Title: In Excess of Dark

Author: Red Lagoe

Release date: March 15, 2024

*Huge thanks to DarkLit Press for the eARC of this one. Disclaimer – I have a novella releasing in 2024 through DarkLit, but in no way did this influence my thoughts on this book*

I’ve been a fan of Red’s work for sometime now and her short fiction is some of the best stuff you’ll ever read. Now, with this novella on the horizon, I was excited to see what she’d created, especially after reading the synopsis. Much like Gran’s ‘Come Closer,’ this one seemed to be a story that would walk that line between ‘is this real or not,’ and that always makes for a fun time in the horror world.

What I liked: The story follows Karina, a wife and mother who has always had to contend with her mind rapidly running through the darkest thoughts possible about every situation. Brakes are going to fail, the bungee will snap, the house will catch on fire. On and on, her entire life she’s struggled with it, but even worse – as her mother likes to remind her – sometimes the thoughts she’s having come true.

So, it comes that after a horrible moment occurs, one that happened exactly how she imagined in, Karina spirals into the depths of grief. Her family is gone. But something else has arrived. A strange black blob that seemingly can take the shape of those departed.

From here, Lagoe does a masterful job of keeping the reader guessing – is this actually happening, or is Karina sleep deprived and hallucinating. It never lets up and to make matters worse, we see Karina continue to spiral and grow unhinged. She stops talking to those who love her, holes up in her house, quits her job and focuses on what she needs to do to somehow bring those gone back to her.

This all culminates in a phenomenal ending where we see Karina become truly unhinged and in a macabre way, live out the dreams many aspiring writers long to obtain. It had me grinning like a maniac and the machine-like precision with which Red delivers this ending was magical.

What I didn’t like: We do get a tiny smidge of background story aspects surrounding Karina and her father, but I wished it was expanded upon a bit more.

Why you should buy this: This novella is going to knock the socks off every reader, much the same way Marceau’s, ‘This Is Where We Talk Things Out’ did. Lagoe has crafted a truly unnerving story that walks so close to the edge time and time again and ultimately leaves that question – Is this real or a hallucination? – firmly in the hands of the reader to determine.

Outstanding work.

5/5

Title: Scarewaves

Author: Trevor Henderson

Release date: October 3rd, 2023

I’ll admit, that up until about maybe four years ago, I wasn’t familiar with Trevor Henderson’s online creations. It wasn’t until my son began scouring Youtube for crazy creatures to watch and start to draw and try and build with Playdoh and Lego, that he came across Siren Head, Long Horse, Cartoon Cat and many many more. I’ve never much time looking at Creepypasta stuff, nor on Reddit, so that was all a new world to me. And, when we both found out Trevor was Canadian, it made us smile with glee! Since then, I’ve been fortunate to have connected with Trevor and when he announced this book, my son and I were over the moon! A middle grade horror novel would be a perfect book for us to read together!

Now, typically, this would be a book I’d read in one or two sittings, but because we were reading it together, as well as other books, it took us far longer than normal, but even with the pauses in between chapters, it was a book that we were always excited to jump back into.

What I liked: The story follows young teen, Mary, who has just moved to Beacon Point with her parents. She’s upset – as anyone that age would be – that she needs to start over and is worried about making friends. Worse still, as soon as they arrive at their new house, she starts to hear noises in the attic. Unbeknownst to her, Beacon Point has a history of odd occurrences and strange sightings, and with that backdrop in place, Henderson introduces us to a rag-tag group of misfits who all begin to see strange creatures and deal with unexplainable phenomenon.

The story is told with the pacing expected of a book you’d find at a Scholastic Book Fair, each chapter giving us more story while cementing who each character (both human and otherwise is) and, as one would expect, Henderson has included some gloriously gorgeous illustrations within, which worked really well to reinforce the horror’s described. As the book moves along, we get “interludes” between chapters. Transcriptions from Alan Graves’ BCON Radio show about the odd history of Beacon Point. These were perfectly done, and with us reading it with the covers pulled up to our chins, we felt like we were listening to the broadcast in secret each time.

The story goes where you’d expect it – and not in a negative way – with the kids having to band together to try and find a way to stop the monsters from catching them and to keep Beacon Point safe. The end quarter felt even more frenzied than the middle portion, which is saying something when you consider all the beasties introduced.

The ending was great and does leave the door open for more adventures in Beacon Point in the future.

What I didn’t like: Once we were done, my son and I chatted about anything we found strange within and both of us agreed that the resolution of Alan Graves’ character didn’t feel as fleshed out as we both hoped for. It worked for the story, but it did feel a bit ‘over-and-done-with’ in rapid fashion.

Why you should buy this: This story is ENTERTAINING from page one, when we meet Bev. I felt like I was discovering The Monster Squad all over again, and it was such a wonderful experience to read this with my son. Saying that, even if you don’t have kids, this one is a fun read for horror lovers of all ages. As for content – there’s some scary moments, some freaky illustrations, but if your young one enjoys the creepier side of things, this one will be just fine for them. My son is seven and he was so amped throughout.

Overall, Trevor Henderson has created a book that will stand the test of time and become a surefire classic of the Book Fair worlds and one that in twenty and thirty years, those kids who’ve now grown and had their own will be sharing with their young ones. Really well done and this would make a perfect Christmas gift for the young readers in your life.

5/5

Title: The House of Last Resort

Author: Christopher Golden

Release date: January 30th, 2024

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

I’m always up for ‘foreign location’ horror. I know that sounds funny, but horror set in Europe has centuries and centuries of history to utilize. If we look at horror set in Canada (where I’m from) we ultimately look back in time and end up with a history of… open plains and mountains. Which don’t get me wrong is also amazing, but not the same as when you’re going to read about a story based around religious mystery, which is the case with Golden’s newest release, ‘The House of Last Resort.’

Going in, I was intrigued with the set up, which I’ll go over in a minute, but also with the line in the synopsis discussing what it is they’ll find. And boy, did they find something that’ll have horror fans excited.

What I liked: The story follows husband and wife, Tommy and Kate. Tommy’s family is from a small Italian town, but after a falling out many years ago between his dad and grandpa, he’s not been back in years. That all changes when an opportunity arises. The town’s government is offering houses for $1, trying to entice foreigners to move in and help revitalize the town and the economy. There are stipulations – those who buy homes have to remain for a certain amount of time and agree to renovate the houses – but the thought of this exciting adventure is too much for Tommy and Kate to pass up, so they jump on it and move.

Once there, Golden wastes no time in starting to subtly share some ‘oddities.’ There’s a door in the house that they can’t open. Sounds happen. Presences are felt. An old woman down the road seems off. And when Tommy’s grandmother comes to see the house, she won’t step foot inside, visibly upset that this is the house they’ve purchased.

The creeps continue, even as Tommy and Kate settle into their new place and meet some other foreigners who’ve moved to the town. Soon, Kate finds the door is open, even though they didn’t get a key for it. And inside they find an entire section of the house that they weren’t even aware was there.

From here, Golden gives us a dread-infused look at the history of the house, and not long after, even more shocking events occur that ultimately test what it is that Tommy and Kate are willing to believe.

It’s hard to truly go into the details – because of the spoiler aspects – but we get some great revelations about the church’s involvement in the house, what its role was and ultimately what horrors happened within and below.

The final quarter of the book is a sprint, with the realtor becoming involved once again and the true nature of why many wanted Tommy to return to this small town. It sets off a string of events that all culminate in an ending that was spot on perfect, based on how Golden had set things up.

What I didn’t like: This is gonna be tough, as I want to remain spoiler free, but I think the thing that I noticed most was that nothing was ever fully expanded upon. Every time we learn new bits, the book continues on and we don’t get an exploration of it. When we find out what’s behind the door, it was amazing. They explore it, we get some great descriptions of the rooms and the walls etc… and then Tommy and Kate renovate it.

When we find out the truth behind what the house was used for, we get a horrified reaction from Tommy and Kate and then… we just move on. Don’t get me wrong, the pacing of the book was amazing, and I was hooked from the beginning, but we just kept trucking along.

Same with when they visit the catacombs below and look into it becoming a tourist location. Odd things are noted, strangeness abounds… and then they just start building.

And I will say, while I really liked the culmination of what happens and how the ending occurs, some folks may find it to be far too predictable, which would be fair.

Why you should buy this: At the end of the day, I think the thing to really keep in mind with this is that this is a big-press horror novel. So, while it gets dark and tensions rise, it’ll never go super extreme and most of the action remains surface-level without any real brutality or extremeness.

Saying that, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, highly-engaging religious horror novel where you want to root for Tommy and Kate and see them overcome both the fish-out-of-water aspect of moving to a different country, while also overcoming the horrors within their house, look no further. Golden’s a master at writing these immediately accessible characters and once again shows why he’s one of the leaders of the big publishing horror movement.

4/5

Title: Deprivation

Author: Roy Freirich

Release date: Originally released March 3rd, 2020, re-releasing February 13th, 2024

Huge thanks to Meerkat Press for sending me a digital copy of this one!

I was very intrigued by the synopsis straight away.

Anything to do with sleep/insomnia/sleep deprivation always gets me excited – think Russian Sleep Study – so, with this one being suggested as a psychological thriller and dealing with an isolated island of people who suddenly can’t sleep after a boy who won’t speak is found abandoned on the beach, I knew things were gonna be crazy.

What I liked: As mentioned, the story takes place on Carratuck Island – a tourist spot where the locals live an easy, carefree life. The new doc, Sam, is doing his best to fit in, but also struggling to sleep, dealing with the guilt over a former client’s suicide.

Things take a turn, when a young boy is brought to the medical clinic. The boy won’t speak and is solely focused on his handheld video game. Not long after his appearance, people begin to arrive at the clinic, looking for help to sleep. Freirich does a masterful job of creating a slow-burn atmosphere here. At first, it’s a couple people. Then a dozen. Then two dozen. Tempers begin to flare. Sleeping pill stock depletes and soon, the Chief of Police is dealing with people angry the ferry isn’t arriving.

As the sleep deprivation continues, people begin to take things to the extreme and those who are managing to stay level-headed are left to deal with the aftermath.

Freirich does a really solid job of showing how each of the secondary characters succumbs to the effects of less sleep, questioning things, seeing things and struggling to find any hope. And as the effects roll across the island, things get more and more heated. Enter a supposed new doc who thinks things are being kept from the people by those in charge and tensions escalate even further. If you consider this was originally released in 2020, it would’ve felt like a very timely discussion piece on the Covid mandates.

The ending ties up most of the pieces of the story. We see what happens as things slowly return to normal and where some of those who made it off the island end up.

What I didn’t like: It was odd. Even though I knew going in this was more of a slow-burn, tension-based thriller, I constantly felt like I was waiting for something to actually happen. People showed up tired. Then it repeated the next day. And the next. And the next. It just never seemed to actually arrive at a true tipping point. And while the ending tied things up, I’m personally not sold on the ‘why’ of things happening. It felt a little light for a reason.

Why you should buy this: I’ve seen a few reviews suggest this is similar to Tremblay’s ‘The Cabin at the End of the World,’ and I think that’s a fair comparison. Saying that, in Tremblay’s we get to an ‘action-moment’ really early on, while this one is a bit more repetitive in building things until about 75% in. This one also comes with a bonus novella, following a different character and her husband during the events, which was a fun bonus.

Overall, if you’re looking for a solid, unnervingly realistic look at an isolated group of people dealing with a lack of sleep, look no further. I would’ve liked a bit more oomph overall, but did enjoy this one.

3/5

Title: Cutter’s Deep: Welcome to Hell

Author: Ronald McGillvray

Release date: March 15th, 2023

I’ve had this novel languishing on my Kindle since release date, slowly making its way up through my miles deep TBR, but I knew I wanted to do my best to fit it in by this year’s end. So, when November rolled around, I read chapter one and got it started, making sure my brain would get back to it.

I’ve known Ronald for a few years now and had the pleasure of finally meeting him this past May in Toronto. His ‘Tales from the Parkland’ collection was fantastic, so I was excited going in to see what he’d done in the long format.

What I liked: The story takes place in the odd little town of Cutter’s Deep. According to the mythology of the town, a lumberjack – last name Cutter – seemingly uncovered a way to prosper here in the woods. Through this, he built a pyramid, formed a town and then disappeared. To the average eyes, its simply a ghost town when driving through, seemingly abandoned and run down. But if you’re wearing a special necklace or the town itself wants you to see it, it’ll reveal itself to you.

It’s kind of like the hotel in The Eagles ‘Hotel California.’ You can check out any time you like but you can never leave. Once you’re there, you’re there. And the town is filled with all types of strangeness.

We follow Arlington and Claire. Arlington is a young man who has lived his whole life in Cutter’s Deep. Claire is visiting. And when her parents go missing, she meets Arlington and the two connect. A connection that Arlington never expected, which opens up new feelings within him. This is the basis of the rest of the story. The two working together to get to the bottom of what’s going on, why things are the way they are and if there is any potential for the two of them to leave and live together in the wider world beyond.

The scope of this story is MASSIVE. McGillvray fills it with different societies, groups, creatures and all types of magic and lore. Taken in bit parts it felt a lot like the movies I grew up watching in the 80s felt, or for something a bit more modern, even how True Blood expanded from a simply vampire drama to include all types of creatures.

The ending absolutely leaves the stage open for a second novel. I’m not sure if Ronald is planning a sequel, but taken on face value, it would seem like we’d be getting more, which would allow Ronald to cover even more ground.

What I didn’t like: Two things stuck out to me really. Reading this, I became overwhelmed with just how much was happening. There’s A LOT of directions this goes in and a lot of moving parts. Taken in bite sized chunks it was manageable, but some of the random extra stuff would’ve been nice to have been paired down. I was fascinated by the parking garage sequence, but it never really got explained, and same with the hotel, or really why some were chosen to see the place and others weren’t.

Secondly, the content felt more YA (not a bad thing) than Adult, but the Adult components kind of looped me out of the YA comfort. The writing did change between those areas, with a harder edge for the Adult aspects and a bit more toned down for YA, so at times it felt like I was reading two stories that had been put together into one release.

Why you should buy this: If you’re looking for a massive, sprawling, epic horror-fantasy tale that brings you into the middle of nowhere to one of the strangest places you’ll ever visit, look no further.

This one reads like McGillvray had a blast writing it and it’ll be one that’ll suck you in and not let go. Especially if you’re out past midnight and the howling begins.

3.5/5

Title: This Wretched Valley

Author: Jenny Kiefer

Release date: January 16th, 2024

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Deja vu for those who read my reviews, but by now, you’ve probably deduced that I like reading books set in the wilderness and involving craziness. It could simply be they are lost and they need to survive or the forest itself can be possessed or an ancient entity wanting to remain untouched – either way, I’m game.

Add in the third spine-tingle maker for me – Dyatlov Pass – and I’m practically vibrating in anticipation. If you’ve not heard of Dyatlov Pass by now – I’ll pause while you go Google it and then we’ll wait here until you dig yourself out of the rabbit hole…………………………………… (eight hours later) AH! You’re back. See, not much going on in that crazy world with Dyatlov eh?

So, it should’ve been a no brainer heading into ‘This Wretched Valley’ that this book would’ve been tailor made for me, but alas, not all books hit home runs and for me, this one was an easy ground out to first base.

What I liked: The novel is centered around two main individuals – Clay and Dylan. Clay is doing a research project using LIDAR and attempting to find an unmapped rock face in order to graduate. Dylan is a recently signed professional climber, and as she’s been friends with Clay for some time, when Clay finds his potential A-grade rock face, he invites her along so that she can make the first climb and film some online content. They head there with two others (Dylan’s significant other Luke (and their dog, Slade) and Clay’s research assistant, Sylvia.

The only problem? The place Clay’s found is in an area the locals know to avoid.

As they hike in, we get the growing tension of GPS issues, each of the people thinking they’ve been walking in circles and Slade, the dog, going bananas time and time again. The dog doesn’t want to be there, but the group pushes its outbursts away, suggesting the dog has just seen a squirrel or a deer.

Once they do finally arrive at the cliff face, nothing goes right. Kiefer does a solid job of making the area feel uneasy and a suggestion that not all is right with the place, nor with the group. Arguments break out, time seems to move differently and each of the people find that they seem like things are repeating themselves, even when there’s video evidence to suggest otherwise.

It all comes to a head when an injury happens and they need to get the injured person to a hospital. This kicks of a series of events that ultimately culminates with the forest reclaiming those who’ve trespassed and the circular nature of well… um, nature kicks off again.

What I didn’t like: I reaaalllly wanted to like this one. Going in, I was hoping to get something along the lines of Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ meets Lyons ‘The Night Will Find Us.’ Instead, I found everything to be telegraphed and falling into the world of ‘predictable,’ unfortunately. I personally didn’t care enough about any of the characters to want to root for any of them and when I didn’t have any emotional attachment, when anything happened, it had no effect on me.

Things got off on the wrong foot near the beginning, at least for me, when they stop for food and the waitress wasted no time in telling them that people go there and don’t come back and soon after, they end up driving in circles. Couple that with the way the dog was behaving – finding what appears to be a human femur – and the group brushing it all aside, it made it hard for me to ground myself in reality in order to then detach myself from reality, if that makes sense? I needed something to say, ‘Hey, these individuals are pragmatic and rational, so the irrational stuff happening is that much worse because of it.’ But we didn’t get that at all.

Why you should buy this: As with all books, if it sounds like something you’d dig, give it a shot! I LOVE 99% of all books I read and I go into every book expecting to have my socks knocked off, so when one is a misfire, it’s more of a rarity for me. This one just didn’t connect any dots with my reading brain and instead of DNFing, I stuck it out to the end, hoping that the ship would be righted and I’d really fall into it. Unfortunately, that never took place.

So, for you, if you are looking for a book set in a creepy place and things just don’t go right, this might very well be right up your alley.

For me, it just didn’t do what I had hoped it was going to.

2/5

Title: Eynhallow

Author: Tim McGregor

Release date: February 22, 2024

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and Tim McGregor for this eARC!

Eynhallow, Scotland.

A small, desolate, currently uninhabited island off the northern coast of Scotland. A place, according to Google, that has a folklore surrounding it that suggests the Finfolk, shapeshifting mer-people, reside their during the summer months.

Which, if you read Tim’s prior novella, ‘Lure,’ would have you wondering if these two are interconnected at all. But I’ll leave it at that.

Why I did bring that up, is to highlight the magic that Tim has captured in my imagination twice now. The first time was by crafting a cinematic, fairy tale with ‘Lure,’ a novella about a vengeful mermaid. Mermaids are a topic of story I struggle with and Tim had me rapt from page one and never let go.

Which gave me confidence going into this one. Why? Because I find Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus’ to be a slog to get through. Bits and pieces captured me unequivocally and have always stayed with me, but much like many of the older classics, my brain struggles to be whisked away, instead begging for them to be reduced to short stories instead of novels. I know, for some, that sounds blasphemous, but that’s how this readers brain works.

So, that brings us to ‘Eynhallow.’ A novella which has a very engaging synopsis, until the very last line – ‘His name is Frankenstein and he’s come to this remote isle to fulfill a monstrous obligation.’ That had my hackles up slightly. I trust that with Tim’s work I’ll get a stunning story and phenomenal prose, but when the name Frankenstein rings out, I was worried about how my reading brain would approach the subject.

What I liked: Set at the end of the 1790’s, we follow 29-year-old, Agnes Tulloch, wife, mother and, by default, the island’s midwife. She has no formal training in the practice, but after having four successful births and a few unsuccessful ones herself, she’s the go-to when a baby is arriving. Her life is hard, rough and cracks have appeared in her tolerance. She’s tall and very strong. And she was essentially forced into marrying her husband, who is almost twenty years older than her.

Her life is set and she goes about her day as normal. That is, until this strange visitor arrives. Victor Frankenstein. Those who were born on the island detest those from abroad, and so because of this, none of the islanders want to have anything to do with him. Agnes herself, is not from the island, born on the mainland and only moving her once wed to her husband, so Agnes’ husband hires her out to this stranger. She’ll bring him some food and keep his place clean.

At first things are fine, but as she learns more about Victor and the two develop a connection, life begins to change. McGregor does a wonderful job of making Agnes one of the best characters you’ll ever read. I mentioned her age previously, as throughout, you’d think she is twice that, her soul older and her will ironclad. She cares deeply for her children, and her submissiveness to her husband and his drunken abuse slowly dissolves, her internal strength growing as she sees a potential for her and her children.

The island itself plays a prominent role, its shores and undulations making for a perfect place for these families to be island-bound and artificially stranded. The currents are rough and sailing across isn’t without peril.

McGregor’s masterful prose shines through here. Every single sentence is a highlight and told through a razor sharp sense for a cinematic experience. I read at night, and all day, while at work, I was longing to return to Agnes and Eynhallow, wanting to see who the strange creature was the lurked on the periphery and just how Agnes would get out of this life she so desperately wants to leave.

The final quarter of this story is heartbreakingly bleak. Events have happened and Agnes has to watch her former life from afar. It was soul crushing to witness how time forgets her and she forgets everything else. Her kids, their names, those who used to live on the island and how she’ll haunt its shores forever more.

What I didn’t like: In all honestly, I found this novel perfect. Having finished it late last night and now writing this review up first thing, I struggle to pinpoint something to share with you that you may not like. I would tend to lean toward the obvious, this isn’t a rollercoaster paced novel, it’s more of a casual meander across an island and back, so if you’re looking for non-stop action and cliffhangers galore, this won’t be the novel for you.

Why you should buy this: Tim McGregor has knocked this one out of the park and once again he’s thrown my own reading prejudices in my face.

From start to finish, Agnes bleeds from the pages and you’re going to be rooting for her and holding your breath time and time again as she navigates the harsh life she’s been forced into. Fans of Shelley’s work will really enjoy this ‘side story’ of Frankenstein’s quest to create life from death and the last quarter is a great think-piece exploring the ramifications of what this would mean, were he successful.

Just an outstanding novel and one that I think will elevate McGregor into that next level of world-renowned writers. Right where he belongs.

5/5

Currently available for preorder through the RDSP website;

Eynhallow

Title: Psychic Teenage Bloodbath II

Author: Carl John Lee

Release date: December 1st, 2023

I remember when Uncle Carl released his first novella, ‘The Blood Beast Mutations’ back in 2020 and he sent me a really kind email (actually his son sent it as Carl stays pretty off the grid) thanking me for reading it and saying such kind things. And at that time, I think I sent something back along the lines of – ‘it won’t be long until everyone is reading your work.’ And I meant it. And now, some three years later, it always fills me with great joy when I pop on Tik Tok or Books of Horror on FB or wherever and I see someone gushing about how amazing Carl John Lee’s books are. Because it’s true. Yes, Carl writes extreme horror, but – and I’ve said this before – his books are filled with real stories, layered approaches, relationship building and honest to god plots. It’s a novel with extreme moments, not just extreme moments with an after thought of story.

With last years outstanding, ‘Psychic Teenage Bloodbath,’ (and according to Goodreads numbers, Lee’s run away hit!), we were introduced to Susan, a girl trapped in a coma but possessing phenomenal powers of her mind. Things ended with a bang, between Susan, Charlie and Lynette – and while I won’t discuss that here for spoilers, be aware that going forward, if you’ve not read book one, some things might spoil it for you.

You’ve been warned.

What I liked: The second book picks up a bit after book one, where we find out that Susan did in fact take over Lynette’s body and banished her mind to the far reaches of her brain. Charlie at first wasn’t aware of this, believing her and Lynette had escaped Susan’s wrath, but once she understands the truth, she’s stuck in a physically and mentally abusive relationship which is ruled by Susan’s jealous iron fist.

When Charlie sees her chance, she takes it, purposefully trying to kill them both, but this is only the beginning. They awake now, in the dream world, the psychological realm, where Charlie searches for Lynette, and Susan seeks out both of them, desperate for vicious revenge.

It’s here that Carl John Lee does something remarkable unexpected. Within the pages of this brutally extreme novel, we get an emotional interlude. Charlie is reunited with her dog, Princess, who has been waiting for her since they passed away. Once Princess and Charlie are able to properly say goodbye they end up at the Rainbow Bridge and the reader ends up a bawling sack of unexpected sadness over this moment arriving seemingly out of nowhere. The story continues on with more blood, shredding and body cavity depravity, before we get an unexpected (and hilariously placed) celebrity cameo, before arriving at the last quarter where all bets are off.

I will say, the way Carl John Lee executes the ending of this story (pre-epilogue) is magnificent and shows his penchant for cinematic storytelling.

The epilogue opens the door for a potential third novel, and if it wasn’t for the Rainbow Bridge moment in the middle, would’ve been the most heart-wrenching thing ever to exist in a Carl John Lee novel.

What I didn’t like: As with all Carl John Lee releases, remember that this will have some truly brutal moments. Some of them have very specific purposes, while others work to set up something further down the line, but if you struggle with extreme, just know going in that this is a full on sensory assault.

Why you should read this: Fans of Carl John Lee’s will have already preordered this – like me (but thanks again for the digital ARC Uncle Carl!) – but if you’re looking for one of the most solid extreme storytellers to whisk you away into a world of love, lust, desire, depravity and debauchery, look no further. Pick up book one, read it, and get ready for this one, as it takes the story laid out in the first to a whole other level.

5/5

Title: Pedo Island Bloodbath

Author: Duncan Ralston

Release date: September 15th, 2023

Ah… Duncan Ralston.

Look, the reality is, with the way the online, social media world operates, you’re going to fall into one of three categories. Category One – I like Duncan’s work and I like Duncan. Category Two – I like Duncan’s work, but I don’t care for what he posts/don’t interact with him online. Or Category Three – I have him blocked and refuse to read him.

It’s a shame that this is where we’re at, but even Duncan will agree that’s where we sit. And the truly shameful part of that is, those who don’t read his work are missing out on one of the most cerebral authors currently putting out high quality books. Much like Matthew Stokoe has achieved with COWS and High Life, Duncan has accomplished with the one-two punch of WOOM and Gross Out. Both of those works are escapism, psychological thrillers, masquerading as Splatterpunk/Extreme horror. Yes, the content is extreme, but so is life when you’re not living in a four bedroom, two bathroom home with a mortgage payment and two cars. Three point five kids, a white picket fence and a border collie that loves everyone.

Duncan’s work is always a multi-layered conversation on world events, timely, topical moments and often times has a deeper metaphorical aspect to things big and far. Take Gross Out and its conversation on the often-cited cliques that exist within the writing community at large. Ghostland examined the rising role of AI, technology and mankind’s continued desire to push things too far and then apologize after everything goes crazy. And I’ll add in Wildfire, a story about someone living off the grid, trying to keep themselves safer from the ever-changing insanity that is world events, while also discussing themes of domestic violence.

His work is more than what is shown on the surface, more than what you see when you read a title, see a cover, or spend a few minutes reading one star reviews of his work from folks who aren’t willing to dive deeper into the narratives shared.

With this newest one, Duncan has decided to add to his growing repertoire of global issues by frankly discussing human trafficking and the horrible reality of how many kids get gobbled up by the rich and famous with no repercussions. Now, I will say here, that I’m not a full on conspiracy theorist regarding many things, but when it comes to child sex trafficking, the stats are there and when you start to read more and more about just how prevalent it is, its soul crushing.

Saying all of that, I did go in with trepidation, simply because I knew this was a vampire story at its heart and I struggle with vampire stuff. I always give each story the benefit of the doubt and go in wanting to love it, so with this one, I put my trust in Duncan’s hands and let the tide take me away.

What I liked: The story follows a few different characters whose paths eventually merge. We have Sven, a journalist who has made a name for himself with in-depth features over the years. He’s gotten an invitation from the ultra rich, Emory. He has invited a whose who of super wealthy on his massive yacht, to travel to a strange, exclusive island. Sven knows something’s up and wants to expose what it is. Even odder, is Emory’s wife, Tess, an enigmatic figure who stays in the shadows. Then we have Clarissa, a young woman searching for her sister who was kidnapped when their parents were brutally murdered. She knows a monster did it and wants to find the truth. She meets Gabe, a young man working on the ship and connects with him, as well as a strange, but friendly, older man, who has a history that’s hard to believe.

With that as the setting, Duncan races along in this gripping, mystery-thriller that has a ton of squirm-worthy moments, extreme scenes and grisly gore. In his afterword, he mentions this starting as a Splatterpunk work and morphing into a mainstream novel with extreme aspects and I think that’s accurate. I fear though, that this title will prevent many of those specific fans from taking the plunge and enjoying this brutal romp.

The novel turns things up another notch, when we get to the island, meet The Duke and the mansion/manor comes into play. It’s a great set piece itself and I’ll hold out hope that Duncan might do a special/exclusive/limited hardcover type release with a map of the island and a blueprint of the abode.

The ending was spot on – BUT – much like his most recent work Puzzle House, does end on a cliffhanger and at the moment, we have no idea if there will be more entries into this world.

What I didn’t like:  As I said, if you, like me, struggle with vampire based stuff, this one does have a very straight up vampire storyline. Saying that, Duncan does do a lot with the mythology/folklore behind it and our old man character was a blast, reminding me of a character from the TV Show, The Strain.

Additionally, this one does have a lot of dark moments, extreme scenes and if you feel fuzzy at the first signs of gore, you’ll want to stay clear of this.

Why you should buy this: I mean, at this point, I don’t really need to try to convince fans of Duncan’s to read any of Duncan’s works. He’s a GOLD BANNER machine and someone who has built a massive fanbase through hard work, exceptional writing and some of the best books released in the last decade.

So, for those who’ve not read his work yet and are hesitant, I’ll say this – give it a try. Take this one for a spin, or Salvage, or Ghostland, or The Midwives, or Wildfire, or Puzzle House. Give one a shot and you’ll see what I’m talking about. A phenomenal writer creating phenomenal works of fiction.

As for this one, if you’re looking for a very solid vampire story, wrapped in a child trafficking yarn, told through the lens of an extreme horror conspiracy theory, look no further.

4/5

Title: In the Garden of Rusting Gods: A Collection

Author: Patrick Freivald

Release date: September 12, 2019

If you’ve followed any of my reviews over the last few years, you’ll have seen that I’ve mentioned I’ve been burned out on reading collections and anthologies for some time. Well, that was the case. Things have started to slowly take a turn towards me getting back into them. Typically, I have 4-6 books on the go at one time. I bounce around from them, until one steals my attention wholly and I can’t put it down, before returning to the others. I also like to have a collection/anthology mixed in there, to break up the space between each book. So, what I mean is, I’ll read one book for say, thirty minutes, then a short story in a collection/anthology, then jump to another book for thirty minutes and repeat. I paused that for some time, but have now began to return to that practice and it’s been great returning to that again.

I’ll also make an admission here and this might be slightly embarrassing, but also a complete reflection on the fact that I can’t kick some of my super small town upbringing.

My admission – if you’re an author who has been nominated/won a Bram Stoker or a Shirley Jackson Award, I kind of consider you writing royalty. (Long breath out… fix my imaginary tie… adjust my imaginary glasses… let the flush of embarrassment slowly fade… and continue). It’s true. It blows my mind when I interact with anyone who has those accolades (amongst many others – looking at you Huge and Nebula etc etc) and I’ll make a note to check out their work when I can.

Case in point, is the author of today’s book – Patrick Freivald. I’ve had this collection on my Kindle for a few years now, taken hard by the cover when it was revealed, but up until reading this collection, I hadn’t read any of Patrick’s work, but knowing he’s a multiple Stoker nominee, I figured I’d be perfectly assaulted with each story. In fact, up until reading this, I knew Patrick more from his work moderating the HWA Facebook page than anything else! So, this was a refreshing change!

What I liked: If I throw these titles out, where does your brain immediately go? Alien. Predator. Event Horizon. Splice. Terminator. My brain processes this as horror/sci-fi and both in movies and in fiction, this mashing of the two genres are some of my very favorite things I’ve ever watched or read. Reading this collection felt like I was reading Ridley Scott’s unreleased movie ideas. Freivald, time and time again, created these dark, intricate, horrific slabs of sci-fi infused stories that had me completely captivated and enthralled. Where I started this collection as a break between switching books, it quickly took over and I had to read it without setting down.

While each story was really well done – looking at the back-to-back punch up of ‘Twelve Kilos’ and ‘Foam Ride’ as an example, there were some stories that stood out as my favorites above the others.

‘Trophy Hunt’ involved werewolves trying to survive while being hunted. It was a fast-paced, solid story that flipped the script and really filled this lycanthrope loving readers heart with joy.

‘The Extermination Business’ read like an old time detective story, where a hired gun seeks out wererats and has to navigate his personal feelings with the job he’s been hired to do. Felt like this would be a great movie done in the same format as ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.’

‘Forward Base Fourteen’ was a claustrophobic story of the last remaining survivors trying to make contact with another base, but when things go south, decisions need to be made. The atmosphere in this one was pristine.

‘In the Garden of Rusting Gods’ was a behemoth of a story. Maybe twenty pages long, this encapsulated an entire novels worth of narrative within. In the future, humans have gone underground as Lovecraftian-AI-Robotic alien beings arrive and invade. It was so cinematic in scope and the way Freivald told this one might make some of you hyperventilate.

Saying all of that, my favorite story hands down was, ‘A Taste for Life.’ This might’ve been the shortest story in the entire collection, but this one was a juggernaut and within only a few pages showed one scientist descend into madness while also showing progression in the subject being studied. Also set in the future and underground (but unrelated to the title story), zombies have taken over and those who have survived are now trying to find a way to cure them, or at least dampen the desire to kill all of the living. This one was just outstanding.

Throughout, Freivald goes from strength to strength and even the last story, ‘Taps’ takes us out on a high note. Each story also is accompanied by really great artwork, which is always a bonus.

What I didn’t like: As with every collection, each story will connect differently with each reader, but this one is so very solid.

Why you should buy this: From start to finish, this might very well be one of the best written collections you’ll ever read. Each story jumps in, pulls the reader along and then finish with a bang, a flourish of storytelling magic. I was drawn in slowly with the title story, but by the middle of ‘Forward Base Fourteen,’ I knew I was reading something special and soon thereafter abandoned all pretense that I wouldn’t be devouring this collection in a few sittings.

Amazing batch of stories.

5/5