 I've spent the last few weeks pondering, wondering, and contemplating how in hell i was going to keep up with all of the reviews that are sitting waiting to be published. I've always firmly believed that constantly pumping out more than two articles a day just does a disservice to the books being reviewed and the reviewer who took the time to write the review. However, I'm sitting here with over 60 reviews waiting to be published, with more coming in every day, so I am going to try something a bit different, and do a weekly review blast with seven full length reviews in one massive review. My feeling is that by sharing website page, the fans of the authors and reviewers might read a review that they would normally skip past. I could be wrong, I could be right, but I have to try and get all of these great reviews out. We will keep posting individual reviews each day, in order of them coming into the site, with the exception of reviews that are furloughed until closer to the publication date, or if a slot has been promised to the publisher. In this the first of our weekly review blasts we have reviews for THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE BY J.H. MONCRIEF THE VASELINE DREAM SQUAD HORROR BY GIL-ETHAN THE BIG BANYAN TREE AND OTHER GHOST STORIES BY BRENDON FAIFE VESTIGE BY MONIQUE GLIOZZI SERVED COLD BY ALAN BAXTER MY DEAD AND BLACKENED HEART BY ANDREW FREUDENBERG THE ADVENTURES OF MR POLKINGTON BY TINA RATH Those Who Came Before by J.H. MoncriefThose Who Came Before is a look into the supernatural world of the aboriginal peoples and an evil that plagues their culture. There is so much I didn’t know about the wendigo. I’ve always been interested since getting the bejeesus scared out of me from reading Pet Sematary by Stephen King but I never really looked into it further. This book told me everything I need to know, they are the stuff of nightmares! I found the book to be a very interesting and addictive read. The story is essentially a conflict between a real-world police investigation and the supernatural occurrences that shroud the horrific crime scenes. As the protagonist gets sucked into the supernatural world, so does the reader and it gets grim. I wasn’t a fan of the various flashback scenes throughout the story, I thought it was a tad excessive and it made parts of the story dry. Living in Canada myself I am surrounded by aboriginal culture but I have never heard about the dark or supernatural side of their heritage. After reading Those Who Came Before, I learned exactly what nightmares are made of. Man-eating evil creatures were not what I was expecting. Let that sink in for a moment. The Wendigo adds such a terrifying element to the story that I absolutely loved. I also really appreciated how accurate and informed the author was on the mythology. The narrative took on a lot of different forms which I enjoyed. There was lots of internal conflict amongst the characters, the struggle between tangible rather than visionary. This also added a lot of mystery and suspense to the story. I really had no way of knowing who was what until the end. In a way, each character had a subplot that engaged the reader in trying to solve the mystery. There’s a bloodthirsty evil spirit on the loose and somebody better figure something out soon because people are dying in unimaginable ways.  The story was very exciting but there were parts I dragged through. I found the flashbacks explaining the history of the lost tribe necessary but lengthy and dry. I think the reader deserved more conflict between the characters here-and-now instead of learning why the spirits of the past were vengeful. I also found that there was a real emphasis on the setting and that what happened at a specific location was the root cause of the horrific events occurring but as the story developed that emphasis shifted. In the end, I liked the shift. This made more sense but I felt that the original focus on setting was pointless and time-consuming. Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrief received a rating of 4 / 5 stars. I definitely enjoyed reading this heinous tale about the nightmarish spirits, the Wendigo. I had a lot of fun engaging in the mystery while working my way through the various subplots. The author did a great job of building tension and conflict with each character all the way until the end. Although I did find the story a little less than desirable at times, the mythical flesh-eating monsters quickly brought me back in as they avenged to Those Who Came Before. Review by Andrew Fowlow THE VASELINE DREAM SQUAD HORROR BY GIL-ETHANOut of all of the places a horror story could be set, the office space where sex workers spend their days is just about dead last on my list. This was all it took for The Vaseline Dream Squad Horror to grab my attention while I waited to find out just what can be so frightening about that environment. Rory and his coworkers acted like folks who have read the horror genre before. That is, while they certainly didn’t see their experience with the roleplaying chatroom customer who knew far too much about their lives given that their identities were supposed to be anonymous, they reacted quite appropriately once they realized that things were getting really bizarre. I always appreciate it when characters have this sort of common sense and make rational choices when faced with dangers they’re only just beginning to comprehend. What wasn’t explained quite so well was how they moved on from their initial reactions of disbelief and confusion to the ways they responded after they figured out he was real and incredibly dangerous. It felt to me like they leapt straight from disbelief to taking decisive action. As big a fan as I was of them being so proactive about protecting themselves and other innocent folks, it sure would have been helpful to have a bit more of a bridge between these two phases in their response.  The ending was fantastic, however. Not only was the author well-versed in horror tropes, he did an excellent job of briefly acknowledging them before cheekily and purposefully heading off in a totally different direction. I admire it when storytellers purposefully bend the rules of the genres they’re working with, especially when it’s done with such a deep level of respect for the audience’s expectations. Mr. Logwood knew exactly what he was doing it, and it shows. The Vaseline Dream Squad Horror was a well-built, solid story that I’d especially recommend to anyone who has ever worked in a call centre or other customer service position before. The Big Banyan Tree and Other Ghost Stories by Brendon FaifeYoung horror fans, pay attention! The Big Banyan Tree and Other Ghost Stories was written specifically for you. There were ten short stories in this book. I found it a little tricky to discuss some of them without giving away their endings because of how quickly everything happened in them, so I’ll only mention the ones that didn’t run into that problem. Rest assured that they were all worthwhile, however. If you’re the sort of person who likes to read short stories out of the order they’re published in a collection, skip to the end and begin with my personal favorite, “The Big Banyan Tree.” In it, Ralf’s obsession with photographing an ancient Banyan tree with just the right light lead him to ignore the tour guide’s warning to leave that area before sundown. I had sympathy for him as a fellow photographer and hoped he’d get all of the shots he wanted while it was still safe to be out. He had nothing but good intentions, and that made him likeable even if I also wondered why he was so quick to ignore that friendly warning. Jealously isn’t only for humans. In “My Pet Dog,” Sonny loved his human so much that he couldn’t bear to have any other dog living in their home or playing with them. After Sonny passed away, his family had to decide what they were going to do with all of their newfound free time. I once lived with a protective dog that acted a bit like him, so it was pretty interesting to see how the plot developed from there. While I don’t know whether or not this is actually true, it sure felt like this was written by someone who knows dogs well. Sonny felt genuinely canine like to me, and it only made me more eager to see what would happen to him and his humans next. As soon as I read the opening sentence of “The Abandoned Car,” I was hooked. What could possibly be scary about an abandoned vehicle on the side of a quiet road in the middle of the day? The fact that Mr. Faife managed to find the horror in such an ordinary setting was fantastic. While I obviously can’t go into detail about what the main character discovered while exploring this car, it was an exciting and chilling read.  I’m drawn to horror characters who are sensible and react intelligently at the first sign of something amiss in their lives, so it took me a moment to get into “Finders Keepers.” It wasn’t immediately clear to me why a farmer who’d consistently had a bad feeling about the south end of one of his fields would spend any more time there than was strictly necessary. Luckily, there was enough character development for me to totally understand why the farmer lingered there. His reasons for sticking around after the alarm bells went off in his mind made total sense in the end, and that’s always a good thing. I was impressed by how the author managed to make me love a character I’d normally not be that into! The Big Banyan Tree and Other Ghost Stories was a delightful collection of young adult horror. It’s something that should be read by preteens and teens who love getting scared as well as by adults who are just beginning to dip their toes into this genre. Review by Lydia Schoch Vestige by MONIQUE GLIOZZIUninspiring warnings from the afterlife Monique Gliozzi’s Vestige was a brief seventy minute read which was engaging enough to finish in a single sitting. Amazon is selling this as both a pricy paperback and hardback and it is simply just not worth the hefty cost. Even though the ebook is significantly cheaper I would still question whether it is worth the money. We are living in the golden age of novella writing for dark fiction and there are many, many other better examples on the market to spend your hard-earned cash on. If this popped up in an anthology, I would read it and then forget about it, but it is just not good enough to merit a £13.99 hardback price. If the publisher disagrees then they are deluded. Vestige opens with a clunky prologue which is also somewhat of a spoiler and the story could have done without, with a woman philosophising about the afterlife and indicating she is about to tell her story. The action then jumps to Dr Maxwell Stein who is an experienced child psychologist who lives and works in New York. Whilst he is on duty a young woman comes into his office, whom he recognises as a former patient, before the woman strangely disappears, she gives him a diary. A short while later he is reading the newspaper and spots the headline “Tragic death of daughter of prominent New York judge” and he realises this is the woman who visited him in the office. This was all incredibly telegraphed, obvious as a kick in the head, and lacked any type of suspense or tension. Max is about to leave the city for a few days with his son and during this time away he starts reading the diary given to him by the young woman and has recollections of when he first met her and the circumstances surrounding it. But also, begins to wonder whether the diary gives other clues about what was going on with her and whether there was anything else he could have done. Before long he cannot tear himself away from the book; the diary entries read by Max begin to play a more significant part in the plot and much of the novella’s word count. Max begins to wonder why she gave him the diary in the first place? This is the crux of the story and its underlying theme which was not exactly original or especially interesting.  Although it was an easy enough read it lacked the style and flair to make it anything more than a forgettable throwaway experience. Even writing this review I am struggling to recall the finer details which might have provided some much-needed spark. In the end, I suppose the diary entries were the most diverting sections of the plot, as the dynamics between Max and his son were relatively pedestrian, even when small arguments began to develop. A slightly more interesting aspect was the internal conflict within Max regarding the potential paranormal elements within the diary, as opposed to his training as a psychologist. I am not sure whether the author saw the ending as a ‘twist’ of some sort, but in reality it was telegraphed from ten miles away and I found it to be very unsatisfying. Overall Vestige was a very bland novella which might pass the time on a rainy afternoon, but in all honesty, I would suggest looking elsewhere. 2/5 Review by Tony Jones served cold by alan baxterServed Cold is a collection of elegant horrors that fans of the genre will be sure to find delightfully terrifying. I don't want to say that I was surprised that I enjoyed this book so much because it came highly recommended and when the opportunity arose to read along with some fellow reviewers, I pounced. This is my first time reading a book by the author and I will definitely read more by him. Alan Baxter wrote with style and grace while delivering a refreshing compilation of horror stories that will not disappoint. Each story in the collection left a lasting impression. Although each wasn't necessarily new to me as a reader and a fan of horror fiction, they were certainly a fresh take and wonderfully written. Here's the thing about this collection, I really enjoyed it BUT the author struggled to construct a solid ending I could be happy with. Still, I truly believe that most readers will enjoy these powerful tales even if the endings are less than desirable. "-savoured the icy, glassy perfection of the cyt. All his fears and worries slipped away, nothing but Jonathan and the razor, nothing but his immaculate pain." I really, really liked the authors writing style. Each story was brought to life by the author's unique voice and remarkable skills with the written word. He has a way of applying creepy undertones while keeping it classy. I felt as though the author was nurturing me as the reader in preparation for the haunting scenes to come. He would describe these beautifully vivid settings and then slowly introduced some terrifying imagery. It was wonderful. "Bile rising, heart racing, he crept a couple more steps down and the grisly display revealed itself in full. A man lay strapped to a metal table, tilted almost vertical. His arms were belted out to either side like a crucifixion, his head held against a black rubber rest with another brown leather belt. Blood transfusion bags were attached with snaking tubes. Other drips, clear and unidentifiable, stood on the opposite side. The man was naked and desecrated." Each story in this collection wasn't exactly new but I feel like they were fresh. There were stories with ghostly visitors, crossroad demons, and even flesh-eating blobs. As I said, these ideas aren't exactly new to the horror fiction genre but the author did a great job of making them his own. My absolute favourite stories in the book are Served Cold, an eerily dark and ghastly tale of a boy's journey to appease the spirit of a dead body he found in a decrepit house. Exquisite is a gruesome tale about a thief that finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. And The Goodbye Message is the story of a writer going through a crisis while receiving small bits of a message from the great beyond.  "He watched his wife's face to see if his concern was mirrored there. He didn't know why it disturbed him so much, but something about the message scratched deep into his bones." The way I felt reading the very first story in the collection became the theme as I read through the book. Most all of these tales were powerful and uniquely terrifying but the endings to each story were underwhelming which left me slightly disappointed. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the book. It was a good experience and the book only left me wanting to read more by Alan Baxter but the final scenes in each story were just a little too predictable and abrupt. Served Cold gets a 4 / 5-star rating from me. Alan Baxter is an exceptional writer that knows how to put together a tale that will satisfy the most voracious horror of readers. Now excuse me while I fetch a piping hot cup of joe to remove the chill from my bones. Review by Andrew Fowlow My Dead and Blackened Heart by andrew freudenberg My Dead and Blackened Heart, spans almost every subgenre of horror, from quiet, moody pieces, through zombies and folk horror, right up to two of the most disgustingly nasty stories you ate likely to read this year. I'll pick out some of my highlights of this excellent collection below. Opening with the beautifully melancholic Something Akin to Despair, we are introduced to the quieter side of Freudenberg's writing. A Science fiction tale, of the last survivor of a space mission, who has spent lifetimes alone on a ship littered with the remains of his crew members, desperate for a rescue and salvation from his hell, Warminster's ordeal, is heart aching, with themes of isolation, humanity, and the creation of sentient "non-humans", this story leaves you with the same sense of empty wonder that you get from many of Stephen Baxter's stories. A Bitter Parliament, switches gear, and shifts to what could be described as your typical folk horror setting and premise. A newly married couple moves out to the country, to renovate their new home. So far so folk horrory, however, Freudenberg, isn't some cuckoo sitting in an empty nest, he makes this story his own, from the foreboding encounter with their strange neighbour to the chilling conclusion. A Bitter Parliament is a compelling and creepy story that dares to do something different in the new hot potato of the genre. Charlie's Turn is one of those stories, that seems innocent at first, but then as things progress, you realise that you have stepped over into a world of hurt, the abrupt, open-ended ending of the story is a brave move, but one that works exceptionally well as it forces the reader to fill in the possible horrors of what is to come. Pater in Tenebris transports us into zombie territory. This is a profoundly claustrophobic and emotionally charged tale of a father trying to do the best for his family. Freudenberg's zombie world is kept deliberately small and localised, little is known about the cause and the broader world of its setting. Instead, he focuses on the dynamics of the family unit, without giving anything away, but remember that this is a horror story, you will be left screaming "Nooooo!" at the outcome of this powerful story. Milkshake and it's sequel Meat Sweats takes the reader into a dark, twisted, nasty, disgusting, brutal, and yet despite this, a rather humorous tale of fine dining. Be warned these two stories are best read before you eat, or preferably after your food has had time to pass into the intestine. There is a strong possibility that you will be regurgitating your food after reading these stories. Don't get me wrong, they made me feel awful after reading them, but I had a lot of un reading them. Freudenberg walks the line between tasteless vacuous horror and genius-level satire with the skill of the finest highwire walker. If I had one complaint, I found the final sentence of Milkshake to be too matter of fact, or want of a better term, it just felt a little too clumsy, when compared to the rest of the story. But as Clutch says in their single Ghoul Wrangler "we've got different laws down on the farm." Now I said, that the above two stories, were the sickest and most brutal ones in the collection, well that will teach me to write this review as I read them, maybe I should learn to read a collection in order and wait then wait until I have finished it before making such bold claims. Teppanyaki of Truth is so brutal and twisted that it makes you wonder just what the hell is going on in this author's mind; he's always been such a lovely bloke in real life. If you get an offer that seems too good to be true, then there is a possibility that maybe you should walk away. Something that you might not be able to do after reading this one, as your legs will probably have given away. One of the strengths of this collection is the use of linking themes, locations and time periods, the above trilogy of tasteless terrors, work exceptionally well together. As do Charlie's Turn and Hope Eternal, both are set during WWII, and both share the same sense of mounting dread and despair at what transcribes. Here a battle-weary soldier searches the ruins of London for his missing daughter. This is a powerhouse of a story, the lengths at which the soldier will go to find is daughter are deeply traumatising. Tying in with the theme of lost children is the haunting Cardiac Ordeal, where a husband and wife are frantically trying to find there missing child when a previously unknown neighbour offers to help them, they are quickly taken down the rabbit hole of despair. Freudenberg perfectly captures the sense of hopelessness and the whole world crashing in, that would be felt by anyone in this situation. Scorch is Freudenberg's shot at the haunted house story, and even though we are in familiar territory, there is more than enough, style, and substance to elevate this about the slush ile of million other haunted house stories.  Without a doubt, My Dead and Blackened Heart is a phenomenal collection of short stories. The breadth and depth of the stories present here are proof positive that Freudenberg is a gifted writer, in many short story collections the author's voice, and stylistic leanings often become somewhat samey. The stories while, read in isolation might be great, but when read together, they have a habit of running into each other. This isn't the case here. Freudenberg understands the nature and needs of every one of these stories, and he shifts his narrative stylings to match the requirements with the eye of a master craftsman. The opening story is a perfect example of this, it's a lean story, almost clinical in its execution, but it fits the needs of the story. The same goes for the terrible trio of stories, the shift in style, and even in the rhythm of the narrative is a joy to behold. The Adventures of Mr Polkington by Tina RathThis is apparently the 18th in a series of micro-collections from independent UK publisher Black Shuck Books. “A selection of peculiar tales from the best in horror and speculative fiction.” That’s all we’re given by way of blurb, so I was going in pretty much blind. So why choose it? Well horror and speculative fiction are enough to get my interest, and I was kind of hoping it would be along the lines of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke — a weird but excellent read I’d thoroughly recommend. Or maybe it would be steampunk? The title made that kind of suggestion (to me at least), and I like a bit of history and whimsy in my reading from time to time. Turned out it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was a very pleasant read. Now ‘pleasant’ is a funny kind of word you might think. It’s not bad, in fact it’s rather nice, but it’s not superb or fabulous either. However, in this case I think it’s appropriate, because while there are certainly speculative elements, this is quite a gentle read. We’re not given a period, but I’m guessing it’s mid to late Victorian The location is London. A series of three short tales cover the exploits of the eponymous Mr Pilkington, a sales manager for a haberdashery company who gets himself into far more trouble that is likely (or indeed quite proper) for such an outwardly reserved gentleman! The general tone is in many ways reminiscent of PG Woodhouse’s Jeeves and Wooster, or GK Chesterton’s Father Brown. I don’t mean to suggest for one moment that Ms Rath has copied either of those authors for style, certainly not, but she presents that kind of world. One where a cup of tea is a universal panacea. One that’s genteel on the surface, but with evil lurking just underneath. At the beginning our mild-mannered hero bumbles along in blissful ignorance, but he’s soon drawn into a netherworld with unexpected dangers where twisted souls perform despicable acts. He discovers, much to his own surprise, that he’s not as helpless as he thought. He’s frightened, of course, but pluck and backbone and a strong belief in doing the right thing will help a chap get the job done. He also has some interesting and able assistance along the way and… well I shan’t give it all away. It’s a short read, around 20,000 words split over three stories. Time enough to develop the characters and atmosphere, which Ms Rath does commendably well.  If the writer (or editor) isn’t careful with this kind of work, sometimes the historic elements or language can slip back into modernity, which is jarring. That never happens here. However, I wouldn’t have minded the stories being longer. That would have given the author the opportunity to draw out the denouement a little more. The build up is great (better than just pleasant), but when it comes to the action it’s all resolved just a little too quickly for me. Perhaps I’m being picky — but then that is part of the job. It’s a minor gripe, and if my only complaint is that I would have liked to read more, I must have enjoyed what there was! Indeed I did. Bravo I say! Well done my good lady (if such sexist comment might be permitted). Review by Robert Fael   the heart and soul of horror fiction reviewsComments are closed.
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