Love Hurts

The Preservationist
by Justin Kramon
336 pages
$9.99 Kindle version

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he’d been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam’s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.

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The character development is excellent. I couldn't predict the behavior of Julia, Marcus or Sam, and the supporting characters provided some great misdirection. I was guessing all the way to the end, and I enjoyed not knowing what would happen next.

I think the using three POVs to tell the story helped keep me on edge, and each switch is clearly labeled. However, the POVs overlap on the story's timeline, so I was a little confused at first. I think readers will get a kick out of seeing the same situation from three different perspectives...and yet Kramon doesn't reveal everything about his characters' inner thoughts - that is the real key to the suspense.

I hope to read more by Justin Kramon.

As always,
AstraDaemon

How A Serial Killer Thinks

The Killing Lessons
by Saul Black
400 pages
$12.99 Kindle version

The Killing Lessons is a suspense-thriller about a San Francisco homicide detective, Valerie Hart, who has been hunting a serial killer for some time. Her career is in jeopardy, due to a lack of progress in the case, and her personal life is a train wreck. When a random home invasion appears to have the same modus operandi as the murders in her case file, Hart is determined to catch the killer, even if it kills her in the process.

Nell is the child who manages to escape from the grisly attack upon her family, but she is injured and trapped in a remote cabin with a crippled stranger. Unfortunately, the serial killer finds out there is a witness, he hunts Nell down as he tries to evade Detective Hart, and readers must bear witness to the deadly race between the two opposing forces.

Saul Black does an excellent job of portraying the horrific suffering of the victims, without being overly graphic, while contrasting the killer's determination with that of the detective to create a sickening masterpiece in terror. I wanted Hart to find the killer, not just to stop him, but to redeem herself...the way she devalued herself made it painful to read her POV. In comparison, Nell - the young girl - is truly the strongest female character, and her struggle to survive gave me more hope than anything Hart was doing.

There is also another female character, Carla York, a federal agent determined to kick Hart off the case and destroy the detective's career...I found her to be more of an antagonist than the actual serial killer. Black cleverly orchestrates drama between York and Hart to keep readers guessing about York's true motivation until the very end.

The ending is well-written, but not nearly as shocking as the events leading up to the finale. However, I enjoyed this story a great deal, and I will never look at the alphabet the same way again.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Saturday Shorts: Zombies On Parade

The Dead Walk
A Zombie Anthology
200 pages
$2.99 Kindle version

The Dead Walk is a zombie anthology full of strange stories about the undead:

THE WALKING MAN by Guy Burtenshaw features the solitary life of a man in a dystopian undead world.

SPIDERS IN FROM THE GARDEN by Jason R. Davis is a creepy combination of spiders and zombies.

AFTERLIFE DEATH by Jeremy Thompson is a story that I enjoyed due to the science fiction element with reanimation.

PLAGUE FERRY by Matthew Pedersen has a very intense zombie story with a science fiction setting.

THEY WALK THE NIGHT by Kevin A. Harris is a voodoo story.

THIRTY SECONDS by Eugene Gramelis is a sad story of betrayal and one of my favorites.

REQUIEM FOR THE LIVING by Timothy A. Wiseman has the POV of an infected.

A FLASH OF LIGHT by Stuart Conover is another favorite of mine with a unique POV of a zombie.

ZOMBI 6: SALVATION by James Park is a diatribe in the form of a letter.

SURVIVALISM by Amy Braun features a survivor trapped in a straight jacket.

SIX by Daniel DeLong is about a couple of trapped survivors trying to get a signal out.

THE SEASON by Brendan Wilhelm is one of the best stories in the collection; I wish it had been longer.

THE LE KA MASSACRE by Joseph Rubas involves a military cover-up.

ZEN AND THE ART OF BICYCLE DELIVERY by Michael Seese is funny in a twisted way.

VIRULENT by Eric Morgner is also one of the best stories, with survivors hiding from zombies in a mine; I wish this was a full-length novel.

The authors get points for originality, which is difficult in the zombie genre, but there just aren't that many stories that really popped out and grabbed me...most are just okay, but stories like Virulent and The Season make it worth reading.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Grief, Recovery and the Drama in Between

The Guilty One
by Sophie Littlefield
304 pages
$11.99 Kindle version
 

A man stands on the Golden Gate Bridge, poised to jump…if a woman on the other end of the phone tells him to.

Maris’s safe suburban world was shattered the day her daughter was found murdered, presumably at the hands of the young woman’s boyfriend. Her marriage crumbling, her routine shattered, Maris walks away from her pampered life as a Bay Area mom the day she receives a call from Ron, father of her daughter’s killer. Wracked with guilt over his son’s actions (and his own possible contribution to them), he asks Maris a single question: should he jump?

With a man’s life in her hands, Maris must decide, perhaps for the first time, what she truly wants. Retribution? Forgiveness? Or something more? Having lost everything, she’s finally free to recreate herself without the confining labels of “wife,” “mother,” or “mourner.” But will this shocking offer free her, or destroy her?

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Even though this is a work of fiction, it makes you think about what goes on behind the headlines of a violent murder. Readers are shown how the aftermath affects two married couples, parents of the convicted and the victim, couples who have known each other for years. The POVs are divided between Maris, mother of the victim, and Ron, father of the convicted. The story begins when Ron offers to kill himself to appease Maris. With one phone call, both of them realize that, although they had already felt shattered beyond words, they only recently hit rock bottom.

I noticed that while Ron and Maris had similar ways of dealing with their grief, essentially shutting down and shutting everyone else out, the outcomes of their choices are radically different. There are many times when I feel that Ron is also a victim, particularly when his wife Deb decides to push for an appeal, dragging both families back into the spotlight. Maris, meanwhile, struggles to find something solid to hold onto...something about her struggle was more interesting to me than Ron's family drama. I really wanted Maris to find some happiness, but I wasn't sure Ron would ever find peace.

There isn't anything particularly outstanding about this novel, but there is just enough suspense about the circumstances of the murder, as well as the connection Ron has with Maris, to keep the drama rolling along at a steady pace. If I had to pick one theme to describe this book, I would describe it as story about starting over...beginning from scratch at a time when a person believes major life changes are a thing of the past.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: Sedition

Sedition
by Katharine Grant
$12.99 Kindle version
302 pages

The setting of Sedition by Katharine Grant: London, 1794.
The problem: Four nouveau rich fathers with five marriageable daughters.
The plan: The young women will learn to play the piano, give a concert for young Englishmen who have titles but no fortunes, and will marry very well indeed.
The complications: The lascivious (and French) piano teacher; the piano maker's jealous (and musically gifted) daughter; the one of these marriageable daughters with a mating plan of her own.

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I've never read anything quite like this, and that is saying something. I literally have no other titles in mind that I could compare Sedition to - it is THAT original. It is an unsettling story about sex, money, status, and how mixing all three can have extremely violent results. BUT, it's unsettling in that exciting way that had me rushing through the book to find out how everything set in motion would affect the lives of the main characters.

Strangely enough, it is music of all things that ties all their lives together. Not just learning to play the pianoforte, as the book's description states, but the passions that music inspires and creates. In addition to the multi-layered plot, the author provides rich detail throughout the entire story, making every scene that more delicious and disturbing at the same time.

When you finish reading Sedition, you'll be left wondering if it was ever truly about the pianoforte.

As always,
AstraDaemon

More Like An Ugly Truth

A Beautiful Truth
by Colin McAdam
305 pages
$9.99 Kindle version

Looee isn't human, but after living with a human family for over a decade, he can no longer relate to his own species. Mr. Ghoul has grown up with a group of chimpanzees that have been studied for more than one generation, but he also has had difficulties socializing with his own kind. Despite the many differences in their upbringings, Looee and Mr. Ghoul are kindred spirits. Will their connection be enough to keep them both alive?

I don't think the title fits at all. There is nothing beautiful in this book, just lots of ugliness, but it's a captivating story and I'm glad that I read it all the way through. I had my doubts, at first, because the beginning is written like lyrics from a Talking Heads song (Once In A Lifetime) - I could even hear the story being narrated in David Byrne's voice. It is told in third person, moving frequently from one POV to the next, giving the reader insight that the characters don't have, but I didn't feel drawn to the story until the various chimp POVs were included. It was strange to feel more connected to the chimps than the humans. (The loose, random writing style left a LOT to be desired.)

The story follows the life of Looee, a chimp captured as baby, raised by a childless human couple. After 14 years with no serious incidents, something devastating changes all of their lives, and Looee is sent to a primate research facility. The living conditions of the test animals is deplorable. I realize this is a work of fiction, but there are scenes that I could hardly stomach, regardless of how the scientists justify their actions. The author does a great job of highlighting the ugliness of animal testing, without the condemnation of the human race that often accompanies this subject matter.

I don't think this is a novel that is going to appeal to a wide range of people, and yet it's one of those stories that is so radically different from most fiction, I think readers should at least attempt to tackle this one. Also, a portion of the novel's sales will go to the chimpanzee sanctuary, Save the Chimps, so it's reading for a cause.

As always,
AstraDaemon

Throwback Thursday: ZOMBIES

Zombie: The Other Fright Meat
edited by Matt Nord
195 pages
$2.99 Kindle version

Many of the best authors in the genre are in this anthology:

CICADA by Patrick D'Orazio features a timeline that moves with the 17yr life cycle of cicadas in a local area - fabulous hook! And an excellent start to the collection!

THE ZOMBIE PRINCE by James S Dorr is written like a fairytale of the undead. The Grimm Brothers would be disturbed.

FIDAY NIGHT AT THE CHA-CHA GRILL by Matthew R Davis has a unique description of zombies, and an unusual take on how the zombie virus spread.

GREED by Jeffrey A Angus is a great tale of what characters should NOT do...ever.

BRIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD by Thomas M Malafarina has a very different POV that I really enjoyed as a fan of the genre.

CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED by Monique Snyman has a real sweet touch with the vaccination angle in this story.

A GOOD FATHER by Suzanne Robb is extremely disturbing - the way horror is SUPPOSED to be.

NO TIME FOR POETS by William RD Wood is one of my favorites in this anthology; I loved how the author connected the past and present in a post-apocalyptic world. Nice job.

HOW TO DISAPPEAR INTO A ZOMBIE KILLING MACHINE AND NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN by David Perlmutter elicited zero sympathy from me; I really hated the character telling the story.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE AGENT DEAL: A.S.P.A.R.C. STORY by Jason T Countryman is THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE story in the collection.

SAFE by Matt Nord: shame on you, Nord, for teasing readers with such a short piece and not lasting longer!!

BEMOANED, INC. by TL Decay is a story that I could see happening, seriously. Be concerned. Be very concerned.

YOUTUBE: PUNCHING ZOMBIE by Candace Gleave is HILARIOUS! I feel bad about how much I liked this story.

LIEUTENANT JAVORSKY AND HIS ZOMBIE-COMMANDOS by Sean T Page would make a GREAT movie. Get on that, Page.

THE ZOMBIE ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET by Dale Elster actually gave me a nightmare!

DAY 96 by Matthew Shafeek is a nice bit of flash fiction.

SKELETOWN by Jason M Bloom is one of the most nightmarish, in a VERY perverse way.

FAITHFULLY by Steven McGuire is an entertaining revenge tale.

A NIGHT IN THE ATTIC by Robin Eduardo is told through a child's POV.

Overall, a fantastic collection of all the new directions that authors are taking the zombie genre!

As always,
AstraDaemon