Title: The Claw of Craving

Author: Joseph Sale

Release date: June 18th, 2023

Over the last decade, I’ve been devouring Joseph Sale’s imaginative fiction. I’m often left humbled and in awe of the world’s he creates, the characters he blesses us with and the sheer scope of each and every piece he unleashes. His novel, ‘Gods of the Black Gates’ is still one that I think of often and with this novel, ‘The Claw of Craving’ having come out about four months ago, I smile, seeing where his focus is turning.

This is the first part of Sale’s new ‘Lost Carcosa’ series, a retelling of the Carcosa mythology and the King in Yellow. Now, I readily admit, my horror life has had very limited experience with the King in Yellow and Carcosa itself. I knew Barker was inspired by it, but it has never been a mythology that I’ve dove into, never been something I’ve explored or spent much time with and going into this novel fairly blind, I did end up taking frequent pauses to Google character and place names.

With an existing mythology, there will be gatekeeper’s and naysayers a plenty, but in this case, I am neither, someone who simply is excited to enter a world and see what Sale’s adaptation will bring. He is no stranger to ‘epic’s,’ his own ‘Virtue’s End’ poem having already shown his willingness to go there, so it was that I joined along with Alan Chambers and found my way to Carcosa.

What I liked: Right off the bat, I’d like to say this is Sale writing like a possessed man. Every single page of this bristles with an energy, an energy a reader knows only comes when a writer is so deeply embedded into the subject matter, that they are creating the closest thing to real world magic that you can get.

Alan Chambers has lived a life of struggle and desperation. A man who knows there is something else out there, somewhere, and when he finally finds a way in, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. He goes to a place, tells the little person (Petruccio) his desire and is introduced to Cali. Cali inflicts the greatest pains she can to make Alan break, but he embraces them and once the ritual is done, he awakes on the other side, on the outskirts of the horror that is Carcosa.

From here, Sale takes us on an epic adventure, where Chambers is considered an outcast but a necessary cog in the power struggle taking place and ultimately, they travel to confront a demon and make Chambers whole again.

This reminded me of everything I used to watch when I was a kid. Most of all, it reminded me of the ‘Den’ segment in the 1981 movie, ‘Heavy Metal,’ where a nerdy teen wakes up in a strange world and an adventure awaits. As the story progresses, Sale takes his time making the reader flinch and feel disgust with outrageous (but amazing) descriptive moments that once again highlight why his writing mind is second to none.

The ending – while abrupt – sets us up for Book Two and with the brief epilogue, it sounds like it’ll start off with a band.

What I didn’t like: 100% my issue, but by not having much knowledge on Carcosa and the ‘hierarchy’ of how that world operates, there are a few throw away moments that didn’t exactly distract me, but after I had Googled them, I did scratch my head over why they were included. Saying that, this was just an opening entry into a longer series and those moments may very well come back to be answered.

Why you should buy this: It’s long been said that dark fantasy and horror are frequent bedfellows and I know, in my own writing, I often mix and mingle. Sale though is on a completely different level and as a huge fan of his work, it is disheartening that I don’t see his stuff plastered on every single social media site I’m on. It could be a case of being born in the wrong time, that is Sale had been writing these books in the 60’s and 70’s our great literary awards would be named after him, but for now, I will continue to do my best to rave about how amazing his work is and hope that people who preach the gospel of Barker will begin to see that Sale very well might be the next coming of the man.

‘The Claw of Craving’ just might be the SINGLE best thing Sale’s released yet, but with Book Two hopefully coming soon, that statement may already be outdated by the time you read this.

5/5

Title: The Black Lord

Author: Colin Hinckley

Release date: September 12, 2023

Man, you could just show me this cover and I’d tell you this was a book for me haha! And then you could add the first line of the synopsis – ‘There’s something knocking on the window.’ – and I’d tell you the author would have to do a REALLY poor job with this story for me not to love it! And guess what – Colin nailed the story here, so no worries on that part.

What I liked: If you’ve been reading anything from the mighty Tenebrous Press, you’ll know you’re in for a good time. The fiction they publish tends to walk that line of either ‘mass marketable’ or ‘very weird.’ Easy comparison – ‘Lure’ from Tim McGregor. Strange, sure. But pretty straight forward story (or as straight forward as a mermaid’s vengeance on a small town can be). On the other hand (pun intended) – ‘One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve’ by M. Shaw. This one is WEIRD. And phenomenal. And follows a body waking up on the autopsy table, split in two, and deciding to live life again together, while still being surgically and anatomically apart. What all of that is to say – I had no idea which way Hinckley was going to go, and I think that works to heighten the tension in this story, which starts from page one.

We follow young Eddie, struggling to understand how his infant brother, Danny, has disappeared, seemingly snapped up from his cradle in the middle of the night from his room. His parents are crumbling, both as individuals and as a couple, but things get worse when there’s a light tapping on his window one night and the thing he calls ‘The Tall Man’ begs him to open the window and come out to visit.

Hinckley nails the shadowy anxiety that folklore revels in, a way of making the reader feel unsettled, even when the lights in the room are on. As the story progresses, we get to learn the truth about The Tall Man, and when Eddie’s mom, Laura, has her own experience, the door between the two world’s is thrown open and all bets are off.

The last quarter of the book races along like a roller coaster ride coming off the tracks. Family runs into the woods trying to find the missing, the shadows lurk closer and The Tall Man wants to eat. It all scrambles haphazardly until Hinckley reels us back in and we finally meet The Black Lord.

What I didn’t like: The length of this novella makes it so that we get a surface level of back story and not much in the way of description of the world over there. Hamill’s ‘A Cosmology of Monsters’ did a wonderful job of giving the reader a lot with a little about the ‘over there,’ but this one doesn’t go very far into it, so if you’re wanting more of that aspect, be warned.

Why you should buy this: Well, fans of Tenebrous Press will most likely already have this, as any books coming from them will be an auto-buy! Otherwise, if you’re a fan of odd things in the woods at night and strange events that connect the generational dots, look no further. This one was jarring, unsettling and ultimately a terrifying romp through the trees at night!

5/5

Title: The Stepney Green Killer

Author: E.C. Hanson

Release date: August 6th, 2023

Thanks to E.C. Hanson for sending me a digital copy of this!

Excluding Matt Wesolowski’s ‘Six Stories’ series of books, I’ve never been a big reader who has enjoyed the straight forward (with minimal inclusion of anything supernatural) murder mysteries. Going into this, I wasn’t completely sure what I was getting myself into, but I really enjoyed what Hanson did with his novella ‘Wicked Blood,’ so I pushed aside any of my preconceived notions and dove in.

What I liked: The story follows three characters – Benji, Dolores and The Killer – as murders begin to pop up in the small town and authorities become ever perplexed. First – why is there a killer? Second – why do they kill, take a singular piece of their body, and leave the rest for police to discover?

Benji is a high school senior, struggling with grief and depression over losing his loving mother to cancer the previous year. His father is an asshole, focused on selling houses and his son moving out as soon as he’s eighteen. Meanwhile, Dolores is a retiree, dealing with the reality that her and her husband are drifting apart and suspecting that he’s not telling her the truth about where he goes a few times a week.

All of that works together as The Killer takes a hand here, a foot there and continues to work towards their grand finale.

I really enjoyed seeing how Benji and Dolores end up connecting, Benji as he prepares his big senior project – a true crime piece on the murders – and Dolores who becomes interested in these horrific acts happening in a town that shouldn’t be dealing with murders.

When all is said and done, Hanson connects all of the stories, connects the dots (pun intended) over the ‘why’ and we get a very disturbing climax that also seems quite possible with how far down into the depths parts of this world have gone.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, my brain always goes towards supernatural/occult etc etc, so at first, it was tough for me to switch that off and just accept this as a straightforward story where none of that will come into play.

The big reveal may come as a surprise for you or it may not. Depending on how early you pick up on the clues Hanson leaves, you’ll either race to the ending to see who The Killer really is, or meander to the ending to confirm your theory and pat yourself on the back over a job well done!

Why you should buy this: If you like topical, True Crime fiction, this one should be on your list. Hanson does a wonderful job of creating characters you’ll want to follow along and events that you’ll want to see unfold.

3.5/5

Title: Feeding the Void

Author: Morgan K. Tanner

Release date: October 30th, 2023

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

I’ve read a bunch of his work and love how brutal and bleak he goes so I was excited to dive into his newest creation!

There’s always something so intriguing about fiction that involves that all-encompassing term ‘the void.’ We all immediately think of this shimmering, moving, amphibian-esque textured, slightly sentient ‘thing’ that fills up space and ingests what gets too close. But there are so many unknowns and it is always the unknown that draws us in.

What I liked: The story follows Jeffery, first in childhood, and then as an adult. As a child, he has a loving mother, distant and standoff-ish father, and a basement he’s not allowed to go down into. He’s warned of a finger monster by his father, a way to try and keep him in his room at night, which works until his mother tells him its all a story and Jeffery visits the basement.

Morgan then takes us to see Jeffery as an adult, fully addicted and within the clutches of the thing that resides on the wall in the basement and takes over for his father and feeds it, ensuring all of its desires are met. We also meet a woman who has struggled with endometriosis, who falls in love and unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. And Morgan keeps the tensions high as those two worlds collide.

The ending, as most often in these types of stories, doesn’t fully close and will keep you wondering about the unknown…

What I didn’t like: I’m not a huge fan of POV shifts and this one goes through a few, first from 1st person POV for part one and then from our different main players once Jeffery is into adulthood.

The biggest thing I found with that POV shift, is with the opening being the POV of a very young child, the first section felt very young-reader. I wondered a few times if this was closer to feel to Morgan’s The Snuggle Zombies than to An Army of Skin. It continued to feel a bit horror-lite as it progressed and ultimately we don’t get much more than what Jeffery does to satiate the void.

This could’ve made for a very nerve-jangling short story, but in it’s stretched form, it becomes thin in some areas.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Tanner’s break-neck speed of story telling, then you’ll be salivating over this one arriving, especially as it’s been a short span since his last proper foray into longer horror. Jeffery is a maniac that runs the show and his progression into such a dark mental place will pull readers along.

3/5

Title: A Cemetery Stroll

Author: Elford Alley

Release date: September 25th, 2023

If you’ve followed along on any of my social media pages, you’ll know that my seven-year-old son really enjoys the darker stuff for art, movies, and books. We love to read together – a wide variety of different things – but ultimately, we’ll always nudge back towards the world’s where things go bump in the night and something may or may not be lurking in the closet.

When I saw that Elford Alley had released this young reader’s book, I was really excited and once it arrived, it was apparent that Cemetery Gates Media – the publisher – had put a lot of love and care into packaging this quick and engaging kids book.

What I liked: The book arrived yesterday (October 5th, 2023) and we zipped through it before bed. The story follows Hazel, the only kid in her school who hasn’t taken the dare and walked across the cemetery in October. The problem for her, is that she only has this one last night to accomplish this task and wouldn’t you know it – it’s Halloween!

As Hazel tentatively makes her way across the space, she finds notes that tell a spooky story about different little creatures/monsters and it’s in these that Elford really shines. We get some light humor and some chills in the poems that make up the stories and when we’d finished, my son and I spent a solid five minutes discussing each of the stories and deciding on which of them were our individual favorites.

The story wraps up with a great moment and a really solid sentiment that brings everything together.

What I didn’t like: It should be noted that this is for young readers. So, if you’re grabbing this thinking there will be some gore or descriptive passages, look elsewhere. I really loved how introductory to dark themes this was without worrying that it might frighten my son.

Why you should buy this: If you have a young reader in your home that likes to giggle along to the spooky parts of life, Elford has really delivered here. Hazel leads us through a wonderful world of spooks and ‘things’ and the illustrations that accompany the stories were really great.

My personal favorite story was ‘The Thing That Followed Me Home,’ while my son’s was ‘The Circling Bird.’

Tons of fun for young kids and the adults who’ll be reading along with them!

5/5

Title: Crystal Moth Conspiracy: Ash Born Book One

Author: Konn Lavery

Release date: June 20th, 2023

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

I’ve only read a few short stories and Konn’s novel ‘Rave,’ but even with that short page count of his work under my belt, I’ve already come to see and feel his writing voice, which shines brightly – even during the dirtiest of descriptions.

He’s created a world, called the Macrocosm, which I haven’t dove into yet, although I suspected this novel was related to that world before I started. Either way, with this donning the BOOK ONE label, I decided that whatever I’d need to know would be shared and away I went.

What I liked: The story follows Lola, a fugitive on the run, exposing others and getting herself into some trouble along the way. Now, she’s trying to avenge the death of her loved one’s (at the hands of the Crystal Moths) and deal with the growing reality of a new drug – Ash – becoming more and more predominant with users.

The story rockets along, twists and turns coming frequently, but no matter how crazy things get, Lavery remains in charge, writing with a steady and a sure hand, keeping the characters in check and the story steamrolling towards the violent, bitter end. It works that the characters feel so thoroughly fleshed out and honestly, there wasn’t even one I’d consider a throw away character, which in a book with this thick of a page count is an achievement on it’s own.

I’m not sure exactly how many into this series Konn has planned, but taken as a singular, the reader could invest in this one and be satisfied with how it ends (even with some very big questions still left to be answered).

I also want to add that the illustrations were a nice touch and really helped to heighten this strange world Lavery has created. A world that reminds me of the way Joseph Sale or Brian Fatah Steele conjure and create.

What I didn’t like: I think this book would’ve felt way more straight forward if it was the singular book I was reading and focusing on. As it was, I had eight books on the go, so I was diving into this one in snippets and short bites, before dedicating a few longer reading sessions. With a longer book like this, it definitely works better if you can dedicate the time to it, otherwise – much like I had to do a few times – you’ll be scratching your chin over who the hell certain characters were, until you remember!

Why you should buy this: Is this Urban Fantasy? Dark Fantasy with Horror? Hard to categorize (and not necessarily something that needs to be categorized) but if you’re looking for a really well done and engaging world, with a main character who should have her own TV show, look no further. Lola was such a solid lead and Lavery has really outdone himself with this one.

4.5/5

Title: The Daughter’s of Block Island

Author: Christa Carmen

Release date: December 1st, 2023

Huge thanks to Christa for sending me a digital ARC of her debut novel!

The Gothic novel. Ahhh… my old nemesis. Those dark corners, those subtle nods to the ‘otherness’ in the room… Much like Epistolary stories, Gothic stories can be a hit or miss for me, but having previously read (and greatly enjoyed) Christa’s work, I was very intrigued by what I’d discover on Block Island.

This novel reviews itself slowly, layer by layer as more of the story is revealed and it seems like the perfect October-curl-up-in-a-blanket-by-the-fire type novel, which I think will have fans of this type of story over the moon.

What I liked: The novel begins with Thalia receiving a letter from a sister she didn’t know she had. Blake has reached out from Block Island, a place Thalia told herself she’d never return to. After doing some digging, she discovers that Blake passed away not long after sending the letter – and that Blake was on Block Island, searching for her own mom she’d never met, having been giving up for adoption, as well as for Thalia, the sister she didn’t know she had.

Carmen does a wonderful job of keeping the complexities of this island and its inhabitants sinister, as though Blake (and later Thalia) and annoyances and intrusions, while being superficially friendly. It captures the feeling one gets well, when going on vacation and having those who wish you stayed away let you know they wished you stayed away.

There’s a delicate paint-brush-stroke-esque to the way Carmen reveals this story, a textured softness that belies the darkness that seeps into every cranny, a fascinating misting of the readers brain that says ‘don’t get too comfortable.’

This remains in place up to (and including the afterword) the very end, when the story opens wide and the reveals take place. While this novel does wear a lot of its influences on its sleeves, its that familiarity that keeps this grounded in a slow burning tension from page one until the very end.

What I didn’t like: Like most Gothic stories of any length I read, I do struggle with some of the pacing. Carmen keeps things moving and keeps the reader engaged, but for some it may possess a pace that is less than what they typically enjoy and will hinder their progression through such a wonderfully written novel.

Why you should buy this: This novel feels like a modern throwback to the classics, where a rain-soaked woman is illuminated by the flash of lightening, while she flees from the horror within the home.

Carmen has done an immaculate job of building the setting into the story as much as the characters drive the novel and throughout we get quick, sharp stabs of horror, which worked so well to keep the reader on their toes.

As for me, I enjoyed it, but still had to work my way through it, this type of novel not one I’d normally ever go out and choose. So, for me, this was a solid 3/5 read. For those who’ll eat this one up and are desperately waiting for this to arrive, it’ll be an easy 5/5. So, I’ll split the difference and go with a very solid 4/5 overall, and one I definitely suggest you grab if you love this type of book!

Title: They Stalk the Night

Author: Brian Moreland

Release date: October 10th, 2023

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Brian Moreland for the digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Brian Moreland yet? I feel like he’s a name I don’t see shared enough on social media, nor his books. I’ve read a half dozen of his releases and have found I’ve enjoyed them all and loved a few of them. I was on the fence about grabbing this one, but his novel Tomb of Gods was SOOOOO good, and knowing how much I love cold-weather, folklore, creature features, I simply couldn’t pass this one up and OHHHHH BABY am I glad I snagged this!

What I liked: Fade in… to a small town with a riddled past. Where a demonic beast has been kept at bay through the elders of the village ensuring spells are cast and hungers are fed.

Fast forward… to a company blasting to build a pipeline and KABLOOOOUUUEEEEYYYY!!! The sacred hut and land where the beast lives is blown sky high and with that, carnage is unleashed.

Honestly, I could simply leave it at that and you’re either gonna race to order this or think ‘meh, not for me.’ And that’s fair. But you’d be missing out on so much more.

Moreland LAYERS this novel and I mean layers it. We get a mother of two young kids trying to keep her head up while she deals with a husband who is checking out and his best friend who assaults her. This best friend also happens to be the son of the local sheriff. We get a poaching subplot, a ‘this is our land’ subplot and we get a ‘I’ll do what’s right for me and my own’ subplot. But throughout, the guiding narrative of the book is this massive beast, loosed on the land and filled with nothing but vengeance.

It was a really refreshing take on cold-weather terror and throughout, Moreland has infused the novel with characters that have real depth. Even the ones we hate we get to know, understand and it helps us to root for or against them, especially in the final quarter when all bets are off and chaos consumes everything.

The ending was really well done, tons of action and Moreland wrapped it up in a way that had me completely satisfied. It felt like he spent time actively ensuring all loose ends were tied off, which made for a completely unambiguous ending.

What I didn’t like: There’s a few characters that will really get under your skin in this one, but that works well for the story. What did slightly annoy me was that some of these characters begin to be teased out as having bigger roles, only to either fade away or meet a swift ending.

Why you should buy this: Fans of Moreland will know what to expect. This has all his classic notes he hits – solid creatures, great characters and propulsive writing. For those new to him, this would be a great diving in point, especially if you’re a fan of snowy mayhem.

5/5

Title: Deadlands

Author: Victoria Miluch

Release date: September 12, 2023

Right off the bat, I have to give credit to my pal Julie aka @grimdreadful over on IG for even putting this book onto my radar in the oddest way ever!

Did you know you can get a free Kindle book with Prime every month? I didn’t, lol! Not until Julie posted a Tik Tok about snagging her free Kindle book. I went and sure enough, Amazon had six or eight books available for me to choose from. I went through the various books and out of all of them, this one interested me the most.

The book itself is a fairly straight-forward novel about isolation and the struggle to survive, which are two big boxes I always look to check off when I’m choosing a book.

What I liked: Set in the near future, the novel follows Georgia, a nineteen-year-old female who lives with her father and brother, in the middle of nowhere near Phoenix. The world isn’t how it is today. Temperatures have skyrocketed, the air is hard to breathe in cities and a lot of the US is simply on fire. The government has decided to build up instead of out, wanting to build domes for people to live in, with fresh air, drinkable water and all the resources that have faded away over the years.

One day, two strangers arrive where Georgia and Wulf (her brother) live and it’s there that the novel ramps up. Now, I have to admit, having been a horror reader my entire life, I immediately distrusted these two. I was thinking Tremblay’s ‘Cabin…’ or the movie ‘The Strangers’ type scenarios the entire time I was reading it, which made it harder for me to relax and enjoy some of the coming-of-age moments Miluch shared throughout, especially as Georgia comes to understand that she wants to be ‘out there,’ to see the wider world, and not live in isolation and fear.

Her father is an interesting character. I’m not sure if anyone reading this has ever watched the kids animated show Dinosaur King, but all I could picture the dad looking and sounding like was Dr. Z, the bad guy of the show! Ultimately, the character is suspicious, untrusting and anti-government. He wants to do what’s best for his family, but is haunted by events from the past.

As the novel goes on, we get a welcome change of scenery, an introduction of another character, Herm, and when the ‘big moment’ that changes everything occurs, we see how it effects Georgia and how she reacts to it.

The ending will be very divisive for readers. It’ll either work for you or it won’t. For me, I enjoyed it and it felt like a really nice way of sending Georgia off into the larger world, but without an expectation of a sequel.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, you may find the ending to be a bit smooth, or like a song fading away, but I personally didn’t mind it.

What I didn’t like was the very obvious set up that a moment of intimacy was, as well as a very odd event involving Georgia’s father and one of the visitors in the woods. It’s a throw away moment over all, with her finding them doing something ‘adult,’ let’s say, but it really added nothing to the story. The other event, was fairly telegraphed early on that it would play a significant role later on in the progression, so much so, that when it does happen, it’s a bit of a let down.

Why you should buy it: If you’re looking for a cinematic story of a young girl trying to find her own way in the world, look no further. Miluch has really created an engaging world, a great cast of characters and the internal struggle between devotion to family and the longing to break away and find ones self was wonderfully done.

4/5

Title: Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories

Author: Patrick Barb

Release date: Sept 26, 2023

Huge thanks to Patrick and Keylight Books for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Patrick’s novella ‘Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare’ yet?!?!

The reason I bring that up is two-fold.

1st – it is BRILLIANT and will make you an instant fan of Patrick’s work.

2nd – the atmosphere that Barb created within that novella is a perfect way to describe the atmosphere in this collection.

This is haunting. Bleak. Profound. Unsettling. Over and over again, rapid-fire in some instances, Barb sets the ball up and then knocks it out of the park, destroying the reader in the process.

What I liked: Time and time again, while reading these stories, Barb would deliver a story that had me think ‘Yup, that one, that’s my favorite of the batch,’ before the next one would arrive, and I’d repeat that thought. It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection that was just so heartbreaking. Andrew F. Sullivan’s collection that I recently read was close, a batch of real-life folks dealing with real-life sorrow, but this one just went an extra amount in the despondency conveyed and it made for a tough but worthwhile experience.

Let’s go through a few of my personal favorite stories.

This all begins with ‘Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit.’ It is exactly what the title suggests, where a small child has wandered away from the campsite. His parents are frantic, and a local legend suggests that a mother bear lurks around to steal kids. It all culminates in an ending that made me shudder.

‘Rose From the Ashes’ was an interesting look at someone connecting with the souls of those who’ve recently departed in a funeral home.

‘And Our Next Guest’ was a chaotic and anxiety-fueled look at ‘live’ late night TV and had a really engaging twist.

‘I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script’ as a unique take on and with mixed media. This was a blast to read and one that will stay with readers for a long time after.

‘Pre-Approved for Haunting’ might be the title story but it wasn’t something simply thrown in because of that. We follow a ghost hunter who gets called back to the same house over many different years with many different owners. It made me grin the entire time.

When it was all said and done, my personal favorite was ‘Melvin and The Murder Crayon.’ With shades of the novella, I mentioned previously, this one was simply heartbreaking and as a non-American, feels like something completely and totally avoidable. I loved this story, but it makes me feel ill inside when I use the word ‘love’ for this one.

What I didn’t like: While the stories throughout were all really solid and enjoyable, some just didn’t connect with me. Very common with collections (and anthologies) and in this case a few just didn’t rattle my brain the same way the others did.

Why you should buy this: If you’re already a fan of Barb’s work this is a no-brainer to grab. If you’ve not read his work yet, this is a really great place to dive in and discover why Barb is quickly becoming a must-read author for so many readers.

4/5