Title: A Book of Tongues (Hexslinger #1)

Author: Gemma Files

Release date: January 1st, 2010

I don’t know how many years ago now, I was having a conversation with Andrew Pyper and he told me there were two books I absolutely HAD to read. The first was Sara Gran’s ‘Come Closer,’ and the second was ‘Experimental Film’ by Gemma Files. At the time, I only knew of Files as being Canadian Horror Royalty. Having one of the most recognizable and longest lasting career in Canada based around Speculative and Horror fiction, Gemma was ‘must read’ as Andrew stated.

I read and loved ‘Come Closer,’ but at the time, I wasn’t in the right mindset for ‘Experimental Film,’ so after reading maybe a quarter of the book, I set it aside, determined to return to it at some point in the future.

It was around that time, that I had another book pal tell me I had to read ‘A Book of Tongues.’ If I wanted to read a weird-western-horror-queer-fantasy style mashup, then that would be the book – and the series – for me to dive into.

I grabbed the first book, but after the original publisher ceased, I purchased the digital boxset of all three books. When it came to the top of my TBR recently, I was elated, because I’d been meaning to dive in sooner. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had been told three things by my book pal previously – it’s wild, one character is completely ruthless, and there is a lot of male on male fornication. Color me intrigued.

What I liked: The story follows the Rev, Asher Rook, who has returned from the dead. Along with his sidekick/lover, Chess, they’ve fled from the confederation army and formed a gang, killing and stealing as they go. Rev’s foray – though brief – to the other side has gotten the attention of a Mayan Goddess, who seeks him out.

Meanwhile, Morrow – a mole working their way into the gang – battles his feelings and his orders.

As I said, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this book is grimy and unflinching. It actually reminded me of what Seth McFarlane’s movie, ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ would’ve been like had it not been a comedy. A sideways glance deemed disrespectful means a quick draw and an exploded head. Chess is a complex character that often steals the spotlight with his wit, disdain for everyone but the Rev, and his insatiable lust for having the Rev fuck him. He’s a character you unexpectedly find yourself rooting for.

The Rev is a looming figure, one that seems happy to keep his powers hidden, only to then unveil them and do as he pleases. That was a huge plot aspect that resonated throughout – the complexity of their relationship and what was love versus lust versus forced acts. Files handles it really solidly.

The storyline involving the Goddess was a solid foil angle for the Rev and Chess and ultimately works as a distraction over Morrow’s growing storyline and ultimately what happens in the final quarter and sets up things to continue in book two.

What I didn’t like: It did take me a bit to find the flow in this book. It has a jarring prose angle to it that really forced my brain to work hard to follow along, but once I did, it was smooth sailing.

Though some reviews say that there is a lot of detailed male/male sex within, I didn’t find it to be lewd, over-the-top or grotesque. It was pretty much what I would expect it to be. But if you prefer to stay away from books with a decent amount of sex in it, then this one might not be for you.

Why you should buy this: With the Splatter-Western novels continuing to grab readers and the Fantasy-Western subgenre becoming more and more prominent, it should be a no-brainer to grab this and read it, considering it was released over a decade ago.

Files is a living horror legend, an inspiration to many, many writers working today and this book showcases a different arsenal in her writing tool box, that will have readers very happy.

Now, I turn my sights back to ‘Experimental Film.’

Title: Melinda West and the Gremlin Queen

Author: KC Grifant

Release date: May 29th, 2025

*Huge thanks to KC Grifant for a digital ARC of this one!*

Back in December of 2022, I read the first book in this series, ‘Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger.’ If you know me, you’ll know that from the title alone it would be right up my alley, but to add to the joy of reading a book with that title, KC Grifant vibrantly and viciously brought Melinda and the world she occupies to life, making for a truly fun read.

To my sheer excitement, KC emailed me last month to ask if I’d be game to check out part two – and I never even hesitated. Even with diminished reading time and a huge reduction in taking on review requests, I couldn’t say no. KC is a wonderful writer, amazing supporter to so many and the Melinda West character just might be one of the best characters you’ll ever be introduced to. Even better – she has a six-shooter and monsters run amok.

Saying all of that – this is definitely a book you need to have read part one for – though you could get away with not having read it, you’ll definitely feel more connected and in the know if you have.

What I liked: The book picks up a little while after the first one. Melinda and her partner, Lance, have settled down, saying goodbye to the gunslinger/magic days. Content to have a garden and keep adrenaline rushes and gun/magic battles to a minimum.

That all gets thrown out the window when stories make it tp them that something is killing people and as the bodies pile up, soon Melinda can’t push aside the idea of staying out of it. So, her and Lance saddle up and head out.

It should be noted, that from here, the story is pretty straight forward – and I don’t mean that in a negative way – not at all. We get an adventure, cherished characters live, cherished characters die, there are hideous events, action-packed moments and everything leads to a major showdown where we see if good can overcome evil. And it’s perfect. It’s exactly what you want in a book like this. It’s practically why you read it. You want to see just what type of crap Melinda can overcome and how she can successfully save as many people as possible and none of it feels stale or ‘done to death’ because Grifant has done such a magical job (no pun intended… well maybe a dash of pun!) of bringing this world to life and making Melinda West such a powerful and fantastic character. This is the type of character that would this have been an 80’s Saturday morning cartoon instead of a 2020’s novel, people would have Melinda West posters up on all of their walls and the action figures would be flying off the shelves. It’s BraveStarr meets She-Ra the Princess of Power and it works so very very well. And that’s because Grifant takes it seriously.

Judging by how this one ends, I can only assume we’ll be getting a third in the series and I sure hope that happens.

What I didn’t like: I will say, I’m not totally sure if I felt that the Gremlin Queen was as huge of an opponent as I was expecting. Sure, it was horrible, ruthless and violent, but from what I pictured in my mind to what we ended up seeing as Melinda brought things home, it just wasn’t as crushingly brutal as I thought we’d see. Or maybe that’s my issue and I overinflated it? Could very well be!

Why you should buy this: If you loved book one, this is a no-brainer. If you love Grifant’s writing – again no-brainer. But otherwise, if you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced, dusty, western-magic-horror mashup, look no further. Melinda West is a phenomenal character, this world and landscape is perfectly balanced between being accessible and absolutely terrifying and at the end of the day, Grifant writes with such a joyful glee, it’s infectious and you can feel it flowing from the page.

This one’s a winner and so, so much fun.

Title: Zombie Billionaire (Creature Quest Series Book 2)

Author: Nick Sullivan

Release date: March 26th, 2025

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

Way back in 2018, Gavin from Kendall Reviews absolutely insisted I read ‘Zombie Bigfoot.’ I wasn’t too sure going in, as I’d fallen out of love with zombie fiction around that time, but ‘Zombie Bigfoot’ was such a great read and it was my introduction to Nick Sullivan. If you don’t know Nick – he’s a talented author, renowned narrator and an awesome guy. ‘Zombie Bigfoot’ finished with the door wide open for a sequel. We were excited! We couldn’t wait! And then we waited… and waited… and waited… And as Nick even says in the afterword or this one, book two was in the process of being written, but then he started his Caribbean Dive Adventures series, which have taken off, and his attention was pulled in a different direction.

But now, after an eight year delay, book two has arrived and I was so excited when he emailed me to see if I’d like to give it a read!

I will say – and Nick says this both in the description on Goodreads/Amazon etc. as well as at the start of this book – you ABSOLUTELY have to have read book one to read this one, so go grab that one first, but also beware of potential spoilers going forward!

What I liked: This one picks up directly after the events that concluded book one – SPOILERS HERE BUT NECESSARY – our billionaire Cameron Carson has been viscously killed by the infected bigfoot. Brighteyes and Littlefoot have fled, looking for a new bigfoot tribe to call their own, and our main characters are trying to get away from the gathering government forces descending on the area.

It’s from here where the story splits into three different subplots, with a few more arriving as well.

When it comes to Cameron, we see him regenerate from the dead, infected by the same meteorite virus that infected the large bigfoot. It’s a fun storyline, with his hideousness and horribleness on full display. We see him determined to use what’s happened to elevate himself further, but also he returns to the forests in search of the meteorite and the bigfoots.

In the case of Brighteyes and Littlefoot, we follow them as they flee from those trying to capture them. We get some backstory on Brighteyes and we meet a female bigfoot from his past who he has a connection with. Their storyline does bring them back to reconnect with the humans, which was wonderful and helped to close off the book as well.

When it comes to Joseph and Sarah and the crew, we see them work together to try and stop Carson and make sure the bigfoot escape. Their storyline also comes around to the next storyline aspect that was introduced.

As this is a Creature Quest book, Sullivan introduces Sharlie, a Loch Ness Monster type creature that lives in the local lake. With a celebration going on in town, Sharlie begins to rampage and eat those on the lake. This intertwines with a monster hunter who goes to the area to find the bigfoot, but ends up also learning about the sea creature. It made for a really fun additional element of cryptid adventure and I really enjoyed how the two storylines between the sasquatch and the sea creature ended up working together.

Throughout, this book reads and feels like a really great movie exploding off the pages and I loved returning to this world. The ending does give us a glimmer of hope for a third, but we’ll have to wait and see.

What I didn’t like: Honestly, as much fun as it was having the Sharlie storyline, I kind of wish that was a completely separate third book. Sullivan alludes to it in the afterword that it was a consideration at one point, and I think if it had been saved for a third book, we would’ve had more bigfoot action, as that seemed to be the element that was lessened because of that.

Why you should buy this: If you read book one, you’ll definitely want to return to this world, as Sullivan writes with such glee if it infectious. The characters are a ton of fun, the setting is spot on for the events and the masterful way Nick brings Brighteyes, Littlefoot and the other bigfoot to life is reminiscent of Harry and the Henderson’s. Overall, a fantastic follow up and one I think creature fans will definitely love!

Title: The Broken Places

Author: Blaine Daigle

Release date: March 24, 2023

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

You may have noticed my reviews have slowed a bit. Well, for those who care, I’ve swapped a bit of my scheduling around and have taken about half of my reading time away and devoted that to extra time to write. So, with my reading time cut in half, I just haven’t been zipping through as many books! But rest assured, I’m still plugging away each night on two or three books at any given time.

As with the case of Daigle’s ‘The Broken Places,’ over the last few years, I’ve read a couple of his books for blurb and when I mentioned I still hadn’t grabbed this one to read, he kindly send me a copy as a thanks. Now, you may ask yourself – how the heck did I not grab this yet as it’s 100% right up my alley – remote setting, creatures, woods etc., etc., – well in this particular case, this book came out about a month after my own novel, ‘Churn the Soil.’ Both are set in the same neck of the woods, both focus on remote locations with creatures and things that go bad, and while these two books are very different (in actuality, I found this one to remind me a lot of my novel ‘The Stranger’ which was awesome), with how close they were in terms of release dates, I needed some distance between having immersed myself in those worlds and then I just never swung back around to grab it!

Well, thanks to Blaine, I dove in ASAP and what a dark, atmosphere-driven tale this one was!

What I liked: The story follows three long-time friends heading to a remote cabin near a small town in the Yukon. Ryne’s family originates from there and with all three friends having recently had life-altering events, it seems like a solid place to go, unwind and have a fun weekend. Unbeknownst to two of them, Ryne’s actually planning on staying. But none of them know that the town hide’s a centuries old secret, one that directly involves Ryne.

Daigle does a great job of setting things up and showcasing the brotherly bond all three have. We get snippets of what each of them are like and what each has gone through, saving a lot of their stories for when we get it the thick of things. The town is well done and immediately makes everyone – including the reader – feel unwelcome.

Things really pick up when a storm is forecast, they head to the cabin and a strange deer shows up. From there, everything unravels and Daigle hits us with some long-held rituals, folklore terror and creepy animals that act as harbingers of horrible things to come.

The final quarter of the book is a solid info dump and revelation of secrets. As Ryne begins to connect the dots about his family, their place in the history of the small town and what it ultimately means to him and his friends who’ve come with him, was great and cinematic.

What I didn’t like: While I did like the ritualistic aspect and discover, I found it wasn’t fully formed – or at least fully described. We got some of what was happening, but not all of it and while that can work in cases, in this sense, we need it all.

As well, I found an overuse of the Robert Frost quote/poem without really learning why it was so specifically poignant to that character. I might have missed it, but for the amount it is used, I think that should’ve been something that would’ve stood out.

Why you should buy this: If you like Daigle’s books, you’ve probably already read this. If not, this is a great place to dive in. As well, if you like my own books, this will be right up your alley. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a cold-weather novel that’s chalk full of isolation, insane animals and long-held secrets, this one will be right up your alley!