by Kevin and Ken L. Jones
Panic Press
Review by Dana Bell
Review posted 05/22/2011
If the reader enjoys gore, which there is a lot of, sexual themes and acts enjoyable, then many of these stories will fulfill the current mentality that in order to be scary, there must violence, blood and sex.
Cumbersome are the long, rambling paragraphs which are difficult for the reader to get through. Also, the 'telling' rather than 'showing' in many of the stories, causing many of what must be important details to be skipped over to get to the heart of what is supposed to be going on.
The continual and brutal murder of women, some of which are the murderer's spouse, causes a sickening sensation in the stomach of the female reader. Very few of the dealers of death are feminine and when they are, they are often portrayed as mythic creatures such as a vampire or succubus.
The writers used a good mix of popular culture, including well known people, infamous serial killers, and current eating establishments. Their readers must know these references in order to understand the story, for instance the Sugar Plum Fairy and her role in Christmas traditions. Also included is a tale about a revolting porn film style where animals are stomped to death. Granted, it is twisted differently, but the end result is just as disgusting.
None of these stories hold any type of redemption for the main character. They are shown as the worst of human nature and pure evil, taking joy in the pain and suffering inflicted upon their victims. Few are caught and run free to inflict their sickness upon others. Granted it is a true insight into what really happens in our society, but makes one wish for the outcome and them being hunted down and then captured as happens on the TV show 'Criminal Minds'.
