Frog Nog And Other Horrorday Tales, A Free Read For 12 Days Of Creepfest

Due to a billion technical difficulties and headaches it's been held up for a little while, but finally here it is, my official announcement of the release of my new holiday horror short story and poetry collection Frog Nog And Other Horrorday Tales.  Now, for the duration of the 12 Days Of Creepfest Blog Tour this title, that is cover to cover, never been published before stories, will be available from OmniLit.Com.  That's right, from today, December 13th, until December 24th, 2011, this collection will be free.  OmniLit gives you the option to download the collection in a variety of formats, including MOBI, ePub, PDF, HTML and more.

Here's a little "jacket" information on the collection:

A young man’s past comes back to haunt him. A man walks the desolate streets of a slum and remembers the life he once had. A young boy gets the present he wished for from an unexpected source. Death cannot take a holiday. These are a few of the things which await in this collection of four dark tales, each set on Christmas Eve. From the humorous to the horrifying, this collection has them all.

A Little Distraction: Christmas Eve is a busy day, but not just for Santa. A humorous tale about an unexpected gift, from an unexpected source.

Walking In A Winter Wasteland: Paul Felix used to have money, but now he is a vagrant in a world where Christmas is outlawed. Walking to a soup kitchen on the night that was once Christmas Eve he contemplates his downfall, and the loss of more precious things in his life than money.

Frog Nog: A young man hoping to score with a girl from his class gets more than he bargained for when he joins her church group for Christmas caroling on Christmas Eve. When they attempt to sing for a pair of sisters rumored to be witches the terror begins!

It Came From Beyond The Midnight Clear: On Christmas Eve 1983 a boy named Charlie sneaks out of his house to see the town Christmas tree, anchored in a nearby lake. His Uncle Jason has told him that there is something in the night on Christmas other than Santa, and that if he is lucky he just might see “It”.

This little collection also includes three palate cleansing poems between each story: Bloody Snow, Little Things In Boxes and Puppet With A Handgun.

Warning: Some stories in this collection contain graphic violence.

 

Starting next week I will be offering a couple of exclusive stories to those of you who have had a chance to read the collection.  Don't miss your chance to snag this freebie, because after the holidays it will be on sale once it is distributed to the other eReader sites.

Get your free copy of Frog Nog And Other Horrorday Tales from OmniLit.Com:

http://www.omnilit.com/product-frognogandotherhorrordaytales-657330-241.html

Master Vyle

Review: E-Rortica by J.K. Moore

Despite having shelves and boxes full of books, as well as a Kindle and folder on my PC nearly full of stories to read I am always on the look out for something new (and, often being that I am pretty literally a starving artist most of time, cheap as well) to add to my library.  So when one day on das FaceBooken there was another writer offering up a free copy of her latest work for review in an erotic writers group I jumped at the chance.  I had sort of "seen" her post in this particular group before, though I had not really read them or taken the time to get to know her.  Within a few days of taking her up on her offer she sent me a message curious to know if I had started reading, what was an erotic story collection, and I replied that I had not as life was going on and that I had quite a backlog of stories to read and review.  She responded back to let me know she would appreciate a review and a rating once I had the chance, and she let me know that I was really going to like her collection, and that if I had purchased it on my own I would have really been glad that I did.

Well, you know, of course, my first thought was, OH, BOY, (and rolling my eyes as I did so).  I felt pretty certain that here was another writer who was grossly overestimating their talent.  I should point out that at this time I had just made it to the midpoint of Danvers Asylum and received a response back from Gina Kincade regarding the problems I was finding with that highly endorsed story.  So once I was finished with that travesty I went straight into E-Rotica, almost sure it was going to be abysmal.  As I read the first story I found myself feeling I was right.  The story itself was not terrible, but it just didn't seem to make much sense, although the truth about what I was reading, what the story was, and was about, became more clear and defined at the very end.  Then I slept on that first story, really thinking it over and letting it sink in.  It was not that the story was insensible that was the problem as I read it, the problem was that it was deep, I had not went into the story thinking it would be deep, so the problem, as both a reader and a reviewer, was actually me.

The realization sank in the more I read.  And the more I considered what I was reading the more I knew that these were not stories you could simply read and "get it" (at least not all of them).  This is erotica for the thinking person.  These are the kind of stories I love!  I did not like every single story, but every single one was well written and well beyond sappy erotic romance and mindless porn scenes.  I would go as far as to say that Ms. Moore has the ability to get into the reader's head and make them reconsider their first impression of a story after they have though about it a little while after they finish it.  If anything I went in underestimating Ms. Moore's ability, and having sent a couple of messages to her since I initially finished reading the collection I believe that she underestimated herself as well, which is a lot to say about someone who has a great deal of confidence in their work to begin with.

What I found in E-Rotica is a great collection that is an excellent addition to my erotic reading library.  In fact I am already ready to take a look at her next collection, as well as getting my hands on her previously released works.  Ms. Moore delivers unique stories that are sometimes hard to pigeon hole or stick into one category, the kind of stories I know from past experience would be a nightmare trying to place on a story site to attract the maximum intended audience

Here's a look at the stories:

Decent Proposal

This first story is the one that had me coming and going.  It's not my favorite story in the collection, but by that same token it's not my least favorite story either.  I really, really kind of hated it until I reached the end.  After a couple of days of thinking it over I began to actually develop a grudging respect for it.  A man has the hots for his neighbor and she claims she has the hots for him as well, but things never seem to happen between the two of them whenever they get together.  A very unique take on the cuckold tale where the participants are not even in a relationship.  I rate it Four Stars due to the fact that the beginning is somewhat muddled.  I think the collection as a whole who have been better served if this was the third or fourth story instead of the lead in.  Still, once you understand there's more to this story than is on the surface it does open your eyes and mind to the fact that you need to be watchful throughout the rest of the collection.

The Pursuit Of Pleasure

The narrator of this story is indeed in the pursuit of pleasure, forever chasing after his neighbor, Ella, an erotic dancer and club performer.  She never really seems to notice him, so he lives a fantasy life in his head, spying on her as she has encounters with other men in the house across the way.  It is the study of a man who begins to realize that perhaps its the ideal of his perfect woman and being the voyeur on the outside means more to him than ever actually being in her life.  Five Stars.

Dark Desires

On a bench by the woods a woman submits to her lover's desires.  This is a true mind fuck story where most of the action occurs as the woman's internal dialogue as opposed to the physical, although it is there.  This one is short and sweet, but still manages to be thought provoking and though evoking.  Five Stars.

Historie d'E

This long story takes up a good majority of the length of the collection, which is saying volumes because the collection itself is pretty big.  I would have to say the Historie d'E is to E-Rotica what The Mist is to Stephen King's Skeleton Crew.  The story really didn't suit my tastes, however that does not keep it from being a good story, and perhaps its only fault was my impression that the individual segments within the story were uneven.  There was a great deal of exposition in the beginning with long scenes, where near the end some were quite short.  Then again, on sleeping on it the style of the story makes more sense considering this is the story of a relationship that becomes a long distance relationship, and if you've ever been there you know that a couple starts off with all the time in the world to spend together before it begins to grow shorter and shorter.  The sex is understated, but as I've already said this is not your standard "erotic romance" or wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am type of stories.  I was initially bored to tears with this story and began to wonder when it was ever going to end.  However, as with Decent Proposal, as I closed in on the end and then slept on the story I really opened myself up to what it was all about.  Five Stars.  This story features a long cameo by Ella from The Pursuit Of Pleasure, although she does not directly interact with the principal characters.

The Best Birthday Present A Girl Could Have

A woman puts on a show for her lover on her birthday with visions of getting a collar in her head as opposed to "simple" jewelry.  The lovers each tease each other as a way of Ms. Moore teasing the reader as well.  Another great little Five Star story.

When You Want Me More

A teasing game turns hot and steamy.  It's short but as you read it it actually feels like a much longer story.  A fair amount of teasing turns into one of the more graphic sex scenes in the collection.  Guy wasn't the only one rising to full mast on this one, and that's a rarity for me when reading other people's erotica.  Five Stars and a Stiffy!

Confessions Of A Stripper

Ella puts in her third appearance in the collection, this time as the story teller, giving a first person account of her own double life.  A great tale of reflection as Ella finds she has to admit that sometimes the different aspects of her two lives overlap and complete a more perfect picture of who she is.  Not as much erotic as expressing feelings of eroticism, but it works quite well.  Five Stars.

The Love And Sex Addicts Anonymous Group

This story was my personal favorite, as Ms. Moore shows a bit of her funny side.  A woman visits the titular support group with thoughts of perhaps seducing one of the other men or women in the group, but struggles with her conscience for even thinking about doing so.  Still it doesn't keep her from showing a little skin and teasing (not in the way you're thinking).  In some ways it does not quite fit in with the rest of the collection, and in other ways it's perfect and could have worked as either the lead in or the closing story.  Six Stars!  Oh, yeah!

Worship Me

A woman visits a fetish club and asserts her dominance over a respectful wallflower.  I usually never get invested in other people's BDSM stories, mainly due to the fact that the lifestyle is a personal and unique thing to every individual involved.  I read stories and a majority of the time I like them or I don't like them, only once in a great while does someone write one I love because it mirrors things in my own experience or it follows closely with my own personal philosophy about the lifestyle.  This is one of those stories I personally loved, meeting my Goldilocks Principal of being "Just right".  Another Six Star story in my book, and when combined with the preceding and seceding stories it is one of the reasons I do something I rarely ever do, and that's give it a high recommendation.

Toying With The Toy

Another BDSM story where a harsh Mistress teaches a novice sub a lesson in obedience and denial.  This one is hot in all the right places, and probably counts as the first story I have ever read that comes off as steamy and raunchy without a great deal of action focused on graphic sex acts, which I personally consider a feat.  Six Stars and a slight Stiffy!

Making Love Slowly
A young woman and her horror artist lover spend their time in deep conversation followed by hot, sweaty, slow lovemaking.  The beginning is paced like a the opening of a horror story, which was my first indication that Ms. Moore writes horror themed stories as well.  That different atmosphere is there, but there's no monsters other than the ones in the drawings, so the couple decides to make love and not monsters.  Five Stars.

Sexual Bliss
A woman stays after hours for some special, one-on-one, lessons from her yoga instructor.  For the most part I know it sounds like your average little trip in the erotic romance cheese cave, however in the hands of Ms. Moore the story is real, interesting, alive and entertaining.  Five Stars.

My Dirty Landlady
When a man has trouble with the boiler in his new flat it's the landlady to the rescue.  They're interrupted as she attempts to fix a little more than his boiler, so she promises to give him a call some other time.  When she finally gives him that call her tennant finds himself getting more than he bargined for.  This one is steamy and comedic as well, showing the lighter side of BDSM (or at least telling a tale people in the lifestyle will probably think is humorous).  Six Stars!

Fun At The Hotel
A quickie little scene between a couple visiting Las Vegas.  I found this one a little weak, and it would have probably been a better story for closer to the beginning of the collection as opposed to the end.  I did not feel the atmosphere as I did with other stories in the collection, despite the fact that the details were there.  It's still well written and far from being in the abyss.  Four Stars.

I Love You Forever
On the other side of the coin is a very brief story that is dripping with erotic atomosphere without being too blatantly a scrump scene.  A wife submits to her husband, wishing him to be her Lord and Master, and to totally own her.  Yeah, there's nothing quite like hearing that.  For me it was a trip down Memory Lane seen from the other side.  Very short, but still worth Six Stars!  This story could serve as a prologue for the next and final story in the collection, and upon reflection it could be related to Dark Desires as well.

The Woods
The final story in the collection picks up on the pair from the previous story quite some time later, and the woman in it, Kym, has run off with her old lover and is pursued by her jealous husband, who only has plans to kill whoever she is with.  This is a story, story.  There's not much sex or erotic action, but those things working on a lower level are what drive the story for all involved.  This one has everything to do with that one person who knows how to get into your head and stay there.  The one who makes you question exactly what it is you want enough to make you feel leaving them behind is a bad choice on your part whether it is or not.  It was a well told story that Ms. Moore could have taken into a dozen different directions, in a dozen different genres and made it work, but I think the story she chose to tell was the right way for her to go, on top of being quite effective.  Six Stars!

This is a new one for me, but I give E-Rotica and overall rating of Five & A Half Stars for going well beyond my expectations for any collection or anthology.  Again I certainly can't wait to see what J.K. Moore is going to write next, and knowing she has an Erotic Horror anthology in the works I can't wait to see what her take on the genre is since a couple of  stories in this collection have a definate Horror vibe to them.

You can learn more about J.K. Moore by visiting her blog Kinky Minds Think Alike http://writerjkmoore.wordpress.com/ .

Here is where you can get your copy of E-Rotica by J.K. Moore.  It is currently only available from Amazon, though she is working to release it to more sites very soon and I will post updates once I know it has gone live elsewhere.

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/E-rotica-ebook/dp/B005XO2PLA

Again, this one comes HIGHLY RECCOMENDED and I think it is worth your while to lurk into.




Master Vyle



Review: Hi I'm A Social Disease by Anderson Prunty

Were I to judge a book by its cover I would have this to say of Hi I'm A Social Disease by Anderson Prunty, interesting.  If I were to judge it from a catchy and unusual title I would have to say, very interesting.  However, if I skipped the cover and title and judged it by its content I would have to say, Five Stars overall, and that's exactly what I found this story collection rates.

This was another collection that kept coming up on my suggested reads list, and let me tell you that the cover photo by Michael Omar Berrospe, if you have not figured it out for yourself, is a great piece of visual bait.  Add to the fact that it was offered as a 99 Cent read and I was on the hook.  In this collection Prunty gives us a collection of very well told stories that range from the quirky to the classic.

Here's a look at the stories:

Room 19
Inspired by a Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds song this story is the study of the resident of an apartment building in a post-apocalyptic world.  The landlord is a cannibal and when a new neighbor moves into the room a floor above the narrator begins to take a curious interest in her, and her "diaries".  Unusual and with a slight twist at the end it was not my favorite, but Prunty's unique style and tale had me hooked enough to feel that the collection would only get better.  Four Stars.

Market Adjustment
On the day the Great Depression begins the world goes crazy, in some cases literally.  A man on a mission ascends to the upper floors of an office building where a strange creature holds sway over greed and misery in two different universes.  Dripping with gore and oozing a strange atmosphere this story is almost like a meeting between H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker at an Occupy Wall Street rally.  The narrative is timely considering the current world economic crisis and is a good example of contrasting the past and present, whether it was Prunty's intention to do so or not.  Oh, yeah!  Six Stars!

The Dust Season
A cheating couple of carnival workers faces a strange retribution at the hands of their fellow carnies that demotes them from being stars of the show to being part of the freak show.  This review may sound like I'm drawing my comparisons from the decline of Universal's monster monopoly of the 30's and 40's, but this story really is Water For Elephants meets Tod Browning's Freaks!  You might see what's coming in this short little story, but it's still pretty effective.  Four Stars.

The Man With A Face Like A Bruise
A man has a vision of a creature that has haunted him that he has not seen in a long time, then catches his lover in bed with another man.  A tense and gory tale of revenge.  I do not want to give too much away as it if perhaps the best story in the collection.  Another Six Stars!

The Photographer
A man with a taste for abusing young women is haunted by one of his victims from a war torn country.  It's a quick read that gave this reader what he wanted in seeing that the titular photographer gets exactly what's coming to him.  A sweet little Five Star story.

The Funeralgoer
A man with the gift of being able to relive the last moments of a person's life gets more than he bargained for once he finds himself the prisoner of the spirits of the dead.  There seems to be no escape until he hits on a unique solution to his unique problem.  Four Stars.

The Night The Moon Made A Sound
It's a ghost story, but it's not your typical ghost story, similar to some of Scott Nicholson's better work.  I'm not really a fan of this type of story because they either work and are effective, or they do not and are not.  This one most certainly does.  Five Stars.

Hi I'm A Social Disease was more than enough to gain my appreciation for Anderson Prunty and earn a spot in this blog's sidebar as a Kindle Featured Creature.  I hope to get the chance to read more from Prunty in the future.

You can find Anderson Prunty's Hi I'm A Social Disease here:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Im-Social-Disease-ebook/dp/B005BZKTUU
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hi-im-a-social-disease-andersen-prunty/1104361767
Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72395
mobiles24.com:  http://www.mobiles24.com/downloads/s/513702-112-hi_im_a_social_disease
Kobo:  http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Hi-Im-Social-Disease-Horror/book-t4GlKgLTj06Hc8HCJIutrg/page1.html

In my opinion Hi I'm A Social Disease and Anderson Prunty are a must on any good lurk for list!

Master Vyle

Review: Anything Can Be Dangerous by Matt Hults

As you may have gathered from the past few odd post and reviews that I have a real issue with authors and publishers offering "Free Reads" when the stories are nothing to write home about and definitely do not showcase an author's talents in a way that would entice a reader to pay any sum for the author's work.  However, on the other side of the coin comes Anything Can Be Dangerous by Matt Hults, a short story collection that showcases talent as opposed to utter hack work.

I initially became aware of this collection due to the fact that Hults's novel, Husk, (which shares nearly the same cover) kept coming up in my suggested reading list.  I had in fact put the novel on my wish list before coming across Anything Can Be Dangerous while browsing through other books, and figured since it was a free eBook I would give it a read before committing to buying Husk.  The collection exist in part as a marketing tool geared at enticing the reader to buy the novel (bravo to someone at last) and in fact even contains an excerpt of the story as well as for a couple of stories from another author, one of which looked quite promising.

Overall the reviews on Amazon for both the collection and the novel are pretty positive.  There were a couple of gripey ones (Who says horror readers aren't a nit-picky bunch?  Wasn't me, but if you've read my Danvers Asylum review you know who is).  And quite a few pointed out spelling errors. which for some reason Encyclopedia Brownstains like the duckie duck duckman Jacob M. Drake feel is a great reason to rip another author or story, but the reader has to bear in mind that small press and independents are usually wearing nearly every hat and do not have the money to shell out for editors or book brokers.  My own rule is to say yes it has spelling and/or usage errors in a review, but I never hold the odd misspelled word or tense a spell checker did not catch against the author, unless the author proves they cannot spell at all.  I find that 99.99999999998% of the time a misspelled word here or there does not take away from the overall enjoyment I get out of a story, and I have caught quite a few of them in "main stream" print books that have been on the Best Seller's list.

Here's a look at the stories:

Anything Can Be Dangerous

"Greg knew that for every warning label ever made - especially the absurd ones - there was someone who'd done what it cautioned against and lived to sue about it."

The title story is probably the weakest story in the collection, however Hults lends it enough story telling talent to hold the reader's interest and make them want more of the story and more of his work.  A man who has lived with his mother's words that anything can be dangerous all of his life begins to find new meaning in her warning as plastic bags begin to come to life with the intention of killing every living creature.  The love interest subplot is a little weak, and it's resemblance and homage to the Romero zombie genre is so obvious that Hults even decides to point it out in the narrative.  The end is slightly predictable, but again Hults's narrative style and imagination will keep you reading all the way to the end.  Three and a Half Stars.

Feeding Frenzy
Two restaurateurs and a real estate agent visit an abandoned diner seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  This is the place the undead stop off for a bite, and once you walk through the door you are owner and slave to the diner, left with no choice but to serve an endless line of customers with no way to escape.  An innovative take on the story of the ever hungry undead.  It's a good and humorous piece of horror that leaves the reader with a nice little chill to mull over at the end.  Five Stars.

Through The Valley Of Death
When their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere a family is forced to hike through the snow.  As they pass through a wooded valley they begin to realize that things are not quite right, as evidence of strange horrors begin to present themselves.  However, the true terror begins with the sun goes down, and the family has to face the fact that they many not make it out of the valley alive, or human.  Five Stars.

The Finger
When a pair of friends decide to pull the old human finger in the chili trick they get more than they bargained for.  A story drenched with gore and oozing menace that helps this collection end with more punch than it started with (as every good anthology should).  Five Stars.

Anything Can Be Dangerous also includes a scene from Hults's novel, Husk, which I though was excellent and more than justifies Husk remaining on my wish list until it's time to buy.  It also contains excerpts from two James Roy Daley novels, Into Hell which I felt pretty unsure about and Terror Town which looks very raw and girtty and probably worth me checking out at a later date as well.  Despite a somewhat weak lead in story Hults has a way with words that keeps the reader engrossed with the story, which only builds through the other stories in the collection making it Five Stars overall.

Here's where you can find Anything Can Be Dangerous (aka The Matt Hults Sampler) by Matt Hults:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Anything-Can-Be-Dangerous-ebook/dp/B004NIFOEM
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anything-can-be-dangerous-matt-hults/1102499257
iTunes Book Store:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/anything-can-be-dangerous/id433092749?mt=11
Sony eBook Store:  http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/matt-hults/anything-can-be-dangerous/_/R-400000000000000371630
Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41998

Be sure to lurk for this good example of what a free eBook should be.



Master Vyle



Review: Halloween Spirits: 11 Tales For The Darkest Night edited by Lisa Morton

This is a collection that I added to my "wish list" a few months back, knowing that I wanted to stock up on some reads for that ghost wonderful time of the year.  In Halloween Spirits: 11 Tales For The Darkest Night Halloween historian and screenwriter Lisa Morton has put together a group of tales that mainly focuses on her forte, traditional Halloween, but it is not without its mix of the strange and the gory as well.

Here's a look at the stories:

Someone To Carve The Pumpkins by Kealan Patrick Burke
Two brothers try to sneak up on the ghost of an old witch, but things are not quite what they seem.  You may see the end of this one coming, but it is still an entertaining story and a good lead in to the collection.  Four Stars.

Carrion Man by Joseph Nassise
After a rash of child disappearances Grayson Shaw, the "Carrion Man", is called in to help the investigation.  Grayson has a paranormal ability that lets him hear the voices of the dead, but only Grayson knows his power is even more than that, and it is a power he uses to make sure that murderers and child molesters do not escape justice.  Gritty and gory.  I loved it.  Five Stars.

The Devil Came To Mamie's On Hallowe'en by Lisa Morton
Editor Lisa Morton herself gives us a tale filled with images and lore from the pre-trick or treat Halloween.  The Devil comes to a brothel after being summoned to claim a soul, but he's also always prepared to bargin for more.  A young girl and soulful blues singer finds herself faced with a choice: a life of prostitution, a rocky road in a life of trying to make it on her own, or fame and fortune at a price.  Breaking my house rules and giving it that Six Stars!

The Gunner's Love Song by Joe McKinney
A soldier returns home from the war to find himself in charge of protecting his cousin, accused of consorting with a murderer in various ways.  She loves him and he loves her, but it's a love that's deadly on many levels when she refuses to stay in the grave.  Another gritty tale and an excellent one at that.  Hell, another Six Stars!

The October Girls by Scott Nicholson
A grim and gritty tale in the Scott Nicholson style.  Ellen loves to spend her days playing with her best friend Margret, even though she's now a ghost, and sometimes her tricks and humor are dark and just a little bit scary.  Life with her abusive and alcoholic mother is harsh, but she won't let Margret harm her.  She longs to be as free as her friend, but is afraid of the unknown.  Easily the best thing that I have ever read from Scott Nicholson, and I went in with the feeling "Yeah, here comes another one of those stories where the characters are ghost and the 'ghost' are living people."  I was more than happy to be disappointed.  Yeah, okay, another Six Stars.

Trick Or Die by Rick Pickman
This story actually was written by the collection's cover artist.  It blends and bends trick or treating with Stephen King's The Running Man (with elements that remind me of both the novel and the film adaptation), and additionally gives a more updated view on the current obsession with prime time game shows and reality TV.  A group of young trick or treaters is sent into a game zone armed to the teeth to trick or treat at ten houses while surrounded by real monsters, in a game whose object is to kill or be killed.  It's nice and gory and begins brilliantly.  Then near the end it becomes muddled with a forced happy ending for all that probably should have been something much darker considering a majority of the content of the story.  Three stars.

Thursday by Simon Janus
A carnival fortune telling machine delivers a one word fortune that sets Nick on edge.  Someone is messing with him.  Someone knows what he's done, and he is sure that it is his best friend, Rich.  A story that is slow to start but keeps you guessing for most of its length, until the crime is revealed, and it ends with a brilliant twist.  The final resolution is a little predictable, but it's still a good read.  Four Stars.

The Outlaws Of Hill County by John Palisano
The Long Fellow has returned to Hill County to devour people's souls through their fingertips.  It's a story that has that old school King flare for presenting us with a group of teens trying to take down a monster without telling adults or the authorities the things they know al'a It.  However the story falls short in the way several of King's own shorts fall with a quick and somewhat contrived ending.  Three Stars.

Bones Lie Quietly Now by Nate Kenyon
There's restoration going on at the local haunted house, and two children play near the basement window that has finally been uncovered after years of being boarded up.  Once they go through that window and into the basement the terror begins, at least for one of them.  A great story with a brilliant twist where it seems Kenyon is trying to out "Scott Nicholson" Scott Nicholson.  Five stars.

Coming Home by Maria Alexander
Perhaps the weakest story in the collection, and not because of its Christmas setting, but having recently read Helpers by David Steffen, I have to say that that story was better written and offered a more brilliant twist.  I think a big part of the problem I had with this story comes with some of the information at the beginning not quite jibing with revelations from later in the story.  I can't say I at all agree with Morton's decision and insistence of including this story in this anthology, but maybe someone else can see its merits.  In a nut shell, a man runs away from his abusive father after deciding that he does not want to be part of the family business.  He hides as far away as he thinks he can, until one Christmas his parents and 11 siblings track him down.  Two Stars.

Almost Paradise by Jeremy Shipp
I find myself a little confused as to where Shipp was intending to go with this, and a little interesting story telling is what keeps it from being a weaker story than Coming Home.  In a world where everyone has a personal Angel to keep them in line Halloween is the only night of the year that people can be themselves, make mistakes and do wrong without fearing being killed.  If this was meant as a metaphor for the FaceBook Age I find myself unsure.  I found the whole story to be confusing and muddled, centering around a good idea that really went nowhere.  Two Stars.

Overall Halloween Spirits: 11 Tales For The Darkest Night is a Five Star collection, despite containing a couple of weak stories it gives several others that are way above and beyond.  The Introduction, also by Morton, is well worth reading and is added proof that she knows her stuff when it comes to Halloween, both traditional and modern.  In my opinion the collection would have been better served if it had ended with Scott Nicholson's The October Girls instead of having it in the middle, then again my opinion of uneven anthologies is if they're uneven they should end with a bang as well as begin with a bang instead of leaving the reader off on a whimper.

Here's where to get your copy of Halloween Spirits: 11 Tales For The Darkest Night:

Amazon.Com:  http://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Spirits-Tales-Darkest-ebook/dp/B0053GATP2

If you're looking for a pretty good Halloween short story anthology lurk no further!



Master Vyle



Review: One Buck Horror: Volume Two from One Buck Horror

Okay, I know I may be sounding like a broken record about now, but once again I'm usually not of fan of anthologies because quite often you get one or two good stories at the most, hemmed in by a lot of literary gristle.  However, knowing that there was a second volume of One Buck Horror coming quickly on the heels of the first collection I had high hopes for it considering the quality stories of that volume.  Well folks, One Buck Horror: Volume Two did not disappoint Me in the very least.

Volume Two was not only better than Volume One, but it also exceeded my expectations. If you want to see the best in new horror from a new crop of independent authors, then you need to look no further than One Buck Horror!   So far on Amazon eight of eight reviews are all five star, and I can only imagine that it is rated just as high elsewhere.  Cover to cover this is hands down the best horror anthology I have ever read.  It delivers everything I felt that Volume One was lacking, and believe Me it wasn't lacking too much.  Like it's predecessor One Buck Horror: Volume Two is a quick and easy read at the right price, and they are stories you will want to read again and again.

Here's a quick look at the stories:

What Swims These Waters by Daniel Ausema
A vacation turns into an exercise in terror as a couple finds themselves at the mercy of small and unseen creatures intent on devouring them alive.  I was taken back to My childhood and reminded of that B horror movie classic The Flesh Eaters as I read this short and sweet little story, which was an excellent lead in to the collection. Five stars.

Holes by Sean Logan
A man heads to a bad house in a bad part of town to find his sister.  What he finds is a drug den beyond imagination.  The partly seen antagonist of this story brought up visions of H.P. Lovecraft mixed with the 456 from Torchwood: Children Of Earth.  Five stars.

Beastie by David Bischoff
The middle and without a doubt the best story in the collection, and I'm not just saying that because one of the protagonists is feline.  A man is shocked when the family cat brings home something that is surely not a rat or a bird.  After seeing the cat with many strange somethings he follows it to the graveyard one night to discover the dead are not resting in peace.  Since I set the standards for all My reviews I'm going to go out on a limb and say six stars!  I sincerely hope to see much more from Mr. Bischoff in the future!

3 Monkeys by Adam Howe
An orderly at a mental hospital learns a new version of the 3 Monkeys, and it begins to play itself out right before his eyes.  Terrifying and true to life, the final moments of this story will really grab you. Five stars.

The Afterlife Of Ellen Easterling by Michael Penkas
Murdered by a serial killer Ellen Easterling spends her days haunting his home as an uncomfortable presence in any way she can make herself be. Serial killers never stop though, and soon she has company.  The darkest and most gritty story in the collection makes sure that this anthology ends as evenly as it began.  Five stars all the way.

To learn more about One Buck Horror, and the contributors to One Buck Horror Volume Two be sure to visit the One Buck Horror website: www.onebuckhorror.com .  Or you can follow One Buck Horror on twitter @OneBuckHorror .

One Buck Horror: Volume Two from One Buck Horror is another collection that you just should not miss, and on a personal note I can't wait to see what future volumes will bring.  Be sure to get your copy for you eReader or PC today.

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/One-Buck-Horror-Two-ebook/dp/B005E59IZO
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Buck-Horror-Two-ebook/dp/B005E59IZO
Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/One-Buck-Horror-Two-ebook/dp/B005E59IZO
Barnes & Nobel: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/One-Buck-Horror/Christopher-Hawkins/e/2940012785220?itm=1&usri=one+buck+horror

One Buck Horror, where the new voices of independent horror speak.




Master Vyle