Title: Skinners

Author: Craig Wesley Wall

Release date: August 3rd, 2017

A few weeks ago, I saw Craig post on IG that his novella ‘Skinners’ was currently free in anticipation of the sequel, ‘Skinners 2’ releasing in February. Now, if you’ve followed my reviews for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Craig’s works. His novel, ‘The Briar’ lives rent free in my head and his novel ‘You’ll Do As You’re Told’ was fantastic. I still have to read his ‘Invasive Species’ trilogy, which was recommended to me a while back by Edward Lorn. So, when Craig shared about book one and book two, I rushed to Amazon to grab book one and preorder book two. And, as so often happens, I discovered that I’d purchased book one way back in 2020. Sheesh.

Well, with book two arriving in a few weeks, I needed to fix the fact I’d not read the first, so I dove in, wondering what craziness Craig would deliver with this sci-fi/horror novella.

What I liked: How’s this for a set up? A community celebrates a meteorite shower by throwing a big party. Almost everyone is there to watch it. But then strange, glowing spores erupt from the space fragments and every person who comes into contact with them grows insane, massive worms within their bodies.

Awesome, right?!

The story follows low level thief, Steve (which I gotta say, I wasn’t too thrilled at that name choice, Mr. Author!), who – along with his girlfriend, Lisa – head to a convenience store to rob the place so they can buy more drugs. This takes place at the same time as the meteorite shower and while there, someone comes in, they erupt into a writhing mass of space worms and all hell breaks loose. The worms like to strip peoples skin from their bodies, eating it so they can grow more worms.

Steve, alongside retired military man, Thom – Thom with an H! – manage to survive and in the process connect with teen girl and her younger brother. The two youth were unaffected at the party.

From very early on, it’s evident that this book is a ‘who will survive’ story and for the most part, nobody is safe, nobody is ‘definitely going to make it,’ which I greatly appreciated.

As it progresses, we get some light background on a few of the characters, as well as a few new locations where the worms arrive and seek to slurp the skin off all who move and time and time again I had a huge grin on my face at just how fun this creature-feature was. It’s a throwback to the glorious B-Movie monster age that I grew up with, where movies like ‘Tremors’ kept me awake and had me equally entertained and terrified.

Now, considering this was released almost a decade before the sequel arrives, the ending can be seen as a definitive ‘ending’ in the sense that the story concludes, but considering the events in the sky and the fallout that would occur, there’s also no reason why this couldn’t have a follow up and having finished it, I’m excited that there will be.

What I didn’t like: There’s a whole sub-plot about acceptance that focuses on Steve, his past and working with Thom and I felt like it just didn’t get expanded upon enough to really make any waves. There’s not a lot of space in this one to really expand upon it, though potentially it might’ve happened if this would’ve been a novel, but considering the page count, it would’ve been nice to have seen just a bit more of that storyline to give it the emotional whump the ending could’ve gave us.

Why you should buy this: I’m a huge sucker for sci-fi/horror novellas and this was just a blast. Wesley Wall throws us faaaaaaar into the deep end immediately and from there it’s up to us to sink or swim. The creatures were great, the characters were formed just enough to make us care while also not bogging us down with significant backstory and the action moments were really well done.

This will be a single-sitting read for many people and with a follow up coming shortly, this is the perfect time to grab it and enjoy!

Title: Split Scream Volume Eight: Cursed Places

Authors: Sonora Taylor & Matthew Pritt

Release date: April 21st, 2026

*Huge thanks to Tenebrous Press for the digital ARC of this one!*

Tenebrous Press continues to release new and exciting books and their Split Scream project is something I see so many people continually rave about. Shamefully, I believe this is the first one I’ve managed to read, but when I heard that Sonora’s novella was going to be in this, I wasn’t going to miss this one!

A few years ago, Sonora and I were working on a unique release together. It consisted of a singular novella that told the story of two writers facing the end of the world and in their final hours, they each write their own last novellas, in the hopes that should humanity manage to survive, maybe they’ll find these and read them. We sent it to a few places, had a few nibbles but then ultimately decided to shelve it and we took our individual novellas and tweaked them to send them out further into the wide world. For my part, I actually can’t recall what my own novella was about! It very well might be the sci-fi/horror novella I have sitting there waiting for me to finish. But when Sonora shared that hers had been picked up by Tenebrous, I was ecstatic.

On the other side, when this project was announced, I read the synopsis for Pritt’s portion and was over the moon. Having already read Sonora’s and loving it, pairing it with this insane sounding folk-horror piece seemed perfect and I couldn’t wait to dive in!

Let’s start with Sonora’s piece.

Passing Glance by Sonora Taylor

What I liked: This novella takes place at the secretive Moore Mansion, a building in Washington, D.C. that has a history filled with odd occurrences, strange disappearances and intrigue stacked on wonder. Dylan arrives to celebrate her friends 30th birthday, equally excited to celebrate the milestone while also learning more about the history of the crazy place.

Sonora sets things up well, including giving us an early glimpse at both a potential tryst between Dylan and another party guest, but also the mansion’s oddities. Things keep getting odder and after Dylan finds a hidden hallway, things really go off the rails. Sonora takes Dylan on a terrifying descent into the truth within the walls as well as her own madness as she grows more and more disoriented.

The ending was a lot of fun, though it will make you question a few of the five W’s regarding how it ends.

What I didn’t like: In this particular case, I wished that a few more of the party goers would’ve had odd experiences as well, as the novella focuses solely on Dylan and it would’ve been fun to see the others deal with the puzzle/trappings of the mansion.

Lash Egg by Matthew Pritt

What I liked: What could only be described as speculative folk horror (I think, lol!) Pritt’s ‘Lash Egg’ walks the line between Bizarro and Dystopian, while focusing on environmental horror elements.

The novella follows Ben and his daughter, Lydia, who’ve only lived in the land of the Doe for about six years. After a madness took hold of the inhabitants – human and animal alike – in the land of the Bear where they lived previously, they fled, being hunted by everything, until they managed to arrive at the land of the Doe and since then, they’ve been trying to keep their lives aligned with the balance the Doe requires. But that’s not easy. Because Ben doesn’t believe.

The story ramps up when their reliable chicken lays a lash egg, a rubbery, mound of pus. Soon, the chicken itself is filled with pus and other animals around their farm seem to catch the same thing, becoming disoriented and bursting open, their insides mush.

Ben knows it’s because of him, but he wants to keep Lydia safe.

Pritt does a wonderful job of bringing us into this strange new way of life, where people farm and make their own clothing and do what is needed to survive, which is part of the crux of the story for Ben. What does he need to do to maintain his own balance? And how will that effect his daughter?

The ending is powerful and, as one would expect, pushes Ben to make the hardest decision of his life.

What I didn’t like: In this particular one, I found it odd that they’d lived there – at least in that particular area – for as long as they did and Ben still struggled with some of the basics of ‘The Balance.’ Sure, even if he didn’t believe, if he was worried about them kicking him and Lydia out of the area, I feel like he should’ve done as much as he possibly could to make sure he lived within the alignment.

Why you should buy this: As I’ve said a hundred times over the years, Sonora Taylor should be an auto-buy/auto-read author for everyone. This was my first go around with Pritt and I loved his entry so much. These two play in the same sandbox, though at very different sides of the horror world and that’s what makes this pairing so much fun. Each story pushes their characters to the edge of what they can handle and we get to see what happens when they realize they’re just one step away from toppling over that edge. And as readers, you kind of want to see what happens then, right?

Two fantastic novellas from two fantastic writers – and one release you definitely don’t want to miss out on!

Title: Where the Wicked Lurk

Author: Joseph Mulak

Release date: January 15th, 2026

*Huge thanks to Joseph for the digital review copy!*

Over the last few years I’ve read a couple fantastic books by Mulak – ‘Ashes to Ashes’ was a great take on the zombie genre, and ‘Devil Music’ was a great mix of haunted house and heavy metal – so, when this newest one was announced, I was stoked. Saying that, Joseph announced it and then shelved it and it looked like it wouldn’t see the light of day. Thankfully, folks rallied around him, and convinced him with kindness to stay the course and get the book out.

I wasn’t totally sure what to expect within, as I don’t think I even read a synopsis about the book prior to reading it, but I knew I’d be in for a treat. A Mulak book will always throw short, snappy chapters at you with a growing sense of dread as the story progresses. And sure enough, those two things were here in spades.

What I liked: The book follows a down-on-his-luck guy, Marty, who is in a transitional stage in his life. He’s married, with two kids, and working a job he hates. His wife, Audrey, lives on the top floor, he lives in the basement, and they share the middle floor to co-parent. Marty and Audrey have grown apart and she’s requested they try having an open marriage, something Marty agreed with, but detests, especially as he can hear his wife and her random men through the vents going at it.

Things take a sinister turn after they learn that a suspected serial killer previously lived in the house and not long after, odd sounds begin in the basement.

Mulak does a great job of showing the internal struggle Marty is dealing with. Between struggling to be an attentive father, making ends meet and dealing with the open marriage aspect, Marty is barely treading water, his head dipping below the waves more frequently with each passing day.

Soon, those ‘random’ sounds take the shape of footsteps, and then heavy breathing on the other side of his basement bedroom door. Mulak shows us how Marty tries to figure out what is causing the sounds, the family even going to the length of getting the church involved to kick out any evil spirits.

The ending brings together all the pieces, and though it didn’t conclude in a surprising manner – I expected what happened to happen – it’s done in such a way that it still makes you wonder whether it was madness that caused it, or a supernatural entity.

What I didn’t like: The story is told through two different timelines, 2024 and 2025 and it hops back and forth from chapter to chapter. In this case, I personally didn’t find it added anything to the tension and pacing and I think it would’ve worked just fine if it was told in a linear fashion.

Why you should buy this: Well, technically, you don’t need to buy it. You can get this book for free by signing up for Mulak’s newsletter! Link below! So, as for why you should read this, well, Mulak gives us a strained family scenario, where real-life stress continues to push them to their wits ends and the age-old dynamic of ‘are they or aren’t they’ crazy worked perfectly here. Fans of Gran’s ‘Come Closer’ will dig this more extreme take on that subgenre!

Sign up and get the book free here;

https://www.josephmulak.com/

Title: The Haunting of Sorrow’s Leap

Author: Chris Sorensen

Release date: November 28th, 2025

Over the last number of years, I’ve devoured everything Sorensen has released – be it his wonderfully dark Messy Man series, to his two creature features, ‘Suckerville’ and ‘Bee Tornado’ – both of which you need to absolutely read!

 Sometime in early 2025 – I can’t remember when – Chris reached out to me about beta reading his next novel. Unfortunately, I was swamped and couldn’t give it the time it would need. When the book was announced, I made sure to buy the Kindle edition, excited to dive in. *I will add here – unbeknownst to me, Chris actually sent me a physical copy of the book! So very kind and unexpected!* 

Funnily, at least to this reader, I didn’t make any connections between this and the Messy Man series. But sure enough, upon cracking this bad boy open, there was Ellen Marx. Now, I will say – you can ABSOLUTELY read this without having read the Messy Man trilogy. In fact, I’d almost suggest if you read this one first, you’ll get a deeper experience if you pivoted and then read Messy Man, but either way, you’re in for a treat.

What I liked: The story picks up years after the end of the events in the Messy Man series. Ellen’s ‘gift’ has faded, her ability to see dead people and connect through touch with people diminished to the point where she questions if it ever was really much of a gift. She’s hawking product at a horror convention, selling candles and pictures and crystals and trinkets. It’s here where she has an odd encounter with a girl named Zivy, and from there, herself, Zivy and two other ‘gifted’ individuals are selected. 

Their reward? To travel to a reclusive authors mansion. Why? They don’t find out until they arrive. And once there, they learn that they’ve been invited to try and un-haunt the mansion. Renovations have been hampered because ghosts and spooks are terrifying the workers, and James Utter, the author, is sick of the delays.

Sorensen weaves a multi-layered tale where things are never really as they seem and as we get more details from Utter’s right-hand-man Carter, we learn that there are off-limits areas. Then, an event happens, a gathering of shadows of sorts, which really opens up the story and gets those others chosen – JJ and Quan joining Ellen and Zivy – working as a team.

I’ll add – on their way to Utter Hall, Ellen purchased ‘Sorrow’s Leap,’ one of Utter’s last big bestsellers from a roadside convenience store. This comes into play in a number of ways, both with an world on the other side they need to deal with, but also with some nifty elements that I can’t share due to spoilers. But it gave it a really solid aspect of over here/over there that felt very 80’s-esque, but in the best way possible.

The lead up to and the finale itself were a lot of fun, with the group figuring out how to use their gifts as chess pieces, becoming moving pieces themselves to try and triumph over the ghost who has taken up residence in Utter Hall.

What I didn’t like: This actually relates back to the Messy Man series, but Ellen and her mom’s relationship morphed here. Whereas in the Messy Man series we dealt with Ellen’s mom’s horrendous behavior and narcissist ways, here it became an odd toxic reimagining where Ellen somehow appears to be the bad guy at times with how she treated her mom in key moments at the end of her mom’s life, while we know – and even see within the pages of this book – that her mom was a horrible, horrible person and treated her daughter with nothing but abuse.

Secondly, I found there was too many attempts at levity and humor within, especially when the ghosts arrive and things take a sinister turn. Every time something serious would begin to unfold, I’d expect a one-liner or set up for a joke to occur and it would. It was as though Paul Rudd was casted to be the comic relief. I could’ve handled far less of that – but I’m also a reader who doesn’t typically enjoy humor in his horror.

Why you should buy this: Overall, this haunted mansion tale was a ton of fun and another solid story from Sorensen, who has a knack of creating quickly relatable characters and dark, dark worlds. 

‘The Haunting of Sorrow’s Leap’ was a tense, fast-paced story that forced quirky, socially awkward characters to work together and overcome huge obstacles and that’s always something that makes for an entertaining read.

Hey Andrew.

A year already. Time really never stops marching on, does it?

A year ago, Amanda, Auryn and I went to the museum here in Edmonton, checking out the exhibition (I think it was the Cambodia exhibition, which was really amazing) and trying to get back into a routine, as school and work was about to return. I’m lucky in that my workplace closes up shop around Christmas until the start of January. Fortunate.

On our way home, we stopped at No Frills to grab something and that’s when our good friend Randall messaged me. Fuck. Really, fucking fuck.

I saw the news come across Bluesky and IG and then watched as my notifications exploded and I showed Amanda Randall’s message and put my phone in my pocket. I’d deal with all that shit later. Typical guy, eh? Bury it fucking deep and maybe revisit it later. Like a trunk novel, lol.

By the time I got home the reality of what the news was saying and all the messages and notifications were saying, hit hard and boy, I tell you, I fucking bawled. Amanda kindly allowed me to cry like a baby for a bit, Auryn even coming to make sure I was ok. Even though he’s never read any of your stuff, I think you just might be one of his favorite authors. Side note – Auryn thinks I’m famous because I’m an author, and that’s adorable. I think it’s because you were famous and I met you. And I’ll take that.

I finally took my phone out and saw even more notifications and another five emails, one from a mutual friend of ours and four from Toronto-based newspapers asking for comment. Comment? From me. Like what the hell. It kind of hit home then that I’d maybe succeeded in making my love of your work known. If it’d become so widespread that even the news folks were reaching out to ask me for a few words about you and your books, then I guess I did a pretty good job.

I remembered once how you said that the Toronto Star was always nice to you and treated you with respect etc. etc. and Janet’s email was the most ‘real person’ of all of them. She sounded like she was genuinely sad that you’d passed. So, I emailed her back a few things and she kindly framed my initial sorrow in her piece well. If you didn’t get a chance to read it yet, here you go – https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/andrew-pyper-toronto-writer-of-literary-thrillers-dead-at-56/article_fe3b18fa-ca33-11ef-aaa2-d7555a69d849.html

This past year has been a wild ride. I’ve said it almost monthly to Amanda, that something pops up and where I’d immediately message or email you, I’m not able. And boy, does that ache like a son of a bitch.

January passed in a fog, and when February arrived, I flew out to Toronto for your memorial.

It was lovely and I was very honored to be included and welcomed. Randall and Damir picked me up from the airport – gents those two. We headed to McConvey’s place – Joel amazingly let me crash there for the two nights – and then we went to dinner nearby. It reminded me so much of when I came out for the celebration of The Demonologist. Just… we were missing you.

Your memorial was wonderful and overwhelming and I’m not too proud to say that I kind of made fool of myself by hugging Heidi twice. Hopefully she won’t hold that against me. Jesus Christ is Ford tall. Even since I saw him last. And Maude. I think she was even taller than Ford. Your children are so kind, Andrew. Both of them even thanked me for coming and it speaks to how great of a job you (and Heidi) did in raising them. For them to embrace me and thank me for coming when in reality, in their eyes, I’m just the guy who posts your books a million times a week, says so much about them. Your brother’s were also very kind. I forget which one it was, but after we were talking and I said I was out from Edmonton, he thanked me for the online archive website, which was a nice moment.

Your memorial also happened to coincide with the Super Bowl and guess what – Kendrick said the line! Oh, buddy, you would’ve howled. He looked right at the camera – a bajillion viewers tuned in and said the line. Checkmate, Drake.

I also dove into an unreleased novel of yours. I gotta say – a joke you made to me (about this particular book that ‘didn’t exist’) on our ride out to DreadCon came racing back and I laughed. Out loud. Sitting by myself in the airport waiting to board. That’s one easy way to make sure nobody sits around you.

Some updates on my end for you – Atomic Monster never pursued ‘When I Look…’ The director of Annabelle did, but couldn’t get anything going and it fizzled. Wump wump. But your help and guidance there will always be appreciated.

I waited a bit to reach out to Kirby and Heidi regarding our re-release of ‘Kiss Me’ for the 30th Anniversary of it, but it was agreed to not go ahead with it. Totally fair. And I get it. But boy did that hurt. It even put me into a writing depression of sorts. I don’t think I wrote a single word for almost two months. I canned my plans of expanding/launching Black Void Publishing.

You know what got me going again? Auryn and I worked a bit more on some poems and he wrapped up his illustrations for our release. I think you’d have really loved seeing what we did. And though I know you weren’t a huge poetry guy, the poems inspired by ‘William’ are some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing poetry.

In May I did another edition of Pyper-May-Nia! And wow did the wider community come out in spades, man. Fuck, did they ever. It was wild to see and emotionally overwhelming. The stories and quotes and memories that people sent in for me to share… even now thinking about them, brings me to the brink of tears. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do for this year, but I don’t know if I can ever top 2025’s. But if I don’t do something in 2026, that’s a downer. I’d be thinking about how I’m letting you down everyday. So, I’ll need to figure something out.

At the end of May, our family went to Vancouver for a week-long vacation. I wore my ‘Read Andrew Pyper’ shirt on the trip out and while we waited to board, a guy came up to me to ask about the shirt. He said he’d read ‘Lost Girls’ and ‘The Trade Mission’ years ago and loved them. I gave him a few more books recommendations of yours to read and he thanked me warmly. Amanda and Auryn teased me, naturally, but I felt good knowing that maybe that man will discover all the rest of your wonderful books.

In June, we had a repeat of 2024 with the Oilers getting to the finals against Florida and a near identical repeat of them losing. This time, instead of seven games it was in six. I imagine we would’ve had some hilarious back and forth banter over that.

Also in June, the third Oracle audiobook was released. It was wonderful. Craig did a phenomenal job wrapping up this series. He was kind enough to do an interview with me about it and he mentioned that you were very happy with what he’d done off your outline. Joshua Jackson is Nate, yeah? If this does become a series for Amazon, I sure hope he plays Nate. Either way, I was just happy to see this arrive in the world.

At the end of June, Mitch Marner left the Leafs in a sign-and-trade with the Golden Knights of all places,  hours before free agency was to open. He seems to be doing ok in Vegas, though Vegas isn’t dominating this season, but still high up the standings.

In September, Exiles arrived and boy was I happy to see so many posts out in the social media realm about it. Kristen from Penguin was kind enough to send me an ARC of it, as was an author pal of mine, Colin, who has a bookstore. With two in hand, I had to do a giveaway and spread the word on Exiles! Our friend, Sam, actually won, which was awesome. Exiles continues to crush readers, Andrew. I think you’d be beyond proud about the reception for it.

Then, in October, the Jays went on a magical run. Game seven of the World Series magic. Sadly, they couldn’t pull it off. But what a series and what a run.

So far, the Leafs are struggling – currently out of a playoff spot – and though the Oilers got off to rocky start, they’ve turned things around and yeah, McDavid is doing insane things on the ice.

Christmas here was good. We’ve been dealing with a cold, snowy December into January thus far. Which was nice to have a white Christmas.

And on the 1st, I celebrated your collection ‘Kiss Me’ turning 30. THIRTY! I can’t believe that and I know you said you couldn’t believe it’d been almost thirty years since it’d came out the last time we chatted about the plans for the release. Those stories. Timeless and phenomenal, Andrew. I still hold out hope that we see them return to the world again soon.

Speaking of new books from you – I see your third Coile book has been soft-launched, but even calling that is a bit short.

I got the ISBN notification and found it quickly. I shared it widely – you know how I do that, lol! – and then I was kindly asked to delete my posts. I did, of course, but I’m excited to share this release to the wide world. I can’t wait to see the cover. The synopsis has me stoked and I have the eBook and hardcover preordered – which probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you!

Heidi’s been active with your IG – which really freaked me out the first time I got a notification saying ‘Andrew Pyper liked your post,’ lol. As always, I’ve been posting like a fiend and I’m sure she now understands about when you probably complained about all the notifications from myself you used to get. But, hey, at least you’re getting a break from all that annoyance! 🙂

My brother-in-law, Devon, made me a COILE wood-cut name plate to match my PYPER one for my shelves, which was amazing and lovely. I’ve got a few more foreign editions of William on the shelves now, though the Korean edition has been next to impossible to track down. I’m going to dedicate a bunch of time in January in finding it and getting it on my shelves.

And I don’t know if you remember that novel I spoke with you about on that drive out to DreadCon? The non-horror one about the two brothers. You gave me some amazing advice about how to approach it and guess what? At DreadCon, I connected with an agent, I signed with her and in a few days that novel is going out to a bunch of publishers on submission. Thanks, Andrew. Your guidance on that one truly helped me attack something far outside of my comfort zone. And every book of yours I’ve read where you utilized the landscape as a character inspired my own approach to writing this one.

If a publisher picks this one up, I’ll be raising a glass to you.

I’m currently doing a series on your English hardcovers. Took a break over the Holiday’s, but will be back posting in the next few days. I just finished doing The Damned. Love that novel. The Only Child is up next.

I think that’s about all I got. I know, it’s a lot, but you know in every DM and email I sent you just how much I blab on and on and on. And the fact that it’s been a year – a fucking year – since you left us all… well, I had a lot saved up.

So, my friend, wherever you are, I hope you know there’s a whole lot of people here who miss you.

I know I miss you every day.

And I’m just me. A guy who posts a bunch about your books.

And somehow that guy became your friend.

And your friend misses you.

So, until we see each other again, take care, Andrew.

Onwards!

Title: Dragon Teeth

Author: Michael Crichton

Release date: May 22nd, 2017

Growing up, I read a lot of Michael Crichton books. I loved his brand of action/thriller fiction always mixed with science. Books like ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘Sphere,’ ‘The Lost World,’ ‘Congo,’ & ‘The Andromeda Strain’ prominently lived on my early reader book shelf and I always knew I’d be lost in any world of his.

I purchased ‘Dragon Teeth’ a few years back but never got around to reading it until recently. If you follow me on any of my social media pages, you’ll know I’m a huge dinosaur fan, but my fandom doesn’t come anywhere near the love of dinosaurs my son has. I loved dinosaurs as a kid, but it was 1993’s ‘Jurassic Park’ movie that really blasted my love – and let’s face 99% of all kids born in the 80’s became dino fans because of that movie – and I soon read the book after.

After Michael Crichton’s death in 2008, two novels were released in short succession – 2009’s ‘Pirate Latitudes’ and 2011’s ‘Micro,’ this one completed by another author. Then in 2017, ‘Dragon Teeth’ was released and it was revealed to have been completed all the way back in 1974. It was interesting to read this book, with the understanding that here Crichton was, writing about the dawn of fossil hunting and dinosaur discoveries, after he’d already brought them into the future and back to life in ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World.’

What I liked: ‘Dragon Teeth’ was an interesting book in that it reads as almost completely non-fiction, though it is a highly fictionalized account of Professor Marsh and Cope’s fossil feud from the late 1800’s. From the 1870’s to the end of the 1890’s, Cope and Marsh had a heated rivalry, both men wanting to find the most and name the most newly discovered dinosaurs. They travelled around the US, digging and cataloging, all the while disparaging the other along the way.

The novel follows a fictional Yale student, William Johnson, who, after taking a bet for $1000, heads West with Marsh to dig for fossils. Along the way, they encounter harsh landscapes and the very real historical battle between the Army and the Indigenous. It made for a tale that will have the reader feeling dusty and dirty while also frantically Googling about what actually happened, which was partly what made me take longer with this book.

As the story progresses, fossils are found and, after Johnson survives an attack and is separated from Cope, whom he was working for after Marsh left him behind, Johnson decides he needs to do whatever it takes to get these bones back to Cope. Especially the Brontosaurus teeth they found, which Cope declares are the first one’s ever found of this new, massive species.

We end up in Deadwood, and a number of historical figures make their appearance. From Wyatt Earp to Calamity Jane to Wild Bill Hickok and more. We see Johnson grow from an innocent, pampered rich student, to a gun-totting, walking-with-swagger frontiers man.

This book feels like a relic of the past but updated with a fresh prose and rollicking narrative. It was tough to put down, the next chapter always beckoning me to just keep reading.

The story follows the logical conclusion and there won’t really be anything unexpected, but it works perfectly to tie things up and the epilogue/postscript of what happened to the real historical figures was great.

What I didn’t like: This might sound a bit lame, but I honestly felt like the novel spent far too much time in Deadwood. I get that the town has become larger than life over the years and everyone seems to be drawn to it, but in this case, I wanted more dinosaur discovery and digging and less dealings with myriad of real folks who seemingly arrived page after page. Granted, Johnson was essentially ‘stuck’ in Deadwood due to funds and weather, but it felt like 75% of the book was set in the town.

Why you should buy this: If you love the origins of fossil discovery and dinosaur information, this will be a perfect book for you. The pacing is great, the characters are a lot of fun and seeing the growth and change in William Johnson was fantastic. Crichton created one helluva story here, and the fact that it wasn’t released for forty years after it was written, is just amazing.

Crichton fans will love this.

Dinosaur fans will love this.

And those who just want a gripping, edge-of-your-seat historical fiction novel will definitely want to read this.

Title: While I Was Gone: Short Horror Stories

Author: Andrew Cull

Release date: May 27th, 2025

Over the last number of years, I’ve read a bunch of Cull’s work, between his phenomenal novel ‘Remains,’ his bleak novella ‘The Cockroach King,’ and his myriad short story collections and have really come to love the way he crafts a story. I said at one point in a past review that everything he creates feels cinematic, as though we’re reading this directly through the lens that he’s writing it through.

When this collection was announced, I was so elated to see. Andrew had a very public battle with cancer, sharing with us his ups and downs, and when this was announced, it felt like a cathartic moment – for Andrew and his fans. A giant middle finger to the illness. A statement of intent – ‘F&ck you, I’m back!’

On my end, I jotted this one down on my list of ‘books to buy’ and unfortunately, life snuck up on me and it wasn’t until recently when I was looking at that list that I realized I’d neither purchased it yet, nor read/reviewed it. I rectified that immediately, snagging the Kindle edition and diving in.

Cull has a writing style that is both layered and straight forward and that, combined with his cinematic approach to telling the story, meant I zipped through this in no time at all.

What I liked: Within this collection, Cull bounces from strength to strength, always showcasing the character in a way we know them almost instantly, while also bringing the world around them alive, in a way only Cull can. It’s as though he’s reading these stories to you, stopping every so often to whisper, ‘see that over there?’ or ‘look at the way the leaves ripple in the wind.’ His stories are immersive and each story in this batch of stories jumped from the page, transporting me from place to place.

The standout stories for me were;

‘Carly’s Wish.’ The first story in the collection is also a very dark tale. A man’s daughter disappeared a decade ago, and though he’s professed to dedicating his life to finding her, he also seems content to reap the benefits from multiple bestselling books on the disappearance and a movie adaptation. Then he gets a call one day from an unknown number. They saw something that day and want to meet. It’s heart wrenching and brutal.

‘The Grave Listeners.’ This was one of the shortest stories in the collection, but packed one of the biggest wallops. A ground of friends hear a story about people being buried alive, scratches coming from within their caskets. So, they form a grave listening gang. At first it seems fun. Until one of their moms dies. This felt like a classic Tales From the Crypt story.

‘The Bone Man of Sanatorium Lake.’ In this one, we’re introduced to a park ranger who is retiring and finally able to share some of the creepy and horrifying tales of what took place at Sanatorium Lake. So freaky but also so much fun.

‘Julia.’ I was convinced this was going to be my favorite story in the collection, but one other one surpassed that. This one follows a desperate man, searching for his wife and daughter. Their yacht capsizes and he can’t pull them free, watching as they sink to the depths. But then a sound is recorded. And when he listens it seems to be his wife calling for him to come rescue them. This takes a wonderfully macabre Lovecraftian turn and Cull delivers an emotional wallop wrapped in a man’s descent into madness.

‘The Gorey Man.’ This was my favorite of the collection and when I tried to figure out why I loved it just that hair’s width more than ‘Julia’ I knew it was because this one was set in the remote woods and featured a creature with horns. I know, I’m predictable! In a remote village, a young boy is sacrificed every year to The King of the Harvest, a hoofed/horned abomination that resides in the depths of the forest near them, to ensure the crops will be plentiful. Constance is sure that her son will be chosen, and when he’s not, she takes matters into her own hands, hiking with her boy into the depths of the woods to seek the King and make things right. One of the creepiest folklore stories I’ve ever read and the descriptions within this that Cull brutalizes our eyeballs with were exceptional. Outstanding.

What I didn’t like: As always in collections, the reader will have different reactions to each story and in this case, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story ‘The Scream.’ It was good, but compared to the rest, it didn’t hit the high notes like the others. As well, there was one other story – Halloween based – that felt a tad rushed.

Why you should buy this: Cull has a way of packing a novels worth of plot and emotions into a short story and this collection showcases that in spades. Each story feels fresh and different than all the others, but connected in a way that you wouldn’t be surprised to find a few of the characters hanging out with each other.

I often cite Kealan Patrick Burke and Calvin Demmer as the two masters of short fiction working today that you absolutely must read, but this collection proves to me that Andrew Cull makes it a trio and I can’t wait to see what he gives us next.

At the very least, you need to read this for ‘Julia’ and ‘The Gorey Man.’ Those two stories are short story masterpieces.

Here we go! The final installment! Part TEN of my Favorite Albums Series!

Thank you to everyone who has commented/DM’d/interacted about my choices. I always love chatting about music and it’s also been great even introducing some folks to albums they might not have heard otherwise. Before I dive into my final two choices, here’s the list of honorary entries. When I made my list of albums, these almost made the cut to be posted here, but for one reason or another didn’t!

So, in no particular order;

Kataklysm – In the Arms of Devastation (2006)/ Devildriver – The Last Kind Words (2007)

Moby – Play (1999)/ Arch Enemy – Wages of Sin (2002)

Type O Negative – Dead Again (2007)/ Chimaira – Chimaira (2005)

The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land (1997)/ Amon Amarth – With Oden On Our Side (2006)

Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (1986)/ Judas Priest – British Steel (1980)

Coldworld – Melancholie2 (2008)/ Septicflesh – Sumerian Daemons (2003)

The Glorious Sons – Glory (2023)/ Anthrax – Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998)

The Haunted – rEVOLVEr (2004)/ Stone Temple Pilots – No. 4 (1999)

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)/ Dissection – Reinkaos (2006)

The Crow Soundtrack (1994)/ Cradle of Filth – Midian (2000)

The Tea Party – Transmission (1997)/ Six Feet Under – 13 (2005)

Nazareth – Greatest Hits (1975)/ Himsa – Summon in Thunder (2007)

Sepultura – Chaos A.D. (1993)/ Fear Factory – Demanufacture (1995)

Marilyn Manson – We Are Chaos (2020)/ Pantera – Official Live: 101 Proof (1997)

Mgla – Exercises in Futility (2015)/ Lifelover – Sjukdom (2011)

With that out of the way – here’s my final two choices and I don’t these come as any surprise!

White Zombie – La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One – 1992

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that these two White Zombie albums are the final two albums on my list, considering how often I rave about this band and these LP’s.

The first song from White Zombie I ever heard was ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’ and after hearing the track and seeing the music video, my life was changed forever. Saying that, it took me a while to appreciate ‘La Sexorcisto’ as much as I do, because honestly, it doesn’t come close to the musicality and darkness of their follow-up, Astro-Creep: 2000.’ Though I know, long time fans of the band will debate that, for me at least, ‘Astro-Creep’ surpasses ‘La Sexorcisto’ for better album.

Throughout this album, we see that kind of crossover-boogie-acid-rap/poetry fusion that was birthed from the NYC underground art music scene. Rob had a straight-ahead agenda for the lyrics while J and Sean created some of the most distinctive rumbling anthems to come out in the 90’s, only upstaged by their next/last album.

When I listen to this album, I’m transported back to my backyard in Burton, Bob Moody has the tunes cranked, the BMX zipping back and forth down the street out front and I’m just twelve years old, the entirety of my life ahead of me.

Key tracks – ‘Welcome to Planet Motherfucker/Psychoholic Slag,’ ‘Thunder Kiss ’65,’ & ‘Black Sunshine.’

Live – White Zombie, sadly no. But I have seen Rob Zombie live and at the show in Vancouver I saw him play, he ripped through a ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’ cover and then had Scott from Anthrax come out and join them for a blistering cover of ‘More Human Than Human.’ It was fantastic and made this White Zombie fan very, very happy.

White Zombie – Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head – 1995

As much as I dug ‘La Sexorcisto,’ like I said before, it just doesn’t hold a candle to what White Zombie unleashed with ‘Astro-Creep: 2000.’

Funny enough, much like ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’ (and a lot of other radio/mainstream band hits – see ‘Walk’ from Pantera & ‘Du Hast’ from Rammstein etc. etc.) I enjoyed ‘More Human Than Human,’ though found it to be perhaps the ‘weakest’ song on the album, though I use that term loosely. No, when I first heard this album in its entirety, I was brought to my knees. Dense, layered, packed with imagery and dirtiness, ‘Astro-Creep: 2000’ is my all-time fav album and the album I’ve listened to the most in my life. Hilariously, I actually owned the remix album – ‘Super Sexy Swingin’ Sounds’ before owning this one – as my buddy Lee and I tried to track it down on a soccer trip in Cranbrook, but the music store there only had the remix album, so I bought it and listened to it non-stop until I got my grubby little paws on the real deal.

This album just might be one of the most influential things to ever enter my life. Between this and the movie ‘The Bear,’ I’d say they’re fairly equal in forming my brain and how I approach storytelling and atmosphere. Without discovering this album, I’m honestly unsure how things would’ve played out in my creative life, but I’m very, very thankful for discovering this.

Key tracks – ‘Creature of the Wheel,’ ‘Blur the Technicolor,’ & ‘Blood, Milk and Sky.’

Live – see above.

Title: Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories

Author: Various

Release date: September 2^nd, 2025

*Huge thanks to Lesley at Inhabit Media for the digital review copy!*

Back in 2020, I stumbled upon ‘Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories’ and immediately requested a review copy. Once approved, I dove in, excited to see what type of terrifying worlds I’d end up in.

And I wasn’t disappointed. From start to finish, ‘Taaqtumi…’ was bleak, frosty and unforgiving.

Fast forward, earlier this year, I connected with Malcolm Kempt over on Instagram. Through that connection, I saw one of his IG stories, sharing that he had a story in the upcoming ‘Taaqtumi 2…’ anthology and I was shocked all over again. How had I missed that there’d be a second book? I looked and didn’t find that it’d been available on Netgalley. Going to Amazon to buy the Kindle edition, I saw there wasn’t one. Only a paperback version. I messaged Malcolm, who put me in touch with Lesley at Inhabit Media, the publisher, and Lesley was kind enough to send me a pdf. Unfortunately, due to the interior formatting and illustrations/graphics, I was unable to turn it into a usable Epub for my Kindle. Also, I was unable to have it work as purely a pdf on my Kindle. Which is all just a long-winded way of me saying – this took far longer to read than I’d planned on. I whittled away at the stories on the computer when I could and finally, gloriously, I’ve finished!

So, will fans of the first anthology be in for a treat for the second one?

What I liked: Much like the first anthology, the second focuses on Indigenous themes, locations and real-world issues. It’s fresh (though I say that as unoffensive as I can), because it’s not told from the same world view that we see over and over and over in publishing.

There are some truly stellar stories within this one again, and every story works to needle itself under your skin, making for a few moments of sheer discomfort that were perfect.

The highlights for me were;

‘Maniittuq’ by Aviaq Johnston. One of the creepiest stories within this anthology, Johnston tells the tale of Saa, heading out to a remote hunting cabin, looking for her father. The cabin has a tendency of being broken into by polar bears and the area itself has a history of ‘strangeness.’ Once there, the wind picks up, a woman’s cry is heard from every direction and Saa finds polar bear tracks near her father’s boot prints. Just a phenomenal, isolated ghost story.

‘Taaliqtuq’ by Malcolm Kempt. Essentially, one long run-on sentence, the story starts off with a hunter having an existential/out-of-body moment where they share both views of them shooting a rabbit. From there, they’re flung around throughout the landscape experiencing the animal’s final moments, connecting with nature and having a chance to do everything over again. It shouldn’t work, but it does and it’s very, very unnerving.

‘Watch It!” by Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona. Two sisters appear as a duo on a reality show where they need to be the last team remaining, while racing across a remote area of the world. People watch via drones that track their every move. It’s stressful, but together they work well and remain in the competition. Things take a turn when a drone delivers a message and things go sideways. This story was a blend of dystopian and isolation horror. Really enjoyed the pacing of this one.

‘The Power Outage’ by Micah Silu Inutiq. The story follows a family, living in the far, remote north. One day things seem off. Then more things seem off. Then the power goes out. And more odd things happen. It’s really hard to describe this one, without making it sound like a story you’ve read before or minimize the sheer terror that drips off the page from every sentence. This story is the perfect example of what I said before. It takes a familiar idea and twists it into a folklore/dystopian/isolation horror piece that hits all the high notes so high that by the time you finish you’re not sure how you made it through. Fantastic.

What I didn’t like: There were a few stories within that I just didn’t connect with. One was an epistolary story, and if you’ve read my reviews for any length of time, you’ll know I struggle with that style of storytelling. But outside of that, each story was solid, just some didn’t hit me as hard as those that I absolutely loved.

Why you should buy this: The second anthology in the ‘Taaqtumi’ series is just as dark, ominous and fantastic as the first. The mix of stories is very solid and well placed, with no real lull or dip in tension and style. The interior is gorgeous, so I’d believe the paperback must be stunning when in your hands. I think the fact there isn’t a digital version of this one yet is a miss, as there’s a fair number of readers who prefer that format.

Saying all of that, once again the editors have put together a great mix of familiar and new-to-me authors who deliver stories that had me intrigued and terrified. Sometimes at the same time.

Here we go! Part NINE of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums!

Gojira – L’enfant Sauvage – 2012

Like many metal heads, ‘Gojira’ came onto my radar with 2005’s ‘From Mars to Sirius’ album which I really, really enjoyed. Saying that, I wasn’t playing it non-stop. When 2008’s ‘The Way of All Flesh,’ arrived, I was blown away and it was played in heavy rotation, ‘Vacuity’ a fantastically heavy tune that really highlighted what the Duplantier brothers were creating. But when 2012’s ‘L’enfant Sauvage’ was released, that album absolutely blew me away and it was quickly cemented into my brain as a personal fav. Every track has a rawness to it, an energy, while also feeling polished and brain melting.

Key tracks – ‘Explosia,’ ‘L’Enfant Sauvage,’ & ‘Liquid Fire.’

Live – Yes! And got to meet the band and hang out! I saw them while they were touring for ‘The Way of All Flesh’ at Richards on Richards in Vancouver. For that show, there were maybe 50 people there. I can’t remember why, but something else was happening that night in Vancouver (perhaps a competing concert) and very few folks were there. But it made for a memorable show and Gojira crushed it.

Buckcherry – Time Bomb – 2001

Now, I know what you’re thinking – Buckcherry? Really?! Yes, really. I’ve always loved Buckcherry’s dirty brand of sleazy rock and roll, but their second album, ‘Time Bomb’ is perhaps the best mix of catchy tunes, hard life lyrics and rollicking good times.

When this album came out, it was met with a lukewarm response, and the band went on hiatus. It bummed me out because I LOVED this album then (and still love it to this day) and didn’t think I’d get more music from Josh and crew and wouldn’t get the chance to see them live. That changed, of course, but if I’m wanting to bang my head and listen to a mad man on vocals rasping about life’s hardships while also just trying to have fun, ‘Time Bomb’ will always be the album I throw on.

Key tracks – ‘Ridin’, ‘Slit My Wrists,’ & ‘Slammin.’

Live – Yes! After they announced their return with 2005’s ’15,’ they announced a Canadian tour, and I saw them at a venue in Langley BC with my guitar player of our band back then. The show was an absolute blast, and the band was firing on all cylinders. At some point I’m definitely wanting to see them live again.

Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor – 2005

Back in 2001 or 2002, I heard a few songs from Nevermore’s album ‘Dead Heart in a Dead World’ and is we solid. I liked it but I didn’t love it. Saying that, lead track, ‘Narcosynthesis’ is one of my all-time fav tunes from the Seattle band. Then, ‘Enemies of Reality’ arrived and I was beginning to dig more and more of what Dane and Loomis were creating. But when 2005’s ‘This Godless Endeavor’ arrived and I heard ‘Born’ for the first time, I knew this album was a behemoth and sure enough, every track slayed. From the surge of the first tune – ‘Born’ – to the epic closer of ‘This Godless Endeavor,’ this album pummels the listener and pummeled me. I can’t begin to estimate how many times I’ve listened to this album since I first heard it, but it’s easily in my top ten most listened to albums its just so very, very good. Their final album before Dane’s death, ‘The Obsidian Conspiracy’ is also phenomenal, but it just doesn’t catch the grandeur of this one.

Key tracks – ‘Born,’ ‘Sentient 6,’ & ‘This Godless Endeavor.’

Live – Yes! They didn’t come through Vancouver often when we lived down there and whenever they played Seattle dates, it often wouldn’t line up with us being able to see them, but they did appear on Megadeth’s Gigantour tour one year and we got to see them perform live on that and it was a highlight of the entire concert!