David A. Riley's Blog, page 110

The Return

It looks like my Lovecraftian horror novel, The Return, will probably be published in July. At least that's the date currently set for it. Still a few things to be done before that happens, including proof reading the text, but things are looking good.

Stalkers by Paul Finch

This is my review on Hellnotes of Stalkers by Paul Finch:

"Stalkers
By Paul Finch
Avon Books (HarperCollins)
ISBN: 978-0-00-749229-9
Paperback: 452 pages, £6.99
2013

Paul Finch’s name will be familiar to horror enthusiasts for his numerous short stories in The Black Books of Horror, or in his collections, Walkers in the Dark (Ash-Tree Press), Stains (Gray Friar Press), Groaning Shadows (Gray Friar Press), Enemies at the Door (Gray Friar Press) and his historical horror novels, Medi-Evil, volumes 1, 2 and 3.
This is his first mass market paperback, a crime thriller with more than a touch of horror. Indeed, some of the things that happen in Stalkers would not be out of place in any anthology of horror stories. This is real horror, though, the kind that not only can happen but, nightmarishly, does. More "

The Tainted Earth by George Berguno

I reviewed this book on the BFS site:

"THE TAINTED EARTH by George Berguno , Egaeus Press, ISBN: 978-0-957160620, 2012

This is the first time I have read any stories by George Berguno, although he has had two earlier collections, The Sons of Ishmael and The Exorcist’s Travelogue. Like Egaeus Press’s other books, it is beautifully printed and of superb quality.
There are eight short stories in this volume, plus a novella. The first is the title story and is written as a Nordic saga, though with modern sensibilities, particularly with regard to motivations and character and some subtle humour. More "

The River Through The Trees by David Peak

I reviewed this book on the BFS site:

"THE RIVER THROUGH THE TREES By David Peak, Blood Bound Books, March 2013; £6.40/£0.77 Kindle


Although this is not a long book it packs a heavy punch. Set in a small town in the American backwoods, which has been in steady decline for years, most of the characters are losers whose lives have been blighted by poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and by ghosts from a past that has polluted everything around them. More "

The Whispering Horror by Eddy C. Bertin

This is my review of Eddy C. Bertin's collection of stories due from Shadow Publishing this May. The review is available on Hellnotes' website:

"The Belgian writer Eddy C. Bertin’s stories have been appearing in anthologies since the late sixties, but this is his first English language collection. The title story, The Whispering Horror, originally appeared in The Ninth Pan Book of Horror Stories 1968. In Europe, though, under a number of pseudonyms, he has had over sixty pulp novels and serials, westerns, thrillers, and murder mysteries published. He has written mysteries and historical romances, and horror stories for children. More "

The Whispering Horror by Eddy C. Bertin

This collection is now up for a discounted pre-order on Shadow Publishing's website. The book is due out in May and will be well worth getting by anyone with a love for great horror stories.

The River Through The Trees by David Peak

The River Through The Trees By David PeakBlood Bound Books     ISBN: 978-0984978243Kindle edition: ASIN: B00C163E8QMarch 2013; £6.40/£0.77 Kindle
Although this is not a long book it packs a heavy punch. Set in a small town in the American backwoods, which has been in steady decline for years, most of the characters are losers whose lives have been blighted by poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and by ghosts from a past that has polluted everything around them.
The main character, Dan Robertson, runs the local undertakers. Bullied since school, his half sister Grace is the bane of his life. Known as the local bike, high on whatever drugs she can get, she is a force for chaos for everyone with whom she comes into contact. Dan feels guilty that her mental problems are his fault, caused when they were young children and were attacked by a local bogeyman, Bicycle Bill. Although Dan managed to escape, Grace didn’t. Mentally damaged by whatever happened while she was in his clutches, Dan has tried to distance himself from her ever since, obsessively stressing whenever she is mentioned that she is only his “half” sister.
Starting with a suicide that Dan is certain was murder, every detail of the town’s inhabitants is grimly described. It is the middle of winter, thick with snow and icily cold, a vivid metaphor for the state of the community. As one death leads to another, the police investigation encompasses drug peddling backwoods cultists, dysfunctional families with secrets within secrets, and a morbid supernatural menace.
Vividly depicted, the flaws and weaknesses of the various characters are remorselessly exposed. It is perhaps one of the darkest, most nihilistic novels I have ever read, a slow motion car crash whose development is a fascinating trek into the grim depths of a community blighted by something that is outside anyone’s control, a supernatural presence which uses the weaknesses of everyone it touches to spread its influence. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Whispering Horror by Eddy C. Bertin

I am now reading an advance copy pdf of Eddy C. Bertin's first ever English language short story collection The Whispering Horror which is due out in paperback from Shadow Publishing in May. I'll be doing a review of it when I've finished, probably for Hellnotes.

Shadow Publishing: May 2013
Paperback: 288 pages, £10.99
ISBN: 978-0-9539032-7-6
Dimensions: 229 mm x 152 mm

Contents:
Cover Artwork: Harry O. Morris
Introduction by David A. Sutton
The Whispering Horror
The Man Who Collected Eyes
A Taste of Rain and Darkness
I Wonder What He Wanted
Like Two White Spiders
The Taste of Your Love
Composed of Cobwebs
A Whisper of Leathery Wings
Behind the White Wall
Something Small, Something Hungry
Ten
Dunwich Dreams, Dunwich Screams
Belinda's Coming Home
My Fingers Are Eating Me

The River Through The Trees by David Peak

I am currently reading the kindle edition of The River Through The Trees by David Peak, published by Blood Bound Books. I'll be doing a review of it as soon as I've finished. So far it must rank as one of the darkest, grittiest, grimmest stories I have read - which is good!

My Hellnotes review of Dead Earth: Sanctuary

My review of Dead Earth: Sanctuary by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks has just been posted on Hellnotes.