December 30, 2010

The Weaponer by Eric S. Brown Review



by: Eric S. Brown
CosCom Entertainment
ISBN: 978-1926712703
Review by: Gina Desory
Review posted 12/30/2010

The Weaponer by Eric S. Brown is a story of Alan who lost his mother to the undead and his father shortly years after. Alan who is 'The Weaponer' tracks down these undead in a time period where western style of old and new modern technology come together. Through the aide of others and another bunch of strange creatures that come into the mix, Alan deals with his past and present struggles along with just trying to keep his head in tack.

Let's go with an old time western classic with this review: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

First let's start out with 'The Good.' In reading this story the characters, especially Alan who was the main, you got a sense of the 'western style' with their chatting back and forth and just overall demeanor. It was fun to read how the characters reacted to some undead taking apart one of their loved ones.

'The Bad.' Unfortunately, there were a few things that caught me off gaurd and made the story at times a stumble to read. Though the combination of having a western type story and modern technology is a good idea in itself and not one often done, at times in this story, it was hard to pinpoint a visual on when it took place. The confusion at times made the story seem to jump around.

Also, there was a flashback scene in the story that was hard to tell if it was a memory or if it was going on presently in the story while reading it. It wasn't until after reading it it was told it was a memory. That made for a confusing adventure.

'The Ugly.' The ugly part of this book? Well the undead of course and the other attackers. Both were described so well that I thought for a moment one was coming through the book at me. One thing about Eric S. Brown you can depend on is describing the monsters good in his book and this was no disappointment.

Overall even if you don't like a 'western' feel to your stories, you will most likely at least want to give this a go. Yes, if you are not aware there is a combination of different time period's technology, you may get confused, but stick with it. It's a good read and one worth trying out.


December 26, 2010

The Man of Shadows by Angel Zapata Review




by: Angel Zapata
Panic Press
ISBN: 978-446724705
Review by: Gina Desory
Review posted 12/26/2010

The Man of Shadows by Angel Zapata is a collection of 25 of her short Horror stories ranging from a tattoo that comes alive, a man afraid of trolls and a man who gets his what's coming to him from kidnapping children.

The stories by Zapata are not only disturbing, but makes you afraid to go to sleep at night. Each story has a range of description that leads you to ask yourself, 'is this really fiction?'

This is a wonderful collection of Horror shorts that one needs to keep along side such works as Stephen King on their shelves to come back to when those days seem boring and they need a little scare to shake themselves up.