Review: Alice in Wonderlust by Berti Walker

Alice in Wonderlust by Berti Walker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fun and very sexy retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story that is full of all kinds of awesome sexual perversions. Alice is a virgin who promised to save herself for marriage, but that doesn't mean she can't have some fun with her Hitachi like sex toy named Dinah. One day, Alice is stolen by a white rabbit wearing human clothes and poor Alice gives chase down a rabbit hole and into a world of erotic delights. This book is definitely only for an 18+ audience. Buy yourself a handful and make a Jehovah's Witness take one in exchange for a Watchtower Magazine.



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Review: A Big Boobenstein Family Christmas by Jeff O'Brien

A BigBoobenstein Family Christmas by Jeff O'Brien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What kind of world do we live in when a happy family of reanimated corpses can't enjoy a blasphemous reenactment of the birth of Jesus without it being interrupted by Krampus? "A Big Boobenstein Family Christmas" is a fun short story from Jeff O'Brien. There's plenty of fun scenes that bring shocked laughter especially the aforementioned Christmas play as well as Krampus and his detachable male reproductive organ. O'Brien never disappoints.



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Review: Sick Pack by M.P. Johnson

Sick Pack by M.P. Johnson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sick Pack was unlike any other Bizarro novel that I have read. I think what set it apart was how it is easily the closest thing to pure Bizarro I've had the pleasure to read. It has abs that are so perfectly formed they have developed the power of hypnotism, underground cosmetic surgery that is performed in a garden shed, a giant mustache that is also a grimy black market body parts dealer, a hardcore band composed entirely of runaway appendages, and my personal favorite a ravenous stomach that likes to feast on faces. M.P. Johnson has penned a novel that is raunchy, funny, violent, and wildly imaginative. The violence to me was not over the top and necessary to the plot. There is an underlying theme that trying to hold on to someone or something that wants to be free is unfair to everyone, but most importantly, underneath all the mayhem, Johnson tells us that it's OK to be satisfied with who we are and that it's our imperfections that make us unique.



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Review: Puzzleman by Christopher Broadstone

Puzzleman: A Novel by Christopher Alan Broadstone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Reading Christopher Broadstone requires more than being literate. It requires letting your mind take you to places you don't want to go, but yet you go gleefully hoping there's an accident you can't look away from at every mile marker. It's not an easy read, but that's not a bad thing. This isn't something by horror icons who spit out pulp two to three times a year. the kind of books where you could skip entire chapters and still know what is going on. Broadstone wants you to read and think about what you are reading. His prose is gorgeous and turned my mind into a Lynchian landscape for the horrifying Puzzleman. If you like highly intelligent horror, please check this one out.



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Review: David Bowie is Trying To Kill Me! by Lee Widener

David Bowie is Trying to Kill Me! by Lee Widener

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Poor Brogloid. He just wanted to have a normal day working on his dream of building a replica of Mount Saint Helen's made entirely of cockroaches. But then dastardly David Bowie showed up at his door and filled Brogloid with dread. The misadventures that follow Brogloid as he avoids the dastardly old pompous rock star while searching for the Anti-Bowie are both surreal and hysterical. "David Bowie is Trying to Kill Me" is highly imaginative and great fun.



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Review: A Prison For Bozos by Michael Rolls

A Prison For Bozos: A Goof Gilbert Adventure by Michael Rolls

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When the main character of a book is known as "Goof," you should have a pretty good idea of what kind of story you are in for. "A Prison For Bozos" has every element that a good Bizarro story should have, unusual characters in unusual situations, an alternate reality, and enough humor and satire to fill at least two full length novels. Goof Gilbert is a slacker with dozens upon dozens of get-rich-quick schemes that he just knows will work, but his day job keeps getting in the way. So Goof cracks yet another scheme, and that is to get a doctor's note excusing him from work for eighteen months so he can concentrate on getting rich and not needing a job. Not long after he manages to get a note, he winds up in trouble with the law and gets sentenced to the Free-Will Annex. "A Prison For Bozos" is written in a very stream-of-consciousness style that is part slapstick, social commentary, and sometimes just plain weird. I loved it.



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Great advice from Josh Malerman, Author of the Award Winning Novel "Bird Box."

It's okay (it's great) if your book doesn't follow the rules. I don't mean the rules of grammar or story arc. Break...

Posted by Josh Malerman on Monday, July 20, 2015

Book Review: In The Fishbowl, We Bleed by Jeremy C. Shipp

In the Fishbowl, We Bleed by Jeremy C. Shipp

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Jeremy C. Shipp has always been one of my favorite authors. I have read everything he has published and had the honor of attending one of his writing workshops. His imagination and story telling prowess is unmatched. When I saw the Facebook notification that "In The Fishbowl, We Bleed" was released, I snagged it right away. "...Fishbowl..." is a collection of nine short stories that show Shipp at the top of his game. every story is brilliant and terrifying. Shipp has found new ways to scare me that I didn't know were possible. I really couldn't pick a favorite out of this collection as each one is as good as the last. Here's a brief, spoiler free, synopsis of each story.

The Tubes - In a futuristic society the naked bodies of people proclaimed enemies of the state flow through transparent tubes as a reminder of what will happen to them if the do not obey the law.

Nubs - a man with a sinister doll collection has neglected his wife for so long that she takes drastic steps to become part of his life again.

Shade - an adulterous man is stalked by a mysterious shadow creature that can materialize anywhere at any time.

The Stills - Humans are catheterized as used as displays in the homes of the ultra-wealthy. At a dinner party, something goes very wrong and the results are terrifying and bloody.

Balloon Boy - I love Jeremy Shipp's Attic Clowns. In this take a boy seeks revenge on the bully who killed his tortoise with the help of an undead clown.

The Worm Men - In a world infested by mysterious worms, a woman hears the sins of people and in exchange receives free pest control. The surprise ending in this story is brilliant.

Feet – To call this tale disturbing is an understatement. It involves a stolen foot and two beings, Jester Blue and Jester Red, who are painted like court jester and kept in an attic. The story is told from the perspective of Jester Blue.

Masks – This story continues the story line from “Feet” but is told from the perspective of Jester Red and is even more terrifying. It’s like a fever dream that never stops.

Crawl – In the final story, a young woman in need of money to care for her brother is hired to behave human hamster for a depraved wealthy man.

Many themes repeat themselves through Shipp’s stories. He writes about the repression of the poor by the mega wealthy, about women who are neglected, and about innocent children forced to endure bullying and abuse. We are all just creatures in a fishbowl, controlled by cruel masters and then done away with when we become boring. Each of the stories is beautiful in its own disturbing way, and Jeremy C. Shipp has never been better.






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Book Review Depths by C.S. Burkhart

Depths by C.S. Burkhart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Depths" is a deeply disturbing trip through the mind of a person suffering from sleep deprivation, somnambulism, sleep paralysis, and night terrors. It is a horrifying vision of the real world blending into the nightmare world as the line between what is real and what is just a dream shatters. The story is even more terrifying as it is told in a rambling first person style that makes you feel you are locked in a small room with this person while to try to fill you in on what is happening to them as best they can.

"Depths" is startlingly original horror and will work its way into your subconscious and make you feel a little uneasy as you settle in for what you hope is a good night's sleep and not the soul crushing hell the book's main character goes through every time is falls asleep.




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Book Review: The Poet's Song: Poetry from a troubled youth by Matthew Williams

It's not often I read book outside of the horror genre that is so good, I feel the need to blog about it. In its own way, this collection of poems could be considered horror as it expresses the horror of growing up black and gay in the ghettos of Philadelphia. It's amazing.

The Poet's song: Poetry from a troubled youth by Matthew Williams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I will never say I understand what it means to be black in America. Yes, I grew up in a single parent home. Yes, I grew up poor, dirt poor. But I grew up in a dirt poor, single parent white neighborhood. I grew up on what was considered the "right" side of racial strife. I grew up where racial slurs were tossed without hesitation. If it had not been for the integration of schools where I learned that Black Americans laughed, cried, and bled exactly the same as I did, I would have turned out to be a horrible person just like the woman who raised me. I am thankful everyday for the freedom that turning your back on racism brings. I would never demean a Black American by telling them I understand their plight. Because I don't and I can't.

Reading "The Poets Song..." is a heartbreaking experience. Mr. Williams writes about not only growing up black in inner city Philadelphia (you know the part of town that was bombed by its own mayor in 1985 because of a black separatist group known as MOVE), but writes about what is was like to grow up gay AND black in inner city Philly. These are bleak poems coming from a place of pain that most people could not escape. While sad, painful, and angry, the poems also demonstrate the author's hope and determination to rise above and triumph over the odss that have been stacked against him.

Some of the poems are celebratory too. Like "New Love" dedicated to his newborn niece.

This is an amazing collection and deserves, no, demands your attention.




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Review: The Beach House by Ruxandra Filip

The Beach House by Ruxandra Filip

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this book using my Kindle Unlimited subscription and then bought it because I liked it so much. "The Beach House" is a dark and haunting tale of a young man who goes to live in a strange house with a jolly but frightening woman named Aunty. Strange occurrences start happening immediately and the protagonist is trouble by terrifying dreams and weird middle of the night visions. Eventually the dream world and the real world become indistinguishably intertwined. Ms. Filip writes about horrific situations with beautiful prose that belies the fact that English is not her first language. The characters that interact with the narrator and vividly described and are so easy to picture in your mind while reading about them. The fugue sequences are deliciously terrifying and described in such a way that it feels you are the narrator and are experiencing the events first hand. I hope Ruxandra will grace us with more stories like this because I am hooked.



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Review: Vanguard of Man by JD Lovil

Vanguard of Man by Jd Lovil

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'd love to be cheeky and say this was a look at the future is a certain person with the last name of "Paul" was elected, but that would be unfair to the author and the the book itself. Indeed there is a President Paul, who blames the previous administration for the horrible economic collapse, but that's only part of the problem. The Earth has been thrown into chaos, global warming, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and last but not least, nuclear war have hobbled our planet and left in uninhabitable. A fleet of Ark Ships has carried humans into space where they breed with uberhumans that have been enhanced with nano technology and then sent into planets that will support human life to colonize. The writing moves along swiftly and smoothly and the characters are fully developed to the point you can picture them on the small or big screen. what really stands out is the amount of detail that Lovil has put into this hard science fiction tale. It is wondrously written and was a pleasure to read.



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Review: 100 Ways To Conserve By David Baumgarten

100 Ways to Conserve: Being People and Planet Friendly by David Baumgarten

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you don't realize that our planet is in trouble, either you haven't been paying attention or you're just in denial. The amount of waste we dump into landfills is staggering. We throw away enough food every year to feed starving children in other countries more than they need to sustain themselves. Our constant need to be "plugged in" uses billions of Kwh every year resulting in a spike in the use of fossil fuels and higher energy costs. We are killing the planet that sustains, that provides us with water, food and oxygen. When it is all gone, then so are we.

David Baumgarten has put together a wonderful book of 100 ideas to help reduce our carbon footprint, reduce landfill dumping, and best off all, save us lots of money in the process. The ideas are presented in flash card style making the ideas more attractive to younger learners who need to be taught planetary responsibility while they are young so it can turn into a lifestyle for them. I was very happy to find that my family follows most of these already. I am very zealous about saving electricity so it was good to see the same tips here that I use at home. That way I can point them out and say "See? I was right all along!"

"100 Ways To Conserve" is a treat. It's great for children and adults and should be used as an education tool in early education Earth Science. I highly recommend this!



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Book Review: Nano Z by Brad Knight

Nano Z by Brad Knight

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Nano Z" opens with the story's protagonist, Mack, mulling over losing his job and what he will do for work. His thoughts are interrupted by a young Rastafarian who wants him to view a video he shot on his smartphone of something "weird" happening in another part of the town. From there the story takes off like a freight train with no brakes and all you can do as a reader is hold on for what is one fantastic ride. There are a lot of Zombie thrillers out there, and what sets aside Knight's novel from the rest of the field is his refusal to play by the rules. After the zombies return, they are controlled by nanotechnology and are slowly transformed from the inside out into indestructible merchants of death. Animals are affected as well as humans and this leads to a terrifying rodeo scene where human survivors are pitted against affected animals with blood soaked results. Knight's characters are well thought out, described with meticulous detail, and are as tragic as they are perseverant. If you are looking for a fresh look into the zombie genre, there is no better place to start than with "Nano Z."



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