Good Reads: Deering, Lansdale, & Piccirilli
There are several reasons why you should be reading Rachel Deering's creator-owned, lesbian werewolf comic Anathema. I just gave you two of them ("creator owned" and "lesbian werewolves"). If you care about supporting the horror genre's creators, or greater roles for female creators within the genre, then support Anathema — a six issue horror comic that tells the story of Mercy Barlowe, a tormented young woman out to reclaim her lover's soul, which has been stolen by members of a sinister cult, bent on resurrecting a terrible and ancient evil. If, like myself, you're a fan of Warren Publishing's Rook or Mike Oliveri's The Pack, then you will most certainly dig this. Rachel has a Kickstarter campaign ongoing right now where you can learn more about the comic and find out how to support it. Click here for full details and please contribute.
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Every year, people try to guess which books and graphic novels will end up on my annual Top Ten of the Year list. Well, even though it's only April, I can virtually guarantee you that the latest novels from Joe R. Lansdale and Tom Piccirilli will both have a slot. Both are among the strongest works in either author's canon. Both are also excellent introductory books if you've yet to read these fine authors.
Lansdale's Edge of Dark Water is a period piece and coming of age tale about three misfit teens who are on the run with some stolen money and the ashes of their dead friend — which they intend to take to Hollywood. Think Huckleberry Finn meets Of Mice and Men meets Boy's Life, as imagined by Hisownself. And that description doesn't even begin to do it justice. The characters are some of his best since Hap and Leonard. Beautifully-written, heartbreakingly-rendered, and a plot that will haunt you. This is Lansdale at his absolute best. Available now in hardcover and Kindle. Click here to order.
Piccirilli's The Last Kind Words is a compulsive, character-driven, deeply engrossing noir novel in which a former thief faces a reluctant homecoming to deal with: his brother's pending execution by lethal injection, a mob boss with a grudge, a serial killer, his grandfather's Alzheimer's, the romance between his childhood sweetheart and his best friend (both of whom he abandoned), his little sister's new boyfriend and his plans for a jewel heist, the fact that his father has been lurking in people's closets, and a host of other problems, both hilarious and disturbing. Piccirilli manages to deftly weave these disparate plot strands together into a taut, tense, and at times bittersweet and funny crime thriller. Available soon in hardcover and Kindle. Click here to pre-order.
