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Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors
Exorcist Falls: Includes the novella Exorcist Road
A Kiss of Thorns
Julie loves her 80's horror movies. The cheesier the better. Blood Cabin Massacre is her favorite.Quick-draw Ken is her husband and a bit of a douche.
They are spending some time at Lake Repose as a second honeymoon to rekindle their relationship.
Should have went to Camp Crystal Lake instead. It would have been safer.
Peeper and creeper, Lonny, will see to that. He has his own relationship to rekindle.
A very good retro-feel novella with appropriate amounts of blood and twisted plotting. 4 Stars!
As a member of the DRG - DarkFuse Readers Group, I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. It should be noted that I am a paid subscriber to the 2017 Collectors Novella Series, so I would have received it anyway.
The Last Days of Jack Sparks
"This is 50 shades of fucked up."An exorcist, a possessed girl, a YouTube video, a mystery.
Screaming Mimi’s, bloody puddle face talking, Hollywood Paranormals and "Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you."
Wickedly smart and original. Good time bloody fun with plenty of belly laughs and no shortage of gooseflesh.
Excellent.
Unseemly
I really dug this novelette from Jason Parent. Since I rarely read synopsis or reviews before diving into a work, I was unsure where this one would be going. Of course, after reading Jason’s “What Hides Within” and checking out the cover of this one, I pretty much assumed this was going to be some crazy dark fantasy story about spiders. *eek! Jumps up on the dining room table*Well…I was wrong.
Sort of.
Ish.
That’s it! No spoilers!
There is very little f’n around here and the story gets right to it. I think this would have worked as a longer effort too, but Jason does a very good job keeping it in a shorter format – lean and mean. I already said, no spoilers here, so you will just have to give it a go for yourself.
I received a complimentary copy of this work from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ubo
"Things that were never supposed to happen, they happen all the time.”This was a weird one for me. Have you ever had one of those books that no matter what you did you just couldn't make any progress? Total fucking time warp. This took me forever to finish it and I read several books in between. It wasn't boring and I liked the story, but for whatever reason it just seemed like I read it and read it and never made any headway. I almost gave up. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I couldn't make any fucking progress no matter how much I read it. Weird. Twilight Zone shit. Would make a good short story, probably – “The Never Ending Novel” or maybe “The Man Who Couldn’t Finish a Book and Drove Himself Bat-Shit Crazy.” I still can’t believe I started this Feb 17th and just finished it March 8th. Doesn’t make any sense. Never happened to me before. How could I still enjoy it? I have no idea. But, I did.
The world is in shambles. Roaches in lab coats are preforming strange experiments on human captives, forcing them to jump into the minds of history’s most violent and notorious.
The scenarios are taking a toll and Daniel and his fellow prisoners can think of nothing but when (if ever) they will be allowed to go back to their old lives and the families they left behind. Welcome to Ubo. Wherever the hell that is.
Despite my aforementioned reading malfunction, I really did enjoy this one, I just wish it would have read smoother for me. I am pretty sure it was all my fault and not the authors. 3.5 Stars.
*I received an advance review copy of this release from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Bank of the River
Well, damn. No f’n around in this one. Starts out with a bang and just keeps on going.My first Richan. Not bad. Written well. Fast moving and entertaining. Not overly fleshed out, so I am assuming it gets deeper character development as the series progresses. Looking forward to checking out the next installment.
3 Stars.
The Sorrow King
“Let strange things explain the strangeness.”There is something rotten in the small town of Gethsemane. Lurking in the shadows. Driving the students of the local High School to suicide. Hunting. Feeding off the sorrow of the town and threatening to destroy anyone and anything that stands in its way. It’s getting stronger. The bodies are starting to pile up.
A very well written and smart novel with sharp characterizations and a well thought out story line.
A solid 4+ Stars and highly recommended.
White Noise
I am not sure what I was expecting from this one since I had never heard of Don DeLillo prior to seeing my friend Edward’s review. I didn’t read the synopsis and didn’t look at any spoilery reviews, but pictured it to be something else entirely. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it even though the structure threw me off a bit at first. Much darker and funnier than I anticipated with some pretty heavy themes and commentary. A well done and interesting read. 3.5 Stars.
Grimweave
The Predator /Alien influence in this one is undeniable, but it definitely has the signature Curran stamp on it. There was even a little Heartbreak Ridge Sgt. Highway going on here. Cool.You can’t go wrong with Tim Curran. An entertaining and fast moving creature feature. 3.5+ Stars.
The Pilo Traveling Show
"It ain't slapstick without blood. We'll use real glass."Jamie forgot what his time at the Pilo Family Circus was like. Memories erased. Unfortunately for him, he is about to remember. He is about to go back and get reacquainted with the old gang.
Send in the clowns.
The boys are back in town and a major coup is about to take place. It will be Pilo against Pilo in this one and once again Jamie is right in the middle. The corn dogs and cotton candy are about to hit the fan in a big way.
I really liked this one. More than the first. The clowns weren’t nearly as whiney and all my old pals were back and bad as ever. Lots of laughs and whacky clown antics.
A lumberjack security squad, Emerald kissing booths, nourishing soul dust, flower pot baby Goshys and Kurt Pilo in a tie-dyed muumuu. Yep. The boys are definitely back in town. A Solid 4 Stars.
Little Dead Red
I purposefully avoided this one because I assumed it would too be YA-ey for me. What a dumbass I am. This was a perfectly paced and fast moving novella and I dug everything about it, including the narration on the audio version. It was not YA-ey at all. It was, in fact, quite excellent.5 Stars and the Highest Recommendation.
This audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review and this was it.
Vicki Beautiful
Super glad I didn’t read the synopsis or any reviews before I started this one because I think it would have ruined it.*minor spoilers ahead*
A well written tale that moved quickly, but felt like there was something missing. The husbands’ role and their compliance to the unreal circumstance was completely glossed over. I would imagine that the “last wishes” would have at least stimulated some dialog between the spouses, but alas it was not to be. I assume it was omitted to make the story sleeker, but for whatever reason, it really bugged me and made the tale a bit shallow.
I enjoyed this one, but think that it could have been great with a little more depth. And maybe a few more side dishes. 2.5-3 Stars.
The Monk
I loved the language of this one. It had a deliciously creepy old school vibe to it. Probably on the account that is was originally penned in 1796. Truly a classic and holds up remarkably well.
Where the Dead Go to Die
This isn’t how things were supposed to happen. I was supposed to be me.
Not this.
I was caught a bit off guard by this one.
How good it was.
How good it is.
Awesome.
So very well done and original.
An extremely fresh look at a sometimes tired and overdone trope.
Damn. This was good.
This is how it’s done.
Love, loss, desperation and the FSU. Next stop, Corridor 3. The Ministry is watching and the Crowners have been summoned. It’s about to go down, in a big way.
5 Stars and the highest recommendation!
Ham on Rye
A tender and heartwarming coming of age tale about a German immigrant family coming to America and the humorous tales of growing up in a loving and hard-working family. Hahaha! Yeah…no. Not even close.
I really did like this one, even though it fizzled out a little toward the end for me. A manly-man, non-stop raunch fest. Bleacher beavers, Grandma back-acne exorcism, doggie baptism and a whole lot of “cunt” going on. (I don’t recall that being a word kids used when I was in school, but I maybe it was just before my time.)
Not a whole lot of plotting either really, but a steady flow of vulgarity and crude happenings. In the words of Bukowski, “Not much cock, but look at those balls!” Or something like that…
Yep, I liked it.
MOTHER
A very good short read with an old school flavor to it. I really enjoyed the prose and "feel" of this one as the dread thickens with the story progression.
Berkley Street (Berkley Street Series Book 1)
Something is wrong with the old Andersen house. Really, really, wrong. Shane Ryan grew up there. Now he has returned to his childhood home, 20 years after the disappearance of his parents, to find out exactly what happened all those years ago. He might not like what he finds. Many secrets and ghosts from the past will need to be brought to light in order to unravel the mystery.If you are looking for a slow burn haunted house tale, then Berkley Street Is not your huckleberry. There is zero pussyfooting around with this one. The spirits are restless and they are in your face from the beginning. I dug that about this one. The characters, both alive and spirit, were well drawn and the story moves quickly with several genuinely creepy moments.
The audio for BS was very well done. I wasn’t too sure about the narrator at first, but once I got used to the cadence and tone, it fit the story and I ended up liking it very much. Listening versus reading is sometimes a difficult thing, but no matter the format of this one, I believe that I would have enjoyed it equally. 3.5+ Stars
"I received a complimentary audiobook edition of this title from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review and this was it."
 - Scare Street, Ron; Ripley)