Jeff's on a Roll and a Half...

DWELLER by Jeff Strand (2010 Leisure Books / 320 pages / mmp)

Who among us horror fans--during our childhood--didn't daydream about being friends with Kong, Godzilla, Freddy, Jason, or some kind of monster who'd be our friend and watch our backs? You didn't? Liar! I have many, many times.

In Strand's second "serious" novel, a young boy named Toby wanders into the woods, led away by his active imagination. He runs out with everything he has after an encounter with a bigfoot-type creature and eventually wonders if he's losing his mind. His parents help him to see that he hasn't. Flash forward to Toby as a teenager; tired of being bullied by kids in his high school, he takes a walk into the woods and discovers a cave he'd never seen before.

Guess who he meets up with?

Toby eventually names the creature Owen, and goes to the woods to feed it. With his new, secret, clawed-buddy, Toby manages to build a confidence he didn't know he had . . . and when he manages to kill two bullies in the woods, he decides the best way to get rid of the evidence is to feed them to his new friend, who quickly develops a taste for flesh and blood.

As with his previous serious-themed novel, PRESSURE, Strand again puts younger characters into some dark circumstances and does so to believable effect (and when there's a monster involved, that's no easy feat). The focus on this unusual "friendship" goes in a few nifty directions, and in the heart-breaking finale, the author leaves it to the reader to decide who the real monster of the story is.

DWELLER is another fun to read, fast-paced thriller from Strand, and is a best bet for any monster-enthusiast. While there's small bits of Jeff's dark humor thrown here and there and plenty of grue, it's the scenes of Toby and Owen's bonding (especially their final time together) that will stick with you long after you finish the novel. Don't miss this one.

(DWELLER will be released in mass market paperback the first week of March, while you can pre-order a very limited edition hardcover from Dark Regions Press (limited cover below) at horror-mall.com).

The Prophet in the Woods

THE IRON GOSPELS by William Hache (2009 Night Box Publications / 232 pp. / tp)

David wakes up one day to strange surroundings. He has no idea where he is or even who he is. A group of people have been caring for him, and he slowly begins to regain some memory. The group soon names him their new leader and begin to uphold him as their Prophet...as a divine.

Jerry eventually comes to David's new home and attempts to tell him that they've both been stranded here due to a crash during a helicopter-flying lesson. David begins to remember this, and other aspects of his pre-accident life, but seems more content with his newfound power . . . that is, until this cult of religious zealouts beging displaying some strange practices . . . and when they begin to believe they may have erred, that Jerry may indeed be the true prophet they've been waiting for, a battle of wits and control gets underway.

THE IRON GOSPELS has its share of flaws; there's loads of typos and the entire tale could've benefited from another (i.e. professional) edit. But as far as self-published novels go (and I've read many), this is one of the better I've seen in quite some time. Fans of religious-themed horror/suspense stories may want to take a look, and as long as you can get past the aforementioned typos, you may find this a decent little tale.

BUTCHER KNIVES update

The list of contributors for the forthcoming Dark Scribe Press book, 'Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film,' continues to grow (I think they're up to 75 now!). The book contains essays on all kinds of slasher films---of course I chose to pick one of the more obscure: Romano Scavolini's 1981 NIGHTMARE (a.k.a. NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN), which is my all-time favorite slasher outing. Other contributors include Gregory Lamberson, Jeff Strand, Jack Ketchum, Lee Thomas, Steve Rasnic Tem, Kim Paffenroth, and so many more your head will spin. I even heard director Romano Scavolini will have a short article or two in it (too cool!).

The projected release date is now October, 2010.More info on Dark Scribe's latest blog: http://www.swingingmachetes.blogspot.com/

Keene goes BLACK to the future...

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN by Brian Keene (2010 Leisure Books / 294 pp. / mmp)

Despite a strong similarity to King's THE MIST (and even UNDER THE DOME), Keene's latest venture into apocalyptic-territory won't take the average reader forever to finish; in fact I bet most (especially genre fans) will whiz through this in a sitting or two (and not just due to its length).

Rob Higgins is woken by his girlfriend one morning in the small town of Walden, Virginia. It's after 7:00 a.m. and the sun should be shining---yet it's still pitch black outside. The block--and quickly the entire town--begin to wonder what's happening: has Al Queda struck again? Has a volcano erupted? Have aliens or the government shut their town off and somehow draped it in a gigantic tent? Shortly after witnessing a recon-team of fireman disappear into the darkness bordering their town, Rob decides to get a team together to try it again (cue "bad idea" music here)--only this time instead of rushing into the blackness with a truck, they'll enter one by one, tied together by rope (one of the characters even mentions the film The Mist here). While a few don't make it back, things quickly go wrong, but our potential heroes are saved by Dez, a strange homeless man who lives in a shed behind a church.

It turns out Dez knows exactly what's happening, has even managed to keep The Darkness at bay, and eventually lets Rob in on how and why. What ensues is a fun, creepy little novel that'll have Keene (and most horror) fans grinning from ear to ear. While I was a little weary about the similarities between this and the aforementioned Stephen King stories (not to mention another "crazed, extremist Christian" character thrown in to make things worse ::sigh::), the story moves so fast and is such a fun read I was able to overlook these (and a couple of other) issues I had.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN is like a fun, end-of-the-world b-movie, and little holes aside, Keene continues to bring the apocalyptic goodness at full speed. (This one would make a GREAT double-feature-read with Simon Clark's DARKER, which explored a similar theme).

A true GEM from the70s

I haven't seen the 1974 Ed Gein-inspired film DERANGED since a lone-viewing on a really bad bootleg VHS tape back in the early 80s, but recently watched a digitally remastered DVD and was quite surprised that this hidden gem holds up much better than I had remembered.

If you've ever read one of the non-fiction books dealing with the infamous case of Wisconsin necrophile/serial killer Ed Gein, you'd agree this twisted piece of grindhouse cinema comes extremely close to their documented true events (although the 2000 film ED GEIN (aka By The Light of the Moon) starring Seve Railsback is nearly identical to the original case). But where ED GEIN (2000) lacks in suspense, DERANGED excels. And while DERANGED is certainly no PSYCHO (one of several films loosely based on Ed Gein), the psychological relationship between mother and son is portrayed here at an eerie level I think Hitchcock would have been proud of (I'm not sure if he ever saw or commented on this film).

Directed by the infamous Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen (both writers/actors in the genre classic CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS), DERANGED works great as a serious horror film in spite of its low budget and questionable acting (although it should be noted this comes mainly from the side characters, whereas Roberts Blossom does an incredble job portraing "Ezra Cobb" (not called Ed Gein in the film), and his mother, played by Cosette Lee, will give you the willies even before Ezra digs up her rotted corpse and "brings her home." Kudos also to actresses Micki Moore (who does a calm and unexpected role as one victim) and the young Pat Orr, who portrays the ill-fated "Sally" used on the theater poster ad in the grim finale. While there's a little bit of gore (courtesy of 3-man FX team, including future legend Tom Savini), it's the wholeTONE of the film (packed with genuine dread, atmosphere and chills) that makes DERANGED work. Even a brief (and very funny) rant by a drunk old man in a bar scene doesn't take anything away from this true classic, underground horror film that would play nicely alongside (perhaps) the most famous film based on Ed Gein, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (which was also released in 1974---hmmmm).

DERANGED isn't as professional a film as either CHAINSAW or (of course) PSYCHO, but in its own corner of the low-budget, Gein-sub-genre horror crypt, it packs quite a nasty punch and delivers actual scares . . . what more could a fan want from a horror film?

GREAT debut...

SPELLBENT by Lucy A. Snyder (2009 Del Rey / 360 pp. / mmp)

Snyder (author of the great short story collections SPARKS AND SHADOWS and CHIMERIC MACHINES) delivers her first novel. SPELLBENT is another entry in the urban fantasy/sexy occult genre, yet where others lean more on the sex and romance, Snyder's world is more centered around the magic its characters practice as well as the bizarre creatures and situations they face.

Jessie Shimmer is new to the Craft and lives with her mentor/lover, Cooper Marron. When he's hired by local farmers to summon rain (a spell he needs Jessie to complete), they accidentally open a dark portal, releasing a demonic-centipede creature into the world. The local overseeing council of "Talents" manage to place the town under a protective barrier, but not before Cooper is sucked into the portal and Jessie is left alone to try and find him with little knowledge of her own skills and a new ferret familiar named Palimpsest (Pal to his friends).

Barely surviving her encounter with the deadly creature (now with one arm and one eye less), Jessie attempts to find her man, despite the magic community being on the verge of banning her and her standing among them suspended. Being a faithful familiar, Palimpsest agrees to help her on her quest despite the repercusions. As Jessie learns to use her powers (with Pal's help), we're introduced to all kinds of memorable characters, and some of the gifts Jessie learns to use surprise even herself.

Snyder's first Jessie Shimmer novel is a lot of fun to read, is loaded to the brim with action, monsters, and surprises around every corner. Shimmer is a tough-as-nails, smart female lead who I think most genre fans will take to before the second chapter ends and while Pal is a fantastic side-kick, I'm hoping he returns in the next book in his creepy, post-ferret form.

#3's the Charm...

THE ETERNAL PRISON by Jeff Somers (2009 Orbit / 387 pp. / tp)

After destroying The Electric Church and surviving The Digital Plague, Anti-hero Avery Cates returns in his third adventure to face The Eternal Prison. From an underground super-prison in the middle of the desert, to a cannibal-infested Russia, to the criminal-infested underworld of New York City and then back to the slammer again, Somers' latest Cates installment is a non-stop barrage of head-crushin', gun-shootin', tough-guys-on-adrenaline thrill ride that barely allows the reader a second to catch their breath.

The series takes an unexpected change when the powers that be attempt to make avatars from Cates' brain; their experiment is stopped short, but not before (about) two dozen Cates avatars are created, and Cates himself is implanted with the intelligence (and possibly the souls?) of several people who now live within his brain--one who guides him through the title prison (at a cost) during the nail-biting finale. It'll be interesting to see if Cates still hears all these voices in his head in future tales (the fourth, The Terminal State, is slated for a Spring, 2010 release); it would surely give this series (and Cates' character) yet another neat angle to play off.

Somers' Avery Cates series continues to be an action packed blend of scifi, horror, and action, this time with a few nice twists and cameos from characters we've met in the first two novels. This is testosterone-fueled scifi/splatterpunk/pulp that's spawning a dedicated cult following; count me in as a member in good standing.

For a Few Squid More

FISTFUL OF FEET by Jordan Krall (2009 Eraserhead Press / 210pp. / tp)

A lone cowboy (known only as Calamaro) wanders into a small Nevada town and immediately gets on the nerves of some card players; but a couple of people befriend him when he sticks up for Stacklee (a black bartender at a local brothel) and Betty, the brothel's owner. Despite the screams of Indians in the surrounding desert and a slightly high-strung sheriff, Calamaro decides to take a break from his journey (from New Jersey) and stays for a while.

Before long Calamaro comes across all kinds of strange characters, including a four-footed whore, a sexually-charged Mayor, The Hard Candy Kid (one of the most feared gunfighters in the West) and a gang of syphilis-infected psychos. With his pistol that burps when fired, Calamaro eventually helps defend the town of Screwhorse from the super-savage Indians who are bent on killing everyone in sight with their odd array of weapons. As if this wasn't enough, there's a strange case of sexually-transmitted tattoos going around as well as a black-gloved slasher offing the whores at the local brothel.

Krall's FISTFULL OF FEET is the weirdest, most violent Western since Steve Vernon's LONG HORN, BIG SHAGGY. Picture a mix of EL TOPO and FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET (hmmmm...Western Giallo?) and add the author's trademark squids, horses (both real and wooden) a twin-tailed scorpion that shows up in the nick of time to save Calamaro . . . and the hermaphrodite/transvestite shovel-wielding Indian who befriends him . . . let me stop here before my brain explodes. If you hate westerns like I do, don't be turned off buy this . . . it's unlike any western you've ever read before and is written in a wonderfully fast pace that never lets up.