Due to Werewolf Appreciation Month I’ve unfortunately not had time to read the latest release from Anarchy books. Luckily for me Tony (@iuchiAtesoro) Lane has. Here is his review. Guy Renford is fresh out of prison. His life in ruins, he is estranged from his wife and daughter. So he returns to the Yorkshire town of Stonegrave to try and recover what he once held dear. But a presence is watching from behind the endless rainstorm, something that wants revenge… and has not come alone. Rosie sees ghosts. She has since childhood. These sorrowful visions of drowned schoolgirls are linked to a past she fled to America to escape. But you can never run from destiny, and something is calling Rosie back to rainy Stonegrave, the home of her worst nightmares… Slowly, the lives of these two people are drawn together in a town cut off by floods, and at the height of the storm they will be forced to battle a relentless foe that uses the deluge as cover, stalking them from within a merciless onslaught of rain… First up I’d like to thank Paul for asking me to guest post on his blog. As a regular reader I’m quite chuffed. The…

An ancient race of lycanthropes survives in modern L.A., and its numbers are growing as the pack converts the city’s downtrodden into their fold. Stuck in the middle are a local dog-catcher and the woman he loves, whose secret past haunts her as she fights a bloody one woman battle to save their relationship. If you had told me earlier this year that I would read an entire novel that was written in free verse I would have laughed in your face. If you told me I was going to enjoy it, there is a good chance I would have fallen from my chair. I should try to explain. I don’t have much of a relationship with poetry; in fact, I don’t read any at all. In the past I have tried, I’ve been sent poetry collections to review and epically failed to form any sort of attachment with the text. With this thought in mind, you can imagine my surprise when I started reading Sharp Teeth and I not only liked it, but was utterly engrossed. Toby Barlow really seems to have captured the primal nature of the pack with his writing. It also seems such a logical fit to…

All over the world it is believed there are cursed human beings with the horrifying destiny of changing at full moon and destroying those they love the most -individuals who hide beneath the face of the beast, and beasts who kill with the tortured soul of man. Bound by ancient maledictions, captives of man’s primal side, bearers of insatiable bloodlust and brute strength…they are the wolf men. Horror lends itself particularly well to the short form so it seemed only sensible to include at least one short story collection during Werewolf Appreciation Month. The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men edited by Stephen Jones consists of twenty-five werewolf themed tales.  Each story delves into the werewolf mythos in unique and imaginative ways. My personal favourites are listed below. Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker – I’m a strong believer that the first story that appears in any collection needs to capture the readers imagination straight off the bat. This blending together of cold war paranoia, and the espionage of a thriller, with the brutality of the werewolf is a great start. This has a similar premise to the classic The Wolf’s Hour by Robert McCammon. The Werewolf by R. Chetwynd-Hayes –…

When Pablocheesecake mentioned he was going to do a month of Werewolf reviews, I was very pleased. Being a big fan of all things Lycan, I immediately volunteered to help out. For me, the Werewolf is quintessentially a creature of horror, and not an excuse for some pretty Native Americans to show off their overly developed pecs. They are the bestial side of humanity, the feral and unhindered darkness that dwells in all of us. It seemed appropriate then, that one of the reviews should be from, in my opinion, the quintessential horror writer – Stephen King. Originally published in 1984, Cycle of the Werewolf is a short horror novel and uniquely features illustrations by renowned comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. The story is set in the small town of Tarker’s Mills, an isolated community in the state of Texas. Nah… I’m only kidding, it’s in Maine. C’mon … this is King after all. The story spans a year in Tarker’s Mills, with each short chapter covering a single month. As each month goes by, the body count starts to rise and the murderer is inevitably called ‘The Full Moon Killer’. The story centres around a young paraplegic called Marty…

My first exposure to Paul Kane’s work was the rather brilliant post apocalyptic remix of Robin Hood that he wrote for Abaddon Books as part of the Afterblight Chronicles series. The trilogy was set in my adopted hometown of Nottingham, and I loved every minute of it. Paul got in touch recently and asked if I would be interested in taking a look at his new short story collection. My interest in short stories has been rekindled this year after some excellent stories published by Spectral Press, so needless to say I jumped at the chance. The Butterfly Man & Other Stories contains eighteen horrific tales that should delight any horror fan. I have been sat here for the last half an hour trying to decide which of the stories were my favourites, a near impossible task when all of them are so damn good. After much umming and ahhing here, in no particular order, are my personal picks from this collection Speaking in Tongues – What happens when your tongue decides its time to leave? This is gross-out body horror that nearly made my eyes pop out of my head. I think it is safe to assume that this…

Sleep Tight. Susan and Alex Wendt are the prefect couple in search of the perfect brownstone – and they find their dream house in the heart of Brooklyn Heights. Sure, the landlady is eccentric, and the handyman drops cryptic remarks about the previous tenants. But the rent is so low; it’s too good to pass up. Big mistake: Susan soon discovers the brownstone is crawling with bedbugs – or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists the building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad – until a more sinister explanation presents itself: She may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from hell. On the face of it Susan and Alex have it all. He is a professional photographer with good prospects; she is an ex-lawyer who has given up her career to focus on her passion for painting. They have a toddler called Emma and are blissfully happy with their lot in life. The only fly in the ointment is that their current residence is just a little bit to small for them all to comfortably…

Enter the mind of a serial killer who believes he is the rightful son and heir to an ancient dynasty of flesh-eaters.  Follow the frantic journey of a mother whose daughter is infected with the stuff of nightmares. Look through the eyes of Bo Mulvey, a man who possesses the ancient wisdom a blood thirsty evil needs to achieve its full and horrifying potential – the man whom the fate of the entire human race depends. At the beginning of this year I read One by Conrad Williams and I really enjoyed the stark, apocalyptic landscape that the author created. The subject matter was undoubtedly bleak but the writing was so strong I relished every page. I kept meaning to pick up more of Williams work but, as is often the case, other new releases clamoured for my attention and getting the opportunity to review his back catalogue moved further and further down my To Be Read list. Recently I have had a break in my schedule and this has given me the opportunity to rectify this omission. Bo Mulvey is a photographer who longs for some excitement in his life. He’s bored of the status quo and a chance meeting…

We want to live… In the ballroom, wallflower mannequins stretch their fingers towards Ron. He can’t ask them to dance. He’s already waltzing with other ghosts. Someone stole the world while Ron contemplated death. They packed it in a briefcase and dumped him in the halls of the ruined hotel–The Vestibule. A nowhere place. Last weekend I felt the urge to read another short story and who better to provide that necessary fix than Spectral Press. I’ve previously reviewed their first two releases – What They Hear in the Dark by Gary McMahon and Abolisher of Roses by Gary Fry. I enjoyed both so I was looking forward to reading the latest release, Nowhere Hall by Cate Gardner. When the reader is first introduced to Ron Spence he is standing at the edge of the road contemplating jumping in front of oncoming traffic. In a split second the moment passes but Ron is still plagued with doubt and anguish.  There is a real sense here that this is someone who is dying by degrees. Ron finds his way into foyer of a hotel called The Vestibule. As he roams the building he is faced with opulence on one hand and abandoned shell…

On Leo’s sixteenth birthday. something bad happened. Something so traumatic his mind fractured, and darkness filled the crack. Twenty years on and the crack is a canyon. The schizophrenic hallucination that offered sympathy has taken to mocking him, and the memory of that long-ago birthday claws at his darkest fears, overshadowing even the murder of his younger brother Davey. But just when Leo thinks life can’t get and worse… Leo dies.  A demon returns after twenty years. An Angel follows close behind.  Leo is caught in an age-old conflict, his past lying at the dark heart of it all.  Leo Stamp is not a happy man. He has beautiful home, a thriving business and a car to die for but he is haunted by the ghosts of his childhood. The death of his sibling weighs heavy on his shoulders and has stayed with him for decades. Alone at night he voices his anxieties to a poster of James Bond on his wall. He is seeking answers to the horrors have plagued his life. His mental state continues to deteriorate and by page fifty Leo is dead. When he is given the opportunity at a second chance at life that is…

Imagine a place where all your nightmares become real. Dark urban streets where crime, debt and violence are not the only things to fear. Picture a housing project that is a gateway to somewhere else; a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows. Welcome to the Concrete Grove.  This deprived area is Hailey’s new home, but when an ancient entity notices her, it becomes something much more threatening. She is the only one who can help her mother as she joins in a dangerous dance with loan-shark Monty Bright. Only Hailey can see the truth of Tom’s darkest desires as he tries to become part of their family. And only Hailey can lead them all to the heart of the estate where something older than this land stirs and begins to wake… Hailey and her mother, Lana are trying their best to get by. They have fallen on hard times after a family tragedy and each have ended up way out of their depth. Hailey is in thrall to the strange powers that control the Grove while Lana has fallen foul of the local gangster, Monty Bright. Lana is put through the emotional and physical ringer as…

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…

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…