Dave Zeltserman's Blog, page 28
March 22, 2015
Quick Quote #1 from KILLER
His new-found boldness was annoying and I decided I liked it better when he was too afraid to say much of anything. I leaned in closer to him and told him how he looked like a guy I once knew, and it was the truth.
“Duane Halvin,” I said. “Big roly-poly kid. Thirty years old and still had baby fat. Christ, the two of you could’ve been separated at birth.” I leaned in closer, added, “I had to put an ice pick through his eye, and the thing was, I used to see Duane all the time at the track and I liked the guy. He was fun to hang around. You, not so much.”
March 21, 2015
Buller of Prose #1 from PARIAH
He had a toughness about him, and his five grand Savile Row suit did little to hide the fact that he worked out regularly. He looked like someone who could've gone either way, the mob or something legitimate, and somehow ended up in the middle as a lawyer.
Quick quote #1 from PARIAH
He had a toughness about him, and his five grand Savile Row suit did little to hide the fact that he worked out regularly. He looked like someone who could've gone either way, the mob or something legitimate, and somehow ended up in the middle as a lawyer.
March 20, 2015
What people have been saying about THE BOY WHO KILLED DEMONS
"The sympathy that Zeltserman invokes on behalf of Henry is heartbreaking, and readers will fully believe in both the madness and the greatness of his tragic young hero.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Humor outweighs the horror in this amusing look at a 15-year-old saving the world . . . Zeltserman manages the voice of a teenager deftly, and the adolescent angst rings true. The demons are almost background to a tale about growing up.” —Kirkus Reviews
"Henry’s fortitude and single-mindedness will stir the hearts of adult and YA action fantasy fans" Library Journal
"His step-by-step progress toward demon slaughter could be read as standard supernatural-adventure fare if it weren't for the nagging impression to Zeltserman's credit, he never overplays it that Henry is schizophrenic, and he's unwittingly preparing to murder innocents. That possibility gives the book a highly upsetting edge." Booklist
'Like Stephen King, Dave Zeltserman makes the incredible come alive." Bookreporter.com
"Zeltserman has long doubled as a mystery and horror writer, and he’s equally riveting at both." WBUR
"A fun and clever read, great for fans of dark humor." Rue Morgue Magazine
'There's plenty of suspense and lots of chapter cliffhangers that make the book hard to put down. Zeltserman comes up aces again, with just the book for your Halloween reading.' Bill Crider
"Dave writes these modern pulps with attitude and jet propulsion, and has this new-school-old-school nasty streak that–forget getting under your skin–gets under your fingernails. BOY is no different." Paul Tremblay
" If you are not reading Dave Zeltserman you are not reading the right books. This year brought us Zeltserman’s The Boy Who Killed Demons and it was quite a great read." Regular Guy Reading Noir
"If you know a teen who's already read a lot of Stephen King, and laps up horror and funky sex as if these were breakfast cereal, you might want to share this book with that teen. Otherwise, keep it for yourself (provided you, too, are a horror fan!) and enjoy the journey back to your own teens, as you keep Henry company." Kingdom Books
"Dave Zeltserman is not new to horror but this book (Overlook, hardcover, October 15, 2014), is a slight departure for him. Henry Dudlow sees demons who are masquerading as humans and it is up to him to stop them. But he is only a teenager. This tale is less horror and more humor and mystery. Definitely it is representative of the lighter side of horror." Riffle Editor Picks: 2014 Best Horror Books
"Zeltserman has pulled off a neat trick here: this coming-of-age novel is genuinely scary and genuinely funny, two things that do not often work together. You could, I suppose, read the whole story as an allegory about the shock and horror so many teens experience when they figure out just how nasty adolescence and adulthood can be, or you can just take it for what it is: boy meets demons, boy fights demons, boy triumphs. Either way, it’s a fascinating tale. And the devils are in the details." Under the Covers
"I really enjoyed this book, and found it to be a nice mix of a believable main character, an interesting take on the whole seeing-demons idea, and a bit of wry humor." Fluidity of Time
"Much like his very good The Caretaker of Lorne Field that was much more mystery than horror, that is the case here with a novel that is much more science fiction or fantasy than horror. No matter how you personally would classify it, The Boy Who Killed Demons is a good read." Kevin Tipple
'For a YA novel, there’s plenty of action, a splash of horror and lots of suspense. It’s also loaded with drama which stems from being a teenager and from the curse that has befallen Henry.' DeadBuriedAndBack
March 17, 2015
March 14, 2015
Under the covers: The Boy Who Killed Demons
From Hartford Library's Under the covers blog:"Zeltserman has pulled off a neat trick here: this coming-of-age novel is genuinely scary and genuinely funny, two things that do not often work together. You could, I suppose, read the whole story as an allegory about the shock and horror so many teens experience when they figure out just how nasty adolescence and adulthood can be, or you can just take it for what it is: boy meets demons, boy fights demons, boy triumphs. Either way, it’s a fascinating tale. And the devils are in the details."
March 5, 2015
KILLER makes the cut for Germany's Best Crime Novels List
I'm very happy to see that Germany's crime jury made up of the country's leading crime fiction reviewrs has named KILLER #4 on their monthly list of 10 best crime novels.
February 10, 2015
Julius Katz and the Case of Exploding Wine
The latest Julius Katz story is available in the current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and you can read an excerpt from it online. Those who'd like to catch up on the earlier stories (plus read the original novella, Julius Katz and the Case of a Sliced Ham), The Julius Katz Collection is available as both a paperback and as a kindle ebook.
January 21, 2015
The Julius Katz Collection on sale!
My collection featuring 7 Julius Katz stories, which have so far won 4 awards, is on sale now for $0.99. This will be the only time this year this collection will be on sale.January 17, 2015
Killer on German Radio
Killer was recently reviewed on German radio by one of the Germany's top crime fiction reviewers, Thomas Wortche. A good friend of mine who's fluent in a half-dozen different languages translated the review for me:As of a few years ago one can observe a small renaissance of this romantic, yet often tasteless pathetic subgenre of criminal literature. The American author David Zeltserman and his novel "Killer" clearly belong to this tradition.
The story is, quite properly, nicely depressing. The main character is a contract killer for the mafia, who eliminated 28 people for his boss, but who at the end, for other reasons, blows up and gets an advantageous deal from the District Attorney. He rats out his boss and for that is freed again from a comfortable prison after just a laughable 14 years confinement.
A killer who kills well and gladly
Now he is an old, tired man who for a few dollars works as a cleaner [janitor] and must live in a dreadful, shabby apartment. All people hate him, all people despise him, his own kids are disgusted and traumatized by him. As he hinders a robbery, his person lands in the media, and we know that now the hunt for him is opened. And of course there is a pretty woman, who serves as coauthor of his autobiography, which, in light of [both] his misdeeds and his heroism will bring in a lot of money.
All will end, of that one is perfectly sure while reading, very horribly. But then Zeltserman spins the standard constellation of the Noir [genre] around, and fate is not inevitably tragic, there is worse than being unloved, joy can also be bought. Above all, when one reflects upon the virtue that one really has: the Killer can well and gladly kill.
Zeltserman makes out of a typical Noir loser, without greatly altering the environment, something a bit different: A species of neo-liberal version of the genre, in which he brings out that man whose actions will not be influenced by sentimentality. Only one thing is left over from the Classical concept: that beautiful women are not to be trusted.
