Undivine Interventions: Reviews of Horror Novels, Past and Present.

I've been reading in slow motion lately. I admit it. Other aspects of my life have forced reading and thus, reviewing as regularly as I would like, to the back burner. I'm hardly complaining, as most of these things are really cool, namely being in a hardcore punk band once again at age 32...haha... seriously though, on top of all of my other hobbies and obligations, I have taken on fronting a heavy band called Anxious Wave and it's a total blast. If that kind of thing interests you, check us out on Facebook or Bandcamp . Anyway. A book. A review. Soulstorm. Focus... Soulstorm is the 32 year old, Tor published debut of fairly prolific author, Chet Williamson, who is probably best know for the book that follows this, Ash Wednesday. I see many of his books in used shops pretty regularly, and if Soulstorm is any indication, are worth a look. On the surface, it's a standard story of a small group of people locked in a house with a haunted history in hopes of a large m...

Let's begin this review by saying this: if you're a horror fan and you haven't read Patrick Lacey yet, you're missing out. You're missing out in the sorest way I can possibly imagine. His books are literary love letters to the genre I love, particularly the films of Craven, Henenlotter, and well... basically pick your favorite 80s horror film director as Lacey's probably winking at him. There's this comfort food-like quality to his writing, that is familiar and warm, with some occasionally dark matter to keep it riveting... It keeps me coming back time and time again. It's like renting an old VHS tape, in a big lurid box, but dashed with a modernized, knowing flair that makes it an undeniable Patrick Lacey book. Noone quite touches the old school horror fan in me like the guy. What else can I say? Read the guy immediately. This here, Bone Saw, is his latest book, out now by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, a publisher I hadn't read anything ...

Since Paperbacks From Hell hit shelves last year, actually shortly before, as the buzz around the subject covered in the book got going, readers interest in the countless Horror Novels of the 80s has been at a higher boil than it has been in some time. Around that time, several publishers started republishing the 'lost classics' and capitalizing on what could theoretically be a lucrative niche market in horror reading. Cue the new imprint, Capricorn Literary, who have just released their flagship books, of which, Soul-Eater is amongst the first in the inaugural run of books hoping to be rediscovered. I'm really quite excited for many of the books planned for release under the line, but honestly, a bit perplexed by the choice of Soul Eater to spearhead the lineup. My befuddlement is not in that Soul Eater is particularly badly-written or poor. Rather, it's simply unremarkable when held up against its literary counterparts. It's a haunted house novel through and ...

Busy, busy times continue to plague me, and I continue to have fantastic support from other members of the horror reading community in upholding the blog. This particular review is exciting for me in that, it's the first in a new line of horror novels from yesteryear being revamped and republished, by a new press called Capricorn Literary, in their 'Resurrected Horror Imprint'. There are some very cool books in their upcoming canon, so I would suggest you keep an eye on their output, which you can do  here. Coincidentally, I am also currently reading one of their books, Dana Brookins' Soul Eater , which I am about halfway through. I anticipate having that review by this weekend or so. Anyway, a buddy of mine, Jeff Maiello, agreed to help me out with some reviewing, in these busy times, to keep the content coming and this was the first of the books I sent his way. About Jeff-  Jeff Maiello has been reading horror since the early 90s. He enjoys both the pulp class...

Ahh , the first book I've read after moving into a new home. It makes it special by design, doesn't it? Read mostly on new comfy furniture, in between the moving of big heavies and yardwork and unpacking and all the things that my 32 year old body and mind was woefully unprepared for in buying my first, admittedly beautiful home...it has been a special one indeed. It helps largely that The Goat Parade is a fantastic book. What a great choice to get started reading in the house I'll do much of my reading in for the anticipated next third of my life. It's a book of many firsts. I've not read anything by author Peter Dudar or publisher Grinning Skull. They've both been on my radar for a bit, but so hasn't Book X by Writer Y published in 1987...but I didn't get to that one yet either. So what made me pick up this VS. any of the hundreds of unreads? Frankly, a killer endorsement by a great author and friend, Glenn Rolfe. The cover art was alluring enough...

Per my last post, I recently moved and as a by-product, most of my collection, new and old are boxed up and awaiting a new bookshelf-home. As much as it bums me out, we have to get the necessities unpacked first, as well as little things, like painting, before the big old book collection comes out. Sure, reading rules, but being able to eat and shower rule just a little bit more. Kinda. I've attempted to start reading again, but really, there's still so much to do that my next review might be a little ways off. As such, I reached out to my friends in the Books of Horror group on Facebook to help me keep the content coming on the blog. Sure enough, I had an overwhelming response for guest reviews. I chose this one first, because it's a peculiar book, a Canadian-only release (I believe?), that spawned a lovable-but-atrocious 1981 clusterfuck of a movie, The Pit. Also, because Chris Mayek, the gentleman and fellow-horror reader, is a trusted source for me. He's been ...

Hey guys. Ill start by saying I continue to be incredibly grateful for all the love and support this blog has earned over the past    less-than-year. Readers, writers, publishers and publicists have all acknowledged the blog in a myriad of ways to the point where I feel I've earned my own little corner of the horror fiction universe.  It's incredibly flattering. But life often gets in the way of this amazing hobby of mine. I've mentioned before I work three jobs. I'm also in a weirdo heavy punk band called Anxious Wave (which if heavy music is your thing, you can and should check out here ). I'm a newlywed, so I'm also trying to be a good husband and stepfather. That's the average week. Doing that stuff in conjunction with the blog. I prefer being busy, so it's far from a complaint. It's merely a note that I'm a busy person giving my 110% to all the things. Regardless, A few recent changes have occurred however where I am going to be puttin...