THE SPIRIT BOX and THE TROOP
Currently, I’m mostly reading manuscripts, but I did recently read two excellent novels that you might want to take on vacation with you this summer, or simply enjoy in the comfort of your backyard.
THE SPIRIT BOX by JH Glaze — As evidenced by my own Levi Stoltzfus series, I’m a sucker for a good occult detective novel, and I’ve eagerly read the adventure of Carnacki, Silver John, Repairman Jack, Kolchak, Harry Dresden, John Constantine, and countless others for many years now. In THE SPIRIT BOX, author JH Glaze introduces a new paranormal investigator to the canon, with John Hazard, a former police detective now using his talents to investigate the supernatural. It’s a superb, well-plotted thriller with rapid-fire pacing and genuine chills. If you’re looking for a new series, or if, like me, you love occult detectives, then I highly recommend this one. Available on Kindle and in paperback. Click the image above to purchase.
THE TROOP by Nick Cutter — Nick Cutter is a little bit like Marvel Comics’s Moon Knight — three alternate personalities (or in this case pseudonyms) embodied in one man. I’ve been a fan of all three for a long time. I’ve raved about THE PRESERVE (written as Patrick Lestewka) and RUST AND BONE and SARAH COURT (written as Craig Davidson) and everything else in his catalog. But THE TROOP is absolutely his best work to date. Part coming-of-age horror novel, part military-sci-fi thriller — it’s like LORD OF THE FLIES meets GHOUL meets SLITHER. There’s been a lot of debate lately about the growing segregation among horror’s sub-genres — something I’m against — which has led to in-fighting between fans of “quiet horror” vs. “extreme horror” vs. “zombies” vs. “serial killers” vs. “fans of novels featuring giant killer robot penguins”. Horror, when done right, can encompass all of these classifications (okay, maybe that last one belongs more in the Bizarro category). In THE TROOP, Cutter does this very thing, and he does so masterfully. This should appeal to a broad spectrum of horror readers, regardless of whether you’re a Stephen King, Charles L. Grant, Edward Lee, Sarah Langan, or Brian Keene fan. Available on Kindle and in hardcover. Click the image above to purchase.
