Saturday, March 19, 2016

Dead Shift - by John Llewellyb Probert - Fun with Lovecraftian horror

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

There's something off about Arthur Lipscomb who finds himself on the fifth floor of Appleton Court, at the very center of the Northcote housing project.  It's a building that's been abandoned and scheduled for demolition, but an old book, written in an archaic language, has drawn Arthur to this very location.  The book demands he perform a ritual, one that require requires his blood. Before he can complete his mission a security guard shows up and because of his condition, Arthur is rushed to the emergency room at Northcote hospital.

Dr. Richard Dearden is near the end of his shift in the emergency room.  When Arthur is brought in, Health Care Auxillary, Kerry Morris commented "...he was rambling about gods and monsters and parallel universes.  I though I was in the X Files for a minute."

The overall feel of Dead Shift was familiar, yet there were a few genuine surprises, enough to keep the story fresh.

In addition to a bit of Lovecraftian horror, there are elements of The Evil Dead series in Dead Shift.   The scene in the hospital morgue is to die for. (Pun intended).

This book was a lot of fun, particularly if you enjoy inter-dimensional monsters and such. Things like monsters, zombies, and fungi...oh my (I couldn't resist).

Dead Shift is available from Horrific Tales Publishing in both paperback and e-book formats. 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 borrow the book for FREE from the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Recommended.

John Llewellyn Probert won the 2013 British Fantasy Award for his novella The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine and 2015 saw the publication of its sequel, The Hammer of Dr. Valentine. He is the author of over a hundred published short stories, six novellas, one collection, and the novel The House That Death Built.




No comments:

Post a Comment