Book Review: Midnight Walk Edited by Lisa Morton

Midnight Walk Edited by Lisa Morton
254 pages
Dark House publishing
$15.95

I have said more than a few times that Lisa Morton was the best short story author currently working in the field. Her command of the short form in horror tale reminds me of two other greats from her home town Dennis Etchison and Richard Christian Matheson. I am not alone in this opinion, Morton won the Bram Stoker award for best short story. So I was pretty excited to get this book in the mail. I was hoping for a great collection edited by one of the best.
The good news is that Morton shows she has a keen eye by putting together a great collection, featuring almost entirely authors from the city of angles where she is a rare native. This book features 14 authors who might not considered A-list writers now, but it should be in library collections because it is a showcase of talent that will some day reach that point for sure.
Highlight stories include 'Late Night check-in' by Vince Churchill, Alley Opps by Del Howison and Eddie G. At the Gates of Hell by RB Payne. The quality of the writing is quite strong and it is likely that your list of favorite stories may be different from mine. If your looking for a tradtional horror collection that spins it's yarns in literate and exciting directions take a Midnight Walk it's a top notch collection.

The Editor Lisa Morton contributed a story called 'Diana and the Goong-Si' which I enjoyed, being an author of Chinese Vampires myself. I am afraid unless you are fan of the Chinese hopping vampire movies such as Mr.Vampire or Crazy Safari you may not enjoy this strange story as well as those of us who have. It was is a well written yarn, but it is certainly more suited for fans of this obscure genre.

The book is introduced with an essay from the editor. The first point Morton makes about the anthology is the connection the writers have. I have always been a fan of regional anthologies and certainly this unique worldview helps set a tone for the book.

Is the horror genre stuck in the 80's recycling Stephen King settings and plots? Morton suggests that the genre needs to explore some new directions. Of course she is right, but the irony for me is that some of the more traditional horror stories in Midnight Walk such as Richard Grove's Silver Needle to me were the strongest. There is nothing wrong with nailing a traditional horror tale in your own voice.

Science Fiction writer Rudy Rucker referred to these aspects of genre as “Power cords.” Certainly the mainstream vision of horror fiction does involve Anne Rice novels re-written for tweens and 100 takes on Romero rules zombies. Sadly the authors who rely on recycling in that way are having no problem selling books. The original horror tale is alive in well in small press, the collection proves that you can make original variations with the traditional power cords.

It's fine line between traditional and original, the discerning horror fan enjoy writers who fall naturally on the that line without effort. I think you'll find several writers doing just that in Midnight Walk.

Lily Passed away

Our oldest rabbit Lilly passed away yesterday. She was our last Indiana rabbit. And the only member of our family that has lived with Cari since before we got together in late 2001. Lily was dumped in a pet smart in Indiana. Cari had a call from the shelter about her, she decided to adopt her right away. When she got there she discovered that Lily had bonded at the shelter with another big white bunny named Houdini.
The plan was to foster Dini and Lily and find a home for them before we moved to San Diego. We tried but no one wanted to huge white bunnies. To bad they were adorable. So they came to California with us. In 2004 a couple of months after our wedding Dini got very ill and passed away.
Lily lived alone for four years after that, she fought with every bunny in the house, even biting the end of Luna's nose off. We never thought Lily would ever get over the loss of Houdini. Then in 2008 Cari found a little lop bunny. When he can home we expected to bound him with Yuen and Luna.
I'm not sure how Cari figured out but one day I came home and found the little guy and Lily Grooming each other. I have never seen two rabbits so in love. Lily treated the very young puppy like her little son. They snuggled together all the time.
Lily has struggled in the last year with health problems, she was super smart. When she couldn't breath she used to jump on the bed to wake Cari up, to get help. In the last month she had a infected tooth, that caused white goop to come out of her eye. In the last few weeks she was losing mobility in her legs. She was having trouble breathing. The infection was causing her pain, and would never go away until the tooth was pulled.
We were faced with the horrible choice, risky surgery that she might not survive, or her never ending pain. We tried the surgery, she came out of it fine, but a few hours latter while our friend Ron was driving her home for us, she passed away.
Our friends were there for us. Ed and Randall helped me bury her under the stars up at Mt. Tabor. Now we are worried about her little son. He is young and most of his life he has lived and loved Lilly. He is starved for attention when ever we are in the bedroom. He follows the cat around presenting his head to be groomed, but Asimov doesn't understand. I think we will have to get another rabbit from rabbit advocates as soon as possible.

Screams up on amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Do a search for Screams from a Dying world and you'll find them, Shane Durgee's amazing artwork will not be up for a few more days. So yeah please buy my book!


Cell phone towers fall as an ancient prophecy plays out in the heartland. A young woman begs an angel to let her die, while trapped in an ecological wasteland. An android designed to be a sex slave plans her escape. With themes both serious and grotesque, these 13 tales of horror and science fiction will leave you wondering—how will it end? With a whimper or a scream?

“Screams from a Dying World by David Agranoff is a moving reading experience rich with descriptive prose that makes each story come alive and a subtle message that will leave you looking at the world in a whole new way.” —Horrorworld.org

“You’d likely find his collection of stories dark, imaginative and disturbing…These are stories that not only entertain, but they stick with you and may even challenge your thinking.” —Bram Stoker award nominated author Fran Friel

“Screams from a Dying World is the kind of dangerous stuff that makes its neighbors look like creepy comfort food. Agranoff brings an artist’s eye and an activist’s fist to these chilling reports from our war on the natural world, and restores a sense of beauty and purpose to a genre all too enamored of vapid shock tactics.” —Cody Goodfellow, author of Radiant Dawn and Jake’s Wake

“A kaleidoscopic burst of strange stories and righteous anger, balanced by a real concern for the future of our species, and more importantly, the ever-more-ravaged sphere we inhabit…a wonderful new voice.” Jeremy Robert Johnson, author of Siren Promised



Details

Author: David Agranoff
Publisher: Afterbirth Books
Edition: Trade Paperback
Release Date: May 2009
Page Count: 180
Cover Artist: Shane Durgee
Price: $12.95

Classic Serial Killer novel - Exquisite Corpse

I think any novel is better the colder you go in. The less you know the better. So Let me try to do as ambiguous of a review as possible. In the 90's the horror fiction community had a young rising star named Poppy Z. Brite. Her third horror novel, was the last she would write in the horror genre. She continues to write novels set in the restaurant culture of New Orelens, where she lives. I can see why Poppy burned out on horror after writing this book. Perhaps I am wrong about the reasons This book seems like it would be painful to write, it is basically a romance between two serial killers.

The sex in the book is also quite intense. there is a reason that Brite has a loyal gay male following.

I have a hard time imaging a more gruesome novel, Charlee Jacob's Haunter might be more gruesome but I found that book to be almost unreabable. While the splatterpunk generation of writers from John skipp to your Edward Lee's are known for the gore and grue nothing they have writen hold's a candle to Brite Transgressive 240 page horror masterpiece. Gruesome is just not strong enough of a word.

If that sounds intriguing then I suggest this book to you. If gore is not your thing but your interested in Brite's horror work then I suggest her second novel Drawing Blood. I prefer Drawing Blood myself but one thing about Exquisite Corpse is no one, not any other writer could have written Exquisite Corpse.

Spoilers...

I read this novel a few years back but picked it up again because I had a feeling I would be able to get things out of it I didn't the first time. The first chapter is probably the books creepiest moment and this book has probably the most effective use of of an opening quotation ever. The quote about Jeffery Damher manages to stick in your mind as the pages turn.

The center parts of the book tell a gruesome and interesting story Brite does an excellent job of building up concern for the main charter Tran before putting him a horrible situation. the end of the book has equal suspense to the opening and it cements EC as being one of the most hardcore serial killers ever written. Kiss the girls is like a harlaquin novel compared Exquisite Corpse.

David Morrell is back with The Shimmer

The Shimmer by David Morrell
Hardcover due out July 2009
352 pages
$25.95

I have written a lot over the years about David Morrell, he is the bestselling author who started the international thriller writers organization. He is most well know for his debut and often misunderstood novel First Blood. Over the years he has written action thrillers(Testament), horror (The Totem) and spy novels (Brotherhood of the Rose) to name a few.

His latest novel combines elements of many genres that Morrell has touched on before. What starts as a dark mystery that reminded me early on ‘The Totem’ Morrell’s early horror novel becomes something different. As the pages fly by the tone shifts many times. At times it has an action feel, at times it feels like a mystery or a techno thriller and in the end it is seamlessly blended into an eerie science fiction adventure novel.

The story is about Dan Page, a Santa Fe police officer and pilot whose wife one day disappears. When he follows the trail he ends up in Rostov Texas, which is home to an odd tourist attraction. Rostov is known for a series of lights that behavior strangely on the horizon, according legend they have been seen for hundreds of years.

As he did In 2004 Morrell's novel Creepers he has spun his novel off of true legends. The military and techno conspiracy seems an obvious invention of Morrell's you still find yourself wondering what is real throughout the book.

Morrell usually keeps his books fast paced by writing very short chapters, but not in the Shimmer. Morrell seems to spreading his wings a bit, going in a non-linear structure that includes flashbacks and a perfectly timed back story. What is most impressive is that the mystery is not easy to guess and keeps The Shimmer interesting right up till the last time you close the book.

New Earth Crisis video

Hey I put up a blog called Forged in the flames, which is designed to support my efforts to write an Earth Crisis biography. So That is where you should go if you want to keep following Earth Crisis news. I might do updates on the book here but Earth Crisis news will be there.

www.xforgedintheflamesx.blogspot.com

Book Review: Thrid book of Hellboy short stories!

I admit I am a late comer to the Hellboy phenomenon. I discovered him when I heard The G. Del Toro was making a Hellboy film. I went to the library and picked a few graphic novels and yeah I saw right away why this amazing filmaker wanted to do a Hellboy film.

If you only know Hellboy from the movies you are missing on some fine comic literature. That is not the only way to read Hellboy. A while back I read a greta Hellboy novel by the fantastic British horror writer Tim Lebbon. He followed in the footsteps of long time horror and tie-in author Christopher Golden who had written several Hellboy mini-series and novels.

Golden's coolest gift to Hellboy fans however has come from his editing of the Odd Jobs series which now in three volumes has featured Hellboy short stories from some of the most noted Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi writers working today. In book three Oddest jobs timed to be released with the second Hellboy film Golden has again assembled some heavy hitting writers.

I had originally picked up the book because it had the first collaboration between Splatterpunk Legend John Skipp and one of my favorite underground writers Cody Goodfellow. After picking it up I discovered tales by several of my favorite writers.

The Skipp and Goodfellow tale was short and effective tale about environmental activists trying to raise an avenging monster. Those two have sharp eyes for subtle political message – here is hoping they will get to do a Hellboy novel!

The highlights of the book for me included Stories by Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Braunbeck and China Mieville. China's story was a short funny piece about the effect of literature on the big red guy. Braunbebk brought Hellboy to the fictional Ohio town where many of his stories take place, neat surprise like Stephen King writing an X-files episode about Castle Rock.

The best story in the collection for me was the novella by Joe R. Lansdale. While casual fans know him as the man who wrote Bubba-ho-tep, he is much more. An extremely talented east Texan word-smith who writes demented and hilarious prose. I would LOVE a Lansdale Hellboy novel. He better than anyone in the book captured Hellboy's voice in first person and the story itself both vintage HB but also original concept.

Yeah Hellboy fans should check this book out.