Over This Plot

When Leah and her husband, Clay, move from Seattle to Maine, she envisions a vibrant new neighborhood packed with families—playmates for her twins, new friends she can confide in and bond with. But while Clay works long hours to establish his brewery, Leah is left alone each day in a nearly deserted housing development where the only other occupants are aloof and standoffish.
 
Bored and adrift, Leah finds herself watching Clarissa and Russell Gaines next door, envying their stylishly decorated home and their university careers. But Leah’s obsession with the intriguing, elegant Clarissa grows until she’s not just spying from afar but sneaking into their house, taking small objects...reading Clarissa’s diary. It contains clues to a hidden turmoil Leah never guessed at—and a connection to a local college girl who’s disappeared. 
 
The more Leah learns about Clarissa, the more questions emerge. Because behind every neighbor’s door there are secrets that could shatter lives forever...

The Neighbor by Joseph Souza lacks the quality found in Unpaved Surfaces or the originality of Need to Find You. I've been enjoying Souza's transition from zombie novels to mystery-thrillers, but this novel has left me wondering if the author has "sold out." While the author's writing style is still as captivating as ever, with alternating POVs between Leah and Clay, the story premise is an over-done theme. Unfortunately, I can't go into detail without giving away spoilers.

Souza also spends more time working current social issues into his story than developing his characters. Clay is a drunk, Leah is a bored housewife, Russell is a cheating husband...I could go on, but my point is everyone is a stereotype, without any effort to give their personalities the depth I've come to expect from the author's characters in previous novels.

The best thing I can say about The Neighbor is this novel would make a great movie for the Lifetime channel.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Living Dead Series: The Final Countdown

Dar and her band of survivors must flee for their lives after a terrorist blows up the fence protecting their Boston camp. Departing in two eighteen wheelers, the group heads to Washington State to find Dar’s family.

A caravan of army troops, led by egomaniacal General Townsend, arrive in Boston to take control of the camp only to find it in ruins. His goal: to capture the President of the United States and Annabelle, one of the few ‘ghosts’ in the world who can walk freely among the dead without fear of attack.

Hungry and in need of rest after being pursued by Townsend, the survivors take refuge in a walled-in Amish compound. But all is not what it seems there. The compound, which has its own ‘ghost’, is bitterly divided and separated into two camps by a zombie-filled ditch. Dar realizes that if the Amish don’t soon change their traditional ways, they will die at the hands of the dead. Little does anyone know that a militant group of Amish youth has been secretly planning to overthrow their elders and take control.

Darmeggedon by Joseph Souza is not as strong as Darpocalypse, but it is still far better than The Reawakening. There is just too much repetition followed by sudden jumps in the timeline. The characters spend pages and pages doing the same thing: run from the military, stop to take a break, fight zombies, rinse, repeat...you get the idea. When there is a change in events, there is usually a large leap in time - weeks or even months.

I LOVE the development of the main character, Dar; one of Souza's strong points is the growth of his characters, and the way they interact with one another. The characters are radically different from the first two books - AS THEY SHOULD BE.

I thought this was the last book in a trilogy, but, based on the ending, I wouldn't be surprised if Souza decided to continue the series. There was only one loose end for me: General Townsend, but Souza could probably write another two full-length books with the direction that he has taken in this series.

Since writing this series, Souza has moved into the mystery-thriller/crime drama genre and I highly recommend Unpaved Surfaces and Need To Find You.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Living Dead Series Continues

The second wave of the plague has struck with a brutal vengeance and a full-on zombie apocalypse has spread throughout every corner of the world.

Abandoned by her father, Dar has managed to set up a camp in the Boston Common. Surrounded by hordes of ravenous zombies, one person living inside the camp holds the key to their survival.

A few lucky people on Earth have developed a mysterious immunity from the plague. Known as ghosts, they are prized for their ability to walk among the dead and gather food and supplies without fear. The Boston camp harbors one such person, and President Roberts orders the Army’s finest soldier to bring their ghost to Washington, D.C. at any cost.As the world descends into apocalyptic madness, the horde grows increasingly aggressive, threatening the wellbeing of every survivor in Dar’s camp. Boston Common becomes ground zero for a dramatic showdown, and Dar realizes that she must make a decision that threatens not only her life, but the survival of every person she’s been entrusted to protect.

Darpocalypse by Joseph Souza was a thousand times better than The Reawakening. The range of characters is fantastic. Rather than rooting for any particular survivor, or survivor group, I simply enjoyed reading the battle royale for survival against the supernatural undead. I was utterly captivated. I'm not reading zombie literature to increase my brainpower, so it's refreshing to find an author that remembers the main reason for writing: ENTERTAINING the readers.

In the first book, readers were introduced to a zombie apocalypse caused by a genetic experiment gone wrong. The story centered around a family trying to survive until helped arrived, but they soon found out that their survival was entirely up to them. In the sequel, one of the characters from the first book, Dar, has risen from the carnage and become a very formidable leader of a community that is doing better than the tattered remains of the US government. Unfortunately, the government is willing to throw away the lives of Dar's followers in order to save their precious capitol.

Even the ending was a pleasure to read...instead of slapping readers in the face with an abrupt cliff-hanger, Souza wrote an ending that has me dying to read the next book in the trilogy - I'm glad I chose to follow Dar through The Living Dead Series.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Warning: Zombie Controversy

A series of terrible things begin to happen when a scientist with a dark past resumes his genetic experiments in a small Maine town. The animals suddenly become aggressive for no apparent reason, attacking anyone within sight, including Rick’s wife. After slaughtering his diseased herd, Rick realizes to his horror that they have come back to life. Soon the farm is under siege by the deranged animals, and a small group of refugees who have assembled in the farmhouse must hunker down and defend themselves against the terrible onslaught of cannibals. The entire town soon becomes filled with the human flesh-eaters, threatening the farmhouse and the survivors within it. But they all have the same message before they reawaken: they are seeking the chosen ones. The onset of winter provides a temporary defense against the army of the dead, but with supplies running low, the survivors realize they must formulate a plan before the arrival of spring and the dreaded melt-off. And as the world outside them descends into total madness, a surprising leader emerges from the group who will hopefully lead them to safety. 

The Reawakening by Joseph Souza is the first book in The Living Dead Series. This novel really upset a lot of zombiephiles, as well as myself. When dead people start talking about an afterlife and "chosen ones," it stops being horror for me. As a matter of fact, The Reawakening seemed more like a sci-fi/fantasy story with just enough brutality thrown in to give it a horror flavor. I am not a fan of supernatural zombies. Granted, the cause of the undead rising in this book is a science experiment gone wrong, but the nature of the undead left me wondering if I was going to be able to finish the book. 

I also disliked the characters - the way they interacted with each other was deplorable, especially considering some of them are related. There was definitely no bonding of any kind within this group of survivors. Not to mention the effort it took to keep reading: a corpse rots faster than the pace of this story. However, after a while, I rather enjoyed the suffering of the characters (sick, I know), and I was just curious enough about their fates to finish the book.Despite my strong dislike of this story, I went ahead and read the second book in the series, Darpocalypse, and I found it to be a great improvement over the first book. It's definitely a unique approach to the whole zombie apocalypse scenario, so if you are looking for something different, this might be the series you were waiting for.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Not My Preference

Fujita's Itch by Joseph Souza is a collection of three stories...the author's writing style has been evolving over the years, encompassing many genres, and these three stories represent the author's literary journey perfectly.

The first tale, Fujita's Itch, is a lengthy piece of bizarro fiction. I couldn't find anything to like about it, at all...just too damn strange for even me. The next story, The Stone Walls of Lebanon, is a brief crime drama and I loved every bit of it. Queensland, the last one, has a humorous edge to it. I can't help but wonder if there are indeed males who worry about that type of biological warfare. All in all, one diverse mix of stories.

Unfortunately, this mix lacked the intensity I've come to expect from Souza and the stories seemed kind of fluffy compared to his past work.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sunday Suspense: Need To Find You [book review]

Need To Find You by Joseph Souza is an intriguing crime drama, proving that Souza is just as comfortable with this genre as he is with the horror genre. Joseph Souza is well-known for his zombie series such as The Living Dead and The Liger Plague. However, after releasing his award winning novel, Unpaved Surfaces (and, no, that’s not just a blurb, he really did win multiple awards for his first crime drama), Souza is well on his way to becoming the next big thing out of Maine.

Souza avoids the cliché of violence as a plot device, and slowly weaves a story based on a hidden manuscript that might destroy the reputation of a classic author. Mikiela, investigating the memoirs of Robert Cornish, is abruptly kidnapped, but she manages to give her phone to Yasmine. As luck would have it, Yasmine has a history with the kidnappers and plans on using the phone’s contents to exact revenge on a man known only as The Viking. Whip is a former undercover detective struggling to overcome his alcohol addiction, but he accepts the task of finding Mikiela. Haskins is the corrupt assistant police chief who is trying to tie up all the loose ends to pay his debt to The Viking, but both Whip and Mikiela have a score to settle with the dirty cop.

The setup is slow, and there are several more characters to keep track of…to be honest, I wasn’t sure this book was going to be to my liking. I shouldn’t have doubted Souza’s ability to draw readers into one hell of a mystery. I would never have believed a crime drama could be centered on something as simple as a manuscript. Patience is required, but rewarded with the electrifying ending of Need To Find You.

I can’t wait for the next book in The Liger Series, but I’m thinking Souza needs to leave the undead behind and consider giving Whip his own detective series.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Top Five Novels of 2015

This year I broke away from zombies and revisited many other horror sub-genres. I found numerous novels that I enjoyed, but the following five really stood out above the others:

#5 - The Girl Clay by Amy Cross has all the best elements at work in this story: horror, mystery, suspense and drama. The horror ranges from real-life issues to the supernatural.The two storylines, set ten years apart, are the perfect way to build suspense throughout the novel, until readers are finally shown all the connections. Last but not least, I loved the drama surrounding the girl Clay, specifically the detachment she maintains with everyone around her.


#4 - The 3 Egos by David Dunwoody is the author's best work. He's written a very complex novel about redemption and revenge, without overwhelming readers, and the characters are anything but typical, displaying the best and worst of human nature. Quite frankly, this is the best description of Hell that I've ever read.

#3 - Sad Wings of Destiny by Thom Brannan is one of the more unusual works of fiction that I've read. In the case of Brannan's latest masterpiece, the hook with Jacob/Stephen is one of the most exquisite character reveals that I've read in any genre. I was instantly drawn to that character, even though I had a lot of difficulty getting into the story itself. I'm not really into superheroes or supervillains in literature - movies, sure, but not when it comes to my reading material. I was rewarded with a spectacular drama that incorporates science fiction, fantasy and horror in ways I've never imagined.

#2 - Unpaved Surfaces by Joseph Souza has an extremely well-developed cast of characters, and switching between their POVs gives the readers a 360 degree view of the impact of the child abduction at the heart of the story. This novel is guaranteed to take readers on an emotional journey they will not soon forget. I think this story would also make a great movie.


The biggest surprise of all...


#1 - The Bell House by Lori Titus caught me completely off guard...I never knew what to expect at any point and that made it all the more thrilling. This is not your typical haunted house story, and the suspense is incredible. Titus does an excellent job of luring in readers with a love triangle involving brothers. The connections from one generation of the Bell family to the next added fuel to the fire, literally. Families have drama as it is, but when you involve curses and ghosts, you have the seemingly unstoppable force of the Bell house. This story is full of dark family secrets and angry spirits, pitting the living against the dead…one of the most frightening novels of 2015.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Infected, Cannibals and Zombies: What's The Difference?

One of the oldest debates in the horror community is defining a zombie. Is it someone who simply doesn't have control of his or her free will? Is it someone who is alive but controlled by a virus? Do they have to have died at some point? If they eat flesh and have no self-control, but they are alive, are they a cannibal or a zombie?


The Liger Plague by Joseph Souza might possibly be a new angle in the zombie debate; if the living infected in 28 Days Later fall into the realm of zombies, readers should at least consider adding Souza’s latest creation to the list. The Liger infected are unable to control their actions, they feed on human flesh, and they “hunt” much like traditional hordes. Due to the mysterious nature of the deadly hybrid virus, it’s possible Souza’s first novel in his new series didn’t reveal the entire transformation of the infected.

The majority of the story takes place on Cooke Island, where Tag, an ARMY scientist who specializes in the study of biological weapons, owns a summer home. Just as he is about to join his wife and daughter on the island for an art festival, Tag receives a warning that a new deadly virus is about to be released on the island. What follows is Tad’s struggle to quarantine the island, find his family & fight the infected…not to mention all the survivors looking to gather supplies by any means necessary.

Tag’s two main companions on the island are Fez, a kid who can’t find his parents, and Versa, the most unpleasant character that lives on the island. (If I were Tag, I would have thrown Versa into a crowd of ravenous infected, and been done with her, right at the start.) Tag’s adversaries include a bunch of bikers, some religious nuts, the local law enforcement and the government agents on the mainland. Tag is not by any means the only capable survivor, but he appears to be the only one who understands how much worse the situation will be if the Liger virus finds a way off the island.

Souza somehow manages to paint a sickening picture of the infected (don’t bother eating while you read this novel), while drawing sympathy for the Liger victims at the same time. By allowing the infected to retain the ability to communicate, readers are given a chilling insight into the true horror of the Liger plague.

In the sequel, Lethal Chain, some time has passed since the end of the first novel. The terrorist has his own POV this time, and readers are shown some of his background. Some of the information is revealed through the investigation of two reporters. Swain is one of those reporters, and she believes that Tag has been framed...unfortunately, it appears that Tag's wife thinks he is guilty of unleashing the virus on Cooke Island. In fact, Tag has been blamed for everything, and he is desperate to contact his family, as well as clear his name, but the terrorist keeps playing games with Tag's life. Fez continues to help Tag, and proves to be a reliable back-up time and time again.

I wasn't as impressed with the characters as I was the first time, but I did enjoy the addition of Swain. She and the terrorist seem to have some similarities in their pasts, but she chose a completely different path in life. The multiple storylines keep things interesting, especially when they overlap, but the action isn't as exciting as the first novel, and it felt like the story dragged a little in a few places. When the storylines finally converge, it was almost anti-climactic, but Monica (Tag's wife) proves to be just as much of a bad-ass as her husband.

I didn't think of Lethal Chain as much of a sequel as an interlude...although it wasn't clear if there will be a third installment. I certainly hope there will be.

I also recommend The Living Dead series by Joseph Souza.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Souza Begins New Path With Unpaved Surfaces

Unpaved Surfaces
by Joseph Souza
341 pages
$3.99 Kindle version

PRESS RELEASE:

AUTHOR PENS NEW MYSTERY ABOUT A MISSING BOY

Maine—Maine author Joseph Souza has released a compelling new mystery set in coastal Maine. Unpaved Surfaces (Kindle Press) tells the story of a family still grieving after their son and brother goes missing.

Enter into the life of an ideal family--Auggie is a happy nine-year-old boy whose father, Keith, loves him more than anything. Keith's life seems ideal--until one day Auggie vanishes. A year has passed since Keith's son disappeared, and he's haunted by glimpses of his son appearing in his small Maine town. With the investigation at a dead end and his family paralyzed with grief, Keith worries that he's losing his mind. In a thrilling twist, the case turns in a new direction--a direction that could either heal his family or tear them, and the rest of the town, apart.

Joseph Souza has published five books and has been an Amazon bestselling author. He was awarded the prestigious Andre Dubus Award for short fiction from the University of Southern Maine. He also accepted Honorable Mention from Dennis Lehane for The Al Blanchard Award at Crimebake, New England’s largest crime-writing conference. In 2013 his novel THE REAWAKENING won the Maine Literary Award for Speculative Fiction. In its review of THE REAWAKENING, his award-winning novel, The Portland Press Herald said, “Its impact on a reader reminds me of the old Stephen King classic, The Shining.”

It's very rare to find an author who can write well in more than one genre. I've always thought Souza is a talented horror author, but after reading this murder mystery/crime drama, I want Souza to give up the zombies and continue down this road which begins with Unpaved Surfaces.

The cast of characters are extremely well-developed and believable, and switching between their POVs gives the readers a 360 degree view of the impact of the child abduction at the heart of the story.

This novel is guaranteed to take readers on an emotional journey they will not soon forget. I think this story would make a great movie. I also recommend his Living Dead series, and his Liger series for zombie fans.

As always,
AstraDaemon