For as long as anyone can remember, the Clowns and Humans of Blueville have co-existed peacefully. Sure, each species thinks the other is a little weird but that’s never been something to fight about. Until, that is, a series of freakish terrorist attacks – seemingly perpetrated by clowns – turn the two bloodlines against each other. When war breaks out, the future of both species hangs in the balance. It’s going to take a suicide mission to stop the carnage and only misfit circus trainee Colin Clarke and his three best friends have the courage to volunteer for this impossible task. Their quest takes them to the mean streets of Cheadle, the most dangerous city in the world. There, in a final bid to defeat their true enemy, they must confront the darkness lurking at the very heart of clownkind. Odds bodkins, but Clown Wars: Blood and Aspic is an extraordinarily bonkers book. Part comedy, part horror and more than a little urban fantasy, this a new collaboration from Jeremy Drysdale and Joseph D’Lacey. So sit back, relax, and prepare yourself for a carnival of curiosities, a plethora of puns and a jolly good story to boot. Colin Clarke is…

The Book of The Crowman is a direct sequel to Black Feathers. I strongly urge you to read Black Feathers first, honest, I’m not kidding you know. There is also a good chance that this review may contain spoilery type elements if you haven’t read book one. It is the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, the earth wracked and dying. It is the Bright Day, a time long generations hence, when a peace has descended across the world. The search for the shadowy figure known only as the Crowman continues, as the Green Men prepare to rise up against the forces of the Ward.  The world has been condemned. Only Gordon Black and The Crowman can redeem it. Black Feathers was a bit of a revelatory moment for me. I’ve read most of Joseph D’Lacey’s existing back catalogue but wasn’t sure how I was going to get on with a novel that didn’t fit neatly into the horror genre. I needn’t have worried, I was utterly engrossed by his first foray into fantasy. Since then, I’ve been waiting patiently for book two and now that it’s finally here I can confirm it’s a corker. Whenever I read a…

Shreve, a dead-end town next to the UK’s largest landfill.  There’s nothing the bored residents won’t stoop to in an attempt to spice up their pedestrian lives. All wannabe model Aggie Smithfield wants is to escape before Shreve swallows her ambition along with a million tons of rubbish and dirty little secrets.  Desperate, Aggie asks renowned but reclusive ex-photographer, Mason Brand, for help. The deal they make might be the only thing that can save her when the town’s fate catches up with it. Beneath everyone’s feet, something born of the things we throw away is awakening.  And when the past is reborn, there will be no escape. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear before we go any further – Joseph D’Lacey does not do comfortable. I’ve read enough of his unique brand of eco-horror to know exactly what to expect when I crack open one of his books. A word of warning, if you’ve never experienced his writing before and you are particularly faint of heart, you may want to give Garbage Man a miss. This is not the book for you. D’Lacey leaves little to the imagination when his descriptive powers are running at full tilt. Personally speaking…

It is the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, the earth wracked and dying. It is the Bright Day, a time long generations hence, when a peace has descended across the world. In each era, a child shall be chosen. Their task is to find a dark messiah known only as the Crowman. But is he our saviour –or the final incarnation of evil? Black Feathers, the latest novel from Joseph D’Lacey, is a story in two halves. The narrative alternates between a couple of separate, but interconnected journeys. The first strand is the story of Gordon Black, a young boy born into the present day just as the world we know is beginning to come apart at the seams. The evil that Gordon faces off against appears in the form of a group known only as The Ward. They have infiltrated every level of government and big business in an effort to control what precious few resources remain. The Ward’s sole purpose? To locate and destroy the individual known as The Crowman. I was reminded a little of Norsefire, the near faceless fascist villains that feature heavily in Alan Moore’s masterpiece V for Vendetta. You see, D’Lacey is being…

Reclusive outdoorsman, Jimmy Kerrigan, finds himself battling a vampiric plague which threatens to destroy Hobson’s Valley, the isolated mountain community he calls home. When his family, friends and neighbours fall prey to the ‘Fugue’, Kerrigan is the only one who can save them and prevent the disease spreading beyond the remote town’s boundaries. Kerrigan is uniquely equipped to deal with the outbreak. He carries a variant strain of Fugue enabling him to overcome and heal its victims. However, the nature of the illness ensures neither he nor those he hunts down are aware they’re infected. After feeding on humans, the diseased forget their behaviour. Even Kerrigan, having confronted or neutralised a Fugue, is unable to recall his actions as guardian of Hobson’s Valley. The illness and its effects have, like tetanus, survived in the earth around the mountain for countless generations. The lineage of Fugue Hunters has always been able to reverse an outbreak but not this time; someone wants the disease to spread and, in combination with a mutation of the virus, Kerrigan realises he may not be strong enough to contain it. Kerrigan is challenged beyond his limits when an innocent family of outsiders hikes straight into a…

Indulge yourself and let Joseph D’Lacey take you on a journey to the deepest recesses of his mind. From the author of Meat and Garbage Man comes a new collection of incredible short stories that showcase one of the finest writers of dark fiction. From the terrifying ‘Food Of Love’ to the haunting and lyrical ‘Mango Tree’, Timeline Books is publishing a Strictly Limited Edition of 500 numbered and signed copies. Splinters is a brand new collection of short fiction from the l’enfant terrible of dark British fiction, Joseph D’Lacey. It features twelve stories ranging from the deliciously sinister to the outrageously fantastical. They examine the concepts of obsession, transformation and change. Lenses – In the 21st century it seems that a week can’t go by where you don’t hear the phrase ‘We live in a surveillance society’. This first story explores this concept by following a group of people living in a large apartment complex. Everyone who lives there is watching everyone else. From straight voyeurism, to religious fundamentalism and even murder, each individual finds some way to justify and excuse his or her preoccupation with watching others. Lights Out – Some people suffer from the condition known as ‘night terrors’.  Your…

Last year I had the good fortune to read The Kill Crew and then Meat by Joseph D’Lacey. Each were superb examples of the horror genre, both are darkly bleak but utterly compelling. D’Lacey’s latest publication is Snake Eyes, a single volume split into two separate novellas. This is a slight departure for the author as the first story moves into the realms of science fiction while the second has a more fantastical tone. A Man of Will and Experience – Robert Johnson dreams of spiders, thousands of them. When he wakes, the true nightmare begins: a tube has been attached to his head – to everyone’s – but he’s the only one aware of it. His cosy suburban life unravels into paranoid hallucination as Johnson fights to free himself from the control of unseen forces. I don’t want to delve to deeply into the plot, I believe that part of the enjoyment of this particular story is making discoveries yourself, but what I will say is be prepared to explore a landscape that shifts on more than one occasion. Be ready for an experience that feels akin to reading without the aid of a safety net. The story veers off…

Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for their survival. Meat supplied by the processing plant on the edge of town. Meat is sanctified in Abyrne, a precious commodity eaten with devout solemnity by everyone except for a handful of people who won’t, who suspect that the town is evil, rotten to its core. A feud smolders between the town’s religious and secular powers – whoever controls the food supply controls everything. But the townsfolk are hungry, they must be fed. They must be fed. I thought wormed its way into my brain while I was reading Meat. I realised that it is quite rare that an author, and their writing, has properly freaked me out. I read a lot of what is described as horror, but I think in all honesty a lot of it is more horror-lite. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading it, but it is somewhat lacking when it comes to proper chills. I suppose most modern horror novels just aren’t that horrific. They might offer the odd shock and a bit of gore, but nothing that is what I would call genuinely unsettling. Meat is though,…

Barricaded into a city block called The Station, two hundred souls have survived the apocalypse. So far. Was it a bomb? A biological attack? Phase one of an invasion? No one knows. The Long Silence has begun.  After dark, thousands of the city’s inhabitants – neither living nor dead – prowl the streets snatching survivors. The Station is under constant threat. Each day a lottery decides the seven members of The Kill Crew – a night shift of civilian soldiers. Their mission is simple: Extermination.  Sheri Foley, a nobody in the days before the Long Silence, discovers she has the heart of a survivalist. She becomes one of the toughest members of The Kill Crew. But there are enemies inside the Station too. The evils of the old world persist and Sheri Foley must fight them all. If you’re a regular visitor to the site you’ll know that I am a big fan of apocalyptic fiction. I enjoy reading it because I am slightly obsessed about survivor’s stories.  I also use this as an excuse to try out authors whose work I have never been exposed to before. I reckon if you can tackle the end of the world as a theme then…