Steve Stred's Blog, page 21

Book Review: Cold Keep Reprisal by James Lurid

Title: Cold Keep Reprisal

Author: James Lurid

Release date: July 1st, 2023

Huge thanks to James for sending me a digital-ARC of his debut novel.

What does it say about the current state of Alberta that when I was contacted by James, I saw he’s also in Alberta, so I had to do a dive into his Facebook page to see if there was any horrendous views expressed. Alberta – sadly (and possibly has always been like this, I’m not sure being a transplant from BC) – has devolved into a Canadian Florida for many things. I won’t go too far into it at all, but thankfully, James had shared articles and had made posts that affirmed to me he was on the up and up. Now, for some of you, you may think that’s overkill, but for me, it’s necessary. I work hard to support marginalized people and make sure they know I’m an ally and my feeds are a safe place.

As for the novel itself, I was intrigued. I enjoy possession/haunting stories that take place in a specific area, so beyond just a singular person possessed, but the actual place itself and with it set in a prison, I wanted to see what Lurid would do. Granted, prison-based stories (and movies/TV shows) are normally not my thing, but this had me very curious. So, I dove in.

What I liked: The novel follows Walter, a police officer dealing with significant PTSD, who is unwilling to get help. Following an incident where he uses excessive force, a bargain is made. Instead of losing his job, he’ll go into a prison undercover to see why so many inmates are dying.

It’s from here that James takes us on an imaginative and thrilling roller coaster of a ride. Walter tentatively makes friends while inside, but his ulterior motive for actually being inside guides his decisions and continues to get him in trouble.

When the possession element is introduced, it ramps things up another notch. The Indigenous aspects and care in treating it with respect was phenomenal and acknowledged in the afterword. This aspect, of what was there before and what has been unleashed, made for an engaging antagonist, above and beyond the inmates themselves.

Lurid drags us, kicking and screaming, through a few different set pieces, which leads us up to the brutal, blistering ending. The epilogue can be considered both an ending or a set up for a sequel, but either way, us readers get more questions answered than most books.

What I didn’t like: As I mentioned, I’m not a huge fan of prison-based stuff as a whole. It can be monotonous and honestly, we know what’s going to happen. So the confines of the setting restricted this novel at the beginning. The inmates are stuck in the their cells. And when they leave for food, work etc, you know someone is going to try something, so there’s very little in the way of the element of surprise.

As well, I really disliked the cartoonish nature of the warden. His character reminded me of the warden in the final Human Centipede movie, and every time he showed up in the novel, I felt myself wanting to tune out. His character works well for what needs to be done, but I could’ve done without him.

Why you should buy this: ‘Cold Keep Reprisal’ is a very solid debut novel. It has a pacing that works well for those taking a chance on a new author and James controls the tension perfectly, making sure to slowly ramp it up instead of an all-or-nothing approach many new writers take.

The possession aspect was top notch and the characters will be ones you either root for or hope get ripped apart, and really what more could you want?

4/5

Book Review: I’m In the Band by Sean Yseult

Title: I’m In the Band: Backstage Notes from the Chick in White Zombie

Author: Sean Yseult

Release date: November 1st, 2010

Way back in 1992, White Zombie’s album ‘La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One’ was released. Eleven-year-old Steve didn’t buy the album right away, but his neighbor, Bob Moody Jr. did and, so it was, during that summer, as he so often did, he had a party. Bob was probably ten years older than me or so, and fuck did I think he was the coolest guy I’d ever met. He could wheelie his BMX up and down the road in front of our place, he always had the hottest chicks over and he would blast the best music. He introduced me to Rainbow Butt Monkeys (who’d become Finger Eleven not long after), Cypress Hill, Metallica, Megadeth and so, so many more. I didn’t have an older brother (or any brothers for that matter) but Bob filled that place in my mind, even if he didn’t know that. Well, back to that party in the summer. I heard an album come on, and against my mothers rule that I wasn’t allowed to go over to the neighbors when they were partying – they would drink and smoke dope (scandalous I know!) – I went. Because ‘Thunder Kiss ’65’ and ‘Black Sunshine’ and ‘I Am Legend’ were being blasted on repeat. Bob stopped the CD and told me to go home and listen to it as much as I wanted. It was a transformative moment in my life. White Zombie has occupied a special place since that July day in 1992. I wasn’t allowed to order that album from Columbia House EVER. Even though I was ordering Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under and Marilyn Manson albums from Columbia House. Nope, something was different in my mom’s eyes about White Zombie and she refused to let me order it. Which is funny now, because she likes ‘Dragula’ from Rob Zombie.

When ‘Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head’ came out in 1995, I desperately wanted to buy it, ‘More Human Than Human’ dominating Loud on MuchMusic on Saturday nights, but not only was I not allowed to buy it, I couldn’t find it anywhere to secretly get it. When ‘Supersexy Swingin’ Sounds’ came out in 1996, I bought that on a soccer tournament trip, knowing that there was no way I wasn’t going to be allowed to keep it. Not long after, in Trail, BC, I was able to track down a copy of ‘Astro Creep’ and buy it, along with a White Zombie shirt, which I had for years.

All of this is to say, White Zombie has been and will continue to be a band that brings me joy, fills my heart with warmth and bludgeons my ears – most likely until the day I can’t hear anything every again. My vehicle still has a CD player in it, and I keep a copy of ‘Astro Creep’ in the car as I listen to it ALL the time.

But it’s funny, because as time has gone on, there’s been a shift for me. At first, when Rob Zombie began his solo career, I was over the moon. I bought all his albums, saw him in concert – as I was never able to see White Zombie in concert – and loved a lot of what he put out. But as the years have past, I’ve found my music ear has subtly shifted. A lot of Rob’s new music is either too cartoony for me, or just not enjoyable. As I’ve re-listened to his older stuff, I’ve found the same. I tend to enjoy a handful of songs off the early albums but the rest feels like filler.

When Sean Yseult released this book, the book I’m supposed to be writing a review for and not some long piece on my love of White Zombie (!), I wanted to buy it, but nobody was carrying it in Abbotsford, where I lived at the time, and none of the usual suspects were even able to order it in.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that Brandi, the owner of Daisy Chain Bookstore here in Edmonton, said she would be willing to try and track it down for me. And she did! And not only that – it wasn’t ridiculously expensive, especially considering it is a 150pg book of glorious photos, journals and retrospectives.

What I liked: The book is exactly as marketed. It begins with sharing Sean’s childhood, her musical, theatrical and design leaners, before her chance meeting with Rob and the development of their relationship and the band, White Zombie. From there, we get to follow along as they rose from rat-infested apartments to one of the biggest metal bands in the 90’s, a band that released one of the best albums ever made and blew up like rocket as they ascended to their peak.

Sean does a wonderful job of showing the chaos of the early days, the chaos of the formative musical period and the absolute chaos of when ‘La Sexorcisto’ hit and Beavis and Butthead propelled them into the mainstream.

The photos are just phenomenal. I’ve already began flipping through the book again, seeing the different moments, bands and places they went to and toured with. Sean stays fairly neutral throughout, only touching briefly on her and Rob’s break up and the subsequent tension between the two of them.

The book is also interspersed with insight from J and Tempesta, the guitar player and drummer respectively from ‘Astro Creep’ as well as from some of the former members of the band throughout the years. It was a neat way to showcase just how much of a jumbled mess it was and how the noise band that didn’t fit in with any genre became a metal band that crushed all who came before them.

Sean wraps it all up by showcasing where her life had went (at that time) following the break up of White Zombie. How they said they were on hiatus, even as Rob secretly recorded Hellbilly Deluxe.

For White Zombie fans, this is such a gloriously done look at the history of the band that it is absolutely a MUST read.

What I didn’t like: As Sean even says in the author’s note/acknowledgements – this isn’t a comprehensive biography. It is a look at different moments, throughout their decade long career of rising up, getting to the top and walking away from each other, so there are things fans of the band will want to know but that won’t be answered.

As well, anything with White Zombie’s history not featuring anything from Rob will always be considered incomplete. Saying that – this is Sean’s story and while it would be great to one day get something from Rob (and maybe even a one off reunion show), I wouldn’t hold my breath and you won’t find it in here.

Why you should buy this: If you love White Zombie or just really enjoy the behind-the-scenes look into bands that rise up and dominate, this is a fantastic book that does just that. It shows how a rag tag group of misfits overcame the odds and made it to the top, all the while looking like the exact opposite of who was popular at the time.

I loved this book and it’s a book I’ll continuously revisit over the years, and one I’ll cherish as a massive fan of White Zombie.

5/5

Book Review: Kill River by Cameron Roubique

Title: Kill River

Author: Cameron Roubique

Release date: August 1st, 2015

Man, I’ve had this languishing on my Kindle for far too long.

David Sodergren has told me to read Roubique a million times. LJ Dougherty has told me read Roubique a million times. When I was on a podcast with Cameron, David and LJ, everyone insisted I read Cameron. So, I’m happy to report – I’ve finally got to the book one of the Kill River series.

I went in completely blind other than knowing it was a slasher novel involving teenagers and a water park.

What I liked: Because I went into this one completely blind, it made for a very odd opening when we get to meet our four main teens – Stacy, Cyndi, Brad and Zach as they arrive at summer camp. Cyndi is the new girl in the group, the other three having been there previously, but is quickly welcomed as part of their friendship. After some things go down, they decide to escape and go home late one night, only to get lost and end up at an abandoned water park.

It’s here, at the water park that the slasher aspect arrives and it becomes a story of survival and just who will survive. The action is fast and furious and the teens struggle to survive and make it out alive.

It was great to see the strong female characters in Stacy and Cyndi, all too often in slashers are the girls there to just be killed after showing their boobs, but this went the opposite direction and we got to see them stand up for themselves and each other and do what needed to be done to survive.

The ending works well to have this as a one off or for the reader to continue on and see what happens in the second novel. I really enjoy when an author sets things up like that as it give the reader the control over whether they want to continue.

What I didn’t like: This was a novel of two different halves. The first half was actually a really engaging summer camp story, of these four teens connecting and bonding and helping Cyndi come out of her shell. I would’ve been delighted if the novel would’ve stayed at that location and the slasher aspect arrived there. But what really threw me for a loop, was that they leave, get lost, find this abandoned waterpark and instead of trying to continue on and find help, they decided to remain all day and use the rides and have fun. It was hard to wrap my head around that decision.

Additionally, we only got a singular paragraph even discussing the ‘why’ of what happened with the waterpark and being abandoned. I’m in the camp where I think if the novel would’ve started at that water park and stayed at the water park, we would’ve had more pages to learn the horrors that await. The two distinct locations I think was a bit of a lost opportunity to expand upon one or the other.

Why you should buy this: If you like slashers, 80s-slashers, teens surviving in slashers or just straight-up action-packed novels where the characters have to survive against the hardest of odds, then this one is for you. Roubique has an easy way of getting the reader into his writing almost immediately and you’ll feel like the characters were people you know in your day-to-day life.

This was a fun one and definitely one for folks who dig the retro-horror-slasher genre!

4/5

Book Review: Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Title: Hidden Pictures

Author: Jason Rekulak

Release date: May 10th, 2022

When this novel came out it was EVERYWHERE on my social media feeds. It was plastered on IG daily and I continuously saw folks raving about it on Twitter. The premise had me intrigued, a young woman, just out of rehab begins working as a babysitter for a rich family and begins to notice a strangeness to the young boy’s artwork.

I often find I get very curious about the ‘different’ takes on supernatural thrillers. ‘Smithy’ for instance had me so excited to read – a novel about a group teaching sign language to a primate, only to discover the primate is communicating with a ghost. And while that book ultimately didn’t deliver for me, that premise has remained in my head as something different, something unique.

So, it was, that I came to find ‘Hidden Pictures’ at the top of my TBR list and I giddily dove in.

What I liked: As mentioned, the story follows Mallory, struggling with personal guilt and grief over her sister’s death and her subsequent downward spiral into addiction. She’s now eighteen months clean and her sponsor arranges for her to babysit (after first nailing the in-person interview) for Caroline and Ted for the summer. Their young son, Teddy, is about to start at a new school so it’ll be Mallory’s job to try and coax Teddy out of their shell and hopefully make some friends over the summer.

It’s soon enough that we learn that Teddy has an imaginary friend, Anya, and that Anya appears in his drawings. Rekulak takes his time, slowly introducing the photos, Anya’s presence and how fiercely against the suggestion his drawings mean anything that Caroline is.

Mallory, meanwhile, begins running again – her passion before the accident with her sister – and meets a young man her age, Adrian, who she hits it off with. Adrian becomes her rock, the person she can lean on, as things begin to unfold and several truths are revealed.

Rekulak keeps his cards close to his chest throughout, until we get to an explosive final scene where everything is revealed and an epilogue that fills in the gaps and lets us know what occurred post ‘The End.’

The novel rampages along. I was hooked from the beginning and was wholly invested in Mallory and her quest to find the truth.

What I didn’t like: I did find that even though I was hooked and loved how this one flowed, I felt that it was overly long. That there was a significant amount of repetition in chapters where I wasn’t sure why we had two or three chapters in a row that essentially told the reader the exact same thing. 

And as for the ‘reveal,’ there were a few sentences that I think were supposed to be subtle but stuck out like a billboard, which created an ending that I didn’t find as shocking as I think I was supposed to.

Why you should buy this: From page one until the very end, I was invested. I wanted to know what happened and even when I had an inkling (which became a strong theory) I had to know the truth and I couldn’t wait to get back to the book every day. That, to me at least, is a strong suggestion that this was a really solid book and I think if you’re looking for a supernatural thriller that will have you racing through it, look no further.

5/5

Book Review: And By God’s Hand You Shall Die by David Sodergren

Title: And By God’s Hand You Shall Die

Author: David Sodergren

Release date: June 30, 2023

I had the extreme pleasure and honor of beta reading this novel, but I told David I would be posting a review of this as well, and he was a-ok with that.

As with all of David’s works, you know you’re in for a treat. Expect salaciousness, gore aplenty and characters you’ll root for and gasp if they don’t make it. If you follow his Twitter account and see the love for specific movies, you’ll know going in where his inspiration lies with each novel and this one’s no different.

Oddly enough, I’d just finished reading Stephanie Parent’s fantastic ‘The Briars,’ which created the rare situation where I’d read two books set in brothels back to back.

What I liked: The novel follows Candy, a young woman with big dreams who finds it tough making her way in the world. She begins working at a brothel, which just so happens to be the site of a former church, that was brought to the ground by a fire.

It’s with that in mind that we get a novel that offers us a historical look at a cross section in time, when, in the 70’s, people in power would be visiting these places daily, only to turn around and fight to ban them in public. This was a time just before New York worked to clean up its image and with that a few years away, a small group of protestors had already begun to scream and rant that the place was filled with whores and devil worshippers.

As the novel progresses, we get to see Father Patrick’s return, how his rantings come true and how it comes to relate to each of the women working there. This leads to some truly gruesome moments, some fantastically done religious carnage and above all else, we get to see how the death of one is a tragedy.

What I didn’t like: In the grand scheme of things it’s minor, but I HATED the woman running the place. She didn’t come off as caring about the women in the least, when I really thought she would’ve been considering they bring the men back, and without the men, there’s no cash flow.

Why you should buy this: If you’re already a fan of Sodergren’s – this is a no-brainer. A thought-provoking novel that is tension-filled and phenomenally paced, its a hard read to put down.

If you’ve never read any of his work, this is a solid place to dive in. This would be more on the extreme side of his work, akin to ‘The Perfect Victim’ and ‘Satan’s Burnouts Must Die!,’ David weaves another tale that’ll have you wrapped around his talented hand and once done, you’ll be grabbing the rest of his books!

A total blast, this one was great.

5/5

Book Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Title: Whalefall

Author: Daniel Kraus

Release date: August 8th, 2023

Firstly – HUGE, MASSIVE THANK YOU!!!! to Randall at Simon and Schuster for scoring me an ARC of this novel this past weekend while in Toronto. I can’t thank you enough for this kind gift!

Since this novel was announced, I was on the edge of my seat. A diver gets swallowed by a whale. This past weekend, while in Toronto at the Andrew Pyper/The Demonologist event, this novel was continuously brought up, and, time-and-time-again, each and every person, whether a horror writer or reader said the same thing – “That is my biggest fear.”

It’s crazy isn’t it? The oceans remain largely unexplored and we really don’t know much, if anything about all of its secrets and what lives below where the light can no longer reach. And for the most part, what we do know is frightening as hell. You go too deep – KABOOM! – the pressure of the water crushes you. You surface too fast – KABOOM! – the gas inside you destroys you. You spend too much time in the water, the gases you breathe in make you delirious and you drunkenly drown. And of course – you’re always in danger of being stung by a poisonous animal, or ripped apart by a shark and its massive teeth.

The ocean is inherently scary place. Yet, being swallowed by a massive whale ramps up that fear factor to another level.

There’s been dozens (if not more) books over the years discussing this and many of us remember the Pinocchio scene from childhood, but Daniel Kraus has done something truly special here. I wasn’t sure just how special until I finished reading it, but even while cruising through the pages where I was staying in Toronto or while flying home, I knew I was reading a modern masterpiece.

What I liked: The story follows Jay, a young man on the verge of graduating high school and moving on with his life, a life he wants to leave behind. A life filled with people who idolized his dad and who blames him for turning his back on the man. His father, Mitt, was a local legend, a man who’d dived more than any and who knew everything there is to know about that world.

On this day, Jay is going on his final dive, a dive revolving around his father and while down there, he is accidentally entangled with a squid and swallowed by a whale.

From here, Kraus does a phenomenal job of keeping us compelled to continue on, to learn more and more about Mitt and Jay’s estranged relationship, what happened after their last time on a boat together and just how much of Mitt’s life-long lessons he’d bestowed on Jay, that Jay’s remembered. He needs to remember them because that’s the only way he’ll have a chance at making it out of this massive Sperm Whale alive.

I’ve seen comparisons to ‘The Martian’ for this one, and I can say that is pretty accurate. Displaced man in an inhospitable environment with time running out before they die. The similarities were fascinating considering one was on Mars while the other was inside a 60-ton whale, but it worked so well and I think it’s a great way to get folks captivated in a story that they may otherwise not take a chance on.

The father-son relationship was such an emotional element and was a highlight throughout. In fact – and I don’t think this is a spoiler – Jay isn’t swallowed by a whale until right around page 120 or so. But Kraus did such an amazing job of throwing us into the parent-child dynamic and the nature of their relationship that I was holy invested. In fact, I would’ve been content to continue reading about Jay’s dive regarding his father and what he’s trying to do and rehashing their differences, without even a whale aspect. Of course, the whale comes along and takes this to a whole other level, but Kraus’ portrayal of those two was spot-on and held me rapt from the very beginning until the whale arrives.

The ending was pristine, powerful and an ending befitting the nature of the story and the events that brought us to the final page.

What I didn’t like: While I loved the ending, I could’ve handled a bit more about the after. About what takes place post finale. I really can’t say more – spoilers and such – but what we do get is pretty vague, as though looking at the details through smudged binoculars.

Why you should buy this: I mean, a guy gets swallowed by a whale. If just reading that has you amped – get on this – preorder and sit back and count down the days until it loads on your Kindle or ships to your house. If you’re still on the fence, consider the father-son story line, the powerfulness Kraus infuses in the age-old story of a parent and a child at odds and both wondering how they can patch up their relationship while neither want to take that step. This one was just so, so very good and Kraus has absolutely delivered.

5/5

Book Review: Seed by Ania Ahlborn

Title: Seed

Author: Ania Ahlborn

Release date: May 28th, 2011

I had the oddest experience reading ‘Seed.’ Or re-reading it. I’m not too sure now.

As many of you may know, I read a lot. Back when I began to discover other horror authors outside of Stephen King, Ania Ahlborn was one of the first with her fantastic novels ‘Brother,’ and ‘The Devil Crept In.’ After reading those two, I purchased almost all of her others books that’d been out by that point. The next one I had on my TBR was ‘Seed.’

And this is where my confusion sets in. I’m 99% certain I started reading it previously. I’m 99% certain I didn’t finish it due to one more or another. But, the odd thing is, now having read it from front to back, I’m 99% certain I have read it before, as everything came back to me and I knew what was going to happen well before it did. It was so odd and I’ve never experienced anything like that before.

Saying all of that – I was excited to dive into this one for what I thought was my first reading of it. I love stories of entities spying, things coming to kids and latching on and how the past can haunt you, no matter how far away you move from it.

What I liked: The story follows Jack, a husband and father, doing his best to provide for his wife and kids while fighting the crushing sense of not being good enough and not providing enough. He plays part-time in a band and he has kept a secret from his wife for as long as they’ve known each other – that he’s running from something from his past and he’s afraid it’ll find him.

And you know what? It does.

It’s from this point on that Ahlborn does what she does best – creep the reader the fuck out. Few authors have a way of making even the most mundane moments drip with tension, but Ania has found a way to have each word carry a shadow throughout.

The pacing is fantastic, the family dynamics work so very well and as the back story unfolds more and more, you can see how frightened Jack truly is.

The ending is repulsively delicious – cruel but necessary – especially if you’ve been reading a lot of books that fall into this subgenre of horror fiction.

What I didn’t like: I wasn’t too keen on how long it takes for the reader to get a good morsel of back story. I think the dread (which is phenomenal and palpable) would’ve been ramped up even more if we got more of Jack’s childhood sooner than the teaser’s we get for half the book or so.

Why you should buy this: Having conclusively read this now, I have to say, it holds up as one of Ahlborn’s best and showcases just why she’s such an amazing author. Dark, violent, visceral and creepy as hell, ‘Seed,’ contains an atmosphere that few authors can conjure and never once does it waver. Not even when we all discover the horror that awaits us at the very end.

5/5

Book Review: Down in the Deep, Dark Places by Jason Parent

Title: Down in the Deep, Dark Places

Author: Jason Parent

Huge thanks to Jason for sending me an e-ARC of this one!

I’ve become a really huge fan of Jason’s work over the last number of years and one big reason is that he writes with such conviction across multiple genres. Sci-fi, horror, dark fantasy, you name it and Jason’s gonna nail it.

He also writes very cinematically, painting phenomenal pictures in the readers minds and really bringing the reader down into the muck and the grime.

It was with all of that in mind that I ravenously dove into his collection.

What I liked: The collection is solidly themed across the board (see title for that!) and features stories that border on flash fiction, all of the way up to novella length. It really allows us to see Parent’s ability to craft remarkable related and memorable characters.

The stories that stood out the most for me were;

‘Revenge is a Dish’ – the story of Maurice, a chef, taking a job with unexpected results. This one goes in a direction I never imagined when I began it and we get into a full on survival/island carnage tale in short order. HA! Pun intended!

‘Desert Shadows’ – perhaps the runner up as to being my favorite story in the collection, this one follows a WW2 plane crash and those that survive attempt to hike out and find safety/get help. Again, this is such a prime example of Parent’s cinematic prose-crafting that you’ll potentially develop a fear of flying AND hiking once you’re done.

‘The Exchange’ – this was a blast of a story. Ramsey wakes up, completely unsure of where he is, but he knows he’s sick and not doing so well. From here, it’s survive at all costs and we rip along at a breakneck pace. Just a fun time.

‘Down in the Deep, Dark Places’ – the title story is a rampaging mix of ‘The Thing’ meets ‘The Abyss’ and a part of me was frustrated that this wasn’t a stand alone novella or novel. This one is worth the admission price alone.

‘A Boy and His Dog (and Zombies)’ – this was (surprisingly to me) my favorite story of the batch. We follow Jack, and his dog Benny, as they escape from his dad’s apartment when they burst in and seemingly devour his dad. Once out, it’s survive at all costs and hopefully find his mom, who was stuck elsewhere when the zombie apocalypse arrived. This was just a really well done, emotional story and I loved reading about these two.

The stories throughout are all really great, but those ones stood out for me.

What I didn’t like: A few stories weren’t for me, but that’s the standard for collections and anthologies. Some will work for you that don’t for me and vice versa.

Why you should buy this: Parent is about as close to a sure thing as you can get with dark fiction writers. You know it’s gonna be a solid story with great characters and moments that’ll have you close to a panic attack. This collection is no different and definitely one you don’t want to miss!

4/5

Down in The Deep Dark Places

Book Review: House of Rot by Danger Slater

Title: House of Rot

Author: Danger Slater

Release date: June 14th, 2023

Huge thanks to Tenebrous Press for sending me a digital ARC of Danger Slater’s next release!

Over the last number of years, I’ve really grown to love Danger’s unique take on storytelling. I do struggle with Bizarro as a genre, but Danger has always had these underlaying aspects of extreme horror slowly growing and mutating more and more with each release. Now, with ‘House of Rot,’ we’ve arrived at his first ‘official’ take on horror. If you’ve read ‘I Will Rot Without You,’ or even ‘Impossible James,’ you’ll have a strong idea of what to expect with this one. A body horror story that is designed to distract us from the narrative of the human condition and relationship bonds that float just beneath the repulsive.

What I liked: The story follows newlyweds Elenya and Myles, who’ve just moved into their first place together. They’re excited – the future for them starts now – but almost immediately, things begin to happen that are unsettling.

First – it’s footsteps throughout the house at night. When they look, there’s no one there.

Second – a mold begins to grow and infest everything, even sealing the windows and door shut, preventing them from leaving the place.

Danger uses this all as a distraction behind what is actually happening and I’m sad when I think about how much this will be spoiled for readers as the book rolls out and reviews share the truth. It was wonderful and will remind you of some of your favorite movies as a kid, but it worked so well to be teased out that the clues subtlety wrapped within will be big massive billboards if you know the ‘why’ of what Elenya and Myles and experiencing.

The ending was really well done. It was emotional – as most Slater books are – but quantified the message Danger was going for. This was a love letter, masked in the form of a body horror novella, and I’d gather that a lot of what Danger is saying is really meant for his real-life significant other.

What I didn’t like: Can I just say Brad and leave it with that? Because (and I know he was purposefully like that) I hated Brad. I wanted to punch Brad. Well done, Danger, the next Brad I see today is gonna get punched.

I will also say, there were a few rambling moments, when Myles discusses different commercials or a similar thing, that just felt unnecessarily long. I suspect it was to show Myles’ character and offer some comic relief, but for me, I found them to be a bit out of place.

Why you should buy this: I’ve said it in probably every Slater review I’ve written – I would love to see him do a straight forward horror story, and while this is more weird/body horror than straight forward, this may very well be as close to that from Slater – and he nailed it. Danger always writes from the heart, his characters feel like your group of friends and the body horror components here were fantastically squirm-inducing.

Danger’s finally done it and this reader and reviewer smiled the entire time he read the book.

Thanks, Danger. Well done.

5/5

Book Review: Cadaverous by Jay Bower

Title: Cadaverous

Author: Jay Bower

Release date: April 25, 2023

When this one was announced, I was stoked. I’m a huge fan of heavy metal, demons and that age-old-classic tale of selling one’s soul to become famous. It’s a tale that seems to really play out more in the music world than other areas – it’s not often you see a story where a law student sells his soul to become the world’s greatest public defender – but it also works so well because every single person in the world understands that to become a huge and famous musician you need skill, determination and luck. And all at the exact same time.

I’ve not read any Bower prior to this, though I do have a number of his books on my Kindle, but with this one, I knew I needed to bump it way up the TBR line and get to it as soon as I could.

What I liked: We’re initially introduced to the story as an examination of events that occurred, based on the blog postings of our main character. From there, each chapter represents a blog post, where Gaige Penrod, lead singer of Cadaverous (THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS BAND!), recalls the rise and brutal fall of their band.

Bower does a great job of setting the scene, one that’s typical and relatable. Small town USA. A group of misfit high school friends jam together at Gaige’s. When a huge metal show comes, they all go, seeing their heroes perform live. But when Ozzy Osbourne takes the stage, Gaige sees something nobody else does and from there, the story takes off. Making a deal with the entity he saw, with the aid of his new girlfriend, Lisa, Gaige instantly transforms into the best guitar player and is able to see the music in his head without having to learn it.

But in order for the band to rise, blood must be shed, and it’s at their first few concerts where they create a name for themselves, as audience members brutally die and nobody knows how or why its happening.

We get a really great mix of teenage angst, of Gaige struggling with how far he’d go to leave the town behind, leave his deadbeat, abusive father in the rearview mirror and get rid of his bullies once and for all. As the story rolls along, Bower makes sure to up the extreme levels of carnage and works really well to mimic or feel like you’re reading a song. You get to that moment, that crescendo when you know the breakdown is about to hit and when it does, the reader is pummeled with an action packed finale.

What I didn’t like: I understand the aspect of the blog posts, but it reads more like chapters of a book than an attempt at epistolary storytelling, which worked really well for me, but if you go in thinking this is more straightforward epistolary you’ll be mistaken.

The afterword felt off. Throughout there was no comments or observations by the researcher, so when they returned at the end, I only then remembered that it had started like that.

Lastly, I personally didn’t enjoy that another band member was randomly involved in the demonic aspect. It didn’t detract from the story, but it did make a few prior events feel odd, considering they knew about the demon beforehand.

Why you should buy this: If you like heavy metal, blood, demons and brutality, this one will be right up your alley. If you’re looking for a very solid “Behind the Music” type horror novel, this one fits that bill perfectly. The pacing was spot on and the characters were a blast and of course, the demonic entity was fantastic.

Really dug this one.

4/5