Review: JUST SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT DEAD by Anonymous-9

JUST SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT DEAD is a short collection of three stories that is highly entertaining and also serves as a great introduction to Anonymous-9's writing.  Incredibly, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of reading this author's work but I can tell you now, very soon I shall be placing her other works near the top of the Reading List.

I came across this collection while searching for "weird" fiction to read for my "Year In Weird" feature.  I knew Anonymous-9 as an acclaimed writer of mystery and noir fiction but the closing story here, "Dreaming Deep", is an homage to the old master himself,  H.P. Lovecraft.

"Dreaming Deep" is a moody story that I feel nicely captures the atmosphere Lovecraftian fiction ought to have; a story where something dark and incomprehensible is happening off stage, yet still manages to permeate the action going on right before our eyes.  What really happened to the young boy lost at sea?  The local folk believe it to be the work of a serial killer but the boy's father knows the truth...and he is locked away in an asylum.  It would be awesome if 9 decided to continue this story elsewhere, or at least write more in this genre; she is as adept here as she is in her noir fiction.

And speaking of which, let's talk about "Triangulation".  I did predict the outcome of the story but still had a blast getting there.  For being such a short piece, 9 still manages to build tension as she goes, and before you know it, sadly for we the readers, the story is over.  I felt the way 9 has written here very cinematic and I could easily see this piece at home in a Tarantino movie.

"2,984,000 Pounds of Pressure" is the middle story in the collection and again, the suspense ratchets tighter and tighter as someone from the protagonist's past stumbles back into his life and he realizes whichever decision he is about to make will change his life forever.  To say more would spoil the story but I have to say, I loved the final choice that the character makes.

JUST SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT DEAD is a wonderful little gift that Anonymous-9 has given to us; as a thank you, as an introduction, as a reminder that she is someone to watch out for.  Preferably over your shoulder, of course.

Happy reading!

Review: THE IMAGO SEQUENCE (Night Shade Books)

In a word, WOW.

I have read Mr Barron's work on many occasions in various anthologies and enjoyed each piece so much, I decided it was time to explore the man's writing more thoroughly.  The Imago Sequence, published in 2007, is Barron's first collection.

WOW.

As I've said before, I am no expert in the field of "weird" fiction, but I do know when I've read a book that is special, and one that I am going to keep with me long after the spine is cracked and the pages are yellow.  The Imago Sequence is such a book.

What Barron does with this collection is slowly envelop his readers with an increasing sense of dread and horror, each tale like taking step after creeping step into the dark woods of the Pacific Northwest that feature in so many of his stories.  Barron is an expert wordsmith; his writing is unearthly and he dips his pen in noir, psychological and cosmic horror, and the weird.  The stories here are chilling and disturbing, and the horror here goes far beyond mere slasher and gore.  These stories stay with you, embedded in your memory for a good, long while.  My favorites:

"Old Virginia" opens the collection and also sets the tone for the entire set.  A government experiment has gone horribly awry and humankind are pawns in a game way beyond its ken...

"Procession Of The Black Sloth" is an atmospheric stand out in the collection.  It is a creepy, Chinese phantasia complete with ghosts and witchcraft...

"Bulldozer" is a type of Weird West story, with a Pinkerton detective hot on the trail of a mysterious serial killer...

"Hallucigenia"  is another story with Barron's signature brand of cosmic horror; the imagery here is surreal and unsettling.  Probably my favorite piece in the collection.

"The Imago Sequence" brings the collection to a close, and involves a series of photographs that are surrounded by mystery and the occult...

As a dark fantasy/horror collection, The Imago Sequence is amazing, truly one of the best such collections I've read in a long time.  With each story I finished, I was reminded of how excited I was reading Clive Barker's Book Of Blood for the first time.  Barron is showing here the same flashes of brilliance and is firmly establishing his own mythos with these tales.  As a collection of weird fiction, it is for me a great introduction of what heights the genre can reach, going beyond pastiche and into modern day classics.  If it isn't already, this volume needs to be on your bookshelves.

Happy reading!

Review: I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Andrew Wolter

It has been too long since we've heard from one Andrew Wolter.

The man is a prolific writer with many, many irons in the fire right now but just in time for the holidays, he has found the time to time to bestow a scary little stocking stuffer upon us, I'll Be Home For Christmas.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is the story of Jessie Sutter, all alone in the family home after the death of his mother, dealing with the first Christmas since her passing.  Christmastime holds the fondest memories of his childhood for him, because it was a time when the family acted as a family; no fighting, no screaming, only peace.

Wolter savors every word he writes and just as swirling wine in a glass releases the wine's bouquet, his storytelling swirls around us, enveloping us in his words.  You will keep reading til the end, as I did, as Jessie recalls a surreal meeting with Santa, the secret that Santa gave him and the reason why his hair and beard are white.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is a delicious little tapas of a tale, a tasty morsel to tide us over til Wolter's next big book and you will devour it in one sitting.  It's dark, it's glam...it's Christmas.

Happy Reading!



(This counts towards the 2013 Horror Reading Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader)

Review: GHOSTS IN THE ATTIC by Mark Allan Gunnells (Evil Jester Press)

I love me some Mark Allan Gunnells.

He is an author whose work I enjoy reading again and again; whenever I'm immersed in one of his novels or  numerous short stories, I am never disappointed.  His writing is always a feast for the imagination.  And Ghosts In The Attic is no exception.

Trying to list my favorites from the choice morsels here was made nigh impossible by Mr Gunnells, as the stories range from great to excellent, but I managed to whittle it down to the gems:

The collection opens with 911, a poignant ghost story with its origin straight out of 9/11.

Another stand out for me is The Delivery Boy, a great thriller about a seemingly crazy pizza delivery boy that ends with a bang!

Wasted On The Young starts out pretty straight forward then takes an unexpected turn that brings the story to a creepy end.

The crown jewel of the collection, The Ghost Of Winnie Davis Hall, is a lovely, haunting story about belief and myth.  In it, we meet a ghost who over the years has become lost, and now only wants to find her place in the world again.  Beautiful!

Circular is a graphic tale about grief and desperation that can lead to obsession.  Very creepy!

A Stranger Comes To Lipscomb Street and Finders Keepers are both love stories at their core, yet surreal and weird.

Ghosts In The Attic is another superb collection by an author who injects his writing with thoughtfulness and heart.  Even his "horror" stories are emotive, and those collected here are wistful and wicked.  Probably my only complaint is that the majority of these stories are very short and while that makes for quick reading, when I am reading Mark Allan Gunnells, I want to be lost in the writing for as long as possible.

Happy reading!


(This counts towards the 2013 Horror Reading Challenge hosted by Midnyte Reader)

Superhero Month: BEAT TO A PULP: SUPERHERO edited by David Cranmer, Scott D Parker

This was my first foray into the BEAT TO A PULP (BTAP) series, edited by David Cranmer.  He initially created the BTAP e-zine as a way to present well written stories that recalled the old traditional pulp adventures and now there is also a series of books that compile even more of these same great stories.  I came across the series while exploring more pulp and noir reading, after finishing 8 Pounds by Chris Holm and I'm very glad I took the chance and got myself a copy of Beat to a Pulp: Superhero.

This volume, edited by Cranmer and Scott D.Parker doesn't just deal with the traditional "superhero"; as a matter of fact, most of the stories deal with ordinary people rising to the occasion and doing heroic things.  So while not exactly what I was expecting, given the title, the excellence of the stories was very much what I      was expecting and I found myself enjoying this anthology very much.

There are thirteen tales in this volume; I will highlight my favorites:

The collection kicks off with a firecracker of an introduction by Parker that really sets up the tone and theme of the book; you can also read it here as a teaser!

Jake Hinkson's The Long Drop places superheroes squarely inside the New York City police department.  Cooper, a NYPD officer, wakes up in a hotel room, with no memory of how he got there or why there is a severed head in the shower.  Hinson introduces a gritty, alternate reality that I'd like to see him explore further, where people with super powers have been accepted in society and builds the tension nicely as Cooper tries to unravel the mystery of who has set him up and why...

The Revenge of the Red Avenger called to mind the innocent kids from Stand By Me and The Sandlot; Billy and Carole are just a young boy and girl who are best friends and share a love of comic books.  They decide to become heroes, like the ones in  their comics, so they can find and fight crime in their neighborhood. Kevin Burton Smith packs an emotional wallop with this story, turning a tale of carefree innocence into one of tragedy with a powerful climax.

The femme fatale of the group, Sandra Seamans, also presents an emotional story with Moon Mad.  Molly hides from the moon at night, safely amongst the nooks and crannies of the city, because the moon brings her bad "dreams".  Then one night, Molly's memories won't be denied and she has to relive a terrible past in order to save a group of innocent girls.  Seamans made me care very much about Molly and while I guessed the ending, it was no less sad for me when the story was over.

Benoit Lelievre gives us Doberman: Third Party Law Enforcement and introduces us to a mercenary called upon by a politician to save his twin sons from a madman.  The story is just the right amount of violent and the protagonist reminded me of in some ways of Frank Castle, the Punisher.  Lelievre writes a dark story and I hope he chronicles more of the Doberman's adventures.

And finally, to round out my list of favorites, is Chad Eagleton's Somewhere Beyond the Pavement.  It is another tale of young kids finding themselves in dire circumstances and having to find the inner strength to fight.  To live.  The way Eagleton writes the story, switching from the children, to their father, to the villains and back again really creates a thrilling edge-of-your-seat story and a made it my favorite entry in the collection.

I enjoyed this collection very much and will definitely be seeking out more from the BTAP series, as well as other works from the individual authors.  It is a great collection, and each story is was highly readable; there wasn't a clunker in the bunch.  You can get Beat To A Pulp: Superhero here and when you do, plan on reading this action packed volume in just one sitting, it's that good!

Happy reading!

Review: YOU WILL MEET A STRANGER FAR FROM HOME by Alex Jeffers (Lethe Press)

I came across Alex Jeffers quite by accident earlier this year, and having just completed his short story collection You Will Meet A Stranger Far From Home, I'm glad to say the accident was a happy one!  As I've said before, I thoroughly enjoy singe author short story collections because they are such a great way to introduce myself to an author I am unfamiliar with, sort of like a meeting for coffee to get to know someone you've just met.  And You Will Meet A Stranger... is definitely a great first date. 


Wheat, Barely, Lettuce, Fennel, Blood for Sorrow, Salt for Joy, besides being quite the mouthful of a title, is a beautifully written story that blends ancient myth with familial relationships and youthful romance.  Young Luke goes on a sailing trip with his father and stepmother and meets the beautiful Levent, a young Adonis that works on the boat.  A lovely opener to the collection.


The Arab's Prayer  is a story of two lovers caught between culture and politics and their devotion to one another.  I liked this piece very much and felt for the character of Mus'ad and sympathized with his conflict...


Then We Went There starts off as a tale of bullying and the young man who acts to stop it, then transforms itself into a story of magic and the mysterious Court of the Air.  While I did enjoy the story, I wish it would have been a longer piece, further exploring the world of the Court.  Perhaps Jeffers will return to that world someday...


The next two entries were my favorites in the collection and I'm combining them here since they share a main character, the merchant Haider.  Firooz and his Brother introduces us to the infant Haider, when the young man Firooz comes upon him abandoned in a wood, save for a mysterious black dog.  Haider becomes the brother and sometime lover of Firooz and it is through that love that Haider gives Firooz the ultimate gift.  In  Haider and his Dog we follow Haider and his constant companion Iman the black dog to another world where they are strangers in a strange land and looked upon with superstition.  Here, they come upon a seemingly deserted city,only to find something deadly waiting for them.  These two tales reminded me instantly of the early work of Tanith Lee.  I could breath and taste the worlds that Jeffers created in these two short pieces and again, I hope he explores further the adventures of Haider and Iman, for I felt the two stories here bookended which has to be a wealth of tales.  


Turning tells the story of the prostitute Serkan, bitter and with no family...until the day the cousin who wronged him comes back into his life.  I was entertained but felt the denouement came too abruptly.


Jannicke's Cat is straight science fiction.  In it, in a world where female children are no longer born, one of the last women in the world comes across an old childhood toy and her memories drive her to show her family the world that came before them.  The story started slowly for me but as it progressed, the pace picked up and I wound up enjoying it.


Liam and the Wild Fairy is another tale of a boy that doesn't fit in at school but not only does Liam have two dads, he also is a special boy with a special secret.  It is a gem of a story and the love between Liam and his father really brought a lump to my throat!


Ban's Dream of the Sea tells the story of Banto and the strange, amorous dreams that are affecting the citizens of the his city.  People are having dreams of beautiful, otherworldly lovers and then disappearing.  And now his sister is missing...Jeffers intertwines the story of Banto with the journal entries of a long ago admiral experiencing he same mystery and it makes for a very atmospheric tale.


Tattooed Love Boys close the collection with a bang, y'all!  It is a tale of beautiful boys, fluid sexuality and getting inked.  Emma and her insecure brother Theo are on vacation with their parents when they come upon a local boy named Raf and his tattoo shop; what follows is a tale of transformation and strange desires, gender swapping and magic and it is a mind bending tale indeed!

You Will Meet A Stranger Far From Home is a pleasure to read from start to finish and Alex Jeffers is a talented writer.  Fans of weird and speculative fiction will find something to delight in on every page and it is also a great find for readers of short, well written story collections.  Highly recommended!

Happy reading!


 

Short Fiction Month: Stories from EMPIRE STATE (Angry Robot Worldbuilder)

When the robotic publishing geniuses at Angry Robot released the mind bending book Empire State (see review here) by Adam Christopher, they also launched the collaborative project website WorldBuilder.  Here any and all fan creators who could write, paint, draw, sculpt or what have you, were invited to play in Christopher's noir alternate New York and create other, new works based on his novel, all with the blessing of Christopher and Angry Robot.

As I am such a fan of author AND book, I thought it would be fun and interesting to read and review the short fiction pieces that other artists have created in Empire State.  If you are wondering what it would be like to stretch your own creative muscles in the Empire State, you can find out how here and can also check out what other artists have done.

Now on to the stories!


First up is "The Biggest" by Hugo, Nebula and Locus award winning author James Patrick Kelly.  In his first ever superhero story, Kelly introduces us to Filbrick Van Loon, or "The Stilt", an earnest young man traveling to New York City to try to find his fortune in the big city after the loss of his mother.  What he finds is indeed the chance of a lifetime, but fame comes with a high price.  Kelly seems to be enjoying himself here and even ties in a well known event in NYC "history" with Van Loon's story.  "The Biggest" fits very nicely into the Empire State universe.

"This Here Empire State Ain't Mine" by Renee Parker is a short piece that works more as an introduction to her characters Emma Weston and Wilma Easton; I'd love to see more of their adventures together.  Again, it's a short piece but such is Parker's writing that her characters and their history are very intriguing.  They also seem to have living in the Empire State down pat, so you find yourself wanting to know how they manage and what happens next...more please, Renee!

"The Alienist and the Showgirl" by Keith Harvey is a darker entry into the Empire State universe.  It tells the story of Dr Josef Kleinthaler, chief psychiatrist at New York City's Bellevue Hospital and a strange young woman he becomes fascinated with, one Dorothea Stern, who claims to be from somewhere called...the Empire State?  With cameo appearances from Albert Einstein, a certain trio from L Frank Baum's classic Oz books and the War of the Worlds broadcast by Orson Welles, Harvey expertly plays up the paranoia of shadowy government agencies trying to cover up the existence of another world.  My favorite of the bunch!

"When Her Ship Came In" by Jeff Macfee deals with bootlegging and Prohibition in the Empire State; with nowhere to source its liquor from, the Empire State is dry as a bone and an desperate woman named  Pauline Tulley takes a bad situation and turns into her advantage, becoming a force to be reckoned with...but would her hard won position be enough to keep her safe from the reach of her criminal husband?  I enjoyed Macfee's story very much, and liked that Pauline was a woman who wasn't afraid to do what she had to survive in the strange new world of the Empire State; very entertaining!

This group of stories set in Empire State are all very different, yet very engaging takes on the world Adam Christopher has created.  Each author did their homework and stayed true to the tone and style of the original work and are worthy additions to Christopher's alternate New York.  I hope other, equally talented writers also take pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and continue to play in the Empire State.  After all, it's a big, wide world to play in...

Or is it?

Short Fiction Month: 8 POUNDS: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror & Suspense by Chris F Holm (Poisonville Press)

Chris Holm first came to my attention as the author of the acclaimed noir fantasy Dead Harvest, from Angry Robot Books.  And now having completed his short story collection 8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror & Suspense, I can see what all the hubbub is about!

First off, let me say that 8 Pounds is an outstanding collection of stories.  Yes, these are tales of crime, horror and suspense but Holm infuses each piece with such atmosphere that it flows effortlessly from one story into another without jarring the reader from their experience.  It is a collection that needs to be read and reread often.

As always, I like to try to talk about each story individually, so let's go:

Both "Seven Days of Rain" and "The World Behind" have the flavor of vintage Stephen King, each blending the past with the present as the protagonists recall childhood memories and things better left undisturbed come to light. Holm expertly layers the atmosphere in these tales, keeping the reader engaged until the climax comes and hits them between the eyes.  Well done.

In "A Better Life" what I first thought of as a predictable new-couple-moving-to-the-country story really threw me for a loop at the end.  The increasing sense of foreboding builds and builds and the ending is both gruesome and horrific.

"A Simple Life" is a prime example of Holm's mastery of writing a great pulp story.  It follows a very unsympathetic character getting himself deeper and deeper into a very sticky situation for the affections of the very pretty femme fatale.  Again, a great story.

"The Toll Collectors" takes a hit-man from a classic noir yarn and drops him into a ghost story that turns into a revenge tale where his past sins come back to haunt him he finally gets his just desserts.

My favorite piece in the collection is the title cut, "8 Pounds".  And I hesitate to say anything as I don't want to give too much away but this story here is worth the price of admission alone.  Holm slowly (agonizingly) ratchets the tension up, up and just when you think you can breath again-BAM!! he lets you have it!  LOVED IT!

"The Well" is the little sister to "8 Pounds".  I definitely place them both squarely in the horror set of these tales but "The Well" is a much shorter, moody piece but the ending is just as satisfying.

And finally "The Big Score" is a story of double and triple crosses that I read through at light speed, so engrossed was I in lobsterman Mike Mallory and the trouble he finds himself in when he is mistaken for another fisherman who has something that two very unscrupulous treasure hunters want.  Again, Holm stages this story nicely and it is the most action packed of the set.

I cannot recommend this collection highly enough.  Usually I seek out short story collections as an introduction to an author's work but with 8 Pounds Chris Holm has made me want to try an entire new genre on for size.  My crime/noir/pulp reading is very infrequent but if there are writers out there producing stuff like this, stuff like Chris Holm, then I may have to take a longer, keener look at what's out there.  Thank you Chris Holm, for not only entertaining me with 8 Pounds but for showing me that dark, well written fiction can come in many, many forms.


(Book 2/10 toward the Horror/Thriller Reading Challenge 2012 hosted by Sweeping Me ).

Short Fiction Month: LOVECRAFT EZINE #14 edited by Mike Davis

The Lovecraft eZine is a monthly online magazine devoted to publishing Lovecraftian horror.  Publisher and editor Mike Davis says the goal of the magazine is and always will be to publish free, quality Lovecraftian fiction every bit as good as in print anthologies.  As a newcomer to Lovecraft and his work, I have found Davis and his magazine an invaluable source and inspiration.  So when I decided to feature a "Short Fiction Month" on the blog, it was a no brainer for me to include Issue #14, a special issue with stories written by women and featuring female protagonists.

As Silvia Moreno-Garcia states in the introduction, women have not had a huge place in Lovecraftian fiction, although this is changing.  She points out that writers and artists like Caitlin R. Kiernan, Ann K. Schwader and Galen Dara are exploring and reshaping Lovecraftian fiction, expanding its fan base and ensuring that it will be relevant far into the 21st century.

Issue #14 opens with "A Beer and Tentacles" by Holliann Kim, a pretty straight forward urban fantasy where an ex lover's revenge is slowly driving a man to question his sanity and the woman scorned is quite more than what she seems; it is the most light hearted of the pieces here but I did feel bad for the poor chap, knowing what kind of end he was coming to...

"Now She Preys Through Endless Days" by Jenna M Pitman is my favorite story of the issue; the author picks through all the usual Lovecraft tropes and comes up with a tale that utilizes the best of them.  Pitman gives us an ageless cosmic entity that is biding her time amongst puny humans, being worshipped by them,  and gathering her strength for the day when she shall escape her prison and strike back at those that set her adrift...

"Fiesta of Our Lady" by Ann K Schwader is a gorgeous poem that conjured such vivid images for me; it is also another favorite of mine. After reading and rereading it, I kept wishing it was a much longer piece so I could lose myself more deeply in this story of an ancient "serpent-skirted" Lady from before the time of Man.  Ms Schwader's poem packs a big punch with just a small amount of words and I found myself online right away, looking to get more of her stories so I might continue to be transported...

"God Serum" by Wendy N Wagner takes the Lovecraft Mythos into a post-apocalyptic future and Ms Wagner's world building is impressive; so much so that I hope she explores it further and gives us more of the history of this world and of "The Unraveling".  

"Drive, She Said" by Tracie McBride brings the special issue of the Lovecraft eZine full circle with another story that takes the Mythos to the streets; an unsuspecting taxi cab driver picks up a very strange fare and what happens after will wind up haunting him for the rest of his days.  A very satisfactory close to a wonderful collection of stories!

I want to congratulate Mike Davis on what he's done with Issue #14; he's assembled varied and entertaining stories by some great writers here and shown that women do have a place in Lovecraftian fiction that they more than deserve. Mission accomplished, sir!



*And if you're looking for an introduction to Lovecraft and his Mythos, I would encourage you to seek out and support the magazine!  Yes, it is free to read online but it does cost money to produce it.  You can learn more about supporting the magazine here and even how to get past issues for your Kindle, Nook or iPad here.  Each month, reading the eZine is something that I and many others look forward to, so let's keep it going!

Happy reading!

Review: Tales From The Midnight Shift, Volume 1 by Mark Allan Gunnells (Sideshow Press)

Tales From The Midnight Shift is the first short story collection from Mark Allen Gunnells and it's a great introduction to the author.  I myself have been a fan since reading his novella Asylum, and because I enjoyed that piece so much, I was eager to see what else he could do.  The answer is a gathering of stories that range from the humorous to the horrific, making up a solid collection that is well worth the reader's time.

Gunnells opens Tales...with a bang, starting off with a short, dark tale that reminded me of early Stephen King in the way that real evil lies at the heart of a small town; in it, a young girl looking for solace instead finds terror in God Doesn't Follow You Into The Bathroom...

...in Jam, what starts off as a seemingly normal but inconvenient traffic jam turns into a quick descent into insanity as isolation and fear bring out the worst in the trapped motorists... 

Acts 19:19 Party is another great example of why Gunnells is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of short fiction; he is wildly original!  This tale of a book burning gone deliciously awry had me laughing throughout and I joined in on the applauding at the end!

Playing Possum is a story of two men, their relationship, where it went wrong and how one of the partners decides to stop pretending everything is ok; I found the dialogue between the two lovers so authentic that I really felt for Kevin and what he was going through...

The Barter System tells of a woman contemplating a life change while on vacation; it's a surprising little nugget that shows exactly what someone is capable of when pushed to their limits...and also how one can never tell when opportunity will knock...

The Room Where No One Died  turns a tale of paranormal activity into a poignant account of abuse and its ramifications on the victim...

The Gift Certificate is a cautionary tale about stealing what's not yours...or you WILL suffer the consequences!  One of my favorites in this collection...

Christmas Getaway, one of the more outright horrific stories in the book, chronicles a father's growing paranoia as he takes leave of reality and terrorizes his family; another highlight!

Big Dog is a take on the writer-who-has-lost-his-muse tale and the desperate lengths he goes to get his mojo back; I thought the story meandered a bit and the ending came too abruptly for me...

Collector's Market  is a tasty little vignette about the extremes some publishers will go to for that one of a kind book...

Accidents Happen is another sad piece, posing the question of whether an innocent victim is haunting the protagonist...or is it his own guilt?  I can be a sucker for sad stories and this one definitely fit the bill...

 Snuff  is another nasty little nugget; I thought I had it all figured out from the start but Mark totally threw in a surprise twist and I loved it!

And my absolute favorite story in the collection, The More Things Change, is just an awesome piece of work!  It is a topical, fast paced tale of high school bullying that actually managed to give me goose bumps as the tension kept mounting but still had the emotional weight to have me sympathizing with the traumatized student and his family; brilliant!

Out Of Print  is the opposite side of the coin from Collector's Market, detailing (quite graphically; some passages made me cringe) how much fans are willing to pay for that rare find from their favorite author.  It's a quick read, written as posts on a message board for said writer, pretty gross but with a great ending.

The World's Smallest Man brings Tales...to a close with a dark fantasy that takes place at the heart of a traveling carnival; when a magician joins the troupe and strange things start happening, it is up to the carnival's smallest member to try to unmask the man and bring to light all the magician's terrible secrets.  This is the only story from Gunnells that I've read that is outright fantasy; I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that he dips into the genre more often.

All in all, I found Tales From The Midnight Shift a pleasure to read.  There's something for everyone here and each story, no matter the genre, kept me glued to the page.  Mark Allen Gunnells is definitely an author to watch for; if this collection is any indication (and I believe it is), then he will be entertaining readers for a long time to come.

Review: Much of Madness, More of Sin by Andrew Wolter (Shadow City Press)

Much of Madness, More of Sin is the first short story collection from Andrew Wolter and what a twisted and erotic journey he takes us on!  In these tales men are driven to desperate acts and gods and devils seduce unsuspecting souls into darkest sin...

...The Feast of Bacchus is weird and erotic and sets the tone for the rest of the collection.  In it, a young man is getting ready to stop hustling on the streets but the city's celebration of the god of wine may be the wrong night for one last trick... 

...Jailed is a story of a desperate man who is given the chance to escape his own personal torture of suspecting his lover of cheating; but in confronting his fears, he may have traded one hell for another...

...If Not For Death reminded me of an old Tales From The Crypt story with its lost souls rising from the dead to extract their vengeance...

...Everlong is a short, sad love story that tells us True Love reaches from even beyond the grave and never lets go...

...Being Human is another type of love story with a dark twist that involves madness, obsession and murder...

...In the Shadow of Hades  is a story about a lonely abused girl trying to fit into the wrong circle of friends; but the girls she befriends are only playing a game with her, a game with terrible consequences...

...The Baths at the End of the Road  is a creepy tale of sex and horror and is definitely one of my favorites in this collection.  In it, the kinky scene of a bath house becomes a nightmare from hell that the protagonist has to escape from or be trapped inside the bath house forever...

...Trick Of Fate is the second story in the collection to feature a serial killer, one with a crazed personal mission that an unsuspecting young street hustler falls victim to; can another young man stop the killing and find redemption at the same time?

...Joseph's Request is an erotic story of possession that I thought perfectly blended sex and horror; another stand out!

...A Cub's Tail is about a youth with daddy issues on a daddy hunt with an ending that is as surprising as it is gruesome!  I actually said "Ooh Andrew, no you didn't!" while I was reading this!

...Much of Madness, More of Sin, the closing story is the longest and most transgressive in the collection and my favorite.  In it madness and sin culminate in a tale that made for both erotic and yet discomfiting reading.

I really enjoyed Much of Madness, More of Sin.  All the supernatural elements are properly otherworldly and seem even more horrific up against the background of the Phoenix, Arizona area that Wolter knows so well; contrasting our own familiar world with the unspeakable nightmares that he visits upon it, Wolter is able to permeate his work with a restless sense of anxiety.  The pacing is quick but I still felt I got to know the characters and cared about what was happening to them.

Much of Madness, More of Sin is a great introduction to Andrew Wolter's work and writing style.  I know he has something special planned with his upcoming New World Mythos that will delve even deeper into madness and sin, so I can't think of a better way to gear up for that tentacled horror then to loose yourself in this collection.  It would be a sin not to!




You can purchase Much of Madness, More of Sin here.

News From The Zombie Feed

The Zombie Feed, vol. 1 edited by Jason Sizemore is up for pre-order, signed by the editor. The offer runs from February the 21st to March the 29th. The link to the offer: http://thezombiefeed.biz/pre-orders-the-zombie-feed-vol-i/



 

Former Stoker Award-nominated editor Jason Sizemore compiles seventeen tasty, brainy morsels of zombie short fiction in The Zombie Feed: Volume 1.

Zombie fiction from many sub-genres are represented here: zombie apocalypse, zombie survival, zombies in human society, zombie hunters, and more. And the one thread interlocking these disparate groups–ZOMBIE MAYHEM! This action packed anthology takes a syringe full of contaminated adrenaline-laced undead and slams 1000 CCs directly into your chest cavity.

Fast paced, yet thoughtful, The Zombie Feed: Volume 1 will sate your appetite… at least temporarily.

The volume will include:

Undead Introduction by Jason Sizemore
Cold Comfort by Nathaniel Tapley
This Final December Day by Lee Thompson
What's Next? by Elaine Blose
Rabid Raccoons by Kristin Dearborn
The Twenty-Three Second Anomaly by Ray Wallace
Not Dead by BJ Burrow
Tomorrow's Precious Lambs by Monica Valentinelli
The Fare by Lucien Soulban
A Shepherd Of The Valley by Maggie Jamison
Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell
The Last Generation by Joe Nazare
Goddamn Electric by K. Allen Wood
Hipsters In Love by Danger Slater
The Sickness Unto Death by Brandon Alspaugh
Lifeboat by Simon McCaffrey
Zombies On The Moon by Andrew C. Porter
Biten by Eugene Johnson




About the Editor:

Jason Sizemore is the owner and operator of Apex Publications. He also writes and edits, earning a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his first book, Aegri Somnia. He’s seen over thirty short stories published and four anthologies. He maintains a website at www.jason-sizemore.com.



Publicist: Harry Markov, harry.markov.tzf@gmail.com

Review: Wilde Stories 2010 edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press)

I love anthologies!

I've loved reading them for as long as I can remember.  They're almost always a quick, enjoyable read and I often find an author I've never heard of, whose writing so impressed me that I immediately set out to read their other work.  Even better, if I'm lucky enough to come across a themed anthology, I'm able to lose myself in the different variations that the writers come up with, which when read together, make for a many faceted, beautiful picture.

WILDE STORIES is just such an anthology.  The "theme" here is stories featuring gay protagonists and Steve Berman has done an admirable job of collecting the best in gay specualtive fiction from the last year, "..tales of men haunted sometimes by ghosts and sometimes by handsome wolves on two legs-by outsider artists or strange neighbors."  This third edition of WILDE STORIES has several excellent stories that most readers may not have ever found if it wasn't for Mr. Berman gathering them here in one volume.  Here are my best of the best:

Laird Barron's "Strappado" opens the collection, a chilling piece about a pair of lovers and their participation in a deadly "guerilla" art exhibit.  Ben Francisco gives us the magic realism of "Tio Gilberto And The Twenty Seven Ghosts", one of my favorites in this volume.  It's the story of a young gay man who goes to live with his uncle who himself is haunted by ghosts of his past; simply beautiful!  Another favorite of mine is "Ne Que V'on Desir" by Tanith Lee (writing as Judas Garbah), a sensual wolf tale that takes place on a train in the winter..."Some Of Them Fell" by Joel Lane is a coming of age story about a pair of young boys and what happens to them in the woods and their reunion years later.  Jameson Currier's "Death In Amsterdam" is a thriller/horror story that does a great job of ratcheting up the suspence as it builds to its climax and is an excellent story but seems to me more mainstream than speculative.  And bringing the collection to a dramatic close is "The Far Shore" by Elizabeth Hand.   As always, Hand takes myth and fairy tale and twists them into something new, here a story of a man who becomes part of a fairy tale himself...

WILDE STORIES 2010 is a pleasure to read and I definitely recommend it to any reader, be they gay or straight, who is looking for good, memorable speculative fiction and would enjoy walking down the paths these amazing writers will lead them.

You can get your copy of WILDE STORIES  2010 here http://www.lethepressbooks.com/

Steve Berman, editor

Review: So Fey, Queer Fairy Fiction edited by Steve Berman (Lethe Press)

I was so excited when this book came in the mail!  I've been a long time fan of the Fairy Tale anthologies put out by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling, including their similar offerings in the Young Adult market.  The way those authors took the old fairy tales and reinvented them in each volume was always so satisfying to me, every story was a jewel.

Steve Berman's SO FEY reminds me very much of those anthologies and is now high on my list of fairy tale retellings.  For me, as a gay man, it was truly wonderful to see fairy stories and queer fiction woven together to create shining, new takes on the old familiar themes.  I thought this was an outstanding collection and want to congratulate Berman and all the authors on their beautiful work.

Here are some of my favorite stories from the collection:

"A Faun's Tale" by Tom Cardamone is a short but sensual story about a faun's romp in New York's Central Park...

"A Bird Of Ice" by Craig Laurance Gidney, where a spirit falls in love with a mortal...

"Three Letters From The Queen Of Elfland" by Sarah Monette, where a woman is torn between her duty to her husband and her attraction to Nyx, the Queen...

"Detox" by Elspeth Potter is a hilarious story where a brownie turns the tables on his mistress...

"The Coat Of Stars" by Holly Black has a gay, Latino man returning home to find his long lost love...

"Year Of The Fox" by Eugie Foster is a beautiful story of a princess in exile who turns hate into love...

and "Ever So Much More Than Twenty" by Joshua Lewis features a gay man who travels with his daughter back to the cabin of his youth, and the memories of his fairy lover...

Again, I thought this was a great collection of stories and I hope Mr. Berman will bring us another volume some day.  It is a must read for lovers of fairy stories and for fans of gay fiction.  You can pick up SO FEY here: http://www.lethepressbooks.com/gay

Lethe Press

Review: Superstar by Rick R.Reed

I have been a fan of Rick R. Reed's work since his Dell/Abyss releases PENANCE and OBSESSED and have followed his career ever since; yes, because he is a gay author but first and foremost because he's just a damn good writer!  Recently, thanks to social networking, I became a "friend" of his, first on Myspace and now on Facebook and Twitter.  And it was through Twitter that I really started a correspondence with him and,much to my excitement,  got the opprotunity to review his story "Superstar".

As I said, I've always loved Rick's work and this story was no different.  It's a beautifully written and beautifully sad love story.  Or maybe unrequited love story would be a better way to describe it.  It starts with the narrator, Leon, getting ready to jump from a "suicide bridge" in Seattle, Washington.  But before he jumps, he wants to relive what has brought him to this point of no return.

Told in flashbacks, he tells us the story of how one October night he met and made love with the lead singer of an up and coming band.  The sex was amazing and the unnamed singer,as he leaves in the morning,  tells Leon he loves him and that he will return.  Three years pass through which Leon has never been able to get over their one night stand and soon he finally comes to realize that for the singer it ended the night it began, "more a haiku than an epic." 

I really felt for Leon, especially as the story got closer to its climax; his memories of that night and what had  happened since are very emotional.  Who hasn't had that one lover that didn't return their affections, or phenomenal sex that didn't flower into a relationship?  Rick's writing made Leon's despair very real to me and made me want to be there for Leon as he stood there on the bridge, to hold out a hand and save him. 

If you get a chance to read this story, I can't recommend it enough; and I was excited to find out it's going to be included in a collection of Rick's due out Summer 2010 called ON THE EDGE.  This collection includes several of Rick's stories that have only been available in an electronic format, so don't miss out on this book, either; I know I will be hot on it's tail!