Review: This is a Horror Book

This is a Horror Book by Charles Austin Muir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this quirky, shamelessly self-aware collection of horror stories from Charles Austin Muir. Muir is a very talented writer who isn't afraid to put himself into the story, elbow deep in blood, gore, and Charlize Theron. The first three stories in the book carefully balance offbeat humor, body horror, and explicit sex. "Skype Me at the Public Library" blends the thrill of public sex with cosmic horror and provides plenty of laughs right up to the big reveal. My personal favorite is "The Haddonfield Hit Squad," a more Bizarro than horror romp where Michael Myers is the narrator. Michael teams up with Freddy Krueger to form a trio of kill for hire criminals hellbent on wiping out everyone Laurie Strode's hometown. Oh, the other member of the trio? That would be Michael Myers' conjoined twin, a tiny Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gleefully spews one-liners from Commando while killing their marks. The narrative becomes more serious in "Notes on a Cosmic Horrorcore Album" which uses a recording to take the readers into the last moments of a suicide cult. I would have given five stars if the poem "Hood Sigil" had not been included. It's not that there is anything wrong with the poem, it just doesn't fit with the rest of the book, and it annoyed me. I still think you should purchase and read this collection. It's so full of surprises and dark wonders that it will keep you reading, and laughing, well into the night.

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