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Showing posts from December, 2017

My Favorite Reads of 2017!

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And so 2017 comes to an end. The inaugural year of this blog and a great year for horror novels. I want to thank all of you who trust my opinion and seek out the books I enjoy, as well as all of you who write them . Without material to read, we've got nothing. That being said, what's a horror book blog without a "best of" to wrap up the year? However, opinion is obviously subjective, so I am going to refrain from calling it a "best-of" and we will call it a "favorites" instead...because this is pure opinion. ALSO,   I am but one man with three jobs, a family, other hobbies and interests. I didn't get to read even mildly close to everything I wanted to this year. If your favorites aren't here, I'd love to hear about them below. So, let's get started. These are in no particular order, all things I just had a blast reading. I'd be hard pressed to name one of these better than the other...they are all solid reads and I highl...

Ancient Horror History Unearthed: Grimm Memorials by R. Patrick Gates REVIEWED

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Grimm Memorials!!! Holy WOAHHHHH! What a great book. This may be the last one I get to read and review in 2017, and as such, I couldn't be happier to close the year out with such a stellar choice. Grimm Memorials was put on my radar by several of my online friends at the Facebook group, Books of Horror, who generally have never steered me wrong. They certainly haven't here either, as this is pretty much everything I am looking for in a read. R. Patrick Gates' second and arguably most well-known novel, a cult-classic of sorts that delivers all it promises in spades, is just perfect reading for a guy like me. I was a huge fan of his first book, Fear, which I reviewed here on Halloween. Now, on Christmas Eve, I review this...which takes all of the things I enjoyed about that book and turns it up to 11 by refining every quality Gates seems to carry, mastering it and throwing it in the reader's face. This is the literature equivalent of abrasive punk rock, taking a fai...

Ancient Horror History Unearthed: The Nightrunners by Joe R. Lansdale REVIEWED

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I'm gonna just come out and say it. The Nightrunners has a reputation for being a classic piece of Horror fiction. I'm proud to say, It meets all of those expectations. It is a perfect book in every sense of the word. Fantastically written, paced, design ed (for lack of a better word)... I am disappointed that I didn't read this years ago. There's not much to say about the book that hasn't already been said and I am sure a significant portion of the readership of the blog has read the book before. BUT, let me say something anyway. It's books like The Nightrunners that make this blog exist. The impetus of the blog itself is the wonderful community of horror readers who recommend it...had I not engaged with said community, I may not had ever known of the book. Originally published in 1987, with it's mass market debut in 89, there's nary a reason the common reader in 2017, 30 years later to bat an eye at a book like this. Without the communication with...

A God in the Shed by J-F Dubeau REVIEWED

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2017 is coming to a close and, on this early Sunday morning, I reflect on the year gone by. Lots of awful stuff happened, mostly socio-political in nature, but I won't go into it, as this is a Horror Fiction blog with a largely American readership, not a blog on my world views. You know what's up. Just kidding, long and short is as follows: Donald Trump and his billionaire crew of demonic halfwits have profoundly affected me; I can't stop ruminating around the bastards and their cruel, oppressive policies threatened each day... I wish awful things for the White House at this time. But, Let's move along. We will keep it positive. 2017 is the year I got married! The year I started this blog! The year I could walk into Barnes & Noble, the last major bookstore in my area, and buy a book like A God In The Shed! I didn't even have to special order it! Horror fiction is slowly creeping back to life, and the retailers are taking notice. It was grim for a few year...