Horror World Book Reviews
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**Please note. You may not reproduce any reviews in whole or in part without the express permission of Horror World and the respective author. Please contact the webmaster with any requests. Thank you.** The Collector Of Names by Miha Mazzini; Severed Press; 2010; 218 pgs; $2.99 US (permalink) The Collector Of Names starts strong with a prologue that’s thrilling, chilling, and gory. A woman is seated at the dinner table with her husband, who is eating soup. A thought enters her head and then she stoically announces to … Continue reading The Slasher Movie Book by J. A. Kerswell; Chicago Review Press; 2012; 208 pgs; $24.95 US (permalink) 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 Wood by Robert Dunbar; Uninvited Books; 2012; 170 KB pgs; $2.95 US (permalink) Not everyone loves a misfit, but Robert Dunbar sure does have a soft spot in his heart for them. Whether you read his long form fiction (The Pines, The Shore, Willy) or his shorter stories (Martyrs And Monsters), there is … Continue reading Nocturnal by Scott Sigler; Crown; 2012; 576 pgs; $26.00 US (permalink) Scott Sigler has come a long way from his podcasting days when he used to serialize his stories (and novels) for a rabid fanbase – for free. Okay, he still does this but he has also become a blockbuster novelist … Continue reading Dead But Dreaming 2 by Edited by Kevin Ross; Miskatonic River Press; 2011; 298 pgs; $19.99 US (permalink) Back in 2002, a monstrous anthology crawled out of nowhere and became a well sought after item on the open market. Why? Dark Tales Press only put out 75 copies of the anthologies – just enough for friends and family … Continue reading The Men Upstairs by Tim Waggoner; Delirium Books; 2011; 278 KB pgs; $4.99 US (permalink) I’ve been a Tim Waggoner fan since 2006 when I read his classic Leisure Publishing horror novel, Pandora Drive. I remember Pandora Drive blowing me away with its bizarre plotting, kinky sexuality, and extremely tense plotting. It had so much … Continue reading That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley; JournalStone Publishing; 2011; 270 pgs; $12.95 US (permalink) Brett Talley’s first novel, That Which Should Not Be (TWSNB), comes with a sterling pedigree, having won its publisher’s 2011 JournalStone horror writing contest, having been named a 2011 GoodReads Choice Awards Semi-Finalist, and also having been named as a … Continue reading Looking At The World With Broken Glass In My Eye by Mark Justice; Graveside Tales; 2011; 310 pgs; $15.95 US (permalink) I first became aware of Mark Justice’s fiction in the 2005 anthology “Damned Nation” (A fun book that can still be found for a song on Amazon!), and I was blown away by his contribution, “Das Hollenfeuer”, as macabre an … Continue reading The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus; Knoph; 2011; 304 pgs; $26.95 US (permalink) Ben Marcus is a different type of best-selling writer. His prose sings songs that the average reader may not understand – at first. While this is the first plunge into Marcus’ fiction for this reviewer, it took awhile to break … Continue reading Everything Howls by Christopher Lopez; Bad Moon Books; 2011; 192 pgs; $15.00 US (permalink) Lurking behind a very unfortunate title, Everything Howls (Which brings to mind unfortunate associations with “Everyone Poops”…) is not a bad first novel. Aside from the terrible title, it also suffers unfavorably when compared with Brian Moreland’s excellent 2011 novel … Continue reading The Providence Rider by Robert McCammon; Subterranean Press; 2012; 416 pgs; $26.95 US (permalink) Robert McCammon reinvented himself ten years ago, lifting himself from the ashes of the 80′s horror boom and even though he always set himself apart from the crowd with distinctive writing, stories of non-horror (Boy’s Life & Gone South), he … Continue reading MalContents by Randy Chandler, Gregory L. Norris, Ryan C. Thomas, David T. Wilbanks; Grand Mal Press; 2011; 198 pgs; $15.99 US (permalink) Grand Mal’s four novella anthology, MalContents, is a mixed bag, with stories that have a wide variety of subject matter, but not a great deal of content. All of the stories felt overly padded to me, almost as if the … Continue reading The Mountain by William Ollie; Thunderstorm Books; 2012; 255 pgs; $35.00 US (permalink) It’s always a joy when you read a novel and you can tell that the author had a blast while writing it. When reading The Mountain, I could easily imagine William Ollie smiling away or chuckling as his fingers slammed … Continue reading Mutation Nation: Tales of Genetic Mishaps, Monsters, and Madness by Editor: Kelly Dunn; Rainstorm Press; 2011; 196 pgs; $$14.95 US (permalink) 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 Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton; Bad Moon Books; 2011; 322 pgs; $20.00 US (permalink) Having been struck dumb by how damned enjoyable her novella “The Samhanach” was, I was eager to get my hands on Lisa Morton’s new collection, Monsters of L.A.. I’m happy to report that Lisa Morton has done it again, with … Continue reading Nightingale Songs by Simon Strantzas; Dark Regions Press; 2011; 176 pgs; $17.95 US (permalink) The third short story collection by Canadian author Simon Strantzas confirms the qualities displayed in his previous work (especially in the outstanding “Cold to the Touch”), namely the ability to envelop the reader in a web of unnerving, horrific events, … Continue reading Sudden Victims by Dennis Latham; YS Gazelle Books; 2011; 313 KB pgs; $2.99 US (permalink) Dennis Latham needs a bully pulpit. For some reason Latham has yet to reach mid-lister status in the world of horror fiction and it’s not because he hasn’t got the chops. It’s a shame really, because Latham is a writer … Continue reading Black Static Magazine – Issues 25 & 26; TTA Press; 2011; $5.50 US (permalink) Once again, the folks at TTA Press continue what appears to be an effortless stream of solid product. Black Static IS the best regularly published magazine in the business; first in England, now across the pond. Issues 25 & 26 … Continue reading |
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