Review: Heroin in the Magic Now by Terry M. West.

Heroin in the Magic Now by Terry M. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Heroin in the Magic Now" is a brutal, unflinching trip down the rabbit hole of addiction and lands the reader in and alternate universe version of New York City where Gary Hack, a once respected filmmaker, is churning out adult films to make fast money and feed his debilitating heroin addiction. In this version of NYC, the monsters of horror novels and movies shakily co-exist with humans. The undead are used for prostitution while werewolves and vampires hustle the streets making money in any way that they can. Gary eventually takes up work doing a specific kind of fetish film, monster porn. He doesn't want to, but the amount of money offered will set him up with enough heroin to numb the disgust he feels with himself and the industry that feeds the monkey on his back.

This a dark and deeply personal tale as Terry uses his own experiences in the softcore porn industry and with heroin addiction to craft an antihero that is so tragic the reader can't help to feel empathy for a character that seems irredeemable. Very rarely does a novel reach me so deeply in so many ways. It left me shaking not only out of fear, but revulsion and bitter sorrow for Gary Hack.

Only Terry M. West could spin a tale so dark and brutal and still make it transcend horror and become a work of literary craftsmanship.

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Review: Involution & Evolution: A rhyming anti-war novel

Involution & Evolution: A rhyming anti-war novel by Joss Shedon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful rhythmic work that flows magnificently across the pages telling the story of Albert Freeman, a peace loving man who lost his father to war. Albert becomes a conscientious objector which puts him at odds against his own government who will use any means of coercion and punishment to turn him into a model citizen ready to go to war in the name of his country. "Involution" embraces peace gorgeously and tears away at the war machine which would enslave us all. Wonderful work!

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Review: Henry First: A Story of Excess by Basil Lawrence

Henry First: A Story of Excess by Basil Lawrence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing, laugh-at-loud, dark comedy about a restaurant competition and the despicable lengths people will go to just to make sure they win. More than that, is is a moral tale holding up a mirror to our selfish, heartless, win-at-any-cost society to show us all what a nasty lot we have become. The characters are all very well developed and the narration rich in detail. I really enjoyed this book, it is just the right length to catch up the reader in its story line and reach the end without a dull point. Very nice!

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Re-Test by Mark Phillips

Re-Test by Mark Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Re-Test, a single gunman invades a college classroom on a Saturday and takes a group of students retaking an exam hostage after killing their professor. The gunman claims to be from the year 2057 and has come back in time to the present in hopes of preventing an event that will trigger the downfall of the Michigan government and eventually the entire US political system. I won't provide any spoilers as to whether the gunman is delusional or is telling the truth, but I want to stress the fact that this book in no way makes light of or promotes classroom violence or any form of mass homicide for that matter. "Re-test" is well written, suspenseful, claustrophobic with an ending that you will not see coming. Mark Phillips was born in Southfield, MI and now resides in Livonia, MI. That means he's probably all "Go Blue" and stuff, but I won't deduct a star for that. Trojans. baby!

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Review: Sixty-Five Stirrup Iron Road by A Whole Bunch of Crazy Motherfuckers.

Sixty-Five Stirrup Iron Road by Brian Keene
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Your whole family will love this book! If your family is a traveling variety show called "The Aristocrats." If you're not familiar with that, Google it, but don't blame me when you need therapy.

This is a wildly over-the-top celebration of gore, sexual perversion, and man's inhumanity to just about anything and anyone that crosses their path. That poor Llama.

There's a fun bit of name dropping on the book's final page that is hysterically funny.  The kind of name-dropping that would make a certain president of a certain association for writers of scary stuff shit his drawers right before his head exploded.  The thought of which, by the way, makes my nipples tingle.

 I had just as much fun imagining the grins on the writer's faces as they invented these horrific scenarios as I did reading them. But seriously, be prepared, because you have no idea what sick and twisted adventures await you between the covers of this awesome book.

On a serious note, proceeds from this book are going to help cover the medical expenses of crime/horror author Tom Piccirilli who is battling brain cancer.  His medication costs alone are $14,000.00 a month. Don't be a tightwad. You can spare 11.95 for the paperback or $7.95 for the Kindle edition.  Karma will smile upon you.

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Review: The Tick People by Carlton Mellick, III.

The Tick People by Carlton Mellick III
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The Tick People" is an odd and brooding work from one of my favorite authors, Carlton Mellick, III. An entire population of people have taken root on the back of a giant dog who must be kept sad at all times because even a few wags of its tale would cause an apocalypse and wipe out Gloom Town. The story centers around Fernando Mendez, a Stressman, who is employed with the task of keeping the giant canine as sad as possible. Mendez is nagged into going to The Matchmaker by his overbearing sister in hopes of finding his perfect mate who turns out to be a half-human, half tick monstrosity that disgusts him so much he can't stop mating with her. The whole book seems to be more of an exercise in gross-out fiction than anything else. It starts out promising, giving us a very well detailed look at a Dystopian Whoville like world, but quickly starts to feel forced and overdone. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it very much, just not as much as other Mellick books that I've read.

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