HORROR BOOK Reviews (April)

Book Reviews of (fairly) recent publications. Each of the following books may be purchased through any large book store or online through www.amazon.com.

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REVIEWED: Psychos: Serial Killers, Depraved Madmen, and the Criminally Insane
EDITED BY: John Skipp
PUBLISHED: September, 2012

It’s hard to say that new John Skipp anthologies are better than the ones before it, because each of his books are a treasure of fiction stories. So with that being said, if you were a fan of his earlier anthologies, “ZOMBIES” or “WEREWOLVES” or “DEMONS,” this latest, “PSYCHOS,” meets the same level of quality horror and depth of genre you may have found before. It’s another immense collection, clocking in at about 600 pages, oversize trim, and 38 stories, plus introduction and various appendices. As before, the book also covers historic fiction, famous reprints, and plenty of new works by some of the best names in dark fiction, such as Neil Gaimon, Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Bentley Little. Some of my personal favorite stories in this book include the Stoker-nominated tale, “Righteous,” by Weston Ochse, the seminal “Lucy Comes To Stay,” by Robert Bloch, “The Shallow End of the Pool,” by Adam-Troy Castro, “Damaged Goods,” by Elizabeth Massie, and “The Small Assassin” by Ray Bradbury.

Five out of Five stars

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REVIEWED: SEAL Team 666
WRITTEN BY: Weston Ochse
PUBLISHED: November, 2012

This is the second full-length Ochse novel I’ve read (after SCARECROW GODS) and thus also the second full-length Ochse novel that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Each book is written in a distinctive voice, but SEAL TEAM 666 may be the more appealing to me only because of the subject matter: American SEAL Team special operations that fight against the country’s “Supernatural Enemies.” That’s right... good ol’ American weaponry, firepower, and kickass attitude against demons, monsters, golems, otherworldly possession, and a whole slew of further inhuman forces. The book is fast-paced, gripping, and filled with action as well as a full range of emotions from empathetic sorrow to rapid-fire joking. Great book to escape into for a wild adventure.

Five out of Five stars

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REVIEWED: John Dies at the End
WRITTEN BY: David Wong
PUBLISHED: December, 2012 (original limited release August, 2007)

I was looking for something “different” to read and I found it. John Dies at the End is a hilarious and fascinating take on two slackers who must save the world amidst a backdrop of drugs, aliens, monsters, demons, girls, minimum-wage bosses, and an unbelieving reporter. Totally inappropriate and sometimes immature jokes, but very funny for those with a warped sense of humor. I loved the originality of the book and the voice of the characters. The plot was awesome – just crazy and fast-paced – until about half way through. Then, it began to lull. That was my only problem with the book, is that it just seemed to go on for too long. It didn’t drag, per se – the plot was always moving – but I just had a sense of a story which would never end; just one madcap adventure after the other. It’s like sitting in front of a stand-up comedian hour after hour: for awhile, it’s great and you’re enjoying yourself. But chalk up five or six hours of the same guy’s routine and you just want it to end. So, overall, good book and I recommend it, though it cut have been cut shorter.

Four out of Five stars


Midnight cheers,

Eric

“AFTER DEATH...” has just been released for sale!!

“AFTER DEATH...” has just been released for sale!!

This is my second anthology as an editor, and it is a collection of all-original dark and speculative fiction stories, with accompanying illustrations by Audra Phillips. The contents explore the possibilities of what may occur after we die.

The Table of Contents include thirty-four all-new tales exploring the possibilities after death, presented by: Steve Rasnic Tem, Bentley Little, John Langan, Simon Clark, Lisa Morton, Joe McKinney, William Meikle, Ray Cluley, David Tallerman, and exceptional others!

Buy directly at AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/After-Death-Eric-J-Guignard/dp/0988556928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364709885&sr=1-1&keywords=After+Death+guignard

Buy directly at Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-death-eric-j-guignard/1114967789?ean=9780988556928

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY says the following about this book:

“What happens when we die? The answers come in the form of 34 stories that explore diverse notions . . . Though the majority of the pieces come from the darker side of the genre, a solid minority are playful, clever, or full of wonder. This strong and well-themed anthology is sure to make readers contemplative even while it creates nightmares.”

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-9885569-2-8

I’m so excited to showcase this publication! Though every parent thinks their child is the cutest, I happen to think this book is one of the best anthologies of new stories available today.

Thanks to all who participated and everyone else who supported this project, including my publisher, STAN SWANSON at DARK MOON BOOKS!

HORROR BOOK Reviews

I wanted to put out a few reviews of horror books for those of you inquiring about good reading material besides Stephen King. True, the following are not entirely recent books, but I just finished reading them, and the opinions are still fresh in my head, so they’re recent to me! All of these following books may be purchased through any large book store or through www.amazon.com.

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REVIEWED: Haunted: A Novel
WRITTEN BY: Chuck Palahniuk
PUBLISHED: 2006

HAUNTED is a collection of short stories that, interrelated, compose the greater make-up of a full-size novel, as each story is the flashback of one of the characters. Chuck Palahniuk is best known as the author of “FIGHT CLUB” which became the Fincher masterpiece movie in 1999. HAUNTED is often lauded on the “best of” lists of modern horror literature. Coupled with the fact that I’m a Palahniuk fan, and I was excited to jump into this. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work that well for me.

The plot revolves around a group of writers who become locked inside an abandoned movie theatre by their mysterious benefactor. However, instead of trying to escape, they each decide that the more horrific they make their own circumstances, then the greater story they will have to tell (and, by proxy, notoriety) once they are rescued. Thus, they destroy their own food, sabotage the heating and plumbing, and invent villains amongst themselves, almost like a “Lord of the Flies” for adults.

Each character’s flashback is a short story of itself, and Palahniuk doesn’t hold back when going through the gambit of the most perverse and horrific scenarios one would dare to imagine. Indeed, in the book’s afterword Palahniuk details how on a book tour, there was a rash of people who fainted after he read excerpts of the stories.

Although the book is a satirical view of culture and human motivation, I feel the author sacrificed absorbing writing for shock and absurdity. It’s very intelligent, but also felt “preachy,” and though the characters represented all different backgrounds, they mostly were each cut from the same cloth: selfish, troubled, and redundant.

What else can I say? Palahniuk is a master, and the critics adore this book. I just found it too self-serving and not the escape into imagination that I usually seek when reading fiction literature.

Three-and-a-Half out of Five stars

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REVIEWED: Neverwhere
WRITTEN BY: Neil Gaiman
PUBLISHED: 2003 (first published as a miniseries script, 1996)

It’s really been a long time since I’ve read a dark fantasy book as absorbing as NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman. Suffice it to say, this novel was fascinating, exciting, funny, scary, and overall simply brilliant.

Whatever happens to the “people who fall between the cracks in society,” The homeless, the runaways, the forgottens? They literally fall into another “mirrored” world below, composed beneath the sewers of London and built with the magic and lost technology that is forgotten today. In “London Below” entire villages may have fallen through the world and people from all walks of life converge, in a world of shadows, conspiracy, monsters, angels, and crime.

Gaiman’s style of writing seems so effortless and natural. It’s very warm and conversational, as if he were telling the story to you in person while sitting at a county pub with a couple pints of suds. It’s smart and entertaining and satisfying. Gaiman has a talent for world building, and there are a host of background characters who are all just as fascinating as the main characters. This book has been made into a T.V. Series for both BBC and again for A&E and a comic series through DC Comics, so it’s really gotten around.

Highly recommended for lovers of adventure, dark fantasy, and light horror.

Five out of Five stars

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REVIEWED: The Terror
WRITTEN BY: Dan Simmons
PUBLISHED: 2009

Up until the ending, this book was flawless. Not to take anything away from the ending – it was okay – but just not as powerful as the rest of this book. And when I say powerful, I mean my-heart-was-racing-and-I-could-not–put-this-down sensational. This is really just one of the best books I’ve read in the past few years, which is no small amount.

The Terror is written from multiple points of view from the perspective of a crew of 126 sailors aboard two ships that are seeking the Northwest Passage in 1845. The ships become crushed by ice in an abnormally frigid ocean that keeps them prisoner for several years. Not only must the men fight the Arctic elements and starvation to remain alive, but an evil creature begins to attack the trapped vessels, picking off the sailors one-by-one.

Imagine the movie ALIENS or John Carpenter’s THE THING if set aboard sinking ships in the mid-nineteenth century. Then add in cannibalism, rats, years-long misery, murder, mutiny, lots of rum, mysterious Eskimos, rich mythology, and a demonic creature that can apparently move through the ocean ice. Yes, my fingernails were gnawed to the quick.

Dan Simmons has an amazing voice in his writing, able to transport the reader into the established rules and rigid beliefs of Victorian-era sailors. Not only that, but the author makes you feel the “cold” of the ice, the “hunger” of slowly starving to death, and the “fear” of being hunted by a creature that is only glimpsed.

As I mentioned, the ending was my only issue. Not that it was bad, just… a “change” in the writing perspective which made sense to the story arc but still left me somewhat deflated.

Warning for all: This book is tragic and depressing. It is an amazing story of exploration and survival, but readers who don’t like it regularly complain of its despondency. This is true – it is 765 pages of gut-wrenching despair although, also, told in such beautiful prose that it still covers the whole gambit of other human emotions.

Six out of Five stars (see what I did there?)


Midnight cheers,

Eric

Review of “American Horror Story: Asylum”

(Spoiler Alert=Minimal) I’ll try not to give too much away about the ending of this television show (for those of you with it saved in the “To Watch” queue), but by the nature of any review, discussing the positives and negatives of a work will hint at what to expect as well as to influence your opinion.

Now, with all that being said, my plain and simple review of American Horror Story: Asylum is that “I loved it so much I’m going to ask it to be my Valentine next week.” Okay, hokie hyperbole aside, this show was absolutely fantastic. It’s definitely not for everyone, so it you’re still talking about Gossip Girl episodes, don’t bother checking it out.

However, if you were a fan of such shows as X-Files, Twin Peaks, or Lost, I highly recommend you pull up a seat and invest some time in watching this show.

Plot synopsis: American Horror Story: Asylum takes place in 1965, inside Briarcliff, a Church-run mental institution for the criminally insane. It’s ruled by Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) who is an ardent follower of the church though, however, is not shy at pursuing her own ambitions by any ruthless means possible. Within this Institution all manner of horrors occur, most notably the addition of its newest inmate, Kit (Evan Peters), who is being evaluated after being (wrongly) found guilty of a series of grisly axe-murders. A journalist (Sarah Paulson) goes undercover to expose the atrocities occurring at Briarcliff, but then finds there is no way out. Add to this mix a parade of Serial Killers, Alien Abductions, Nazi Experiments, Demonic Possessions, Mutants, and Deranged Nurses, and you get a sense this show is not easily explained. Indeed, it has so many sub-plots woven through that what exactly is happening is sometimes so confusing you don’t know how much of it is real or drugged-out psychosis, imagined while confined in the Asylum.

This is the second season of American Horror Story, though it is a “stand-alone” show meaning it has nothing to do with the first Season. Each season is an inclusive story, though each season (and pending a third) is dark and twisted in its own way.

I really found every aspect of this show to be genius. It covers a span of decades from the 1960’s to modern day, though most of the show takes place in 1965. The production is stunning. Wardrobe, set style, and everything else technical works to place the viewer so deeply in the center of Briarcliff, you can almost smell the rot and foul bedpans.

The acting is amazing. Jessica Lange deservedly earned SAG and Golden Globe recognition for this. The show also stars or includes cameos by a number of incredible performances: James Cromwell, Zachary Quinto, Joseph Fiennes, Dylan McDermott, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Lizzie Brocheré, Evan Peters, Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, and many others.

This show is rightly categorized as “Horror,” however it truly encompasses a wide range of emotions which is one of the reasons why I think it was so successful. Not only is it nail-biting-scary and tragic, it’s also genuinely funny at times and even downright sweet. The story arc is impressive, and the last three episodes alone form an in-depth story of their own, providing epilogue closure for each of the characters.

As much as the array of plots fascinated me, my only criticism is that the Alien abductions subplot seemed a little “too strange,” even for this show. It was never explained satisfactorily as to why Kit and the women he impregnated were taken away; only that he was “open-minded.” Other than that, the craziness worked for me.

There’s really nothing else like this series on television these days: dark and bizarre, atmospheric and epic, and all around brilliant. So, again, American Horror Story: Asylum gets my five-star, two-thumbs-up, A+, and any other rating indicative of superior performance.

In other words, I recommend it.

Midnight cheers,

Eric

Introduction to the Horror Genre

I was recently selected as the Horror Genre Correspondent for the relaunch of MEN’S CONFIDENCE MAGAZINE at: http://mensconfidence.com!

For my introductory Post, I thought I would share some thoughts on what the Horror Genre means to me.

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Hi MCM’ers! As the newest Staff Writer and “Horror Genre Correspondent,” I thought I would introduce myself by chatting a bit about what the Horror Genre is and what I’ll periodically be discussing and reviewing in future posts.

By “Horror Genre,” I first and foremost mean that relating to FICTION, primarily in literature and movies, which is intended, or has the capacity, to frighten or cause a sense of dread or alarm.

The Horror Genre is formally a subset of the Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy Genre, which in turn falls under the larger umbrella of “Speculative Fiction.” Speculative Fiction is contrasted against literary fiction by “Including a supernatural element.” Literary fiction involves fictional characters and/ or events in an everyday world where we could theoretically share the same experiences as those characters.

Although I spent my formative years studying the moors of society and class boundaries in Victorian Literature, my first and greatest love has always been of Horror. Horror can be Supernatural (such as the “A Nightmare on Elm St.” franchise), Psychological (“Jacob’s Ladder”), Torture Horror (“Saw” series), Gothic Horror (Dracula), Real Life Horror (Jack Ketchum’s “The Girl Next Door”), Children’s Horror (R.L. Stine’s books), or any number of sub-sub sets. Again, anything that induces an element of fear may be considered horror.

And this, I love. I love the spine-tingling sensation of something slowly creeping up, the jolt of terror when the fanged antagonist shows his worst, the burst of adrenaline that flows as I watch, or read, wide-eyed as to how the incredibly hot, yet kick-ass, female lead is going to best the alien monster who has single-handedly devoured all her stronger comrades. Why do I love this? Perhaps it’s the sense of relief when good bests evil. Perhaps it’s the satisfaction of facing something fearful and being able to conquer it. Perhaps it’s just the pleasure of immersing myself into a world of imagination where anything may occur, whether tragic, humorous, or contemplative.

From Stephen King to M. Night Shyamalan to Anne Rice to Clive Barker, dark and fanciful imaginations create some of the greatest horror stories in the world. Periodically I’m going to check in on Men’s Confidence and explore the latest of these book or movie projects, or I may dust off an antiquated gem, post an interview, or just share my rambling thoughts.

I’m a writer and editor in the world of horror fiction as well, so when I say I love it, you can bet your last headless teen prom zombie that’s the truth. As I contribute here, I hope to share that love, that sense of wonder and excitement, and, of course, that terror.

Midnight Cheers,

Eric J. Guignard

Preditors & Editors Nominations!!

Great news! I, and the work I’ve been involved in, have been nominated in FOUR different categories in this year’s Preditors & Editors™ Readers' Poll!!

P&E is a respected publishing guide, and their annual poll an indicator of quality projects and contributors throughout the past year. Voting is open to the public and they don't harvest your info. You do have to go through a one-time e-mail verification in order to prevent Spam. Please take a moment to cast your vote!

Best Anthology published in 2012: Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations
http://critters.org/predpoll/antho.shtml

Best Book/e-book Cover Artwork published in 2012: Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations
http://critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

Best Print/Electronic Book Editor: Eric J. Guignard
http://critters.org/predpoll/bookeditor.shtml

Best Horror Short Story published in 2012: “A Curse and a Kiss” by Eric J. Guignard
http://critters.org/predpoll/shortstoryh.shtml

 

In addition, “Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations” is listed on three different “Best Of” Lists through Goodreads.com (partnered with Listopia):

"Indie Books - Short-Story Collections/Anthologies" Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations is currently #8.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8661.Indie_Books_Short_Story_Collections_Anthologies#13508562

“Best Books of 2012” Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations is currently #392.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/15604.Best_Books_of_2012?page=4#13508562

"Best Horror Anthologies" Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations is currently #3. http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1204.Best_Horror_Anthologies 

 

If you have an account, be sure to vote at each of the links!