Author Archives: Brian Sammons

The Shadow of the Unknown by Editor: A.J. French; Static Movement ; 2011; 237 pgs; $$15.99 US

The Cthulhu Mythos, and books of stories based on or set in the sandbox of cosmic chaos and horror that H.P. Lovecraft built, seem to be more popular than ever. As a rabid fanboy of Lovecraftian horror in all its … Continue reading


Night Terrors II by Editors: Theresa Dillion and Marc Ciccarone ; Blood Bound Books; 2012; 241 pgs; $15.99 US

I love anthologies. They are like the Whitman’s Samplers of books. Bite-sized bits of story goodness that you can pop into your brain almost anywhere and anytime. There is also the buffet effect; that is you are sure to find … Continue reading


The Slasher Movie Book by J. A. Kerswell; Chicago Review Press; 2012; 208 pgs; $24.95 US

I am a child of the eighties. The first real horror movie I ever saw (read that as not an old, campy, creature feature on Saturday afternoon TV) was Friday the 13th Part 4. From that moment on I was … Continue reading


Mutation Nation: Tales of Genetic Mishaps, Monsters, and Madness by Editor: Kelly Dunn; Rainstorm Press; 2011; 196 pgs; $$14.95 US

Man you’ve got to love mutants, and no I’m not talking about the X-Men, guys in tights kind. From giant ants in the 50s, to ninja turtles and C.H.U.D.’s in the 80s, to barely human cannibals waiting to munch on … Continue reading


Through a Glass, Darkly by Dennis Detwiller; Arc Dream Publishing ; 2011; 275 pgs; $29.99 US

If you know what Delta Green means than I’m going to make a couple of assumptions. First, you are a slinger of funny shaped dice and a player of role playing games, specifically of the game based on the works … Continue reading


The Vampire Film: From Nosferatu to True Blood by Alain Silver and James Ursini ; Limelight Editions ; 2011; 488 pgs; $$29.99 US

You know when they say you can’t judge a book by its cover? Well in this case you can. While its subtitle mentions both Nosferatu and True Blood, only the romantic HBO horror comedy is on this two part cover, … Continue reading


The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition by William Peter Blatty; Harper ; 2011; 379 pgs; $$25.99 US

It’s The Exorcist in a brand new hardcover edition. Go get it. Do I need to say more than that? Really? It’s the freaking Exorcist, one of the scariest books ever written that spawned what is arguably the scariest movie … Continue reading


The Official Zombie Handbook Austrailia by Dr. L. Jon Keioskie & Sean T. Page; Severed Press; 2011; 193 pgs; $$12.99 US

Zombies, zombies, zombies. Man, it seems like I haven’t written that in a good long while, but then that’s only because I took a little break from reviewing books. The relentless, shuffling march of the undead sure as hell hasn’t … Continue reading


The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart; Night Shade Books; 2011; 530 pgs; $15.99 US

This collection of 27 stories is comprised out of 25 reprints and two new tales. This means if you are a compulsive Cthulhu completionist then you might already own most of these stories in other books and magazines. There, that … Continue reading


IN EXTREMIS by John Shirley ; Underland Press; 2011; 320 pgs; $14.95 US

John Shirley has been my favorite punk since I stumbled upon a little paperback of his, quite by accident, called IN DARKNESS WAITING. It wasn’t a perfect book, but it was utterly unlike anything I had read up to that … Continue reading