Title: The Troop

Author: Nick Cutter

Release date: February 25th, 2014

A decade ago, I was about to undergo some huge life changes.

I was leaving my job of five years, busting my ass to switch sports, and was looking to move from somewhere I’d lived for a decade. Mentally, I was at a breaking point, focused on bigger, stronger, faster and not on calming, relaxing and nurturing my mind. At that stage, I’d already attempted to write my first novel, but I kept stumbling with life moments getting in the way and I felt like nobody would want to read a Canadian horror novel. I was trying to read again, though even that was giving me fits as nothing seemed to speak to me enough to want to finish any books.

Then, on a fateful trip to Walmart while living in Abbotsford BC, I came across two novels in the 2 for $15 paperback sections. One was Andrew Pyper’s modern-classic ‘The Demonologist.’ The other was ‘The Troop’ by Nick Cutter. I devoured them both and though those two books were VERY different in the horror spectrum, both connected with me in different ways. Now, if you’ve followed my writing journey or my social media posting, you’ll know Pyper’s novel really connected with me in a different way than Cutter’s did, but that’s not to say Cutter’s book was any less influential on me. No, in fact, while Pyper’s book showed me that a Canadian could write dark, literary, horror fiction, and do it well, Cutter’s showed me that it was ok to go full brutal. To be evocative, and visceral and grotesque for the stories sake. And while ‘The Demonologist’ inspired me and in fact, I was inspired by that novel, and Pyper’s ‘The Homecoming’ as well when writing my own novel ‘Mastodon,’ Cutter’s ‘The Troop’ and his book as Patrick Lestewka titled ‘The Coliseum,’ also greatly inspired ‘Mastodon,’ what with the complex in the middle of nowhere and secret government experiments and so on.

Since reading those two books almost a decade ago, I’ve met both Andrew and Nick (real name Craig Davidson if you didn’t know!) and spend time with them. They’re both amazing people and both continue to release amazing books.

I’d been planning on re-reading ‘The Troop’ for some time, but back in September, I moderated a panel with Andrew and Nick as the two guests, at DreadCon, and after having dinner with Nick and his son after the convention, it felt like the universe was suggesting it was time to re-read this one, especially before Nick’s newest – ‘The Queen’ – arrived.

For those who’ve never read ‘The Troop,’ this book is uncompromising, and much like the modified worms that infest our troop members, the novel wiggles into your brain and buries itself deep within.

What I liked: The story follows Scoutmaster Tim, who is also the local doctor of the small town, and his troop of early teen boys who head to the small island just off the coast for a weekend of badge-earning and bonding.

Readers will inevitably find similarities between ‘The Troop’ and ‘Lord of the Flies,’ and Nick discusses the influence of Golding’s 1954 debut novel. But that’s what makes this novel tick. It’s the examination, an updated one at that, of what happens when a group is isolated and help doesn’t seem to be coming.

Shortly into the book, a stranger arrives on the island, a ravenous hunger fueling their every move. Tim takes control, his occupation leading the way, but soon he understands that it’s not simply a soaking wet person, lost and hungry. Something is forcing this man to eat and boy, does he want to eat.

It’s at this point, where we get to the moment of discovery within the small cabin on Falstaff Island, that the shit hits the fan. The stranger is infested by white worms of various sizes and the worms infect every living thing that comes into contact with them.

Cutter doesn’t hold back after that, transforming the novel from an isolation-survival story into a pseudo-zombie-survival story, one where the only adult the kids rely on is removed from the equation and the psychological horror of wondering how they’ll survive and whether or not they are infected settles in.

Many books currently have a singular ‘that scene.’ You know what I mean, the moment that stays with you and kind of highlights the book mentally and connects you with other readers who will mention ‘that scene.’ ‘The Troop’ is unique in that it has probably a half-dozen ‘that scene’ moments, though none appear to be as visceral to readers as a scene involving an unassuming sea turtle. In fact, while spending time with Nick at DreadCon, almost every single person who mentioned they’d read ‘The Troop,’ mentioned the turtle scene, which shows just how much that moment has resonated. Though it’s been a while since I’d first read this, there were a few scenes that’s stayed with me and when each one returned, I was smiling like Shelley within this book, a maniac stoked to have those moments of horrible carnage arrive.

The ending of this is also unique, in that it doesn’t just sail off into the distance. Throughout, Cutter used mixed-media to tell the story – the main narrative being the events on the island – but also using transcriptions of tribunals, transcriptions of court proceedings, newspaper articles, a magazine article and even an advertisement for a product. With those variables to show the widespread chaos this event caused, it was a solid decision to finish the novel with the ‘after,’ with what happened on the mainland and those living with the events.

What I didn’t like: I’ll be upfront and say that I thought this novel was perfect. Cutter executed this one magnificently and it felt very, very real and plausible. Saying that, there is a lot of animal death/abuse within. From descriptions of lab controlled experiments to the sea turtle moment I mentioned earlier, this novel isn’t for the squeamish nor is it for those with animal deaths as trigger warnings.

Why you should buy this: If you’ve not read this yet, this is your signal to get on it. Cutter has not only written a modern horror classic, but also a modern Canadian horror and literature classic. This novel will make you feel hungry, feel sad, question why the adults are not coming to save the kids and ultimately question the fact that this is something that could happen. Bio-engineering for military purposes has and is ongoing and what Cutter conjures here is frightening on so many levels, one of which is that it could become a reality. I just hope it never does.

5/5

https://www.amazon.com/Troop-Nick-Cutter-ebook/dp/B00BSBR5DA/

Title: Kill Your Darling

Author: Clay McLeod Chapman

Release date: September 24th, 2024

When this book was released, I saw the cover art was instantly intrigued. When I saw Francois Vaillancourt describe how he made the cover art in a Facebook post, I was even more intrigued, as he mentioned a little about the synopsis of this novella. First – I’m a huge fan of Francois’ work, and will forever hold the cover he did for my book ‘Mastodon’ in a special place. Second – I’ve found things have hit differently in my reading brain now that I have a son. Books like ‘The Road,’ and Andrew Pyper’s opus, ‘The Killing Circle,’ just sing differently when reading them.

So, I went into this one tentatively. Going in, I knew that a teenaged son’s body had been found in a lot, duct-tape wrapping his face with eyes drawn on with black marker. Exactly what Francois depicts on the cover. But going in, I wondered just how far I could go? Would the subject matter be too heavy?

Only one way to find out.

What I liked: The entirety of the novella focuses on Glenn, father to Billy, who was murdered fifty-ish years ago. No suspect was ever found, leads minimal. The boy was found in an abandoned lot, after going to a school dance. Since that day, Glenn has lived with the mental destruction. Who did it? Why? Why his son? And he’s lived with the discomfort of acceptance versus closure. How can he ever move on if there’s no answer? No one arrested or confessing?

As him and his wife have aged, they’ve developed their own ways of keeping their son’s memory alive. His wife leaves an extra plate out for dinner. They’ve left his room as it was. Glenn has kept a scrap book of photos and then newspaper articles.

Chapman doesn’t hold back within. It’s a tough read. Emotions are high and this feels real, feels painful to read. I can’t think of a single chapter in here – and the chapters are all short and snappy – that didn’t have me on the brink of tears, or left me crying. And I don’t think that would be any different if I wasn’t a father. It’s the reality of this book. It’s heartbreaking. I couldn’t imagine losing a child forever and also not having any answers over the ‘why’ of it happening.

Within, Glenn – on the insistence of his wife – joins a writing class at the local library. And it’s through these classes that he begins to write his story, creating a fictional ending to his non-fiction life, a way to grieve and close the horrible chapter of Billy’s death and create something tangible that will let him have closure on those dark days and on his life itself. It’s this writing class that ultimately unravels the truth and Chapman uses that revelation to crush the readers that much more.

What I didn’t like: I think the reality is, that this just might be too much for some readers. Those who’ve lost kids, lost a loved one, or simply just can’t read anything involving a child’s death. And I completely understand that. I pushed through the horrible rock that sat heavy in my stomach, even when at times that rock weighed more than anything on the surface of the earth.

Why you should buy this: Chapman delivers a stunning and ultimately moving look at grief, acceptance, life after losing someone and how a loved one’s death can have dramatic consequences on everyone involved. This could easily be read in a single sitting, though I can’t see someone emotionally wanting to tackle that. For those looking for a heavy, but powerful read, look no further. Chapman has given us a dark, dark, bleak gem here.

5/5

Title: Summer of the Monsters

Author: David Sodergren

Release date: December 5th, 2024

*Huge thanks to David for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

Ahhhh…

The old days. Like six years ago.

When David released his first novel, ‘The Forgotten Island,’ and people were like, ‘hey, not bad.’ Fast forward to the present day and over a dozen releases between his own work and his pseudonym releases as Carl John Lee and David’s become a full-time writer, having left his job recently to focus on his books. I have to say, I’m super proud of what he’s accomplished and his writing and journey inspires me everyday. I’m proud to call him a friend and I’m so thankful he helps me with my books.

Saying that, his newest, ‘Summer of the Monsters’ really pisses me off.

It does.

Why?

Because how in the fuck does he keep getting better and better and better and better and giving us these amazing characters and settings and stories. It’s infuriating, but – I am Canadian after all – it’s also so wonderful to see.

With this book, Sodergren takes the heart of ‘The Haar’ and adds in the claustrophobic atmosphere of ‘The Forgotten Island’ while also giving us a bit of that anxiousness that ‘Rotten Tommy’ created. And he does so splendidly.

What I liked: The story initially begins in modern day, with our M/C, Lucy, going to see her dad. She’s avoided him for years, every since the events of that summer on the late 90’s, and with that, David jumps us back in time thirty years, where Lucy and her father, a failed author, have to move to a run down house in the country side. What they don’t know, is that monsters exist, and they live in the forest beside them.

Sodergren sets the stage well, having Lucy arrive at her new school, frustrated over the move, and still upset over her mother having passed away a few years prior. Her dad hasn’t been able to write since the death and as such, funds have dried up and the move was forced. Lucy is a fish out of water, immediately singled out and bullied. Which forces her into the woods unexpectedly, where she has an encounter and we get the age old subplot of ‘is this thing a monster or not.’

David works that angle perfectly, showing disconnect between what Lucy meets and befriends and the rumors that the locals push about what lives in the trees.

The heart and soul of this story is Lucy’s relationship with this creature that she befriends and names. It works as a sounding board, therapist, grounding aspect for our character. She’s navigating tough waters – a teenaged girl now without her mom and her dad disillusioned and vacant. Even when she meets someone she thinks she can trust, she’s tentative about opening up and throughout, Sodergren infuses the story with little footnotes of details that remind those of us who lived during those halcyon days of the late 90’s what life was like. Mixed tapes and NIN and baggy jeans and alternative music festivals.

The ending absolutely gutted me. Just a powerful, poignant final chapter with an equally emotional final paragraph and closing line. When I was done, I messaged Sodergren and told him to prepare for the onslaught of fan drawings about this one, and I hold steady with that prediction.

What I didn’t like: As this acted as an early look/beta read as well as a read for review, a couple of my minor things might’ve been adjusted already.

The first was that I struggled to really have a sense of the time frame of this taking place. It felt like it happened over a few weeks, but it was only a few days.

The second was that I wasn’t fully onboard with the way Lucy reacted in some moments. Saying that, this is fiction and I am VERY far from remembering what being sixteen was like and I never experienced it as a sixteen-year-old girl, nor one who has lost a parent. So, while at times Lucy annoyed the snot out of me, her character felt very real, very true and one that I wanted to root for.

Why you should buy this: Written without care for subgenre classification has made this perhaps one of the best YA books I’ve ever read that isn’t really a YA book. It reminded me a lot of ‘The Book of the Baku’ by R.L. Boyle it tone and pacing, but wholeheartedly a Sodergren book. His narrative prose style has become his own, which he fully owns and much like my favorite authors – Andrew Pyper and Adam Nevill – I immediately knew I was in a Sodergren book with the way it was written.

Sodergren has forged a path ahead as a total Indie Author, bucking the desire to query, be represented and be traditionally published and it’s books like this, that showcase why he’s become so successful, so widely read and so widely celebrated. I didn’t know if he could top ‘Rotten Tommy,’ yet here we are, not even seven months later and he’s left the brilliance of that novel in the dust.

The best novel he’s released yet, Sodergren proves why he’s a must-read author and why so many people love his work.

A magical gem.

5/5

Title: Monsters Among Us

Author: J.H. Moncrieff

Release date: August 28th, 2024

J.H. Moncrieff returns with a new monster tale and with this new one, we get a mash-up of two of her most popular characters from previous books! In this new novel, Moncrieff unites Nat from ‘Return to Dyatlov Pass’ and ‘Shadow of the Sasquatch’ with Flora from ‘Monsters in our Wake.’ I was super excited when this was announced, because I love the Nat character and Flora was solid working tentatively with Nokken the sea monster in ‘Monsters in our Wake.’ As with most Moncrieff books, the environment is at the heart of this one and humans destroying it is central to the plot.

What I liked: The story opens up with Nat having returned to her popular podcast and trying to move on physically and emotionally from the damage she suffered in ‘Shadow of the Sasquatch.’ Now, you don’t need to have read any of the previous three books that the two M/C’s have appeared in (though I highly recommend it!) as J.H. does a great job of summarizing the events from them throughout. On the podcast, a call comes in – a small island is being picked off by sea creatures and they believe Nat can help. When Flora hears this, she contacts Nat and they head to the island, joined by Nat’s producer, Flora’s son, and Archie, the only other survivor from the boat Flora was on in ‘Monsters in our Wake.’

At the island, events heat up and Moncrieff goes into Moncrieff mode – plenty of emotional tug-of-wars, creature carnage and the discovery of what is behind the creatures return. The islanders rely on fishing to survive and with their boats being destroyed and the people doing the fishing being killed, they want to fight and take back what they believe is rightfully their place to fish, even after Flora contacts the sea creatures and learns the ugly truth.

The last quarter of this novel is truly discovery. We learn something about Flora, something about Zach and we see Nat and Flora – and a despicable journalist – having to find a way to co-exist and survive. Moncrieff ups the stakes when a secret government aspect becomes involved and everything is turned up another notch.

The ending was solid, filled with sorrow, but also optimistic, and leaving the door open for further adventures from an main character.

What I didn’t like:  Personally, I never found that Nat or Flora had time to have their own bigger, longer moments. The book couldn’t decide which one to really focus on, so their time was split, but never really got as deep and introspective as when they were on their own. It works, to tell their stories together, but I wish we could’ve had more time to really delve deeper, especially with some of the revelations.

As well, the secret government aspect will either work for readers or it won’t. I can’t go too far into it – spoilers and such – but I thought it was fun, if not slightly off the main path the story seemed to be following.

Why you should buy it: If you love big, fun, action-filled creature thrillers, this one’s perfect. If you’re a Moncrieff fan, you’ll be all over this. And if you love environmental impact based stories, this one features that aspect at its core. Moncrieff delivers a home run with this one, whether you’re a fan of Nat, Flora or creatures, and I for one, can’t wait to see what’s next.

5/5

Title: Hella Weird

Author: Calvin Demmer

Release Date: October 7th, 2024

*Huge thanks to Calvin for sending me a digital copy of this one!*

If you read horror and love short stories, and haven’t yet read anything from Calvin Demmer, you’re doing yourself a HUGE disservice. Demmer is easily one of the best short story writers churning work out right now and between his collections and his singular releases, he has a ton of work for you to dive into.

I went into this one fairly blind, though, judging by the A.A. Medina cover, I assumed something involving an apocalyptic-type event would be involved.

What I liked: Clocking in at roughly seventeen pages, Demmer shows you exactly why he’s a master at the short fiction craft with what he accomplishes within. We get a fully formed world, two engaging and fully formed characters, and we get creatures, tension, and a horrific reveal. Par for the course for Demmer. And, he’s worked within the post-apocalypse world before (not this one specifically).

We follow Hella, a woman who is working with fellow survivor, Hunter, as they navigate a world filled with creatures, mutated people and survivors scavenging for scraps. Hella is strong, but also reserved, befriending Hunter, but only to a certain degree, not letting him fully know her.

It’s this underlying tension, where Hunter asks questions and Hella gives short answers that ultimately builds these two up far more than should be possible within such a short page count, but it’s what pulls us along, knowing soon, the shit will hit the fan.

And when it does, Demmer does what he does best – shatters the readers expectations and predictions. The ending was dark and perfect.

What I didn’t like: It’s a short story, so obviously the biggest short coming is that this is only seventeen pages. I always want more, longer, Demmer stories, but he does such a wonderful job of creating things in micro-doses that you also understand why he attacks it like this.

Why you should buy this: Demmer fans will be all over this, and if you’re looking for a deeply unsettling slump buster, this short story will be the perfect answer for you. Demmer demonstrates once again that his short fiction is second to none. Phenomenal.

5/5

Title: The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot #1)

Author: Peter Brown

Release date: April 5th, 2016

If you have kids – heck, even if you don’t – you might’ve seen that The Wild Robot movie has recently come out and it came out to critical acclaim and audience love. On our end, our son turned eight at the end of August, but we’d not read the book, though it was on our radar. We’d seen the previews at movies for a while now, and we were all excited for the movie to arrive. During the first week of school or so, his teacher shared that she’d be reading the book to/with the class and that they’d be going to see the movie in theatre for a class field trip.

My son was super excited and practically begged us to get the book. We snagged a copy and dove in, pausing our other longer read, and immediately fell in love.

Now, before I get into the bread and butter here, this book is much like the movie Shrek, and what I mean is that it works perfectly as a fun story for kids, but as an adult, there’s plenty of darker/adulty moment throughout, so kudos to Peter for doing that.

What I liked: The book opens up with a container ship sinking and some of the sea cans onboard crashing into the shore of a remote island. All of the shipping containers are destroyed, save one, which is accidentally opened by some curious otters. Inside, is a robot, and with more curiosity, the otters approach and accidentally activate the robot, turning it on. It’s a Rozzum unit, known as Roz, and with Roz activated, thus begins the journey of a robot that is much deeper than even I expected.

Soon, an accident happens and Roz is left to nurture an egg, that then hatches and a small gosling is born. Imprinting Roz as their mother right away, Roz has to work with the other animals on the island – those who believed she was a monster to begin with – to help raise Brightbill and ultimately bring the animals of the island together in ways they never knew.

Roz is able to make fire. Build structures. Help grow better crops. And so on and so on. With Roz’s programmed information, she can make life easier, but it’s the personal side, the development of this soul within the machine that is the prize that Peter describes and when we get to the finale, where reconnaissance robots arrive to try and take Roz back, that we see how the island has become family, but also just how deeply touched we, as readers, have become.

What I didn’t like: Honestly, this book was perfect until the final few lines. It just felt meh. We got to such an emotional moment in the book, and at this point, I’m privileged because I know there’s two more books in the series, so it might’ve been different back when it was released, but the last few lines just didn’t have the emotional OOOMMPPHH I was expecting.

Why you should buy this: Chances are, if you’ve seen the trailer to the movie and thought this looked great, you’ve bought the book. OR, you’ve already bought it. OR you have a kid in the MG age group and their friends have read it and you’ve bought it. But, for those outliers who’ve not read it/bought it, prepare yourself for a wonderful story of discovery, learning, examining the world in different ways and how friends can look and be very different from yourself.

On the adult side, this story also examines the encroachment of automation and robotics into our world, which is impressive considering it’s almost ten years old and AI is being more and more of a hot button issue right now. But it’s done in a layered, subtle way, which worked to have a mildly growing tension throughout.

A phenomenal book and we’ve already grabbed book two so we can dive right in!

5/5

Title: Noose

Author: Brennan LaFaro

Release date: Originally released September 1st, 2022, re-released August 24th, 2024

*Thanks to Brennan for sending me a digital copy of this one!*

Horror Western’s have been such a fun subgenre to be reading over the last five or so years, haven’t they? We had the surge in Splatter-Westerns and the return with Horror-Westerns, which ushered in the age of paranormal/supernatural plots and narratives. It made it far more impactful, for me at least, that it wasn’t purely the good guys trying to catch the bad guys who robbed the train car.

When this book was first released, I was swamped in books, swamped in getting digital copies sent from Andrew – former head honcho of DarkLit – and it simply didn’t get read. With the collapse of DarkLit and the return of a number of these books to the world, I wanted to try and read these and help support/get the word out, about the books that might never recover or die a death they didn’t deserve. Brennan kindly sent me a digital copy of this one – and the new publisher, Brigids Gate, approved me for book two on Netgalley – so, I was set to gallop into this world and get dirty and dusty. I loved Brennan’s previous trilogy, the wonderful Slattery Falls books, which made me confident that this story wouldn’t be a surface level point-and-shoot Western.

What I liked: Ironically, this book starts off with some bad guys attacking a train car! Ha. Well, moving past that tidbit, we open with young Rory, riding the car with his parents. It’s then attacked by the nefarious Noose Holcomb, who kills Rory’s parents and flees with everyone’s riches.

Solid set up, Batman-esque truthfully.

Fast-forward fifteen years and Brennan re-introduces the Holcomb gang into Rory’s world and, as one would expect, vengeance is the main dish on the menu. Though often, Westerns get bogged down in the ‘vengeance-will-be-mine’ plot, LaFaro does a wonderful job of showing why it throws Rory’s world into chaos and why we want to root for Rory.

And, as expected, the emotional aspect runs high throughout, and Brennan then infuses the story with a nod to the supernatural. We get a unique twist, one that gives Noose an advantage and makes the stakes even higher for Rory and makes it paramount that Rory must overcome. Now, obviously some things are left unfinished – there is a sequel after all – but what LaFaro does so will within, is gives the readers hope and closure, something that – in a book like this at least – is needed.

What I didn’t like: I kind of went back and forth between wishing this was a one and done and wishing LaFaro had left more of a massive cliffhanger to set up book two. It’s an odd conundrum, and one that speaks to the solidity of characters and story progression.

Why you should buy this: Not a typical Splatter-Western, but still one that gets its hands dirty, LaFaro has skated that fine line of brutality for story versus brutality for brutality a few times in here, and by doing so, I think it opens the doors up for every reader of Horror-Westerns to want to jump on this one, especially with a second book arriving and a collection of stories set within the world to come as well.

5/5

Title: The Fury of the Gods (Bloodsworn Saga #3)

Author: John Gwynne

Release date: October 24th, 2024

*Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a digital ARC of this one!*

Book three of a three book series is either going to make the readers happy or piss them off. It’s like the series finale of a TV show, where expectations have been raised so high, that 99% of the time, no matter what the author/writers do, fans will be all grumpy and insist they could’ve done it better, even though they neither created the characters or the world that the characters live in.

I get it. You have this picture in your mind about what you want to happen, and you’ve become emotionally invested in their lives and the story.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Gwynne’s other series’, but the Bloodsworn Saga was my first foray into his writing, and going into book three, I knew that he’d be delivering the goods.

Why did I have such faith?

Well, first, the characters were so fully developed over books one and two and the world so fully realized, that it would be a case of pushing through the plot, to get to the climatic finale. Gwynne is a master at writing action and battle scenes, so I knew when we got to the ending, it would be as though Peter Jackson was directing a Michael Bay script.

The second, was because of the personal loss that Gwynne suffered after book two was out. I won’t go too far into it, as I don’t think it needs rehashing – go Google it if you want to know – so I felt confident that he’d be layering this is so much emotions, that it would act as a type of therapy for him, even if it wasn’t from a fully certified and trained professional.

Now, 100% full warning here – this is book three – no chance there won’t be any spoilers for book one and two here, it’s really the nature of getting this far, so read no further if you’ve not read the first.

What I liked: Book two closed with Orka dying after being bitten by a frost spider, the gods returning to the world to try and regain all their dormant power and we had a number of open storylines between the numerous other characters we’d been introduced too.

I will fully admit that Orka was the driving character for me. Sure others were great, and some came close to Orka, but for me, she was the main character and I was more engaged in her chapters than the others. I wanted to see how her and her son survived and carried on, how Vespi and Spert played a role in the coming clashes and ultimately, how the battle for power would play out.

Like many of the greatest fantasy novels and series, there’s a ton of characters and a ton of subplots. Gwynne fully works through them, and, at times, there’s moments of slog with the dialogue and jumping around between the numerous moving pieces, but we get to where we need to get with plenty of tension ready to go.

The ending of this one was perfect.

That’s right.

Gwynne deftly tied up the storylines, gave everyone their moment to have their story told – and yes – some live and some die – but that’s the power of the character development here. It’s a case study in decision making and Gwynne plays no favorites. Not even Orka, who we see have to overcome extraordinary odds to continue surviving, though I won’t say one way or the other if she does or doesn’t.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, there are some serious chapters focused on planning and learning news from afar, etc, etc, which means we get some truly slow moments. It’s all necessary, as we need to have all roads lead to the same destination, but at times it becomes maddening when we get right to a devastating moment and then the next four or five chapters all focus on different characters as you practically scream for Gwynne to return us.

Why you should buy this: If you loved books one and two as much as I did, book three is a no-brainer. This is accessible fantasy that features some of the very best storytelling out there. And even better – the series is finished. For all of those who have been burned by other big-time fantasy authors still not having finished their series’, Gwynne has delivered here (actually his third completed series now!) and wrapped things up in a way that I think fans will be elated with.

I know I was.

5/5

Title: There’s Something Sinister in Center Field

Author: Robert P. Ottone

Release date: June 25th, 2025

*Huge thanks to the publisher for a digital copy of this one!*

You know what I love?

Baseball.

I know it’s not something I post about often, but since I was a little kid I’ve loved baseball. Where I grew up, we didn’t have baseball when I was a kid, though we could play it in Nakusp, about thirty minutes away. That would’ve been amazing, but my parents wouldn’t sign me up, and by the time I was hitch hiking and then got my license, I was focused on soccer and baseball in the area had kind of dried up. I played softball until I was sixteen or so, but again, moved away from it as I focused on other sports.

But man… how I wish I would’ve played baseball.

Over the last number of years, I’ve loved soooo many of Robert P. Ottone’s books, and shamefully, I actually don’t recall this one coming out. I feel like I might’ve seen it announced, but as we all know, there’s a bajillion books coming out every single week, but that’s still no excuse, ESPECIALLY when considering that earlier this year I was working with Robert and another publisher on helping out with a re-release of his phenomenal YA Lovecraftian releases The Triangle and The Deep.

But here we are, and recently, this publisher, Cemetery Gates Media, sent out a Stoker email blast and this was included.

Sign me up! I sent it to my Kindle and dove in right away. This one’s a middle grade spooky story and it was positively wonderful.

What I liked: I say this with no disrespect to Robert or CGM publishing it, but this book from start to finish is simple. And that’s what works so well for it. Also, it’s what’s within this simple story that really elevates it.

The book follows an early-teen baseball team that has to practice at a different field, after a mix-up. Not realizing there is a haunted cemetery near the outfield, the baseball ghosts that haunt it decide to take one of the living players and won’t give him back, unless the living can beat the dead team in a best-of-three showdown.

There’s no surprises here, and if you’re reading this, you’ll know the outcome, but again, push that aside.

This book is perfect to introduce your kids to a lot of the themes that crop up in ‘adult’ horror novels. We get scares, good-versus-evil and working together to overcome an obstacle. Ottone himself is an amazing storyteller, which is showcased throughout. We get sooooo many learning moments within. We see that girls can play baseball just as good as boys. We see young love, we see accepting friends when there are differences and we see how banding together and standing up against bullies and for what is right, will always be the right thing to do.

The diamond in the rough here (pun kind of intended) is that this is centered around baseball. A sport that has a unique ebb-and-flow of game play and works so well to show how you can over come the lowest lows, but also supporting each other through the highest highs.

What I didn’t like: I typically am never a fan of POV changes, and that is featured within here. Each chapter jumps between a few different players, which made for a challenging time for this reader at the beginning.

Why you should buy this: If you have a younger reader and you want to start getting them into reading the scary books, this is a perfect one. Ottone is an amazing teacher within his MG and YA books and that is so perfectly on display here. Fans of fun baseball books, books where friends work together and books that teach valuable lessons will all want to line up and read this one, because it was just fanastic.

5/5

Look at that! The Invisible has risen from the ashes!

It’s always amazing when it’s a release day for a book you’ve written, but in this case, I’m a bit more emotional.

The Invisible started life as Invisible and was my first ever novel. Released back in 2017, it had taken me about a decade to write it, with numerous starts and stops. I released it, some people loved it, but the writing was atrocious and the editing was worse.

After re-editing it a bit – but not much, if I’m honest – I re-released it, but was still unhappy with it. I just wasn’t a good enough writer to pull off what I wanted to pull off. Now, I’m not saying I’m anything close to resembling a ‘good writer’ but, I’m definitely a better writer than Steve in 2017. So, I’ve re-written it, re-edited it, had David Sodergren edit it, and I’m very happy with it now.

Huge thanks to A.A. Medina for the phenomenal new cover/wrap, to Jeremy Hepler for your kind words and foreword, Zachary Ashford for providing the only blurb I sought out, and to all the readers who preordered the ebook or snagged a paperback when it went live.

Thanks to my Patreons for keeping me honest and thank you to every single person who has liked, commented, shared, retweeted or simply wished me well with this one.

Lastly, thank you to Amanda and Auryn for being my boat in wavy water.

Love you two to the moon and back.

Here is the Universal Link;

mybook.to/theinvisible

Amazon US Link