Bryan W. Dull's Blog, page 3
March 29, 2022
Episode Six Is Now Available!
In case you havent been around in awhile, my Kindle Vella experiment, The Pressure, is now up to episode six. If you are curious, the first three episodes are free on Kindle! Just click HERE!
#horror #thepressure #kindle #kindlevella #migraines #pain
March 5, 2022
Movie Mail Call for March 5th, 2022
Just received this classic from #arrowvideo by way of #orbitdvd in Asheville, NC! There is another #4k version of this by #synapse but this one matched the other movies I have from #darioargento
March 2, 2022
Review: The Maker's Box by David Barclay
Emily is gifted a wooden box containing a beating heart by her widowed father with instructions to feed it every day. That sentence alone was enough for me to be intrigued to read The Maker’s Box, a fairytale set in modern times by David Barclay. While the novella delves into the magic and other paranormal happenings, it is a very human story, diving into the insecurities of a teenager dealing with life and loss.
Order The Maker's Box on Amazon HERE---->https://amzn.to/3ICUbCF
This novella was a quick and entertaining read for me that took me no time at all to complete. If I had any criticism, it would be that I thought The Maker’s Box should have been more extended. I was interested in the world and Emily’s everyday life in school to learn more about the other teenagers around her, especially Noah, the best friend…and the boy next door in the most literal sense.
Without getting into spoiler territory, I will simply say this: The Maker’s Box is a magically scary ride that delves into how we cope with our insecurities, obsessions, grief, and what happens when acceptance isn’t a solution.
4 out of 5
#themakersbox #davidbarclay #thriller #paranormal #bookreview #review
March 1, 2022
Something is Coming...
Details Coming Soon...
February 26, 2022
Book Review: Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel
Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel had me staying up late at night, enticing me to continue to the next chapter every time I ended one. On the surface, it’s a thriller circling around a set of cousins and the after-effects of unwillingly being part of a cult and the diverging paths they took after their adoptions. On the other hand, it also seemed to question what it means to be a woman and their responsibility to the world and population.
Buy/Preorder Just Like Mother on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pgvX9R
Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel had me staying up late at night, enticing me to continue to the next chapter every time I ended one. On the surface, it’s a thriller circling around a set of cousins and the after-effects of unwillingly being part of a cult and the diverging paths they took after their adoptions. On the other hand, it also seemed to question what it means to be a woman and their responsibility to the world and population.
Maeve is a single woman living in the city, working in the publishing world, avoiding any real attachment to anyone. Her cousin, Andrea, suddenly comes back into her life after being separated, a successful woman floating in wealth who wants her cousin's help in launching her line of robotic infants for women who have lost children or can’t conceive. There, of course, is something else she wants from her cousin, which leads to unfortunate events revolving around Maeve’s work and love life.
The idea of being thrown into a circumstance and a home where people who disagree with your lifestyle stay close to a loved one you believed you would never see again is a curious and terrifying premise. I was enamored by the cover to this book, but do not judge it by its cover. The use of the dolls, or creepy baby bots, as I call them, are few and far between and serve as set pieces to unnerve you when utilized. When I think of certain moments in the book as if it were a film, the dolls gave me the shivers. But to be fair, I think dolls are eerie anyways.
I can see where some people will have an issue with some of the characters and their belief systems regarding reproduction. If you do get offended, I encourage you to push through because it all makes sense in the end. That’s just one possible issue with the book that many may have—I want to put a trigger warning in this review for anyone dealing with sexual trauma. There was a chapter where I questioned the need to include a very detailed sex scene, but after going through the novel, I can see how the author, or an editor, felt like it needed to be included for character depth.
Just Like Mother is a page-turning thriller that deals with trauma and how it can keep us isolated from others and what happens when we hold onto guilt from the past and how it can be manipulated. Heltzel has written my favorite book of 2022 so far, and I will keep an eye out for more by her in the future.
4.5 Stars Out of 5
January 25, 2022
The Least of My Scars by Stephen Graham Jones Quick Review
This book is not for the faint of heart for sure as a one star review for this book made me feel the need to read it. I've admired Jones for a while now and to be honest helped bring me out of my writing slump recently and while The Least of My Scars is not my favorite, I believe that its a work that will come around again for people to discover. Its worth discussing at the very least.
Its a page turner that yanks you around like an unmaintained amusement park ride. To be honest, I had to go back a couple of times to make sure I understood what was happening which some may feel is a fault...I didn't. This is one of the most violent books Ive read but the scenery in the apartment, which most of the book takes place, reminded me of a early, gritty David Fincher film, like Se7en or The Game.
Check out this book here! https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin...
Id be lying if I said I've read something like it before, but if you've recently read any of his work, The Only Good Indians or My Heart is a Chainsaw, this might throw you for a loop and I mean that in the best (and maybe the worst way possible).
Rating: 4 out of 5
December 18, 2021
FREE SOLSTICE EBOOK
Get Solstice for FREE this weekend on Kindle!
FREE! FREE EBOOK! Need a new series to start? Try the first book in the Solstice saga for free!
Pls share if you would be so kind.
#freekindleebook #freeebook #kindle
December 11, 2021
Sundial by Catriona Ward Review
Sundial is a mother-daughter trip from Hell, shrouded in family secrets where blood runs thicker than water.
(Full Review Below)
Ward repeats the story telling technique from The Last House on Needless Street, titling each chapter as the character whose point of view you will read from, present and past, the latter being what drew me out of the book for a bit. In the beginning we are in the present until around page 100 where the rest of the book dives into the past of the main character, Rob, a mother of two whose daughter, Callie is acting strange. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but the next 150 or so pages tended to drag a bit for me as I became too invested in the present that all I wanted to do was tear through the pages to get out of the past which is quite vast, possibly to a fault for some. I feel it could be edited down a bit to help the flow. Don't get me wrong, we need these moments in the past for the ending to come to it's amazing crescendo of discovery and, well...I'll just leave it there.
Sundial, the place where most of the story takes place is a character in of itself. I had a great time mapping out where everything was in my mind and Ward does a great job describing it and the desert and how isolated from the rest of the world it feels from the ground to the dog cages outside. Speaking of which, this novel may be triggering for some as the book has moments having to do with animal experimentation and not in subtle way.
Because of this rating system it's a 4 star for me, but in my heart it's a 3 1/2. The overstuffed middle kept me from becoming more invested, and I really wanted to. However, I will still look forward to whatever this author come at us with next.
#sundial #catrionaward #thriller #psychological
December 5, 2021
New Book? We Will See
Its been 171 days since I finished my latest book and now I am playing the waiting game with a publisher to give me a yay or nay, and while I do so I think about if I will ever self publish again. But there no harm in planning ahead I suppose...
The Wolves of Nowhere, Ohio...just auto generated art to give me ideas for covers.
#indiepublishing #werewolves
