Happy Halloween!

So it is now fall and October is here and I am going to embark on my first themed Halloween month on the blog.  I will be reviewing books with all kinds of scary creatures; we'll talk about tentacled beasties, crazed serial killers, classic movie monsters and of course, the traditional vamps, zombies and ghosts.  And I'm sure we'll talk about the new season of American Horror Story: ASYLUM.  We may even have an interview or two!  :)

And other great blogs have already started with their Halloween celebrations:  over at Book Chick City (one of my fave blogs and whose Zombie Reading Challenge I am participating in) they are entering their fourth year of presenting All Hallows Eve with tons of reviews, interviews and giveaways!  Please check out these scary ladies, so as not to miss out on the fun!

At The Eloquent Page, in honor of this being perhaps our last Halloween (as foretold by those pesky Mayans), they are spending October reviewing apocalyptic fiction with The End.  Reading Pablo's reviews have made me buy more than a few books; so take it from me, his reviews are not to be missed!

So that's it for now!  I think our first review up is going to put us in the path of a crazed killer, so be careful and look out for it soon!

Happy reading...and unpleasant dreams!

Short Fiction Month: BALANCE by Peter Giglio (Evil Jester Press)

"...and with the Blast came a bug."

And so begins "Balance" by Peter Giglio.

I believe I've mentioned here on the blog that I am a big fan of zombies; in fiction, in movies, in television-you name it and I love it.  So when I came across "Balance" I dug right in, ready to jump into some exciting zombie action!

What I got was a novella that yes, has plenty of the zombie action one would expect, but also a story that has a surprising amount of heart and emotion.  "Balance" is a very unique, well written tale that easily stands head and shoulders above the rest of the moaning, shambling crowd.

Giglio's world building is detailed but he doesn't spend a lot of time with info dumping on his readers, instead keeping the pace brisk; this is a zombie apocalypse, after all.  But it with his characterization that Giglio makes "Balance" really shine.  There are six main characters in "Balance" and we get to see the story unfold from all their individual viewpoints.  Yet none of the characters are generic, uninteresting stereotypes; Giglio gives us fully realized people that we come to care about and whose outcomes we are totally invested in.  Then he takes it yet another step further and  applies a twist at the end that really slams home the emotional heart of the story (to say more would be to spoil it!).

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Balance" by Peter Giglio and you will, too.  It is a fast paced tale that offers a fresh take on some well trod zombie territory.


(This book counts towards the Zombie Reading Challenge 2012 hosted by Book Chick City AND the Horror/Thriller Reading Challenge 2012 hosted by Sweeping Me.)

Zombie Reading Challenge 2012

Good morning all!

So in an effort to keep my commitment to reading a wider variety of books this year, I'm focusing on doing two things this year; featuring "themed" months here on the blog (be on the lookout for a short fiction month and a tentacle month coming soon) and participating in more reading challenges.  I think the theme months will be fun and I like the idea of a little accountability in the reading challenges where other participants can see my progress and I theirs.  And the latest challenge I've joined is...

Who doesn't like zombie fiction?!  Plus there are a few zombie titles in the Ever Growing TBR Pile, so I also felt this would be a great, enjoyable way to finally get on those books!

To get details on the challenge and see how you can join yourself, follow the link on the sidebar to Book Chick City.  Happy reading!