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

The Blood Lights, as far as I know, is the debut long-form work of author Elaine Pascle, who if I read correctly, isn't too far from me, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Cool enough, and worth a read to support a fairly local writer. The storyline mainly takes place there, jumping back and forth between the horrific happenings of "present tense" (which in this book, for a reason I am unclear of, is 2021) and a tropical island, which seems to be unfolding at the same time? I'm not sure, but honestly, for a quick 150ish pages, this one sure had me lost. It's the constant flip-flopping between timelines, an overabundance of characters with similar occurrences happening to each, that lost me. It wasn't particularly bad, middling stuff when all is said and done, with a few great moments to put it just a bit above "bad". The Blood Lights tells it's convoluted, jagged story of women transformed by the titular menace into pus- filled flesh eaters with eno...

I'm excited. And The House by the Cemetery is my reason. It's not because the book is groundbreaking or great or remarkable. No, it's not. But it's a solid throwback to simple times, where one could traipse into a Borders or Waldenbooks and find a novel like this one by the dozen. The best part is that it just might be exactly that. Not at those retailers, but whatever brick-and-mortars remain. You see, The House by the Cemetery is my first taste of a new horror line to be widely distributed by Flame Tree Press, who seems to have made a name for themselves in other facets, before deciding to roll out their line of horror last month. This is amongst the flagship titles of that endeavor, and they are doing it right. They've enlisted Don D'auria, reknown editor of several horror lines, most prominent being Leisure and Samhain to handpick the titles, as well as some top of the line authors to spear-head the operation. These include Jonathan Janz, Ramsey Campbell...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

What a blessing it is to be me. To find a publisher like Bloodshot Books, who is committed to putting out the best horror fiction there is, to the masses. To read authors like Justin M. Woodward, who writes books that pull the heartstrings, turn the stomach and terrify the reader. There's a whole lot of people stuck reading whatever is stuck on Target endcaps, and to be immersed in such killer novels makes me feel lucky. It gives me a reason to continue to keep this blog going, and posting reviews on the standard sites, to somehow contribute to this wonderful art. To spread the gospel of the modern horror novel in 2018, not under the guise of "dark fantasy" or "paranormal thriller", but HORROR, is only worthwhile when there are books being produced that are, in fact, worthwhile. If there's a book that's worthwhile, it is absolutely Tamer Animals. Buy it, read it, own it and be blessed like me. Tamer Animals is the third novel by Woodward, but the ...

Let us start with some reality. The blog has gotten to the point where I am getting daily requests for review of books. Many of them are self-published and I am totally into that. I think, by and large, the future of horror fiction lie within the underground. How cool would it be for me to find THAT one up-and-comer who is selling a billion books with movie deals and all that cool shit in a few years, when way-back-when my little ol' blog was one of the first places to give them a look!? Very cool, indeed. However, I started thinking about this while reading Finale, and cemented the thought yesterday when I got three review requests in the same day. So... here it goes... I love reading. I love reading horror, almost exclusively. I love sharing my thoughts on these books with the world. I've heard countless times now that I have inspired people to add books to their to-be-read pile. That is amazing. AMAZING. Literally, the only reason to do this is because A. I love the ge...

It's a pretty loud non-secret of mine that since running the blog, and digging more deeply into the obscure titles of Horror fiction, my favorite discovery has been R. Patrick Gates. I try to read one of his books quarterly, as I make my way through his back catalog, trying to maintain fairness to all the other books on my to-be-read list, but often times, I get a bit greedy and need to catapult one of his books to the top of my list. His fourth novel here, Deathwalker, is a shining example of why. Gates' writing style is just a perfect match for me as a reader. It's fast, frenzied and no-holds-barred. When I pick up a R. Patrick Gates book, I am married to it in ways that few other writers can muster. Despite my adoration, I heed absolute warning to readers new to the author. He goes places that other writers will not, often in violent and perverse ways, that will absolutely alienate some. I would be lying if there weren't strange pangs of guilt tapping on my skull ...

Here's a book I was sent by an author based in Copenhagen, for an honest review. I know very little about the author, or the title prior to this read and review. What I have gathered is that this was originally written in 2011 in the author's native language, and according to what I've read, popular enough to warrant a  "coming soon" film adaptation, and an English translation, which has arrived now. In it's marketing, it declares it's a novel on the "tradition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel, and Saw." Indeed, it is, especially if you consider "tradition" to be a total knock off. Also, it's hardly a novel, running at about 160 pages, much more a novella. Even still, that's a stretch, as it has enough material to warrant a short story, simply drawn out to fulfill a longer format. Two girls working at a gas station, during "the finale", some big sports event on Denmark, that turns the place into a ghost town. ...