Meet Stan Markowski of the Scranton PD’s Occult Crimes Unit “Like the rest of America, Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call me. My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets… When I read an author’s work for the first time I tend to go with my gut instincts. If I’ve not started to enjoy a novel after the first couple of chapters then there is a reasonably good chance that the book in question isn’t going to win me over. I’m pleased to say, that I was completely sold on the premise of Hard Spell within nine pages. As soon as I read the paragraph describing goblins high on crystal meth I knew this novel had captured and, more importantly, was going to retain my interest. In an alternate United States where supernatural beings are the norm, the reader is introduced to Stan Markowski, and the other men and women of the…

Regular visitors to the this site will know that I tend to stick to just book reviews and nothing else but last weekend I had the opportunity to spend a day at Alt.Fiction for the first time ever. As it is book related, I thought it would be fun to share some of my experiences. Now in its fifth year, this is the first time that the convention has been spread over an entire weekend. Like the huge coward that I am I decided I would just go on the Saturday. Then if it was terrible and/or I made a prize fool of myself, I could rush home and hide under my duvet weeping into my oversized pillow for the remainder of the weekend. The good news is that my fears were groundless and I only wish now I had taken the plunge and gone for a two-day ticket. One of the best things about an event like Alt.Fiction is that the program is chock full of events that cater to every taste. It’s great being able to pick and choose the panels you attend. You can get involved with as much, or as little as you like. I sat…

Thomas Locke can find anything. You know the hurricane that hit a while back? Word is he found the butterfly that started it. So, when a desperate Veronica Drysdale hires Locke to find her missing husband, it makes perfect sense. Except the world of Thomas Locke doesn’t make sense. It puts monsters under the bed, makes stars fall from the sky and leads little children to worship the marvels of road-works. This world also hides from Veronica a past far darker and stranger than she could ever have imagined. To learn the truth, Veronica is going to have to lose everything. And that’s where Locke’s shadowy business partner Lafarge comes in… Before we begin I have a couple of questions. How do you feel about novels that feature a character reincarnated as a toaster? Would you have a problem if the toaster was called Leonard? If you have issues with either of these questions I would advise reading no further. I can tell you now, that this novel is not for you. Perhaps you might wish to consider doing something else instead? I’ve been told gardening is a very popular pastime? Ahh your still here, jolly good. You’re interested aren’t…

I always like to try and expand my reading horizons so, when offered, I jumped at the opportunity to read another short story collection. As I have said in the past I think that horror lends itself particularly well to the confines of the short story setting so I was keen to get reading.  Ill at Ease contains three new stories of the macabre, each by a different author. Waiting for Josh by Stephen Bacon – The first story follows a journalist, Pete Richards, as he travels from London to Scarborough. His life long friend is terminally ill after spending decades slowly drinking himself to death. Pete is forced to re-examine his childhood memories in an effort to discover the reason for his friend’s self-destructive behavior. The thing that struck me most about this story was how realistic and grounded it was. No flights of fancy, just a chilling secret and a guilty man’s desperate attempts to let the truth be heard. Come See My House in The Pretty Town by Mark West – Another story that explores the bonds of friendship and what happens when they break apart. Two college friends catch up after many years apart. One of them appears to have…

1062, a time many fear is the End of Days. With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood. The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king’s closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward… To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the foes that gather to claim England’s throne. But in his country’s hour of greatest need, his enemies at Court have made him outlaw. To stay alive – and a freeman – he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders’ fields and the fenlands of East Anglia. The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mismatched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a man of peace, a monk. One will risk everything to save the land he…

Once, Ig lived the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician, the younger brother of a rising late-night TV star. Ig had security and wealth and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more – he had the love of Merrin Williams, a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic. The beautiful, vivacious Merrin was gone – raped and murdered, under inexplicable circumstances – and Ig the only suspect. He was never tried for the crime, but in the court of public opinion, he was and always would be guilty. Now Ig is possessed of horns, and a terrible new power – he can hear people’s deepest, darkest secrets – to go with his horrible new look. He means to use it to find whoever killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It’s time for a little revenge; it’s time the devil had his due. I think that Joe Hill has managed to tap into a genuine primal fear with this novel. What if you could read their minds with a single touch? Now part of you…

It is 1888 and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. His polluted bloodline spreads through London as its citizens increasingly choose to be vampires. In the grim backstreets of Whitechapel, a killer known as ‘Silver Knife’ is cutting down vampire girls. The eternally young Genevieve Dieudonne and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club are drawn together as they both hunt the sadistic killer, bringing them ever closer to England’s most bloodthirsty ruler yet. Anno Dracula is a novel that has been on my ‘to read’ list for years. Mrs Cheesecake has mentioned it in passing many times. She read the short story version when it was first published as Red Reign, in the collection the Mammoth Book of Vampires in 1992.  Her enjoyment of this prompted her to seek out the novel when it was released later that year. Mrs Cheesecake suggested that I give this a whirl when the re-release appeared again recently. I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula many moons ago, what self respecting horror fan hasn’t?  Anno Dracula is pitched as a direct sequel based on the premise that Van Helsing and his group failed. Dracula has…

Beneath Lausanne cathedral, in Switzerland, there is a secret buried before time began. Something unknown to angels and men. Until now… Marc Rochat watches over the city at night from the belfry of the cathedral. He lives in a world of shadows and beforetimes and imaginary begins. Katherine Taylor, call girl and dreamer, is about to discover that her real-life fairy tale is too good to be true. Jay Harper, private detective, wakes in a crummy hotel room with no memory. When the telephone rings and he’s offered a job, he knows there is no choice but to accept. Three lives, one purpose. Save what’s left of paradise before all hell breaks loose… The Watchers is the debut novel by Jon Steele.  It explores the nature of good and evil, and how these forces affect everyone. Three residents of the historic town of Lausanne are caught up in a mystery surrounding the whereabouts of an Olympic official. As with all the best thrillers, there is more to this than initially meets the eye. Mark Rochat, Katherine Taylor and Jay Harper make for a genuinely intriguing group of characters.  Steele takes great pains to flesh them out and make them all…

Please note if you haven’t read Feed, part one of the Newsflesh Trilogy, this review contains some spoilers. Also it’s brilliant and you totally should. Nothing stays buried for long… Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the new organisation he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem fun when you’ve lost as much as he has. But when a researcher from the Centre for Disease Control fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun’s relieved to find a new purpose in his life. Because she brings news: the monster who attacked them may be destroyed, but the conspiracy is far from dead. Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun. Feed was hands down one of my favourite reads of 2010. It brought new life, if you’ll pardon the pun, to the zombie novel. Pitched somewhere between The West Wing and Day of the Dead it was a terrific read and I have been looking forward to the arrival of it’s sequel, Deadline,…