Got Your Back - by John McIlveen - A clever horror novelette

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

In 2015, I was fortunate enough to read 142 books.  In January of 2016, I posted my 10 favorite reads of the year gone by.  My #1 favorite read of last year was a debut novel from John McIlveen, called Hannahwhere.  That same book has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in the category, Superior Achievement in a First Novel.  If you haven't read this book, I strongly recommend you correct that oversight.

John just published a new novelette and I jumped at the opportunity to check it out.  Got Your Back is a quick read, coming in at a mere 50 pages, but it's just as enjoyable as his longer work from last year.

Ricky Briggs wakes up one morning and notices something is not right.  He can't get out of bed.  He can barely move.  And he can't even turn his head.  "It wasn't pain and the difficulty to move that worried him, but the lack of pain and the difficulty to move."

What the Doctors discover is astonishing, truth be told, his condition is unheard of.

An unexpected visitor, that only Ricky can see, reveals the reason for his predicament.  But is it too late to save himself and his marriage?

Got Your Back is a clever little fantasy tale, easily read in a single sitting.  It's a play on words with some very nice twists.

Got Your Back is available now in both paperback and e-book formats.

Certainly recommended.

In addition to Hannawhere and Got Your Back, John is also the author of two story collections, Inflictions and Jerks and Other Tales from a Perfect Man.  He is the father of five daughters, works at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, and lives in Haverhill, MA with his fiancée, Roberta Colasanti.

The Seeds of Nightmares - by Tony Tremblay - An impressive collection of short stories

5 of 5 Stars

I've been reading Tony Tremblay for a few years now, but this is the first time I've read any of his fiction.  Most of what I've read previously are his posts on Facebook.  Tons of them.  Tony has quite the presence on social media and that's a good thing, particularly if you're a fan of literary horror.  Tony's support of the genre is nothing short of legendary.  If you're a fan of Horror, as I am, he's certainly worth following on Facebook.

When I saw he was releasing his first book of short stories, I had to see what he had to offer, and I'm happy to report it's a book worth getting excited about. The Seeds of Nightmares features thirteen stories, some previously published, many new to this collection, all entertaining in their individual ways.

One of the nice things about this collection is the series of author's notes before each story, giving the reader some insight into how the story came about and it's history.

The Strange Saga of Mattie Dyer - Weird westerns are a lot of fun and when you mix in a bit of H.P. Lovecraft, well, get ready for a wild ride, and just when you think the worst is over...oh, no!

The Old Man - A bit of noir and a clever tale of mistaken identity.

The Burial Board - A burial board, meant to keep the body of a couple's deceased daughter until the ground thaws for internment, seems to have mystical powers.

Something New - A haunting fantasy story of a man who comes home to find his wife in the arms of another man.

Stardust - A melancholic fantasy tale that leads from pain to wonder.

The Soldier's Wife - A powerful ghost story with a gut-wrenching twist.

Tsunami - The author's backstory for this tale is fascinating.  When you read The Seeds of Nightmares be sure to read the author's notes.  Tsunami is the story of a family torn apart by disaster. It's only natural to grasp at any ray of hope to be together again. But, oh, what a twist.

The Black Dress - "Dash had killed her a little over two months ago."  Her revenge is oh, so sweet.

Chiyoung and Dongsun's Song - Another story with a colorful history.  A titillating and humorous tale of forbidden love.

Husband of Kellie - Many of Tony's stories have an unexpected twist and this one is a doozy.

An Alabama Christmas - A gruesomely dark tale of an Alabama Christmas.

The Pawnshop - My favorite story in the collection.  A fine tale of the lengths we are willing to go for family.

The Visitors - There's a touch of fantasy mixed in with many of the horror stories in this collection. The Visitors is a perfect example.

The Seeds of Nightmares is available as an e-book and is published by Crossroad Press.

Highly recommended.

In addition to being a horror fiction writer, Tony Tremblay is also a founding member and host of The Taco Society Presents, a series of webcasts featuring horror books and the people who write them. You can find the episodes on YouTube and they are definitely worth checking out.

American Nocturne - by Hank Schwaeble - A fine collection of horror and speculative fiction

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

There are so many talented writers working in the fields of horror and speculative fiction that I'm constantly discovering authors I've not read before who immediately leave me wanting to read more of their work.  Case in point, Hank Schwaeble.  Prior to being sent a copy of this new collection from Cohesion Press, I'd never even heard of him.  Maybe I just need to get out more or stay in and read more.

Jonathan Maberry, an author I have read and greatly respect, has penned an excellent introduction to Hank Schwaeble in general and specifically to American Nocturne.  In essence, he says Hank is the real deal, and that's good enough for me.

Five of the stories in American Nocturne are original, never-before-published (“American Nocturne,” “Cold Service,” “Nurture,” “Natural Selection,” and “A Murmur of Evil”). The remainder are reprints. But, if you are new to Hank’s work, as I was, that shouldn’t make any difference.

American Nocturne - This piece truly sets the mood for the rest of the stories as it opens with a gal at the piano in a nearly empty bar.  This quote pretty much sums up all of the stories which follow. "Pieces like this are call nocturnes.  They're meant to capture the mood of the night, remind one of things that happen after dark."  This particular story has the prose of a classic noir tale.  Things aren't always what they seem and the truth is much darker than what you might expect.

Midnight Bogey Blues - A bogey is a demon of sorts in this imaginative story of a serial killer traveling down a country road with a severed head in the truck's cab with him.

Gomorrah - In this story, a group of guys plan on a night of gay bashing, but things certainly don't go as planned.  It also features one of the most disgusting opening lines ever. I can't even bring myself to quote it here.  It's really gross.

Bone Daddy - A tale of a high priced call girl talked into an on-camera liaison with a very unusual partner.

Phantom Hill - Trying to find man with a pure heart in the weird west is anything, but easy.

A Murmur of Evil - And right in the middle of the collection is a Carl Kolchak story.  What a pleasant surprise.

Nurture - One of my favorite stories in the collection and one of the best I've read this year. A cringe-worthy tale of rival academics.

To Judge the Quick - More fun in the weird west.  A story of a cross and a double cross.

Mugwumps - A very effective way of making one's enemies disappear without a trace.

Cold Service - Another cool story, this one with a huge twist.

Natural Selection - A Lovecraftian tale, and a good one at that.

AB-IV - A story set in the world of Robot vs. Zombies, a retro-futuristic comic book universe created by Chris Rydall and Ashley Wood where the human population  is facing extinction and pre-programmed robots are waging a post-apocalyptic war against a zombie plague that has blanketed the Earth.

Each story in American Nocturne has it's own distinct voice, it's own feel, it's own flavor.   It's not at all like a single writer telling a series of stories.  It's almost as if each story was written by a different writer.

American Nocturne is available now as an e-book from Cohesion Press.  If  you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this collection at no additional charge.  Also, if you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can borrow this book for FREE from the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

This is one collection I can seriously recommend.

Hank's first short story, "Mugwumps," (which is included in this collection) appeared in the anthology Alone on the Darkside in 2006.  In 2007, he won a Bram Stoker Award for the anthology Five Strokes to Midnight, which he co-edited with Gary Braunbeck.  The book was highly regarded, winning two Bram Stoker Awards and a World Fantasy Award nomination.

Hank is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers Association.  In addition to reading and writing, Hank enjoys keeping in shape and playing guitar. He is currently working on his next novel.

The Custodian of Marvels: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, Book Three - by Rod Duncan - A fitting conclusion to the series

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

The first book in this trilogy, The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire #1), came out in August of 2014.  At the time, I called it "a beautiful tale of mystery and intrigue.wildly imaginative, and entertaining,"

Unseemly Science (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire #2) was released in April of 2015.  Not quite as much fun as book one, but still a solid read.

Now comes The Custodian of Marvels: (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #3), a near perfect end to the trilogy.  All of the mysteries are resolved with a fresh story to conclude the adventures of Elizabeth Barnabus and her traveling companions.

In the tales that make up The Fall of the Gal-Lit Empire the author has created a not so United Kingdom following a civil war which left England split into two separate countries, the Kingdom and the Anglo-Scottish Republic. Then there's the all-powerful Patent Office meant to protect the citizenry from technology and mechanical devices.

The patent Office, it all comes back to the Patent Office, where Elizabeth and her cohorts endeavor to break in, believing this is where all of their questions may be answered by the custodian of marvels.  What they find is not what they expect, in more ways than one.

All three books in the series are published by Angry Robot Books and are available in a wide variety of formats for your reading and listening pleasure.

Although each story works as a stand-alone novel, I recommend reading to entire series for maximum enjoyment.

Rod Duncan is a British writer who grew up in Aberystwyth. Identified as dyslexic at the age of eight he made his way through the education system by avoiding writing as much as possible.

Being dyslexic, it was the invention of the word processor that enabled him to develop his storytelling and writing skills. He now cleverly uses dictation software as a tool in the writing process.

The Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools by Nick Mamatas

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Despite having the word "Zombies" in the title this novel is far from your typical zombie fare.  If you're looking for a brain munching gore-fest, you may want to look elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you're familiar with the Billy Wilder directed film-noir, The Lost Weekend,  based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer, then you're in for a real treat.

It is within this context that The Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools is a great success.

In post apocalyptic San Francisco, Vasilis “Billy” Kostopolos, failed writer and accomplished barfly, finds work as a "driller" for the city.  It's his job to respond to calls to find the newly dead and destroy the brain before they can reanimate.  There's a great line in his interview for the job where one of the interviewers asks his current occupation.  When Billy responds with writer, the second interviewer tells the first to put down "unemployed."

Mamatas fills this story with interesting characters, top to bottom, even incidental characters, like a typewriter salesman, are fully fleshed out.

The Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools is a solid literary work on the life a "writer" after the onset of the zombie apocalypse.

First published in March of 2014 by PS Publishing, The Last Weekend: A Novel of Zombies, Booze, and Power Tools is now available in Hardback, Paperback, and e-book formats from Night Shade Books.

Recommended.

Nick Mamatas is the author of six and a half novels and several collections.  Nick is also an anthologist and editor of short fiction including the Bram Stoker Award-inning Haunted Legends (co-edited with Ellen Datlow).  His fiction and editorial work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award five times, the Hugo Award twice, the World Fantasy Award twice, and the Shirley Jackson, International Horror Guild, and Locus Awards.

Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast by Jonathan Winn - Five novellas of the horrors found in a single tenement

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

2016 is only a few weeks old and already it's showing signs of being a banner year for horror.

Whether you're snowbound or it's too cold to venture outside or you're just looking for a great read, Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast will keep you warm and entertained for hours.

From the description of the book on the publisher's website. "One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards."   If that's not enough to drag you through the front door, kicking and screaming, let me introduce you to the tenants on the first floor.

Apartment 1A - Lucky  A powerful and jarring story of a Chinese child named for a silent screen goddess, who ended her life with a fistful of sleeping pills, at the too-young age of twenty-four.  Little Ruan would grow to become a legend known as Lucky.  "Lucky the Killer, Lucky the Devil, Lucky the Shadow."  Now in her eighties, the story is told in retrospect as Ruan interacts with the ghosts of her past.

Apartment 1B - Bullet  A story of a man with a new tattoo which leads to all kinds of problems. Here's just sample of what Jonathan has to offer here. "'I do tats,' she'd said. Goth chick with a Daddy's Girl Gone Bad vibe.  Hair fifty shades of black.  Bangs chopped with a razor.  Big eyes rimmed with black.  Skin whiter than rich kid coke.  Dark blue smeared on her lips.  Metal in her ears, nose, chin.  Her small bright teeth chewing dollar store blue from her stubby nails."  This story reads like a very strange trip, indeed.

Apartment 1C -Click  This apartment is occupied by Colton Carryage, son of a wealthy Senator. Wealthy enough to get his son off from some very nasty business that occurred during Colton's time at college.  Unfortunately, Colton didn't seem to learn his lesson, if anything the experience has turned him into something even more twisted and disturbed.

Apartment 1D - Anniversary  This line pretty much says it all. "I met my beloved Benjy one month, married him the next, and then we spent the following fifty years happily trying to kill each other. By choice."  This is a somewhat lighter tale of the various failed attempts over those fifty years.

Apartment 1E - Umbra  After sorta accidentally wishing her folks dead, Umbra is dropped off to live with her Gran on Eidolon Avenue.  We learn more about the building through this story as Umbra seems to develop a relationship with a stain on the wall in her room

Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast is not for the casual reader.  This is a series of stories which require the reader to become immersed  in the writer's world or risk becoming lost with little hope of finding one's way home.  This is a very disturbing building, occupied by the most depraved tenants, each worse than the last.  Often times the line between reality and insanity becomes blurred to the point of being gone completely.

If anything, Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast left me wanting more and from what I understand the author is planning to deliver just that with the second feast.

From Crystal Lake Publishing Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast is available now in both e-book and paperback formats.  If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read this book at no additional charge.  Also, if you are a member of  Amazon Prime, you can read this one for FREE through the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Strongly recommended, but with a cover warning for mature content.

Jonathan Winn is a screenwriter as well as the author of Martuk … the Holy (A Highlight of the Year, 2012 Papyrus Independent Fiction Awards), Martuk … the Holy: Proseuche (Top Twenty Horror Novels of 2014, Preditors & Editors Readers Poll), the upcoming Martuk … the Holy: Shayateen, and The Martuk Series, an ongoing collection of short fiction inspired by Martuk …

Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion - by J. P. Wagner - Part fantasy, part adventure, and part steampunk

3 of 5 Stars     Review copy

On the surface Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion seems like it could be a lot of fun.  Part fantasy, part adventure, part steampunk, magic, even a touch of romance.  What's not to like?

There were a number of things I enjoyed in this work.  For example, the story is solid.  A magician, named Cartogg, and his armsman come to the aid of the king when he is ambushed at the opening of a railway he has had built for his people.  Cartogg proves himself worthy and is soon in the service of the king.

It's a good thing the king has Cartogg, since the rebels have magicians of their own.  Aside from magic, the magician also shows an aptitude for steam engines and gliders and soon incorporates both into the king's arsenal.

My biggest problems with Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion was its repetitiveness. Again and again, throughout the story, Cartogg is worried that he will lose favor with the king and the possible consequences of such an occurrence.  I can understand his feelings, but not the author's need to remind us incessantly.

The writing is capable, but I found the storytelling to be lackluster.  What strengths there were in this book were found in the relationships between the characters.  In the end, I'm glad I read Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion, but if there is a sequel I don't think I'd be likely to go there.

Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion is available as an e-book from EDGE-Lite, an imprint of Hades Publications, Inc.

Railroad Rising: The Black Powder Rebellion has been published posthumously, as the author passed away in 2015, my condolences to his family and friends.