Sour Candy Review

Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sour Candy is my introduction to Kealan Patrick Burke. I was familiar with the authors name, and was sold on this particular Novella because of its beautiful cover. People can tell you not to judge a book by its cover all they want, I did, and it worked out perfectly.

Sour Candy tells the story of a man name Phil, who’s trip to the grocery store introduces him to a haggard looking woman and her creepy child. A seemingly chance encounter with the pair literally changes everything Phil has known about his life and calls into question his mental stability. I absolutely loved Sour Candy. It packs so much more into a tiny package than many 300 page books do, much like the candies it’s named after. This is a tough one to talk about without spoilers because of the length. I really enjoyed the story, I haven’t read anything quite like it before. I had no idea where Burke was taking me and that made it even better. One thing that often unsettles me in books and movies are creepy children, and it’s safe to say that Sour Candy delivers in that regard. This is a wonderfully written novella, Burke is very descriptive and really sets the atmosphere. Not a single word is wasted on the page.

Sour Candy is my kind of nightmare fuel. It’s a quick read and can easily be finished in one sitting. In the short duration it took me to read it, I found myself creeped out more than I have in a lot of books I’ve read lately. This one will have you glad you were taught not to take candy from strangers.

5/5



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The Class Reunion Review

The Class Reunion by Sean McDonough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I’ve got two confessions to make. First, is that of all the horror sub genres, Slashers are my favorite. The second, is that despite the fact that I’ve been strictly reading horror for a while now, I haven’t read many Slashers. Naturally when I was given the opportunity to get my hands on a pre-release copy of The Class Reunion By Sean McDonough I jumped all over it.

The Class Reunion follows Vickie Fields as she tags along with her old friend Bridget to a party being thrown at the abandoned St. Regina Academy. She wants no part of the shenanigans. Vickie hated St. Regina Academy, and the people throwing the party were some of the students who were most cruel to her. Sensing Bridget wanted to go for a specific reason, Vickie ends up making the biggest mistake of her life, accompanying her friend to the party.
What McDonough does with his latest, is none other than the written equivalent of a modern B movie slasher. I don’t mean that in a bad way, the book was quite fun. Like any good slasher, you’re given just enough information and characterization to keep you hooked between each brutal murder. Many of the characters are genre tropes, but they are well done. They feel like real people and the dialogue between them feels natural. Part of the problem with many slashers in the modern era, is finding a way to work around the fact that help is a few button presses away thanks to technology. McDonough uses the setting to bypass that problem and create an arena perfect for the slaughter of 20 something year olds. Class reunion is a breeze to read and McDonough writes a story interesting enough to get you to keep turning the pages. The conclusion of the book was nicely done, something you don’t see often in slashers. I have one real complaint about the book. The Class Reunion has quite a few spelling and grammatical errors. I’m not usually one to really pay much mind to that, but there were enough of them that I took note.

I read Sean McDonough’s latest, The Class Reunion, in one sitting. It was the exact type of book I expected, a B movie slasher set in modern times. The setting worked, the characters were given enough life on the page to feel real and I had a good time reading it. I was left with a feeling similar to discovering a hidden gem on Netflix that you had no real knowledge of. If you’re into slashers, as long as you can get past the editing mistakes I think you’ll enjoy this one.



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The Fearing:Book 2 - Water and Wind review

The Fearing: Book Two - Water and Wind by John F.D. Taff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Please, do yourself a favor. Before starting this review, buy book one of The Fearing, by John F.D. Taff. With that out of the way. OH MY GOD. How do you top the first book in this serialized novel? Ask Taff, because 2 days ago I didn’t think it possible. I said it before and it must be said again. This is a masterclass on serial novelization. It’s an event. It’s amazing.

Book 2: Water and Wind begins immediately where Fire and Rain leaves off. It continues the journey of the main characters from the first title as they navigate their way through this supernatural apocalypse. The characters you love and the ones you hate (Carli) all make a return, with the addition of two new characters, a reverend and a girl named Monday. Monday is mysterious, and based off of what the book gives you to use as speculation, i need to know more. Sigel is still a creep and book two lays the ground work for what I expect is going to be an interesting reveal for him down the line. It must be said, Taff is doing such an amazing job in the way he is writing this book. He has a way with words that really just lends a beauty to the page, even though what’s taking place in the print is utterly horrific. By the time book 2 ended, I discovered why Taff has been branded the king of pain. The book ends with a punch to gut. I was on my heels before, with the last two pages Taff knocked me on my ass. Book 1 is a one sitting read. Book 2 cut to the top of my TBR and book 3 will do the same.

In my previous review I had said that there’s no reason to expect anything other than greatness from the books to follow. What I didn’t expect, is for Taff to somehow top perfection. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you aren’t reading The Fearing you need to. School is in session. Taff is the professor and you all need to sit down and pay attention.

5/5 stars



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Creature Review

I tried to think of one word that jumped at me to start this review. I couldn’t. So here are a few words that come to mind as I reflect on what I just read. Powerful, sad, tense, brutal, and emotional. This book is all of those things and more. Creature is considered by many to be the best book by Hunter Shea, and while I haven’t read his other works to be able to speak on that, I CAN tell you that it’s one hell of an impressive book.

Creature follows Kate and Andrew, a married couple who’s lives have been put through the ringer due to a number of autoimmune diseases that Kate suffers from and the havoc the treatments wreak on her body. Daily pain and suffering had made every day a test of will for Kate while Andrew is tasked with caring for his wife and working an office job he hates for the medical benefits. Not everything is how it seems and illness won’t be the only monster the couple must face.

Creature is a slow burn of a novel. We spend a large portion of the book witnessing the horrors of Kate’s medical conditions and the physical and emotional toll they take on Kate and Andrew, not only as individuals, but on their marriage as well. This is most definitely a monster novel, but the most effective horror on display here is the daily agony Kate is forced to withstand. The time Shea spends developing these characters pays dividends, as you genuinely care about them and want them to pull through. The feelings you have for them turn out to be a double edged sword as they’re also the reason why agony experienced by Kate will literally cause the reader to wince in pain.  I’m no easy scare and I don’t cringe easily but there were a few parts of Kate’s ordeal that I can only describe as truly disturbing. This is all before the monster even shows up. When it does, the shit really hits the fan.

I was pleasantly surprised by Creature. I thought it would be a straightforward monster horror, instead what’s on display here is a deeply personal, horrific story of a married couple doing the best they can with the bad hand Kate was dealt. The real monster here is the litany of illnesses Kate suffers and the medical torture she endures to treat them. It’s worth mentioning that in the authors notes Shea mentions the story being inspired by his wife and it shows in the care and effort he takes telling the story of Kate and Andrew. This is a must buy for any horror fan.

Remains Review

Andrew Cull. You’re going to want to remember that name. Remains, the authors Debut, is as good of a debut I’ve ever read. If this is any indication, Cull is going to be a mainstay in the horror scene for years to come.

With Remains, Cull tells the tale of a women named Lucy who for all intents and purposes, died the same day her son was brutally murdered. The author tells a wonderfully written tale of a mother who is haunted, literally and figuratively. Fresh out of being institutionalized, Lucy finds herself returning to the scene of her sons murder. She believes him to be there, and what transpires is a heartbreaking story of a mother confronted with a grief so heavy that the ghosts in her mind are just as dangerous as what’s in the house. Make no mistake about it, this novel is SAD. You feel Lucy’s heartache and desperation. I’m amazed at the skill Cull displays in making the reader share in the heartache, while still being able to scare the shit out of you. As much as this book is crushingly sad, it has teeth as well. They’re sharp, and they bite. Short chapters keep the pages turning and the tension to a high level, something that benefits the novel and keeps the reader engaged.

With Remains, Andrew Cull has cemented himself as a major player in the horror genre. He knows when to write with a chisel, gently carving Lucy’s ordeal into your heart, while at the same time knowing when to use his skill as a hammer, smashing you in the face with the violence and bloodshed horror aficionados will appreciate.

Gwendy’s Button Box Review

Where to start with Gwendy’s Button Box? Well, I guess it helps to start with this. I’m a constant reader, I love Stephen King. That being said, I’ve found much of his most recent work a bit lacking. This isn’t a knock on King, I’m here to review Gwendy’s Button Box and it must be said that this is by far the best thing I’ve read from King in a long time. Gwendy’s Button Box is a highly imaginative piece of work from two veterans.

By now, most are familiar with the fact that King can write long, epic length novels. What you should never forget about King is that he is also a master of the shorter works. The novella length also plays to the strengths of Chizmar as well. Gwendy’s Button Box is the tale of a Gwendy Peterson. We’re dropped into the story when Miss Peterson meets up with a certain man in black, Richard Fair. Yes, that man in black. Gwendy is given a box which has certain mystical qualities, but also harbors a great power, which in the wrong hands could wreak havoc at the push of a button. Literally. What follows is Gwendy’s experience as the box’s keeper. We witness a young girls coming of age, her highs and her lows. This being a work of SK, you know it won’t take long for bad things to happen, and bad things DO happen. I don’t want to say much more about this.  This one is a bit tough to discuss without spoiling anything. It’s worth noting that as soon as I finished this I pre-ordered Gwendy’s Magic Feather. It was that good.

I read Gwendy’s Button Box in one sitting. Stephen King and Richard Chizmar have crafted an excellent Novella. It’s beautiful written, highly imaginative and it keeps you turning those pages. If you’re going to buy this, and you should, it’s worth noting that the Hardcover edition from Cemetery Dance is a beautiful book and looks amazing on your shelf. I highly recommend this one.

5/5

The Dark Game Review

WOW. That's the only word to start off this review. Jonathan Janz is very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is my second Janz title. After reading the first I went and ordered everything he has written. I was provided a copy of this by Flame Tree Press for review. Upon receiving it I cleared my schedule of any other book and put this to the top of my TBR. I’d heard good things, and let me say this. Janz and The Dark Game deliver.

Janz’s latest novel is the tale of 10 writers with aspirations of hitting it big. Some have tasted success and other’s have yet to glimpse it. They’ve been selected by superstar Scribe Roderick Wells to partake in a competition in which the winner is guaranteed literary success and financial security. The only catch being that only one of them can survive this competition. Unbeknownst to the writers, this is quite literal. Janz delivers us a cast of well developed characters, aside of course, from the early novel cannon fodder.  The cast of characters in this novel share one thing in common. They all have some serious skeletons in their closets. They don’t stay buried long. I had a blast reading this book. The chapters are short and move at a lightning fast clip which I found to be perfect for that just one more chapter feeling when you’re reading something you love. 

At times the book is sexually explicit. Other times it’s violent and aggressive. One thing it always is, is entertaining. As I finished this book, I found myself wishing that the antagonists past and his abilities had been further explored, although I understand sometimes too much explanation in a horror just ruins a good thing. I’m fine with what we did have here as the mystery of Wells serves the story just fine. If anything it’s a credit to how interesting of a character Janz wrote that I’m dying to know more. The book wrapped up nicely. So many times horror botches the endings. Whether it’s in print, on film, or in video games, people seem to have trouble sticking the landing. I’m very happy to say that isn’t the case here. I found the conclusion of this book equal parts satisfying and intriguing.

The Dark Game, by Jonathan Janz is another awesome title for the author. This is my second book by Janz, the first title being Dust Devils. Although I did love that as well, there is no denying that the leap in the quality of Janz’s writing from then to now is remarkable. This would be a standout title in any authors bibliography and I can’t recommend this one enough.

5/5 mortar Rounds