Terrific collection of gothic horror tales!
Click on the link below for my full review:
Epeolatry Book Review: Tales of the Gothic, ed. Christopher Stagg
Here’s a link for the book on Amazon too:
Tag: book review
Future Book Reviewer for Horror Tree
Thanks to my HWA mentor, Catherine Jordan, I will soon be writing book reviews for Horror Tree! Wizard Witch Warlock is my current read and destined to by my first review. I’m going at it a bit slowly though because I’m working 50 plus hour weeks at the moment. This is due to so many retail pharmacists leaving the industry because of unacceptable conditions throughout this business. Read about CVS/Walgreens strikes here.
Pharmacist in my area aren’t currently striking, but I fully support my pharmacy brothers and sisters. My company is currently in the process of hiring, so hopefully by early November, I’ll get my first review completed and start writing full steam ahead again.
I’m excited to be a reviewer for Horror Tree and hope to fulfill this position with the best of my ability!
Happy Halloween month everyone!
From the Depths-Multiple Authors
So, after a long hiatus accompanied by multiple day job changes which resulted in massive life disarray, I am making my triumphant return with a review of an excellent anthology that seems to have been overlooked by the masses.
Lydia Prime edited this anthology and also has a story within its pages. The incomparable, Ramsey Campbell, introduces the stories inside with an insightful foreword.
The writers were asked to come up with stories that expressed who they are as authors. Many of them explore the true demons that haunt humanity. Alcoholism, death, lost love, and cowardice are themes that many of us have experienced first hand. Horror as a genre often utilizes monstrous beings to represent our greatest fears and weaknesses.
Some of these stories, like a great many horror stories, straddle the lines of horror/sci-fi/dark fantasy. This is one the things I love most about horror. It colors outside the lines.
There is a Stephen Kingish, leave you guessing, element to many of these tales, which is another thing I love about this genre. It encourages deeper thought after the story ends and I think many writers are drawn to it because of that. There is always more to the story, thus more that can be written.
I highly recommend this book, a five star read for sure!
Watchers-by Dean Koontz
So I finally read a Dean Koontz book. I started with Watchers because several people in my circle said that it’s his best. Well it is entertaining, but incredibly simplistic. Everyone is too wonderful in this book. Well, there’s one guy that’s so awful that I would cringe when he showed up, but all the other wonderful people make up for that one guy. There’s a guy that’s sad that his wife died to the point of being suicidal, but he gets over that pretty easily. And a girl who was basically locked up from society her entire childhood and early adult life by a crazy aunt, but she gets over that pretty quickly too. Oh yeah, and of course she doesn’t realize how beautiful she is… Then there’s a guy who’s marriage is suffering, but not because he’s having affairs or anything. He just works too much. But forget all that simplicity and just read it for the dog, the wonderful dog!
I don’t get why people categorize Dean Koontz with Stephen King. Maybe because they’re both rich horror writers? Stephen King doesn’t allow any of his characters to be this wonderful and sappy though. Even the heroic ones have bigger issues than just being introverted or workaholics and such. It’s like how holy roller Christians group Satanists and Athiests. Not the same thing at all.
Anyway, I’m not giving up on Dean Koontz yet. I acquired this whole collection of his books from a friend:
Anyone want to suggest which one I read next?
As for Watchers, I give it 3 stars. It gets that many because it is a very entertaining read and if you’re a dog lover, you’ll love it just for the awesomeness that is Einstein, the Golden Retriever! Oh and of course there is a cool monster, but I feel sorry for him. Kind of like a Frankenstein’s monster sort of scenario.
Darkness Calls: Tales From the Shadows-by Alyson Faye
This anthology was my first excursion into the wonderful and brilliant mind of Alyson Faye! I will definitely be looking for more from her! It was right up my alley, with deadly angels and ghost children and the like. I especially love ghost children!
I was reading, “All the Lost Children” (in broad daylight on my patio) and then heard children laughing outside in the distance and nearly jumped out of my skin! 
Horror writing at its best!!!
All the stories are awesome in this anthology and she hits the ground running with everyone’s favorite anti-Santa, Krampus.
I loved every story but shoutout to, “All the Lost Children” and “Shadow Children” because, well, ghost kids, and “Fallen Angel” because angels aren’t supposed to be nice! I also loved “Dream Catcher” and would love to see a whole novel spring from that one!
Buy it here for your Kindle on Amazon, guys!
The One That Got Away-Edited by Jill Girardi
The One That Got Away is a wonderful romp through the minds of women of horror! This third anthology by Kandisha Press is loaded with stories for every horror pallet imaginable. It hits the ground running with the very first story, “Heavy Metal Coffin” by Amira Krista Calvo and never lets the reader up for air throughout. Be prepared to miss a few days of work, for this one. Maybe plan ahead and take a vacation! 🙂
I enjoyed all the stories, but some of my favorites were, “The Incident on Asteroid 4 Pandora” by Stevie Kopas, “The Lady Crow” by Lucy Rose, “Rippers” by Ellie Douglas, and as always, Carmen Baca’s work is spellbinding in “Atla’s Journey”. I really loved, “The Last Thread” by Paula R.C. Readman; such an unexpected twist with that one! And “Dear Meat” by J Snow; dystopian terror at it’s best! Catherine McCarthy hits the mark again with, “Lure”! “The Letter” by Lydia Prime is crazy creative and dark humor at its best! Last but not least, “Should Have Gone to Vegas” by Janine Pipe is loaded with delicious, visceral, horrific gore!
This is the best anthology yet from Kandisha Press! This anthology is loaded with every horror lover’s dreams: monsters, dystopian futures, the undead and so much more! Much like real life, nothing is as seems; in the suburbs, on fishing trips, in space and everywhere in between!
The One That Got Away is another 5 star offering by Kandisha Press! Make sure your lights are on and doors are locked when you read it!
Here’s the link:
Tremble by Nikki Freeman
Tremble is a fun ride! A page turner for sure, or button pusher if you’re reading on Kindle. 🙂 I could hardly catch my breath as I read it, and almost lost my job because it was so hard to put down!
It’s both a psychological and paranormal thriller! The suspense and surprises along the way keep the reader on her toes. The main character, Becca, has been recently widowed, but thought she had found love again with someone she had considered a friend. It turns out that her friend/lover has a very dark side which he was expert at hiding from everyone, as truly sinister people often are. She returns to her childhood home to escape him, in spite of the the tragic memories of an abusive mother that she had escaped so many years before. But the haunting of memories in the old house is nothing compared to the actual haunting that she had forgotten about. Her childhood imaginary friend, was not so imaginary it turns out.
Becca manages to find true love in the form of a helpful neighbor soon after she returns to her childhood home, but she and those around her are in constant danger from her psycho former lover and the supernatural. Nikki Freeman even delves into the mind of the serial killing ex-boyfriend as he relentlessly pursues Becca by any means necessary.
I’d like to think Ms. Freeman is a Supernatural fan like me because at one point a ghost hunter in the story says, “Son of a bitch! That’s awesome!” Seems like she’s paying homage to Dean Winchester there! 😉
I loved this book and there’s even a twist at the end, which I really love! Sequel maybe?! Tremble by Nikki Freeman is a 5 star read for sure!
Here’s the link for Tremble published by Hellbound Books:
Arbitrium by Esther Howard
Arbitrium is a noun which means, the power to decide. The three tales contained in this volume are all about choices and the consequences of said choices. These are haunting stories that will keep you thinking long after you finish them.
Esther Howard is an up and coming writer who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. She is currently working on her PhD in Victorian Literature with a sub focus in British Caribbean Colonial Studies. Esther brings a diverse background and extensive knowledge of classical literature to her writing. She is also a big Marvel fan, because, well, who isn’t?!
This is a five star effort from a future household name! Can’t wait to hear her interview on NPR one day!
The book is available on Amazon for 2.99 for Kindle and free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Here’s the link:
Sing, Unburied, Sing-A Novel by Jesmyn Ward
This book is not to be found in the horror or sci-fi sections (although there are ghosts lurking between its covers), but I wanted my first book review on this website to be this one because this novel inspired me to write again after a long drought. I am forever grateful to Jesmyn Ward for waking up my inner writer and am a fan of hers for life!
I originally posted this review on Amazon in 2018 and on a previous website I ran under a another name:
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward is not your run of the mill literary novel. It not only gives the reader a bird’s-eye view of what it’s like to be the child of a crystal meth addict, but also gives us insight into how the addict herself justifies her actions. The book begins from the point of view of a young boy, Jojo, who has been forced to take on too much responsibility at the age of thirteen, because of his mother’s obsession with her imprisoned boyfriend (his father) and her hopeless addiction to drugs. His younger sister, Kayla, seeks him when she is upset because he is her protector and sole caregiver. They live with their grandparents, but Jojo’s grandfather, while a loving figure in Jojo’s life, is the only caretaker of his dying wife.
The book explores racial divides in Mississippi’s past and present. Jojo and Kayla live in the home of their black grandparents and are shunned by their white grandparents. It delves into graphic descriptions of lynchings, prison beatings, etc… And what makes the book extremely unique is the spiritual presence as a result of those violent circumstances.
This is the first literary work I’ve read since A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (another great book!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It definitely deserves 5 stars!
Multiverse Dream 