The Reader Reviews

Review: THE MENSTRUATING MALL by Carlton Mellick III

2005-12-21T13:56:00.000-06:00

Carlton Mellick III is often labeled as an author of ‘bizarro’ fiction and his book “The Menstruating Mall” certainly is bizarre. The short novel follows a group of stereotypical individuals who one day find themselves unable to leave the mall (which happens to be menstruating) while the rest of the mall patrons are trapped outside unable to enter. The group soon discovers that one of their ensemble is a killer bent on ridding the mall of the “mundane”. As the group is picked off one-by-one the stereotypical individuals begin doing outrageous, out-of-character acts trying to convince the unknown killer that they are unique individuals, not mundane stereotypes.

Mellick uses a sort of flow-of-consciousness writing style in “The Menstruating Mall” which is fast-paced and effective for the material. The book moves quickly from fairly “normal” happenings to progressively more strange, gory, and down right weird events.

Unfortunately, though it was a quick read, I didn’t enjoy the book that much. By the end I felt like the point of the book had been thoroughly (and with absolutely no subtlety) been beaten into the ground. It was a simple idea drawn out through a series of “ok, what’s the next most outrageous thing I can come up with” events that, though they were weird, really weren’t that entertaining.

If the goal of the book was to be weird and act as (rather obvious) commentary on stereotypes then I guess it succeeded. Beyond that it really didn’t do anything for me.

Rating:

Buy The Menstruating Mall by Carlton Mellick III at Amazon USA
Buy The Menstruating Mall by Carlton Mellick III at Amazon UK
Buy The Menstruating Mall by Carlton Mellick III at Amazon Canada

Review: FOLLOW by A.J. Matthews (Rick Hautala)

2005-12-19T13:11:00.000-06:00

Pam Gardner’s life seems to be falling apart. Her husband cheated on her and she lost her baby in a car accident. But that may not be the worst part: she seems to be going insane. Pam is hearing things, seeing shapes in dark shadows, and receiving visits from several women (including her best friend Lily) who may have met bad ends, and she thinks someone is trying to kill her. Is it all in her mind? And why do the voices keep telling her to “open the door”?

I can say one thing about A.J. Matthews (pseudonym of Rick Hautala) after reading “Follow”: this guy knows how to build tension. From the very first page the suspense is building, the mystery is getting thicker, and the confusion deeper. You can cut the tension in “Follow” with a knife. Pam Gardner is in a frightened, confused state of mind through most of the book and Matthews puts us right there in the seat with her for every moment. This is an extremely well written book. I can’t remember reading any supernatural mystery-thrillers more engrossing than “Follow”.

My only gripe is the ending. Without giving away too much (this is a mystery after all), Matthews leaves a lot of unanswered questions at the end of “Follow”. Don’t misunderstand, it’s obvious Matthews did this on purpose and his ending makes good sense, but it left me feeling a little unfulfilled. What’s the fun in building a great mystery and not having it wrapped up nicely in the end?

This book is a great, slow burn mystery. The general idea driving “Follow” isn’t new but, with a few curveballs thrown in and captivating storytelling, Matthews has pulled off a must-read supernatural thriller.

Rating:

Buy Follow by A.J. Matthews (Rick Hautala) at Amazon USA
Buy Follow by A.J. Matthews (Rick Hautala) at Amazon UK
Buy Follow by A.J. Matthews (Rick Hautala) at Amazon Canada

Review: LOVE BITES by James Newman and Donn Gash

2005-12-16T22:35:00.000-06:00

When Jerry meets Les and Wanda Sue—a.k.a HOTCOUPLE30—in an online swingers chartroom it seems like the perfect way to bring some excitement back into his marriage. And when Less and Wanda Sue offer, Jerry can’t resist a weekend campout with the couple. Even though their strangely perfect white teeth set off alarms and an anonymous emailer tells him they are “bad people”. Could there be something more animal to this animal magnetism?

James Newman and Donn Gash give us a classic, pulpy, late night, B-grade, sexed up horror flick in chapbook form with “Love Bites”. There’s really not a lot of meat here beyond what the premise suggests, and the ending is no big surprise. The writing is good with Gash and Newman working seamlessly, but in some places it gets so graphic it’s like reading cheap porn. But, it does have the coolest dual cover I’ve ever seen on a chapbook: clear, printed outer cover with an image that matches up with the image on inner cover.

It’s a short, mindless, erotic horror romp.

Rating:

Buy Love Bites by James Newman and Donn Gash at Nocturne Press
Buy Love Bites by James Newman and Donn Gash at Shocklines

Review: THE 37TH MANDALA by Marc Laidlaw

2005-12-14T17:20:00.000-06:00

New age author Derek Crowe’s latest book “The Mandala Rites” is quickly gaining him notoriety. But Crowe is a charlatan who plagiarized his book, thinks the Mandalas are fiction, and thinks his followers are fools. Contrary to what Crowe believes, his Mandalas--which his book portrays as benevolent cosmic assistants leading mankind to a better place--are far from imaginary and certainly not good. The Mandalas are ancient creatures who feed of the evil of mankind and attach themselves like leeches to human slaves. And an event that marks a new age is coming: the 37 Mandalas are gathering…

Marc Laidlaw’s “The 37th Mandala” is a tense and, at times, down-right frightening book with shades of "The Body Snatches" and the classic demon possesion theme. Laidlaw's writing and presentation are good but, to me, the most interesting part is the whole new mythology he presents in the form of the “Mandalas”. Part Lovecraftian horror, part Puppet Masters, and part artwork, the Mandalas and the whole systems that surround them (tattoos, religious rites, etc.) is extremely well thought out and presented. Rather than pick some existing horror creature or system to expend upon Laidlaw has presented an entirely new evil. And he’s done it quite well.

The only downside (if you can even call it that) to “The 37th Mandala” is the pace. It starts out slow and builds, revealing each new mystery just a bit at a time. For the most part it’s not action-packed until the end but it is fascinating enough to hold your attention the entire time.

Rating:

Buy The 37th Mandala by Marc Laidlaw at Amazon USA
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Review: THE FLESH REMEMBERS by Richard Wright

2005-12-12T11:26:00.000-06:00

Dexter Lomax knows his job for “The International Inquisitor” is not necessarily to report the facts, but to report a sensational story. And the series of strangely perfect craters popping up around England certainly seems sensational. Add to that a dumping of 30 skinless bodies, a video showing another world of gigantic proportions where no sound travels, and the fact that the video itself isn’t made out of magnetic tape, and Lomax may end up wishing he’d never started this journalistic investigation.

Richard Wright’s “The Flesh Remembers” is unapologetically Lovecraftian in nature. You’ve got the lone researcher (Lomax), the mysterious tome (a video tape), cultish groups pursuing the hero (two of them), along with god-like, tentacled beasts from beyond. While it’s been done over and over Wright makes it feel fresh and pumps out a darn good tale. He’s added enough new elements to make it unique while holding onto enough of the old elements that fans won’t be disappointed. The writing is fast, the descriptions are great, and I actually found myself getting creeped out a few times.

I’ve only got a couple of minor quibbles. First, Lomax is said to be from New York but he uses English slang and phrasing very often. Second, some of the formatting is weird (like using single quotes around dialog). Neither of these are huge, but they were enough to pull me out of the story a few times. And when a tale has the momentum that this one does, you don’t want anything pulling you out of the story.

If you’re a fan of good, old fashioned, creepy Lovecraftian horror (with just a tad of X-Files style sci-fi) you can’t go wrong with “The Flesh Remembers”--especially since the author is giving it away free at http://www.richardwright.org. I’m greatly looking forward to the sequel!

Rating:

Buy The Flesh Remembers by Richard Wright at Amazon USA
Buy The Flesh Remembers by Richard Wright at Lulu

Review: DEADLANDS by Scott A. Johnson

2005-12-09T15:44:00.000-06:00

It’s becoming harder and harder to offer up something new in the zombie genre, it’s pretty much all been done. But, Scott A. Johnson has taken a successful stab at it in his new novel “Deadlands”.

“Deadlands” follows brother and sister Christian and Cadence through post-apocalyptic nightmare world. In this dark combination of science fiction and horror the entire world is scorched and ruined. What little civilization is left lives in somewhat primitive underground bunkers hiding from flesh scorching daylight, poisoned air, and most importantly, the living dead. The zombies, referred to as “rotters” in the book, are a product of a last ditch effort by warring factions to build an unstoppable army during the worldwide conflict that turned the earth into "deadland". Of course, this plan backfired miserably. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, a new, mysterious threat has arisen that is destroying the underground cities and wiping out all their inhabitants threatening to put an end to humanity once and for all.

Zombie and post-apocalyptic fans will find a lot to enjoy about this book. While a lot of ideas aren’t particularly new Johnson works hard to put a fresh spin on things. The book is fast paced, action-packed, and well written. Johnson throws in a new--at least to me--twist on the zombie but, I won’t give it away as it’s one of the books major plot points (and a good one at that). My only complaints are that the “emotional” scenes in the book are standard and clichéd and that the book is relatively short. If you’re looking for your next apocalyptic and/or zombie adventure you won’t be disappointed with “Deadlands”.

Rating:

Buy Deadlands by Scott A. Johnson at Amazon USA
Buy Deadlands by Scott A. Johnson at Amazon UK
Buy Deadlands by Scott A. Johnson at Amazon Canada

Review: THE POKER CLUB by Ed Gorman

2005-12-08T13:01:00.000-06:00

Ed Gorman is a fairly well-known author in the horror and crime fields but “The Poker Club” was my introduction to his writing. Depending on your slant you could call “The Poker Club” a crime novel or thriller (possibly even horror though there’s nothing supernatural). Unfortunately I’m left calling it unfulfilling.

The plot of “The Poker Club” (which is an expansion of an earlier novella) isn’t breaking any new ground in the crime/thriller genre: a group of friends accidentally kill a burglar who breaks into the lead (Aaron’s) home during a meeting of their poker club. The rest of the novel follows the friends as they deal with the vengeful partner of the dead burglar and the police investigation. This is, of course, intended to be thrilling and suspenseful but instead is only mildly interesting. Most of the “thrilling” events are rehashes of typical stalking/revenge tales, the characters are two-dimensional stereotypes, and the conclusion is a cop-out.

Though I’ll most likely give Gorman another shot based on his notoriety, I’d recommend “The Poker Club” to only the most desperate crime/thriller fan.

Rating:

Buy The Poker Club by Ed Gorman at Amazon USA
Buy The Poker Club by Ed Gorman at Amazon UK
Buy The Poker Club by Ed Gorman at Amazon Canada

Review: THE COLLECTION by Bentley Little

2005-12-06T17:52:00.000-06:00

I’ve read several novels by Bentley Little and they’re weird (in a good way). Little has a talent for taking far-out ideas that, in some author’s hands, would come across as stupid and deliver them as engrossing, terrifying tales. “The Collection”, which brings together 32 of Little’s short stories, showed me that his novels barely scratch the surface of outrageously strange ideas this man’s got running around in his head.

Tales in “The Collection” are all terrify but many of them are also darkly humorous and satirical. Little delves into revisionist history with “The Washingtonians” and “Colony”. He takes cultish celebrity worship to the extreme in “The Idol”. He tackles tough issues like bloodthirsty macaroni in “Blood” and an aroused pillow in “Pillow Talk” (yes, seriously).

This is a deranged collection of tales but Little manages, somehow, to keep the outrageous grounded enough to genuinely creep the reader out. There wasn’t a tale in the bunch that I didn’t enjoy. While I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart, if you’ve enjoyed any of Little’s other work or you’re just looking for something deranged and scary pick up “The Collection”.

Rating:

Buy The Collection by Bentley Little at Amazon USA
Buy The Collection by Bentley Little at Amazon UK
Buy The Collection by Bentley Little at Amazon Canada

Review: THE MANHATTAN HUNT CLUB by John Saul

2005-12-05T20:35:00.000-06:00

In “The Manhattan Hunt Club” John Saul takes a premise that has been done a few times (people hunting people) and moves it to a new location. Jeff converse has been falsely accused of murder and, after his death has been faked, becomes the prey for human hunters in the maze of subway tunnels and sewer system beneath the city of Manhattan.

Unfortunately, a good premise does not a good book make. Saul never manages to pull “The Manhattan Hunt Club” above mediocrity. His characters aren’t particularly interesting and, for such an exciting concept, the novel moves at a snails pace. These problems are rounded off with suspension-of-belief breaking coincidences. Somehow Saul has managed to fail to deliver intensity from a premise that almost exudes it naturally.

“The Manhattan Hunt Club” has made for TV movie written all over it. This is at best an average offering from a well-known author.

Rating:

Buy The Manhattan Hunt Club by John Saul at Amazon USA
Buy The Manhattan Hunt Club by John Saul at Amazon UK
Buy The Manhattan Hunt Club by John Saul at Amazon Canada

Review: THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN INTERVIEWED BY THE BRAIN-DEAD by Tom Monteleone

2005-12-03T00:14:00.000-06:00

Other than a few unfinished attempts at story telling (now gathering dust on my hard drive) I’m not an author. So, I didn’t know if I would get anything from Tom Monteleone’s author targeted “Things to Remember When Interviewed by the Brain-Dead” (being offered for $0.49 as part of Amazon’s Shorts program). After wiping the tears of laughter from my face I can say this short bit of non-fiction has pleasantly surprised me.

In “Things to Remember…” Monteleone--who has been a professional writer for over 30 years--offers his advice on dealing with journalists and free-lancers before, during, and after the interview process. Monteleone paints these non-fiction writers as bumbling buffoons who care nothing about getting the facts straight. The tips and advice he offers to make sure the interview ends up being accurate are helpful but the real joy in this short for me was the anecdotal humor. Monteleone shares a couple of his own experiences (his first interview and his worst interview) and both are, quite frankly, hilarious.

Monteloene has a good mix in “Things to Remember When Interviewed by the Brain-Dead”: everyone will enjoy the humor and authors will find its tips especially helpful. I highly recommend this short whether you’re an author preparing for an interview or just looking for a laugh.

Rating:

Buy Things to Remember When Interviewed by the Brain-Dead by Tom Monteleone at Amazon USA

Review: PEACEABLE KINGDOM by Jack Ketchum

2005-12-01T16:43:00.000-06:00

Jack Ketchum is an author who, it seems, may be destined to be one of the greats that went largely unrecognized. While he’s often cited by other authors and the hardcore horror readers as one of the best I think it’s a safe bet to say the average reader has never heard of him. The collection “Peaceable Kingdom” brings together 32 of Ketchum’s short tales including a couple of Bram Stoker award-winners and an introduction and afterword by Ketchum himself.

The tales in “Peaceable Kingdom” run the gamut from supernatural horror and thriller to the just plain weird. The one consistent factor among the stories is Ketchum’s stellar writing. Regardless of how plain or outrageous the tale is, Ketchum’s crisp descriptions and well-realized characters bring an atmosphere to his writing that few authors are able to achieve. I won’t be surprised to find Ketchum someday being required reading in high school as his writing deserves to be right up there with the classical masters.

This is a collection that, once you’ve started reading you’ll find it quite literally hard to put down. Other than a few tales which don’t shine quite as brightly as the rest (but still outdo most other author’s work), “Peaceable Kingdom” is a collection of tiny masterpieces.

Rating:

Buy Peaceable Kingdom by Jack Ketchum at Amazon USA
Buy Peaceable Kingdom by Jack Ketchum at Amazon UK
Buy Peaceable Kingdom by Jack Ketchum at Amazon Canada

Review: SCARECROW by Matthew Reilly

2005-11-30T12:49:00.000-06:00

I’ve seen Matthew Reilly’s works shoe-horned into the “political thriller” category and I’ve got to tell you: that is flat out wrong. If Reilly’s books were movies they would be the late ‘80s and early ‘90s all-out action fests staring Schwarzenegger or Stallone. And there’s nothing wrong with that as the entertainment value in those types of works is high when they’re done right. Unfortunately, with “Scarecrow” Reilly has fallen into the trap that has snared so many action movie follow-ups: trying too hard to outdo himself.

“Scarecrow” stars Reilly’s recurring character Marine Shane Schofield. Schofield finds himself the target--along with 14 other members of the world's most elite military units--of a multi-million dollar bounty hunt. The sponsors of the hunt, a group of Illuminati-like billionaires who pull the puppet-strings of the world, have a secret and, of course, world altering plans that requires the eliminations of these highly dangerous individuals.

Just as with Reilly’s other works, “Scarecrow” features over the top action and daring escapes. Most readers would expect this with the way the book is billed. The problem is that this time around Reilly’s work comes off as if he is purely trying to outdo himself. The book as a whole feels like he’s pushing to out-shoot, out-explode, out-drive, out-kill, and out-surprise his previous works. Not only that, but each scene within the book must be even more over-the-top than the last. This permeates “Scarecrow” so severely that scenes within the book often feel totally contrived and, in some situations, the outcome becomes obvious because they are constructed so specifically for a big payoff. The book becomes driven by getting to the next biggest, baddest action scene rather than being driven by an interesting plot that includes action scenes.

My recommendation if you’re looking for a mindless, fun, action filled book is to head for one of Matthew Reilly’s older works.

Rating:

Buy Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly at Amazon USA
Buy Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly at Amazon UK
Buy Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly at Amazon Canada

Review: TAKE ME BACK TO THAT BALL GAME... by David Niall Wilson

2005-11-29T18:53:00.000-06:00

Having (to my recollection) never read any works by David Niall Wilson, the short story “Take Me Back To That Ball Game…”--available through Amazon.com’s Shorts program--was the perfect introduction.

While it’s difficult to describe a short story without giving the whole she-bang away, Wilson has quite successfully mixed baseball, antiques, mystery, death, a curse, and a couple of curve-ball plot twists into this 16 page offering. And, even though I’m not a fan of baseball, Wilson’s smooth and easy writing, intriguing plot, and believable characters sucked me into the tale.

“Take Me Back To That Ball Game…” is certainly worth the paltry $0.49 fee from Amazon. It is one of those perfect short stories that succeeds where so many fail: it setups you up well then pays off big in a short space. I look forward to delving into some of Wilson’s longer works in the near future.

Rating:

Buy Take Me Back To That Ball Game by David Niall Wilson at Amazon USA

Review: AFTERMATH OF THE DEAD by Gregory Smith

2005-11-29T14:51:00.000-06:00

First, let me say I have nothing against self-published books. In fact, I’ve read many, liked several, and even loved a few. Unfortunately, Gregory Smith’s self-published stab at the zombie genre titled “Aftermath of the Dead” is not one I like.

I loathe writing a review of a book that I didn’t finish, but I couldn’t bring myself to slog through “Aftermath”. Plot-wise the book sounds like traditional zombie fare focused on the city of the Arch: St. Louis. I’m unable to share much in the way of plot specifics because this book is so horribly written I was unable to complete it. I’m no grammar/punctuation stickler or expert by any means. I understand the extra errors that don’t get weeded out of self-published books—not a big deal to me. But, the grammar and punctuation in “Aftermath” is so atrocious, so grating on the eyeballs that I could not bear to read more than a few chapters. It is literally a chore to even decipher what Gregory Smith is trying convey most of the time.

“Aftermath of the Dead” is destined to become one of those books that pops up over and over again as anecdotal evidence against self-publishing. If you're looking for your zombie fix avoid this one and take a chance on one of the many other traditional or self-published zombie novels.

Rating:

Buy Aftermath of the Dead by Gregory Smith at Amazon USA
Buy Aftermath of the Dead by Gregory Smith at Amazon UK
Buy Aftermath of the Dead by Gregory Smith at Amazon Canada

Review: THE HARVEST by Scott Nicholson

2005-11-29T11:16:00.000-06:00

I really wanted to like Scott Nicholson's "The Harvest" more than I did. The premise reads like a cross between “Night of the Living Dead” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”: ancient alien seed crash lands on Earth, alien seed attempts to devour/assimilate Earth's creatures (resulting in humans becoming zombie-like creatures), and a small band of heroes collect to save the day. Unfortunately this great premise may have raised my expectations a little too much.

Without a doubt, this is a full-on B-horror idea which, if you're even considering reading this book, is probably fine with you. Unfortunately, Nicholson got stuck somewhere between a fun B-horror novel and a character driven novel. Nicholson spends the first several hundred pages introducing character after character. I'm sure the purpose was to make us feel like we knew the characters but, for the most part, they were un-engaging and, in the end, unimportant to the story. It felt like a writer TRYING to make the characters come to life rather than actually doing so. The best part of the novel--brutal action and horrific twists--doesn't really kick in until the last 75-100 pages. I feel this story probably would have been better served in novella form.

If the premise intrigues you and you’re able to go into it expecting nothing more than an average B-movie in book form you shouldn’t be too disappointed. Otherwise you might want to pass this one up.

Rating:

Buy The Harvest by Scott Nicholson at Amazon USA
Buy The Harvest by Scott Nicholson at Amazon UK
Buy The Harvest by Scott Nicholson at Amazon Canada

Review: WET WORK by Philip Nutman

2005-11-28T17:24:00.000-06:00

I had read that Philip Nutman's "Wet Work" was based on his story from "The Book of the Dead" so I assumed the zombies would be George Romero-style. Well, it's true some of the zombies are slow, mindless flesh-eating drones. But, to my surprise and delight, Nutman has also thrown smart, fast zombies in the mix (somewhat like Keene's "The Rising") as well and most of the book centers on them.

The novel follows a Washington, D.C. cop and a black-ops type assassin as the society of the living crumbles and the dead rise due (apparently) to the earth passing through the tail of a strange comet. While the events of the book are not particularly groundbreaking in the zombie genre (flesh is eaten, loved ones are separated, lead characters become zombies, rinse, repeat), Wet Work is well written and the military style action is fast and furious. Probably the only virgin territory Nutman ventures into is the establishment of a new government by the undead, for the undead, which results in some amusing scenes between the smart dead and the living.

If you're a zombie fan you won't find anything particularly surprising in Philip Nutman's "Wet Work" but you will have a good time in a familiar landscape.

Rating:

Buy Wet Work by Philip Nutman at Amazon USA
Buy Wet Work by Philip Nutman at Amazon UK
Buy Wet Work by Philip Nutman at Amazon Canada

Review: CARRION by Gary Brandner

2005-11-28T14:58:00.000-06:00

"Carrion" gives an interesting take on zombies: McAllister Fain has the power to bring the recently deceased back to life. The story basically follows two paths: Fain's rise to fame and fortune because of his newfound power, and the resurrected's slow descent into decay, madness, and lust for retribution.

The book was a quick, easy read that was well written. My main issue with the book is that nearly the entire novel feels like it is "building up" for something spectacular....which never arrives. The ending feels rushed and, without giving too much away, is a complete cop-out.

Not the greatest, not the worst, overall just average.

Rating:

Buy Carrion by Gary Brandner at Amazon USA
Buy Carrion by Gary Brandner at Amazon UK
Buy Carrion by Gary Brandner at Amazon Canada

Review: ISLAND by Richard Laymon

2005-11-28T11:47:00.000-06:00

Being trapped on an island is all the rage these days: Survivor, Lost, and Castaway. But, in typical Laymon fashion, ISLAND takes the common theme and pushes it in new, extreme directions.

If you’re familiar with Richard Laymon’s work at all you know the currency he deals in: schoolboy fantasies and hardcore horror. Laymon seems to have found the ultimate outlet here with the story of a young man trapped on an island after a boating accident. Take the normal dram of being separated from civilization with limited food and water, mix in a mysterious killer, heap on the typical Laymon madness, then top that off with a shocking finale and you’ve got a tale that makes Castaway look like a comedy.

It’s not high art (and you’re probably not expecting it to be), but if you’re a fan of survival stories, extreme adventure, or Richard Laymon in general you’re making a safe bet with ISLAND.

Rating:

Buy Island by Richard Laymon at Amazon USA
Buy Island by Richard Laymon at Amazon UK
Buy Island by Richard Laymon at Amazon Canada

Review: IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY by Eric Shapiro

2005-11-28T09:19:00.000-06:00

If you knew in a few short hours earth would be destroyed how would you spend your precious time? With family? Friends? Doing all those horrible things you’ve always really wanted to do? If you’re Sean--a recent somewhat aimless college graduate—you take to the road to find the one girl you ever really loved (and lost).

Eric Shapiro has done a dangerous thing in “It’s Only Temporary”: he’s written an apocalyptic love story. Wait, don’t stop reading because of the “love story” part! This book is so well written, so stylish, so intense that, when you finish, you won’t feel like you’ve read a love story. You’ll feel like you’ve just been on a trip through a hellish apocalyptic world that’s pulling apart at the seams with REAL people. There’s the key: Shapiro’s characters feel like living, breathing people with real problems, real worries, and real desires trying to deal with an insane situation.

Imagine Chuck Palahniuk rewriting “Love Story” and “The Stand” as a single tale then going back and trimming it to the absolute bone and you’ve got something in the ball park of “It’s Only Temporary”. If you’re a fan of reading at all do yourself a favor and read this book!

Rating:

Buy It's Only Temporary by Eric Shapiro at Amazon USA
Buy It's Only Temporary by Eric Shapiro at Amazon UK
Buy It's Only Temporary by Eric Shapiro at Amazon Canada

Review: TERMINAL by Brian Keene

2005-11-28T08:09:00.000-06:00

You're down on your luck: lost your dead-end job, got cancer, only have weeks to live... So, what do you do? If you're Tommy O'Brien and his friends (one of whom is not-so-stable) you rob a bank.

Planning the job is straight forward for Tommy, John, and the shady (and possibly demon-possessed) Sherm. But, as tends to happen with bank jobs, it all goes down hill from there. Gunfights, bloodshed, madness, and miracles round off this fast-paced thriller.

While the premise may sound tired, just as he did with his zombie novels Keene has brought power back to the grand old tale of the bank job. Not only has he put a touch of unique, supernatural slant on the tale he has done something so many authors strive to do their entire careers and fail: Keene has written a book that has a huge, beating heart that anybody who has ever been down on their luck (and who hasn't?) will easily relate to and fall in love with. Quite frankly, folks, I'm convinced these characters are out there living real lives somewhere right now (well, those who survived anyway!) and Keene simply wrote their biography. Buy this book now before it disappears.

Rating:

Buy Terminal by Brian Keene at Amazon USA
Buy Terminal by Brian Keene at Amazon UK
Buy Terminal by Brian Keene at Amazon Canada

How To Submit Materials For Review

2005-11-27T13:29:00.000-06:00

The Reader Reviews accepts all genres of books and magazines for potential review including nonfiction. But, we particularly enjoy horror, science fiction, fantasy, and adventure. We accept traditional, small press, independent, POD, and self-published titles but do not accept eBooks.

If you have materials you would like us to consider for review please contact us for mailing instructions.

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About The Reader Reviews

2005-11-26T14:12:00.000-06:00

The Reader Reviews is a small collective of book reviewers specializing in mini web reviews. All of our reviews are posted on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, bn.com (Barnes & Noble), our official website/blog, and sent out in our monthly newsletter.

The Reader Reviews accepts all genres of books and magazines for potential review including nonfiction. But, we particularly enjoy horror, science fiction, fantasy, and adventure. We accept traditional, small press, independent, POD, and self-published titles but do not accept eBooks.

If you have a book or magazine you would like us to review please see our submission instructions.