Gregor Xane's Blog, page 14

Animosity by James Newman

This suspense novel is damned near perfect. The only things keeping me from proclaiming this the best thriller I've ever read are some decisions two characters make in the second half of the novel that I didn't quite find believable. Other people might read the whole book and have no idea what I'm talking about, and that would be great. That would mean that they loved this thing even more than I did.

This book does everything a suspense novel should do:

- It kept me up late
- It prevented me fro...

In the House of the Worm by George R.R. Martin

This novella is a fine example of dark fantasy. The imagery is rich and weird and disturbing. It's a mix of horror and adventure that's claustrophobic, atmospheric, and gross. The terror of being lost in darkness, inside an underground maze, with hundreds of hungry slimy creatures swarming all around is perfectly invoked.

Imagine H.R. Giger building the world for and illustrating a tabletop role-playing game source book.


Read this book!

Concrete Gods by Harry Shannon & Kealan Patrick Burke

Reading this was like stumbling onto a really cool concept in a great artist's sketchbook. Yes, of course, it's rough and not entirely fleshed out, but it's still cool as shit.

Read this book!

The Damage Done by Mark Matthews

I saw where this one was going. But I don't know if I could say it was predictable, because it went where I wanted it to go and where I would have went with it.

I like stories about drug addicts and addiction. This story had a healthy amount of griminess, too, which I'm fond of.

You can grab this sucker free from Amazon, if you'd like.

Zombie Dash by Mark Matthews

First off, I'm not a zombie guy. I picked this one up because it was free, and I wanted to see if the author would avoid the most obvious thing in the world he could possibly do: include real zombies in an event featuring fake zombies. Sadly, he went down the obvious path, and this was a rather large strike against this piece for me.

The story had a cluster of glaring problems that a proofreader could have fixed. 'Feel' is used when 'fell' is meant. People 'flayed' instead of 'flailed.' That...

Wicked Smart Carnie by Mark Matthews

I'm partial to stories about carnivals and carnies and creepy sex and cribs filled with...

You're just going to have to read this one.

You can grab the Kindle Edition free from Amazon.

Music of the Gods by Richard Schiver

I enjoyed this more than I did Schiver's Bobo (reviewed here). This one was much freer with the concrete details and had a much clearer narrative through line. However, its overall impact was marred by some unrealistic dialogue, a storytelling cheat, and a predictable and cliched ending. Many of these sins could have been forgiven had the otherworldly aspects been more inventive, more intriguing.

Like Bobo, this looks to be permafree on Amazon.


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Bobo by Richard Schiver

I liked all the elements that made up this story, but I didn't much care for the execution. I understand that the protagonist was mentally unstable and that maybe the author was trying to emulate that with the storytelling techniques employed, but it didn't work for me. Following this story was as tricky as building a sandcastle on top of a giant block of Jello after both hands have been bitten off by a shark. (Okay, that bit about the shark is an exaggeration.)

But this is one that folks wi...

A Modest Collection of Slightly Shocking Fairy Tales by Richard McGowan

Of the works I've read thus far by Richard McGowan, this is my favorite. He's perfectly nailed the standard narrative voice of the fairy tale and has ratcheted up the cruelty and brutality so often found in tales of this type to a dizzying extreme. Although the title of this little collection claims that the stories to be found therein will be slightly shocking, I'd guess that most people would find them to be rather shocking, or exceedingly shocking. These pieces are chock-full of taboo sex,...

To Read or Not to Read by Vincent Hobbes

This story was entertaining enough, a pleasant read, like something you'd find in an old dusty anthology of twisted tales published in the 1960s. I enjoyed it despite the predictable ending, a few awkward turns of phrase, and the giggling female protagonist. She's a weary, 32 year-old mother of three boys and giggles non-stop throughout this thing like some simpering ninny you'd find in a Strawberry Shortcake cartoon. Odd.


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