Author - Terry M. West (Turning Face, Dreg)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (Review Copy)
Rating (out of 5):
This month sucks in aspect of my reviews. I decided to dedicate this month to watching and reviewing non-horror flicks which has turned into me watching sexploitation and vintage porn sent to me from Vinegar Syndrome and Impulse Pictures. While I may have made the challenge of not watching horror films this month that didn't mean I couldn't read a few horror stories. My friend and author Terry M. West recently sent word out that his story Night Things was available for reviewers. The story is actually the follow up to West's Heroine in the Magic Now which was later reworked and re-titled Monsters and the Magic Now with the addition of the short story Hardcore Crust. Since I never read Heroine or Monsters I decided it was the best place to start at so I tossed Monsters and the Magic Now on my iPad and let West fuck my mind up. Thanks Terry for sending this one my way!
The story begins with the short story Hardcore Crust who introduces the reader to b-movie filmmaker and heroine addict Gary Hack. Hack and his friend Mike were contacted by the metal band Bloody Carnivores. They want Gary to make a video for them to stream on their website. Gary and his team agree. They live in a time of wonder and magic where creatures of nightmares are now walking the streets. The band hates the night things and want to film a vampire fucking a werewolf and then kill them both. Gary and Mike agrees and make the video their way. We then find our way into Heroine and the Magic Now. Gary Hack has taken the money he made from the Bloody Carnivores video to continue his heroine addiction. He has gained a little notoriety over the video but soon finds out that the band has been murdered presumably by some night things for killing their kind. Soon Gary is picked up by two goons and taken to a high rise apartment where he meets a patchwork man named Johnny Stucke. Stucke is a wealthy man who wants to hire Gary and his crew to make some snuff films. Gary objected because he does not want to kill humans but Stucke agrees to kill night things as long as they are able to look human. He agrees and his first film is a zombie gang bang where they kill a "girl" and eat her after they nut. However, the girl is actually a ghoul but things don't go smoothly when a zombie rights activist makes her way onto set and wreaks havoc.
West is one of my favorite authors and has yet to let me down. However, I thought this was going to be the first time I wrote a negative review for the man. When I first started reading Hardcore Crust I thought the story was boring but very detailed. With that being said, this short story hit hard and ended with a bang quickly becoming my favorite literary piece that I have read and I couldn't imagine where West would take us next. The writing in this one is smooth and easy to follow which is one of the many reasons I love his work. His writing style is simple and effective while delivering a great deal of detail is such few words. I have read a few stories over the years where the author delivered an overly worded story with words that were too big for the story we were given. The story for this one is fucking amazing. It tosses in every, and I mean EVERY, monster that has ever graced film, television, or story. This is huge in scope and leaves open so many possibilities. This story honestly reminded me a lot of the film Cabin in the Woods where it left no stone unturned in regards to horror and that is what I loved about it. With that being said, the story is very vulgar and vile while keeping the reader fully engaged and following intently. Until this point I always declared Car Nex to be my favorite literary piece from West but the Heroine series has put that one to bed. Finally, this story has a few characters that the reader connects with while the others are just there to hold the page down. The story's main character, Gary Hack, is a down on his luck filmmaker who had a soft spot for horror but went the way of cheap porn before turning to drugs. This reminded me a lot of filmmaker Jim Wynorski. Wynorski directed several classic horror flicks including Chopping Mall and has since went the direction of directing sleazy softcore flicks like The Bare Wench Project and Para-Knockers Activity. Though this is a coincident I'm sure the character was actually loosely based on West himself who directed several amazing horror flicks along with a few skin flicks. This character was great and brought him down to our level with his flaws. We also get a strong and mysterious Frankenstein's creature character with Johnny Stucke that could have been utilized more than what he was but from my understanding he is the center of the follow tale, Night Things. Overall, Monsters and the Magic Now is a literary horror masterpiece. The story is disgusting, gruesome, and full of imagination. This one is well worth your time so check it out!
West is one of my favorite authors and has yet to let me down. However, I thought this was going to be the first time I wrote a negative review for the man. When I first started reading Hardcore Crust I thought the story was boring but very detailed. With that being said, this short story hit hard and ended with a bang quickly becoming my favorite literary piece that I have read and I couldn't imagine where West would take us next. The writing in this one is smooth and easy to follow which is one of the many reasons I love his work. His writing style is simple and effective while delivering a great deal of detail is such few words. I have read a few stories over the years where the author delivered an overly worded story with words that were too big for the story we were given. The story for this one is fucking amazing. It tosses in every, and I mean EVERY, monster that has ever graced film, television, or story. This is huge in scope and leaves open so many possibilities. This story honestly reminded me a lot of the film Cabin in the Woods where it left no stone unturned in regards to horror and that is what I loved about it. With that being said, the story is very vulgar and vile while keeping the reader fully engaged and following intently. Until this point I always declared Car Nex to be my favorite literary piece from West but the Heroine series has put that one to bed. Finally, this story has a few characters that the reader connects with while the others are just there to hold the page down. The story's main character, Gary Hack, is a down on his luck filmmaker who had a soft spot for horror but went the way of cheap porn before turning to drugs. This reminded me a lot of filmmaker Jim Wynorski. Wynorski directed several classic horror flicks including Chopping Mall and has since went the direction of directing sleazy softcore flicks like The Bare Wench Project and Para-Knockers Activity. Though this is a coincident I'm sure the character was actually loosely based on West himself who directed several amazing horror flicks along with a few skin flicks. This character was great and brought him down to our level with his flaws. We also get a strong and mysterious Frankenstein's creature character with Johnny Stucke that could have been utilized more than what he was but from my understanding he is the center of the follow tale, Night Things. Overall, Monsters and the Magic Now is a literary horror masterpiece. The story is disgusting, gruesome, and full of imagination. This one is well worth your time so check it out!
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