Steve Stred's Blog, page 62

Book Review: The Pain Eater by Kyle Muntz

Title: The Pain Eater

Author: Kyle Muntz

Release date: July 5th, 2022

Big thanks to Kyle for sending me a digital ARC of this book!

I went into this book pretty blind. I’d read the synopsis when he first offered it, but I read a dozen or so books in between and didn’t reread the blurb before diving in when it arrived at the top of my TBR list.

All I can say, is I suggest maybe you do the same thing?! As this one rockets out of the starting blocks and doesn’t hold back from the word go.

I’ll be straight up here – there’s a few things in here that may require some trigger warnings. I received an ARC and didn’t notice any warnings, but that may change for the release of the book. But be aware – a cat dies and characters purposefully hurt themselves and cut themselves (there is a reason for it).

Saying all of that, this book seemingly walks the tightrope wire of straight ahead bleak story and Bizarro story.

What I liked: The story follows two brothers, both who detest their mother, who reconnect/begin to live together after their father dies. The oldest, Steven, moves back into his dad’s house after his death, so that he can take care of and watch over his younger brother, Michael. Additionally, Michaels female friend spends a lot of time at the house. When a stray cat that has been around for some time, dies, it vomits forth a strange little creature, one that seems to eat their grief and pain.

The storytelling in this is both metaphorical but also surface level-straight forward. I think the reader will decide this. They can either take it as a deeper philosophical look at pain and grief and loss, or they can simply read a book about a creature that sucks on people and takes their pain away. It’s a really intriguing way to tell the story.

Additionally, I really liked when we get an unexpected visitor who shares something in common with the brothers and we get a really great lead up to the ending, which worked for me. It was violent and visceral and ultimately telling of how the characters had evolved.

What I didn’t like: I actually hated every character. I know hate is a strong word, but I found nothing redeeming about them and if it wasn’t for the intrigue of the creature, I would’ve dnf’d the book. The way they spoke to each other and interacted was frustrating, as was every interaction with the mother. The one sex scene that takes place became a thorn in my side as then the character believed she was immediately pregnant and it steered away from how the characters normally were.

Why you should buy this: I think if the synopsis grabs you and you’re looking for a story that’ll push you to work to see the layers that need to be unraveled, then definitely dive into this. This was one that I think the Bizarro crowd will definitely dive into and devour, but for the more straightforward horror readers, this may not be a great fit.

3/5

Book Review: Dust of the Dead by John Palisano

Title: Dust of the Dead

Author: John Palisano

Release date: Originally released June 2nd, 2015, Re-released May 30th, 2022

Huge thanks to Marco from Seildelman & Company for sending me a digital copy to read!

‘Dust of the Dead’ is my third or fourth release from John that I’ve read and it’s been great to see just how wide and varied his storytelling scope is.

With this one, Palisano gives us his take on the zombie trope, and while I’m the first to admit I’ve struggled to enjoy much zombie literature (or screen based stuff) over the last number of years, I’m always up to give something a go if they’re trying something new or something I find exciting.

That is the case here.

What I liked: The story follows Mike, a member of the Reclamation Crew, a team sent in to dispatch those who’ve crossed over and come back to life. At first, Mike is a nervous wreck, unsure of where he fits in with the more experienced team members, but as his time with them increases, he becomes ‘one of the boys’ and Palisano makes sure to keep the mood light and banter-filled.

But, this is a horror book and things take a turn. This comes in the form of the dead drying out and turning to dust and much to the dismay of those living, the dust can now infect and transform you.

The first few transformations were great, giving the readers some startling moments and John doesn’t hold back with the gore and brutality. We get to connect with the crew and as they begin to die off, you do feel a sense of loss and sadness over characters who you’ve come to root for.

The ending does a worthy job of acting as an ending, but also keeping things open for a sequel and that is something John discusses in the foreword of this new edition.

What I didn’t like: The biggest issue here for readers will be how well your shelf life for zombie based fiction is. If you’re completely off the enjoyment train of the undead, you’ll most likely not be jumping on this one, but if you still love zombie stuff or are even on the fence, I’d suggest you give this one a go.

Why you should buy this: Palisano is an easy writer for readers. I don’t mean that in a bad way, what I mean is that he tells a story with a capable and friendly writing voice, one that sucks you in quick and makes you feel familiar. It’s like snuggling up with a warm blanket and knowing you have no distractions for hours ahead. ‘Dust of the Dead’ is a really engaging reimagining of a familiar narrative and John does a great job of making this one his own.

4/5

Book Review: The Hungry Earth by Nicholas Kaufmann

Title: The Hungry Earth

Author: Nicholas Kaufmann

Release date: October 5th, 2021

Huge shout out to my buddy Shane aka bookzrkool on Instagram for kicking me in the butt about reading this one. It had been on my radar but it was his review and subsequent messages about how awesome it was that had me bump this waaaayyy up my TBR!

Way back in 1995, a movie came out that scared me to my core. ‘Outbreak’ rocketed into our tiny theatre in Nakusp and I watched it with the growing sense that I could never touch the surface of anything ever again. Of course, years went by and now Covid has hit and the same fear I had during that movie permeates my life throughout this pandemic.

But, Kaufmann has decided to up the ante with inducing fear and decided to focus the story on the horrendous reality of what fungus and their spores can do and in short order. I’ve always been weary about fungi and now this novel has taken that worry and ramped it up.

What I liked: The story follows small town doctor Laura, who, after several unexpected deaths, begins to unravel the reality of what is truly happening. Aided by her former significant other, Booker, the two discover that a massive fungus has taken hold in the community garden and begins to control each host body as the spores infect more and more.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this one and Kaufmann does a great job of keeping things concise and to the point, while also painting expansive scenes throughout. This book says its only 186 pages long, but the heft and meat of the story feels like you’ve just read a 1,000 page book stopper.

The characters are great, even the ones purposefully done to annoy you or anger you and the way that the resolution occurs was fantastic. It had me smiling and it didn’t feel forced or too far-fetched.

What I didn’t like: I will say, even though I really enjoyed the characters (even the incredibly annoying one from the development company), I think the post-credit style scene that was included was almost unnecessary. If there is going to be a further entry and this is becoming a series, then fine, necessary, but personally it didn’t to much for me.

Why you should buy this: I personally struggle to want to read zombie books and I’m also staying far away from virus type books, so this was a refreshing take and look at mass infection/people under control and becoming mindless beings. Kaufmann really ramps things up and throughout, even with the idea of hope and potential for success, does a great job of constantly pumping the breaks and making things bleak at all the right moments.

This was a blast!

4/5

3Q’s Debut – With David Sodergren!

Hello and welcome to the very first 3Q’s feature!

Before we dive into it, I just wanted to give you a brief idea on the ‘why’ of 3Q’s.

Last week was vacation time for us. Usually, our vacations revolve around two aspects – either we drive out to BC to see family and do stuff or they drive out here to us and we do stuff. As the world creeps away from complete Covid closures and more travel opens up and becomes an option, things may change for us, but for right now, we stayed in our wheelhouse and for this time – we drove out to BC.

My sister lives in Trail, BC, about two hours from where we grew up. The drive from our place to hers is right around 1000 kms (or 620 miles) and we split it up over two days. While we chat and try our best to reduce travel boredom, there are times when everyone is simply sitting quietly and it was one of these times where my mind wandered about what I could do coming up to continue to support writers.

Two years ago, I did a daily author shout out, where each day I shared three or four books from each author and it seemed to be a fun thing.

While driving out there, I figured, what if I had authors answer a few questions and gave them some support and maybe helped get some new readers eyes on their works. So, I reached out to about thirty authors, hoping to get ten or so to respond. I think right now, 27 have responded haha! So, this will be an ongoing feature. How long? Not sure. But think of it like the ‘Under the Dome’ TV Series for now. Started out as a limited feature, then got a second season, then who knows? Cancelled? I don’t remember. I watched season one then quit when it kept going. We’ll see what happens with this one!

Anyways – without further wait – the first 3Q’s feature is the phenomenal David Sodergren. David has been an instrumental aspect of my writing progression and I’ve even been lucky enough to co-author a novel with him (The Navajo Nightmare). He’s been my editor for five or so years and hopefully, in the near future, a second book from the two of us will see the light of day!

David hails from Scotland and when not writing, we often see him tweeting on Twitter about his best friend, Boris the pug, or his latest movie watched.

So, David – thanks for doing this! Let’s begin!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

David: Generally I get up on my days off from the day job, take the dog out, watch a movie, and then write from about 10 til 4. Having said that, I sometimes do my best writing late at night, though gone are the days when I could stay up until 3 in the morning. I’m too old for that malarkey now! Word counts are of no interest to me. Anyone can hit several thousand words a day, but it doesn’t matter if the words aren’t good. The same applies to the overall word count of a book. I never go in with a preconceived notion of how long a book is gonna be. 25k, 50k, 75k… it’ll be as long as it needs to be to tell the story. 

Steve: Out of all your releases, do you have a character you could write about forever?

David: Yes, it’s that pug that appears in all my books (except one!). Whether it’s on a sinister island in Thailand, in the Wild West, or in contemporary Scotland, that goofy little guy gets around. Maybe one day I’ll base a whole book around him, who knows? 

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

David: My newest release is the gore-soaked and romantic folk-horror fairy tale THE HAAR, and you should read it because Steve Stred said it was good. If that’s not enough for you (totally understandable, I wouldn’t trust Steve either), then you should read it because there isn’t enough horror with elderly female protagonists out there, especially ones that feature penis-dissolving sea monsters. I’ve seen it described as ‘The Golden Girls meets Society’ and ‘The Notebook crossed with Basket Case’, and that should tell you all you need to know. 

Steve: Bonus Question! Did you have a favorite wrestler as a kid?

David: I had several favourite wrestlers, but Shawn Michaels was number one. Not so much when he was in The Rockers, but once he threw Marty Jannetty through the Barbershop window and became a heel, he became my favourite. His entrance music was just the best!

Thank you so much David! This was great!

If you want to find more about David or give him a follow;

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paperbacksnpugs

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperbacksandpugs/

Website: https://paperbacksandpugs.wordpress.com/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/David-Sodergren/e/B07H1MB4MT/

Book Review: In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman by Elford Alley

Title: In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman

Author: Elford Alley

Release date: June 7, 2016

I’m not sure if I’m on my own here, but one thing I love is when you go into a book thinking one thing and it ends up going somewhere completely different.

There’s a few books that come to mind immediately, but in this case – none of them went as far in the other directions as Elford Alley’s ‘In Search of the Nobility, Tx Wildman.’

Based off the title and the original cover art this book had when I snagged it, I was expecting this to be a straight-up creature feature about people searching for bigfoot and things going south. So much so, that when I came across this book, I DM’s Hunter Shea to see if he’d read it, as I know he loves bigfoot/sasquatch fiction.

It turns out, this book is a much more introspective piece, and in parts incredibly moving, focusing on two men from very different backgrounds, both of whom want to leave this world with some sort of legacy.

What I liked: The story follows James Cushing, Grade-A dill-hole and host of a “monster hunting” show. Of course everything on it is fake and he hates the show and where he’s at in his life. When the show heads to Texas and they encounter Maverick Casey, a lifelong Bigfoot hunter, Cushing sees a bit of himself in the old man and it’s this connection that pushes the narrative from that moment forward.

Alley does a great job of making the reader loathe and connect with both Casey and Cushing, and as things play out and more layers are peeled back and exposed, Alley doesn’t ease up. No, instead he grinds into both characters, making things go from bad to worse.

The biggest aspect here that I ultimately adored, was that the crux of the book is Casey and his final search for the Wildman and we in fact, never actually go searching for him. It was a bold decision and one that works really well. I struggled over whether to include that bit of info in this review, but decided upon doing it, as it really sets this book apart from other stories in this subgenre.

What I didn’t like: I think the only thing that didn’t really click for me was some of Casey’s issues. I won’t share those here, but I think I would’ve had more of a compassionate lens on him if he reached out to those he loved.

Why you should buy this: Alley does a fantastic job of creating an intriguing character based thriller. As each part moves along, the writing succeeds in pulling the reader along and the narrative grows stronger with the story.

This was really well done and a true unexpected gem.

5/5

Give them some love: Or why you should shout about your favorite author!

See this image above? Yeah, those are my Andrew Pyper shelves. And you know what? This photo is already outdated. I’m fast approaching 100 physical copies of Andrew’s work, and in this case – I’m blessed or fortunate that my favorite author happens to have had a significant amount of his work translated and published in foreign languages. This allows me to collect a dozen of a single release or more. I have two books in transit as I write this and only nine editions out there in the world that I haven’t found yet.

That’s great, you may say, but why are you posting this?

Well, let’s be frank – the world isn’t all that great lately. Bad news stacked on bad news. This has been a blog post I’ve been thinking about for a bit and with the culmination of more bad news and my desire to procrastinate on a pending story for an anthology invite – I figured this was the perfect time to devote a blog post to WHY WE NEED TO YELL AND SHOUT ABOUT OUR FAVORITE AUTHORS!

Let’s get straight to it.

Reason #1 – Everyone needs a cheerleader.

FACT.

Look, the reality is, once a book is released there’s nothing an author can do about the reception of that book. You can sit back and hope for great reviews to come rolling in, but it’s a struggle to not go to Goodreads or Amazon or wherever and see how the book is doing – and – inevitably, the time you break and go – you’ll discover a new 1 star review or a DNF telling you to stop pursuing your passion.

That’s where the fans come in. Rave about the book. If you read it and love it let the world know!!

Which leads into;

Reason #2 – It’ll help other readers discover their work.

I’ll admit (and you can ask my wife this) I consider Andrew to be a bonafide celebrity. Like, this is an author whose books are International Bestsellers, who has a publishing deal with a massive publishing house, who probably has the coolest ‘contact list’ on his phone. To me, Andrew is waaaaaayyy up there in my eyes and I’m not afraid to admit it. Saying that (and much to my ABSOLUTE shock – again ask the wife) some folks haven’t heard of Andrew. It happens. There’s a lot of books, a lot of authors and a lot of genres. And, depending on when the book launches, sometimes things can get missed.

Does it annoy you that I post all my Andrew stuff? Too bad is what I say. His work brings me so much joy – and it also allows others to discover his work. Literally, every single time I post any of his books, I’ll get a DM or an IG story reply that looks like this;

Or I’ll get a message asking which book they should start with! As a super fan – this makes me so happy! To have an interaction with someone about these amazing books is always a highlight. And to recommend a book to someone and see them read and enjoy it always makes me smile!

Reason #3 – FREE PROMO!

No matter how big or small of an author someone is, promoting your own work is a necessity and for 99% of us, it always feels icky. But – when someone else RAVES about your book, you can share that review, screenshot it and post it on your stories or personally thank them for taking the time to read your work. And all of that was FREE PROMO for the author. Every little bit helps – each comment, post, picture, review, like, share, IG/Tik Tok story etc etc has the potential to get a new set of eyeballs on your favorite authors work!

Some of us even go a bit more extreme and do month long celebrations of their work, create T-shirts, get ephemera made, do a year-long-monthly giveaway, interview them and make an online archive of their work… but that’s only some of us… lol!

(SEE!)

Reason #4 – Writing can feel very isolating.

It’s true. We often enter into this written world and stay in this singular world until it is done. Then you wrap it up in a pretty cover, format the interior and send it out into the real world, where you’re supposed to not be upset if someone rips it to shreds. It can be very taxing and you often feel like maybe what you’re doing won’t be liked by anybody.

And then… here comes a fan who raves about the book and gushes over it everywhere. And that right there can really lift a writer’s spirits. And that leads me to number 5…

Reason #5 – Authors are humans too!

As I alluded earlier, to me, my favorite author is a celebrity. This is someone I’ve had the fortune to get to know and develop a friendship over the last five years or so, and to this day I get giddy if I see I have a message from Andrew. But, he’s a regular guy, just like all of our fav authors are regular folks. And those regular folks have successes and failures and ups and downs and highs and lows and that’s when us fans can give them a boost.

No matter how successful you are as a writer, there are always those ‘what about me?’ moments. Look, I’m a massive cheerleader and supporter (I’ll discuss that more in a moment), but we all have those moments where someone announces a huge success and we think ‘why isn’t that me?‘ It can be and will be and we gotta work hard to achieve it. But, our fav authors also have those moments. Fans are there to continue to support them and give them a boost, even when us fans don’t realize they need them! Conversely, it can also be a bad review posted everywhere for all to see. The author takes that soul crushing hit but it’s only momentary because here comes SUPERFAN!

Reason #6 – Build people up/Support/Encourage.

Yeah, I know, lame ‘reason’ title, but I couldn’t think of anything else to describe it.

As I said at the top, the world is filled with crap and bad news. But we can make each day a little bit better for those around us. How? By building people up, supporting people and encouraging each other.

Take my Twitter profile as an example. I’ve someone approached having 5900 followers at the time of writing this (How? No clue, truly blows my mind. Also for some perspective – the town I grew up in had like 100 residents. Isn’t that insane? Now, 5900 are following me? Humbling) and not all of those followers follow the same other people. So, that gives me some reach and some scope. And that’s why I employ my build/support/encourage mentality. Somebody has a new book out? Like, retweet, comment etc. A book coming out that looks great? I pre-order those I want to read. I review. I encourage. My DM’s are open for any advice I can give.

But guess what? I employ that same strategy to both my fav author and to all the other people on my Twitter feed. And if that connects others and gets more eyeballs on peoples work – BINGO! Job done!

Reason #7 – Celebrate what brings you joy!

Look, we only have a finite amount of time on this planet and within that finite time we have even less time that we can devote to those hobbies that bring you joy. In my case – reading is one of my biggest loves. I read every night and it’s something I look forward to all day. So, remember, you’re allowed to love whatever author you want to love! If their work brings you joy and helps you get through some rough patches, celebrate it.

The great thing about Social Media, is that it has allowed us to connect in a way we couldn’t before. In the past, maybe I would’ve been able to mail a letter to Andrew and maybe he would’ve replied. Or somehow I managed to get an email in front of him and he might’ve replied and that would’ve been it – I would go about my life with that email/letter framed, sitting by his books (I actually have an email from Andrew framed FYI, lol!) on my shelves and I’d tell all my friends about how awesome his books are. But that’s changed and with Social Media, I get to share my love to the world and the world gets to discover his work. And that can be the same for you and your fav author.

Drawbacks – maybe a bit harsh to call it drawbacks, but calling it ‘negatives’ seemed even worse, ha! But, as with all Social Media, there will be some odd things that will occur when you celebrate your fav author all the time, and I figured I should at least put it out there so nobody is surprised.

People often dislike when others continuously post about something. I see it on the various platforms – for instance a friend of mine from my athlete days gets comments on his lifting videos saying ‘do you post anything else other than lifting.’ Why? He’s a competitive weight lifter. That’s what he loves and does all the time. Of course he’ll post it. My friend and fellow author Dave Jeffery gets frequent heat from his author posts when he celebrates other authors. Why? What does it take away from your life? Build people up, share and encourage and spread joy.

So, it should be no surprise, that I get a few messages a month where people suggest I kindly do obscene stuff to myself and suggest I post about other authors. For the record, I do post about others. All the time. So there. Take your obscene suggestions and obscene yourself.

One of the absolute highlights EVER was the day I got the notification on Twitter that Andrew Pyper was now following me. Like, I screenshot it and sent it to my wife and smiled for the rest of the day. It’s little things in life that can add up. So, if you see someone posting about an author all the time, don’t be annoyed, don’t be rude, because those books and that author have had an impact on that reader. As another example – I LOVE seeing my buddy George’s expanding Paul Tremblay wing. He’s been lucky enough to meet Paul a number of times and I know just how much George loves Paul’s work. Seeing that makes me smile and so very happy for my friend.

Us super fans, we’ll get teased, have memes made about our fandom, and be compared to a certain Stephen King book about a certain character. And that’s fine. I don’t mind any of that. It’s the rudeness that you’ll get that you need to block out and push aside while you continue to share your love of their work!

In closing;

Thank God, right?

Finally, I’m at the end and I’ll shut up about why you should rave about your favorite author?

Kind of.

Let’s recap – in summary – you should ALWAYS rave about books you love, share why people should read your fav author, tag them in your great posts (this will help others see them as well) and, don’t care what others think.

If you shout your love about one book, and someone buys that book, then shouts about that book and someone buys that book… well you get the idea.

The world is complicated, depressing and a tough place to exist in. Why not share some positivity and spread some joy, especially about books that make you happy!

Now, if you’ve read this far (and sorry for some rambling), I hope you’ll take some time to share why you love your fav author. Shout it on your platforms – FB, IG, Twitter, Tik Tok, wherever – share the joy and love of their work! And tell me! Tell me what I should read and why you love them!

Lastly – a meme;

And a recommendation;

My first Andrew Pyper book was The Demonologist. If you’ve not read it before, I highly recommend you give it a go;

The Andrew Pyper Archives Link;

The Demonologist (2013)

AMAZON US LINK:

AMAZON CAN LINK:

AMAZON UK LINK:

Book Review: The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #2) by John Gwynne

Title: The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #2)

Author: John Gwynne

Release date: April 12th, 2022

Firstly – my sincerest apologies to Mr. Gwynne, Orbit and Netgalley. I was approved for this book prior to publication and, while I was reading ‘The Shadow of the Gods’ which was Book 1 in this series. Much to my chagrin, life happened, and I was slowed down in my reading time and availability. Thus, here we are, a month and a week post release day and I’ve just finished reading it. So, I wanted to say sorry.

For those unfamiliar, I enjoy reading fantasy occasionally. More when something ticks certain boxes. One thing that has created a bit of a negative or hesitancy for me, is the fact that two of the fantasy series I love the most are still unfinished (looking squarely at you Martin and Rothfuss) and thus, when a series begins, I’ll often hold off to see if I want to devote that much time and energy to something that may never be complete. With this one, I couldn’t resist, and from recent social media postings, it looks like Gwynne has begun the process of working on Book 3.

This one picks up after the events of Book 1 and continues the stories of those characters we’ve grown to love or hate.

What I liked: Look, the reality is A LOT of stuff happens in these books. These are Sagas after all. We start at Point A and end at Point Z and a significant amount of events occur at each point along the way. This is sprawling, cinematic, engaging storytelling. But at its heart is the fear of what’s to come. In Book 2, three Gods have now been resurrected, returning to the world (which has greatly changed since their deaths) and wanting to go back to their perceived perch atop the pecking order.

But that is not to be and as power changes hands and clashes continue to occur, we see characters make moves to get to their end goal.

The character I think many seem to gravitate towards the most is Orka Skullsplitter, who is on her quest to find her son Breca and reunite with him. Every decision she makes and every ramification that happens is based solely on moving herself that much closer to tracking him down and it is painful and brutal to watch. But watch we do and we hold our breath the entire time.

One last thing I’ll mention, is that this one goes into a full-on, borderline Kaiju rumble in the final act. We get Gods battling, beasts braying and enough blood splattering to watch a city be decimated and characters get crushed and chomped throughout. Gwynne’s writing really shines in these moments, describing every millisecond of action with purpose and pristine prose.

The ending was great and sets us up for big things in Book 3. I’m excited to see what happens and how these storylines that came ever-so-close to merging at the ending of Book 2 culminate in the finale.

What I didn’t like: Even though I read Book 1 and 2 back-to-back, I still found a lot of the characters with similar names to be borderline confusing, especially as each chapter goes to a different characters. Skalk and Skuld etc etc, a lot of names starting with G! Part of it is definitely me as a reader not tracking it along mentally like I should, but when you read an epic like this, it can become a bit much! And fair point in return – it can’t change now! We’re heading into Book 3!

Why you should buy this: I said this in my review of Book 1, but this is brutal fantasy done right. We don’t have thousands of words dedicated to describing meals and food preparation and (I may be in the minority here) we don’t get endless story devoted to who is sleeping with who. I find with some fantasy novels this can often be the main driving narrative and it can become tiresome, and no this wasn’t a dig at Martin’s offering.

Gwynne has created some truly memorable characters here, some who’ll live long in my head when the final page is closed. The landscape is palpable, the stench of blood and waste carried from my Kindle into my nostrils and yet, I can’t wait to return to this world. Kudos to Gwynne, this series and this book are second to none.

5/5

Book Review: The Envious Nothing: A Collection of Literary Ruin by Curtis M. Lawson

Title: The Envious Nothing: A Collection of Literary Ruin

Author: Curtis M. Lawson

Release date: June 14th, 2022

Huge thanks to Curtis for sending me a digital ARC to check out!

Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of reading Curtis’ work and it feels like he’s found a groove. Between his short fiction and longer pieces, his descent into writing stories that are bleak and crusted around the edges has been great to see. Saying that – I’ve not had time to dive into his back catalog. So there’s a solid chance he’s always been bludgeoning readers this way.

But, when I look at the two most recent pieces I’ve read from him; ‘Black Heart Boys’ Choir’ and ‘Devil’s Night,’ I can see him shining, even when a story or a chapter has been painted over in black repeatedly.

Which brings me to his newest collection, ‘The Envious Nothing: A Collection of Literary Ruin.’ This, like many collections, is a mix of new to this release stories as well as previously published stories. Some of the previously published stories though, were only available through his Patreon, so if you are not a supporter, you’d still not have come across these stories in widely released anthologies.

What I liked: There is a lot of variety throughout this one, but one thing is clear – you’ll come away from each story or poem feeling despondent or as though you just survived an unexpected deluge of rain.

The collection opens with the sci-fi/horror mashup of ‘You and I and the Envious Nothing’ and doesn’t let up. The story itself begins with someone on a space station looking out through a window and realizing the earth has mysteriously vanished and things escalate quickly from there.

Bleak, heartbreaking and pulse-pounding.

But that could very well be the blurb that would adorn the front cover of this, signed off by a master author in the genre. The last two things I’ve read that made me feel similar to this collection were T.E. Grau’s collection ‘The Nameless Dark’ and Jo Quenell’s ‘The Mud Ballad.’

Throughout, the collection, Lawson continues to push the dark reaches of his imagination and the reader comes away the better for it.

Other highlights for me were the outstanding novella length ‘Beneath the Emerald Sky, (I won’t even discuss this one at all, instead I’ll let your mind wander based on that title) and the stunningly schizophrenic piece ‘The Green Man of Freetown.’ This one followed Charlie, released on parole who goes to the woods to try and find the truth behind the murder of his wife and son. Relentlessly sorrow-filled.

The absolute gem for me, was ‘Orphan.’ This one was so good, I did something I never do – I messaged Curtis to tell him just how amazing the story was. The main character is Ian, former leader of a punk band that grew huge and then dissolved who has been hired to come perform in a small town church. Of course this goes into super crazy-town territory, but at its core, Lawson infuses it with the sentiment of outsiders looking to find where they belong, where they fit. It is a great showcase for what Lawson does in his writing – making us look inside at how we react to the larger world as a whole.

What I didn’t like: As with any collection, some stories may not connect or work for the reader. I found each one to be phenomenal, but – I did need to step away from the collection a few times and let the stories digest, as this one is a constant source of darkness and despair.

Why you should buy this: Lawson has a vital voice in the dark fiction community. One that consistently pushes the imaginative boundaries and the places the stories visit, while keeping a sense of humanity firmly gripped in the themes throughout. He is never an easy read, often times making you feel repulsed or furious, but that is the point. He’s crafting stories with a visceral reaction, never once phoning in his performance. His books are tough and that’s what sets him apart from the ever-growing landscape of dark fiction collections. Lawson is an author I think we all need to experience, even just once, to help with your internal scale of how far down into the blackness you are willing to go.

Outstanding.

5/5

Russo Returns; An interview with Andrew Pyper about Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders!

For Pyper-Maniacs like me, any new output from Andrew Pyper is a reason to celebrate! Last year we were fortunate to get not only the Audible release, Oracle, but also the full length documentary, ‘Demon in the White House’ based on Andrew’s research into writing The Residence.

Well, here we are nine months later and Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders arrives, this time with a full audio production behind it! And friends – it is phenomenal.

For a spoiler free review see here: https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2022/05/20/audiobook-review-oracle-2-the-dreamland-murders-by-andrew-pyper/

Now, as with many people listening to the audiobook, I had a number of questions pop up. Unlike a lot of people listening, I have a tendency to frequently bother Andrew – so once again, I did just that! I asked and he answered!

I will say – this interview does contain some minor spoilers – so I’d suggest you go check out Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders first, then return and see what steered Andrew through the woods and abandoned amusement park in Becket, Massachusetts.

Interview:

SS: As always, Andrew, thank you so much for doing this!

Nate Russo is back. I find this character to be utterly fascinating. He seems to be this combination of some of your prior characters – bits of Bartholomew Crane, Patrick Rush, Miles McEwan and David Ullman – these damaged men who struggle with aspects of their past – but in this instance Russo has one foot on the other side (closer to Danny Orchard) and has a firm belief in the supernatural. Would it be fair to say that Russo might be the most damaged of your characters though? If we look at him struggle through ‘Oracle’ with where he came from, and now, his desire to connect with someone while also pushing everyone away in ‘Oracle 2’ surely speaks to a conflicted, broken man.

AP: I see Nate as a figure who has at least partly arrived here out of noir fiction – a man of few words, quick with his fists, can take a punch, lonesome love life, dark past. The noir detective is usually beaten up by “having seen too much” of the world. This is where Nate’s difference arises: his vision is of a supernatural nature, so what he’s seen too much of is from this world and the underworld. I don’t know if this makes him the most broken of my broken protagonists, but it’s a big part of what interests me about him, that’s for sure.

SS: Clare Fernandez might be just as damaged as Nate, but in a more human way. Where Nate is broken from his upbringing and this malevolent Ghoul, Claire is dealing with PTSD, hurt from her partner (Tillman) and the effects of a disintegrating home life. Was she a hard one to nail down and develop her nuisances?

AP: Once I saw Clare as a single mom whose son is drifting away from her – or so she worries – her character came together for me. She’s a woman in the FBI. That alone suggests an extra degree of discipline, a thick skin, compartmentalizing the person from the professional. But the cost she bears for doing the work is, as it is for Nate, terribly painful and yet almost impossible to mention, to share. Accessing that, for me, came down to feeling my way to her as a parent, imagining the pain of being far from my child in order to do my work, to do something good.

SS: Let’s not forget Greg Tillman. Now, Greg at times appears to be both an attempt at a calming presence and keeping them on track but also some comic relief. I think, this might be the first real time I’ve read anything from you with legitimate banter/humour to this level. How as it writing that?

AP: Writing the scripts for Oracle 2 was a different experience from writing the novel manuscript for Oracle in a number of respects. One distinction is thinking more about what the characters say in a script, and revealing character through dialogue alone. With that comes the fun of letting them go at each other, demonstrate their misgivings and anger and contempt through wars of words. Nate and Tillman are almost constantly on the verge of throwing a punch at each other. So how do you punch a guy with language? Yeah, those are good scenes to write.

SS: The Boneman returns, which was great to see, but to our surprise – the character seems to be afraid of what it encounters. You have a few lines here – where Russo believes that The Bone Man only wants Nate to live to look through his eyes, but surely they’re more connected than that?

AP: The Boneman hasn’t reformed in Oracle 2, but his dependency on Nate is revealed. Those two are a pair, they need each other (to do what special things they do). So what’s that mean when they come up against a bigger, older, more powerful evil? It forces the relationship between the Boneman and Nate to change – not bending toward friendship or anything like that, but recognizing the larger supernatural network they exist in.

SS: The folklore in this is really fascinating. Hearing the chapter where our archivist (whom I’m going to believe was 100% based on me and my archiving skills no matter what you say!) describes the history of this creature and how the Indigenous won’t name it and it exacts vengeance on people and how then the women are tried and hung at the same spot was great. How much of that was based on real folklore? Was any of it based on folklore from Becket itself? The Red Woman/Cunning Women aspect was really well done.

AP: Thank you! And yes, the archivist is 100% you! (What harm can it do to give you that?) (STEVE SIDE NOTE – HOLY HELL HE ACTUALLY ADMITTED IT! HAHA!) The mythic underpinnings of Becket aren’t based on any particular folklore narrative, but rather a melding of a few varied histories. For me, the important aspect was how past crimes build on other crimes, whether we remember them in the present or not. Metaphorically, the history that lives under Dreamland is the history of what we now call North America: crimes against Indigenous people, crimes against “outsiders,” crimes against women. My intent was to give that history life through a figure of vengeance and power, a singular figure that announces itself just when we think we’re “moving on.”

SS: The production of this is just stellar. As “just the author” you must be over the moon listening to how great of a job Audible did. Do you know if the voice actors and actresses recording their pieces together or separately? If separately, they really did a great job with the post-production. Did you have to do any re-writes or anything like that as it went on?

AP: The performances and sound design really are superb. I joined the cast via Zoom during some of the recording sessions and it gave me goosebumps listening to them embody the words I wrote with such passion and intensity and range. As for the production, full credit goes to Greg Sinclair who brought such care and detail to the series. There were some micro adjustments to the scripts as the recording went along, but I think the final version is pretty close to the scripts I wrote.

SS: A common theme in a lot of your work is the sentiment “every town/house is haunted.” Is this something you’ve believed or contemplated since you were a young boy? If not, do you remember when it began to fester?

AP: I guess I’ve never entirely gotten over that feeling of being a kid and entering a friend’s house and realizing it’s home for them, but a strange place for you. A place with its own history, its own secrets, its smells and hidden corners and ceremonies and rules. And every town has hundreds, thousands of such haunted houses. It all comes down to the stories that attach to these places, and is less dependent on the places themselves. Look at any house, any hospital, any store, any school, and ask: What happened in there? That’s when the ghosts appear.

SS: Correct me if I’m wrong – but I believe you previously said ‘Oracle’ was crafted from a story you had been working on and when Audible approached you, you ironed it out, right? Was the approach to ‘Oracle 2’ different at all? Knowing it was going to be a full production, was this written more as a screenplay as it wouldn’t just be Joshua Jackson narrating the entire piece?

AP: Yes, Oracle was a completed novel manuscript when I was approached by Audible, whereas Oracle 2 was commissioned as audio scripts right from the get-go. The difference was fundamental: novels live in a single voice and point-of-view, while scripts live in multiple voices. I wasn’t thinking too much about the production aspects as I wrote Oracle 2, but I certainly was thinking about actors eventually performing what I was writing. I think that’s why there’s more “play” in the scripts, more teasing and flirting and attacking and expression of feeling.

SS: Lastly, in the past you’ve mentioned that none of your releases/ideas had excited you when thinking of it as a series/writing a sequel. That you’d told the story that needed to be told and that was that. Nate Russo seems to be the key to unlock that desire and that excitement. Will we see more of Nate Russo? Either in Audible work or in written releases?

AP: I don’t know at the moment if Nate Russo will return, but I’d love it if he did. You’re right: all my previous books and stories were conceived as standalones, closed worlds. But when I wrote Oracle I knew it was something different. It wanted to be a series. And for a while, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of that. But when Audible came along and provided a venue for doing a series in a different form from a series of novels, it provided the answer.

Huge thanks to Andrew for doing this! If you’ve not – definitely check out both Oracle and Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders!

Oracle:

https://www.amazon.com/Oracle/dp/B0938HTBX9/

Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders

https://www.amazon.com/Oracle-The-Dreamland-Murders/dp/B09CLLNBD7/

Audiobook Review: Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders by Andrew Pyper

Title: Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders

Written by Andrew Pyper

Performed by Joshua Jackson, Humberly Gonzalez, Devon Bostick and an ensemble cast

Release date: May 18th, 2022

A sequel! A sequel! Are you kidding me! (Or as my son used to say when he was three – are you tipping me?!) Look, as a devoted Pyper fan, and having devoured almost everything he’s released/written (I still have three short stories or so to read), I’ve longed for a continuation of some of his characters, as I know other fans have. Who wouldn’t want to see what Ullman is up to these days? Or what happened after the ending of ‘The Killing Circle’? 

Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders gives us just that. I will say – this review will be spoiler free, but an interview I’m doing with Andrew won’t be – so you can read this review just fine, BUT, saying that, you definitely need to check out Oracle first before entering into this follow up.

This one was an interesting and very different experience than Oracle. Oracle also happened to be my first Audiobook experience, so going into that, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Joshua Jackson delivered a fantastic performance as both the Narrator, but also bringing our main character, Nate Russo to life.

Now, Jackson is back, but this time, it’s no longer a singular narrated audiobook, but a full on audio production, with an ensemble cast, complete with music and sound. For me, I’d described it as watching a movie with your eyes closed.

This follows the events of Oracle, picking up with Nate being bailed from jail to join Clare and Tillman again. This time, they need his ‘special assistance’ after a strange killing occurs near an old abandoned amusement park in Becket, Massachusetts. 

What I liked: While Oracle was a single Audiobook told with a single Narrator, Oracle 2 arrives with ten episodes, with a full production. At first I found this change a bit jarring, but that was 100% down to me not being familiar with type of entertainment consumption. It went away really quickly and once again, the writing is so compelling that the characters immediately come alive.

The highlight I think for me, was the folklore that Pyper infuses into this story. A sprawling narrative that spans centuries and is revealed at first slowly, then in a really well done, dramatic information dump, where the cards are spread on the table and the reality of what they are dealing with is exposed.

I think one aspect of the episodic element that really worked well, was also the heightened secondary character development. Where in a novel, some of these characters may only have a few paragraphs or appear in a chapter, we get to see them come and go throughout, which also elevated the ‘small-town’ feeling where you often bump into the same people multiple times a day.

Dreamland itself is a fantastic aspect and as it comes alive the most during the finale, the production side of things really worked to give the listener that atmospheric creepiness that was necessary.

I will say – our friend the Boneman returns, albeit in a slightly different iteration and this works well to see the subtle ways Nate Russo has grown and changed since the events in Oracle.

I’ll finish this section off by saying – both Clare and Tillman feel more like important characters this time around than secondary pieces to push Russo’s plot. The voice actors really did these characters justice (as did all of the voice actors throughout) and it makes for some really entertaining and dramatic moments.

What I didn’t like:  One part that I thought would’ve been played out a bit longer than it did was a particular love interest/moment that Nate has. It is with a specific character who plays a larger role in the overall events and lead up in the town, but was far too brief for me. They have a connection, absolutely, but this listener would’ve loved to see how Nate would’ve responded given more time.

Why you should buy this: It’s a unique thing – having a writing voice as solid and identifiable as Andrew’s that even when performed by others, his way of forming a sentence is immediately familiar and comforting. When compared to Oracle, I’d suggest Oracle 2 stands out more, not so much because of the full cast or the production put into it, but more for the depth of storytelling and level of folklore put into this. It has a wholly realized concept and the beginning, middle and ending work well together to cohesively tell us the story that realizes the concept. It is really well done and shows why Nate Russo is one of Pyper’s most complex, and most human, characters that he’s created yet.

Kudos to Audible, the performers and Andrew for this one. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last we see (or hear) of Russo and crew!

5/5

https://www.audible.com/pd/Oracle-The-Dreamland-Murders-Podcast/B09CLMJPJ4