At Hell's Gates: Volume One - edited by Monique Happy & James Crawford - A benefit horror anthology with lots of zombies

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

At Hell's Gates: Volume One is the brain child of Devan Sagliani who floated the idea around in his writer's group to see if they would like to pool their talents and use them for good in some way.  The result is a nifty little horror anthology, heavy on the zombies and featuring some genre writers I'm already a fan of, as well a a number of new voices for me, which is always fun.

All of the proceeds benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, an organization that does much to care for the brave men and women who have suffered in the line of duty and for the families of injured and deceased soldiers.

For me, it took a few stories for At Hell's Gates: Volume One to begin to hit it's stride.  "Time of Death Perspectives: Ollie Ollie Oxen Free," by Shana Festa was just a killer story.  It could be because I was already familiar with the "Time of Death" world, but more likely, I think it's because Shana "gets it" when writing zompoc fiction.

Some of the other notable stories include, "Nefarious," by Stevie Kopas, an enjoyable zombie story about maternal instincts and caring for your toddler zombies.  I thought "Journal of the Undead: The Beginning," by S. G. Lee was one of the better stories with a new Army Doc volunteering to serve at an undisclosed front line of a secret operation.  Yep, zombies.

"Princess and the Flea," written by Paul Mannering, a new writer to me, and someone I need to read more of.  Quite the original story, delightfully told, and worth the $2.99 purchase price all by itself.

They're not all zombie stories.  There's an interesting ghost story from J.M. Martin, called "The Hour of the Beast," and "The Err Apparent," a Demon Squad short by Tim Marquitz that is just flat-out fun.

Then it's back to zombies with a couple of above average stories in "Cracked: A Deadland Saga Short Story," by Rachal Aukes and "Undead Britain," by Frank Tayell.

Overall, a fun collection for a worthwhile cause and a good way to sample a few genre writers you may not be familiar with.  One negative is the number of proofreading errors.  There seemed to be at least one in nearly every story.  I choose to forgive since the effort is for charity, but it would be nice to keep an eye on that for future volumes.

At Hell's Gates: Volume One is available now at Amazon.com for just a few bucks and if you are into zombies, it's worth every penny.

https://www.fallenheroesfund.org/

The Halloween Children - by Brian James Freeman & Norman Prentiss - Delightfully disturbing

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

For more than a decade, publisher Paul Miller has celebrated his favorite holiday with the release of a novel of flat-out horror, usually featuring classic terrors such as monsters and haunted houses rather than psychological suspense or real-life horrors.

This year, it's the story of The Halloween Children, written by Brain James Freeman and Norman Prentiss.

"The Halloween Children are everywhere and they know our fears" - written in black marker on a bench outside the Still brook apartments.

From a survivor..."When did you realize something wasn't right that Halloween night?"  After a long pause.  "When I discovered that so many of my neighbors were dead."

The story is primarily told through the eyes of Harris and Lynn Naylor, parents of Mattie, their son, and daughter, Amber.  A couple with distinctly different parenting styles creating an interesting dichotomy as Harris favorites Mattie, and Lynn, Amber.

Harris works as a handyman at the Stillbrook Apartments where his boss has just decided to cancel the complex's traditional Halloween party.

The Halloween Children is suitably creepy and scary with voices in the walls, a dead body that just disappears, and a story by Amber Naylor, as told to Mother, called, "The Bad Place."

I found this Halloween treat to be delightfully disturbing and along the way there are some wonderfully gruesome surprises.

The Halloween Children is available as a limited edition hardcover, signed by both authors, from Earthling Publications.  With a print run of only 500 copies, you'll want to get your order in soon if you want to read this one for Halloween.

Strongly recommended.

Drought - by Graham Masterton - A great "what would happen if" read

4 of 5 stars     Review copy

Over the past three years the lack of any significant rainfall has brought large portions of the US to a crisis point.  One of the worst hit areas is San Bernardino, California.

What would happen if the temperature was hitting 120 everyday and the Governor instituted "Rotational hiatuses" for water service.  Suddenly there is no water at all for the city's poorest neighborhoods.  The announced "plan" is 48 hours off in one area and then to restore water there and turn it off in other areas, but 48 hours becomes 60 and there's still no water.  The result is rioting, looting.  People are dying.

Meanwhile, in the city's more affluent neighborhood, the greens at the Country Club continue to be watered.

Martin Makepeace  works for the San Bernardino County Children & Family Services.  Ex-Marine with an ex-wife and two children.  Martin is a bit unconventional as a social worker.  Very protective of his charges and he takes no crap from those who would do them harm.  Martin is called into his boss's office where he meets Saskia Vane from the the Governor's special task force set up to deal with the drought emergency.  They need Martin's assistance to help reassure his clients that the water restrictions are only temporary.  If only that was true.

Graham Masterton's Drought is filled with characters pushed to the breaking point.  Even Martin Makepeace, the undeniable hero of the story is forced to take what would be considered despicable actions under normal circumstances.

A devastating drought, a corrupt government, a private security force run by a madman, rioters, looters, and then there is Santos, a Native American, who knows the location of Lost Girl Lake, and attempts to lead Martin and a group of family and friends to it's hidden location.

Drought gets off to a fast start and doesn't let up until the last page.  The horror in Drought is the potential reality of the situation.  Many of the conditions that make this story work exist today in the real world.  Drought is a well-told tale of survival against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Please be advised, there is a good bit of graphic sex and violence in this book.

Drought  is currently available as a hard -cover from Severn House Publishers through Amazon.com.

Recommended.

I'm Not Guilty: The Case of Ted Bundy (The Development of the Violent Mind Book 1) - by Al Carlisle Ph.D

4 of 5 Stars     Review Copy

As a rule, I review fiction, generally horror fiction, but as we all know rules are made to be broken.  I'm Not Guilty: The Case of Ted Bundy (The Development of the Violent Mind Book 1) is the exception to the rule.

The book, through various interviews with Ted Bundy, and then distilled into a mock interview format, takes the reader through the time leading up to his first murder right through his last.

The author, Dr. Al Carliisle, was a psychologist who was involved in the 90-day evaluation of Bundy after his conviction for the 1974 attempted abduction of Carol DaRonch.

What follows is an amazing story of a man who was able to get a college degree, begin law school, and maintain mostly normal relationships, all while killing numerous co-eds over a number of years.

In the end, after reading I'm Not Guilty, I would have to say I'm likely to be a much less trusting individual.  You just never know.

I'm Not Guilty: The Case of Ted Bundy (The Development of the Violent Mind Book 1) is published by Genius Book Publishing in both paperback and Kindle formats and is available now.

If you enjoy non-fiction with a bent toward horror, I can certainly recommend I'm Not Guilty: The Case of Ted Bundy (The Development of the Violent Mind Book 1).

Be sure to check out StoryBundle’s newly live Supernatural Suspense package

If you follow this blog with any regularity, you know how much I love horror, and how much I also love a bargain.

Today, I stumbled upon a combination of the two that was too good to overlook and I felt was worth passing along to the faithful.

In the words of Brian Hodge...

"It’s not an all-you-can-eat buffet; more like a gigantic bucket of creepy chicken.

I’m part of StoryBundle’s newly live Supernatural Suspense package, along with David Wilson (who curated the thing), Elizabeth Massie, Chet Williamson,Tom Monteleone, Al Sarrantonio, Thomas Sullivan, Aaron Rosenberg, Mike Baron, and Clive Barker. My own title in the roster is NIGHTLIFE, which won the acclaim of no less a deity to me than Robert B. Parker."

If you are at all interested, just follow the link below and enjoy...


http://storybundle.com/suspense

Preview of Pretty Little Dead Girls - by Mercedes M. Yardley - Sequel to Nameless: The Darkness Comes, the first book in The Bone Angel trilogy.

  

Elegant Murder and Tragic Prose are in the Stars This Fall

Mercedes M. Yardley’s New Release is Nothing Short of Beautiful

Monday, September 8th—Crestview Hills, KY—“Murder and whimsy.” These things may sound incompatible, but dark fantasy author Mercedes M. Yardley’s latest novel manages to entwine the two concepts with lyrical language, beautiful imagery—and a high body count.

Ragnarok Publications is proud to announce the release of Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy, coming on September 29th. A dark but lovely fairy tale, this is Yardley at her finest: a tapestry of lush imagery, poetic prose, and beautiful violence about a woman destined to be murdered and her flight from Fate’s inevitable—yet seemingly terrible—marksmanship.

Yardley’s fans are no strangers to her lovely, tragic style. She is also the author of the acclaimed novella “Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love”, winner of the 2013 Reddit Stabby Award for Best Short Fiction, and the novel Nameless: The Darkness Comes, the first of The Bone Angel trilogy.

The creation of Pretty Little Dead Girls was something special for Yardley, however: “Pretty Little Dead Girls was created out of sheer joy,” Yardley says. “I've never experienced anything like it. This novel was written in three weeks. It bled from my pores, it was so intense. But so joyful.”

Hugo award-winning artist Galen Dara was commissioned to create a cover image that would capture the idea of lovely murder. The result, coupled with the design skills of J.M. Martin, is absolutely stunning. So stunning, in fact, that Ragnarok Publications has decided to release a special, limited hardcover edition of the book. Only one hundred of these signed hardcovers will be available, and preorders have already begun.

Also included in the package for the pre-ordered hardcovers is a signed print from artist Orion Zangara, renowned for creating fairy tales with his lavish pen and ink drawings. Dark and evocative, this stunning image by Zangara was made with a particular scene from Pretty Little Dead Girls in mind.

Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy is not just a novel; with the poignant words

of Mercedes M. Yardley, and the haunting images of both Dara and Zangara, it is, without a doubt, a work of art.

***

The special signed hardcover edition of Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy, along with the Orion Zangara print, is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER. http://www.ragnarokpub.com/#!apocmon-boneangel/c234g

The Thirteenth Child - by David Dean - A very creepy and original horror story

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

This is a re-read and a follow-up review of a novel I first read in November of 2012.  Since that time, David Dean has gone back and reworked some of the story.  Fleshing out his monster a bit, bringing some vampire aspects into the mix, and adding some additional jeopardy for his main suspect. My final opinion.  It's still a great original horror story.

Someone or something is abducting children in Wessex Township, NJ.  Caught in the middle is Preston Howard, the town drunk and father of Fanny who works in the community as a librarian.

Howard has seen the children and he's also seen something else, something that, given his proclivity for alcohol, no one is likely to believe.

To complicate matters even more, Fanny has just become involved in a relationship with the town's Sheriff, Nicholas Catesby.

David Dean does a superb job of balancing the facts with supposition in the case of the missing children.  Is the creature real or is near-constant inebriation causing Howard to do the unspeakable and concoct an unbelievable tale to keep himself out of jail?

The author has done a very good job of creating characters that are complete in all of their idiosyncrasies and are convincing in their individual roles.

The Thirteenth Child  is available now in both e-book and paperback formats, from Genius Book Publishing, through Amazon.com.

Still highly recommended.