Terrific collection of gothic horror tales!
Click on the link below for my full review:
Epeolatry Book Review: Tales of the Gothic, ed. Christopher Stagg
Here’s a link for the book on Amazon too:
Category: Book Reviews
Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent-Book Review
I was drawn to this story just by reading the synopsis and I was not disappointed. There is a dark fantasy element to this story, but dare I say it, it has a literary bent to it as well.
Click on the link below for my full review on The Horror Tree.
Epeolatry Book Review: Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent – The Horror Tree
Here’s a link on Amazon for the book too:
We’re Not Ourselves Today-Book Review
Loved this anthology filled with wonderful stories of pulp horror from the beautiful and creative duo of Jill Girardi and Lydia Prime!
Here is the link to my full review at The Horror Tree:
Epeolatry Book Review: We’re Not Ourselves Today by Jill Girardi and Lydia Prime
Here’s a link to Amazon for the book too!
Hot Iron and Cold Blood-Book Review
This is my second review for The Horror Tree. My first review was not my best writing, so I read some articles on writing book reviews sent to me by my HWA mentor, Catherine Jordan, and I feel this one is a a bit better. I hope to steadily improve my writing as I continue this journey.
This is a terrific anthology with a mixture of the old west and classic horror. I highly recommend it and here is a link to my full review at The Horror Tree:
Here is a link to Amazon for the book too!
Future Book Reviewer for Horror Tree
Thanks to my HWA mentor, Catherine Jordan, I will soon be writing book reviews for Horror Tree! Wizard Witch Warlock is my current read and destined to by my first review. I’m going at it a bit slowly though because I’m working 50 plus hour weeks at the moment. This is due to so many retail pharmacists leaving the industry because of unacceptable conditions throughout this business. Read about CVS/Walgreens strikes here.
Pharmacist in my area aren’t currently striking, but I fully support my pharmacy brothers and sisters. My company is currently in the process of hiring, so hopefully by early November, I’ll get my first review completed and start writing full steam ahead again.
I’m excited to be a reviewer for Horror Tree and hope to fulfill this position with the best of my ability!
Happy Halloween month everyone!
The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn
So this is the first middle grade horror story that I’ve ever read and I’m so impressed with it! I Googled best middle grade horror stories because I have an idea for a series of my own and wanted to get a better feel for it. Google suggested, Mary Downing Hahn, and Google was right! She has many books and I plan to read more of course, but I’m super partial to old school ghost stories and this fits the bill!
This story has all my favorite things: abandoned house, little girl ghost and not just any little girl ghost, but one that’s been hiding for more than a hundred years. Also, my other favorite thing is present; very brave not-ghost girls.
Mary Downing Hahn writes so well and seemingly with ease. This story just flows and is crazy hard to put down.
I would give this ten stars if I could! Uber-highly recommend this story!!!
From the Depths-Multiple Authors
So, after a long hiatus accompanied by multiple day job changes which resulted in massive life disarray, I am making my triumphant return with a review of an excellent anthology that seems to have been overlooked by the masses.
Lydia Prime edited this anthology and also has a story within its pages. The incomparable, Ramsey Campbell, introduces the stories inside with an insightful foreword.
The writers were asked to come up with stories that expressed who they are as authors. Many of them explore the true demons that haunt humanity. Alcoholism, death, lost love, and cowardice are themes that many of us have experienced first hand. Horror as a genre often utilizes monstrous beings to represent our greatest fears and weaknesses.
Some of these stories, like a great many horror stories, straddle the lines of horror/sci-fi/dark fantasy. This is one the things I love most about horror. It colors outside the lines.
There is a Stephen Kingish, leave you guessing, element to many of these tales, which is another thing I love about this genre. It encourages deeper thought after the story ends and I think many writers are drawn to it because of that. There is always more to the story, thus more that can be written.
I highly recommend this book, a five star read for sure!
Watchers-by Dean Koontz
So I finally read a Dean Koontz book. I started with Watchers because several people in my circle said that it’s his best. Well it is entertaining, but incredibly simplistic. Everyone is too wonderful in this book. Well, there’s one guy that’s so awful that I would cringe when he showed up, but all the other wonderful people make up for that one guy. There’s a guy that’s sad that his wife died to the point of being suicidal, but he gets over that pretty easily. And a girl who was basically locked up from society her entire childhood and early adult life by a crazy aunt, but she gets over that pretty quickly too. Oh yeah, and of course she doesn’t realize how beautiful she is… Then there’s a guy who’s marriage is suffering, but not because he’s having affairs or anything. He just works too much. But forget all that simplicity and just read it for the dog, the wonderful dog!
I don’t get why people categorize Dean Koontz with Stephen King. Maybe because they’re both rich horror writers? Stephen King doesn’t allow any of his characters to be this wonderful and sappy though. Even the heroic ones have bigger issues than just being introverted or workaholics and such. It’s like how holy roller Christians group Satanists and Athiests. Not the same thing at all.
Anyway, I’m not giving up on Dean Koontz yet. I acquired this whole collection of his books from a friend:
Anyone want to suggest which one I read next?
As for Watchers, I give it 3 stars. It gets that many because it is a very entertaining read and if you’re a dog lover, you’ll love it just for the awesomeness that is Einstein, the Golden Retriever! Oh and of course there is a cool monster, but I feel sorry for him. Kind of like a Frankenstein’s monster sort of scenario.
Darkness Calls: Tales From the Shadows-by Alyson Faye
This anthology was my first excursion into the wonderful and brilliant mind of Alyson Faye! I will definitely be looking for more from her! It was right up my alley, with deadly angels and ghost children and the like. I especially love ghost children!
I was reading, “All the Lost Children” (in broad daylight on my patio) and then heard children laughing outside in the distance and nearly jumped out of my skin! 
Horror writing at its best!!!
All the stories are awesome in this anthology and she hits the ground running with everyone’s favorite anti-Santa, Krampus.
I loved every story but shoutout to, “All the Lost Children” and “Shadow Children” because, well, ghost kids, and “Fallen Angel” because angels aren’t supposed to be nice! I also loved “Dream Catcher” and would love to see a whole novel spring from that one!
Buy it here for your Kindle on Amazon, guys!
Hantu Macabre by Jill Girardi
Hantu Macabre is a thrill ride from start to finish! Jill Girardi takes us on an awesome trip through the landscape and ancient mythology of Malaysia. The main character, Suzanna Sim, is a tough, but down on her luck private investigator of black magic and occult crimes. She’s had a rough life after being abandoned at a very young age, but she never lost her heart. Her assistant is a toyol, which is a supernatural creature capable of sneaking in and out of places unseen by the inhabitants. A very useful skill when investigating other worldly crimes!
There are so many twists and turns in the novel and surprises right up until the end. The book leaves the reader wanting so much more and I can’t wait til Jill give us another glimpse into the life of Suzanna Sim!
This is for sure a 5 star read because it’s story telling at it’s best, with no dull moments.
Carlita's Cosmos 