From The Pit

SINGULARITY by Joe Hart begins as a crime drama and mutates into a supernatural thriller. When a man is slaughtered in solitary confinement, BCA Special Agent Sullivan Shale and his partner must lead an investigation within an isolated penitentiary. Unfortunately, they become trapped with both inmates and guards as the area floods from an ongoing storm system.

The author whips together sci-fi and an ancient horror to terrify readers, as Sullivan attempts to survive the nightmare unfolding inside the prison. When he finds the answers to his questions, the psychological trauma might leave him permanently damaged.

Not only do I recommend this novel, but I also recommend THE EXORCISM OF SARA MAY by Joe Hart.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Banish The Broken From My Bones

It is 1936.

The Great Depression is still strangling America. People are out of work. Out of options. And everyone is desperate.

But in the small town of Rath, Minnesota, another kind of evil is holding sway.

Something terrible has woken, and the little community will never be the same.

THE EXORCISM OF SARA MAY by Joe Hart is a coming of age story mixed with drama, suspense and the supernatural. The author does such an excellent job of drawing the reader into the community of Rath with the personal POV of Lane, the slow pace didn't bother me at all. Set within The Great Depression, the connections between characters felt very deep and meaningful. When an evil force threatens those relationships, the pain and suffering among loved ones is devastating, to say the least.

I've always enjoyed Hart's stories, and this has become one of my favorites. The author has an incredible talent for weaving family themes and well-developed characters with psychological conflicts and North American folklore. I recommend this to anyone looking for a story which will reach into your soul.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Blood Runs Cold

Mickey Bannon is an artist living in Chicago who specializes in a type of anamorphosis (seeing hidden shapes and pictures in random places). Amidst caring for his disabled son and coming to terms with a failed marriage, he receives a call that his father has been killed in a logging accident in northern Minnesota. 

Upon his arrival in his hometown he begins to experience terrifying and unexplainable occurrences that push the boundaries of his sanity. Soon he must face the reality that his father may not have been the man he thought he was. 

And there are other, darker forces waiting for him as a powerful snowstorm bears down, trapping him with secrets that are far from dead.

Leave The Living by Joe Hart had me guessing from beginning to end...what secret was Mickey's dad keeping? What kind of dark forces were waiting for him? The incident in the morgue set the tone for the story, but the paranormal activity in and around the house served as misdirection while increasing the suspense by ten-fold. I forgot that evil comes in many forms.

I read this story during a freezing night in December, and I recommend this as perfect reading material for winter. I could feel the chill seep off the pages as the horror unfolded around poor Mickey. Joe Hart once again uses his superb story-telling to remind readers, blood does, in fact, run cold.

As always,
AstraDaemon

The Unending Deep

Born a poor lobster fisherman's son on the stark, Maine coastline, Jason Kingsley has always struggled with becoming more than what his father intended for him. After meeting and falling in love with the beautiful Delphi Arans, he feels his destiny has finally been fulfilled.

Their joy is unrivaled, something he's only ever dreamed of.

But soon disturbing events begin to invade the couple's life, and Jason starts to doubt the nature of their relationship as well as his sanity.

As his world unravels around him, Jason comes to realize that some secrets are better left untold, and others are worse than death itself.

And The Sea Called Her Name by Joe Hart reminds me a little of Night Ocean by H.P. Lovecraft and R.H. Barlow. With so much emphasis on the couple's happiness in the beginning, there's only one way for the story to progress. The family issues both Jason and Del dealt with in their younger years hints at the trouble they soon face within their marriage. Despite a few moments of the "stranges," this story is largely familiar: disappointment and resentment, followed by suspicion and confrontation.

However, Hart takes the marital discord to a nightmarish depth with the inclusion of an ancient mythos. The ocean serves as a perfect reminder of the unknown, a constant threat to peace of mind. As the sea reveals a leviathan of a secret to Jason, his life will change in all possible ways.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Monstrous

A man, walked on his entire life by others, discovers his wife's infidelity, and decides to do something about it. After a deadly encounter in an alleyway he must look into the depths of himself to find the line unseen, and face the horror beyond.

The Line Unseen by Joe Hart has all the elements of classical horror: drama, suspense and psychological terror. Even though this is a short story, Hart's characters are well-developed, adding a gut-wrenching depth to Tim's misfortune. The details in every scene emphasize the dread and panic Tim is feeling, until the grotesque nightmare overwhelms him.

I'd love to see this story get some screen time.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Unconditional Love

Imagine opening your front door one morning only to have your life horribly ripped apart. 

In a moment, you're implicated in the murder of your entire family and hounded by something not of this world.

The Edge of Life by Joe Hart is one of the best short stories I've ever read in my life. The mystery of a strange visitor, the torment of one man's sanity and the mind-numbing conclusion...all part of the surreal horror which first enticed me into this genre. I'm convinced Hart must've been a story-teller in more than one past life. His delivery of this morbid tale is that of an old soul, someone who has made himself comfortable in the dark places of the human imagination.

As always,
AstraDaemon