BOOK REVIEW: The Crackhouse in the Desert by Dani Brown

The Crack House in the Desert is a horror novel written by Dani Brown and released by J. Ellington Ashton Press on July 4. Kindle length: 133 pages.

The Plot

In a bleak, dystopian America, a man journeys through the desert to solve the mystery of an apocalyptic event.

The Player

Vict is a survivor in a post-apocalyptic world who’s tapped to help humanity unlock the secrets of the past to save the future.

The Review

Is The Crack House in the Desert a metaphor for humanity’s addiction to self-destructive behaviors that destroy the environment? It could be.

Grim and thought-provoking, Crack House is a viscerally descriptive view of the future of humankind and where it could wind up if it continues along a course of drug addiction, environmental irresponsibility, and living without purpose.

Crack House is the story of a man named Vict and his journey to investigate the past to find hope for the future. Living an impoverished life inside a desert shack, Vict is transported by mutant fish people to an underground facility in the mountains where a human enclave delves into ancient medicine and technology to resurrect the dead and to determine what caused the apocalypse.

Vict is surprised to find he’s an expected guest at the facility. His first meaningful encounter is with a woman named Poppy who says cryptically, “We’ve been watching you, Vict. We sent the fish people to collect you when everything was meant to be ready. We know about your dreams. We sent the storm.”

Vict’s dreams suggest he can resurrect dead bodies, which affords him the chance to discover what destroyed most of humanity and created mutants. However, the knowledge is locked away in his memories, but he knows the answer lies somewhere in a place called Arizona.

The strength of Crack House is Brown’s ability to describe her post-apocalyptic world. It’s a desolate, poisoned world full of death and decay. A world where vomit burns holes in clothing. Humans are covered in oozing, pus-filled blisters. Maggots are considered healthy snacks. Corpses are spit to the surface by rainstorms. And women use their bodies in the most unsavory ways to acquire basics like tarps and buckets from men and mutants.

Some of the most gut-wrenching parts of the book are in the first four chapters when Brown describes Vict’s mother.

“His mother couldn’t do much of anything, except smoke her escape as she pried crust away from the spot between her legs, waiting for an entry that sometimes didn’t come at all. She couldn’t even chew on her meth pipe anymore, not without teeth.”

The Crack House in the Desert is dark and dismal, but Vict’s determination offers enough light to brighten the story to a shadowy dusk.

While the ending – specifically the final two paragraphs – of Crack House confused me, I was not confused about Brown’s ability. Her writing is powerfully descriptive, and her revelation of the cause of the apocalypse is surprising and original.

Book Review: Dead Stripper Storage by Bryan Smith

Dead Stripper Storage is a horror novel written by Bryan Smith and released by Grindhouse Press on July 20, 2018. Kindle length: 129 pages.

THE PLOT

A socially inept loner wakes up to find a dead stripper on his couch with no idea how she arrived there.

THE PLAYERS

Pete Adler is a milquetoast. He’s the kind of guy you don’t notice left the room, easily forgotten, and who’s never asked to hang out after hours by co-workers.

Mary Wilson is Pete’s ex-girlfriend, who unceremoniously dumped him after a few dates. She’s the first person that Pete encounters after discovering the dead stripper.

Shane Watson is a hot-shot sales executive who tormented and humiliated Pete at work before getting fired.

THE REVIEW

Dead Stripper Storage is what the title suggests – a nihilistic grindhouse tale of manipulation, murder, and mutilation. With the author of DEPRAVED, THE KILLING KIND, and 68 KILL steering the wheel, expect a no-holds-barred ride into the darkest and most depraved pits of the human soul.

Dead Stripper Storage includes genital mutilation, necrophilia, and illegal use of a condiment. As I wrote in my Amazon review, you may never eat mayonnaise again. Beneath the repulsive behavior and acts of violence, Smith manages to create a sympathetic loser in Pete. I wanted to know how Pete escapes his impossible situation.

Of course, if Pete only had to deal with one dead stripper, he might succeed in finding a way out of this mess. However, the body count multiplies, and Pete realizes he’s a helpless pawn in a sociopath’s game with no idea what the rules are or how to play.

Dead Stripper Storage had a Quentin Tarantino vibe to it, particularly PULP FICTION and that film’s scenes where the two mob hitmen are trying to dispose of a body. It didn’t surprise me that Smith acknowledged Tarantino’s influence and that the title is inspired by a phrase in PULP FICTION.

My favorite scene is early in the story when Pete’s ex-girlfriend Mary is knocking at his door. Instead of hiding the dead stripper, he rearranges her body on the couch and covers her with a blanket, so she looks like she’s sleeping.

When Pete’s ex-girlfriend asks about the woman, he lies and says, “Look, can we take this to the kitchen? I don’t want to wake my friend. We had kind of a wild night, maybe drank a bit too much.”

Was it a pathetic attempt by Pete to make his ex-girlfriend jealous? Yes, but it rang true as something a  desperate guy might do to hide the reality of his lonely existence.

And it’s something a talented writer like Smith might do to highlight the melancholy inherent in his flawed protagonist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David’s Haunted Library: Of Foster Homes And Flies

12-year-old Denny has not had an easy life, his father died and his mother is an alcoholic but he believes in keeping a positive outlook and doesn’t let it get to him. What he really wants in life is to accomplish something and for Denny that comes in the form of a spelling bee. He was too scared to sign up for it last year so to redeem himself this year he signed up and has been practicing non-stop. Life happens though and one week away from the spelling bee he wakes to find his mother has died.

Denny and his mother have had a complicated relationship that borders on mental abuse. Danny wants to do the right thing and call 911 but he doesn’t want to get stuck in a foster home and never compete in the spelling bee which to him is more than a competition. Denny decides that the best course of action is to keep his dead mother a secret until after the event which won’t be easy with the hot weather in New Orleans.

Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke is a brilliant coming of age story. This isn’t your average horror book, it’s more like a human drama with elements of horror in it. Denny is a child but is suddenly forced into an adult situation and isn’t sure how to handle it, but he does what he feels he has to do with a guilty conscience eating away at him the whole time.

Denny is a kid that you have to love, what he really wants is to be a normal kid but that can’t happen so he feels the least he can do is become spelling bee champion before he starts his lonely existence in a foster home.  Denny isn’t totally alone though, he has a friend named Carter and meets a hitchhiking girl named Sam. Denny never lets on what he’s going through and both characters still manage to help him in their own ways. I got the feeling that Chad Lutzke really understood how kids would act in this kind of situation because all the characters came across as real kids.

Of Foster Homes And Flies is a masterpiece, the length of the story is perfect and the main character may not be the kid next door but he wants to be. Denny is growing into a man but has no one to help guide him so he tries to figure out things on his own. He does a good job wrestling with his emotions and taking care of himself. I could hardly put down this book. I love the thoughts that Denny deals with along with the choices he has to make while feeling completely alone.  You have to feel for the character and I love how even when he does something bad he feels shame but sees it as something he must do. Of Foster Homes And Flies is a beautiful story that fans of all genres of books will enjoy.

David’s Haunted Library: Night Things: Dracula versus Frankenstein

 

 

New York City is a place where you can meet all kinds of people. In Terry M West’s Night Things: Dracula versus Frankenstein, New York is also home to vampires, werewolves, zombies and other odd creatures, who are referred to as the night things. Night things walk the streets with humans but they don’t have the same rights that we have. Dracula has plans to change that though and not in a good way. He is rallying the night things and his goal is to destroy all of humanity.

That’s where Frankenstein comes in, he has been living as the king of New York under the name of Johnny Stücke and he runs the city’s criminal underworld. Dracula and Frankenstein have been enemies for years and Frankenstein doesn’t like the idea of living in a world of Night things and humanity being destroyed. A war is about to begin between the world’s most famous monsters and it may be a heroin addict that is the deciding factor in who wins.

Every once in a while a book comes along that reestablished my love for the horror genre and Night Things: Dracula versus Frankenstein is that book. This is a short book but it packs a lot into it. The beginning starts in the distant past showing a time when Dracula and Frankenstein were friends and you feel a certain amount of sympathy for both characters as you see how they react to a world that neither one fits into. Then we flash forward to the present and see how much the characters have changed and you get a different feel for what they are in the present. Once you’re get invested into the two monster’s stories we get introduced to a third main character, a heroin addicted monster porn movie director named Gary.

At this point you start to think there is way to much going on but Terry makes it work. While this is a self-contained novella, Terry has created his own mythology based on established monsters and has had a few other stories in this universe, most notably: Monsters in the Magic Now. I love the concept of monsters living out in the open and everyday people having to deal with them. The most interesting character in the book is Gary who has to face a personal demon in heroin. He also has to live with the consequences of his hatred for monsters and is forced to change his ways when Dracula kidnaps his daughter. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when Gary has a run in with his ex-wife who is now a ghost.

There is actually a good message about the evils of discrimination and racism in this book. Though rather than being preachy,the message is part of a horror story about living in a world of supernatural creatures. Night Things: Dracula versus Frankenstein is beyond brilliant. Even the villains are likeable because you see them as monsters just being monsters. They’re not evil they are trying to survive, which leads us to a perfect ending with one of the characters becoming a totally changed monster by the end. Terry M. West knows what horror fans want and he delivers in this book.

http://terrymwest.com/

Press Release: The Eschatologist

The Eschatologist is the fifth novella from Australian horror author and artist, Greg Chapman.

This post-apocalyptic horror novella, centers on a family being pursued by a murderous prophet after the world has been toppled by a biblical apocalypse.

David Brewer is trying to keep his family alive in a world torn asunder by a Biblical apocalypse. Yet there is salvation, in the guise of a stranger who offers survivors sanctuary. All they have to do is declare their faith in God’s final – and bloody – plan.

Chapman is the author of the novellas Torment, The Noctuary, The Last Night of October and the short story collection, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares. He is also an artist, with his comic book illustrations gracing the pages of MidnightEcho magazine and his graphic novel Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, with Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, winning the Bram Stoker Award in 2012.

“Madness and murder and miracles all abound in The Eschatologist. Reminiscent of Barker’s early work, the end of the world has never been so bleak.” -Tim Marquitz, author of The Demon Squad

The Eschatologist is published by Voodoo Press and is available on Amazon now – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01939Z9YU

 

 

Review: Ketchup On Everything

Elliot Tather is a man who has lost everything. He had a good life but one event caused it all to fall apart and now he is a lonely person traveling the countryside in an RV searching for meaning. He finds what he is looking for one night when he arrives at an all night diner and witnesses something unbelievable that changes everything.

I’m not even sure where to begin on talking about Ketchup On Everything by Nathan Robinson. This is one great novella, but if I talk about it too much it will spoil it. When I started reading it I immediately fell in love with the main character, Elliot. Everything is described from his view-point and he goes into great depth describing the diner that he goes into and the waitress that is taking his order. You begin to care for the waitress as well as Elliot’s inner thoughts describe the kind of person he thinks she is. In the beginning you also get a quick glimpse of the RV that he is traveling in and I found myself wondering what brought Elliot to the diner and why does he talk like his wife is with him.

The story may unfold slowly with very little action but you are so into the characters that you don’t really notice. We eventually hear about Elliot’s past and I found myself wondering would I be like Elliot if this happened to me? When I was half way through the book I was thinking  where is this story going?  Then a whole new story begins that makes you question what happened earlier in the book. This is a masterfully told tale that has a slow build and ends with a lot of action and an exciting climax.

Ketchup On Everything combines real life horrors with fictional horrors. This is the perfect horror novella because it preys on your emotions. You care about Elliot and you watch him go through every parent’s worst nightmare and then you get hit with a surprise twist. This book may have an odd title but it does make sense when you read it. The title and description of this book gives no clue as to what comes in the second half of the book, which is where everything changes. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Ketchup On Everything.  You won’t regret it.

Press Release: Prisoner 489 by Joe R. Lansdale

New Horror Novella Prisoner 489 by Joe R. Lansdale illustrated by Santiago Caruso Now Available from Dark Regions Press

The new horror novella and second book in the Black Labyrinth imprint Prisoner 489 by Joe R. Lansdale illustrated by Santiago Caruso is now available from Dark Regions Press on their website at: http://www.darkregions.com/books/prisoner-489-by-joe-r-lansdale

Prisoner 489 marks a thrilling return to horror for bestselling author Joe Lansdale (Cold in July, Bubba Ho-Tep, Hap and Leonard) that Publishers Weekly calls “a tight, spooky tale about what happens when an executed prisoner doesn’t stay dead.” The book is lavishly illustrated by world renowned artist Santiago Caruso with 9 or more original illustrations, printed in full color in the signed limited hardcover editions. Available exclusively on DarkRegions.com Prisoner 489 is one of the most anticipated Dark Regions Press titles of 2014.

Description

Bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale (Cold in July, Hap and Leonard series, Bubba Ho-Tep) makes a return to horror with the dark and intense new novella Prisoner 489 fully illustrated by world-renowned artist Santiago Caruso.

On an island with a prison for the most evil and powerful criminals in the world, a new prisoner is strapped to the electric chair for execution. After multiple surges of electricity and nearly knocking out power to the entire island, the prisoner is finally dead. The staff buries him in the prison graveyard with a simple marker baring three numbers: 489.

After the body is buried, a violent storm rocks the islands and a staff member goes missing. The crew rushes into the storm, searching for their lost comrade. They find that the burial site of prisoner 489 has been unearthed, and the body that was inside has gone missing. With a horrific finding and strange noises around them, a powerful threat is closing in. It’s a threat that they thought was impossible, and it will force them into a battle for their lives.

Illustrations from Prisoner 489 by Santiago Caruso

  

Photos of Black Labyrinth Signed Limited Hardcover Editions

    

– See more at: http://www.darkregions.com/prisoner-489-by-joe-lansdale-launch-day-press-release#sthash.k0vWVlpc.dpuf

Good Ghost Gone Bad

What would it be like to roam the earth and not be seen or heard? You could see your loved ones, but they wouldn’t know you were there. Everyone is going on with their lives and all you can do is observe. That may be what ghosts feel like, they are shadows of their former selves and not a part of society anymore. They see everything and have nothing but time on their hands. This is the idea behind Good Ghost Gone Bad by Janiera Eldridge.

Brianna Moreno was a normal 22-year-old woman. She had a family, bills to pay and was trying to start a career. That all changed when she was murdered walking through the park one evening. Brianna’s killer is the only one that can see her and he’s happy to know she will be walking the earth unseen for eternity. She wanders the  streets feeling lonely and wanting revenge, but she doesn’t know how to get it.

Just when Brianna thought things couldn’t get worse, she discovers her killer also plans on murdering her sister.  Brianna has no clue on how she can save her, until she meets her killer’s other victims. The ghosts get together and learn how to use their powers to make their killer pay. Vengeance comes with a price though and Brianna may not like what she becomes.

Good Ghost Gone Bad hits on some interesting themes such as loneliness, love, vengeance and not taking anything for granted. I love the way this story begins, the author makes you feel Brianna’s loneliness by describing her walking down the streets and the wind blowing through her. Then she recounts her brutal murder and how her hopes and dreams came to an end. I liked hearing Brianna tell all the little things she missed about being alive such as reading and sleeping. There is a lot of depth to all the characters in this story and some good action sequences.

There were some grammatical errors in this book that took a little away from the story. Also there were some things that didn’t make sense,  like when the ghosts find a victim being held captive by their killer and don’t seem to care. Than later on a ghost saves a person even though his struggle with the killer had already summoned help. I would have liked to know what happened to the people who came to help.

The positives out weigh the negatives in the story.  The killer’s revelations towards the end really made me think and they were a surprise coming from a murderer. I also found the killer’s double life interesting, along with his wife’s attitude towards him. It was also interesting to see how Brianna changed as a person throughout the book and the decisions she makes towards the end.

There is a lot going on in this novella and Janiera Eldridge does a great job of telling a good story and creating memorable characters. This book may have had some flaws but it was a good read and I found myself looking into Janiera’s other works as soon as I finished. Good Ghost Gone Bad is a different kind of ghost story and a good example of how much depth a horror story can have.