Throwback Thursday: Brom | AstraDaemon

The acclaimed artist Brom brilliantly displays his multiple extraordinary talents in The Child Thief—a spellbinding re-imagining of the beloved Peter Pan story that carries readers through the perilous mist separating our world from the realm of Faerie...Brom takes a classic children’s tale and turns it inside-out, painting a Neverland that...is darker, richer, more complex than innocent world J.M. Barrie originally conceived. An ingeniously executed literary feat, illustrated with Brom’s sumptuous artwork, The Child Thief is contemporary fantasy at its finest—casting Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, even Captain Hook and his crew in a breathtaking new light.

THE CHILD THIEF by Brom explores the darker perspectives of the tale that Disney turned into a "happy fairytale." Peter lures runaways - usually kids who have already been through hell (abuse, rape, etc) - by offering them sanctuary away from the grown-ups that have hurt them...but he doesn't tell them about the dangers of the Mist, or the war he is waging for his Lady (Brom's version of the Lady of the Lake). He promises them a new family, but he doesn't discuss how brutal their new life will be, or how many lost children have died before them.

If I didn't know any better, I would think that the "pirates" are supposed to be the lost colonists of Roanoke. In any case, they are New World colonists who were trapped on Avalon by the Mist. During their time on the island, they have been twisted both physically and mentally, so that there's barely any humanity left among the Flesh-Eaters.

Even the fairies associated with Peter are not creatures of light and joy, but mean-spirited pixies that torment anyone who lets his or her guard down. For example, Peter's Devils have to sleep in cages to protect themselves at night from the pixies.

It's tempting to think of Peter and the inhabitants of the island as evil tricksters, but when we catch glimpses of Peter's past, such as his separation from his mother, you soon realize that nothing is as simple as good or bad.

Most of the story is told through the experiences of Nick, a kid who thinks he has no choice but to follow Peter into the Mist. However, the longer he stays in Avalon, the more Nick wonders if his previous life was as bad as he thought. I recommend The Child Thief to anyone who likes a dark fantasy.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Stand-Up Horror

3...2...1: SCARING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU IN 3 SENTENCES OR LESS is original, weird and surprisingly entertaining, but not scary. This collection is more like stand-up comedy, only with the topic of horror. I can imagine a guy delivering these lines on a microphone, giving the audience shivers in place of laughs.

The three-sentence deliveries don't have titles, however, my favorites were "kiss goodnight," "walkie talkie," "call you by name," "Ouija board," and "time to go to bed."

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Movie Review

THE DEAD by the Ford Brothers is a very pleasant surprise. I noticed right away the quality of the film is more like a big screen film production than the home-movie quality some indie films seem to have. Also, no stupid camera movements like the shakes, which is refreshing. Not sure about the budget for this particular film, which runs about 90 minutes, but someone definitely spent some money on this project, regardless of the claim that it was “low-budget.”



The movie starts with an American soldier, stranded in West Africa after the last evacuation plane crashes in the ocean in the African desert (American actor Rob Freeman as a US military engineer), shooting a zombie, then flashes back to how he ended up in the desert, continuing along until the guy’s storyline reaches the first scene of the movie. I think it's a cool manipulation of the timeline.

He is joined by an African soldier (African actor Prince David Oseia) who is searching for his son, after his village is overrun. I love the comparison and contrast between these two survivors, which gives the plot some depth. I do think they could have spent a little more time on the military tension between the two, but the idea of them agreeing to work together is believable.

The village outbreak is a great zombie scene, but despite the great action sequences, quite a bit of the film follows the two survivors driving through the wilderness with zombies constantly appearing in the peripheral. There are many intense scenes during the drive, each time they have to stop for repairs, etc. I jumped a few times…catching me off guard with a high suspense factor.

The special effects are excellent, and I'm really glad to see the zombies have the same qualities of the original Romero undead. For that reason alone, if you’re one of those zombie fans who thinks there is no hope for zombie indie films, you should really give this one a chance. There’s never an explanation of the source, but there is a great conversation between two African soldiers that reflects on the outbreak.

I did have some issues with some of the behavior of the survivors (i.e. taking too many risks) which had me yelling at the characters, but that just shows how engrossing the film is. The DVD extras left something to be desired with only one deleted scene & background scenes set to music (absolutely no commentary, which would have been welcomed). The Ford Brothers missed a golden opportunity by not including more special features.

 Check out the trailer, and see for yourself.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Christmas

A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS by Rebecca M. Senese is a shopping nightmare...with the undead.

Surprisingly, the first half of this story was written in a somewhat serious manner. Melissa is working at a department store, when a zombie outbreak begins in the shoe department. She witnesses one of the other employees get bitten and join the ranks of the infected, but she has a hard time convincing her co-workers that they have a zombie problem — everyone else just thinks it’s the customers acting crazy during their Christmas shopping.

The first person to believe Melissa is a young man named Danny who helps her gear up with what’s available (alas, no guns), and together they fight their way to the security room, where a few other survivors have managed to reach safety. During their search, the story takes a funny twist when Melissa realizes the zombies still have memories of shopping, and have retained their instincts to seek out a sale.

Perfect holiday tale for the horror fan in your life.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Zombie STD

NOT-SO-DEAD TED by Scott R Antczak centers on an unfortunate tourist by the name of Theodore Hunter. He visits Cancun, where he spends some time with a mysterious, exotic woman. When he returns from his 3-day vacation, he immediately falls ill.

There is a lot of foreshadowing to tip off readers as to what to expect, but the main character doesn't have a clue. I especially enjoyed the dream sequence at the beginning, adding an extra dimension to the story I didn't expect.

The author's attention to detail is great, but it also made me want to throw up all over my Kindle. While I don't have a problem with the open ending, I wouldn't have minded some flashbacks to his time in Cancun (rather than his thoughts on his divorce) to add more meat to the story.

Too bad this is the only story published by Antczak, to date.


As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Almost Gave Up

Life in a small town can be pretty boring when everyone avoids you like the plague. But after their father unwittingly sends them to stay with an aunt who's away on holiday, the Hardscrabble children take off on an adventure that begins in the seedy streets of London and ends in a peculiar sea village where, according to legend, a monstrous half-beast boy roams the woods...

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter is set-up as one of the three Hardscrabble children writing a tale about a personal adventure, under the guidance of a teacher. While the writer is to remain anonymous, it doesn't take long to figure out which child is most likely the author. The problem I have with this approach is it really does seem like a child wrote this book (so, technically, Ellen Potter is a talented author), and I grew sick of having the story interrupted by the narrator addressing the reader directly (cheesy interjections, and some on the insulting side). This seems to dumb-down the book, rather than add to it. The constant explaining of events, as well as the brief summary of things to come at the start of each chapter, slowed down the pace of the story considerably.

Otto is the oldest of the Hardscrabble children; he keeps a scarf wrapped around his face, he doesn't speak, and he signs in a way that only Lucia and Max can translate. Lucia is the middle child, and seemed to have a harsh personality. Max, the youngest, is the deep thinker. Their dad, Casper, travels quite a bit, and leaves the children in the care of Mrs. Carnival. Their adventure begins when an arrangement for their care falls through and they decide to search for a mysterious great-aunt. Along the way, they meet a curious character named Saint George, and a five-legged cat they call Chester.

I was so sure I would never recommend this book to anyone. The thing is, when I finally realized what this story is really about, I found this to be one of the most beautiful tales that I've ever read...in a sad way that brought tears to my eyes. Ellen Potter isn't just talented; she's ground-breaking. She uses a combination of genres to introduce a new perspective to a family problem that would be difficult for anyone to deal with, especially young children. I love how Casper and the children come together to make the best of a tragic situation. Anyone who reads this book will appreciate the resiliency of the Hardscrabble children.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Not Enough Action

14 by Peter Clines isn't anything like his Ex series or The Junkie Quatrain. Not only is this story zombie-free, but there isn't nearly as much action as Clines usually delivers - at least not in the first two thirds of the novel.

Don't get me wrong, this was a solid effort by the author, but I was so discouraged by the length of the setup, I would have been tempted to quit the book if it had been written by someone other than Peter Clines. I enjoyed his other novels so much that I was sure if I stuck it out, I could count on a fabulous ending, and I wasn't wrong...but I was literally 64% into the story before the story really grabbed me.

I can't even say that it was necessary for the story to develop at such a slow pace. The main character, Nate, moves into an apartment with rent that is too good to be true. Eventually, he notices some peculiar traits about the building. The problem is that many of the discoveries are made through interactions with his neighbors, which became tedious after the first few encounters, and the odd characteristics of the individual apartments were introduced too far apart to be considered an effective hook. Also, there are brief POVs from some of Nate's neighbors, and I felt the flickering perspectives weakened the storyline, rather than enhancing it.

On the other hand, once I was two-thirds through the book, I had that "Hell, YEAH!" moment, where I realized that 14 wasn't going to be like anything I've ever read before...and that is when Clines' creative flow once again takes his readers on a thrilling ride through bizarre sequence of events that made me think HP Lovecraft would have been right at home in that apartment building.

I think if readers approach this book as a horror-mystery, rather than an action-thriller, they will be find the effort of slogging through Nate's investigation of his apartment building worthwhile. Many of the unfolding details will seem surreal with disturbing moments that will put ice in your veins; in the end, everything you love about horror, mystery and cult fiction will be found in abundance.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday Review

From Robert S. Wilson's debut collection WHERE ALL LIGHT IS LEFT TO DIE. When those with a special gift can catch your soul in that dark realm between here and hereafter and bring you back to life, who will save us all from the jealous void?

Every now and then, I need to remind myself why I became a fan of the horror genre. It wasn't because of the monsters (real or perceived) or the violence and/or gore...it was the unknown.

Robert S. Wilson takes the biggest unknown - death - and terrifies readers without monsters, gore or violence...just the darkness waiting to snatch the dying light.

In this story of a catcher, one who brings others back from death, he himself has to be rescued by another catcher. He also falls in love with someone he has caught. Eventually, the unknown catches up to him, and he can't ignore it any longer.

Great flash fiction for fans of The Twilight Zone or Tales From The Darkside.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Wormwood

Wormwood by Michael James McFarland reminds me of The Jakarta Pandemic, but with the most wicked reanimating virus I have ever come across in any plot. Wormwood was as emotionally devastating as the ending of Dead Sea by Brian Keene. Divided into eight parts, the POV switches between characters, depending on who is the focus of each section, and has a great mix of action, gore, drama – everything you could want in an apocalypse story.

The cast of characters had a terrific range; McFarland didn’t rely on typical stereotypes, and the imperfections of the group of neighbors living on Quail Street added to the realism of the story. Wormwood hooks the readers with a description of graphic video footage in the beginning, and then the survivors keep the story going with striking dialogue and thoughts of inner turmoil, emphasizing how quickly some people can change when others exploit a bad situation.

In the part titled, The Navaros, McFarland zeros in on one family’s personal reaction to the approaching outbreak ( a few days back in the timeline), which was heart-wrenching. In another part, when a search party is sent out for more medical supplies, readers catch a glimpse of the devastation beyond the cul-de-sac, and new survivors enter the story. Those characters carry the theme of losing one’s faith. Only one character, Shane, shows us a glimmer of hope, suggesting that even an underdog can rise to the occasion.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Dead Tropics

Dead Tropics by Sue Edge is the first zombie story I’ve read that is strictly from a mother’s POV, and has children present throughout the story as main characters, rather than just passing plot devices. Lori is a mom in Australia who drops her kids off at various places before she goes to work at the local hospital as an ER nurse. On her way to work, the radio reports an accident involving one of the mines. The original victims are taken to the hospital where Lori works, and it’s not long before Lori finds herself in the middle of zombie outbreak. She doesn’t have much trouble getting to her children, but getting them to safety is an absolute nightmare.

I thought this was a pretty good attempt, but it wasn’t quite the story I was hoping for. Lori came off as too perfect…some of the scenarios were just too convenient. I had trouble believing that a character who struggled with hiking up a steep hill could run for hours on end with no sleep and no food. I didn’t think that an ER nurse could pull off a limb amputation, outside of a hospital setting with only paramedic supplies. Her sister just happens to live in a giant “tree house.” How completely fortunate for Lori – we should all be so lucky in an apocalypse. I also felt like the author was afraid to kill off her characters. But, hey – at least she was a better mother than that OTHER Lori…ahem.

I will say that I read this book in one sitting, and despite my criticisms, I look forward to reading more from this author…I’d just like to see her take more risks with her characters in the future. I think many people will enjoy the action; I appreciated that author included the range of ages you would expect in an average community, and I thought one of the best scenes was when Lori was struggling to warn a school principal about an approaching zombie horde.

If nothing else, I think it is worth reading a story about a mom fighting zombies in Australia, just for something different.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: UK Zombie

The Bitten Man by Edward Chilvers takes place in the UK, and is told from the POV of a father trying to find a safe place for his son. This piece of flash fiction is similar to The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but instead of fighting cannibals, they have to fight zombies…um, wait…same thing? Hmmm…

Chilvers manages to pack of variety of action within a few pages, as well as write an unexpected ending. Not to mention, throughout the story, the father does some questionable things that will no doubt shock many readers, but I respect how unconditionally the character puts his son’s safety first, above all others.

The Bitten Man is a juicy bite perfect for zombiephiles without much free time.

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You can always count on the zombie genre to find something else that is worse than death. Never underestimate the desperation of a loving parent. While this story was originally published a few years back, Walking Dead fans might find the situation all too familiar.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Mr. Pinkerton

How I Started The Apocalypse by Brian Pinkerton was far more serious than I expected. In fact, I most likely would not have read a book with this title and cover art (based on the cheese factor), but I’m a big fan of Severed Press, so I gave it a chance.

Having read several other zombie novels featuring thinking undead, I didn’t have a problem with the main character being an intelligent zombie – I was curious how it would tie in with the title, and ended up reading it in one sitting. I thought his POV was pretty interesting, considering he had memories of his former life as well as his demise, so his struggle with reanimation was an unusual twist on the theme of self-discovery.

I especially liked the extra storyline running parallel to the main plot: not only do you have a guy endeavouring to accept that he is a zombie, but he finds out his death wasn’t an accident, and he wants revenge.

I did think some of the characters were a bit unrealistic, but they didn’t ruin the story for me, and I liked the rotating POV between the zombie and the agent hunting him.

(I’m intentionally being vague in this review because I don’t want to post spoilers.) I’m assuming the book is intended to be a stand-alone, but the ending was kind of teaser that had me wondering if the author was leaving his options open...turns out that Pinkerton did turn this into a zombie trilogy.

If you’re looking for something a bit different for your zombie lit collection, I recommend this one.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Meta-Horde

Meta-horde, by Sean T Page and John McCuaig, is definitely a book that zombiephiles will want to add to their collections. If not for the POVs of the characters from time to time, this novel almost reads like a history book. Between fighting a meta-horde of over a million zombies, and dealing with Vatican nutjobs, the situation seems beyond hopeless, but many of the characters refuse to give up, and that’s what makes the story quite interesting. I had to read this in one sitting because I really wanted to know why people would bother to keep fighting under such bleak circumstances.

The survivors are living in fortified settlements across Europe (often historical structures such as castles), and the zombies – having run quite low on their food source – now move in large hordes composed of thousands, which are building up to millions after overwhelming the settlements one by one. A group of scientists that have been studying the movement of the undead have an idea of how to break up the horde, but their plans are thwarted by some religious fanatics who believe that the zombies are part of God’s will.

If you somehow missed this novel when it was originally released, get a copy now.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Psychic vs. Infected

Mute by Jeffrey Hale, released by Grand Mal Press, is very unusual. Both the story and the format are something very different for the zombie genre, although it’s up for debate whether or not the Mutes/Mimes qualify as zombies. They are definitely infected, bloodthirsty and a threat to mankind.

What I like about the format is the memory flashes provided by Leo, an empath with psychic abilities. His flashes of other people’s memories are like short stories within the main novel. Also, as the story progresses, readers will see that these are not just random memories, but pieces in the puzzle that Leo is trying to put together after being institutionalized for five years while the world fell apart.

It appears to be the first in a series. With the cliffhanger at the end, I am dying to find out what happens next (no pun intended). If you’re looking for something that stands out from the rest of the horror genre, pick up this book.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Chris Ringler

Noches De Corazones Negros (story is written in English) is my favorite anthology by Michigan's own Chris Ringler. The author has a real talent for flash fiction, and knows how to change up his writing style, so each story stands out in its own terrifying way. 

Some stories feature real-life horror, while other have a supernatural element to them. The mini-series of flash stories centered on some trapdoors and creepy crawlies was a great way to divide up the sections.

Here is a brief rundown of stories:
Feb 8 - evil minions out of control
Little Mean Things - felt sorry for the creature
Weapon - STD revenge
Hero - vigilante fails
Apr - sequel to Feb 8
My Dark Things - tied into the trapdoor stories
With Love, Pestilence - Edgar Alan Poe-ish
Redscore - righting a wrong 6 yrs later
Lesser Demons - GREAT Halloween tale
SafeWord - loved the twist with predator & prey
Oct - continues trapdoor series
Consumption - crazy ex-girlfriend
Vile - most disturbing story in collection
Oct - last entry of the trapdoor mini-saga

I also encourage readers to check out Ringler's This Beautiful Darkness.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: The Jakarta Pandemic

The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly is one of the scariest non-zombie apocalyptic stories that I've read in a long time. I think what disturbed me the most was how absolutely plausible this story is - the CDC ought to be worried about this situation rather than zombies because I've already seen many of the scenarios in this book played out after a natural disaster has struck an area, so it did not require a stretch of the imagination.

The prologue begins with Alex Fletcher "lying under a neighbor's play set in a blizzard, eagerly waiting to kill," and wondering how his neighborhood had devolved so rapidly. The story is then divided into three main sections: Arrival, Quarantine, and Survival. The Jakarta Pandemic is NOT about the infected, the nature of the virus, or how the outbreak occurs. Alex tells the story of how society falls apart in less than five months - from his perspective as a pharmaceutical sales rep and former marine, with neighbors turning against one another when food supplies and medicine become scarce. Konkoly emphasizes throughout the book how disbelief and denial can do more damage than the actual virus.

In Arrival, beginning Friday, November 2, 2013, Alex receives a phone call from the Maine Medical Center confirming the first cases of a new pandemic flu, initially called the Hong Kong Flu, and mainly confined to the Asian community. At first, it's not clear who Alex is, what he does for a living, or where he is located (Scarborough, Maine), until the second chapter. I think his profession should have been revealed right away, to explain the heavy emphasis on the medical aspect of the flu.

In Quarantine, which begins on Monday, November 5, 2013, several of Alex's neighbors have contracted what is eventually called The Jakarta Flu (after the true epicenter is discovered), but they remain completely ignorant about the ease of spreading the virus. When all the stores close down because of empty warehouses, some of the neighbors want to pool resources, including signing up for a babysitting schedule, and carpooling to the hospital. After Alex and some others wisely quarantine themselves within their homes, people attempt breaking in and stealing supplies, while others form violent mobs which demand access to their neighbors' emergency provisions.

In Survival, less than a month from the initial outbreaks, people from other areas begin invading Alex's neighborhood and squatting in the abandoned houses. By Saturday, December 15, 2013, several shootouts take place, with people killing each other over anything and everything. Many people believe that those who have not fallen ill are hoarding miracle vaccines. It's not until Sunday, March 31, 2014 that The Jakarta Pandemic has run its course, and Alex describes the wreckage his once-happy neighborhood has become.

Konkoly masterfully crafts a sad story of people that slowly realize how a few unfortunate decisions can easily destroy entire families and communities, without the need for monsters or supernatural events. The Jakarta Pandemic has a sinister quality, highlighted by disturbing examples of the psyche under incredible duress. After reading this, you'll never look at your neighbors the same way again.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Dead Moon [Book Review]

Hollow Mountain Dead by Jonathan Moon is a supernatural undead western apocalyptic story that spews forth horror like a pyroclastic eruption from hell! It is nonstop action – an infectious evil that pours down the mountain and spills into the nearby towns.

It is told from a third-person POV with several different perspectives that blend into one towards the end, as several survivors rally together to stop the ancient force behind the outbreak.

The only drawback is that the large number of characters, the fast pace and the mass deaths prevents readers from forming much of a connection to the people affected by this nightmare.

Definitely something zombiephiles should add to their collections!

As always,

Astradaemon

Throwback Thursday: Dante's Backstory

Most people in the literary community are familiar with Dante’s Inferno in some way. If you haven’t read this volume of The Divine Comedy, you may have seen the commercial for the video game Dante’s Inferno Divine Edition, which is based on the epic poem by Dante Alighieri. It is a story that describes the nine circles of Hell (limbo, lust, gluttony, avarice & prodigality, wrath & sullenness, heresy, violence, fraud, and betrayal), as conceived by the medieval age, beginning with the day before Good Friday in 1300 A.D.


Dante wrote The Divine Comedy during his exile from Florence. Until recently, no one knew for certain where he had been or what he had done during those years away from his home. However, author Kim Paffenroth (who also happens to be a professor of religious studies), wrote a book titled Valley of the Dead (The Truth Behind Dante’s Inferno) which tells the tale that inspired Dante to write his poem of horrors. In a captivating prologue, Paffenroth presents us with the story of how Dante survived a zombie plague, illuminating the lessons that the poet learned.

Don’t let the mention of zombies fool you into thinking this is just a gore novel with a twist. Unlike the spliced-together novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Paffenroth has written an original narrative with a style comparable to classical literature, bringing together historical fiction, drama and horror to chronicle Dante’s personal account of the pestilence and human suffering that inspired Inferno. Don’t expect the same zombies or character types that can be found in Paffenroth’s Dying to Live: Life Sentence, the second in his zombie series based on a group of people surviving an apocalypse in a museum.

In VALLEY OF THE DEAD, Dante stumbles upon a village in the midst of an epidemic that is unknown to him. There he meets a pregnant woman named Bogdana, and together they travel west into a valley, attempting to escape an army that believes destroying all of the towns it finds is the only way to stop the spread of infection. Along the way, they are joined by an army deserter and a monk, and the four of them soon form the opinion that the survivors are the ones that are cursed, not the undead. Some of the most frightening and disheartening moments of the book are the exploits of the living, and not the zombies as one might think.

This novel digs deep into the human soul, and exposes all the nobility and ugliness that people are capable of. It goes beyond the bloodshed of most zombie literature, and provides some insight into the theology of Dante, one of the greatest literary icons of the Western world. Paffenroth is certain to grab the attention of the academic crowd with Valley of the Dead.

As always,
AstraDaemon