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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
They took the job to escape the world. They didn’t expect the world to end. Kaser Rampart: a derelict refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean. A skeleton crew of fifteen fight boredom and despair as they wait for a relief ship to take them home. But the world beyond their frozen wasteland has gone to hell. Cities lie ravaged by a global pandemic. One by one TV channels die, replaced by silent wavebands. The Rampart crew are marooned. They must survive the long Arctic winter, then make Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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 Read more […]
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. Read more […]
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 Read more […]