“One Monster Is Not Enough” by Paul Finch

0
Posted on by

I became familiar with Paul Finch through his anthologised short fiction, and he always ticks all the boxes. One Monster Is Not Enough, a themed collection of 8 novellas and novelettes courtesy of Gray Friar Press, continues that tradition of quality. With the freedom to expand his tales, this book is a treat.One MonsterIt kicks off with one of the shorter stories: “The Old North Road”. Here we find a down-on-his-luck historian travelling to a ruined abbey for a project on the legendary Green Man. He meets a suspicious couple out in the quiet countryside, and the unease notches up slowly towards a terrifying climax in which the supernatural almost takes a back seat to the three human characters. But only almost.

“The Tatterfoal” concerns the widowed wife of an 80s pop star. She arranges for his former band-mates and family to attend a party in her isolated mansion: a place rife with tales about the legendary man-horse of the title. This story keeps us guessing throughout, and ladles on the atmosphere including the best use of fog since… well, The Fog. My only complaint is that it felt slightly too long, and shorn of a few pages, it would’ve been truly unputdownable.

“Calibos” is an immediately gripping SF story in which a titanic mechanical crab – designed to harvest seabed specimens – clambers onto dry land and wreaks a trail of carnage across the country. We follow a crack squad of soldiers into the crab’s guts as they try to bring it down, fighting off the brilliantly anatomical internal defences. Although this is a lighter tale, it’s not without horror, especially when we encounter the human “specimens” the Calibos has collected and processed. The angle of innocent technology gone awry is handled with aplomb, and it also reflects on the value of human life within the world of politics.

Next up is a story with a strong urban flavour. Set in Manchester, “Hag Fold” is a serial killer tale told by an ex-cop. The childhood reflections are superb, and reading it is like watching a grim jigsaw being assembled.

“The Retreat” is a definite favourite. Set during World War II, a group of German soldiers trek across the frozen Russian Steppes and discover a forest shack that seems strangely welcoming. Utterly intriguing from the off, this story has a nightmarish quality to which the hardened soldiers respond perfectly. It’s also notable for its battle scenes, which are nothing short of breathtaking. To read brutal, realistic, wince-inducing bloodshed in such elegant prose is an unforgettable experience, and you would think the author was actually there.

“Kid” is narrated by a tough, bitter ex-boxer. He plans to tell his ex-wife what he thinks of her – and knock her new fella’s teeth out – but instead gets lost in a threadbare and indifferent part of London called Baker’s Wood. He’s an eloquent narrator, despite his primal nature and other shortcomings. I won’t ruin the surprises, but the whole package is a triumph of both concept and voice.

In “Red in Beak and Claw” we meet Ben: gangster muscle in the witness protection programme. When he’s relocated to a country cottage with his wife, he learns of a local robber’s hoard said to be protected by a gigantic, man-slaying cockerel. This tale shows the author’s talent for keeping those pages turning fast, and like the previous story, you engage even though the protagonist is somebody you might avoid in the street. This investment is helped by plenty of character back-story, but as always, not a whiff of infodumping. The conclusion doesn’t quite have the clout as some of the others, but it certainly isn’t disappointing, and it’s a brilliant story to re-read once you know what’s going on.

“Crow-Raven” brings the entertainment to a close. The first couple of paragraphs give a rather bland tour of a medieval manor called Buckton Hall. Okay. Then the narrative begins to describe a couple of murdered corpses in that same polite, slightly jocular and informative tone of a tour-guide, and suddenly I was beaming. This is writing. It transpires that Buckton Hall used to be owned by a family of vicious hunchbacks, and we follow the efforts of a specialist police unit for investigating strange and paranormal crimes. The whole thing pans out like the pilot for an English adult version of the X-Files with plenty of humour, gore, scares, and a dollop of sexual tension.

I suggest getting hold of One Monster Is Not Enough immediately. All the stories are strong. They conclude with a satisfying flourish, with not a hackneyed twist in sight, and the supernatural tales are just as real and chilling as those with concrete foundations. Paul Finch also has an extraordinary ear for dialogue: there are big-budget scriptwriters who can’t pen scenes as natural as those in this book. Regardless of genre, it’s genuinely heart-warming to see the short fiction form in the hands of somebody so bloody good at it.

Gray Friar Press

Paul Finch

Review – “Pretty Little Dead Things” by Gary McMahon

2
Posted on by

During the last year, I’ve enjoyed watching Gary McMahon rise from a champion of the small press to the bigger leagues, and his lastest mass market release perfectly demonstrates why this is so. This novel is a very tight combination of noir, horror and character drama.

In Pretty Little Dead Things, we meet Thomas Usher, a man who loses his wife and young child in a traffic accident, but develops a supernatural talent to keep him busy through the years of bitter grief. He can see the recently deceased, and they want to tell him things. As the story progresses, and he investigates the murder of a gangster’s daughter and the kidnapping of a local child, it becomes clear that his gift is the only thing that keeps him trudging through life. He yearns for redemption, yet refuses to let go and punishes himself with tattoos to commemorate those he has failed.PrettyAs with all Gary’s previous publications, the characters are strong right down to the cameos. I expected to become weary of Usher’s grief-stricken self-flagellation, but the pathos is such that I discovered myself right in his corner, and the other characters – including an old romantic interest and a cancer-addled police colleague – also force your investment. And you won’t forget the menacing figure of Mr. Shiloh and his plastic, soulless smile.

The author’s attention to detail is as sharp as ever. He has a neat trick of  allowing the subconscious to notice little things that you only fully acknowledge later on when they turn out to be important. Perhaps his prose is slightly less rich than before, but this isn’t a complaint. Far from it: silent narration takes real writing skill.

This book has a very bleak atmosphere at times, and some segments are nightmarish in their lucidity. A scene involving some recently deceased corpses dangling from the protagonist’s landing is an image so clear that I might as well have seen a photograph of it. This makes it very difficult to forget. And after Usher is menaced by faceless hoodies, walking through the city at night after reading this isn’t quite the same.

There are creepy layers of reality throughout – some ghostly, others concrete – but even with the latter, everything seems slightly off-kilter and wrong: the essence of any quality piece of ghost/horror fiction.

It’s a less “noisy” novel than Hungry Hearts – his 2010 zombie novel from Abaddon books – and feels more like old-school Gary McMahon. Here, he relies more on mood and atmosphere rather than action. But that’s not to say Pretty Little Dead Things doesn’t slam its foot on the accelerator when required. The first part of the book has a gentle, more literary flavour, but it has all pleasingly kicked off by the end.

As usual, I can do nothing but recommend this book. The follow-up Dead Bad Things is due later this year, and I’ll be at the front of the queue, rubbing my hands like a hungry ghoul at the kicked-in doors of a city morgue.

Angry Robot

Gary McMahon

More love for “Living After Midnight”

0
Posted on by

Living After Midnight (which contains my novella “Iron Maiden”) received a glowing review from Kent Allard at Dead In The South and also Jim Mcleod at Ginger Nuts of Horror.LAMThere’s also a featured interview with stalwart editor David T Wilbanks here at the Indie Books Blog.

If you haven’t sampled this delightful e-tome yet, it’s available at Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Diesel, Barnes and Noble… whether you want pdf, Kindle, Nook… so you’ve no excuse but to rock your hard and heavy soul over there and bag one.

As a couple of folks have asked, these stories aren’t about the bands, or even necessarily about music (although you will meet a few fictional rockers, of course). They’re just dark tales inspired by the music that the authors love. So you’re more into country, techno, hip-hop or reggae? Matters not a jot. Just don’t expect too much sunshine…

Review – “Roots” by Daniel I Russell

0
Posted on by

I’ve been reading more and more e-books recently, lured by the price, immediacy and sheer number of titles available. I particularly like the opportunity to casually download single novelettes or novellas, which during the days of print-only publishing, would’ve been part of a larger and more expensive collection.

One such particular pleasure is “Roots” by Daniel I Russell. In this standalone novelette, we meet Richard, a regular copper frustrated by an increasing number of missing person cases in the neighbourhood. Unbeknownst to him, the murderous culprit lives right across the street, and has been using the butchered corpses to fertilise his garden. But there’s a very hungry and dangerous bit of greenery in that garden, a plant that absorbs the memories of the dead. And it’s growing stronger…RootsThere are no crime procedural elements to this story: this is proud horror and all the better for it. It throws the tropes of serial killers, the undead and monster vegetation together and the results are a crisp and well constructed tale. Roots has the air of a chapter in a television show, like an episode of Masters of Horror or a particularly lurid Tales from the Crypt. The author’s matter-of-fact prose style helps, letting the dialogue and actions speak for themselves and making for an effortless read.

There’s plenty of threat lurking throughout, both subtle and immediate, so even moments of domestic normality seem shadowed and askew. The violence is realistic, and one particular assault from the monster induced an actual writhe. But the author understands there can be as much horror in a footstep echoing down an empty street or a rustle in the trees, and uses such atmosphere and tone to great effect.

My only complaint was an odd situation involving a lift home from a nightclub during which a woman ended up wandering the deserted streets alone. It didn’t quite add up, and felt like she had been shoehorned into jeopardy for the purposes of a scare. But it’s my only complaint, and that scene is still pretty terrifying once it gathers momentum.

Give it a shot. Roots delivers half an hour or so of monstrous fun and is certainly worth the price.

Daniel I Russell

Favourite Books of 2010

0
Posted on by

Some of these were actually 2009 releases, but it wasn’t their fault they were adrift somewhere in the middle of my eternally towering to-be-read pile for a year or so.

So in no particular order, my top 10 genre reads of 2010 were…

  • The Harm – Gary McMahon
  • Nekropolis – Tim Waggoner
  • Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland – Carlton Mellick III
  • Mostly Monochrome Stories – John Travis
  • Taste of Tenderloin – Gene O’Neill
  • Null Immortalis: Nemonymous #10 – Various Authors (Edited by DF Lewis)
  • The Seventh Black Book of Horror – Various Authors (Edited by Charles Black)
  • Tide of Souls – Simon Bestwick
  • In Sickness – LL Soares and Laura Cooney
  • One Monster Is Not Enough – Paul Finch

Forced to pick, my overall favourite has to be Paul Finch’s “One Monster Is Not Enough”. It’s an exceptional collection, which made it onto this list before I was even half way through.

Living After Midnight!

0
Posted on by

I’m very pleased to announce that the “Living After Midnight” ebook – which includes my novella Iron Maiden –  is now available from Acid Grave Press.

Edited by David T. Wilbanks and Craig Clarke, this anthology contains 6 horror and dark-fantasy tales inspired by rock and metal bands. You’ll find werewolves, high-seas mythology, zombies, ancient magic, motorbikes, beer, blood and plenty of volume! A lot of passion went into these stories so it’s great to see the book out there.

Table of Contents:

  • Spooky Tooth by Randy Chandler
  • Iron Maiden by Matthew Fryer
  • Black Sabbath by Steven L. Shrewsbury
  • Judas Priest by David T. Wilbanks
  • Motorhead by Kent Gowran
  • Slayer by L.L. Soares

You can download it from Smashwords in whatever electronic format you can think of, and all for a mere $2.99 (Just under £2). For the Kindle edition, it’s up at Amazon and Amazon UK.

Grab a bottle of Jack, crank it up to eleven, and enjoy.

Jean Rollin 1938 – 2010

1
Posted on by

I was sad to learn that prolific French erotic-horror film-maker Jean Rollin died on December 15th after a long illness.

The few films I’ve seen of his were pleasingly stylish as well as lurid, and “Fascination” summed it all up for me. Set in a beautifully-shot French castle, it features period costume, theatrical dialogue and a cast of blood-drinking lesbian killers.The image of a semi-naked Brigitte Lahaie, stalking a victim across the castle moat with a scythe is one that refuses to be forgotten.

RIP Jean. May your heaven be full of nudey vampire girls.

Review – “In Sickness” by LL Soares & Laura Cooney

1
Posted on by

I fancied something ghastly to read, so “Stories from a Very Dark Place” sounded like just the ticket.

LL Soares and Laura Cooney are a husband and wife team, and reading this alarming book makes me wonder if they should ever have been allowed – for the good of humankind – to form such a terrifying partnership. Dubbed “the Bonnie and Clyde of the horror genre” by Brian Keene, they have very different voices, but both pack an equal punch, and many of the situations presented here will simmer long after the book is closed.In sickness“In Sickness”  is divided into 3 parts: a solo selection of stories from each author, followed by a collaboration. Laura Cooney is up first, and “Wasps” is a powerful curtain-raiser. Here we meet Clint, a young boy who can’t shake off the ghost of a slightly odd and embarrassing girl he’d been forced to play with before her brutal death. It evokes the guilty frustrations of childhood with an uncomfortable poignancy, and concludes with an ice-cold blow.

“The Hirsute You” is a solid monster story before we plunge into “Puppy Love”. For me the most chilling piece in the book, it’s a subtle study of a woman who plays constant psychology with both her rescue-shelter puppy and new girlfriend. It unsettled me for several reasons, and the atmosphere of control and abuse is just as disturbing as what actually occurs. An incredibly effective piece of writing.

Next is “A Crown of Mushrooms”, a slice of self-destructive desire starring Rasputin, the Mad Monk himself, before part 1 concludes with “Number 808”. This is a sharp story with a dystopian flavour about a lonely victim of abuse. The bitterness of exploitation drips from the pages; Laura Cooney writes with her finger on the pulse,whatever the subject matter.

While his wife infects your imagination and unsettles your conscience, LL Soares has more of a lurid attack to his stories, favouring direct jeopardy and letting the actions of his characters speak for themselves.

First we meet Julie in “Little Black Dress”. A nervous, straight-laced girl, she decides to don the fish-nets and dress up as a saucy witch for Halloween. Despite the initial liberation and empowerment, she gains perhaps more than she bargained for. It’s engrossing, with moments of palpable threat that we share thanks to the strength of the characters.

Location is also put to good use in LL’s fiction. “Second Chances” haunts us with a hardened drinker who is drawn back to a beach of blue clay, before we venture inside the “Mating Room”. Here a doctor uses unwilling women in his treatment of a lustful missing link called Billy, and it has a rewarding pay-off for those who can stomach the sexual violence.

“Head Games” is a grisly yarn featuring a troop of intelligent monkeys before we lose all hope in “The No! Place”. This is a triumph, the title referring to a mental refuge into which an abused woman retreats from her vicious boyfriend. Engaging right from the first line, it forces us to share in the helpless plight and makes for a very tense read: certainly not your average abuse/revenge tale. The pitch-black twist might have even made my jaw drop a little.

Closing part 2 is “Private Exhibition”, describing a human exhibit in a public gallery who aggravates her physical wounds and refuses to let them heal. Dealing with need and personal scars, it’s one of LL’s less visceral stories but leaves an appropriately bitter taste.

Part 3 is the collaborative title novella and I was fascinated to see what this marital hybrid entity would produce. “In Sickness” introduces a married couple, Zach and Maddy, deteriorating beneath the weight of their personal demons. They’ve suffered several pregnancy miscarriages, and Zach keeps a pregnant mistress while Maddy hits the bottle, both haunted by ghosts of what could have been. The dialogue is uncomfortably realistic, and the tale juggles rage and tenderness with aplomb. The inevitable descent slowly turns down the dimmer switch towards a conclusion that ends the book perfectly. And that’s in a very dark place indeed.

These two authors clearly love what they do, and that twisted passion has resulted in an unashamed horror collection with plenty of chills. The stories mostly fit the themes of obsession, damaged love and the cruelty that lurks in relationships of all kinds, and their varied styles complement each other. LL Soares makes you afraid of the darkness, and Laura Cooney makes you brood about why.

“In Sickness” indeed, and it’s a good job the authors neglected to include the rest of that particular marital vow. There’s nothing healthy to be found in these pages.

With creepy interior artwork, this collection is available now from Skullvines Press.

LL Soares

Laura Cooney

Coming Soon…

0
Posted on by

Just a couple of things to mention. I was very pleased to hear that my story “The Narcslaag” has not only been accepted by the good people at Necrotic Tissue, but that it will also be editor’s pick for issue 14. Set in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, it’s a story that was an unpleasant experience to write, though I’m very pleased with the results.

Secondly, here’s David Lange‘s artwork for Dead Bait 2, an upcoming anthology from Severed Press that will contain my story “Ternskull Point”. And it’s quite lovely…DeadBait2