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GINGER NUTS OF HORROR
horror review website ginger nuts of horror website
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NICK AND ABE BY LEX JONES 

12/2/2016

can anyone ever fall so far that it’s
too late for them to be caught? ​

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Set in America and written Lex Jones, Nick and Abe tells the story of Abe (God) and his son Nick. (Lucifer) They come to earth together to spend a year as normal people and the one who learns the most wins the bet they made between themselves. Seems like an easy thing to do, but as is the case with most people, their lives quickly become more complicated than they could ever have imagined. They both agree to refrain from using their powers, and they do everything the humans do whilst they're here.

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​Fiction Review: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

8/2/2016
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A lot of late career King seems to have divided opinion somewhat. 11/22/63 seems to have received damn near universal acclaim, but Dr. Sleep, Under The Dome, and Revival have all attracted significant criticisms from some quarters, as well as some staunch fans. From what I can gather, Mr. Mercedes seems to fit into that ‘marmite’ pattern somewhat.
 
In some ways, I can see why. For starters, it’s entirely non-supernatural - I guess by strict genre definitions a crime thriller - though, I mean, so is Misery, if you think about it, so I’m not sure the label is all that helpful. And, you know, it’s King, so crime thriller it may be, but it goes pretty dark in places.
 
Take for example, the opening. I confess to not having read every King novel and story, but I have read the majority, and I’m not sure that he’s written an opening this powerful and gripping since IT - and candidly, depending on your taste, it may even be better than that. The standard King playbook is in effect, with a ticking clock to an uncertain doom. It’s exactly the kind of trick that he makes seem so effortless, and yet is almost impossible for a lesser writer to pull off without seeming awful. Here’s it is not awful. It is magnificent. I spent the entire opening few pages with my heart in my mouth and a sinking feeling in my stomach, and when I got to the end, I remember thinking ‘Bloody hell, how’s he going to keep that up?’
 
Well, for my money, he didn’t, quite. That said,I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Mr Mercedes, and there’s a lot to recommend it. I personally love King in non-supernatural mode, so this is a relatively rare treat for me, and his character work is as strong as ever, especially the retired cop protagonist and the villain.
 
Ah, the villain. For large sections of the running time, the book runs on the classic crime thriller parallel track - once chapter with the hero, one with the villain. It’s a classic approach for a reason, and King offers a casual masterclass in why, with the way the villain chapters give us insight not available to the hero leaving us in a constant state of tenderhooks, with occasional bursts of sheer panic as matters escalate.
 
The plot twists and turns neatly, and the 400 page running time, while not short by genre standards, nevertheless feels lean compared to King’s other more recent efforts, which for me paid dividends in terms of pacing.
 
It’s not perfect. It’s clear the villain understands technology rather better than the author at times, and while I really respect King’s efforts to come to grips with these necessary elements of a modern setting, there was the odd moment that felt a little awkward, if not cringe worthy. Additionally, whilst I enjoyed the individuals that end up forming a team with the hero, some of the elements of how they came together felt just a little forced, to me, somehow.
 
That said, I found reading this book to be a real joy overall, and while I don’t think it’ll go down as one of his classic works, it’s still a very exciting book from a novelist of incredible talent. I also cannot help but applaud a writer who, in his fifth decade of professional writing, is still pushing himself to try something new.  We should all be so driven.
 
And seriously, read that opener. It’s a doozie.
 
KP
2/2/16

Purchase a copy here 

​

The Heart and Soul of Horror Fiction Reviews 

BITEY BACHMAN BY KAYLEIGH MARIE EDWARDS 

4/2/2016
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Bitey Bachman is a witty self-aware and intelligent character driven zombie story that plays with the reader's misconceptions about the genre. It uses many of their tropes and situations prevalent in the genre turns them on their head to poke fun at a subject the author clearly loves. Such as the stupid mishap of misread labels that leads to the zombie outbreak.

Kayleigh Marie Edwards packs a great deal into this short story, great characters that rise above their genre stock heritage thanks to some wonderful witty dialogue and self-referential actions. This is a clever well written story that is sure to raise a smile on the face of even the most hardened of zombie fans.

Purchase a copy here 

ANGELS OF THE SILENCE BY SIMON BESTWICK 

4/2/2016
Angels of the silence by simon bestwick
Emily and Biff are dead, brutally murdered there corpses hidden from the world in an abandoned warehouse, they seek revenge and redemption from a world that has no idea they are dead and from each other.  

Angels of the Silence is an impressive and bewitching ghost story that tackles some powerful and emotional topics with a sensitivity and a maturity that you expect from such a seasoned writer as Simon Bestwick.  

This novella is as much about friendships, fitting in and the finality of friendships as it is about revenge and supernatural going ons. Apparently taking its cues from a real life case Bestwick has written an empathic and wholly believable story that places us right in the centre of the girls plight.  Disenfranchised from society at large the girls and their goth friends have flocked together and exist on the periphery of their world, never fully fitting in, subject to attacks from the larger youth culture, you would think that their death would free them from the banalities of their everyday life.  Sadly this isn't the case for this pair of revenants.  They soon find out that thanks to unknown process their ghost form allows them to exist as though nothing had ever happened  they possess corporeal spirits that can touch and feel and even consume food and drink, for all intents and purposes they are still alive.  This is a stroke of genius from Bestwick, and the passage where this is explained to the girls by a friendly fellow spirit sent a shiver down my spine.  It's a wonderful concept where the spirits of the deceased can exist on a spectrum that runs from mere hint of a memory, a sort of mote in the minds eye, right up to the the fully formed physical spirit Emily and Biff possess.  The wider picture that scene implied is inspired - a world where we would have no idea if a person was alive or dead.  It gave a strange comforting, but tinged with fear  feeling that still haunts me a few days after finishing the book.  

This scene and the revelation that there is an elevator to the afterlife that the girls can take should they ever feel that their time on earth had come to an end reminded me in a good way of Randell and Hopkirk (Deceased), even down to setting the scene in a tearoom / cafe.  It also highlighted the perfectly balanced way in which Bestwick uses a subtle line of wit and humour in the story to give the girls a fantastic and realistic characterisation.  

This is a heartfelt and deeply moving novella, with many stand out scenes, such as when the girls encounter a group of bullies who may or may not have been responsible for the death of a friend, the sense of exhilaration that the girls feel when they enact their brand of vengeance, thanks to a set of developing afterlife powers, is delectable.  And the final scene where the girls finally come to terms with their fate and where there lives are going is a deeply moving and candid love at friendships,  guilt and redemption.  

Purchase a copy here 




ZERO LIVES REMAINING BY ADAM CESARE: HORROR FICTION  REVIEW 

2/2/2016
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Zero Lives Remaining review
 
So I wouldn’t normally start a book review with this, but I have to talk a bit about the presentation here, because it is outstanding. This limited-to-100 hardback print run is an absolute beauty in every way. The attention to detail in the VHS slip cover alone is demented - the peeling sticker effect on the notice promoting the bonus story, the ‘weathering’ on the edges of the spine, the 80’s rendering of the Shock Totem logo at the top, the use of authentic closed caption and hifi mono logos, the FBI warning - shit, even the copyright notice reads 1985. This book has been put together with a lot of love.
 
That continues to the inside, with the 6 signed ‘cast’ cards, the inlay card featuring an interview with one of the cast that’s rammed full of in-jokes for those familiar with Cesare’s work, and the book itself looks to my untrained eye to match damn near perfectly the dimensions of a VHS tape - complete with the ‘be kind, rewind’ sticker. The bar for limited edition hardbacks has well and truly been set with this release. Fantastic work.
 
So now, let’s talk about the story, shall we?


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WASTELAND GODS BY JONATHAN WOODROW 

1/2/2016
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Billy Kingston is a husband and father who lives with his wife, Megan and their young son, Nelson, in the small town of Brookwell. They have a simple, yet happy life when one day, Nelson turns up missing and not long after, a man out walking his dog finds the boy's mutilated body being picked apart by a flock of birds. After Billy and his wife bury their son, their marriage begins falling apart, but Billy doesn't really care. He grieves alone and takes solace in booze, visiting the bar almost every night. One of the bartenders, Marlon, befriends Billy and despite Marlon's strange sense of humour, the two hit it off.
 
Not long after Nelson's death, Billy sits alone in front of his computer. He's horrified when he receives an email showing each grisly detail of his son's murder, and then discovers the killing has been broadcast on the Internet for those who get off watching that kind of thing. Determined to find out who the murderer is, Billy sets out on his mission, but realises that when someone doesn't want to be found, the task is close to impossible. To help his mind come to terms with his son's death, Billy takes up painting portraits of his deceased boy and continues drinking each night away.


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