Jack's Magic Beans By Brian Keene Review

By Brian Keene
Deadite Press
Review posted 02/18/2011

Jack's Magic Beans by Brian Keene once again showcases the author's talent of the strange, horrific and enjoyable aspects of a short story.

In this collection of 5 stories we have:

Jack's Magic Beans that tells of a supermarket gone astray. Where people act in a hostile nature hurting each other and killing everyone they come in contact with. Their rage, unknown. Jack, who was asleep during the start of the chaos, wakes up to hear screaming and pounding on a door. He along with a few others who have not been infected with this unknown rage, try to survive whatever comes next. Jack offers a solution, but does this solution really work?

Without You tells the tale of a man who has lost his self-worth. He is in a dead-end job that he just got fired from, in debt and married to a woman he fell out of love with. He remembers how it used to be where he would say to her "I would die without you." Under circumstances in which he can no longer take, he has made a choice to kill himself, but does he really die?

I am an Exit tells the story of a killer where certain aspects of the situations becomes what they consider "an exit."

This is not an Exit deals with two people sitting at a bar discussing things. The topic comes up about if they ever killed anyone. They both agree yes they have. One only killed a family, the other has killed more. What could this type of conversation produce as a result?

The King in: Yellow starts with a homeless man telling this couple they have to see the show Yellow. Of course Finely and Kathryn think it is just ramblings of a lost soul. They go to a restaurant and see a woman yelling and singing something about "Yellow." They think it's odd and leave. Then later Kathryn wants to see a show called Yellow that she sees on a advertisement on the street. They go to the show, but will they ever be the same again?

With intensity and a flare for the extreme, Keene opens the eyes of the readers who dare turn the pages of this collection. You think of things not heard of, you experience the words like the taste of a fine wine. There is no collection that will make you enjoy a story and fear the ending as much as this.

Napier's Bones By Derryl Murphy Review

By Derryl Murphy
ChiZine Press
ISBN: 978-1926851099
Review by: Dana Bell
Review posted 02/8/2011

Numbers. It's all about numbers and they're effect on each of our lives. People, nature, living creatures live and die by them. They're everywhere and those who invented them haunt us day in and day out.

So is the tale of Dom. He wanders in from the desert and begins a quest with a shadow named Billy and a young woman named Jenna. They travel the US and other places do discover the secrets and wrestle them away from the ancients. They meet those who have gone before, speak with them, and discover the doorways to new equations and possibilities.

Along the way there is good every day events. Visiting the ATM, eating food, staying in hotels and a love angle that never happens despite the characters attachment to each other and an intangible enemy who doesn't seem very threatening or even dangerous. There's even a brief encounter with an ex priest discussing theology.

Mostly it is a story of a journey not just physically but also into the discovery of numbers and their uses. The pair unlocks the mysteries and steps into a realm most in their profession could only dream about.

Well written in an almost mystical way with numbers being a type of magic that can be wielded and used.

Suggested for an audience that understands mathematics and the references to them which are lost to the general reader. Also not for those who are offended by swear words, puck or references to the male anatomy.

The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumière Review

by: Claude Lalumière
ChiZine Press
ISBN: 978-1926851129
Review by: Robert Walter
Review posted 02/7/2011

The Door to Lost Pages is Claude Lalumieres’ newest book by ChiZine Publishing.

While this book was thought provoking, it was confusing to me in many regards. Confusing in that the timelines of the threads in the story jump at times and took a number of re-reads to re-establish where I was in the story and or who was currently the narrator in the story.

This is definitely not a book for the younger generation as it contains some graphic sexual descriptions.

At the beginning, there is a description of Yamesh-Lot, the great antagonist, or source of evil, but other than continuing mentions throughout the rest of the book does not bring this to any conclusion or direct conflict with the Green, Blue and Brown God. The Shipfan-Shap (similar to angels) do battle against Yamesh-Lot then fade away through the rest of the book.

The titular book store, Lost Pages, would be the kind of bookstore one would love to be able to find having whatever one was looking for, no matter what the subject, language, time period or reality. Alternate realities are discussed briefly, but they are not followed or described further in the story. Simply that they exist.

The main character, Aydee and a secondary character, Lucas, follow similar paths to the bookstore, but at different times along slightly different paths. A unique technique used in this book is a letter “read” by Aydee, that adds a story line, but never reveals the author.

In the end, the story is a simile for the dichotomy of life.

2013: The Aftermath Edited by: Shane McKenzie & Jessy Marie Robert Review

Edited by: Shane McKenzie & Jessy Marie Robert
Pill Hill Press
ISBN: 978-1617060335
Review by: Gina Desory
Review posted 02/5/2011


2013: The Aftermath anthology has 26 tales of bonding, of horror of people panicking, exploring all things one would see at the end of the world. All these stories take place sometime in 2013, when something of an end of the world situation has happened. Stories ranging from exploring their surroundings and possibly finding a creature called a Hydra, a person who was put on a mission and has another voice in his head to a salesman trying to sell and scam other survivors and many more stories.

What was different in this collection was so many different viewpoints on the end of the world situations. The strength that the authors showed their characters having, the raw emotions, it was amazing. No one story was the same and each one in its special way made you think about what you would do if you were in that situation.

The best story out of this collection is 'Magic Man' by Chris Lewis Carter telling of a salesman who tries to sell a cure to survivors that doesn't exist and certain things happen as a result. In every dire situation there are always those that try to gain at the expense of others and this story would show in the aftermath of something horrible, how that would not change certain people in still doing that.

Go out and get this anthology. You need to be able to experience life at the end of the world.

Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism By David Nickle Review

By David Nickle
Publisher ChiZine Publications
ISBN: 978-1926851112
Review by Jim Cherry
Review posted 1/25/2011


I’m not the best judge of horror, but I’ve read Lovecraft, Poe, King, and good writing is good writing. Good writing carries over to a book regardless of genre. And there’s plenty of good writing in David Nickle’s “Eutopia.”

“Eutopia” is set in the early 20th century and explores the world of American utopian movements, and the almost instantly corruptible science of Eugenics, how easily our desires for a utopian society can be exploited and corrupted no matter how idealistic the original intent.

The story is told from the point of view of two protagonists. The first is Dr. Andrew Waggoner a negro doctor in the frontier town of Eliada, Colorado in 1911. Eliada is a town set up by idealistic and charismatic leader Garrison Harper, a city that he’s built out of the wilderness on the principles of Compassion, Community, and Hygiene. As we meet Waggoner he’s about to be lynched by the local Ku Klux Klan. But first they hang a mysterious figure known as “Mr. Juke” for the rape and murder of a young woman. As Juke is being hanged, Waggoner has a vision of Juke either being a monster or beautiful. Just as the Klan is about to lynch Waggoner he’s rescued by Sam Green, one of the Pinkerton men hired by Harper. As Waggoner recuperates in Eliada’s hospital he learns “Mr. Juke” had survived hanging, although Waggoner doesn’t see how that is possible. But there isn’t time for Waggoner to investigate as a plot is discovered that the Klan wants to finish their job on Dr. Waggoner.

The second protagonist is Jason Thistledown, a lad of sixteen whose mother has died of disease. He discovers the rest of the town has been killed by the disease and, he’s the sole survivor. As Jason waits out the winter on the farm and is unsure about what to do with his mother’s body his previously unknown Aunt Germaine appears. Aunt Germaine is on her way to Eliada having recently been in New York gathering Eugenics information in prisons. After Jason and Aunt Germaine arrive in Eliada her motives for bringing Jason there become suspect as she allows Jason to be put overnight in “quarantine” with “Mr. Juke” and the secret that town harbors reveals itself and spreads throughout the populace.

At first I had a difficult time figuring out what, if any genre “Eutopia” fell into. Was it going to be a novel with a science fiction twist? Steampunk? Or something else entirely? Nickle takes his time setting everything up, and soon, “Eutopia” revealed itself to be of the horror genre. Nickle lets the novel reveal itself through the characters and the events that befall them. The narrative moves with a Lovecraftian twist, a little Greek mythology and hillbilly lore thrown in. Nickle lays out these strings and neatly weaves them into the thread of his story and keeps the tension going and the reader wanting to see what will happen next. Set in the early 20th century, Nickle has the voice of the people and the manner of the times down.

The horror is more implicit than explicit, there’s no big ’reveal’ scene where a monstrous nightmare vision is thrown at the reader for shock or a visceral reaction. Nickle sets the tone at early 20th century creepy. The tone is more of a pins under your skin feeling, or the feeling of a spider walking across your hand, that keeps you in a state of ecstatic uncomfortableness. The closer I got towards the end, the more it kept me reading to see how this could possibly be resolved. What higher praise or expectations can you have for a book?

“Eutopia” will be released by ChiZine Publications on May 3rd, 2011.

Jim Cherry is the author of The Last Stage www.jymsbooks.com

Classsics Mutilated Edited By Jeff Conner Review

Edited By: Jeff Conner
Publisher Idea and Design Works, llc
ISBN: 978-1600108303
Review by Jim Cherry
Review posted 1/24/2011


“Classsics Mutilated” is an anthology of 13 short stories that takes some literary classics and mashes them up with a twist of horror, that crosses genres, characters and the lines between them.

Mutilated is kind of a misnomer for these stories, there’s nothing mutilated or even stitched together about these stories. They’re more a fusion of genres that enhances the originals. Like alternate histories in writing a good mashup you have to have a good command of the material, balanced with a respect for the original while maintaining a sense of the irreverent about it. Hopefully, the new story, besides being entertaining will also provide a better understanding or insight into the original, and these are well written stories.

Some of the standout stories for me were:
“Death Stopped for Miss Dickinson,” which takes the literary assessment of Emily Dickinson courting death in her poetry from the figurative into the literal. Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes a story that takes the fine lacey poetics of Dickinson and creates a story worthy of Dickinson.

“Quoth The Rock Star” has Jim Morrison entering the world of Edgar Allan Poe and “The Raven” as they battle it out for possession of a soul. The author of “Quoth,” Rio Youers, writes one of the best descriptions of a Doors concert I’ve ever read. Youers interlaces Morrison’s lyrics into the prose to create effect, tone and even real power in using Morrison’s motif’s and imagery in the telling of the story and will give Doors fans a rush of recognition.

In “From Hell’s Heart” Nancy Collins has Captain Ahab from Moby Dick fused with H.P. Lovecraft. I was never a big fan of Lovecraft when he was big in the mid-70’s because he always backed away from describing the horror, but Nancy Collins takes that extra step and describes Lovecraft’s indescribable.

“Frankenbilly,” is a western homage to the B-movie. It meshes “Frankenstein” with the 60‘s classic “Billy the Kid Versus Dracula.” While successfully serving the flavor of a western and a B-movie, without degenerating into B writing.

For rock fans that want to continue in vein of “Quoth The Rock Star,” Mark Morris’ “Vicious” has Sid Vicious on tour in the U.S. meeting up with a Voodoo priestess or two, and definitely maintains Vicious’ attitude and outlook towards life.

“Twilight of the Gods” has Norse mythology going to high school and meeting the 90210 world. An apt tongue in cheek look at The Gods.

The H.G. Wells story “The Island of Dr. Moreau“ never seemed to work in concept either in Wells’ work or in the movies. But in “The Happiest Hell on Earth,” John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow have Moreau working much better when he meets up with a Walt Disneyesque Hollywood impresario.

In “Classics Mutilated” there is a quotient of fun in the stories, a joie de vive in the writing, that you can even see in titles like “Anne-Droid of Green Gables.” “Classics Mutilated” is a good for anyone who likes literature and/or horror and is looking for a little different perspective on either. A reading of “Classics Mutilated” will bring back fond memories and may even send you back to the originals.


Jim Cherry is the author of The Last Stage www.jymsbooks.com

Gone with the Dirt:Undead Dixie Anthology Edited by Jessy Marie Roberts Review

Edited by: Jessy Marie Roberts
Pill Hill Press
ISBN: 978-1617060427
Review posted 01/21/2011

At the time of the civil war, many lives were lost. But could there have been a possibility of the undead helping in bring about a different war?

That is what Gone with the Dirt:Undead Dixie lets the reader into. There are 26 stories about the south, the civil war and the undead. Included in this collection is also a play.

What brings this collection to stand by itself is the idea that undead could have walked about the earth during the time there were 'southern bells' and men were fighting their brothers during one of the deadliest wars ever fought.

Out of this collection the story that stands out the most is 'Deliver the Yankee Coffin' by Kelly M. Hudson. Here is the story of how there maybe a possibility Lincoln allowed the undead attacks to occur and how those around him dealt with this choice. The story is built around a different and beautiful background. The characters based on real names, serve their purpose by dealing with these attacks, emotions running high and proving that this story is one of the best of the old south.

The only odd thing about this collection was that amongst all the short stories there was a stage play script included. Not that I mind I love plays, but for some reason that seemed out of place. However, it is an anthology and anything can go.

I would buy this to take a different look at the old south. Read the characters as they venture into something so extreme, that even holding their rifles up high will not stop the fear in their eyes.