Nick Cato's Blog, page 13

Fun but Familiar

THE LATE NIGHT HORROR SHOW by Bryan Smith (to be released 3/13 by Samhain Publishing / 266 pp / tp & eBook)

A bunch of twenty-somethings living in a small town go to a horror film festival at a run-down multiplex. The festival features low budget, independent films of all types, and when they arrive they've already decided which ones they want to start with. One couple goes to a vampire film, one girl goes to see a Chainsaw Massacre rip-off, and most of them go to an apocalyptic zombie movie. When they arrive at the theater, they notice everyone working there looks similar and acts with no sense of humor.

As each film begins, a bright light flashes. Each person then finds themselves living inside the film they had gone to see. Hordes of zombies attack the tough Brix and her friends, while Lashon is chased through the woods by a chainsaw weilding maniac. Meanwhile, Kira and Monroe find themselves captive at the castle of a powerful vampire, and each one of them becomes a member of the living dead. However, one guy, Greg, is left behind in the theater, and he eventually meets with the strange Dr. Ominous, who he learns created the weird situation he and his friends are now in.

Like all Smith novels, this one's packed to the gills with gruesome violence and plenty of excitement, and I like how--when the cast realizes what's happening to them--they use the horror film cliches they're now a part of to expect what's going to happen next (although they're not always right).

When we finally learn who (or what) is fully responsible for exactly what is going on, we hit familiar territory, but thankfully the author throws in a bit more than what many may be suspecting. While this idea has been done several times as of late, Smith blends things and gives it a bit of his own spin.

Arguably the first novel to cite the obscure 80s band 'Shriekback,' and with characters sleazier than those in your typical Richard Laymon novel, this ode to b-movie horror movie-going is a lot of fun. Just don't expect too many surprises.

My Top Ten Books of 2012

2012 was a decent year for horror, scifi and bizarro fiction. While a couple of my favorite authors (Bentley Little and Charles Stross) left me wanting (a rarity for both of them), there were plenty more to pick from, and this list took a while for me to get together in its final order.

Out of the 78 books I read in 2012, here are my 10 personal favorites with links to my original reviews. Enjoy the countdown...


10) SKIN GAMES by Adam Pepper - For anyone out there who still thinks a self-published novel can't be done right, check this baby out: An Engrossing Mob Story



9) WUFTOOM by Mary G. Thompson - An exceptional debut novel and another YA title that's as cool for adults as it is for YAs: Creepy Crawly Goodness



8) BOWL OF HEAVEN by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven - My recent thirst for scifi was heavily quenched by this killer collaboration: A Smart, Monster-Filled Epic Beings...



7) TORTURED SPIRITS by Gregory Lamberson - Most series run out of steam after the 2nd or 3rd title. But with this 4th installment of Lamberson's Jake Helman Files, the author went totally epic: Helman's Fourth one of the Finest (Note: review here is at the top of the page).



6) TENTACLE DEATH TRIP by Jordan Krall - Krall released a bunch of bizarro titles this year, but this was his most satisfying: Buckle Up...



5) THE MEN UPSTAIRS by Tim Waggoner - One of the most versatile writers around once again shows he can blend horror and the bizarre like no one else: One of the Genre's Most Demented Minds



4) DESTROYER OF WORLDS by Daniel G. Koehane - Koehane's third novel left me speechless. He's one of those writers I'm expecting big things from: The First GREAT Novel of 2012



3) STILL LIFE: NINE STORIES by Nick Kaufman - Some may think the final paragraph of my review for this is a but much. But it isn't. These tales simply KILLED: Kaufman's Killer Collection



2) THE LAST KIND WORDS by Tom Piccirilli - Pic is one of those writers who never gets stale. If you've been following his crime noir novels the past few years, you'd agree with me. THE LAST KIND WORDS is easily one of his best: Don't Miss This...



1) WESTLAKE SOUL by Rio Youers - There are several reasons this one has made so many top ten lists for 2012, primarily because it packs an emotional wallop that's second to none. Youers' personal horror story scared me to the bone, drew tears, and made me appreciate what I have in life. This is a special novel that should be read by everyone who loves dark fiction: The BEST Novel of 2012 (NOTE: My review here is followed by an interview with the author).



HONORABLE MENTIONS:
There were a few other books that I felt needed to be further pimped:
1) A REQUIEM FOR DEAD FLIES by Peter Dudar - Dudar's debut ghost novel does not read like a first novel, gets the chills going, and is a lot of spooky fun: Hey Waiter! There's a Fly in my Bourbon!
2) THE LOLA QUARTET by Emily St. John Mandel - When I'm not reading horror, scifi, bizarro, or non-fiction film books, I'm a sucker for a good literary novel. Mandel's 3rd is simply fantastic. I never wrote a review for it but if you want to see unique characters crafted so real you can almost feel them, check this one out: The Lola Quartet
3) THE TROUBLE WITH HAIRY by Hal Bodner - Horror comedies are my faves, and Bodner's was easily the funniest I've read in 2012. The man needs some serious help!: Curse of the Queerwolf

Addictive Stuff...

SEAL TEAM 666 by Weston Ochse (2012 Thomas Dunne Books / 310 pp / hc)

SEAL cadet Jack Walker is almost done with his training when he's taken away to join a top secret group, consisting of four others and one dog. While he feels guilty about gaining SEAL status without completing his course, Walker earns his stripes quickly enough as his elite team encounter all types of supernatural creatures and situations. Everyone in the group has a special skill, but Walker's is most unique: he's able to tell when something other-wordly is near, and Ochse slowly develops why he's able to do this with each mission.

When an ancient demon god takes over a human body, he begins a series of brutal, multiple human self-sacrifice rituals and awakens powerful spider-like creatures that could destroy the United States and even the world. SEAL Team 666 are on the case, and Ochse brings the action fast without taking any prisoners. Walker's team are the best the U.S. military has to offer, and I especially liked the relationship between Yaya (the team's latest recruit after Walker) and Hoover, their intelligent dog who provides much help along the way.

I'm hoping we get to see more of Walker's relationship with Jen; their busy schedules leave little time for each other, but even their brief meetings in this first novel have already changed the way Walker sees the world.

A cross between Tom Clancy's RAINBOW SIX (without pages of pointless tech-babble) and THE X-FILES, this is the start of what should be a fun, action-packed series. Addictive stuff.

A Smart, Monster-Filled Epic begins...

BOWL OF HEAVEN by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven (2012 Tor Books / 412 pp / hc)

Benford & Niven, two masters of "hard" scifi, kick off a new series dealing with the starship SunSeeker, launched from earth for a light-years-long journey to a mysterious, newly-discovered planet that has been named 'Glory.' But when fuel concerns bring the mission into question, the ship's captain allows a chosen few to be awoken from their sleep chambers to help deal with the problem.

The crew then discover a gigantic, bowl-shaped artifact on basically the same course as themselves. They decide to gamble a shuttle and see if they can get help. Husband and wife biologists Cliff and Beth lead the expedition to the odd man-made planet that turns out to be 100-times larger than earth.

Super intelligent, ostrich-like aliens (called Astronomers) run the planet. They capture Beth and five others while Cliff and another four crew members manage to escape. Each person is a specially skilled scientist or engineer and both groups rely on their skills to survive on this oddly earth-like new world.

Benford & Niven pack this tale with an abundance of thought provoking scientific possibilities and deep philosophical ideas while keeping the suspense level high and introducing us to countless alien life forms. Some sections of the Astronomers contemplating man go on for a bit too long, but are entertaining nonetheless.

While there are many characters, the authors keep things tight by focusing on a few. I found Cliff's issues to be the most interesting; besides being thrown in charge of the expedition, he begins a "utility" affair with fellow biologist Irma and is first to friend a cat-like species of aliens who are also trying to get off the artificial planet. SunSeeker's captain, 'Redwing,' is like an old fashioned sea captain who's as tough as nails, smart in ways his scientific crew isn't, and is quite likeable despite his hard-edged ways. He keeps this futuristic story ground in the past and gives the ship a familiar feel.

BOWL OF HEAVEN is a smart, monster-filled scifi romp that promises great things to come. Book two, 'Shipstar,' can't get here fast enough.

Every Man's Worst Nightmare...

NO OUTLET by Matthew Warner (2012 Thunderstorm Books / 164 pp / limited edition hc & tp)

Steve and Tanya are shopping at a mall. They have their share of marital problems that get worse when they discover they can't find any exit doors. The mall becomes an endless maze of countless stores and seemingly miles of back hallways, always shifting. When they finally accept the fact they're somehow trapped, Steve begins to wonder if they're on another planet or even in hell.

Whenever they ask someone for help or directions to an exit, security guards arrive and adminster various punishments. Eventually Steve and Tanya meet another couple who are in the same situation, but things only start to get worse and more bizarre.

NO OUTLET is like a classic episode of TWILIGHT ZONE amped up to 10. Warner creates a genuinely claustrophobic nightmare full of suspense and chills that concludes with a lot of heart.

A quick, satisfying read that works its growing sense of paranoia to the max.

A Quirky, Creepy Tale...with some Laughs

REVIVAL HOUSE by S.S. Michaels (2012 / 200 pp / eBook)

Caleb is a young man who takes over his uncle's funeral home in Savannah, Georgia. He's a tall, pale-skinned loner in love with an overweight goth girl named Scarlet. But Scarlet has eyes for Caleb's old college buddy Avery, who has come to Savannah to continue his reanimation experiments on local pets. Taking all this in is Caleb's friend, the oddly named Four, who runs a haunted attraction tour.

When Scarlet dues after a bad fall, Avery convinces Caleb they could bring her back. Caleb reluctantly agrees and the operation is sort-of successful until Scarlet escapes with some minor brain damage (and a scalpel) into one of Four's haunted tunnels and injures one of the tourists. Now Caleb is going crazy trying to track her down, and a popular ghost-hunting TV show comes to town to see the strange tunnel-dweller for themselves.

REVIVAL HOUSE is a quirky horror tale, a cross between HEATHERS and REANIMATOR with plenty of dark humor thrown in. Michaels develops Caleb quite nicely, making us care for this dark, gloomy freak, and while we feel bad for Scarlet, it's hard not to laugh at the thought of a fat goth girl in a dirty sheet running around the tunnels with a cage on her head.

If you have a twisted sense of humor or a taste for some horror from a different angle, check out REVIVAL HOUSE.

You'll Think Twice About Getting a New Tat!

INK by Damien Walters Grintalis (2012 Samhain Publishing / 300 pp / tp & eBook)
After his wife leaves him, Jason is persuaded to celebrate his new-found freedom by getting a tattoo. He eventually agrees, and shows up at a mysterious tattoo parlor run by a man Jason had met at a local bar. 'Sailor' (whose business card reads "John S. Iblis, Tattoo Artist") gives Jason an amazingly realistic tattoo of a griffin, and for a fantastic price. His friends and co-workers are envious of the artwork and glad that his sour marriage has finally ended.
Jason soon hooks up with Mitch, a cute blonde woman who also has a griffin tat (although not as detailed as his) and his life seems to be on an upswing. But Jason wakes one morning and finds parts of a dead cat on his porch. He thinks it's the work of the weird kid across the street. More cat parts show up and eventually a neighbor's dog. Jason's also experiencing odd things with his new tattoo: it begins to cause intense pain, and sometimes late at night he wakes to find the tat missing. When he wakes another morning to find his ex-wife's severed hand on his front doormat, Jason realizes his tattoo may have been a bit more than he bargained for.
INK is another entry in the old "sold-his-soul-to-the-Devil" subgenre, but Grintalis' sharp prose and couple of nifty twists gives things a fresh spin. Jason's final confrontation with both Sailor and his living tattoo bring the tale into dark fantasy territory, but at its heart, INK is a solid horror novel and a fine debut from a promising new author.

You'll Think Twice bout Getting a New Tat!

INK by Damien Walters Grintalis (2012 Samhain Publishing / 300 pp / tp & eBook)
After his wife leaves him, Jason is persuaded to celebrate his new-found freedom by getting a tattoo. He eventually agrees, and shows up at a mysterious tattoo parlor run by a man Jason had met at a local bar. 'Sailor' (whose business card reads "John S. Iblis, Tattoo Artist") gives Jason an amazingly realistic tattoo of a griffin, and for a fantastic price. His friends and co-workers are envious of the artwork and glad that his sour marriage has finally ended.
Jason soon hooks up with Mitch, a cute blonde woman who also has a griffin tat (although not as detailed as his) and his life seems to be on an upswing. But Jason wakes one morning and finds parts of a dead cat on his porch. He thinks it's the work of the weird kid across the street. More cat parts show up and eventually a neighbor's dog. Jason's also experiencing odd things with his new tattoo: it begins to cause intense pain, and sometimes late at night he wakes to find the tat missing. When he wakes another morning to find his ex-wife's severed hand on his front doormat, Jason realizes his tattoo may have been a bit more than he bargained for.
INK is another entry in the old "sold-his-soul-to-the-Devil" subgenre, but Grintalis' sharp prose and couple of nifty twists gives things a fresh spin. Jason's final confrontation with both Sailor and his living tattoo bring the tale into dark fantasy territory, but at its heart, INK is a solid horror novel and a fine debut from a promising new author.

Hardcore Horror at its Finest

NIGHTWHERE by John Everson (2012 Samhain Publishing / 266 pp / tp and eBook)

Mark and Rae are a young married couple living in Chicago. Rae's desire for something more leads them to an open relationship among the local swinger scene. But in time, even different partners leave Rae unfulfilled. Mark is enjoying things, although he'd be more than happy remaining monogamous with his wife if she so chose. What she chooses are at first trips to tamer S&M clubs, and eventually, they are invited to NIGHTWHERE, an invite-only, urban legend of a club where it's reported one can live out their deepest, darkest fantasies.

Of course, there's a catch. NIGHTWHERE is divided into 3 sections: a blue room for newbies, a red room for those who commit themselves to the ways of the club...and a black room that few have seen. Rae quickly becomes obsessed with the place but Mark grows weary. He doesn't care for the hold NIGHTWHERE has on his wife, or the level of depravity it allows her to indulge in, but Rae claims to love it and says this is the place she's always dreamed about.

After a few visits, Mark comes home from work one day to find his wife gone and a solo invite with her name on it left behind.

What follows is a trip through an uncanny underground as Mark attempts to get back in the club without an invitation to save his wife. But when he finally manages to get there (the place changes location each time for its monthly meetings) his worst nightmares begin to materialize in ways he could've never imagined.

Everson once again combines kinky sex, occultic themes, and extreme horror into a perverse, macabre yarn about the levels one man will go through for the woman he loves. Gorehounds will rip through the pages in unbridled glee, and countless scenes will have readers cringing along with the atrocities. Everson's realistic characters give this one a real kick that forced me along until the gut-wrenching conclusion. Rae's sexual evolution is particularly disturbing, and the fine balance between reality and supernatural is very well done.

You'll feel filthy after this one, but it's not a novel you'll be forgetting anytime soon. This is hardcore horror not for the timid.

Monster-a-Rama!

CRYPTO-SQUAD (Volume One) by Eric S. Brown and Jason Brannon (2012 / 98 pp / tp and eBook)

A cult known as The Unending are bent on reviving their snake-god. Their leader, Sandoval, uses black magic to reanimate the dead and creates a huge zobie army. Yes, it's zombie apocalypse time again folks...but before you roll your eyes and groan, check this out:

Standing in the cult's way is a secret government group headed by Jimi, who happens to be a Moth Man. His team is comprised of all types of legendary creatures, including  some Sasquatch, El Chupacabra, and even Mongolian death worms, all semi-controlled using hi-tech microchips. While Jimi & co. are able to keep the cult at bay, things eventually start to turn in Sandoval's favor, causing Jimi not only to summon every creature who can hear his psychic call, but to make a pact with a beast so deadly it nearly cost him his life upon their first meeting.

CRYPTO-SQUAD is a no-holds barred monster-mash, written in a frantic comic book style that features nearly non-stop action. I challenge anyone not to get a thrill during the final epic batle as a skyscraper-sized snake god and its legions of snake men and zombies go up against the Crypto-Squad and a horde of other creatures, including countless Bigfoots, all types of flying and aquatic monsters, backed-up by the Jersey Devil who manages to bring along a couple of dark surprises.

Brown and Brannon have created an exciting comic book-style creature feature that's impossible to put down. I can't wait to see what they come up with for Volume Two as they pretty much threw everything imaginable into the mix here.

LOADS of fun.