Berzerkoids

Author - MP Johnson (Neon Trash: Forgotten B-Movies of the 80's, Hybrid Moments: A Literary Tribute to The Misfits)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Warning! This is an MP Johnson toy!"
Format - Paperback (Personal Collection) (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     My time for reading has taken a nose dive the last few months.  I went from reading a book a day (usually the Vampire Hunter D series) to not reading at all.  This was not intentional but life was getting way from me.  The company I worked for was sold to an even bigger company so all the inventory in the store had to be packed up and shipped out and new inventory had to be brought in and put out.  Then the store had to be remodeled and everything done before with the inventory had to be done again.  During this time my wife had our second child, my beautiful baby boy.  After the store was completly switched over and re-branded I was offered the assistant manager position which took over even more of my time.  Luckily, I have started to get in the groove of things and was able to make some room for reading.  The first book that I wanted to tackle was the bizarro horror anthology Berzerkoids which was sent my way from author MP Johnson. Thanks for sending this one my way!
     The stories on this one range from a killer teddy bear wanting to seek revenge for the one that hurt him to a crossdresser with a deep love for dancing who is being chased by a giant scab.
     Bizarro fiction is a strange creature all together.  I'm not very inept in bizarro but what I have read so far I truly enjoy.  Most of what I know comes from the sick mind of Kevin Strange but MP Johnson looks like a person who writes stories just for me.  After reading Berzerkoids I am now a fan of Johnson and will be seeking out the rest of his work.  The stories for this one is very imaginative and really throws the reader for a loop.  Just when you think the story is going to go one way it completely switches it up and takes you somewhere else.  I really enjoyed that aspect but I was not happy with how short these stories are.  Just when the reader makes a connection with the character or is really getting into the story it ends.  The characters in this one range but we do see a few shorts that seem to have similar characters.  It seems like the imagination went into the story and not the characters.  Finally, the short stories in this one a very well written and flows very well.  The stories are not overly complicated or complex resulting in an easy to follow story that can be read by anyone regardless of their reading skills.  Overall, Berzerkoids is the bizarro anthology for fans of John Waters.  The stories are strange, weird, and delightfully fun.  They may be short but that doesn't stop anyone from having fun.  Check it out.  

Morbid Curiosities: Collections of the Uncommon and the Bizarre

Author - Paul Gambino (Scrap City)
Release Date - 2016
Format - Book (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

      

      Halloween is almost upon us so its time to step up our spook game and dive deep into the macabre.  Most fans of horror, like myself, have a fondness for anything dark and morbid.  When I was a kid I was obsessed with Ripley's Believe it or Not and other shows consisting of the odd and strange.  That quickly led to a love of the obscure and macabre.  Taxidermied animals, skulls and bones, antique medical equipment.  I have always had an interest in this kind of stuff and if I wasn't obsessed over my movie collection I would probably be handing out cash for these types of things.  My wife can breathe a sigh of relief.  A few months back I was contacted about a new book, Morbid Curiosities: Collections of the Uncommon and Bizarre.  The book looked very interesting so I agreed to review it.  I then waited, waited, and waited until I received an email asking when the review was up.  Explained I never received the product and they apologized before shipping out another.  I received the replacement along with an email asking not to post the review until a certain date.  Well, I fucking forgot so I apologize to everyone involved.  Sorry I did not get this up in a timely manner.
     This collection of collections does not have a story line but consists of several interviews with famous collectors.  We have in depth discussions on what they collect, how they started, what are some specific pieces in their collections, and in some case how their significant other feels out their collection. 
     I didn't know what to expect when I was asked to check out the book.  I assumed it would be a collection of interviews and photographs, which it was, but it showed more than that.  It showed how dedicated to their collection they were.  Some were merely there to collect things people find strange and unusual while others came across the obsession completely by accident.  The collection had several fun interviews with avid collectors who have now made a name for themselves in the oddity community.  These interviews were very fun and insightful.  They were not that in depth but just thorough enough to hold the reader's attention.  The collection is very well put together with some amazing photo graphs of the collector and collections.  These all look great and the photographer has a lot of skill.  With that being said, we don't get a look at the entire collection of the collector.  We only get certain pieces that I'm sure they hold in high regard.  Overall, Morbid Curiosities is a fun little read but is more of a coffee table piece than an actual novel.  It looks good and will definitely inspire some question.  Fans of the strange and unusual (Winona Ryder voice) will really enjoy it.

My Soul to Keep

Author - Jackie Sonnenberg
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Most of you may have noticed that earlier in the year I was reading and reviewing books in pretty rapid fashion.  At least it was fast for me.  I was able to check out several works from Terry M. West, Kevin Strange, and several volumes of my favorite series, Vampire Hunter D.  A few months back the Horror Society Facebook was contacted by author Jackie Sonnenberg to check out her novel My Soul to Keep.  At the time I was churning out a book review on a weekly basis so I accepted to check it out.  Sadly, things at work and home have been so hectic and I couldn't make the time to finish the novel until now.  I want to apologize to Jackie for taking so long to get the review up!

     The story follows a young girl who is having a hard time coping with the loss of her father.  Her mother had taken her to several doctors and even had her medicated but nothing seemed to work.  She tried something a bit more drastic and had her sent to a private school so she could better heal.  She quickly meets an old friend and rekindles that old connection but something strange starts to happen on campus.  She spots a group of people wearing robes and follows them to a clearing where she witnesses them levitate.  She believes that they can communicate with the dead and tries to learn more about them.  She soon discovers that they are a group of students on campus that believe in their inner light. She quickly joins the group in hopes of speaking to her father again but things are not as they seem.  She soon finds out that some things are better left alone.

      I'll be honest, this is not the kind of book I would normally pick out for myself to read.  I really enjoy bizarro horror stories that following talking dildos and other strange characters like you find from the mind of Kevin Strange or serious horror stories that paint visceral images of gore like Terry M. West.  This story looks and feels like it was aimed towards the teenage readers.  With that being said, I really enjoyed it.  The story for this one is well thought out and full of intrigue and mystery but does go on for a little too long.  A little too good an eye for detail if you ask me.  The story is a teenage drama at it's base and then surrounds itself with the supernatural.  It's primary focus is the life of a young girl who has a heavy heart and trying to fit in.  She has to deal with social organizations, peer ridicule, and clicks.  This is something we have seen so many times before in film and literature.  What really sets this one apart from the others is the supernatural angle.  This fun take on the supernatural left me guessing up until the very end.  My only real complaint is the length of the story and how much detail Sonnenberg went into.  So many pages could have been cut and left out just to help move the story along.  I thoroughly enjoyed the characters as well.  They are written in a similar manner as R. L. Stine would write his characters.  They are cookie cutter characters that can be found in any children's book or television show.  This gives the reader something to identify with.  Stories like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson has the reader following characters with abnormal abilities which the reader has nothing in common with.  Finally, this novel is well written and very easy to follow.  There is no over complicated words or a complex reading experience making this one a perfect read for any teenager or adult minus a few profanities.  There is a few, very few, errors and mistakes.  In fact, this 388 page novel has fewer mistakes than this short review.  Overall, My Soul to Keep may not be the type of story I would normally adventure to but it was still an entertaining read.  It hit all the right notes and pulled me into another world.  Check it out!

Night Things: Undead and Kicking

Author - Terry M. West (Night Things, Turning Face)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     This year has been very unique for me.  I typically read a book or two a year but this year I am knocking out a book in just a few days.  Mostly I have been working through the 26 volumes of Vampire Hunter D while mixing it up with the works from other authors that I enjoy like Kevin Strange, David Moody, and Terry M. West.  West is an author who really makes me excited to read again.  His stories are always fascinating which makes it easy to read.  Earlier this year I read West's story Night Things: Dracula vs. Frankenstein.  It was the second entry in his Magic Now series.  The story was amazing and full of so many possibilities.  West saw that as well and followed that up with his newest story Night Things: Undead and Kicking.  West knew how much I enjoyed the Magic Now series and was kind enough to send a copy my way for review.  Thanks Terry!
     The story takes place sometime after the events of Night Things: Dracula vs. Frankenstein which is now being referred to as Zday.  We follow Carol who is a social worker and night thing sympathizer who works with them so they can get integrated into society alongside humans with little to no incidents.  However, her place of employment is attacked and she is killed along with everyone else in there except one person.  She then awakens in the lab of Dr. Herbert West who has been running tests on her corpse.  He is working on the horde frequency which inhabits all zombies and the reason they can never be with more than three of their kind.  His test is a success and she is able to control the zombies making her very unique.  Sadly, this new telepathic power has also awakened West's nemesis Edmund Wraight who happens to be a living creation of the old ones.  He wants to use Carol to control the undead but king of the night things, Johnny Stucke, has to stop him or a new war will rage in his city.
     West is one hell of an author with an even more impressive imagination.  Most of his stories, until the Magic Now series, have been very unique and horrifying to say the least.  However, his Magic Now series is still a dark and serious tale but it tosses in some horror cliches with some monsters from myth and legend.  That is what is so exciting about the Magic Now series.  Anything and everything is possible and West uses that to his advantage.  The story for this one is a horror fan's delight.  It mixes so many horror legends and myths ranging from the classic literary beasts like Frankenstein's monster and Dracula with the likes of the creations of H.P. Lovecraft and all the other things that go bump in the night.  Even with the story he followed in this sequel he still has so many other avenues to follow.  This universe West has created is endless.  The characters that West has created are amazing.  Turning Frankenstein's creation into a big city mobster was a stroke of genius and it was only fitting to have his personal doctor be Herbert West considering how Bride of Re-Animator turned out.  Though this Herbert West is the Lovecraft incarnation and not the Stuart Gordon it still makes sense.  It was also brilliant how West was able to mix Jack the Ripper and Lovecraft's the old ones into a character.  Finally, this is another easy one to read from the one of the best authors in the game.  The writing style is simple, the words are not too complex and the story flows smoothly for the most part.  The story is broke up into parts where we jump from character back story to character back story.  It kind of broke the story up and took away from the impact.  It would have been helpful to have these backstories already established before this tale even began.  Overall, Night Things: Undead and Kicking is yet another masterpiece from the brain pan of Terry M. West.  The story is brilliant and the universe he has created is absolutely amazing.  I can not wait to see where West takes us next in the Magic Now world!

Texas Chainsaw Mantis

Author - Kevin Strange (McHumans)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook

Rating (out of 5):

     I have been reading like a mother fucker this year.  I have always been able to make time to watch a horror movie or two no matter how busy I am.  Horror movies have always been a huge part of my life and something I refuse to give up regardless of what is going on.  Just ask my wife how dedicated I am.  The last twelve months has saw me add reading to my daily schedule.  I started out working my way through the works of Terry M. West along with some from Brian Keene.  Both are outstanding authors and never let me down.  Along the way I worked in the short McHumans from bizarro author Kevin Strange.  I picked it up at Fright Night horror con a few years back.  Kevin was away from the table but a friend sold it to me.  I finally checked it out and was shocked by how fucking awesome it was and how much it was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.  I was hooked.  When Strange announced Free Kevin Strange Day and put all his work up for free on Amazon I jumped at it.  Shows how fucking cheap I am.  The first one I took the time to read was Strange's newest, Texas Chainsaw Mantis.  

     The story begins with a married couple running for their lives through their home.  The woman is missing her arm and the man is trying to calm her down and get them to safety.  He takes her into their backyard and pushes her into their shed.  He then warns her not to jump to conclusions when she sees what he has done in the shed and reassures her that he truly loves her.  Once inside he moves a table to reveal a trap door and forces her down.  Once inside she finds a chamber of horrors and discovers that her husband is a local serial killer who was using magick to kidnap his victims.  Soon a giant mantis break through the door and kills them both but not before he can place a spell on himself using his precious life blood.  We then jump 20 years and the world has been taken over by giant mantis creatures that were scientifically engineered.  These mantis can talk and function just like people.  They wiped out mankind and turned the world into their own.  Now they live just like the humans did fighting, fucking, and political campaigns.  We follow a young mantis who is married but his wife sets him up for rape and attempts to eat his head.  He flees and finds himself in the serial killers basement and discovers that his soul has possessed a chainsaw.  Dying, he agrees to let him help and the serial killer grafts the chainsaw on his head and sends him on a killing spree to rid the world of the mantis.

     I really like what Strange brings to the table.  His stories tend to be really fucking gory, overly sexual, and usually filled with Lovecraft references.  McHumans was largely inspired by Lovecraft but still hit us with some disgusting sex and loads and loads of gore.  Using words to disgust someone takes skill and talent.  I knew Texas Chainsaw Mantis would be the same but I was not prepared for the shit show Strange wrote up.  This one is well written and easy to read.  Strange is quickly becoming my favorite writer due to his writing style.  He doesn't over complicate things and makes the story easy and fun to read.  The story for this one is really fucking fun.  Strange does two things with this one.  The first thing is he establishes a character that he could follow up with and give us a prequel story following him.  That character is the Growler's Phantom.  He only touched on him for a few pages establishing all the anarchy he created before the events in the book transpired.  I really hope that Strange gives us a prequel following his story.  The rest of the story is a solid mix of erotica and horror.  Strange matches the erotica with the horror.  The second something deemed sexy happens it is instantly followed up with some real scene of carnage.  This was a great meshing that really kept the reader following along.  Finally, this story has several characters that the reader will love.  The first being the serial killer Growler Phantom that was so intriguing considering how he used ancient books and magick to capture his victims.  The other is the mantis that the story follows, Matthew.  He was a down to Earth character that the reader can really get behind.  Overall, Texas Chainsaw Mantis is exactly what you would expect coming from the fucked up mind of Kevin Strange.  The story is batshit crazy and full of sexual fluids and gore.  If you like your horror sleazy and well written stories then this one is for you.  

  

Echopresent: Til Blood Do Us Part

Author(s) - Jessica Ingalls and Jesse Wilborne
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Format - ebook (review copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     I have been reading more this last year than I have my entire life combined.  I started work for a new company and instead of myself doing all the work while everyone else sits on their ass and gossips, I work with an actual team that takes turns doing their job.  This has granted me some free time at my place of employment.  Instead of killing time on social media like my co-workers, I have decided to pick up reading.  After working my way through the bibliography of my favorite author Terry M. West., I set my sights on the Vampire Hunter D series.  While I wait on the other volumes in the series to arrive I took the time to check out the short story Echopresent: Til Blood Do Us Part. This was one sent over to review from co-author Jessica Ingalls.  Ingalls befriended me on Facebook where she is very outspoken and stands her ground when it comes to her beliefs.  Gotta respect a strong woman like that.  Thanks Jessica for sending this one my way!
     The story for this one follows the dead Tshilliah who reaps souls. While out looking for a man that drowned she finds a dog carrying the carcass of a baby.  Intrigued by the sight, she attacks the dogs and kills it before retrieving the baby so she can reap it as well because reaping two souls is better than one.  When she picks it up she realizes that this child is the reincarnation of someone she has been waiting for.  She decides to save the child and feeds it her demon milk before taking him to an orphanage to be raised where she continued to nurture the child creating something very different.
     When Jessica first contacted me about reviewing Echopresent she warned me that it was graphic and disturbing. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I read the works of Kevin Strange and she could not touch the depravity his sick mind comes up with.  It was still a solid read but not as vile and disgusting as I was hoping for.  The writing in this one was awkward to read.  I don't know if this was just a draft I was sent to review or not but it was a little blocky and somewhat hard to follow.  The story is set up into sections that work like chapters but are not numbered and are rather confusing to be honest.  They almost feel out of order.  Also, there was several errors throughout the short story.  These are errors that we see everyday on social media and the like.  We see the wrong use of 'to' and 'too' along with no punctuation.  As I stated earlier, I don't know if this is a rough draft or not but these are things that can be easily fixed to improve the quality.  The story for this one is great once you adjust to the way it was written.  The dead reaping souls, sexually aroused, nursing a human child that was once dead, all was fucking brilliant.  I can see so much potential with this story and it would be a damn shame if we don't get more following it.  Hell, I would love to get my hands on a longer version of it.  Finally, this short story has several characters that are enjoyable and you really rally behind.  We have the human child living on the milk of the dead, the reaper who loves to masturbate on couches, and more.  Some really memorable characters are in this one.  Overall, Echopresent: Til Blood Do Us Part is a great effort from co-authors Jessica Ingalls and Jesse Wilborne.  The story is roughly written but has so much potential.  It may not be the most disgusting thing you will read but you won't soon forget it.  Head over to echopresent.com and check it out.  It is well worth your time!

Car Nex: Trailer Park

Author - Shawn Hupp (Last Words, The Jackal)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (review copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Back in January I decided to skip horror movies for a month.  I wanted to get caught up on reviews for films that were sent to me that were out of the genre.  Most were vintage porns and sexploitation flicks while others were cheap comedies and exploitation films.  Though I promised myself I would not watch horror I never said anything about reading horror stories.  I read several short stories and novels that month with most of them belonging to Terry M. West.  West is one of my favorite authors in the game and his stories are modern classics.  Sometime ago he penned the short story Car Nex for one of his anthology releases.  This was easily my favorite story of his and he has since allowed other authors to write their own sequels to this literary masterpiece.  I recently sat down and read another one of those stories this time written by Shaun Hupp and his take was called Car Nex: Trailer Park.  I want to once again thank Terry for sending another story my way!

     This story follows a man that is down on his luck.  His wife left him for another man and took their daughter with them.  They now live in the same trailer park as him and he is forced to watch them live out their happy lives while he sits on the sidelines.  He has turned to alcohol to cope and is now living under a drunken umbrella.  While in a drunken stooper he did some research and learned about an evil beast, the car nex, He finds the pages from an evil book online and reads it allowed.  Nothing happens at first but soon the evil car nex rushes through the trailer park killing everyone in it's path.  It is then up to his ex-wife to stop the beast before it kills her and her child only to learn of the one true way in which to kill the beast.
     The idea of the Car Nex short being a saga really excited me.  I was skeptical, however, when West announced that he would not be penning these new stories but would be passing the torch to other authors.  I had no idea who these other authors were but I knew West would not turn his creation over to someone that had no idea what they were doing.  Out of the three Car Nex stories I have read from these spin-offs, Trailer Park was my favorite even though they were all good in their own way.  This one was easy to follow which is one of the many reasons I love West and his horror fiction.  His stories are easy to follow regardless of your reading level.  Hupp has the same writing style.  Anyone could read this including children is you look over the graphic nature of this story.  Easy to follow and not overly complicated.  The story for this one is solid.  It tosses the Car Nex right in the heart of dixie where an unsuspecting trailer park meets it's demise.  I loved how southern fried the story was after it was able to move the story set forth in Car Nex and put them in present day.  This was a great addition to the series in regards to story.  Finally, the story has several characters.  Some were written for us to hate.  This was on purpose and we get the gratification knowing they die horrible and unspeakable deaths.  We also get characters that we sympathize with and others we want to see survive.  The great thing about this one is, even though we want them to live does not mean they will.  Overall, Trailer Park is an outstanding read and a great addition to anyone's horror library.  The story is a great extension of something spectacular and the story quickly turns gruesome with no hesitation.  Read this one as soon as you can!

Car Nex: Storm

Author - Kerry E.B. Black (Shades of Fear)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     This January and February has been strange for me compared to the last 15 years of my life.  Typically, I only read a book or two a year due to work, family life, and writing reviews for Horror Society but these last two months has been one strange ride for me.  I have been reading a full book every three days and a short almost daily.  I haven't read this much since I was in 4th grade and Goosebumps hit the store shelves.  One of the books I have been reading is the Car Nex series that was created by author Terry M. West with each addition penned by a different author.  The second story I read in the series is Storm from Kerry E. B. Black.  Thanks Terry for sending these my way!

     The film follows journalist Mariah Dawn who is traveling around Texas doing reports on haunted sites scattered throughout the state.  Her next stop is at the home of the 1965 Campbell Massacre where it is believed that the father of the family murdered his family before taking his own life.  If you have read Car Nex then you know this is far from the truth.  The house has been abandoned and is now on the verge of ruin.   She does a little snooping and finds a hidden compartment in the bottom of a desk where she discovers an ancient book.  She calls a friend to come take a look at it and leaves the house to look around town and talk to the locals.  When she returns she finds her friend's car along with another car in the drive way and hears blood curdling screams.  She calls the police but before they arrive she enters the house and discovers that her friend read from the book unleashing the evil carnivore from the nexus!
     As I have stated before, Car Nex by West is my favorite story of his and I love the idea of letting other authors expand his amazing story.  The first story I read of this expanded universe was The Mighty and the Merciless.  It was a fun sci-fi action story but just didn't feel like a Car Nex follow up.   However, Storm was a damn fine follow up that serves well as a sequel.  Black's writing style is very similar to West and is very easy to follow making this short very easy to read regardless of your reading level.   A good amount of detail was given to the story but not enough to take away from the broad picture.  So many stories fall victim to over detailing.  We don't need 20 pages describing how shiny the door knob is.  The story for this one is a great follow up to where the original story left off.  The only downside is the story is a little too short.  It seems like the second the story gets good and comes full circle it ends.  I could see this story being adapted into a found footage short following a team of paranormal investigators.  West, make this happen.  Finally, the story has several characters that are expendable.  The reader does not become attached to any of them and it's hard to feel a connection or sympathy for any of them.  Strange reading a story where you don't want someone to survive.  Overall, Storm is a great addition to the Car Nex saga.  The story is bloody and violent but lacks characters we can get behind.  Storm itself deserves a follow up as well and Black should helm it!  Check this one out.  

Car Nex: The Mighty and the Merciless

Author - Joseph Ramshaw (Journals of Horror: Found Fiction)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Action/Sci-Fi
Format - eBook (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Life has changed drastically for me the last 6 months.  During this time I switched companies I work for during the day.  Same industry just a different company.  This new job not only pays more but I have a bit of down time where I have been reading like a mother fucker.  In the past I was lucky to read two or three books a year but I have read 6 books in one capacity or another in less than a month.  I have mostly been reading the Vampire Hunter D series where I just wrapped up volume 4 as I wait on others to arrive but I have taken the time to read a few stories from one of my favorite authors, Terry M. West.  After I finished Monsters in the Magic Now and Night Things, I decided it was time to check out his Car Nex series which features stories written by other authors.  The first one I decided to check out was written by Joseph Ramshaw and was titled The Mighty and the Merciless.  Thanks Terry for sending this one my way.

     The story follows a group of soldiers, self-named Face-Punchers, who are sent to a whore house to check on high levels of paranormal activity.  When they arrive they discover a undead sorcerer with ties to the past of one of their own.  The undead sorcerer has an evil book in his possession and uses it to call on an evil creature known as the carnivore from the nexus, or car nex.  However, these are not your ordinary soldiers.  Each and everyone one has a unique ability and use these special powers to stop the beast from laying waste to the locals while one of them battles a memory from their past.

     Terry M. West's story Car Nex is my favorite work of horror fiction from him so when I heard that a group of authors would be helming a series of stories set around his piece of work, I was excited to say the least.  With that being said, Joseph Ramshaw was a new name to me.  I have not read any of his previous work but I was open to his take on the Car Nex mythos.  The way this one is written is clearly different than how West had written the original story and that is for obvious reasons.  Ramshaw gets straight to the point with very little room for play.  He doesn't over complicate things similar to West but he does not spend too much time on the details.  In some aspects that benefited the story while at times it did leave it feeling a little flat.  The story for this one is a solid attempt at tossing the Car Nex creature into a futuristic sci-fi action flick.    The story is a horror/sci-fi action story full of magic, heavy artillery, the undead, and tons of carnage.  I enjoyed the story but felt it softened what was established in the original Car Nex story.  Finally, the story's characters put me in mind of some that could be found in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  We have the dumb muscle similar to Drax, the one experimented on over and over like Rocket, we have the female bad ass just like Gamora, and then we have their not so special leader like Agent Phil Coulson.  These characters were actually fun and the possibilities are endless but they felt out of place with the story.  Overall, Car Nex: The Mighty and the Merciless is a solid addition to the Car Nex series.  As a stand alone story it would have had more impact but it is still a worthy edition to the rapidly expanding universe of the carnivore from the nexus.  Well worth the read.

Night Things: Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Author - Terry M. West (Turning Face, Dreg)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror
Format - eBook (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     This month just keeps dragging on.  As most of you know, I have decided to challenge myself to not watch and review horror movies which has resulted in a suicide watch and large amounts of alcohol.  Though I challenged myself not to watch horror, I never said anything about reading horror stories.  This has been the perfect time to do some reading.  The company I currently work for has been acquired by Sprint and we will be transitioning to them in the next few months.  In the mean time, the story has been slow and we have had a lot of down time.  I decided to focus more on reading and knocked out the first two volumes of Vampire Hunter D before checking out Terry M. West's Monsters and the Magic Now.  That book spawned a new sequel titled Night Things: Dracula vs. Frankenstein.  It was only logical to follow that up with Night Things.  Once again, thank you Terry for sending this one my way.

     The story picks up after the events of Monsters and the Magic Now.  Filmmaker Gary Hack's life seems to be looking up.  He has cleaned up his appearance but is still riding the dragon.  He has been working steady for Johnny Stucke making his night things snuff films along with filming softcore and hardcore flicks on the side.  Gary has lived a rough life and knows things don't stay up for long.  He is soon visited by two homicide detectives, one alive and one a zombie.  They take him back to interrogate him where he learns that his ex-wife and her new husband has been brutally murdered and they suspect night things are responsible due to his connection to the night things snuff flicks.  He also learns that his daughter is now missing.  He leaves the precinct and receives a call instructing him to meet at a discreet location.  He is picked up there and taken deep underground to a long forgotten subway tunnel where he meets Dracula, king of the night things.  Dracula plans on using Gary to reach Johnny who have been at war with each other for decades.  Gary lets Johnny know and Johnny reveals that he has a secret weapon to stop Dracula and save all mankind along with Gary's daughter.

     Heroin in the Magic Now, and the short that culminated into Monsters and the Magic Now, is a story that has endless possibilities.  The series takes place in a world where anything can happen and I would only trust a story that powerful to the mind of West.  West is a genius and one of the few fucked up in the head enough to make a story like this entertaining.  I enjoy West's writing style which continues in this tale.  West uses small, simple words for the most part to tell his story.  This is great for those of us that are novice readers and want a casual reading experience.  His writing helps the story flow well and could easily be compared to the writings of R. L. Stine.  The story for this one takes what was established in Monsters and the Magic Now but adds a lot of classic horror spins on it.  West fully embraces the concept of night things coexisting with humans and then adds the classic characters Dracula and Frankenstein who have fought several times in film and literature.  He then adds some Lovecraft inspired characters along with some of his own from other works to create something truly unique.  The icing on the cake was the nod to the film Cabin in the Woods which I referenced before in my review for Monsters in the Magic Now.  With that being said, the addition of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster made the story somewhat campy.  The series is known for being raunchy and very original but adding these two well known horror figures into the fold made the story seem cheesier.  The mystery surrounding Stucke in Monsters made it intriguing but that was removed once that portion of the story was embraced.  Now that they are part of the story, I would love to see more of their back story.  Finally, the film continues with characters established earlier in the series with Gary Hack, his producer Mike, and Johnny Stucke.  We do get more of a back story on Stucke but not his origins which was briefly touched on.  I'm very curious if West will ever give us a prequel with Stucke and Dracula before the two meet for the first time.  There is so much possibility among these two characters now that they have entered the universe.  Overall, Night Things is another amazing work of horror fiction from one of the best minds in the game.  This is a horror story for horror fans.  If you love the Universal monster movies, sexploitation cinema, and gore then you will need to check this one out!

Monsters and the Magic Now

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!

Night of the Living Trekkies

Author(s) - Kevin Anderson (Blood, Gridlock, and PEZ: Podcasted Tales of Horror) and Sam Stall (The Three Stooges Career Guide)
Release Date - 2010
Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi/Comedy
Tagline - "They though space was the final frontier - they were wrong"
Format - Ebook

Rating (out of 5):

     Growing up I was never a sci-fi fan.  I would watch some sci-fi movies and shows but my heart belonged to children's shows and movies until 4th grade when I grabbed my first Goosebumps book from R.L. Stine.  Then on I was hooked on the horror genre but I still dabbled in the films intended for children and sci-fi.  When I was in high school I finally sat down and watched Star Wars and was hooked.  I soon decided to dive deeper into sci-fi and it was only a matter of time before I checked out the original Star Trek series.  I was hooked on that as well and since then I have watched most of the shows but have avoided the movies until I could sit down and watch the shows in correct order.  Anyway, a few years back I bought my wife a Kindle and soon after found a book titled Night of the Living Trekkies.  I love a good parody but didn't check it out because I was afraid it was a fan fiction story.  A few weeks back I rediscovered the title on my iPad through the kindle store and decided it was time to finally check it out.  

     The story follows Jim.  Jim is a bellhop at a hotel in Houston as the hotel staff prepares for the big Star Trek con that weekend.  Jim was once a huge fan of ST but has since turned his back on childish things since his return from Afghanistan.  Jim has a sense and can determine when things are not right so when thousands of trekkies arrive for the con he starts to feel uneasy and could tell something is off.  Soon he starts to discover that the hotel staff is missing and one of his co-worker was bitten by someone earlier and soon discovers that a family friend was bitten as well.  He immediately starts to assume that a zombie apocalypse is upon him.  Soon his sister and her trekkie friends arrive and he tries to convince them that something is wrong but they refuse to listen until it is too late which forces him to fight through an undead hords of Klingons, Borgs, and other Star Trek characters with a red shirt and a model dressed as Princess Leia until they discover that this zombie apocalypse was brought on by extraterrestrial origins.    

     When I first spotted NotLT on my wife's Kindle I thought it was a fan fiction story of sorts and was not really in the mood for that.  However, after finding it again a few years later I decided to check it out and I am damn glad I did.  The story is not a fan fiction at all.  Instead, it is an original story that has nothing to do with the Star Trek universe other than mentioning it just in passing.  The characters in this story vary.  We have some that are really likable.  Great detail went into them with the revealing of their backstory.  These characters are the story's main focus and a lot of detail was given to them.  With that being said, other characters that are pivotal to the story just seem random and offer up little for the reader.  In fact, some characters that have so much promise are rarely referred to and then die off.  One that comes to mind is the Klingon arms dealer that was a hulking menace that wields his handmade weapons.  The guy is rarely mentioned and is then killed off.  I can understand killing the character but more action from him would have been awesome.  The story for this one is fun and instead of being set in the Star Trek universe it is set in the real world.  The story does make several references to the iconic television show, as well as, the less talked about animated series and movies but still spins a separate story altogether.  From that aspect, the story is just another zombie apocalypse tale following a rag tag group of survivors as they fight the flesh eating menace but we then get the Star Trek theme tossed in which really mixes it up.  The story is a little weak on the gore but replaces it with sci-fi elements that will blow the reader's mind.  Finally, the story flows very well and is written in a way in which it is easy to read.  When I was in college I purchased so many indie horror novels that were hard to follow and written in a way in which the reader had no idea what the fuck was going on.  Lucky for us, that is not the caste with this one here.  Overall, Night of the Living Trekkies is an outstanding read.  The story is fun and well worth your time.  Do yourself a favor and check it out!        

Dreg

Author - Terry M. West (Turning Face)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Format - E-book (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Reading was something I absolutely loved to do when I was in elementary and middle school.  I would often head to the library and check out Goosebumps, Fear Street, and the rip-off stories in Shivers.  As I got older I would pick up the occassional novel.  Sometimes they were about serial killers, some were autobiographies of Dimebag Darrel, and others were random fictional stories.  Reading became a chore and real life took over.  I would occasionally check out a Terry M. West novel but those were few and far in between.  I recently lost my job and found work at another company where I have an hour lunch with no internet access.  Without my beloved YouTube videos featuring Rhett and Link, Smosh, and Epic Meal Time I had nothing to occupy my time.  Then I remembered that I promised to read and review several stories from West.  After reading Turning Face I decided to set my sights to Dreg.  Thanks Terry for letting me check this one out too.  

     The film begins in the swamps of Louisiana as a father teachers his special, left handed son (Dreg) the ways of their religion which follows the moon that they believe is the eye of a great wolf named Le Loup.  Le Loup is the great hunter of hunters and wants blood the nights he shines.  They kill a tourist that was lost in the swamp and prepare parts of his body for a feast.  The boy becomes obsessed with Le Loup and files his teeth down to fangs to make himself even more wolf like.  His grandpa is the patriarch of the family who has a book in his possession that details their religion.  One day while looking though the book he comes across a demon that manifests when a baby is stillborn and is not burned.  Not long after that his baby brother is stillborn and his father, the leader of their pack, starts to bury the child in their front lawn.  Dreg tells him about the demon and his father refuses to listen.  Dreg fights him before ripping his throat out with his fangs.  His mother shoots his grandfather and forces Dreg to leave.  We then jump to present day, almost 50 years later, and we follow a psychic who is working for the police department.  They are trying to catch a killer known as the Keepsake Killer who is stalking a particular highway.  The psychic tries to reach the killer and when he gets close something happens and he almost dies.  His wife tries to force him off the case and succeeds after a wolf tries to kill him in a vision.  They decide to go on vacation and when her husband is shitting in a roadside shitter, Dreg kidnaps her forcing him back into the case to save his wife even if it kills him.
     West really is an exceptional author.  His stories are always unexpected and never fail to pull the reader in.  That is why he is one of my favorite authors.  His stories are so addicting and are easy to read.  The story for this one is so in depth with so much going on.  We have the crumbling marriage between the psychic and his wife before getting a very in depth back story on his wife and why she is a strong, independent woman.  We also get a look in the life of the detective that is helping him and how close he is to dying.  We then get a long look at two FBI agents that are fucking and their side story featuring a second serial killer known as the Optometrist.  The stories main focus is Dreg, his life as a follower of Le Loup, and his upbringing that lead to this point.  I absolutely loved how West was able to cram this much excitement into one book.  With that being said, this story pulled a Bible on us and only gave us Dreg's life as a child and as an adult before his death just like Jesus.  What happened during his young adult life?  Let us know what happened West!  This story is riveting and pulls the viewer in.  Finally, the writing in this one is fluid and easy to read.  West truly has a way with words.  Dreg is easy to follow, understand, and comprehend.  Overall, Dreg is another hard one to put down from a true master of horror.  The film is packed full of excitement and characters that you just can not stop reading about.  I highly recommend this one to anyone that enjoys a good horror novel.  Check it out!

Turning Face

Author - Terry M. West (Car Nex)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "A tale of horror, comedy. and wrestling"
Format - e-book (review copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Filmmaker, artist, and author Terry M. West has to be the hardest working man in the game.  It seems like almost monthly West is turning out piece after piece.  For those of you that love to read, this is fucking fantastic.  However, if you are a slow reader or don't have time for a good book. then this fucking sucks.  Especially if you are a fan of West and want to stay on top of all his projects.  Over the last two years I have read 4 novels and short stories from West and every one of them knocked me on my ass.  Among those stories were two characters that I really hope he continues to explore.  Those two are Bubba and Cecil and this is a plea to continue their misadventures!  Anyway, a few months back West hit me up with a review copy of one of his newest stories titled Turning Face which was a horror comedy about wrestling.  I am a huge fan of West and took the review copy.  My love of all things West made me greedy and I took the review copy knowing I had no time what-so-ever to review the novel.  That was until I started a new job where I have an hour for lunch with no internet access!  Thanks Terry for letting me check this amazing read out!

     The story follows Tojo Smith who is a demon who was conceived on Earth by two pit-born demons sent to Earth to corrupt as many innocents as possible.  At a young age he becomes hooked on wrestling and decides that he will use wrestling as a way to corrupt.  When he becomes old enough, he starts wrestling as a heel named The Crimson Demon.  This giant wrestler becomes a fan favorite which prompts a meeting with a demon that answers directly to Satan.  He meets with Tojo in order to create a game plan to help Tojo corrupt as many as possible and they conclude that Tojo will fake an injury and a pit born demon will take over.  While "injured" Tojo will train the pit-born demon to become a world class wrestler.  During the match, the demon changes it up and actually injures Tojo.  Tojo is now too old to start over and is forced from wrestling where is now sits in his trailer watching the nightly matches on his small t.v. until he learns that the new demon in the ring wants to hurt another innocent wrestler.  Tojo can not sit idly by and let this happens and steps in igniting a battle between heaven and hell.  

     West is a man that writes for the working man.  Some may see this as a compliment while others may see this as an insult but I mean no disrespect.  West is a wordsmith.  He is able to write stories that are entertaining while refraining from using words that are too complicated for the reader.  I don't know how many indie publications I have been sent over the years and each page is filled to the brim with words way too complicated for the simple story they are trying to tell.  However, West's stories are easy to read and easy to follow.  That is one of the many reasons I love his work.  His stories are always easy to read regardless of your reading level.  The story for this one is fun and takes me back to the days when wrestlers had gimmicks and their image was more important than their skill.  This takes me to the days of WCW with wrestlers like K.I.S.S. Demon, Vampiro, and so many more.  These horror inspired wrestlers were the reasons I watched wrestling at the time and this novel brings that fun back to life and tosses in in the fiery pits of hell.  The story boasts that it is a horror comedy but I, sadly, did not pick up on the comedy.  This could be because I'm a fucking idiot or it could be because the horror is tongue in cheek.  Either way, the jokes went over my head.  Finally, the story has some great characters that are easy to like and some that are easy to fucking hate.  West does a great job painting the characters and we really can see what they look like on the page.  That is something I have said about West before.  He is able to fully describe without wasting the reader's time.  Overall, Turning Face should be the main event in your horror library.  The story is a no holds barred story that delivers on the fun.  Grab yourself a copy of this one as soon as possible!

Cecil and Bubba Meet the Thang

Author - Terry M. West (Car Nex)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Format - E-Book (review copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love how reading a book in it's entirety leaves a feeling of accomplishment.  This is a feeling you never get watching a movie or television show.  However, people just don't seem to have the time in this day and age to sit down and just read a book.  Hell, I started reading this short (just 43 pages) back in August while my wife was in the hospital.  Anyway, earlier this year author Terry M. West released the anthology What Price Gory? that features the short story Cecil and Bubba Meet a Succubus.  The story was a fun, southern tale about slack-jawed friends Cecil and Bubba who have a curse put on them and unknowingly awaken a succubus while helping out a paranormal investigator.   This was a pair that was destined to have their own series and thank God for Terry M. West for following that up with their next mis-adventure in Cecil and Bubba Meet the Thang.   

     This story picks up the next day after the events that take place in Cecil and Bubba Meet a Succubus.  Cecil is working the night shift at his Dad's garage and it is Halloween night.  Not long after his shift starts his Dad comes in and breaks his heart by revealing he thinks Cecil is a failure and will never run the garage once he passes.  Not long after that Bubba shows up with Hattie Mae.  Hattie Mae was the succubus they had fought the night before but when Cecil burnt the house down it freed her making her human.  She just got a job at the strip club Bubba works at and Bubba offered to let her stay with them in their trailer until she can get on her feet.  While they are discussing this two FBI agents come into the garage with car problems.  Cecil agrees to look at it but is warned not to open the back of the van.  They leave to go have a few drinks when something takes over Cecil and forces him inside the fan where he finds a metal coffin.  He opens it and finds the limp corpse of an alien.  The being from another world then reaches out from the coffin and grabs Cecil's head where he shows Cecil everything.  The being is the destroyer of worlds and kills entire planets at a time before crash landing on Earth over a hundred years ago.  He then releases himself from Cecil and escapes.  Bubba enters and beast attacks him but Bubba spills soda on it which burns it and in turn saves his life.  Before Bubba and Cecil are able to comprehend what is going on the two FBI agents come back and think the two are hiding the alien's corpse.  A stand off ensues where one agent shoots the other with plans of selling the alien for millions of dollars.  He then makes the two go looking for the beast before Hattie Mae hits the agent with the car and the beast nabs him to use as a pawn in a way to get to the three unlucky bastards.  However, Hattie Mae still has some demon juice flowing through her veins and is able to stop it before it is too late.

     When I read a book, regardless of length, I have to like the characters.  I have read so many books and comics in my short life where the characters are lame as fuck and you can't find anyway to associate with them as a reader.  However, I never have that problem when I read a West story.  His characters are always real and easy to find qualities you find in yourself.  With that being said, Cecil and Bubba are two characters that I absolutely love and can see traits in each of them that I also share.  They are both bumbling idiots with a heart of gold that continue to find themselves up shit creek wearing white bibs.  The story for this short is very strong and reminds me a lot of the alien encounter flicks from the 80s.  We get the classic X-Files alien but instead of it innocently poking farts out of asses it kills anything and everything.  The story is able to pull out some comedy and quick whit while giving us a a pretty dark and gruesome back drop for it all to take place in.  Finally, this story is easy to read and wonderfully written.  I have read stories before that I had to re-read pages because I had no idea what the fuck was going on.  However, West is a slick author and his words run smoothly across the page making this one easy and fun read.  Overall, Cecil and Bubba Meet the Thang is an amazing piece of horror literature that begs to be read and expanded upon.  We need more Cecil and Bubba in our lives!  Check this one out because you will not be disappointed.

What Price Gory?

Author - Terry M. West (A Psycho's Medley) 

Release Date - 2014

Genre - Horror

Format - E-Book (Review Copy)

Rating (out of 5):

     Last year, during my first full year at Horror Society, I switched it up and started reviewing video games and books.  What pushed me into books was befriending author Terry M. West on Facebook.  West is known for his indie films and horror literature but in recent years he has put his main focus toward his writing.  He was kind enough to send me review copies of his anthology novel A Psycho's Medley and the short Car Nex.  I loved reading both of these but my main focus has always been films so that drew all my attention and I let his more recent releases slip by me and for that I apologize.  I wanted to get back on track with West and his novels so I went ahead and checked out one of his newer releases while my wife is in the hospital waiting on a surgery.  I turned on the ol' iPad and gave West's What Price Gory? some of my undivided attention. 
     This anthology consists of eight shorts.  The shorts are as followed (and out of order); Car Nex which was reviewed in full before, What Price Gory? which follows a horror author who is trying to climb the best selling charts after an author known as the master of horror dies.  However, before he can do that he has to win a battle with the deceased author's spirit.  The third tale, The Hairy Ones, follows an elderly couple who sacrifices the young to hairy creatures that roam their farm at night.  After they have their fill the elderly couple strips down and lets them bareback them.  The Hermit's Creepy Pet follows an aspiring author who teams up with the local hermit.  The hermit has caught a legendary beast in one is his bear traps but the beast is far from death.  Cecil and Bubba Meet a Succubus follows two good ol' boys who piss off a gypsy who then lays a curse down on the two.  The two then enter a haunted house as part of a paranormal investigation where an evil succubus is accidentally awaken. Put on a Happy Face follows a little girl, Susie, who lives with her brother Billy.  Billy was once an amazing scientist but a horrible lab explosion forever changed him.  The final story, Midnight Snack, follows a business man who is not satisfied with the way his life has turned out.  One night he takes the wrong exit during a traffic jam and ends up in the worst part of town. 
     West is an amazing author.  He knows I feel that way about him and his literary gifts because I consistently tell him that.  Every thing of his I have read I absolutely loved.  With all that said, my favorite horror book to date is Brian Keene's The Rising.  This book is fucking vile, disgusting, and brutal.  However, after reading What Price Gory? I have to say that I have a new favorite and that is WPG.  I absolutely love how each tale took a different path than the one before it.  This is something that you rarely see in anthology films and novels.  Most of the time they are all linked together by something.  Don't get me wrong, it is crucial that they are all linked but sometimes you do get one that isn't but it still works.  The stories are all bold and very imaginative.  They all could easily be expanded upon which is something I strongly urge West to do.  The breakout story from this short story collection is Cecil and Bubba but I really liked Midnight Snack and Car Nex as well.  I could see all three of these spawning an entire series.  I also like West's writing style.  He doesn't try to over do and show off his intelligence.  He writes the story and keeps it simple for us dumb-asses to enjoy.  That is why he is one of my favorite authors.  He keeps it smooth and simple which is something I really enjoy.  My biggest, and only, problem I have with this collection of shorts is the fact it is a collection of shorts.  Each story has so much potential and could easily be turned into something even more amazing.  So many of these stories end leaving the reader feeling let down like the first time they had sex and barely hit the 60 second mark.  This really bums me out thinking about all the what ifs.  Overall, What Price Gory? is one hardcore fucking read.  It is fun, bloody, ghoulish, and very original.  Please check this one out immediately. 

The Rising

Author - Brian Keene (City of the Dead, The Conqueror Worms)
Release Date - 2003
Genre - Horror
Format - Paperback (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Growing up I was an avid reader but I was not something you would call a "bookworm."  I still spent most of my time watching movies and playing Sega Genesis.  This was the time when R.L. Stine gave the world the greatest children's horror series of all time with Goosebumps.  I would slowly read a book a week for a few years when those were released.  They came out when I was in 4th grade and I was a fan of them until I was in the 6th grade (I know I was a little too old for them by that point but I liked them!).  After that point horror comics consumed my life and I didn't really read novels anymore.  I did randomly pick one up here and there but nothing like I was before.  During my life I have read my fair share of books but I have never had the urge to re-read any of them.  When I was in high school my accounting teacher was at a festival here in the state of West Virginia and purchased a horror novel by West Virginia author Brian Keene.  Keene is well known in the horror genre for his novels but at the time his book The Rising was just released and that was the book she grabbed.  She originally purchased the book for herself but after reading a few short pages decided to give it to me.  I read the book and liked it but forgot about it with time.  However, I recently dusted off my Kindle after reading two stories by Terry M. West and decided it was time to work my way through Keene's bibliography starting with The Rising.
     The story follows Jim, a West Virginia construction worker, who has been hiding out in his homemade bunker as the undead begin to take over the world.  He recently lost his second wife and unborn child to the undead hordes.  He is questioning his sanity when his cell phone rings and discovers that his son, who now lives in New Jersey with his mother and step-father, is still alive and his parents have been turned.  Jim sets out on a journey that brings him up close and personal with hundreds of the undead who can talk and reason just like the living.  Eventually he meets an elderly black priest names Father Martin. Martins accompanies Jim on his travels where they encounter cannibals and even more zombies brandishing guns and driving vehicles.  Eventually Jim and Martin cross paths with a military outfit who force survivors to joins their ranks.  They make the able bodied men work and turn the women into whores and rape them.  The military group eventually finds a survivor, Professor Baker, who is the unknown reason that all hell has broke loose on Earth.  He was working on an experiment when he opened a black hole which released ancient beings from "The Void" that inhabits the recently deceased.  Their numbers are more than the stars and were put in the void by God.  The are now breaking free and taking over the minds of the undead.  Their leader, Ob, is now free on the world and stages an attack on the military convey freeing Frankie the junkie, Jim, and Martin to continue on their mission.  After many close calls and a lot of bloodshed Jim finally reaches the home of his son in New Jersey but is it too late?
      When I first read this book I enjoyed it but now after reading it a second time I have a whole new appreciation for it.  The idea of a zombie apocalypse has been ran through the ringer endlessly with so many films, television shows, books, comics, and even games out there for mass consumption.  However, after reading The Rising, which was released the same year as issue #1 of The Walking Dead, I realized that this is a brand new take on the zombie apocalypse and to be honest I was really creeped out by it.  The idea of the undead shambling around eating the flesh of the living was never one that scared me or gave me chills.  I grew up with Night of the Living Dead '68 and NotLD 90's, Day of the Dead, and Dawn of the Dead so the idea of zombies never terrified me.  However, Keene's version of the zombie mythos really sent a chill down my spine.  The thought of the undead communicating and using weapons is down right dastardly and extremely frightening.  I would often read a few pages and pause thinking about the hell the living were truly going through.  I also liked how Keene threw in undead animals.  That also knocked the scares up a notch.  Killer rabbits sounds silly when saying it out loud but Keene took all the humor out of it and made it a concept to make sissies shit their pants.  That being said, this is a story we have heard numerous times by now but in 2003 it was still something familiar but not run in the ground like it is now.  Keene did not set out to re-invent the wheel but show it another way of spinning.  The book is very well written.  Keene has a way with words and makes his story very descriptive.  Unlike King, who can spend pages upon pages to describe a door, Keene is able to be very detailed without taking the readers mind off the story at hand.  The book also was very easy to read and follow which is a plus for a novice reader like myself.  I am not one to read literary classics so when I sit down to read a book I need it to flow very well and be easily read and that is what Keene did.  Overall, this is pure terror and horror on paper.  Keene demonstrates that he is a true horror god and I highly recommend this classic. 
    

Car Nex

Writer - Terry M. West
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Format - Ebook (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     My whole life I have always heard the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover."  I am guilty of doing this all the time but it is so damn hard not to.  Artwork is easy to sucker you in to read or watch something that could possibly be shitty.  It also sets you up for what could be something really worth the price.  That is what I thought when I first saw the cover for Terry M. West's short story Car Nex.  I absolutely loved the artwork and after finishing A Psycho's Medley I had to give it a read.  The title confused me a little so I had no idea what to expect.  However, I knew after reading the story the title would make sense I just had to be patient and give it a go.
     This short follows a group of men as they barricade themselves in a barn.  A ferocious beast is chasing them after it had devoured most of the town.  One of the men, Adam, is the cause of all this.  He found the book in his attic and was consumed by it.  One day he finally caved in and read from it and that brought the Car Nex, carnivore from the nexus, in to this world.  The beast made it's way through his family before setting it's sights on the town.  After it feasted on the locals it chased the group in to the barn and is fighting to find a way in.  The beast eventually breaks in and kills everyone except Adam.  This is when Adam realizes that the Car Nex is tied to him and only his death can send it back.
     I have read a lot of books in my short life but I haven't read many in the last few years, however, West's A Psycho Medley sparked that love all over again.  I really enjoyed that book and was pumped to read Car Nex.  After reading it I can gladly say it is one of the best horror novels I have read.  West should be called an artist instead of an author because he can use words to paint a picture better than any other author I have encountered.  His writing is so detailed making it easy to actually picture the entire scene.  His writing style is also easy to read.  Some books I have read have a hard time following the story but this one does not stray away and is extremely easy to read.  The story is nothing that original but it is told in a new way that makes the viewer not want to stop reading.  It intrigues and draws the reader in unto the point of being obsessed.  The only downside to this short is that it is short.  This is one of the few times that I was utterly disappointed that I reached the end.  West should really extend this story or do a follow up to it.  Overall, this is a bloody good book and the pun was well intended.  I highly recommend this read.