Throwback Thursday | January Book Video | Recommend Reading | AstraDaemon

"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red." ~Clive Barker (Books of Blood)



As always,

AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday | December Book Video | Recommend Reading | AstraDaemon

“Danger doesn’t lurk at every corner. It’s just hanging out, waiting for fear and horror to show up.” ~Unknown



As always,

AstraDaemon

November Book Video | Recommended Reading | AstraDaemon

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” ~Charles Addams



As always,

AstraDaemon

October Book Video | Recommended Reading | AstraDaemon

"It is a mistake to fancy that horror is associated inextricably with darkness, silence, and solitude." ~H.P. Lovecraft



As always,

AstraDaemon

Growing Within | Book Review | AstraDaemon

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone--or something--is stalking them...the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

THE HUNGER by Alma Katsu was suggested by a good friend (and fellow horror fan), and I am so very glad I read this novel. The author blends historical fiction with folklore, horror and family drama, resulting in a very believable retelling of the Donner Party demise. I love the inclusion of issues such as racism, misogyny, and bigotry towards homosexuality, making the characters more relatable, despite the time period.

Most of all, I am impressed by the science behind the evil, rather than resorting to another twist on the Wendigo trope. My friend pointed out the similarity to the movie Ravenous, and I agree, although the suspense in this story is far more spectacular than any film with this theme.

I highly recommend this novel.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Cast Off | Flash Fiction Review | AstraDaemon

BLOOD IN THE THREAD by Cheri Kamei is the author's version of the Japanese tale, The Crane Wife, with the original fable woven among pieces of love and abuse, shared through the eyes of the secret itself. The ending is both tragic and powerful.

Nothing like the genres I usually read, but well-written and moving.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Blood and Ice | AstraDaemon

THE HUNGRY MAN by Giovanni Diaz appears to be a combination of Irish mythology and American folklore, in the form of classic storytelling, resulting in a dramatic twist of legendary creature.

The story is a horrific coming of age tragedy, with an ending full of powerful imagery. Diaz is definitely an author to keep on your reading radar.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Tunnel of Love | AstraDaemon

A series of interviews between a young, clean-cut journalist and an alternative, independent pichal pairi turns into an unexpected romance. But their relationship is tested when the entire world around them shuts down.

#SPRING LOVE, #PICHAL PAIRI by Usman T. Malik is a mix of South Asian folklore and the 2020 pandemic. While interesting, there isn't anything terrifying about it, and I'm wondering why this came up during a horror search on Amazon.

This is pretty much a relationship short, and not a very exciting one. Also, the story format is strange and jolting, giving the story a cold feeling, rather than the romance I expected based on the description.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Lost His Marble | AstraDaemon

THE MILK BOY by Scott Donnelly is a prequel to THE WHOOL (which is one of my favorites from 2020). The two stories could be read in chronological order, but I think readers will appreciate the details more, if they read THE WHOOL first.

This time Donnelly blends cult horror with the supernatural to create a terrifying and twisted coming-of-age abomination. Now, more than ever, the author needs to give closure to this tale. I wouldn't be surprised if there is another hidden connection between Doyle and Erick.

As always,

AstraDaemon

Milk Monster

THE WHOOL by Scott Donnelly is reminiscent of classic horror, with a suspenseful blend of mystery, folklore and terror. Foreshadowed by an ominous interview in the beginning, readers experience the death of entire town through the eyes of Felix, in the span of three days.

Hunted by a demonic creature, with apparitions haunting him, Felix tries to make sense of the evil slaughtering the townsfolk. The ending is sinister, and written in a way which has me hoping for a sequel.

I'd love to learn more about the Milk Boy and the Whool, and I think Erick should be the one to put everything to rest, once and for all.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Peter Pan Is A Killer

PAN by Christopher Ruz is a dark version of the Peter Pan story, mixing folklore and mythology from more than one source. I absolutely love all the sinister secrets revealed through the POV of a Lost Boy named Jimmy. Once the narrator's identity is revealed, this short story became one of my all-time favorites.

This is only the second story I've read by this author (the other is a sci-fi short), but I wish Ruz would write more tales with this writing style and genre. I highly recommend this one to ALL readers.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Poisoned Roots

Apple, Massachusetts is rotten to the core.

Every fall, when the orchards ripen and the leaves begin to die, there are murders. We know it, and we accept it. It's the price we pay for living in Apple. Families mourn, but no one is ever caught. Now, there's a body in the woods, and the cycle is starting again. People bruise easily in Apple.

Finding a murdered and mutilated girl plunges Jackson Gill into the middle of a decades-old horror. For Jackson, the newest murders become personal. His mentally ill sister knows far more about the murders than anyone restrained in a basement room should know.

When one by one, her sick, cryptic predictions prove true, Jackson will have to believe the unthinkable and stop what no one has been able to stop in sixty years.

He has no choice. He lives in Bloody Bloody Apple.

BLOODY BLOODY APPLE by Howard Odentz is far darker than I could have imagined. Told through the POV of teenager Jackson, the savage history of Apple is revealed, as well as the twisted secrets each family hides behind closed doors. With the level of dysfunction among so many households, it's no wonder the annual murders are accepted as normal.

This year, the victims are all people connected to Jackson in some way, and his sister seems to know something about the killings, despite being chained up in their basement. However, the crime scenes pale in comparison to his personal life. This novel is a horror story within a mystery-thriller, and Jackson is the only one who might be able to piece the puzzle together, if his family secrets don't break him first.

I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys psychological horror, but I have to warn readers: there are a LOT of triggers in this book. This story gave me plenty of nightmares.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Supernatural Mystery-Thriller

BOTTLE TOSS by Howard Odentz is a very strange tale about a 17 year old boy who lives with a foster family. Denny notices sinister events unfolding around his town, after his sister's boyfriend tosses a bottle at a passing car.

I honestly thought I was reading a story about a group of pedophile werewolves who worship a goat-demon, for the longest time. Poor Denny is surrounded by so much weird activity, as well as several dysfunctional characters, I couldn't imagine what else would explain all the missing and dead people.

Odentz doesn't reveal anything, until Denny finally confesses the secret he has been keeping, at the very end. While I love this novel, I'm not particularly happy with the way some characters are dealt with. Some didn't deserve their fates, and others should have been made to suffer even more.

I also recommend WHAT WE KILL by Howard Odentz.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Last One Standing

NIGHT OF THE SASQUATCH by Eric S. Brown has a slightly bigger setting than most of his Bigfoot battles, including a city fortress, an abandoned armory, and, of course, the woods. The author includes more variety among his characters. Between the two elements, Brown is able to create more suspense than usual, and keeps readers guessing.

As for my thoughts: Marcus is a walking turd, Chris really does give hope, Joe has more brawn than brains, and Karen is the one I respect from beginning to end. The soldiers didn't impress me much at all. Overall, one of my favorite Brown stories.

I'm still pushing for the author to include more supernatural opponents in future stories.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Ouija Revenge

STRAWS by James Baaack and Eric S. Brown is a revenge story, but not as predictable as one might think. The setup is a little on the long side, and there isn't much to the characters, but the ending is great. I do wish more time had been spent on Kathie and Billy's interactions, and I would have liked the two goth girls to have more scenes as well, but the death scenes are creative.

If you're expecting anything like Brown's Bigfoot stories, you'll be disappointed, as the style is more of Baaack's. This is kind of like an 80s horror movie condensed into a short story.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Hiking Into Hell

BIGFOOT TRAIL by Eric S Brown blends folklore and the supernatural into this brutal battle, setting this story apart from others in this crypto genre. The author immediately begins with the slaughter of some campers, following up with forest rangers, hikers and more, leaving readers to wonder if anyone will make it out of the woods alive.

If you're looking for deep characters or complicated storylines, move along. This is written for action fans who appreciate all the different ways Bigfoot can destroy anyone foolish enough to enter the forest of death.

I also recommend reading Brown's HUNTERS, as well.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Bloody Stumps

WHAT WE KILL by Howard Odentz is a mystery-thriller centered on four friends who can't remember the night before:

One has a triangle burned into his forearm.
One has lost her pants.
One is missing his glass eye.
The last is covered in blood.

As images of big, black eyes and the cries of sheep haunt their addled brains, the town fire alarm and police sirens can be heard in the distance.

What is happening to them? What is happening to their pristine town?
What's more, why can't they remember any of it?
What . . . what did they do?

Even though the story moves at a steady pace, alternating bits and pieces of memory with backstories of their adolescent lives is quite maddening. I read the book in one sitting because I had to know what in the hell happened to them. The ending is completely worth the effort. I think this story would make a great movie.

At first, I couldn't stand the narrator's constant need to explain their family situations and relationships with one another, but when a huge secret is revealed towards the end, I understood why the author laid out every detail of their personal issues.

Odentz has a special gift for mixing young people and family drama into horrifying stories, in the most surprising ways. Not only do I recommend this novel, I also suggest reading his stories, SNOW and BONES.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Death Beneath Us

THE TUNNELERS by Geoff Gander is one of the best stories I've read in 2019, even though this story was published in 2011. The journal format, which includes interviews and research notes, builds the suspense and horror perfectly, while only revealing bits and pieces.

Halfway through reading, I googled legends of the First Nations to figure out which parts are historical and how much of the story is a creation of the author. What I found convinced me Gander is Lovecraft reincarnated.

If you only have time to read one more story before the new decade, make it this one.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Sci-Fi Yeti Battle

RISE OF THE YETIS by Eric S. Brown takes place in a dystopian future, with severely limited resources and corporations controlling every detail of daily life. There is just enough sci-fi mixed to create a desolate crypto-nightmare which stands out from most of the author's previous stories.

Not only is there a lot of action, but the drama between the corporate scumbags and the working class is pretty intense. People either tow the company line or become instantly homeless and starve to death. In this case, workers are forced into a doomed mission to retrieve a creature for the big bosses on the mainland.

The ending is gut-wrenching, literally and figuratively.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Bigfoot Wants You For Jerky

THE SQUAD by Eric S. Brown is another battle royale with Bigfoot. This time a group of soldiers on a weekend exercise join forces with some young hunters, with everyone being trapped on a mountain and hunted by a tribe of Sasquatch. The author still manages to create new ways for people to die at the hands of the beasts, while keeping readers guessing which characters might survive, if any.

At this point in time, I think it would be interesting to see the survivors from some of Brown's novels form a support group, and, of course, the support group comes under attack. Think: Escape Room with Sasquatch.

As always,
AstraDaemon