Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand

I've recently had the good fortune of having the chance to read Jeff Strand's Wolf Hunt several months before publication. Being a huge fan of Strand's work, you can imagine just how floored I was when I received it. I dove in right away, and 2 days later I was done. I can't see anyone wanting to put this one down - it's that good.

George and Lou - two hired thugs who make a living collecting money and breaking the bones of those who do their clients wrong - have a new job to do. It involves driving a man who is locked in a cage in the back of their van to their client, who is five hours away. This human cargo is claimed to be a werewolf. It's supposed to be an easy transport job, but doesn't end up being as such. When the werewolf escapes, they face a much bigger problem than before. Now they're hunting the werewolf because their lives depend on it.

This is a lightning fast read, capable of taking you all over the place and then dropping you off in the middle of the most incredible action I've read this side of Vertical Run. (For those of you who are not familiar with Joseph Garber's Vertical Run - it's basically Die Hard in book form...but way better!)

Strand's latest effort does not fail to entertain, nor does it pull punches. The action is intense, the scares are abundant, and the gore - the beautiful, beautiful gore - is plentiful and visceral. Strand has also amped up the humor in this one, crafting some of the smoothest, funniest, and most awe inspiring dialogue you'll ever read.

The dynamic between the two main characters is something not often seen in in fiction these days, prompting me to believe that Leisure has struck gold with Strand. I would dare to say that it's what every reader hopes to find in a book, making Strand one of Leisure's most diverse and capable authors.

To quote something I said earlier on a forum:

In short, Jeff Strand is magic.

It's like he has some sort of extra-sensory ability to do this.

He may look like a regular human being, but he's not. He is words - wrapped so tightly around an idea - that he has taken the form of a human in order to make us all feel comfortable while he spends his time coming up with ingenius plans to take over the world. All he has to do is touch a keyboard, and the computer sighs and shudders with ecstatic glee, exploding the most incredible words all over the screen in something not unlike a digital orgasm.

That is the power of Jeff Strand.

Every facet of this book drips with perfection, and I can sincerely say that you're going to love it. If you enjoyed Dweller and Pressure - Strand's previous efforts with Leisure - you're going to want to pick this up when it drops in December. I know I will.

If you can't wait that long, pick up the Hardcover edition from Dark Regions Press soon. While you're at it, pick up their Hardcover edition of Dweller as well.

And don't forget to stalk the shit out of him on Twitter and check up on his recent activity on his website.

Happy hunting, folks!

PBH.

Pressure by Jeff Strand

A few weeks ago I reviewed Jeff Strand's Dweller here on Paperback Horror. I was incredibly happy to pronounce it the best book I've read in 2010, but now I'm faced with a personal dilemma. How do I describe this book without sounding like a total fan-boy?

Alex Fletcher has gotten into a bit of trouble after his family moved to a new town and finds himself shipped off to a boarding school as punishment for his crimes. There he meets two new friends, Peter and Jeremy, and also the quiet and strange Darren Rust. There's something a little off about Darren. For one, he enjoys cutting up dead things. And he's always sitting at his desk, furiously scribbling in his notebook or disappearing from the dorm room for hours late at night. Although their friendship doesn't happen overnight, Alex and Darren soon share an evening escape from the school grounds that turns out to be the beginning of something that will make an profound impression on both their lives, and on the lives of the people Alex loves - for better or worse.

Strand takes the reader through several different time periods as Alex meets his new friends, loses contact, and is ultimately reacquianted with them. A sense of foreboding runs through the entire book as you watch Alex being put into more and more difficult situations by the obviously unstable Darren. Darren's inability to cope with his friend's reluctance to join him as a "partner in crime" really sits heavy, and totally affects the way you might feel about him as the bad guy. He almost manages to become the most sympathetic character in the novel, making him one of the most impressive villains I've read to date.

Pressure was nominated in 2008 for the Bram Stoker awards in the category of best novel, but was beat by Stephen King's Lisey's Story. I have yet to read King's book, but it really must have been something earth shattering to have beaten this. Jeff Strand has yet to disappoint and I'm anxiously awaiting his future output.

PBH.

Visit Jeff Strand's website for news on upcoming releases, and to read his painfully hilarious unused Stoker acceptance speeches, along with some hilarious (and fictitious) tales of inappropriate behaviour by Stephen King.

Dweller by Jeff Strand

While this book won't grab you and shake you like a Jack Ketchum or Richard Laymon novel, Dweller will most definitely make a place for itself in your heart as one of the most endearing and saddest monster stories of all time.

The first time Toby met the monster, he was 8. The experience was short and terrifying, but the memory lasted forever. Monsters, Toby knew, were real, but his parents believed it to be a part of his imagination. The next time Toby met the monster, he was 15, a loner, and very unhappy. The monster would be his friend, and take care of him and keep him safe from harm. Even if that meant things were going to get a little dangerous.

Where most modern horror writers want to smack you across the face with visceral action and suspense, Jeff Strand chooses to creep into your psyche and tear at your heart from the inside. To say that this book doesn't deliver in the gore as well, would be a lie. There's plenty here for all types of horror fans, not just the gore hounds or those who like there horror from a "different" perspective. Every page offers something new and unique to the genre, and basically ensures that the reader will be taken along on an exciting journey, made to think, and entertained, all without force.

This is a very powerful book with incredible characters and an addictive story structure. It starts off incredibly strong, and doesn't relent. In my opinion, this is the best book of 2010 so far.

PBH