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Killer Scarecrow by Scott Donnelly | Book Review
Dark and haunting. Killer scarecrow is multi-faceted and strips the layers back of the human condition. It is certainly a brilliant example of deciphering logic from trauma. Our ability to cope and compartmentalize grief. It is an intelligent and fascinating novella on several levels. It is a deeply unsettling story that investigates the fragility of life, childhood trauma and the complexity of relationships. The horror is real – no not the idea of a Killer Scarecrow but the horror of death and the consequences for those left behind. A scarecrow in the yard is all that remains of Benny Billings so why does Cash feel like his best friends last…
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Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman | Book Review
Whisper Down the Lane is a dark and oftentimes rage inducing tale of identity, guilt and pain. Richard, an art teacher in Virginia comes across a gutted school rabbit that appears to have ritualistic connotations. It shouts out at him and can’t help but ponder if it was carried out in his name. This is a story often its not healthy for the readers continuation of life – but isn’t that the best kind of novel? It’s edgy and frank and it doesn’t care for your feelings…it doesn’t care one bit. Whisper Down the Lane is hard hitting – think of a mallet pounding into your temple. With that visual…
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Shelter for The Damned by Mike Thorn | Book Review
Shelter for the Damned spins a tale of teenage rage and angst mirrored with the events occurring in the shack. Set the scene…A shack in the middle of a field, it has an exorable pull to the protagonist, Mark. It almost calls to him like a voice in the wind, a siren call. Thorn has a cutthroat ability to reel you in, a writing style so sharp and penetrating that it threatens to tear you open, layer by layer. It is a brutal examination of the emotions and turmoil that teenagers battle with. Shelter for the Damned felt like the lovechild of Barker and King. I’m not a huge fan…
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Shadows of Hell by Duncan Thompson | Blog Tour Review
Sometimes, just sometimes, you know instantly when a series is going to become a favourite. The Shadows series by Duncan Thompson is just that. Shadows in Hell is the sequel to the brilliant Shadows in the Woods novel. Features Dante’s Divine Comedy – Check A battle of good vs evil – Check Hard hitting themes such as grief and forgiveness – Check Thompson once again utilizes the short sharp shock in delivering at times a hilarious but dark installment. One event changed several people’s worlds, but one person’s actions saved the world. It paints a vivid picture of how the strands of connection between characters is unbreakable, even when in…
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Tome by Ross Jeffery | Book Review
Tome – its clarity was never more focused and established from the very first page. Dark and depraved. The story is multi-faceted as it strips the layers back of the human condition. Boy does it show the human condition for what it truly is, hungry for power and destruction. Tome is a story that examines many prejudices rife in not only America’s penial system. Racial abuse, misogyny and homophobia feature strongly, and Jeffery has tackled the sensitive themes with both class and tenderness without skipping on the reality. This novel is a highly intelligent and brutal story on multiple levels. Jeffery has birthed a new sub-genre of horror; he mixes…
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Fanged Dandelion by Eric LaRocca | Book Review
Fanged Dandelion is a horrifying collection of 20 poems that will not hesitate to put chills down your spine and search for hidden meaning. It is seeping in a creeping sense of dread and dismay and the influence of characters through-out LaRocca’s career is a strong marker through-out. The imagery and pulsating emotion are a siren call, it bleeds between pages, and the short snappy prose is hard hitting and uncompromising. It’s a dismembered hand crawling out from its haunted pages, its successful in grabbing you by the throat and not letting go until the final story is committed to memory. Eric LaRocca is an author who puts his heart…
