Review: WaxWorld

WaxWorld by Mark Gillespie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of WAXWORLD by Mark Gillespie

WAXWORLD is an exciting, unstoppable, novella which immediately captured my attention and never let go. I loved everything about it, including the characters (primarily the protagonist, with additional secondary characters of importance appearing along the way), the unending suspense, the protagonist's thought processes concerning possible causes of his situation (which mirrored my own, admittedly paranoiac, assumptions), his ethical behavior, his morality, and his devotion to his parents and girlfriend. Jack Murray is a surprisingly “good guy,” given his age at the time of the tale, his affluent background, his genetic blessedness, and his athletic capability. Actually, nowadays I'm surprised to find “good guys” in any social or economic class, so his altruism was a remarkably strong point in his favor. Given his character, the ending was particular poignant, and despite how it turned out, that ending was welcome and I applaud “Jack” for his conscious and altruistic decisions.

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Review: Twin Lakes : The Autumn Fires

Twin Lakes : The Autumn Fires by Melissa Lason
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: TWIN LAKES: AUTUMN FIRES by Michelle Garza and Melissa Larson

TWIN LAKES: AUTUMN FIRES is EXACTLY the kind of electrifying, breathtaking, heart-pounding, Horror suspense you need for October build up to Halloween reading! From first page to last, I could not relinquish reading, and on finishing, I find myself hungry for the return of these unusual characters and this very exceptional (spooky!) little Pacific Northwest community. Horror, religious persecution, paganism, ritual sacrifice: TWIN LAKES: AUTUMN FIRES is rolling in the good stuff horror aficionados love! If you love and admire the WAYWARD PINES novels, or the series of TWIN PEAKS, BATES MOTEL, and CASTLE ROCK, then this is your next great read!!!

Review: A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe

A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe by J.R. Hamantaschen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A DEEP HORROR THAT WAS VERY NEARLY AWE by J. R. Hamantaschen

This author falls into a special category all his own: a specialized category of the Outre, New Weird, and exceptional. I can only think of one other who is consistently an author of "Something Else," Darren Speegle. Both have the quality of causing the reader to ponder, "What Dimension is this? And how did I get here?" With each story by Mr. Hamantaschen, I am transported to somewhere that on its surface is consensus reality, but in actuality is no more our reality than is a mirror image "the real thing." Like some nightmares, these stories refuse to quietly depart. Instead, once you read them, they're here to stay. A DEEP HORROR THAT WAS VERY NEARLY AWE is Mr. Hamantaschen's third collection, and features eleven stories.

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Review: Dracula: Badass Vampire

Dracula: Badass Vampire by Brent Reilly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review: DRACULA BADASS VAMPIRE by Brent Reilly

The author attempts to humanize one of my favorite historical icons, 15th century Eastern European Prince Vlad Dracul. He lived in a horribly bloodthirsty era, one which boggles the modern sensitivity. He was no clean liver himself, but history acknowledges that he did have rational, if imperfect, reasons for his actions.

I rate this novel 18+ for violence, profanity, and sexual situations.

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Review: Dracula: Badass Vampire

Dracula: Badass Vampire by Brent Reilly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Window

The Window by Glenn Rolfe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE WINDOW by Glenn Rolfe

Never gonna look in a mirror or out a window again! Thanks to Mr. Glenn Rolfe, who brings a most implacably terrifying tale, one with historical antecedents (can't argue with those grimdark Teutonic "fairy tales," now!) and a way-strong contemporary setting in which he works in several important interpersonal issues. On one level, THE WINDOW is a contemporary coming of age, with friendships, new love, dealing with parents' separation and new boyfriend/girlfriend, bullies, changing schools, etc. On a deeper level, no one should be subjected to the terrors of the coming of age of James, Carrie, Kevin, Eric, and Hank. Many adults could not have coped. THE WINDOW is deep and rich with Meaning, and even if all you're hoping for is a strong scary story--THE WINDOW will surely scare your socks off!

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Celebrate BANNED BOOKS WEEK: READ!

ideas

FRIGHTFALL 2018

Frightfall Sign Up

Follow my Progress in this Post and at:2018 Frightfall Goodreads Shelf.

Completed:  51 books.



Frightfall Reading Plan:
(Includes Pre-Readathon September 29-30
And Post-Readathon Oct. 31-November 1
TWIN LAKES: AUTUMN FIRES. READ.

WAXWORLD. READ.
SOMETHING EVIL THIS WAY COMES (THE HAUNTING OF BRIAR PARK BOOK 1). READ. Abbey and Convent.
JINXED. READ.
FEAST IN THE ABBEY. AUDIO. "READ"
THE MONKEY'S PAW. AUDIO. "READ"
DEATH ON THE RIVER. (Abandoned Abbey).
THE MONASTERY MURDERS
SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS (The Monastery Murders Book 1 of a Trilogy).
MURDER AT THE MONASTERY
THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO.
THE MONK.
THE GREATEST GHOST AND HORROR STORIES EVER WRITTEN
THE GREAT GOD PAN.
CARMILLA.
THE DEVILS OF LOUDUN. (Convent)
THE EXORCIST.
REREADS:
EXORCIST FALLS
EXORCIST ROAD
(Roman Catholic priests)
If one notices a theme of Abbeys, Convents, Monasteries, and Roman Catholicism, that Theme is intentional. October is NaNo Prep and November is NaNoWriMo. My novel project is HOARFROST CONVENT COVEN, inspired by WINTERBAY ABBEY which I read recently.

Review: Things You Need

Things You Need by Kevin Lucia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THINGS YOU NEED by Kevin Lucia

That old proverbial expression, “what you want is not what you need”? Well, Kevin Lucia's spectacular new thematic collection is both what you want and what you need. Certainly that proved true for this reviewer. I've admired Mr. Lucia's fictional community of Clifton Heights (both admired, enjoyed, and feared) for quite some time, and I was ecstatic to return to its “loving” arms and welcoming smile.

Mr. Lucia's horror is never Splatterpunk. It is neither unseemly nor undignified. His is the horror-under-the-surface, much like the neverending eternal mine fires burning under the former community of Centralia, PA. Usually (mostly) you don't see it, but somehow (“there's something in the lockers”) your intuition is aware of it, and something in your spirit screams: “DANGER! DANGER!”

Mr. Lucia's horror creeps on little cat feet. But creeping along is an inevitable, implacable, “you ought never to have come here but you did and oh boy are you in trouble now” danger. You can't get away, you can't get out. Your personality and character are going to be peeled right down to the inevitable core by revelation after revelation. And when it's done, you'll either be someone new—or you will no longer exist—like many of the characters. But what a wonderful fun ride it's going to be!

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Review: AntiAmerica

AntiAmerica by T. K. Falco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: ANTIAMERICA by T. K. Falco

ANTIAMERICA is an engrossing gaze into contemporary culture and a number of important social and ethical issues. Its theme is also potentially predictive, and readers will be left pondering, "Is such an event possible? Could it happen in the U. S.? What if it DOES?" The characters readily engaged my empathy, and this thriller of activism held my attention right from the start.

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Review: Charlie Harmer Takes A Ride

Charlie Harmer Takes A Ride by Brendan Detzner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CHARLIE HARMER TAKES A RIDE

Extraordinary! Surreal, encompassing, out of this world, and beyond this life, CHARLIE HARMER TAKES A RIDE is a freewheeling roller coaster journey through Death, Life, Hades, and the human heart, with a constant drumbeat of music and the music industry and aftermarket. It's breathtaking.


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Review: The Mourner's Cradle: A Widow’s Journey

The Mourner's Cradle: A Widow’s Journey by Tommy B. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE MOURNER'S CRADLE by Tommy B. Smith

A strong heroine is always to be desired, and in THE MOURNER'S CRADLE author Tommy B. Smith offers us one of the strongest. Newly widowed Anne Sharpe, wife of an unfortunately discredited historical/archaeological researcher, is nearly indefatigable. Not a superman (in the Nietzschean meaning), but an individual who withstands far more than most in contemporary pampered culture could tolerate. I think she's become one of my idols. Like the Timex watch of the 1950's, she "takes a licking and keeps on ticking." And as long as she keeps her purpose in mind, she's unstoppable.

From the US to the Peruvian Andes, on the trail of what might be one of the most startling and powerful archaeological discoveries of our time, Anne Sharpe, heroine extraordinaire, keeps her purpose in her mind and perseveres, despite the odds arrayed against her. Anne Sharpe rocks.



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Review: A Taste of Murder

A Taste of Murder by Jack Wear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: A TASTE OF MURDER by J. H. Wear

An endearing Canadian mystery with a multiplicity of plot twists, A TASTE OF MURDER keeps Edmonton detectives--and readers--pondering who is the killer, and even who was the intended victim--and why? Why this victim, and why at this particular time?

At a regional wine festival held at an Edmonton convention center, a partner in a sales agency dies during his booth's morning set-up. He did have some cardiac weakness, but the cause of death was more imminent. Did he anger someone sufficiently to inspire premeditation? Certainly this wasn't spur of the moment manslaughter. So who wanted him out of the way, and why?

Enjoyable homicide detectives, an unusual approach to investigation (quantum metaphysics as investigative tool), and an education in wine production and marketing keep suspense turned up and readers tuned in.

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