Cold . . . but HOT

THE COLDEST MILE by Tom Piccirilli (2009 Bantam Books / 335 pp. / mmp)

I wasn't expecting this one to move as fast as 2008's THE COLD SPOT, but it does. In fact, like our anti-hero Chases' GTO, it actually moves faster.

On a mission to locate his tougher-than-nails grandfather Jonah (as well as Jonah's daughter Kylie), Chase makes his way through the brutal NJ underworld before heading down to Florida. During his trip he gets involved with a couple of different crews, manages to piss of everyone from the low man to the Main Man (and Woman), and somehow avoids the temptations of the sexy Hildy (a street girl who floats between gangs) while keeping her just close enough to find out what he needs to know.

THE COLDEST MILE just didn't want to leave my hands; Piccirilli's prose is as smooth and readable as ever, his characters gritty, scary, and real, and I can't recall this many things happening in a single crime novel since Mario Puzo's grossly underrated OMERTA.

With action and suspense-filled gun fights, knife fights, fist fights, scams, cons, double and triple-crosses, car chases, and, as with THE COLD SPOT, no filler, fans of this neo-noir saga can only hope there's another Chase adventure on the horizon.

Don't miss this.

Bryan's Still Flyin'...

SOULTAKER by Bryan Smith (2009 Leisure Books / 303 pp. / mmp)

Pulp horror-paperback-author Jack McAllister returns to his small, white trash hometown to discover his brother's girlfriend Myra is a lot more than she appears to be on the outside. In fact, Myra's an ancient demon who gains power from taking the souls of those around her. Having taken control of influential people across the town of Rockville, she's planning on a mass soul-harvest at the local high school, a massacre to dwarf all other Columbine-type tragedies.

While SOULTAKER reads like a novel the protagonist himself would have written, Smith once again manages to take a simple premise and keep the pages flipping. There's some scares, sex, conspiracy and BUCKETS of gore, i.e. everything a fan into old-school "supermarket" horror novels would want. The author knows his audience and he delivers the goods.

As pre-possessed high school snob Bridget says, "A teenager's soul is the equivalent of spiritual crack or Ecstasy" (pp. 162). So, too, is the spirit of a Bryan Smith novel. This one (his 5th for Leisure Books) is a lot of blood-soaked fun, just don't expect anything too different.

These Suckers Mean Business...

VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE (DESCENT INTO CHAOS) by Derek Gunn (2008 Black Death Books / 285 pp. / tp)

Picking up two years after VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: A WORLD TORN ASUNDER, we find our surviving humans (still led by Harris) plotting a way to bring two factions of vampires against each other while attempting to keep their own location a secret.

Gunn's V.A. series features (not only) humans battling some of the more brutal vamps you've ever seen, but also vampire slaves known as "Thralls," who possess super human strength, yet not as strong as their undead masters.

The first installment featured nearly non-stop action. While this one is much of the same, I found the first 90 pages to be a bit routine; its lack of dialogue slows down the prose and I began to lose interest. But when Chapter Nine kicks in (as we follow a side-plot dealing with former hitman-now-Thrall, Ralf Falconi), CHAOS dives head first into what (I guess) can be labeled a "military vampire" adventure that'll have fans of the UNDERWORLD films as happy as a rabid cannibal at a weight watchers meeting.

In fact, this one reads like a cross between UNDERWORLD and UNDER SEIGE 2: DARK TERRITORY, as much of the second half takes place aboard a train our survivors use to rescue human prisoners. While some of the characters here (both living and undead) are forgettable, he generates enough into his main protagonists that I'm interested to see where he takes the third novel.

The first book of this series is currently being made into a "major motion picture" (according to the author's profile). Both books DO read like a summer blockbuster, so if that's your thing you might get a charge out of this violent action yarn. If your bloodsucking preferences are along the lines of TWILIGHT, you probably won't get it. (VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: FALLOUT is the forthcoming third title).

Let's Get ready to CRUMBLE!

MONSTROUS: 20 TALES OF GIANT CREATURE TERROR Edited by Ryan C. Thomas (2008 Permuted Press / 268 pp. / tp)

After a somewhat self-praising introduction by MEG author Steve Alten, this collection (featuring giant creatures of all shapes and sizes) gets off to a good start with 'Present Tense, Future Imperfect,' D.L.Snell's interesting tale that combines oversized critters with . . . political intrigue. Legendary British author Guy N. Smith (famous for his long-running series of giant crab novels) strikes with 'Crabs,' a claustrophobic nightmare featuring over (and under) -sized, pissed-off claw-mongers attacking a beachfront.

A few stories use claustrophobia to their advantage, especially Paul Stuart's 'The Long Dark Submission,' a Buddhist-themed underwater creeper that'll have you gasping for air.

Like most anthologies, this one features a few misses, but none of them come from the three new authors whose work is presented here for the first time; most notable is Evan Dicken's 'Extinction,' a very well-written renaissaince-ish monster mash.

Other memorable offerings come from James A. Moore (a giant brain tumor goes ballistic), Nate Kenyon (one of several water-creature based tales, this being the scariest), Jeff Strand (a giant vampire, featuring an opening sentence that'll keel you over), Patrick Rutigliano (giant lice [yes, LICE!] during WW1--one of my favorites of the lot), and a nifty H.G. Wells-ish collaboration from David Conyers and Brian M. Sammons that packs a clever finale.

MONSTROUS ends on a very high note with a "mini-epic" from the maniacal-word-slinging Cody Goodfellow titled 'The Island of Dr. Otaku,' which reads like a cross between a demented 007 yarn and the wildest Japanese monster romp you've read in years (seriously--this one's worth the price of admission on its own).

A fun, fun, fun time all around--the couple of slower tales don't even spoil the party.