Glenn Rolfe's Blog, page 9
November 25, 2017
Purchase and Review FIGHTING BACK, Get a FREE eBook from this guy!
#ScarySaturdays #HorrorFiction #FuckCancer #Splatterpunk
Hey gang, If you dig splatterpunk, we have a new anthology of horror stories that will satisfy your latest cravings and help you help us fight cancer.
With stories from Kristopher Rufty, Matt Shaw, Duncan Ralston, Rich Hawkins, W.D. Gagliani & David Benton, Tim Curran, and more, this collection is just 3.99 in eBook and 9.99 in paperback. All proceeds are going to charity.
Get yours tonight! Buy a copy, post your review by the end of next week and I’ll send you a free eBook of any of my novels.
Cheers!
BUY HERE: FIGHTING BACK
To get your FREE Glenn Rolfe eBook, post a link to your review in the comments below or post it (and tag me) on Facebook. Also note which of my books you’d like a copy of :
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#SharetheHorror #GetRolfed
November 14, 2017
(Book Review) SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET Vol. 2
You know this place. Seems normal enough. But you know better, don’t you? You’ve heard rumors of strange histories. You’ve seen hints of dark deeds. Turns out you can go home again, and the shadows will be waiting for you.
Bram Stoker Award® nominated editors Doug Murano and D. Alexander Ward bring you the next installment of their best selling, critically acclaimed small-town Lovecraftian anthology series: Shadows Over Main Street, Volume 2. Within these pages, you’ll discover: * America’s pastime awakening dark secrets buried deep within the earth. * Vietnam War heroes who glimpse something worse than war and return home to discover a new kind of hell waiting for them. * The music of a generation—of many generations—revealed as something older, hungrier and more insidious than a bad acid trip. * A war-widow who rediscovers love and passion… only to cultivate the world’s end.
Featuring stories by: Joyce Carol Oates, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary A. Braunbeck, John F.D. Taff, Lucy A. Snyder, William Meikle, Ronald Malfi, Damien Angelica Walters, and others. With a foreword by Laird Barron and stunning illustrations by Luke Spooner.
Every turn you take leads back to Main Street. We’ve been waiting. Welcome home.
My review:
Shadows Over Main Street Volume 2 by Doug Murano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes an anthology has that lure, that pull, that innate ability to sink hooks beneath your flesh without you realizing it. While there are plenty of good horror anthologies out there, it takes a lot for one to grab hold of me like SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET (VOLUME 2). It can seriously take me all year to make my way through an entire anthology, especially ones with a specific theme. I get to the point that I no longer care about the theme and give up, even if I admire the authors. So I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
I’m a sucker for small-town tales. I’m growing an appreciation for the Lovecraftian realm in which these stories breathe and move, slithering tentacles across the brain, and welcoming you home with that gentle song from another world.
These are the ones that stood out for me:
“Shug”by John Taff – This one felt like a mix of Bradbury ‘s The Martian Chronicles and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. I wasn’t sure I liked it a few pages in, but it ended up being my favorite. Just a really well-told story that made its home beneath my skin.
“Something in the Water” by Douglas Wynn – This is the story that made me grab this anthology. I read a bit of Wynn’s behind-the-story post via Twitter and knew I had to read it. Watch your tongue when you come to Wynn’s little town. Loved it.
“Disintegration is Quite Painless” by Max Booth III – I’ve read a lot of Max’s larger works. For the most part, they haven’t been my cup of tea. They’ve been a bit too weird for my taste, but very well-written, and Booth’s talent has never been in question. I knew it was only a matter of time when he wrote something that would blow me away. This one is a traditional/straight-forward horror tale. If you love Stranger Things, you’re gonna enjoy the hell out of this one. The beginning was amazing, and even though the story went in a bunch of different directions, I loved each and every one. I can’t wait to get this version of MB3 in novel form.
“1570 KhZ” by Damien Walters – No surprise that the Queen of Short Stories delivers another gem. This one features a young girl that wants to help her father. He sits in a garage listening to a strange frequency that is shifting his moods. This one is great.
“Sunset on Mott Island”by Lucy Snyder – the opening story, Snyder’s piece subtly lures you in on the waves, while bringing on the impending doom. Charmingly cryptic to the end.
“Duck Hunt” by Joe Lansdale – A few of these have a rites-of-passage theme to them. I just enjoyed Lansdale’s take the best. Thought I knew where it was going, but I was wrong. Fantastic.
There were really only two or three stories I didn’t care for in here, but even those were well-written.
This is a very impressive collection for fans of Lovecraft and/or small-town horror.
Even with the couple of so-so stories,
I give SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET (VOLUME 2)
5 stars!
Get your copy here: SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET Vol. 2
November 9, 2017
Splatterpunk Zine NEW charity anthology: FIGHTING BACK!
FIGHTING BACK is a new horror anthology from Jack Bantry and Kit Power.
All proceeds will be going to charity.
“….all royalties will go to the MacMillan charity. MacMillan nurses go into cancer patients home and nurse them through the final stages of the illness and help loved ones left behind. It’s a charity close to my heart as my sister-in-law died recently after suffering for 5 years and I know everyone is touched by cancer in some way.” – Jack Bantry
Check out this line-up of stories and authors:
They Swim By The Night – Adam Millard
Melvin – Matt Shaw
Extinction Therapy – Bracken MacLeod
The Going Rate – John Boden
The Passion Of The Robertsons – Duncan Ralston
Hellscape – Rich Hawkins
Molly – Glenn Rolfe
Only Angels Know – George Daniel Lee
Limb Memory – Tim Curran
Feast Of Consequences – David Benton & W.D. Gagliani
Darla’s Problem – Kristopher Rufty
Get your copy: FIGHTING BACK
In other Rolfe news, you can still sign up for the Get Rolfed Horror Club newsletter. Sign up today and get a free eBook copy of my short story, “One of these Things…”.
(Just message me your email address via Facebook or Twitter (or comment below, if you’d like)
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October 21, 2017
OCTOBER HOUSE: Some of my Favorite Halloween Reads
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There’s nothing us horror writers enjoy more than sharing the horror. We write because we fell in love with reading. We fell in love with stories that moved us, frightened us, aroused us, and made us say, “What the fuck?” Horror has it all. Good horror especially. Heart and soul, ghouls that take hearts and souls, love stories, lust stories, blood and rain (he, he, he) and all the guts, perseverance, and monsters and heroes you could ever want, or want to see bested.
Here’s a few of my favorite October reads ever, and a few other suggested titles, too.
Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.
With this, his second novel, Stephen King established himself as an indisputable master of American horror, able to transform the old conceits of the genre into something fresh and all the more frightening for taking place in a familiar, idyllic locale.
It all has to start somewhere…. My favorite book of all-time, STEPHEN KING’s ‘SALEM’s LOT. I’ve read this four times (all in October). You can do no better than this one.
Purchase here: ‘SALEM’S LOT
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The town of Stillwater has a very unwelcome resident.
The town of Stillwater has been dying – the long and painful death of a town ravaged by floods and haunted by the ghosts of all who had lived there. Yet this most recent flood has brought something with it – a creature that nests among the good folks of Stillwater…and feeds off them. The children who haven’t disappeared whisper the same word – “vampire”. But they’re wrong. What has come to Stillwater is something much more horrific.
Easily one of my other all-time favorites, Ronald Malfi delivers the perfect October concoction with his novel, THE NARROWS. If you’ve enjoyed his recent hits (BONE WHITE, LITTLE GIRLS, THE NIGHT PARADE), try this one for your next October read.
Purchase here: THE NARROWS
“Hell House is the scariest haunted house novel ever written. It looms over the rest the way the mountains loom over the foothills.” — Stephen King
Rolf Rudolph Deutsch is going die. But when Deutsch, a wealthy magazine and newpaper publisher, starts thinking seriously about his impending death, he offers to pay a physicist and two mediums, one physical and one mental, $100,000 each to establish the facts of life after death.
Dr. Lionel Barrett, the physicist, accompanied by the mediums, travel to the Belasco House in Maine, which has been abandoned and sealed since 1949 after a decade of drug addiction, alcoholism, and debauchery. For one night, Barrett and his colleagues investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townsfolk refer to it as the Hell House.
Okay, definitely one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. HELL HOUSE reads like a highbrow literature version of a Bentley Little book. Twisted, scary, and wonderfully written, Richard Matheson reset the true standard for haunted house tales.
Purchase here: HELL HOUSE
The classic supernatural thriller by an author who helped define the genre
First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
My wife is currently reading this one for the first time. Jackson set the original standard for haunted house novels with this beauty. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE has a creeping death type of vibe. By which I mean, it crawls under your skin and slowly pulls you down. Jackson succeeds without the gore and gruesome revelations of say, HELL HOUSE or THE SHINING, but hits with just as much impact.
Purchase here: THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
There are all kinds of legends about the forests of Central Pennsylvania, and in this sequel to DARK HOLLOW, the truth about those legends is finally revealed.
Halloween is coming, and a new haunted attraction is open for business in LeHorn’s Hollow. Folks will come from miles around to walk down the spooky trail and get scared witless. But there’s one thing the owners of the ghost walk haven’t counted on. There really is something waiting in the woods-a vast, ancient evil whose hunger threatens to consume all life on Earth. Soon, the unsuspecting customers will pay their money and get in line… to die. And only one man, occult detective Levi Stoltzfus, can save them and stop the evil before it is unleashed.
What’s better than a book set around a Halloween attraction? Brina Keene’s GHOST WALK is a fun October ride with one of his best characters, Levi Stoltzfus.
Side rant here…. I am probably in the minority, but I prefer his Leisure book covers over the newer Deadite ones. To me, the LB covers look more professional. The newer ones would actually deter me from picking up the books. A little too nasty for my taste. BUT each and every one of Keene’s novels are worthy of your time. Pick one up today!
Purchase here: GHOST WALK
During the great depression, a small backwoods community in Iowa face even more difficult times than most, having to endure the slowly fading sanity of their leader, Reverend Joshua Miller. When it’s clear the man has slipped beyond the edge of reason and perhaps signed a deal with the devil, the citizens unite to stop him any way they can, breaking into the church to lash the reverend to his wooden alter cross then boarding up the windows and doors to leave him to fate and God’s judgment. The people of Oak Valley then abandoned their town to the cornfields and woods; ending the madness for what they hoped was forever.
They were wrong!
Seventy-four years later, the corn and trees have taken back the area and not much is left of the once thriving little community but Joshua Miller’s desecrated church still stands, and within its boarded up and sun-baked walls something that used to be a holy man waits for whoever is unfortunate enough to release him from his cross…
THE SCARECROW WILL WALK AT MIDNIGHT
One of my favorite books by Gord Rollo. This one is guaranteed to scratch your Halloween horror itch. Also, if you’re a fan of King’s IT, check out Rollo’s other offering, CRIMSON.
Purchase here: VALLEY OF THE SCARECROW
THE PAST NOT ONLY HAUNTS. IT HUNTS.
In a small, rural Arkansas town in the midst of World War II, hotel house detective George “Jojo” Walker wearily maintains the status quo in the wake of personal devastation. That status quo is disrupted when a hygiene picture roadshow rolls into town with a controversial program on display and curious motives in mind. What begins with a gruesome and impossible murder soon spirals into hallucinatory waking nightmares for Jojo—nightmares that converge with his reality and dredge up his painful, secret past. Black magic and a terrifying Luciferian carnival boil up to a surreal finale for the town of Litchfield, when truth itself unfurls and Jojo Walker is forced to face his own identity in ways he could never have expected.
Ed Kurtz delivered in last year’s THE RIB FROM WHICH I REMAKE THE WORLD. Fans of the classic Leisure Books Horror stories will mLOVE this one. If that’s you, make this your next buy.
Purchase here: THE RIB FROM WHICH I REMAKE THE WORLD
Another recent scare, DREAM WOODS, from author, Patrick Lacey, offers some great characters set in a Little-esque world. AND it’s just 99 cents!
Terror abounds! A theme park setting is the perfect horror ride.
Purchase here: DREAM WOODS
And if you’ve read all these already, check out Sinister Grin Press for more. ALL of their eBook titles are on sale for $2.99 or less!
Check them out here: SINISTER GRIN PRESS
Lastly, check out any of books here: GLENN ROLFE
Happy reading!!!!\
October 14, 2017
(Album Review) AS YOU WERE by Liam Gallagher
(Album Review)
AS YOU WERE by Liam Gallagher
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After two Beady Eye records, Liam Gallagher’s post-Oasis life seemed, well, like we might just be waiting for the Brothers Gallagher to reconcile and give us the “better together” music we Oasis fans were waiting for. Let’s face it, even Noel, the genius songwriter, gave us two so-so records. When word hit the streets that Liam was preparing his first solo record, I tempered my expectations, while simultaneously praying for something like “Songbird” or “Out of Time”, but without Noel to help fully shape Liam’s tunes, I wasn’t about to hold my breath.
The first track we got was the very cool, very-Liam “Wall of Glass”. This one opens AS YOU WERE, and rightfully so, it’s full of the rock n roll swagger Liam has exuded since bursting on the scene with Oasis on 1994’s Definitely Maybe. There’s even a bit of Definitely Maybe’s psychedelic fuzz present in the spaces between verse and chorus.
“Wall of Glass” is followed up by “Bold”. Another terrific track that features Liam’s first playful jab at Noel’s last record: “When I wake up and I hear you say, there’s no love worth chasing yesterday…” “Bold” is laid back yet simmering with Gallagher’s petulance.
“Greedy Soul” continues the “I am Liam, hear me roar, or don’t, I don’t really give a fuck” waltz. While some of Liam’s silly lyrics show up in the verses, the pre-chorus and chorus just make this song so awesome. Gallagher’s voice sounds amazing.
And then, we get to “Paper Crown”. Written by outside contributors, this one is my favorite track on the record. It is beautiful, very Beatle-y, and Gallagher’s best vocal on the record. I LOVE this song.
“For What It’s Worth” is another standout, and maybe the closest Gallagher has come to a power ballad since “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” or “Don’t Go Away”. As much as I love this song, it is the first point in the album where I missed Noel’s Midas touch. There are empty spaces before and after the great chorus that leave the track feeling like a very well-produced demo version. I yearned for either Noel’s guitar and/or backing vocals here. Whatever, the song is still pretty stellar.
“When I’m in Need” is the first so-so song on the album. Maybe some will like it better than me. I would have left it for a b-side.
Thankfully, the album doesn’t waste any time kicking back into high gear with four five more great songs: “You Better Run” and “I Get By” are hard-charging, foot-stomping arena-ready rockers, while “Chinatown” acts as a nice, and much needed breather. Dumb lyrics try to derail the song (*note-Gallagher didn’t write this one. Outside writers are to blame), but if you can ignore them, it has a great chilled vibe. “Come Back to Me” is another one of my favorites. It has a very “Be Here Now”-vibe to it. I dig it.
“Universal Gleam” and “I’ve All I Need” are great ways to close the album out. Honest lyrics from Gallagher set to very chilled, “the party’s over” mid-temp music. Personally, I would have went with one or the other to close it out, but they’re both strong tracks, so…all’s well that ends…..well.
Overall, I give AS YOU WERE a B+ rating. A very pleasant surprise. Better than either Beady Eye or High Flying Birds record. Better than a number of Oasis records. Liam sounds fantastic, the songs are all good to great, and really only held back at all by some spotty, nonsense lyrics. But if you’re an Oasis fan, you know not to expect Springsteen in any Gallagher message. Liam is roaring, and it’s time to rock n roll. As you were.
Favorite Tracks: “Paper Crown”, “Wall of Glass”, “Come Back to Me”, “For What It’s Worth”
Grab a copy: LIAM GALLAGHER- AS YOU WERE
October 7, 2017
(GIVEAWAY) WIN A SIGNED COPY OF BECOMING
This beauty could be yours!
Something ancient has wormed its way up from the earth….
A change has come today.
After Michele Cote’s best friend disappears, no one believes her story about the thing responsible for his abduction. Forced to figure out the mystery for herself, Michele encounters terror she has never known, and witnesses the impossible.
When other members of the community begin to change or vanish, Sheriff Shane Davis must look beyond reason in order to stop the evil seeping into this small town. With help from an unlikely source, Sheriff Davis will come face-to-face with the truth.
You can’t destroy what you don’t understand. For the town of Avalon, Maine, the future is about change…for better or worse.
Becoming is the next horrifying novel from author, Glenn Rolfe.
Includes the bonus novella, Boom Town.
ENTER AT THE GOODREADS LINK BELOW
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Becoming
by Glenn Rolfe
Giveaway ends October 30, 2017.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
September 30, 2017
It’s my birthday! Have a book on me.
These titles are all on KU, but today only, you can get Blood and Rain and The Haunted Halls for just 99 cents each, or grab copies of Becoming, Slush, and Out of Range for FREE!
Here are the link to each title:
BLOOD AND RAIN: http://mybook.to/BloodandRain
ABRAM’S BRIDGE: http://mybook.to/AbramsBridge
BECOMING: http://mybook.to/GetBecoming
CHASING GHOSTS: http://mybook.to/GetRolfedChaseGhosts
THINGS WE FEAR: http://mybook.to/ThingsWeFear
SLUSH: http://mybook.to/Slush
THE HAUNTED HALLS: http://mybook.to/TheHauntedHalls
Thanks for downloading and reading. And reviewing, if you feel compelled to do so.
#ShareTheHorror #ScarySaturdays #HorrorFiction
September 23, 2017
(Book Review) THE WARBLERS by Amber Fallon
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After the sun would go down, I’d hear them out there, back by the shed, shrieking their twisted warbling cries out there in the night, followed by squeals of whatever prey they’d managed to hunt down.
When his rural farm becomes overrun with terrifying beasts called Warblers capable of eating livestock, dogs, and even people, 14-year-old Dell McDale’s life is torn asunder. He watches through the eyes of a boy on the verge of becoming a man as his father is forced to go to awful lengths to rid the family home of the infestation, culminating in a confrontation between Dell and a local bully-turned-soldier on a night that will change everyone involved, forever.
The Warblers is a mysterious tale of a young man learning what fear can do to people and what happens, when in order to fight monsters, one must side with another monster.
My Review:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
THE WARBLERS (Eraserhead Press, 2017) by Amber Fallon is a novella that surprised me. After reading her novella, THE TERMINAL (Flesh Pulp Press, 2016), I thought I knew what to expect (horror, lots of action-filled horror), but with THE WARBLERS, Fallon takes a different approach.
“Don’t be a fool, boy. Graveyard’s full up fools.”
The story is a coming-of-age yarn from the point of view of a 14-year-old boy named, Dell. Dell’s family’s farm is in danger from a group of vicious birds (the Warblers) that have taken up residence behind their shed. Dell’s pa decides to call for a “special” kind of help to eradicate the problem. That’s the gist of the tale, but within, there are so many nice bits and beats.
“I thought of the horses in front of my uncle’s carriage and how they had looked on smelling the warblers. I imagine we must’ve looked about the same way.”
I recently read THE BOTTOMS by Joe R. Lansdale, and I picked up a very similar vibe from Fallon’s story. That’s a fantastic compliment to the author. I was impressed with her style, her patience, and her ability to put together such a well-rounded story, full of characters and heart.
As with the aforementioned Lansdale book, THE WARBLERS isn’t really a horror story, and that’s okay. It’s a great piece of fiction, a wonderfully surprising novella that shows Fallon’s fearless versatility.
I would liked to have seen more of the viscous birds, but I know we can’t always get what we want. Oh, and the handler’s (you’ll know who I’m talking about when you read this book) were totally worthy of more book time, too. See, sometimes the problem is that author creates so much goodness, we want more. That’s a good thing.
I give THE WARBLERS 4-4.5 stars.
Definitely recommend this one to people who like great storytelling.
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Amber Fallon lives in a small town outside Boston, Massachusetts that she shares with her husband their two dogs. A techie by day and a horror writer by night, she’s also spent time as a bank manager, motivational speaker, produce wrangler, and apprentice butcher. Her obsessions with sushi, glittery nail polish, and sharp objects have made her a recognized figure around the community.
She’s the author of The Terminal (Flesh Pulp Press, 2016), the forthcoming collection, TV Dinners From Hell, and many other stories that have appeared in a variety of anthologies.
Follow her on Twitter: @Zombiegirl
Visit her blog: http://www.amberfallon.net
or listen to her podcast IT COOKS on Project Radio
September 16, 2017
Update City: You are so gonna Get Rolfed for the next two years.
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These should be the next three releases you guys get from me…
A collection (Land of Bones), a novella (Follow Me Down), and my fourth novel (The Window).
After that, I have Waiting for Darkness (Blood and Rain sequel/novel #5) and August’s Eyes (novel #6).
I’ll have short stories in a number of upcoming anthologies, as well. Look for me in The Black Room Manuscripts 3 (Sinister Horror Company), VS: Extreme (Shadow Works Publishing), plus a couple of special publications that I can’t mention yet.
I have plans to attend Stoker Con in Providence, RI in March and (if I can make it) Scares That Care in August.
Stay tuned.
September 15, 2017
NEW RELEASE : Todd Keisling: UGLY LITTLE THINGS (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Happy release day!!!!
“ Todd Keisling is a born storyteller, drawing the reader into artfully constructed narratives that scout the darker end of the literary spectrum with skill and bravado. A pleasure to read, his stories linger well after the last page has been turned. Excellent stuff.” –John Langan, Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Fisherman
“Keisling writes in the shadows, his words like that first long drag on a cigarette after work. I couldn’t help coming back for more, and before I knew it, that one story, that one cigarette, turned into the whole pack.” –Stephanie M. Wytovich, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Brothel and The Eighth
“
In Ugly Little Things, Todd Keisling ventures deep into the dark abyss of cosmic horror. What he finds there–or what’s found him–will terrify you. This varied collection is tailor-made for fans of existential dread. Prepare to face the void. Try not to scream.”
–Brian Kirk, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of We Are Monsters
“Todd Keisling’s promise delivers with Ugly Little Things. The only time you will dare to look away from the page is when you stop to look over your shoulder. He’s earned his right to sit on the shelf alongside King, Koontz, and Ketchum.”
–Eryk Pruitt, author of Dirtbags and What We Reckon.
“The author has a keen, lucid understanding of suffering, which lends each plot-line extra heft and depth. These stories contain tenderly and humanely rendered characters who are drawn towards various forms of uncanny annihilation. After reading this excellent collection, I’m eagerly awaiting whatever Keisling produces next.”
–Jon Padgett, author of The Secret of Ventriloquism
“One of the few perfect story collections I’ve ever read. Todd Keisling will keep you guessing page after page.” –Armand Rosamilia, author of the Dying Days series
My review:
Todd Keisling’s short fiction is damn near perfect. He’s a writer that cares about his productions, each and every creepy little one. He has a knack for crafting short, explosive, mind-bending, heart-wrenching, and downright frightening stories. If you like dark fiction or love great writing, you need to read this collection.
I give it an overall rating of 4.5 stars.
*Note: I read most of these stories in their original, singular release.
Here are some notes about a few particular stories in the batch…
SAVING GRANNY FROM THE DEVIL 5/5
Little Toddy loves his Grandma. And he should have listened to her when she said not to play down the street. He should have listened to her when she warned him of the devil’s trickery. When Toddy roams too far from Grandma’s yard and runs into the bullies down the street it’s a curiously dead dog that comes to his rescue. If he saves your life, he’s gotta be your friend, right? And so it begins.
Keisling spills a lot of his own blood on the pages of this tale. Toddy and Grandma, and later on, Toddy’s girl, Erica, all come from a place not so untouchable, but from the author’s life. To incorporate such truths with such seamless ease into a fantastically dark vision is both scary and quite honestly, inspiring.
The fact that Keisling’s dark walk with the devil is as full and heavy hitting in such a relativity small piece is yet another testament to his storytelling ability.
He hit it out of the park with his last piece, When Karen Met Her Mountain, and he does so again with Saving Granny from the Devil. I absolutely loved this story.
RADIO FREE NOWHERE 3/5
Nice short piece here. I always like a good siren story. I know it’s a short story, but boy I wanted more. I didn’t get enough here to love it, but the fact that I want more tells you that what is there is pretty fun.
THE HARBINGER 4/5
This is the new story in Todd Keisling’s fantastic Ugly Little Things short story series. “The Harbinger” bleeds creepiness. Shades of Halloween III and Village of the Damned (a great mix IMHO), stirred with Keisling’s own demented imagination, bring this frightful tale of a strange little town to life.
WHEN KAREN MET HER MOUNTAIN 5/5
You want a prime example of how a short story should go? “When Karen Met Her Mountain” is what you’re looking for. Todd Keisling spins this little number like a seasoned pro (that’s right, your King’s, your Silva’s). Creating a complex character like Karen is not something every writer can do. From the pain of her past–her mistake, and her miscarriage—to the strained relationship with her husband, Martin, to her intertwined therapy sessions, Keisling’s “Karen” is one powerful package.
All of this and I haven’t even gotten to cult and the killings!
Building on the promise of the first story in his Ugly Little Things short story collection “Radio Free Nowhere”, Todd Keisling hammers it home with “When Karen Met Her Mountain”.
Seriously, if you dig the short fiction of King, David Silva, or Robert McCammon, Mr. Keisling’s “Mountain” is waiting to be your next great discovery.
THE OTHER LAND EXPRESS 4/5
The Other Land Express (Ugly Little Things # 5) by Todd Keisling is a fantastic little piece. Keisling builds a portrait of a boy (Gregory) who can’t be comfortable in his own skin. After his abusive father catches Gregory with his pants down during a video chat with another boy, Gregory takes a beating that serves as the last straw. Gregory packs up and heads west. He is leaving his father in his rear-view mirror. But is Gregory also leaving himself?
Enter John Doe. Enter the tribe of the Nobodies.
Welcome to the Other Land Express.
Shed your skin. You can be anyone you’d like.
Keisling’s tale takes a turn here, and I dare say it felt a bit like a Clive Barker joint.
I won’t give away anything, but you should definitely give this short story a read.
Keisling’s ability to inject such depth into his short fiction work is inspiring. My only gripe was that it ended before I was ready. I wanted to see more of the Other Land.
All in all, I give The Other Land Express a strong 4 stars
THE FINAL RECONCILIATION 4/5
Todd Keisling’s THE FINAL RECONCILIATION is a rock and roll nightmare set to the soundtrack of the end time. Take off your mask and rejoice!
This novella is strange, creepy, and filled with rock n’roll. What’s not to love?
Another feather in the cap for Mr. Keisling.
GO BUY THIS NOW! (Click the link below)
https://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Little-Things-Collected-Horrors-ebook/dp/B073FMBPMN/ref=la_B002RDT0T0_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505476387&sr=1-1
