THE ATTIC by Tracy L. Carbone_Review

The Attic by Tracy Carbone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of the single most terrifying-and impacting-stories I have ever read, there are no wasted moments, sentences, or words in 13 pages of “The Attic.” I got chills just from the title, but nothing compared to the knock-out punches of this story. Everything here meshed so coherently; nothing was telegraphed, and the climax followed by the ending were intensely powerful. I’ll give away nothing of the plot, and only say that there is no need to work for suspension of disbelief, because everything in this story is perfectly realistic.



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RAVEN'S COVE_Review

Reviewed for Great Minds Think Aloud


Raven's Cove: An Alaska Iconoclast Mystery by Mary Ann Poll

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Raven’s Cove” is an endearing cozy mystery wrapped in Supernatural horror and legend, set in contemporary South Central Alaska. Clearly delineated are the forces of good vs. evil, from the Congregational Alliance Church (which serves the dark side while disguising itself as of the Light), maneuvering to distract and destroy the young Reverend Lucas’ fundamentalist congregation; and the evil which has “resided” for centuries or perhaps millennia, deep in the locale known as “Raven’s Ravine,” resting just below “Corpse Mound,” an evil that has taken lives at every opportunity.
The characters are finely-drawn and three-dimensional, and even the “evil” ones will elicit reader comprehension, if not always empathy.
Kat, Sheriff Bart, Reverend Lucas, and the visitor Josiah (who has suffered greatly himself, and whose life has been changed because of it) must combine to battle an evil that only some of them can even begin to believe in, while others understand but do not yet know the extent of the evil, nor the dangers they themselves face.
For readers who like a smooth-reading mystery with Supernatural and mythological overtones, founded on a strong basis of good vs. evil, “Raven’s Cove” will hit the spot.




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The Unsacred Gift by C. S. Dorsey_Review

The Unsacred Gift by C.S. Dorsey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sicily (Sissy) has been plagued with a particular psychic gift since childhood: she foresees death, both of her loved ones and of strangers, or acquaintances. At age six she dreamed her younger sister’s disappearance, reported the dream and terror to her mother, and was ignored. But it actually happened, in front of Sissy, her mother, aunt and twin cousins. Later, in high school, she met a teacher and foresaw her soon demise, and in college, a flight attendant; then her Grandmother, who also predicted she had not long to live.

Raised as an only child by a single mom (once her sister “disappeared,” it was as if she never existed), Sissy has avoided touch, friends, boyfriends, anything other than the most casual contact. But we live in a society that doesn’t value personal space, so more often than not, strangers and acquaintances take her hand, or tap her on the shoulder, or bump her-and at any time visions might recur. When she returns home for a visit and encounters her old high school crush, discovering he too had a crush on her, she wants to blaze ahead into a relationship; but does she dare? Or could foreseeing the death of someone she cares for shatter her heart and her sanity?




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MARYSVALE by Jared Southwick_Review

Marysvale by Jared Southwick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Marysvale” captivated me from Moment One. I loved the style, the writing, the poetic descriptions, the fantasy, the psychic element, the Supernatural elements, the approach to characters, the addressing of issues that have been urgent throughout the centuries and continue to be today (domestic violence, power and control vs. good governing, human greed and cupidity, despotism, and much more).

I am not generally an aficionado of High Fantasy, but this novel is so superb that I determined to immediately acquire and read the sequel. Why? I need to find out what happens next, to the characters, to the plot, to the locale. I need to know the revelation of the secrets of some of the “secondary” characters (who might turn out to be not too secondary at all, but instead more important) in this novel. I want to know, because author Jared Southwick has made me care about the outcomes for the characters. Some I want to succeed; others I want to see fail. But I must know!

I’m not going to relate any of the plot, because the novel is simply worth reading for itself, regardless of genre, sub-genre, type of setting, locale, plot, or character. Don’t take this to mean all of these elements are not important: they are, and they are excellently handled, as are a number of plot threads which have been neatly and logically intertwined. No dropped stitches in this novel. If I could, I would award Marysvale about 12 Stars. I’ve become a persistent fan of the author, which means anything he publishes, I’ll now read.




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THE LAST FREE CAT by Jon Blake_Review

The Last Free Cat by Jon Blake

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“The Last Free Cat” is a simultaneously heartwarming yet horrifying tale of a dystopian society I hope I never see come to pass. Ruled by multinational corporations (by the time the book begins, it’s primarily a sole multinational), rebellion means overthrowing the Corporate Giants (as occurs in Ireland). Rebellion can also mean keeping an unlicensed, unregistered feline (as does our narrator, Jade). Cats allegedly caused a serious, fatal, outbreak of flu, which had only been confined due to the sharp research skills of scientists. Now only registered cats are allowed, and those of course are bred by the Multinational in power.

When Jade and her mother discover an uncollared (therefore unregistered) kitten in their garden, they immediately know they should report it to the authorities; but in a spirit of justice, they take the cat in. Eventually someone clues the authorities, who raid the house, and the ensuing excitement is too much for Jade’s mother, who has a weak heart. Next, Jade and the cat Feela are on the run; but where can they go? Where is escape?

Readers will be riveted. Although this book is aimed at younger readers, believe me, adults will find it fascinating too; and one needn’t be a cat lover, or even a pet lover, to enjoy it. Author Jon Blake has a lot of lessons to deliver about this horrid society, just as did George Orwell in “1984.”




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THE SNOW by Ross S. Simpson

The Snow by Ross S. Simon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Synchronistically, this is the second book I’ve read dealing with Evil Loki in less than a week. The previous novel was Jennifer Estep’s “Touch of Frost,” from the Mythos Academy series, which I read per a Goodreads challenge. It also purported Norse trickster god Loki as evil, head of an army of Reapers of Chaos (with eternal chaos, of course, being his dream).

In “The Snow,” Loki is not just evil-but bloodthirsty, gory, and, well-a deity, with all the powers of a deity at his disposal, including shape-shifting, possession, and extreme violence. So I guess from now on I’ll have to be careful if I ever encounter this guy-funny, I don’t recall the Native American version of The Trickster-Coyote-being this vicious.

The point of this novel is that Loki is an eternal deity (recurrently so, at least) and as an evil one, plots chaos, death, destruction, and massacre anywhere he can. Of course, it never starts with death, but with confusion, dissension, inability to understand another’s viewpoint-and then soon escalates to brutal slaughter. Loki never stops, not with Leif Ericksson’s crew, not with the Nazis, and not in contemporary society. He’s always got an eye toward sowing chaos.

I found that this novel had somewhat too much narrative; although there is a prevalence of graphic, gory, violent action (in detail), often one has to wade through too much narrative to reach that action.




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TOUCH OF FROST by Jennifer Estep_Review

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was immediately enraptured with this book, trying to read it in one sitting just because I couldn’t set it down. Gwen Frost is such an endearing character, appealing to YA-age readers and even older readers (such as myself) who remember what school was like (what life is like) when no one understands you and you just give up trying to make yourself known. Author Jennifer Estep delineates her characters with a light touch, where others might have rendered simply stereotypes. This is true of the characters in and of themselves, even before and beyond their existence as “stuff of legend and myth.”

And that is the added “touch”; Mythos Academy, of which “Touch of Frost” is only, thankfully, the first in a series, is a private boarding school for descendants of gods and warriors. Yes, you read that right: those folks on Olympus, Valhalla, and elsewhere (many elsewhere) really did exist (and still do) and really did commence genetic lineages. Umpteen generations later, those children attend Mythos Academy, located outside Asheville, North Carolina; as did their parents and grandparents. They train to utilize their magic, to act as warriors and denizens of the good. But the Norse god Loki, once a trickster but due to the skewing of circumstances later actually evil, leads his army, the Reapers of Chaos, and those are present at Mythos Academy too-both professor and student-although covert.




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MIDNIGHT MOVIE CREATURE FEATURE_Review

Midnight Movie Creature Feature by T.W. Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An anthology of horror in which each story is framed as a film title, with the author as the star, “Midnight Movie Creature Feature” returns to us those monsters we feared so much at the movies as children, together with some legendary creatures such as the Golem, which has a centuries-old lineage from medieval European Jewish history. These are not flash fiction, either, but fully realized, characterized, and plotted stories. As an anthology, some readers might find all the stories intriguing; others, like this reviewer, might find some especially exciting. Either way, there’s material here to appeal to all, and the film framework is catchy and intriguing. This is not a quick-write, quick-edit and hit print anthology AT ALL. Everyone involved in this put in tremendous effort, and this anthology deserves wide consideration.

I won’t list my specific favourites, because that’s only my individual tastes. But if you’re hunting for jaw-dropping, skin-crawling, looking-over-your-shoulder-to-see-the-monster kind of scary, check out “Midnight Movie Creature Feature.” And do leave the lights on.




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Troll Hunters by Michael Dahl_Advance Review

Reviewed for Great Minds Think Aloud


Troll hunters by Michael Dahl

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



An enjoyable tale of contemporary fantasy, suitable for middle-graders through adolescent (and even adults too ), “Troll Hunters” is an easy yet engrossing read. Author Michael Dahl credibly comprehends the viewpoints, fears, desires, and reality of the young, both quite young (as Louise), and adolescent (Zak, Pablo, Thora, Bryce), so that the reader observes (and participates) from the youngsters’ viewpoints. As well, his ability to suspend disbelief has readers readily conceding that even in today’s reality, trolls, centaurs, and other supposedly mythological beings could and do exist, and impact our society, culture, and lives. I recommend this book for the above age groups, and it would also be suitable for adults reading to younger children.




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My Favorite Fangs by Alan Goldsher_ADVANCE REVIEW

My Favorite Fangs: The Story of the Von Trapp Family Vampires by Alan Goldsher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


“My Favourite Fangs” parodies “The Sound of Music,” the classic heartwarming, hopeful tale fo the Von Trapp Family of Austria in the 1930’s, in the era of the rise of Nazism to power in Germany, which led to World War II. Now as we know, in the original, love, hope, faith, and charity triumphed. In this version, triumph goes to Vampires-specifically, Vampire Maria Trapp, an oversexed near-immortal who has spent a couple of centuries hanging around with the Zombie Sisters of the Abbey of the Dead in Austria. Zombies are not known for their intelligence or brain capacity, and so the Abbey’s Mother Superior (known of course as Mother Zombie) determines to send out Maria as governess to the wild, foul-mouthed, misbehaving, hoyden children of Georg von Trapp, a wealthy (but severely alcoholic) estate-owner. These little heathens were semi-orphaned by the death of their mother, and the emotional withdrawal of their father. Supervised by housekeeper Alice (see “The Brady Bunch”) and butler Albert (see “Batman”), the children run wild-literally; until the arrival of overblown Maria, who determines to set them straight-in some cases, by converting them to vampirism, in other cases by playing on their prurient interests.

“My Favorite Fangs” is campy-excessively so-and relies in large part on pop culture of the latter 20th century as the fulcrum of its multitude of joking references. The humour level struck me as appealing to adolescent boys; although I did enjoy the introduction of John Coltrane as a sort of Spirit Guide from the Astral plane, even though at the time he was still alive and an active musician.

I rate this 18+ for graphic violence, profanity, and sexual situations involving individuals under 18.
Although it is highly possible, maybe even likely, that fourteen-year-old boys and sixteen-year-old girls think, talk, and behave in sexually explicit fashion, I would prefer not to read about it and I caution readers who might find this uncomfortable.




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100 HORRORS Anthology

100 Horrors: Tales of Horror in the Blink of an Eye by Kevin G. Bufton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“100 Horrors” is a true centuple, collecting stories by 100 authors, of 100 words each, filing horror to a sharp, sharp point. No wasted details, no unnecessary verbiage here: just a century of words in which to titillate, frighten, or even terrify a reader. Subtitled “Tales of Horror in the Blink of an Eye,” this anthology can be read nearly that fast, or it can be slowed and savoured, letting the horror sink in and percolate in the reader’s bloodstream.

The introduction is like a carnival barker drawing us in…reminding us of what it’s like to experience real thrills and chills. It also beckons to those of us with decades of enrapture with convoluted and lengthy horror novels. Its premise turns out to be so very, very true: a story truly doesn’t have to run 1,000 pages of gore and graphic violence to terrify. All it takes is a simple, short, 100 words. 100 words to make the skin crawl, the eyes snap shut, the mouth scream, and the mind shake. 100 little words, 100 times over. Read this anthology with ALL the lights in the house on. I wish I had.




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