Book Review | The Siren and the Specter by Jonathan Janz

The Siren and the Specter is a new horror novel from Jonathan Janz.

When David Caine, a celebrated skeptic of the supernatural, is invited by an old friend to spend a month in “the most haunted house in Virginia,” he believes the case will be like any other. But the Alexander House is different. Built by a 1700s land baron to contain the madness and depravity of his eldest son, the house is plagued by shadows of the past and the lingering taint of bloodshed. David is haunted, as well. For twenty-two years ago, he turned away the woman he loved, and she took her life in sorrow. And David suspects she’s followed him to the Alexander House.

Why did I read The Siren and the Specter?

I enjoyed Jonathan Janz's Wolf Land, Children of the Dark, and Witching Hour Theater. When I heard he was releasing a ghost story novel, I wishlisted it immediately.

The Strengths

The Siren and the Specter creeped. me. out. It's a great example of what I want my ghost stories to be. I'm pretty sure it broke tons of rules, and I'm OK with that.

Janz is great at both character development and action, and The Siren and the Specter is the most balanced work I've read from him so far. These two strengths blended well together throughout the book.

I really enjoyed the cross between horror and mystery in The Siren and the Specter. There were a lot of layers to this book.

I complain a lot about "unlikeable" characters, but what I really mean when I'm complaining is "uninteresting" characters. Pretty much all of the characters in The Siren and the Specter were unlikeable, but they were all interesting.

Sheriff Harkless. I want to see this character again!

The Weaknesses

Some of the characters were a bit unbelievable in the beginning, but things got so crazy and over the top in the best possible way by the end of the book that the characters really set the stage for what was to come. 

Would I recommend The Siren and the Specter to others?

Absolutely! The Siren and the Specter was a creepy ghostly book, and I loved it*.

9/10: Highly Recommended

*Be aware there's disturbing sexual content, suicide, and neglect/child abuse.

Review copy provided by the publisher

Book Review | Odd Man Out by James Newman

Odd Man Out is a horror novella from James Newman.

The Black Mountain Camp for Boys. Summer of ’89. It is a time for splashing in the lake and exploring the wilderness, for nine teenagers to bond together and create friendships that could last the rest of their lives.

But among this group there is a young man with a secret — a secret that, in this time and place, is unthinkable to his peers.

When the others discover the truth, it will change each of them forever. They will all have blood on their hands.

This novella packs quite the emotional punch. It's a short book, but it took me a couple of weeks or so to get through it because my heart was terrified.

Odd Man Out is a great read, but I'm not going to give it a blanket recommendation to everyone. If you love horror or you've been tempted by all of the amazing reviews for Odd Man Out, I say absolutely download it and give it a read. The story is foreshadowed from the very beginning. If you find yourself terrified that something is going to happen, I think it's safe to say you'll be forewarned.

Odd Man Out is about a group of teenage boys who are spending the week at summer camp. It takes an honest look at bigotry and the fear of standing up for the odd man out. It's a brutal book and it's heartbreaking, but it's one of the best books I've read this year.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Quicks Reviews | What I've Been Reading Lately

This is quick catch up of the books I've been reading lately.

Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious is a new YA mystery series. I realized about halfway through Truly Devious that it was the start of a series. I wish I had known that before reading it. I probably would have skipped the series altogether. As soon as I realized, I became petrified I was reading a mystery with no resolution. I was mostly right. Thankfully, I did get a mystery that had a resolution, but Truly Devious was not a good fit for my reading style. If you love YA books that arc over the length of a series, this could be a fun mystery for you. I probably won't continue on.

6/10: Good Read

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The Listener by Robert McCammon

Is there anything better than a favorite book by a favorite author? I loved The Listener. The characters were awesome, and McCammon's writing was as great as ever. If you’ve never read McCammon before, I am absolutely OK with The Listener being your first experience.

9/10: Highly Recommended

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Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior will likely be my favorite novella of the year. It packed a huge emotional punch for me, and I had trouble getting it off of my mind. It's about a 15 year old boy who begins seeing the ghost of his father. It just won the Bram Stoker for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, and it was a well deserved win.

8/10: Great Read

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Bird Box by Josh Malerman

I can't imagine any book for the rest of the year topping the experience I had with Bird Box. I put off reading it for so long because the premise didn't sound like a book that would be a big hit with me. With the upcoming release of Unbury Carol (which sounds amazing!) and the upcoming movie release of Bird Box, I knew the time had come to see what Bird Box was all about. I'm calling it right now - Bird Box will be my favorite book of the year.

10/10: Awesome Read

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Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

Summer of Night is a must read for fans of coming of age horror. If you are a fan of Stephen King's IT, you will probably love Summer of Night, too. I found there to be a lot of similarities between the two. I highly recommend going with the audiobook for this one. It's a chunky read, and the narrator does a great job.

8/10: Great Read

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I think that covers most of what I read last month. It was an amazing run of books!

Book Review | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic horror novel by Oscar Wilde.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work.

The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment.

Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

Wow. I see why The Picture of Dorian Gray is so loved. I partially want to be mad at myself for waiting so long to read it, but I also feel lucky to be reading it for the first time.

My only regret in listening to this one on audio is I didn't get the chance to highlight the text. This book is so quotable, I'd even give thought to highlighting a print copy. Sacrilege, I know.

The writing is witty and amazing, but the story is amazing, too. I'm not sure how I managed to shield myself from what this story was really about all these years. It makes me hesitant to share too many details because the revelations in The Picture of Dorian Gray were the best part for me.

Even though The Picture of Dorian Gray is a short book, I think it could have been even shorter. Every revelation made each new tangent worth it, though.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an amazing look at society, youth and beauty, and the arts. It's a "horror" novel in the way that Shelley's Frankenstein is a "horror" novel. There are supernatural things at work, but it's much more about the social commentary than the actual monsters. The horror elements are fantastic, but there is appeal for a much wider audience.

I want to point out the version I listened to was narrated by Simon Prebble. There are several audios available for The Picture of Dorian Gray, but Simon Prebble reminded me of Jim Dale which is the highest compliment I can give a narrator. If you decide to give this one a listen, I would seek out the Simon Prebble version.

My goal in life is now to hunt down the 1945 movie adaptation starring Angela Lansbury as Sybil Vane.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Book Review | The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

The Willows is a novella by Algernon Blackwood

Two friends are midway on a canoe trip down the Danube River. Throughout the story Blackwood personifies the surrounding environment—river, sun, wind—and imbues them with a powerful and ultimately threatening character. Most ominous are the masses of dense, desultory, menacing willows, which "moved of their own will as though alive, and they touched, by some incalculable method, my own keen sense of the horrible."

"The Willows" is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known short stories. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. "The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

I've been sharing my journey with Lovecraft lately, but the story that brought me back to Lovecraft was Algernon Blackwood's The Willows. I wasn't planning to review The Willows, but it turned out to be such an awesome read I decided it really needed to be shared.

What struck me while reading The Willows was how much Blackwood's writing reminded me of H.G. Wells'. So much so that as soon as I finished reading The Willows I did a search to see if there were any essays comparing their work. What I found was Blackwood and Wells were friends. I don't know how that influenced their writing, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

In The Willows, two friends are taking a canoe trip up the river, and the rough water forces them stop for the night on an island among the willow trees.

The build up of tension (not to mention the personification of nature) made this an awesome read for me. I can't wait to dive into more of Blackwood's work in the future.

I was able to get my copy of The Willows free in the Kindle store. It's also available on Project Gutenberg and other places you can typically find these old classics.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Book Review | The Thing on the Doorstep by H.P. Lovecraft

The Thing on the Doorstep is a horror novelette from H.P. Lovecraft.

"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a short story written by H.P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror fiction. It was written in August 1933, and first published in the January 1937 issue of Weird Tales.

Daniel Upton, the story's narrator, begins by telling that he has killed his best friend, Edward Derby, and that he hopes his account will prove that he is not a murderer...

I've probably read more things derived from Lovecraft than actual Lovecraft tales, but I've been making an effort to read Lovecraft more the last few years.

I was a little leery heading into reading The Thing on the Doorstep simply because it is part of the Cthulhu mythos. While I have enjoyed many of the derivative works, I haven't had success with the original Cthulhu stories. I'm much more drawn to stories like The Shunned House and The Horror at Red Hook. I love hauntings and atmosphere and let's not forget the phosphorescence.

I have a whole new love for Lovecraft after reading The Thing on the Doorstep, though.

The Thing on the Doorstep was not an easy story to get into. Lovecraft's writing is probably why I have abandoned many Lovecraft stories over the years. It took me three tries of picking up The Thing on the Doorstep and starting over from the beginning to finally connect with it. I had to slow down and keep rereading to grasp what Lovecraft was saying through his complex and excessive writing style. Once the story got underway, though, his writing was much more accessible.

I say that as a warning to stick with it and not a warning to stay away from it. In the end, I absolutely loved The Thing on the Doorstep. I don't want to give any spoilers so I will just give you the opening sentence:

"It is true that I have sent six bullets through the head of my best friend, and yet I hope to show by this statement that I am not his murderer."

It's only 40 pages long so I'm not going to divulge what is happening.

There was so much I loved about The Thing on the Doorstep - the characters, the atmosphere, the suspense. I really enjoyed the storytelling despite the bloated writing.

I'm in the mood to spend my October reading short horror so you will probably hear more about Lovecraft before the month has ended. I'm looking forward to revisiting and persevering through some of the Lovecraft tales that didn't work for me in the past.

As for The Thing on the Doorstep, it is currently my favorite Lovecraft tale.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Have you read any Lovecraft? I would love to hear your favorite Lovecraft story if you have one!

Book Review | In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson

In the Valley of the Sun is Andy Davidson's debut horror novel.

For readers of Joe Hill, Cormac McCarthy, and classic Anne Rice, a chilling tale of suspense and horror set deep in the Texas desert.

Travis Stillwell spends his nights searching out women in West Texas honky-tonks. What he does with them doesn’t make him proud, just quiets the demons for a little while. But his nights soon take a terrifying turn in a desert cantina, where Travis crosses paths with a mysterious pale-skinned girl in red boots. Come the morning, he wakes weak and bloodied in his cabover camper, no sign of a girl, no memory of the night before.

Annabelle Gaskin spies the camper parked behind her rundown motel and offers the disheveled cowboy inside a few odd jobs to pay his board. Travis takes her up on the offer, if only to buy time, to lay low, to heal. By day, he mends the old motel, insinuating himself into the lives of Annabelle and her ten-year-old son. By night, in the cave of his camper, he fights an unspeakable hunger. Before long, Annabelle and her boy come to realize that this strange cowboy they’ve taken in is not what he seems.

Half a state away, a grizzled Texas ranger is hunting Travis down for his past misdeeds, but what he finds will lead him to a revelation far more monstrous than he could ever imagine. A man of the law, he’ll have to decide how far into the darkness he’ll go for the sake of justice.

When these lives converge on a dusty autumn night, an old evil will find new life—and new blood.

Deftly written and utterly compelling, this is an atmospheric literary fiction debut perfect for fans of horror, psychological suspense, and Western fiction.

In the Valley of the Sun reminds me of my experience with The Girl with All the Gifts. I went into it not knowing what kind of horror book it was, and my experience was much better for it. In the Valley of the Sun never actually names the horror so I'm not going to either. My hope is that you will give it a chance without finding out too much about it. It's a really great book, but it's a great experience, too. One of my favorite things about In the Valley of the Sun was the slow unveiling of what was really going on.

In the Valley of the Sun is scary, too. I was so nervous for everyone, even the villains. Only the best of horror novels can make you love the villains, and In the Valley of the Sun is one of those books.

As much as I love the horrors in In the Valley of the Sun, every bit of the credit goes to Andy Davidson's writing. This book is so well written and so well crafted. He has given us a really beautiful addition to an old horror myth, and I could not be more excited about it.

This has been an amazing year for horror releases, and you will definitely see In the Valley of the Sun on my best of list for the year (maybe even in the top spot).

9/10: Highly Recommended

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Garden of Fiends edited by Mark Matthews

Garden of Fiends is an addiction themed anthology edited by Mark Matthews.

The intoxication from a pint of vodka, the electric buzz from snorting cocaine, the warm embrace from shooting heroin--drinking and drugging provide the height of human experience. It's the promise of heaven on earth, but the hell that follows is a constant hunger, a cold emptiness. The craving to get high is an intense yearning not unlike that of any other blood-thirsty monster.

The best way to tell the truths of addiction is through a story, and dark truths such as these need a piece of horror to do them justice.

The stories inside feature the insidious nature of addiction told with compassion yet searing honesty. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental deaths, and some of the most incredible names in horror fiction have tackled this modern day epidemic.

A WICKED THIRST, by Kealan Patrick Burke

THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, by Jessica McHugh

EVERYWHERE YOU'VE BLED AND EVERYWHERE YOU WILL, by Max Booth III

FIRST, JUST BITE A FINGER, by Johann Thorsson

LAST CALL, by John FD Taff

TORMENT OF THE FALLEN, by Glen Krisch

GARDEN OF FIENDS, by Mark Matthews

RETURNS, by Jack Ketchum

Whoa.

Garden of Fiends is a really solid collection. I love the format of having such variable length stories, too. Two of the stories are novella length which is fantastic. The first novella is from Mark Matthews (also titled Garden of Fiends). There are so many layers to this story of a man trying to save his daughter from addiction.

The second novella is from Max Booth III.

Spiders, y'all. You haven't read a spider story like this one!

There are also short stories by Jessican McHugh (a stand alone excerpt from one of her novels), John FD Taff, Glen Krisch, Kealan Patrick Burke, and Jack Ketchum.

These are top-notch authors, and their stories are everything you would expect them to be.

There is also a flash fiction piece from Johann Thorsson which was the perfect offset to some of the longer works in the anthology.

I don't think this is a collection for everyone (nor do I think it tries to be). I do, however, think the audience it is intended for will love it. If you are a fan of any of these authors, I can't imagine that you would be disappointed.

Garden of Fiends takes on the horrors of addiction at full throttle, and I highly recommend it.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Review copy provided by editor/author

Book Review | The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn

The Devil Crept In is the latest horror novel from Ania Ahlborn. Just in time for Women in Horror Month!

An unforgettable horror novel from bestselling sensation Ania Ahlborn—hailed as a writer of “some of the most promising horror I’ve encountered in years” (New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire)—in which a small-town boy investigates the mysterious disappearance of his cousin and uncovers a terrifying secret kept hidden for years.

Young Jude Brighton has been missing for three days, and while the search for him is in full swing in the small town of Deer Valley, Oregon, the locals are starting to lose hope. They’re well aware that the first forty-eight hours are critical and after that, the odds usually point to a worst-case scenario. And despite Stevie Clark’s youth, he knows that, too; he’s seen the cop shows. He knows what each ticking moment may mean for Jude, his cousin and best friend.

That, and there was that boy, Max Larsen...the one from years ago, found dead after also disappearing under mysterious circumstances. And then there were the animals: pets gone missing out of yards. For years, the residents of Deer Valley have murmured about these unsolved crimes…and that a killer may still be lurking around their quiet town. Now, fear is reborn—and for Stevie, who is determined to find out what really happened to Jude, the awful truth may be too horrifying to imagine.

Yes.
Yes. Yes.
Yesyesyesyesyes.
YES.

Character driven horror. Do I need to say anything else? My enjoyment level was at full capacity throughout this entire book.

The Devil Crept In is divided into three parts. The first part follows Stevie and Jude, cousins and best friends. Jude goes missing and Stevie is left trying to piece together what could have happened and where his best friend could be.

Part two follows Rosie as she raises her son Otto alone. Normally when a book suddenly drops one storyline for another, I'm left reeling, but that was not the case here. Despite the abrupt shift in the story, I was immediately sucked right back in.

I'm not even going to tell you what part three was about. You will have to read it yourself.

I'll admit there is a bit of a slow burn to The Devil Crept In, but I was too busy wallowing in the characters to care.

As always, the ending was not what I expected. With Ania Ahlborn I never get what I am expecting. That's my favorite thing about her books. Honestly, the characters could have all lined up and jumped off a cliff at the end, and I would probably still be recommending this book.

The Devil Crept In is really one of those books where it's best going in with a clean slate. I never knew what was coming, and it was one of those hand over mouth, wide eyed type of reads you just don't get very often.

I can't recommend this to everyone. If you are squeamish or can't handle bad things happening to good animals, turn around and run away. If, however, you've been craving some amazing character driven horror, you need to get your hands on The Devil Crept In (immediately).

9/10: Highly Recommended

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | The Final Reconciliation by Todd Keisling

The Final Reconciliation is a new horror novella from Todd Keisling.

TAKE OFF YOUR MASK.

Thirty years ago, a progressive rock band called The Yellow Kings began recording what would become their first and final album. Titled “The Final Reconciliation,” the album was expected to usher in a new renaissance of heavy metal, but it was shelved following a tragic concert that left all but one dead.

The sole survivor of that horrific incident was the band’s lead guitarist, Aidan Cross, who’s kept silent about the circumstances leading up to that ill-fated performance—until now.

For the first time since the tragedy, Aidan has granted an exclusive interview to finally put rumors to rest and address a question that has haunted the music industry for decades: What happened to The Yellow Kings?

The answer will terrify you.

Inspired by The King in Yellow mythos first established by Robert W. Chambers, and reminiscent of cosmic horror by H. P. Lovecraft, Laird Barron, and John Langan, comes The Final Reconciliation—a chilling tale of regret, the occult, and heavy metal by Todd Keisling.

I was nervous going into The Final Reconciliation because I had Robert McCammon on the brain. How can I think of a horror story that revolves around music without thinking of McCammon's The Five? I feel bad for any book that has to live up to McCammon, but The Final Reconciliation had no trouble at all! Where McCammon's The Five was about feeling the emotion of music, The Final Reconciliation was about feeling the music itself. (That and some kick ass horror.)

I'm a metal head and I fancy myself a musician so I was absolutely the perfect audience for The Final Reconciliation, but I think that's all just icing to a really great story.

The Final Reconciliation was inspired by The King in Yellow mythos. I have to admit to never having read The King in Yellow. I actually tried to get into it last week, but I was just coming off The Great God Pan and was burned out on classic horror. It would have been cool to have a better reference point for The Yellow King, Carcosa, etc., but it wasn't necessary. I think if you've read The King in Yellow, you will dig the connection.

The Final Reconciliation is a novella so I'm hesitant to say much other than the fact that I really enjoyed it. I'd rather leave you to discover what happened to The Yellow Kings for yourself.

My year has started out unusually strong, but I think it's a safe bet to say The Final Reconciliation will be one of my favorites of the year. I highly recommend it especially if you love music and horror.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Review copy provided by publisher

Mini Review | Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

I'm going to take a quick minute to highlight Kealan Patrick Burke's Sour Candy.

At first glance, Phil Pendelton and his son Adam are just an ordinary father and son, no different from any other. They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to eat candy whenever he wants and set his own bedtimes. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.

What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.

A new novella from the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TURTLE BOY and KIN.

Sour Candy is a great little horror novella, and I can't recommend it enough if you are a fan of horror stories.

It reminded me of Bentley Little's The Mailman which is one of my favorites.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Review copy provided by author

Book Review | The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts is a horror novel from M.R. Carey.

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

I went into this book knowing only that it was being categorized as horror and that it had great reviews. My ignorance to the plot greatly enhanced my enjoyment of The Girl with All the Gifts. It makes writing a review all the more difficult, though. I enjoyed it so, so much, but I can't bring myself to go into detail as to why for fear of spoiling that enjoyment for others. There really is no statute of limitations on spoilers as far as I'm concerned.

What I will tell you is I loved the hell out of this book. The writing, the characters, the tension, the questions, the science, the horror, that thrill you get when you are loving what you are reading. I  have no doubts The Girl with All the Gifts will be high on my list of favorites for the year.

I realize this review is pretty useless as far as recommendations go, but I'm comfortable with asking you to take a chance.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Book Review | Earthly Things by Julian Vaughn

Earthly Things is a supernatural mystery from Julian Vaughn.

Book Description

Sensitive fourteen-year-old Dexter Bestwick is at the park with his girlfriend Jamie when his father murders him for stealing something from his locked room. Still around after his death to witness the ensuing damages, he aches to protect his first, young love from being a victim. Yet he’s afraid the eternal light will grow brighter and claim him, and that Jamie will soon suffer the same fate...

Earthly Things is a touching and fast-paced supernatural mystery that will appeal to fans of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Julian Vaughn is a pseudonym of author Lee Thompson. I'm a huge Lee Thompson fan, and although he is becoming a master of many genres, his young adult/coming of age stories are where I find him at his best. Books like Before Leonora Wakes, Within This Garden Weeping, and now Earthly Things are among my favorites.

Earthly Things begins with the (almost) coming of age story of Dexter. We find out early on that Dexter is going to die young. The first half of Earthly Things gives us a glimpse into the often heartbreaking and at times endearing life of Dexter.

Dexter does meet an untimely death (this is not really a spoiler, guys), but the first person narrative continues on in the same vein as The Lovely Bones. I loved this point of view. This is not the first time Thompson has tackled a complicated point of view. It is apparently one of his many talents.

Earthly Things is a brutal book at times. It's heartwrenching, but it's also a great mystery and just a really great read. Even though I couldn't relate to the characters because their reality was so far from my own, I still felt connected to them and emotionally invested in them which I attribute to some really great writing.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Book Review | Honor's Knight by Rachel Bach

Honor's Knight is the second book in the Paradox trilogy by Rachel Bach.

Book Description

The rollicking sequel to Fortune's Pawn -- an action packed science fiction novel.

Devi Morris has a lot of problems. And not the fun, easy-to-shoot kind either.

After a mysterious attack left her short several memories and one partner, she's determined to keep her head down, do her job, and get on with her life. But even though Devi's not actually looking for it -- trouble keeps finding her. She sees things no one else can, the black stain on her hands is growing, and she is entangled with the cook she's supposed to hate.

But when a deadly crisis exposes far more of the truth than she bargained for, Devi discovers there's worse fates than being shot, and sometimes the only people you can trust are the ones who want you dead.

The entire time I was reading Honor's Knight all I could think was Holy shit I love this book. I'm devastated there is only one book left in the series. If you haven't read Fortune's Pawn, I cannot recommend enough that you jump on to this trilogy.

You can read my review of Fortune's Pawn here.

I mentioned in my review of Fortune's Pawn that it was more of a "space fantasy" than a science fiction novel. Honor's Knight can definitely be classified more as science fiction but this is an awesome thing. I'm loving the way this trilogy is progressing.

The Paradox series centers around Devi Morris - a totally badass mercenary chick on track to join an elite league of armored fighters. It's difficult to review Honor's Knight without spoiling the first book so I'm just going to say I loved this second book even more than the first. And I really loved the first.

There's so much action and mystery, so many twists and turns, and such awesome characters. There's also no cliffhanger at the end of this one! Just an intense longing for more... I highly, highly recommend this series.

9/10: Highly Recommended

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Review copy provided by publisher

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells | Book Review

I read The Time Machine as part of my quest to widdle down my reading bucket list. It appears on both Flavorwire's 50 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels That Everyone Should Read and NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction And Fantasy Novels.

Book Description

“I’ve had a most amazing time....”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him the reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.

Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.

Review

The Time Machine was a very unexpected read for me. By unexpected, I mean awesome. The Time Machine is not the first book by Wells I have read. I loved The War of the Worlds when I read it. I was actually surprised by how much I loved that one, too, since I had seen the 1953 movie a few times and had an idea of what I would encounter.

I will jump right to the best part of The Time Machine - it was a scary read. I assumed it would be all science fictiony, maybe a little boring at times. No. The Time Machine made me down right giddy as a reader. The time traveler in The Time Machine goes almost a million years into the future, and Wells offers a lot of consideration towards how humans will evolve and why. It's an amazing read for something published in 1895.

I need to quit making assumptions before reading anything by Wells because apparently I'm a huge fan.

Another thing I really loved about The Time Machine was seeing exactly where pop culture gets its representation of time travel today. We see it all of the time in movies - the days and nights and the scenery progressing around the person doing the time travel. Wells describes it so perfectly in The Time Machine, it's become a standard mechanism for displaying time travel on the screen.

There are so many reasons I would recommend The Time Machine so if you are interested in scifi, horror, or simply classics in general, The Time Machine is a quick, surprising read. It's in the public domain so you can download it for free pretty much everywhere. I think The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds are the only two books I have read by Wells, but I have got to change that. The Island of Dr. Moreau is on my bucket list as well so I will be reading that one next.

9/10: Highly Recommended

Book Review | Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs

Southern Gods is the debut novel of John Hornor Jacobs.

Book Description

Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is working as muscle when a Memphis DJ hires him to find Ramblin' John Hastur. The mysterious blues man's dark, driving music - broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio station - is said to make living men insane and dead men rise. Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him, Ingram follows Hastur's trail into the strange, uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas, where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil. But as Ingram closes in on Hastur and those who have crossed his path, he'll learn there are forces much more malevolent than the Devil and reckonings more painful than Hell... In a masterful debut of Lovecraftian horror and Southern gothic menace, John Hornor Jacobs reveals the fragility of free will, the dangerous power of sacrifice, and the insidious strength of blood.

I wasn't sure at first how much I was going to like Southern Gods. It started out with a great, atmospheric prologue which should have been a good thing, but prologues always send off warning signals to me that the book is going to need a lot of help hooking me. Then, as I expected, it had a slow start. I didn't have a lot of confidence that the book was going to be extraordinary, but I was wrong. Really wrong.

I loved Southern Gods.

In the end, the build up became one of my favorite things about Southern Gods. It was like a huge crescendo. It started out small and just got bigger and better until it was downright awesome. I even grew to love the prologue which is rare for me.

There are two separate story lines going on in the first half of Southern Gods. In one, Bull Ingram is hired to find a missing person, and he gets tangled up in an investigation of a really creepy blues man and a radio station that changes frequencies and plays the devil's music. In the other, Sarah and her daughter have returned to her family's home where Sarah discovers there are evils she never knew existed. Once these two story lines converge, Southern Gods moves from creepy to scary to terrifying. I'm glad I wasn't reading it in public because you could visibly see the horror on my face.

If you love a well developed horror story, you will love Southern Gods. It was so unique and so surprising. I am now a big fan of John Hornor Jacobs. I cannot wait to get my hands on his next book.

9/10: Highly Recommended

There are a lot of Lovecraft references in Southern Gods. I think it might finally be time for me to start reading Lovecraft. Over the years, I've learned to spot most anything Lovecraftian, but I have yet to experience where it all originated. Are you a fan of Lovecraft? Let me hear from you!