Dave Zeltserman's Blog, page 36

Three very different types of horror

"Superb mix of humor and horror" Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"a very darkly funny dark fantasy" Locus Magazine

The Caretaker of Lorne Field was a Black Quill nominee for best book of the year, and was shortlisted by the American Library Association for best horror novel of the year and later selected by them as one of four modern horror novels that librarians should be recommending. The Caretaker of Lorne Field is quiet horror. The current caretaker believes in his heart that he's saving the world each day by weeding a field of monsters. Others in his town think he's nuts. Is this a story of monumental sacrifice or growing madness?
**
There was no movement among the Aukowies. When they were that small they played possum and tried to act as if they were nothing but weeds. Most people looking at them would think they were nothing but an odd little weed. But Jack Durkin knew differently. If he squinted right, he could make out their evil little faces in their offshoots, and he knew those little pincers were more than thorns. He’d watch them wait until there was a wind, then pretend they were swaying in it, all the while really trying to wiggle themselves further out of the ground. They were clever little suckers, Jack Durkin had to give them that. Once they got to two feet in height, they wouldn’t bother with their act. At that size they’d be whipping about as if they were caught in hurricane gales, not giving a damn about keeping up their masquerade. Jack Durkin never let one grow that high, but he’d heard stories from his pa about it. According to his pa it took hours to subdue several of them that had gotten to that height, having to first throw boulders on top of them to pin them down.

According to the book of Aukowies eight days would be all one needed to mature and break free from the ground. One mature Aukowie would wreak havoc, a field of them would ravage the world in a matter of weeks.

 
"You don't get much more gothic bang for your buck." Los Angeles Times

"This reworking of Frankenstein is chilling and captivating!...A tale of justice, true love, and ultimate forgiveness, this gruesome novel is perfect for fans of Stephen King and similar horror stories." ForeWord Magazine, Pick of the Week
Monster was selected by WBUR (NPR Boston) as one of the best books of 2012, and was recently picked by Booklist Magazine as one of the top 10 horror novels of the last 12 months. Monster is gothic horror. What if everything a dying Victor Frankenstein told Captain Walton aboard his ship were outrageous lies to protect his name? What if the true story had Frankenstein and the Marquis de Sade in league to create their own version of Hell? And now after 200 years the monster gets to tell the true and horrible story of Victor Frankenstein?**An animal instinct woke me. The sun had barely appeared in the horizon and a gray haziness filled the air. Moving stealthily towards me was a member of the clergy, and he carried a pitchfork as if his plans were to run me through. He was less than five feet from me, and as I was startled awake by his approach, he jumped backwards, his large craggy face waxen in the faint early morning light, his mouth opened to form a rigid circle.

“You are lying on hallowed grounds, daemon!” he swore at me, his eyes wide as they reflected a mix of fear and self-righteousness. “Do not blasphemy this area any further with your presence. Begone!”

“And what makes you so certain that I am a daemon?” I asked.

“Your hideousness marks you as such!”

My hood had fallen off my head during my sleep exposing the full grotesqueness of my appearance. But I was not about to be chased away by this man.

“You do not know the goodness in my heart,” I said. “Now leave me so that I may grieve alone.”

He spotted the flowers then that I had placed by Johanna’s grave, and his eyes took on a wicked look as his chest swelled with piety and a false bravery.

“One can only wonder at the evil nature of the witch that has been buried in this grave to attract a daemonic creature such as yourself. She will need to be dug up from these sacred grounds and her body burned. Now begone!”

He moved forward as if to stick me with his pitchfork. I grabbed it from him with the same quickness that I had displayed during my battle with the wolves. I rose to my full height so that I towered above him and only then did I snap the pitchfork in half and toss the pieces to the ground. The priest stood in front of me trembling, fear striking him so greatly that he couldn’t speak or move.



"I've just read the manuscript of Dave Zeltserman's new novel, Blood Crimes. This is one of the few fresh takes on vampirism I've read in years. It's as if Charles Bukowski sat down and said, OK, Bram Stoker, how about this?" -- Ed Gorman, author of Cage of Night and The Poker Club.
"The prolific and wildly talented Dave Zeltserman serves up a fast, furious, frightening and (yes)funny orgy of bloodletting. Makes "Grindhouse" look like "Little House on the Prairie." -- Roger Smith, author of Dust Devils and Mixed Blood
Blood Crimes is a mix of horror, noir and dark urban fantasy. Jim and Carol  carve a homicidal path cross-country. Jim is infected with the vampire virus. Carol isn't. Yet. But they're united in their hunt for society's most dangerous predators for Jim's dinner -- so he can feed without harming the innocent. What they don't know is that they're not alone. There are others on their trail, and the climax of BLOOD CRIMES is a shocking jolt of pure mayhem and rock 'n roll violence.**
Vanessa was taking a pint from one of the livestock. She nodded at Metcalf as he approached, he nodded back. She had been a prostitute before he infected her. Originally he had picked her up to be a replacement for one of the dead livestock, but he liked the way she looked—long red hair that fell halfway down her back, sultry lips, almond-shaped green eyes and a thin waist with near perfect legs. Her breasts were smaller than what he typically liked—no bigger than what would fit in a champagne glass, but they had a perky quality to them so he decided to overlook that flaw, and besides, the infection would shrink them anyway. The infection had since bleached out her hair and had shrunk her tits to the size of small apples, but she dyed her hair the same reddish color as before and even with the changes to her body that the infection caused, he still liked the way she looked. There was something else about her that he found himself instantly attracted to. It took him a while to figure out what it was, but he eventually understood it. In her own way she was as ruthless as he was, even reminding him a bit of Serena, although she wasn’t nearly as cunning or as crazy. Since the other vampires were complaining about how overworked they were—and because of his immediate attraction to her—he infected her and added her to the staff. He was glad he did. Unlike the others, she accepted her situation and never showed any self-pity. As far as her competency, well, she never really developed a touch for drawing blood and was rough with the livestock, but it didn’t much matter. She’d get a pint out of them regardless of how many times she had to poke them searching for a vein. And it was not as if any of them were going to complain. All in all, Metcalf was glad he chose to infect her instead of making her one of the livestock.

MONSTER makes Booklist's 2013 Best Horror Novels

I'm very happy to see Monster make Booklist's 2013 Top 10 Horror Fiction and be included in such fine company.

Interview up at AuthorsOnTheAir

I was recently interviewed by Pam Stack and Stephen Campbell over at AuthorsOnTheAir (BlogTalkRaido) where we talked about a number of things, including my novels Monster and Outsourced, the path Fast Lane took to publication, Julius Katz and Archie, and a sidetrack into some of my experiences as a software engineer.

Pariah makes best of the year in Germany!

When was released in the US it made several best of the year lists, including Washington Post's best books of the year and topping this list on Bookgasm. Now the German edition has made this prestigious list for best crime fiction!

Sure Bets + On the air later today

The American Library Association recently listed the following 'sure bets' in these genres

ADRENALINE (Adventure, Suspense, Thrillers)
Josh Bazell.Beat the Reaper.Justin Cronin.The Passage. Gillian Flynn.Gone GirlGregg Hurwitz.Trust No One.
FANTASYGail Carriger.Soulless.Lev Grossman.The MagiciansErin Morgenstern.The Night Circus.Patrick Rothfuss.The Name of the Wind.
HISTORICAL FICTIONSarah Blake.The PostmistressPaula McLain.The Paris WifeMadeline Miller.The Song of AchillesJulie Orringer.The Invisible Bridge.
HORRORJoe Hill.Heart-shaped Box.Michael Koryta.The Ridge.Adam Nevill.Last Days.Dave Zeltserman.The Caretaker of Lorne Field
MYSTERYS.J. Bolton.Now You See Me.Alan Bradley.The Sweetness at the Bottom of the PieLyndsay Faye.The Gods of Gotham.Jo Nesbø .The Snowman.
Also at 2 pm EST today I'll be talking with Pam Stack about my mysteries and my  crime and horror novels. I hope folks can tune in!

A Killer Confession

The idea for Killer was inspired by hitman John Martorano killing 19 people and being able to strike a deal for a ridiculously lenient 14 year sentence in exchange for testifying against Whitey Bulger. While that was the inspiration for Killer, I purposely didn't research Martorano for several reasons, including that I didn't think it would lead to the type of book I wanted to write (I wanted my hitman Leonard March to have significantly more depth to him than little I had read about Martorano) and I didn't think it would be respectful to his victims. So instead from that initial seed of inspiration a fully fictional story was born. What strikes me now when I read Martorano's testimony in the Whitey Bulger trial is how similar Martorano's crimes were to the ones committed by my fictional Leonard March.

Some recent Monster love

Recently said about Monster:
 
"Gripping, evocative, horrific, and even poignant." -- author Tom Piccirilli

"In this enjoyable horror, Zeltserman twists the original by Mary Shelley around, and instead posits the doctor Frankenstein as the mad murderer, and the 'monster' as his unfortunate victim, Friedrich Hoffmann. Structured as a chase, the novel has the necessary pace and tension, but it also takes time to depict a Sadeian world." The Herald Scotland

"Think of what makes for a happy day: pleasurable immersion in the moment and coiled anticipation of what is to come.  That’s how you feel reading this novel.  Dave Zeltserman is a monster storyteller." Jildy Sauce

 

The Shannon Novels --- On Sale

The Shannon Novels is on sale now for $2.99. This is a collection of my two Bill Shannon novels originally published by Five Star, BAD THOUGHTS and BAD KARMA.


"Dark, brutal, captivating -- this is one hell of a book, the kind of book that doesn't let go of you once you start it. Dave Zeltserman is clearly the real deal." Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning author of THE LOCK ARTIST

"This fast-paced, gritty psychological tale balances the fine line between mystery and horror" Library Journal

"Bad Thoughts is an ambitious genre-bender combining the paranoia and existential dread of the best noir with a liberal dash of The Twilight Zone. Not to be missed." Poisoned Pen Booknews

"Detective Bill Shannon is back and a welcome return it is." Booklist, Elliot Swanson

"top-notch P.I. reading" Bookgasm

If you like your noir uncompromising

What readers have been saying about my man out of prison noir trilogy (read here what the critics have been saying):

"Zeltserman's writing is brave and innovative and a sheer pleasure to read. "

"A delirious ride into the abyss that lurks inside all human beings and only a few brave authors dare set free. True noir."

"Everything I Love About Crime Fiction"

"What can I say about Small Crimes. This book was, beyond a doubt, absolutely brilliant."

"The book gets credit for being unafraid to show us a bad guy, no redeeming features, and play it out."

"Zeltserman is hands down an amazing writer. He accomplishes a fairly difficult feat by creating a protagonist you are both rooting for and at the same time are unsure whether or not to like."

"I am a huge fan of Zeltserman's work--THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD was probably my favorite read of the year--but I was warned that PARIAH was much grittier, hard-boiled, and noir. I suppose it is, in its satirical and purposeful look at some of the elements of society that may bring about its downfall (not to overstate the point). But Zeltserman's prose styling, and sharp insights, make it rise above the usual noir novel, which I might put down. His work reminds me of Gillian White's, and Andrew Klavan at his best--think: THE EMPIRE OF LIES--and although PARIAH may leave you weary and shaken, it will also leave you understanding more about how we got here, which is the most I think we can ask of a book."

"Reading Dave Zeltserman's PARIAH was a slam to the side of the head with a sledgehammer, and that's a good thing if you enjoy digging into the mechanizations of the criminal mind."

"Kyle Nevin [PARIAH] is one of the fiercest characters I've read in a long time. If you like your crime hardcore, this is the book for you!"

"Richard Stark's anti hero Parker, may be the most well known and popular ruthless villain in hard crime fiction, but Zeltserman's Nevin, he'd give Parker nightmares."

"Dave Zeltserman is the Jim Thompson of the twenty-first century. It's clear from the first chapter of PARIAH that Kyle Nevin is a dark and disturbed character, but the extent of his psychosis isn't clear until you're deeply into the novel. Just when you think he can't get any worse, he does. It's a fascinating, shocking read, as well as an incisive commentary on our celebrity-obsessed culture."

"this is classic noir at its bleakest level."

"The dark joy of these novels, however, is that they never quite go where you think they will."

"Astounding."

"What truly drove the narrative of Killer for me, though, was the humanness of March. He appears so frail, so out of sorts and institutionalized, as if he's simply traded one type of prison for another once he's left jail. Of course, the honesty of the narrative and it's protagonist is brought into question once you reach the end of this incredibly satisfying, fast paced novel."

"KILLER is simply bad ass."

"I loved this book [KILLER] from the first page until the very end."

If you like your noir pure and unadulterated

What the critics have said about my man out of prison noir trilogy:

"The plot of Small Crimes ricochets out from this claustrophobic opening, and it's a thing of sordid beauty." Maureen Corrigan on Small Crimes, NPR's top 5 crime and mystery novels of 2008

"Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel [Small Crimes] deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy" Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"spare but ingeniously twisted and imbued with a glossy coating of black humor." Washington Post picking Small Crimes as one of the Best Books of 2008

"Denton is one of the best realised characters I have read in this genre, and the powerfully noir-ish, uncompromising plot, which truly keeps one guessing from page to page, culminates with a genuinely astonishing finale." --David Connett, Sunday Express

"ultra-noir, funny, and shocking by turns" Barnes & Noble

"Small Crimes proves a deft entry in the tradition that goes back to Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me, James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice and Charles Willeford’s High Priest of California — small masterpieces celebrating the psychopath as a grinning archetype, as American as apple pie." Sun-Sentinel

"as nasty and clever as noir can get" NPR

"If there's any other young writer out there who does crime noir better than Zeltserman, I don't even want to know." Washington Post picking Pariah as one of the Best Books of 2009

"Darkly enjoyable... clear, crisp prose; his fearless portrait of amorality; and his smart plotting... what a fine addition to the local literary scene he’s become." Boston Globe

"Pariah is a terrific blast" Metro (UK)

"I just finished reading Dave's new novel Pariah. It is one of the most crazed, hilarious, bitter, brutal novels this side of those composed on violent wards." Ed Gorman

"PARIAH IS ALL I KNOW OF BLISS AND LAMENT. BLISS AT READING A SUPERB NOVEL AND LAMENT AT KNOWING THAT DAVE ZELTSERMAN HAS NOW RAISED THE BAR SO HIGH, WE'RE SCREWED" Ken Bruen
"Spare prose and assured pacing place this [Killer] above most other contemporary noirs." Publisher's Weekly

"With graphic imagery and exciting twists, this novel [Killer] is impossible to put down and has a surprising ending. A brilliant read." Aberdeen Press & Journal

"Dave Zeltserman is at it again writing about ex-con antiheroes with the kind of panache that would make Jim Thompson, king of the psycho killer novels, proud." Boston Globe

"Written in a spare, terse style, and with chapters alternating between past and present, we slowly learn more about March. But even then the closing chapters present a devastating twist and shocking conclusion." Sunday Tribune

"This novel [Killer] is everything hard-boiled fiction should be - compact, direct and disciplined, and concerned with humans rather than stereotypes. It is also, for all its violent subject matter, a quietly told story, which makes its tension all the more intense" Mat Coward, Morning Star

"Dave Zeltserman's Killer is simply one of the best crime novels I've read. Not in a long time, not in ages, not this year, but ever." Juri Nummelin, Pulpetti