The Hollowed Land: A Brother's Keeper Novella - by Glen Krisch - The story of Kip Redfield

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Glen released the first novel in his Brother's Keeper series in December of 2014.  Arkadium Rising is a character driven story of survival in a post apocalyptic world brought about by the Anaki.

The Hollowed Land is a novella set in the Brother's Keeper universe and is the story of Kip Redfield and Delaney Innsburg, making their way through the crumbling metropolis formerly known as Chicago.  It's five years after the event known as Election Day, the day that changed the world forever.

Within the main story of The Hollowed Land is the tale of how Kip came to be a part of the Anaki.  In a short time, Krisch develops some memorable characters and the scene in chapter two where Kip is locked in his room and his mother is taking physical abuse from his father over Kip's request to go on an outing with his new friends is particularly powerful.

What happens when Kip finishes telling his story to Delaney is both unexpected and satisfying.

The Hollowed Land can certainly be read as a stand alone piece, but Arkadium Rising is such a good story, you might want to start there.

The Hollowed Land is available now for the Kindle at Amazon.com.

Highly recommended and a nice introduction to Glen Krisch if you've not read him before.

Revelation - A Forever Man Novel - by Brian W. Matthews - A heart-pounding race to save mankind from itself

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

I can't believe it's been 2 years and four days since I reviewed the original Forever Man novel, a work I liked so much I gave it 5 stars.  As far as the sequel goes, Revelation is even better than the original.

A fascinating mix of religion and adventure thrown into a blender with Brian W. Matthews' wild imagination. The result is a brilliant story that in some ways seems all too plausible.

Because what I read was an Advance Readers Copy, I'm not permitted to quote from the text (in case changes are made), so I'll have to restrain myself and just say there are some wickedly cool scenes in Revelation.

Filled with terrific characters, Miles Knight stands out as a milquetoast non-believer and the most unlikely of heroes.

Even if you haven't read the original book, which I suggest you do, Revelation works well as a stand alone novel.

Revelation is available now in paperback and a variety of electronic formats from the JournalStone website.

This one comes with my highest recommendation.

Masters of Blood and Bone - by Craig Saunders - Strange yet compelling

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

I am close to a loss for words.  Masters of Blood and Bone is a stream of consciousness adventure that lives up to the quote from Franz Kafka at the beginning of the book. "I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us.  If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?"  After reading this latest work from Craig Saunders, that's pretty much how I feel.

Craig sets the mood for the rest of his work with the first three paragraphs...

It's impossible to fake being a wizard.  You can fake many, many things: Tans, orgasms, speeding car and fart noises for small children.

But true wizards are not prestidigitators, just as books are not lies.  They are magic.

Magic.

After just a few more paragraphs, I know I'm going to enjoy this read.  Sometimes, you just know. The mood, the writing style, the characters, the pacing.  It all comes together and before you know it, it's over.  And that's a bit sad, but at the same time you feel completely satisfied.  Like a fine meal at a 5- Star restaurant.  You're completely sated, yet you wish it wasn't over.

Wizards, gods, Charon, and Cerberus all make appearances in this delightfully strange book.

This was my first read from Craig Saunders and I know I'll be going back for more in the future.

Masters of Blood and Bone  is published by Darkfuse and is available right now at Amazon.com. Plus, if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this one at no additional charge, and if you are an Amazon Prime member you can make this one your monthly FREE read.

Highly recommended.

The Eterna Files - by Leanna Renee Hieber - A search for a cure for death in the late in 1882

3 of 5 Stars     Review copy

I wanted and expected to like The Eterna Files much more than I did.

Set in New York City and London in 1882, and dealing with spiritualism and parallel searches for a cure for death, it really seemed like something I would enjoy.

Although, I found the story to be intriguing at the start. It soon became too wordy, as moments of sheer delight were separated by page upon page of pure boredom.

The writer would go off on tangents and then seemingly drop those ideas and either return to the original storyline or go off on another tangent.  In addition, the end of the story gave me zero satisfaction.  It's almost as if it's a set up for a sequel, though I hope not.

The Eterna Files is available in hardback and as an ebook from Tor, a division of Macmillan publishers, through various retailers.

This is one I can't readily recommend, but as always, your reading experience may vary.

The Lurking Season - by Kristopher Rufty - In the tradition of the best slasher movies

4 of 5 Stars    Review copy

There is a lot to like in this new novel from Kristopher Rufty.  Mainly a well constructed story in the slasher sub-genre.  Sex-crazed young adults being picked off one by one, but not by a single psychopath, instead by hundreds of mean little humanoid creatures called Haunchies.

One thing that bothered me though was the marketing for The Lurking Season. (Not the author's fault), but nowhere in the promotional material did I see that this was a sequel to The Lurkers.  Had I known that going in, I may have been reluctant to read this particular book.  I'm not a big fan of reading sequels when I haven't read the original, but once I started I decided to keep going.  I did find that The Lurking Season can stand on it's own, but at the same time, I felt I was missing something.

The other thing that caused me not to give this book top marks was the way the sexual content was handled.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not a prude, I love sex, but there is a base story here about a group of idealistic young people who are on their way to the, out of the way, town of Doverton essentially to refurbish a property to be used as a safe-haven for victims of sexual abuse.  I  got the feeling that somewhere along the way someone thought we can put anything of a horrible sexual nature in the book, because the principal characters are there to do something positive to combat sexual abuse. Like that would cancel out any other content.  That thought aside, there is plenty of sex, rape situations, and one character in particular that the Haunchies use for breeding purposes that is flat out disgusting.  If you are put off by this type of stuff, steer clear of the Lurking Season.

The negatives aside,  The Lurking Season succeeds within the framework of a good old fashioned slice 'em up horror story.

From Samhain publishing's horror division, The Lurking Season is available in paperback and ebook formats.

Recommended with the above warning for abusive sexual content.

SNAFU: Wolves at the Door - edited by G. N. Braun - Another in the Military Horror anthology series, this time featuring werewolves

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

G. N. Braun at Cohesion Press has discovered a formula for anthology gold. It all began in August of 2014 with the release of the original SNAFU anthology. The idea was to combine a military story with horror.  In the original there were all kinds of monsters, then in November we were given SNAFU: Heroes, again with a wide variety of monsters.  I loved both books and are both still available for purchase.

This time, it's SNAFU: Wolves at the Door.  The overall idea is the same, military stories with a touch of horror, but the monsters are limited to werewolves and by the time I got the the end I was actually a bit tired of this sub-genre.  SNAFU: Wolves at the Door contains 8 shorts and then a novella length story from James A. Moore to wrap it all up.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this volume in the SNAFU series.  There were some very good tales here.

It starts with a very entertaining story from R.P.L. Johnson.  "Taking Down the Top Cat," about a military unit tracking down a drug kingpin into Olmec artifacts.   The action comes fast and furious and the writing is top notch.  "Suddenly he became very aware of his place on the food chain and knew it was not the top."

"Skadi's Wolves," by Kirsten Cross features Norse mythology, an epic battle, and the unexpected.

David W. Amendola's, "The Fenrir Project," is the obligatory, but effective tale of a German project to create super-soldiers.

The best of the bunch is saved for last in the form of a novella from James A. Moore.  This one story alone is worth the purchase price.  It's like getting the other eight tales for free.  "The Wild Hunt," is about a group of werewolves that have been wronged and the lengths they go to to get their revenge. At times dark and visceral, I found it to be a fresh and original werewolf story.

SNAFU: Wolves at the Door is available now from Cohesion Press through Amazon.com.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this one at no additional charge.  Plus, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow this book for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Recommended.

That Hoodoo, Voodoo That You Do - edited by Lincoln Crisler - A Dark Rituals Anthology

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Lincoln Crisler is very busy.  Having just released his first full length novel Skinjumper, in November of 2014 (definitely worth a look), he's back now as editor of a new anthology of Dark Ritual tales from Angelic Knight Press who were recently acquired as the Horror imprint for Ragnarok Publications.

That Hoodoo, Voodoo That You Do is brimming with 22 tales of ritualistic horror.  The title itself may be a bit of a misnomer as there are an extremely diverse assortment of rituals found between the pages of this new volume, with only one or two finding their horror in Hoodoo or Voodoo.  But, truth be told, that's not really important.  What's important is the quality of the stories.  With few exceptions, these are tales that take you to dark places where people will do whatever they have to do to get what they desire.  Not always with the results they are looking for.

Before we get to the stories, just a nod of the hat to Joe Martin for the cover art and Shawn King for the cover design.  Nice team-work guys.

There are a few familiar names in this collection, but most are new to me, like Sara Hans who starts us off with the story of a young girl who's talent must be protected by an experienced Voodoo Queen in "Sa fe lontan / Long Time No See."

I don't what to get into commenting on all 22 stories.  I'd be here all day and there are other books to read.  But just a few highlights, if you'll indulge me.

Ken Golden's story was really good.  "Young Girls Are Coming To Ajo."  There's a saying about Ajo. "It's where summer meets the winter."  It's also where winter becomes spring, in a story that is beyond disturbing.

Some familiar names for me include Tim Marquitz, Greg Chapman, Edward M. Erdelac, N. X. Sharps (a pseudonym that was easy to decode), and Timothy Baker with a truely disgusting, but ultimately enjoyable story about "The Projectionist."

I think my favorite story is from Rose Strickman who tells the story of Sarah, who owns a bake shop called Missus Cupcake. and what happens when she and her friends plan to have a party to help Sarah get over a recent breakup with a smug real estate broker. "Gingerbread Man" is delicious.

One thing I would have liked, and I admit I'm nitpicking here, is a bit of info about each of the authors in the anthology. Before the stories, after the stories, or at the end of the book. There are just so may new authors here, it would have been nice to have a bit about who they are to go with the stories.

Overall, That Hoodoo, Voodoo That You Do  is a very enjoyable way for horror fans to spend a few evenings or for anyone who enjoys a few good scares.

That Hoodoo, Voodoo That You Do  is available now for the Kindle through Amazon.com from Angelic Knight Press, the new Horror imprint of Ragnarok Publications.

Recommended.