hard to gain traction if you don’t show your nipples or your vagina. It’s also very time consuming. Well, they all are to be fair. Blue Sky wants to be Twitter (X?) but isn’t gaining the traction it needs as you need an invite code.

I made a joking post recently where I posted and then copy and pasted and screenshot over and over. The reality of the author’s life these days. Make one post. Copy and paste a million times.

Which is what brings me here. To this point.

I’m going to continue using Twitter (X?) as well as IG and FB as my primary social media pages until otherwise. I will be pasting stuff on the other sites but won’t be as active there, as I simply don’t have the time. I’m most likely going to shutter Hive. I don’t know if anyone actually goes there anymore.

Anyways, all of this is to say – if you are getting rid of your accounts – follow me here!

And, I will note – WordPress is still only randomly showing me when a comment comes through. I will try to reply to them, but it has been hard finding them!

Anywho. Let’s end it there.

If you want to see what other books I got out there check the Universal Link;

author.to/stevestred

Take care and enjoy the summer. I’ll be back with a new ‘newsletter’ in September!

Title: The Killing Circle

Author: Andrew Pyper

Release date: September 16th, 2008

‘A father and son used to live here.’

I first read this in April of 2020.

It was the last of Andrew’s books I hadn’t read and I held off on it because I was worried I might not like it, the synopsis teasing that this release was more in-line to be a crime-thriller than a supernatural read. Having read it twice now, the book IS more crime-thriller than anything else, a psychological-horror novel that races around the streets of Toronto and ultimately ending up in rural Ontario, but no matter the ‘genre’ labelling, you’d be hard pressed to find a creepier novel out there.

Also, the first time I read this one, I raced through it, completely captivated and desperately wanting to know what happened. The ending was a gut punch, so I decided to wait until doing a re-read of this one, until I felt the timing was right.

For this re-read, I took my time, savoring it, as though now I’m enjoying a glass of wine after having slammed the beer.

It also should be noted – for those two or three people in the world – that I’ve spent the last half dozen years pushing people (almost daily) to read Andrew’s work. I’ve essentially forced myself into the periphery of Andrew’s work, and (almost daily) get a DM/message from someone asking what book should they start with for reading his work or asking my thoughts on one of his books or his characters. I am no expert – and I’d even suggest others out there most likely know his work inside and out better than I – but I also don’t shy away from the fact that Andrew’s work has been paramount to my life – both as a reader and a writer (Hell, I just released a non-fiction book about just that!) and I’d like to think I do a decent job of getting others to discover his wonderful style of crafting a story.

And lastly, before I dive into the ‘review’ portion, I just want to note that 2008 is the fifteenth anniversary year of this novel being released. In May of this year, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of Andrew’s novel ‘The Demonologist’ releasing, and while it was that novel we focused on, ‘The Killing Circle’ is just as deserving as receiving celebration!

What I liked: At it’s basic level, ‘The Killing Circle’ can be described as a novel about a widower – TV critic Patrick Rush – who navigates life while raising his young son, Sam. Until one day, Patrick decides he finally wants to write the novel he’s always dreamed of writing and joins a writing group.

But, this is an Andrew Pyper novel, which means nothing is what it seems. And while this came out in 2008, you can lay comparisons of this novel with ‘Lost Girls,’ ‘The Homecoming,’ ‘The Only Child,’ and even ‘The Demonologist.’ The search for the truth. The realization that the truth was closer throughout the entire novel. And that sometimes a journey is needed to return everything as close to ‘normal’ as it can be.

As Rush continues to visit the writing circle, Pyper does a few neat things.

The first is the meta aspect.

Throughout, Andrew infuses this in the ‘real.’ Real places. Real world -isms. Characters based on real people (I can only assume Conrad is someone Andrew’s had dealings with in the past. Possibly Angela as well). And even the book itself. At first we follow how Rush becomes an instant-bestseller with ‘The Sandman,’ the story he stole from another writing circle member. But ‘The Killing Circle’ becomes a thing-within-the-thing as we learn (full-circle moment) the truth, the horrifying ‘why’ and the ‘what-next.’

Andrew even takes a swipe at Canada’s beloved Booker Awards, with Rush attending a pretend version of the event and eviscerating the usual attendees and even more common winners and celebratory authors. It can be seen as bitter, sure, especially considering an author of Andrew’s pedigree and bibliography having not been even nominated, or it can be seen as another sarcastic take on this ‘Toronto,’ Andrew’s ‘Toronto’ that is just like the real one, but shaded grey with the artistic license. It lends itself even more to the meta-ness of the entire novel.

Oddly enough, while this was written probably sixteen years ago – to be released fifteen years back – much of what Andrew describes about the city felt as though it was an observation from today. A city scorched by heat, humid as fuck, and how the buildings get taller, the rent gets higher and the mix of people coming and going makes for a reduction of knowing your neighbor.

In May, when I went to Toronto for the first time, my entire weekend. I was walking the streets of ‘The Killing Circle’ with the author who wrote ‘The Killing Circle,’ while surrounded by the buildings that keep getting taller and the rents getting higher.

The second aspect that Andrew does so well with this is the layers.

Patrick is a suspect. Patrick is a victim. Patrick is having to constantly look over his shoulder while also looking forward in fear of the Sandman. The members of the writing circle dip and dash within the story itself, ebbing and flowing to create a constant mix of chaos and anxiety. The story itself practically drips anxiousness from each page. We remain perplexed until the very, bitter end.

The third aspect that Andrew throws at us is the emotional aspect.

His son, Sam, loves him more than anything. As does Patrick to him. So, when the book opens with Sam being taken and Patrick desperately searching for him, Pyper throws us to the emotional wolves from the get go. From there, we get the news of Patrick’s wife, Tamara, dying young, of how his employment status changes and how, even up until Sam is taken, Patrick struggles with how to keep Sam safe, as new developments unfold.

Lastly, Andrew has a penchant for ‘non-typical’ endings. What I mean is – he’s a big five published author – an award-winning, and internationally lauded writer, yet not a single one of his novels end like you’d expect an author being published through these houses should end. We don’t get happy endings. We don’t get ‘everything-tied-up-in-a-neat-bow.’ When I read this the first time, I bawled my eyes out when it ended. Same thing here. Patrick’s story, ‘The Killing Circle’ novel, and the exploration of grief that Pyper infuses throughout this, come to an end and it left me devastated once again.

What I didn’t like: I think the only thing of note this time around, was that parts of the story may feel a bit dated – much like with ‘Lost Girls’ – in that it predates our current availability of technology. Patrick has to hoof it back and forth around the city to see if people are home, not able to fire off a text or DM. Patrick has to utilize the stacks to find clues about a characters real identity. It’s minor aspects, but is something that I pulls the story from the hear and now and firmly stamps a date on it.

Why you should buy this: The problem with having a favorite author who has released so many AMAZING novels, is that it becomes difficult to pick a favorite. When I first read this one, I declared it my favorite of his work. Now, having re-read it, I think it still remains there, but depending on the day (and the DM), other works from Andrew raise their hands up high to be chosen. ‘The Homecoming’ with its PNW fuckery. ‘The Only Child’ with its world-wide galivanting. ‘Lost Girls’ with its lady of the lake. ‘The Demonologist’ with its race against time and a demon. And ‘The Guardians’ with its small-town-coming-of-age-ghost-story brilliance.

It’s also odd to think ‘The Guardians’ came after ‘The Killing Circle.’ I was dumb-struck when I came across this passage in ‘The Killing Circle’ on my re-read.

‘People used to live in every empty house you’ve ever stood in, and this makes them no less empty.’

An inter-connection between these two novels, separated by three years of publication date. It reinforces my long held belief that all of Andrew’s works are thematically connected, that grief and journey are always at the forefront, always paramount to the ‘why’ of the characters we are introduced to and follow.

As for ‘The Killing Circle’ itself, if you’ve not read any of Andrew’s work and you’re looking for a not-so-horror-y-but-still-edge-of-the-seat-y read, look no further. This one races along, has plenty of twists and turns and ultimately leaves you gasping for air. A novel of the highest order.

5/5

Title: Kings of the Wyld (The Band #1)

Author: Nicholas Eames

Release date: February 21, 2017

It’s funny, as someone who tries their best to read and support as many Canadian authors as I can, I had no idea Nicholas Eames was Canadian before reading this book. Additionally, over the last few years, I’ve connected – as an extension through Andrew Pyper – with Guy Gavriel Kay. Recently, Kay has popped up everywhere for me, and now that I’m done this, and having read the acknowledgements, it was profound that Eames had been inspired to write this novel (and series) through Kay’s writing and that Kay is a Canadian, much in the same way I was inspired to pursue my passion of writing horror when I discovered Pyper’s ‘The Demonologist’ and found out Andrew was also Canadian.

The wheel always turns.

With this one, I was excited, as I love popping into the fantasy genre from time to time, and as I await the third novel of Gwynne’s The Bloodsworn Saga, I felt it was a perfect time to read book one in Eames The Band series.

What I liked: The beauty of this novel is its heart.

From page one, we meet Clay ‘Slowhand’ Cooper, retired mercenary and former member of The Kings of the Wyld, a band of warriors who became legends with their exploits. Long retired, he is now enjoying a life of ease, married with a young daughter. All is well, until his friend, Gabriel – also a former member of his band – shows up and begs him to come along, to get the band together, and to travel across the world to save Gabriel’s daughter.

This launches us into a phenomenal quest where Clay and Gabe make their way from Clay’s home, across the lands, recruiting their old bandmates and eventually crossing the Heartwyld, the most notorious forest in all the lands. Along the way, Eames sprinkles in some fantastic banter, humour, heart and lots of really well done action sequences. We get amazing creatures, bloody battles and a daeva that has been hired to find the group and return one of them to collect the bounty on his head.

Eames has created some wonderful characters with this group, no matter how gruff and angry some of them are and when we hear some of the details sprinkled here and there of their former exploits, it really elevated their various traits and reasons for doing things the way they did.

The ending was fantastic. A massive battle worthy of a Peter Jackson adaptation, we had the heroes race into battle against an endless horde of creatures and crooks and at the end, we get a one-two punch of emotions that made the journey all the more powerful.

What I didn’t like: Honestly, I wish this book was expanded and broken into three releases. Book one would be the band getting back together and would end when they battle at the Maxion (or however it was spelled!) before they continue on. Book two would be an expanded version of their journey across the Heartwyld. So much happened and a lot of it was summarized to move the story along that I found I was a bit annoyed that what could’ve been 100 pages of action was whittled down to two paragraphs. And last, the third book, would be the battle at Castia and Gabe and Clay’s journey’s resolving.

Saying all of that – and minor spoiler here – Even though this book was phenomenal and worked in the 450 pages or so that it was, there wasn’t a big heartbreaking moment anywhere in here. You kind of expect one of the group to have their head lopped off or for them to be devoured by a troll or dragon, but sadly, no big loss takes place.

Why you should buy this: One obvious bonus of this not being three books, is that it is the rare epic-fantasy novel that is wholly contained as a single release and readers who get put off by the potential of a series never being concluded don’t need to worry with this. Saying that, there is a second book out, following Gabe’s daughter, and I’m looking forward to diving into that some time in the future.

Overall, this one was a book I absolutely adored. The characters, the setting, the journey and the danger all worked to create a novel that’ll stay with me for many moons. Well done, Eames. Onto the next.

5/5

Title: Bee Tornado

Author: Chris Sorenson

Release date: July 31st, 2023

For those who fell in love with Sorenson’s horror debut ‘The Nightmare Room,’ book one in his Messy Man series, it felt like an excruciatingly long wait between book two and book three. I mean, not Rothfuss or RR Martin long of a wait for the next in the series, but it was still a solid break and once released, we all devoured it.

And then the next wait began. The wait for Chris’ next book. And when we finally got word on it arriving, earlier this year, we all collectively held our breath. Chris then deployed a fantastic marketing plan for his novel ‘Suckerville,’ which I had the honor of beta-reading. And he knocked it out of the park. But – and this was met with a collective gasp – within days of ‘Suckerville’ dropping – Chris hinted at another book on the horizon. ‘Bee Tornado.’ I shit you not. And, once again, to my sheer amazement and surprise, Chris reached out to ask if I’d like to give it an early read. ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY.

I’m having a hard time remembering the last time we had two back-to-back creature-feature bangers like what Chris has done with ‘Suckerville’ and ‘Bee Tornado.’ It would be akin to going to a drive-in theatre and watching ‘Tremors’ and ‘Lake Placid’ on a double bill. Two different-but-same movies, both filled with heart, some humor and ultimately some of the best survive-at-all-costs-against-the-insane-things-trying-to-kill-us moments.

What I liked: ‘Bee Tornado’ follows Derek. He’s struggling to carry on, after his wife was killed in a horrible accident involving a tornado, leaving him and his early-teenaged daughter to continue. He’s drifting through life, his and his wife’s ‘odditorium’ store shuttered and the bills piling up.

But what he doesn’t know is that someone trying to make a quick buck has disturbed something that had been hibernating in the hills for centuries, and now they’re loose and looking for their nectar.

From that point on, it’s completely a battle between massive bees and those trying their all to stop them. We get some amazing secondary characters, fantastic action sequences and some truly over-the-top deaths which will make anyone who’s ever been stung second guess staying put the next time a bee comes near them.

The ending to this was spot on and really topped the emotional cake with a really nice topper. The father-daughter relationship that we watched weave between poor and poorer throughout came back around and it made for a wonderful way to see this one finish.

What I didn’t like: There are some secondary characters who you immediately know are simply there to be stung and killed off – its expected – but a few of them seem to be a bit more heavily invested in, only for their storyline to mean almost nothing. It happens, but for a few of them it made for an odd moment when you realize some of what you’ve followed won’t be tied up in a neat little bow!

Why you should buy this: I mean, if you loved ‘Suckerville,’ this is a no-brainer. But if you haven’t read that and are looking for a fun, over-the-top, action-packed thrill-ride, look no further. Sorenson is in his wheelhouse here and has created a totally awesome, cinematic horror novel.

Loved it.

5/5

Title: The Nightcrawler

Author: P.A. Sheppard

Release date: March 18th, 2021

Thanks to P.A. Sheppard for sending me a digital copy of this, his Aphotic Realm 2021 release. I’ve had this on my radar for a while, but as life goes, I’ve been slammed and have had this one languishing on my ‘To Buy’ list for far too long.

It wasn’t until Sheppard reached out asking about a post I had regarding Splatterpunk Award nominations that we got chatting and he ended up sending me two of his books.

I went into this one completely blind. Sometimes you just need to do that to let the book speak to you and I was confident this would be the case.

What I liked: The book opens up thick in the heart of the action. Caz and her father are bunkered in an old bank vault. The world as we know it has ended, strange creatures have emerged in the night, and during the day, roving gangs have taken over the streets. In a way it reminded me of del Toro’s ‘The Strain’ tv series (although these things are not vampires).

Things ramp up as Caz and her father are targeted by a gang and Caz discovers a shocking thing about her father. Sheppard doesn’t hold back and as Caz struggles to go on, this read goes from a ‘stuck in a room’ survival story, to one almost akin to McCarthy’s ‘The Road.’ Only with creatures.

Caz makes her way towards her families cabin in the woods, a place they’d been prepping just in case the world ended and along the way she meets up with a man, a woman and a baby. It’s with these folks she is able to confront what she’s experienced and looks towards the future.

Sheppard keeps the entire story dark, dirty and the reader is planted firmly on the edge of their seat throughout. It ends with an uplifting finale, but one that still allows for further books in the future.

What I didn’t like: At first, we learn nothing of these creatures and we’re led to believe they are Nightcrawlers of some kind, but as the story goes on, there’s a shift where they’re only referred to as roaches. I found it a bit jarring and it kind of took away some of the eeriness of just what they were.

As well, this one treads very familiar waters with a plot that has been done a million times. Luckily, Sheppard makes the characters relatable and ones you want to root for, otherwise, the survival/creatures take over aspect wasn’t anything you wouldn’t expect.

Why you should buy this: If you love post-apocalyptic-survive-at-all-costs-because-crazy-creatures-have-taken-over horror, look no further. Sheppard’s created a very intriguing character with Caz, and as I mentioned, it would be great to see what happens after the ending here.

Good stuff.

4/5

Title: The Wild Fall

Author: Katherine Silva

Release date: August 3rd, 2023

Huge thanks to Katherine for having sent me digital copies of Book One – The Wild Dark and Book Two – The Wild Fall.

Book One was a ton of fun, so I was excited to see what happened after the finale of The Wild Dark.

As these two are directly interconnected and related wholly, you must read Book One before reading Book Two. Because of that – if you’ve not read Book One, I’d say stay away from this review, as there may be spoilers – inadvertently due to the storyline.

What I liked: With where Book One left off – the forest’s pushing back against mankind, the strange wolf creatures, the veil to the other place and the ghosts that seemingly stick to loved ones like fly’s to fly paper, I was very intrigued about where life would lead the survivors and especially ten years later, when this one is set.

The story continues along as we follow predominantly Liz and Evie, Hanks’ daughter. Things quickly ramp up as the survivors look for a safe place to set up camp. All the while, the woods continue to take back the land and the wolves within the trees seek food.

(Spoiler ahead for Book One)

It’s when, while searching for a new place, an incident happens and Liz learns that Brody is still out there. Brody shouldn’t be. In Book One, Brody died, his ghost attached to Liz and at the end Liz destroyed his ghost.

Silva uses this to push the emotional envelopes, while also keeping us on the edge of our seats as this group tries its best to survive and find a place they can call home.

We get a ton of action, some fantastic blasts of destruction and gore and we get to see those who survive, band together and fight to stay alive in a world rapidly trying to kill humans off.

What I didn’t like: I’ve never been a huge fan of 1st person POV shifts within a book, and this utilizes it a lot between Liz and Evie. I always find it throws me for a loop and takes me some time to remind myself who it is I’m reading about.

Also, the crux of Book One was the loss of loved ones, their return and how those they attach too became outcasts. That is largely missing for the first half of this book and I found it was something that I really enjoyed in The Wild Fall.

Why you should buy this: Obviously, if you were a fan of Book One, you’ll want to read Book Two and see where it goes. Silva’s created a fantastic world here and her take on the post-apocalyptic landscape is refreshing. If you’ve not read The Wild Dark yet, definitely dive into that and then leap into Book Two.

You won’t be disappointed.

4/5

Title: The Inconsolables: Stories

Author: Michael Wehunt

Release date: June 6th, 2023

Back in 2018, I had the immense pleasure of reading Michael Wehunt’s PHENOMENAL collection, ‘Greener Pastures.’ Then, to my utter surprise, the following year, Michael reached out to see if I’d like to read a copy of his charity novella, ‘Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here.’ I absolutely said yes.

Fast forward to early 2023, and we get the announcement of Michael releasing a new collection through Bad Hand Books and even before I learned Trevor Henderson would be contributing artwork to each story, I smashed the preorder button. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this.

And the funny thing is – I was and still am completely turned off with short story collections and anthologies. I’m burned out on them. It seems everyone has one out or coming out (and I type this with a completely ironic smile, knowing I’m currently putting together a two-volume compilation of my short fiction!) and over the last however many years, I’ve read hundreds of them.

But… Wehunt is different. Wehunt writes the ‘every man’ stories. The bits and pieces of normal life that get flipped upside down and ground through a meat-grinder. Of all the short fiction masters out there, Wehunt is the rare author who writes fictional stories that feel like non-fiction. As though every single piece he puts forth COULD happen and just might, if you read it.

Now, I know we see a lot of ridiculous adjectives thrown around in blurbs – from authors and reviewers alike – to try to entice readers to read whatever it is they are blurbing – but Wehunt’s work is just what those blurbs say. It is compulsive. It is off-putting. And it must be read.

What I liked: Entering into this collection is like revisiting an old friend, but a friend who has slightly changed since you last saw them. They’ve grown a bit more grizzled, a bit more anxious and they often dart their eyes around the room with the expectation that something else is there.

In ‘Greener Pastures,’ Wehunt consistently controlled the narrative in each story, dragging the reader along. In this collection, some of the stories feel a bit looser, a bit more frazzled, as though the string holding it all together has started to come loose – unspool – at one end, but we’re unsure of which end that is.

The first story gives the reader an idea of what they’re in for. ‘Vampire Fiction,’ is as unsettling (and upsetting) as you can get – before reading the rest of the collection that is – where we follow a husband (granted one who has seen odd things outside of his window his entire life) desperately wanting to do what he can to reunite with his wife and child. There’s a number of layers at play here, which in this case, Wehunt makes sure to tease out as the story goes along. This one felt like a much longer story than it is, simply because of Michael’s ability to do so much with so little. A paragraph as a chapter. A page as a section. When the ending arrives, even if you’ve figured it out beforehand, it hits your heart like a ten ton hammer.

‘Holoow’ is a strange story. We get a wonderfully, quirky character with Claudette, but nothing is what it seems and when that is embedded in a story told through Wehunt’s eyes, it creates a sort of chaotic-depression throughout.

‘Caring for a Stray Dog (Metaphors)’ is a rare story in the Wehunt pantheon, in that it has some genuine, heartwarming moments. Of course, this is bookended with some truly horrible news, some real-life topicality throughout, but with the character Kent, you’ll immediately grasp onto the sorrow that permeates his every move and follow along as he navigates his world.

‘The Pine Arch Collection’ sees Wehunt return to the world of found-footage story telling and for those who loved what he did with that in ‘Greener Pastures,’ I can already see those smiles on your faces. This one ramps up really quickly and gives us perhaps the biggest chills within the entire collection. Perhaps.

‘The Tired Sounds, A Wake.’ Wow. What a story. What starts out as a tale of a husband and wife falling away from each other, while trying to stay together – especially as they look to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary – turns into a ‘making a deal with the Devil,’ type scenario. It was also a unique take on when communication breaks down and one of the partnership begins to experience success in the arts.

‘A Heart Arrhythmia Creeping into a Dark Room’ was, at first, a bit of an odd duck with the meta aspects, but worked really well overall. It also speaks to the internal anxiety every writer experiences when a deadline looms and the creative juices won’t flow.

‘The Teeth of America’ showcases (much like ‘Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here’ did) Wehunt’s socio-political leanings overtly. It was really well done and speaks to the unhinged wtf-ness a lot of non-America’s experience with every piece of news that comes out of that country.

‘It Takes Slow Sips’ was the perfect follow-up story to ‘The Teeth of America,’ and with the tie-in to ‘The Pine Arch Collection’ it’ll make readers very happy. What won’t is the undertones of ‘incel’ throughout and the reality that a growing movement of feverish indoctrination is continuing to occur with so many disillusioned young males.

‘Is There Human Kindness Still in the World?’ The title along made me gulp going into this story and as it slowly morphs from a woman losing the love of her life, to looking for something that meant so much to them, to transforming her grief into horrendous acts, spoke really well to just how complex and layered humans are.

‘An Ending (Ascent)’ might very well be the perfect closer to this collection and will potentially throw some people off with its very heavy sci-fi leanings, but it was a wonderful story and shows Wehunt’s ability to keep his readers wrapped around his pen, no matter the subject matter.

Every single story throughout this was a textual marvel. From how the characters were developed, to how the grief and dread was introduced and the volumes of each was turned up or down as things went on, these stories showcase just how phenomenal of a writer Wehunt is.

What I didn’t like: The reality is, I loved every single story within this. Even with me being burned out on short blasts of creations, AND actively looking for a reason to hurry up and move on, I simply couldn’t. But, that was me. Others may dislike how Wehunt delivers his political takes through subplots and some may dislike a sci-fi story within a horror collection. While none of that applied to me here, it may very well be what we see in coming reviews and why this collection isn’t a universally 5-star rated release.

Why you should buy this: It’s not very often that you get a bone fide classic released that you know will be a classic for the rest of time and will be showcased and studied by lovers of the short fiction craft in your active reading lifetime. It’s even more rare for one author to release two of those collections – and with ‘Greener Pastures’ and ‘The Inconsolables,’ Michael Wehunt has done just that. There are very few authors out there creating stories as innocent on the surface while being as devastating below as Wehunt is. This is a must read and one that will be discussed and raved about for years to come.

Well done, Michael.

5/5