Review Revised For New Edition

Marty Weaver, an emotionally scarred poet, has been bullied his entire life. When he drives out to the lake to tell an old friend that he’s fallen in love with a girl named Jennifer, Marty encounters three sadistic killers who have some twisted games in store for him. But Marty has dark secrets of his own buried deep inside him. And tonight, when all the pain from the past is triggered, when those secrets are revealed, blood will flow and hell will rise.

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Darkness Rising by Brian Moreland disappointed me with the original version. This novella lacked the level of creativity that I'd come to expect from Moreland. In the first edition, Marty's special "talent" is extremely original, but the majority of the old imagery reminded me of various horror movies pieced together - kind of like Frankenstein's monster.

This most recent edition is freaking awesome! I have no idea what Moreland has been doing behind the scenes in the last few years or so, but, whatever it is, it's working for him. The story is more personal, and the action is quite brutal...the way horror should be.

Moreland also released a new edition of The Vagrants, retitled THE SEEKERS...if you enjoyed this story, make The Seekers your next read.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Profound Love In Literature

Suddenly, Love
by Aharon Applefeld
240 pages
$12.99 Kindle version

Suddenly, Love by Aharon Appelfeld is a very intimate accounting of the love that develops between an elderly man and his much younger caretaker. There is almost no physical contact of any kind between the two characters and limited conversation, and, yet, what is left unspoken speaks volumes. Although it is a work of fiction, the historical elements add a depth to the characters which brings the two to life on a very personal level.

I'm truly surprised by how captivated I was by this unusual relationship. I don't have a specific reason for choosing this story to read, other than wanting to read something that stands out from the typical mainstream romance novels. The setting is mostly contained to Ernst's apartment and the narration tends to favor Irena's POV. However, as Ernst share his writing with Irena, the literature within the literature is deeply moving...a profound sharing of souls.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Wednesday WTF: Misleading Readers

Fog Island Mountains
by Michelle-Bailat-Jones
176 pages
$6.99 Kindle version

Fog Island Mountains by Michelle Bailat-Jones is described as a reinterpretation of the Japanese folktale tradition, and I strongly disagree. This is not story-telling, this is just telling, and a bad telling at that. The story revolves around the diagnosis of terminal cancer to Alec, husband and father, but more is revealed about the motions the characters go through, than their actual feelings, which is really disappointing considering the gravity of the situation. Perhaps it is the haphazard writing style: the POVs are told through a narrator and they change often and without any warning, and the relationship of the narrator to the other characters is never made clear.

My main purpose in reading any fiction book is to be entertained in some way, regardless of genre, and that didn't happen. I have no idea what the author was trying to achieve by writing this book, nor do I know what target audience she had in mind.. The award given to this novel is given to stories with the topic of serious illness, but do not take that as an indication of the quality of the writing. I normally love stories with foreign settings, but I could find nothing to enjoy about this family drama.

I feel that absolutely nothing is resolved between any of the characters. Many issues are introduced, such as sibling conflict, unplanned pregnancy, infidelity, and, of course, terminal illness, but the author never stays with any one topic long enough for the family dynamics to make an impact, one way or another. I feel like the author was introducing characters to fill the pages, rather than using them to propel the storyline.

I wish this story had lived up to the description on the back cover.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Tuesday Terror: Finders Keepers

The Keeper
by Luke Delaney
560 pages
$6.50 Kindle version

Within the first ten pages of The Keeper by Luke Delaney, readers will find themselves ensnared within a shocking and terrifying suspense thriller. The simplistic way in which Louise Russell is snatched from her home by Thomas Keller, only to wake up naked in a cage, is more nerve-wracking than a brutal and bloody assault...because monsters rarely look like monsters and they strike when their victims are least likely to expect to be attacked. Knowing that time is running out for Louise is almost as painful to bear as the torture inflicted upon her by her captor.

The main POVs come from Detective Sean Corrigan, the perpetrator Thomas Keller and the victim Louise Russell; there are a few other minor POVs that offer a great deal of insight into the main characters. However, Delaney doesn't reveal the source of Keller's behavior until the very end. Readers must follow the bread crumbs along with Corrigan.

There were sections of the book where the descriptions seemed to be dragging on, and the conversations between characters seemed a bit forced, but the novel held my attention from beginning to end. The epilogue made me realize that Corrigan is a character from a series; unfortunately, this detail has been left out of the marketing in the US.

I don't understand why publishers think they have to use different book covers and descriptions for the UK & US. This author would probably do much better in the US if the marketing mentioned that this is part of a series. I had no idea this is "Book 2" until I went to the Amazon UK site.

If you were an author of a series, wouldn't you want readers to know that fact?

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monday Mayhem: I Call Bullshit

Zombie Gods of Death
by Greg Tom

The story begins five years in the past with Tony Young in combat overseas. A zombie outbreak occurs during the battle, and the government covers it up. It is immediately apparent that this story needs professional editing. The settings aren't described well, the dialogue seems forced and the characters leave a lot to be desired.

The plot interested me: a group of terrorists called the Shinigami are deliberately infecting college students, and a group led by Tony Young attempt to stop them. The story is actually told from the POV of a student named Ian Zombie, who is more of a leader than Tony. Rather than develop the relationships between survivors of the college outbreak, the author jumps weeks at a time to keep the story going. There isn't much action, even with terrorists and zombies, and what does take place is a bit ridiculous. For example, they are constantly jumping into water, during the school year in Michigan; I live in Michigan, and I assure you the water is COLD, but no ever gets hypothermia.

There are far too many "too good to be true" moments for this to be a convincing outbreak scenario.
The ending is left open...maybe a series in the works. If that is the case, I hope the writing style is drastically improved.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sunday Suspense: Ammon's Horn

Ammon's Horn
by Stan Timmons
270 pages
$5.99 Kindle version

(I read this once before, but couldn't find the review I wrote for it, so I decided to re-read this novel.)

Gemma is a reporter in a relationship with a cop named Danny; the two of them connect several murders and multiple acts of violence to a virus nicknamed the "Noids. The virus attacks part of the brain, making the infected think their fears are very real. The virus mutates and becomes airborne, quickly overwhelming the eastern seaboard in the U.S., triggering a westward exodus. Danny and Gemma drive to California, to join the Fear Factory, hoping to find answers and an antidote within the secret organization.

Mostly told from Danny's POV, with a few glimpses of Gemma's POV, as well as other victims, readers will begin to wonder if one (or both) of the main characters is under the influence of the virus. The twist at the end is so subtle, it's elegant. I couldn't predict the ending - even the 2nd time around, since I had first read this a long time ago.

I haven't read Stan Timmons before or since this novel, but his permanently on my list of talented authors who know how to create a thrilling horror-suspense story.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Secrets Can Kill

A Line of Blood
by Ben McPherson
416 pages
$12.99 Kindle version

For Alex Mercer, his wife, Millicent, and their precocious eleven-year-old son, Max, are everything—his little tribe that makes him feel all's right with the world. But when he and Max find their enigmatic next-door neighbor dead in his apartment, their lives are suddenly and irrevocably changed. The police begin an extremely methodical investigation, and Alex becomes increasingly impatient for them to finish. After all, it was so clearly a suicide.

As new information is uncovered, troubling questions arise—questions that begin to throw suspicion on Alex, Millicent, and even Max. Each of them has secrets it seems. And each has something to hide.

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A father and son discover their dead neighbor while searching for their missing cat. At first glance, it appears to be a suicide, but the police investigation suggests it may have been a murder. There are multiple suspects, each with a damning motive. As the investigation progresses, several secrets are revealed about the Mercer family living next door to the deceased. With each revelation, McPherson draws readers further into the tragic life of Alex Mercer. Told from Alex's POV, this family drama digs into the betrayal and revenge that threatens to tear apart everything that Alex thought he knew about his relationships.

Alex is desperate to save his marriage as the truth about his wife comes to light, and, for the life of me, I have no idea why. I hated Millicent for the hell she brings upon Alex and their son Max. However, I also disliked Max for the disrespect and disobedience that he wields throughout the novel. I couldn't fathom how Alex managed to get through even one day, considering the amount of abuse he takes from his wife and son. Despite my issues with the Mercer family and their decisions, I felt the character development was superb! I had to keep reminding myself that these were just fictional people, but I couldn't put the book down...I read the story in one long sitting.

Between the suspense and frustration, I couldn't tear myself away from a single page. Ben McPherson knows how to hold his readers captive. One of the best novels I've read all year!

As always,
AstraDaemon