Title: Murphy’s Lore

Author: Dan Soule

Release date: May 22nd, 2026

I think it was back in 2020 that Dan reached out to me to see about if I would be interested in reading his novel ‘Witchopper’ and potentially blurbing it. Since then, Dan’s churned out a run of novels and novellas that have created one of the most solid bibliography’s out there. ‘The Jam,’ ‘Neolithic,’ ‘Savage,’ ‘Witchopper’ and jaw-droppingly amazing ‘The Ash’ are all must-reads and have all solidified two things for me. The first is that Soule knows how to craft a tale that’ll have me ripping through it with a grin on my face. The second is that his books are sorely overlooked. Much like his friend (and mine), Joseph Sale, I wish more folks would find his books and eat them up, because they’re phenomenal and always equal parts action and emotion.

Having previously loved what he did with his sci-fi/horror release ‘The Ash,’ I was really curious about what he’d crafted here. Sci-fi/horror is always a favorite subgenre of mine and so, when he announced this, I grabbed a copy right away and couldn’t wait to dive in. Once I did, I knew I was in for a treat. Funny enough, I didn’t realize until the afterword that I already owned this one, as it originally appeared in a Crystal Lake three-author release alongside Lee Mountford and Joseph Sale!

What I liked: The book opens up on a ship christened Reggie, where the crew are working to maintain a space defense system that protects earth from deeper space known as Agoul Space. Murphy is the rookie of the crew, and though technically she’s more the medic, every member is sort of a Jack-of-all-trades onboard, ensuring things run smoothly. A retrieval vessel will be coming to pick them up soon, swapping out new crew with them, so it’s just a case of waiting until their ride arrives.

Things take a turn when something’s detected nearby. When they discover that it’s coffin from an infamous research vessel, the decision to bring it onto the ship and see what it contains is met with mixed reactions, but because it’s from the vessel known as the Palantine, one of the first research ships sent to Agoul Space, only to never be heard from again, they decide to get the coffin.

Soule does a great job of giving us just enough information about the characters and banter between them, that we’re able to make some connections and understand their inner workings. One crew member has gone a bit insane, Ito having raved about a spy on board and because of that, they’ve been sedated, but once the coffin is opened, Murphy begins to wonder if there’s more going on than they think and that maybe Ito was onto something. A relic is discovered, strange sounds are heard and when the greatest enemy known to mankind suddenly appears, this becomes a story about survival and the horrifying claustrophobia of being sucked out of the vessel to be sent adrift through deep space.

I really enjoyed the pacing throughout. Soule starts us off easy and jovial before the story turning suspicious and tension-filled. Then, it finishes with a pedal-to-the-metal joyride of explosions, hallucinations and every-second-might-be-your-last.

The ending was a lot of fun. While reading this, I felt like I was back in my bedroom as a teenager, watching one of the sci-fi/horror VHS tapes I’d rent every weekend. This felt like a glorious ode – and wonderful update – to the late 80s and early 90s movies that were equal parts amazing and bat-shit crazy. It was great to see Dan mention that was what inspired him to write this in the afterword.

What I didn’t like: The main thing that jumped out at me is ultimately discussed in the afterword, but I’m still going to mention it here. While reading the book and having the Agoul space and Agol (I might be spelling this wrong) extraterrestrials introduced, I felt like I was missing something. I didn’t remember it from ‘The Ash,’ which I was wondering if that novel was connected to this one, but I just felt like I was expected to know what they were, so at first I was a bit confused. Soule explains in the afterword that he’d thought about expanding those two elements and shares about them a bit more, which cleared up some of my confusion, but I also had no idea this was the same novella from that Crystal Lake three author release, as the name of the story changed. I also didn’t know that it’s related to the stories Lee and Joseph wrote, so I wonder if they have a bit more mythology explained. I’m hopeful Dan does another release where he goes into it more in depth, because I’d love to learn more about it. Side note – years ago Joseph Sale, myself and Brian Fatah Steele discussed releasing related/interconnected novellas in a shared universe, so I was excited to read that Joseph was able to scratch that itch with Dan and Lee!

Why you should buy this: If you’re looking for just an all-round action-packed fun time, ‘Murphy’s Lore’ will be a perfect read to cure that fix. Murphy’s a great character, their back story really intriguing and honestly, anytime you get a great space sci-fi/horror book, we’re lucky. Soule is such a solid, masterful writer, one who isn’t afraid to take chances and make the reader feel big emotions and this one is yet another prime example of that.

A quick, chaotic novella that hopefully sets the stage for a huge world-building slate of releases, ‘Murphy’s Lore’ was a perfect cinematic read.

Title: The Siren of Groves Peak

Author: Glenn Rolfe

Release date: June 30th, 2026

*Huge thanks to Glenn Rolfe for a digital ARC of this one!*

I’m fast approaching a decade of reading Glenn’s signature brand of horror and throughout that time – including when he released a few books under a pseudonym – he’s created a phenomenal fictional grouping of towns in Maine, that he uses to set his novels within.

That’s very apparent within his newest, the murderous mermaid rampager known as ‘The Siren of Groves Peak.’ This is a treasure trove of Easter eggs when it comes to all of his books and I suspect should you give this one multiple reads, even more will pop their heads up, but as is, if you’ve been reading Rolfe for any length of time, expect to be smiling a bunch when you connect this one to his other books.

I’ve got a love/hate relationship with mermaid/siren horror. On one hand, it can be fascinatingly in depth. On the other, it can often times feel repetitious and same-old-same-old.

Going in, I was excited to see what Glenn did, knowing his penchant for character-driven stories and emotional narratives.

What I liked: The novel takes place in Groves Peak, a lobster town that for some time has had plentiful hauls. The men all know why, and some of their wives do to, but for the most part, the residents are unaware of the deal that’s been made. A siren is behind their success. She’s been there for decades and made a deal. She’ll seduce the men in the hopes of conceiving a baby – the thing she wants most in the world – and in return she’ll ensure the lobster fill their traps. This is all well and good until a murder takes place and everything is thrown for a loop.

The majority of the story follows Lizzy and Willow, young women who’re also the daughters of two of the towns more prominent fisherman, though Lizzy’s dad has fallen on hard times. He’s an alcoholic who’s never quite recovered from his wife packing up and leaving one night, years ago, and though he’s searched for her, she’s never been found.

Rolfe gives us tidbits of how lobster fishing fuels each life, and as that fishing dries up, stress mounts and more and more bodies are discovered. Rolfe paints a vivid picture of what the coastal town is like, and in doing so, does such a great job that you’ll feel drenched and freezing while reading.

The final quarter of the book is essentially a full-throttle series of revelations and discoveries. The towns secrets are revealed as is the individuals who played various parts in everything and Glenn does a superb job of packing this with a ton of action and a ton of emotion.

What I didn’t like: In this particular novel, I found there to be a few too many characters. In doing so, I just didn’t care about them to any degree. Sure, folks like Vernon and Lenora have a role to play, but I don’t think their storyline added much to it, considering similar characters were introduced to a degree as well. Though Glenn does this within each of his novels, in this case I found it just felt like every few chapters more and more characters were introduced, which distracted from the main ones I was wanting to follow.

Why you should buy this: If you’ve been a long-time reader of Glenn’s books, you’ll be all over this and love it. If you’ve never read any of his books, this is a great jumping in place. It features all of Glenn’s hallmarks in storytelling, as well as those aforementioned Easter eggs, which will make for great ‘a-ha’ moments when you read his other books.

The siren is done really well and thankfully, Glenn doesn’t spend much time humanizing it to any degree. We see how it reacts when things take a turn and we get to see it turn into a hideous, vengeance-filled monster, which was a lot of fun.

Overall, Rolfe’s delivered another fantastic novel, one that nestles really nicely into his ever-expanding bibliography.

Title: Drone

Author: Dan Howarth

Release date: April 24th, 2026

Throughout history, people have shared stories of hearing an almost imperceptible ‘hum’ or drone. A quick Google search will bring up numerous examples, as well searching for it on Youtube or Tik Tok. I remember in late 2025 following a few Tik Tok accounts based out of Whitehorse in the Yukon who were asking about people hearing a noise and sharing folks recollection of the noise. It’s an interesting phenomenon, one that seems to have no specific reason behind it happening, while also seemingly ‘easily’ explained by others.

Over the last number of years, I’ve read a few of Dan Howarth’s releases – and seriously if you’ve not read his novel ‘Last Night of Freedom’ yet, you absolutely need to get on that, freaking phenomenal – and really enjoyed them. When he announced this one, I was at first drawn in by the gorgeous cover art, but then reading the description, I was hooked. I was hoping to get this read as soon as possible after it was released, though that wasn’t the case. When I did jump into it, I was smiling from ear to ear. Howarth has a cadence to his writing that is both comforting but also anxiety-driven. It’s as though each word has an energy to them and as you flip the page, that energy is minutely increased, only becoming apparent to the reader after it’s too late to turn back.

What I liked: The story takes place on a remote island where the inhabitants live a fairly simple life. Saying that, there’s nothing simple about it. They farm. Farming is perhaps one of the most difficult and stressful professions/lives anybody could ever choose and in this case, our main character Gallagher didn’t choose. He was born into the life, his father a farmer. And after his father passed away, Gallagher inherited the farm and all its shortcomings. Money is tight, losing a single animal can be a death blow and as the outside world moves further away from buying from those on the island, Gallagher wonders what awaits his own future.

And then one day he wakes with a noise in his head he can’t shake. He rubs his ears, tries covering them and even sees the local doctor whom he detests, but there’s nothing that seems to lower the never ending sound. It keeps him awake, makes him angry and begins to gnaw at his very psyche.

Then, when he finds his sheep in a mass of violence and throwing themselves against barbwire in an apparent attempt to take their own lives, he knows this is more than just a noise in his head.

Howarth does a wonderful job of making this novella feel gritty and unrelenting. The pacing of it is akin to how Gallagher must’ve felt as the days go by and the drone in his head doesn’t stop. At first, the chapters feel lush and pleasant. And then they begin to morph, the words becoming more caustic, more abrasive and the sections within the chapters harsher and dirtier. We see Gallagher become angrier, we see him interact with a neighbour whom he’s not spoken to in almost a decade and we see a follow up visit to the doctor, and all three aspects point him towards a single way, a single action to make the noise diminish and potentially even go away.

The novella also heavily deals with the realities we all face every day with prices going up, pay going down and how those not in the top 1% of the wealth have to find different ways to make ends meet, all while knowing we’re just one bad bounce away from total ruin. Gallagher runs these thoughts through his mind over and over, both to contemplate just how bad things have become, but also in an attempt to silence the sound. The drone won’t be silenced by thought.

The ending is a brutal look at where things go when left unchecked and Howarth has a cinematic penchant for delivering harsh moments through the lens of masterful prose.

What I didn’t like: There were two aspects that stuck out to me, but both are pretty much reader preference. The first was that not a lot of time is put into the likely cause of the drone or where it came from. Sure, Gallagher talks to others to see if they hear it, but there’s really no rumour’s or so-and-so said this etc. It’s just quietly accepted that the sound exists and Gallagher devotes his time to figuring out how to end it. Even when he goes to the doctor, she says she’ll contact colleagues and then we learn they don’t have any ideas.

The second thing was the POV shift at the end. I can’t go into it for spoiler territory, but I found it very jarring when it happened. It’ll either work for you or not.

Why you should buy this: Howarth manages to give us a novels worth of emotions in a novella page count and does it with blistering glee. ‘Drone’ teases the reader with the potential of a larger unknown at work, but focuses on a singular man. It’s essentially a master work in macro ideas with micro execution. It’s relatable on a number of levels; between the apocalyptic shifts that occur within the small town – first we see lines to shops lower and then we see first responder stations board up and nobody answers the phones, and then we see the shift in the people themselves. Howarth blends the familiar with the foreign, and it’s a unique look into what would happen to ourselves and to our neighbours should something like this ever occur.

A novella that is the true definition of a page-turner, ‘Drone’ is both eerily unsettling and absolutely captivating.