Best New Zombie Tales Volume 2 ed. by James Roy Daley

I'm going to start this off by saying that you should really get your hands on this book. I usually leave this kind of a statement for the end of a review, but in all honesty, it would be an absolute shame if you missed out on this one.

I haven't read a zombie anthology this good since Skipp and Spector's Book of the Dead (Bantam - 1989), and will not hesitate to say that Daley owns zombie anthologies now. What Daley has compiled here is some seriously groundbreaking stuff, the likes that we haven't seen in a very long time. Riddled with stories by genre mainstays and a surprising amount of newer voices, Best New Zombie Tales Volume 2 really sets the standard for zombie short stories.

What you're looking at here is 20 fantastic stories, 1 recipe, a comic by Robert Elrod, and an intro written by Daley himself, that is just as incredible as all of the stories that follow it. The intro centers around a fictional account of Daley being attacked by H.P. Lovecraft, and what turns out to be one of the most hilarious parts of the book. That alone should have told me I was in for something awesome.

I won't go into detail about all of the stories inside this mind-blowing anthology, but here's a taste of some of my favorites.

Rio Youers' story Bury Me Not is the first one out of the gate, and I honestly think he didn't even wait for the starting pistol to fire. He just smashed on through, carrying with him a poetic beauty, and an incredible ability to combine raw emotion and brutal description into one masterful piece. The story follows the end of a relationship between a young woman and an old but worldly man whom she developed a special friendship with and visited often. Youers really goes the distance with this one. This was an incredible story to lead off with.

Laundry Day by Steven A. Roman is up next, telling the story of a man who just so happens to do his laundry on the night that the world goes to shit. Laced with a brutal humor and some seriously gory violence, this one is a slaughter-fest crowd pleaser for sure. Action from the get go, with a surprising twist ending that I really didn't see coming.

I'd never read anything by David Niall Wilson before, but if Coming Home is any indication of his overall style, consider me a fan. Wilson tells the story about a Marine squad that is flown into an airbase via helicopter to find out why they've lost communications with the ground. Billy, one of the Marines that volunteered for this mission can't get his family off of his mind, and when things get hairy on the ground, he decides to take a chance and make a break for it. Wilson really captures what I can only imagine could be one of the biggest fears a soldier could possibly have - not being able to protect the ones you love - and really shoves that emotional turmoil down your throat.

John Everson shows up to the party with Camille Smiled, which is an absolutely crazy entry - possibly the most fucked up family story you'll read for a long while. Mourning the tragic loss of his child, Jack invests his time and money in an old gypsy/voodoo charm that is said to bring the dead back to life. Little does he know, sometimes the dead are better left alone. If you're familiar with Everson's writing, I guarantee that this will be a departure of sorts. There's nothing erotic in this one, but the beauty in Everson's words is there nonetheless. The story just grabs ahold of you and refuses to let go, culminating in what is quite possibly the most satisfying ending of a short story that I've read in years.

I cannot end this without mentioning Matt Hults' The Finger, which is abso-fucking-lutely insane. This story just broods and broods and then BAM! - explodes all over the page. The feel is very comic book/80's monster movie/slasher-esque, with relentless action and more visceral gore and nastiness than you can shake a stick at. Or shake off a stick. Either one describes this delightfully disgusting story. A young man comes up with a foolproof plan to make some serious cash, scamming a local diner by placing a severed finger into a bowl of chili and acting as if it was there to begin with. When his plan fails (in a hilariously black kind of way) he is shoved face first into a nightmare scenario reminiscent of a Hieronymus Bosch landscape, replete with a giant zombie-monster that makes my inner horror/fanboy writhe with joy and repulsion. This is the perfect story to end on. Fucking amazing.

All in all, Daley has a masterpiece on his hands with this one. If you walk away from this review without buying the book, you're really missing an incredible thing. This anthology is certainly both the stuff of nightmares, and a zombie lover's wet dream. ALL of the stories are downright amazing. Daley has really outdone himself. I will be following this series until the end.

Check out Books of the Dead Press at their website. You can also check out James Roy Daley's personal website here, and catch him on Twitter as well (as BOOKSoftheDEAD and his personal feed). Best Zombie Tales Volume 1 & 2 are both available at most online booksellers.

Also, keep an eye out for other exciting books from Books of the Dead Press.

PBH.

Hack/Slash: Trailers Part Two by Image

Unlike other people who choose to review comic books in a grouped or lumped style, I'm going to try and bring them to you as I find them, and let you know what's going on with every single issue. Call it expanding, call it obsessive, call it...whatever. I have a love for comics, and I want to bring that to y'all all the same as novels and anthologies. They are a very important part of horror literature, after all.

That being said - first up is Hack/Slash: Trailers Part Two by Image Comics.

Now, I haven't gone into a comic book shop in...shit...probably about 15 years. Well, unless I was buying Mcfarlane Movie Maniacs figurines, that is. (I know...shame). Recently I decided to take a walk out to a shop I haven't been to before, to see if I could track down Brian Keene's Doom Patrol #16. I did (and will review it later), but I also came across this grisly little gem.

To be fair, I'd heard through the grapevine that Mike Oliveri wrote a story for this issue of Hack/Slash, and that's primarily what sparked my interest. Now, before I go on acting like I know what I'm talking about, I want to say that this is the first time I've ever even encountered this particular title, let alone any of the previous issues in the series. I can say, however, that I'm going to be on the hunt for this entire (and epic) series. It's incredible!

Hack/Slash: Trailers Part 2 is basically to comic books what anthologies are to novels. This specific issue has what they call "13 tales of Naked Fear!", in the style of slasher movie trailers. That's right. 13 mini-bursts of brutal, sexy, bloody, relentless horror stories and imagery from 13 different writers and artists - all done in 62 pages.

Of all of them, I'd have to say that Home, Home On Derange by Steve Seeley (story), Jenny Frison (art), and Josh Emmons (letters); Wallow In Death by Mike Oliveri (story) and Sean K. Dove (art & letters); and Psyche by J. Torres (story), Joe Song (art) and Rus Wooton (letters) were among my favorites. Not just because they were great little stories, but because the art complimented the stories so well. They also felt like the most original pieces in the book (okay...Psyche wasn't original, but points have to be given for the twist on Bloch's/Hitchcock's Psycho)

Rape Van by Mike Norton (story), Brent Schoonover (art), Nate Lovette (colors), and CRANK! (letters) holds top position though, for being strangely unique and brutally hilarious. Imagine a van...nevermind. You have to read it.

Whether you're looking for a bevy of beautiful blondes being butchered around a campfire (Campfire Stories), the senseless slaughter of cute-but-evil little fuzzballs (Too Cute), a midget...thing...that attacks from within the womb (Womb With A View), or a sensuous look at just letting yourself go with the music (Blood On The Dancefloor), this issue is for you.

You can check it out at Image Comics' website, Tim Seeley's official website, and at the official Hack/Slash Inc. website. Amazon has several Omnibus' available for this series, but from what I can see they don't have single issues available. Here's the search.

PBH.

Knuckle Supper by Drew Stepek

If ever there was a book that captured the gritty, needle scratch and hiss of some of the greatest punk rock records, it's Drew Stepek's Knuckle Supper. This book holds enough raw power in it's pages to bring the memories of anyone who was involved in the punk rock scene of the '70s, '80s, and early '90s - screaming back with a vengeance, and is layered with a grimy, basement feel reminiscent of Penelope Spheeris' The Decline Of Western Civilization or Suburbia...with Vampires.

Los Angeles' drugs are run by the undead. When the LA heroin-addicted vampire and gang leader named RJ reluctantly takes in a twelve year-old prostitute called Bait, humanity is introduced to his otherwise lifeless existence. An unforgiving, vicious and realistic horror story, Knuckle Supper explores chemical dependency, inner-city brutality, religion, molestation, abortion and the very nature of evil itself.

You can see by the above synopsis that this book isn't your happy-go-lucky spin on a vampire tale. It's actually quite the opposite. While being peppered with some levity here and there, the core of the story is exactly what you just read - unforgiving, vicious, and realistic. There's nothing funny about teenaged prostitution, or the evils that befall those children that find themselves thrown out on the street, facing a life that isn't meant for anybody. In Knuckle Supper, Stepek balances the description of real life horrors with a somewhat uncanny ablity to infuse some silly and downright hilarious dialogue. The characters absolutely jump off the page, giving the novel a very comfortable feel - right before tearing your soul out and handing it to you for dinner.

I'm not going to pretend that this is your run of the mill novel. With all of the underlying themes and emotions running ranpant throughout the story, this book really hits hard - all while taking you on a whirlwind journey of chaos and...again...brutality. The characters are instantly likeable and addictive, but can also be completely despicable and loathesome. Stepek infuses a great deal of humanity into his monsters - tricking the reader into forgetting that they're actually reading about supernatural creatures. The sheer fact that, if one looks deep enough into their own city, you can find the exact same things happening right outside your door, only lends weight to the horror present in this piece of fiction.

Stepek obviously has a knack for writing descriptively driven scenes of horror, and will most likely be well received by modern horror readers looking for some gruesome scenes that will haunt them for a while. I, for one, had to re-read certain parts just to make sure that he did - in fact - go to the depths that he did. It was a very pleasant experience for someone who enjoys disgusting imagery. If you like to read fiction that pushes the envelope, you're going to want to pick this one up.

With this novel, Stepek and the publisher have joined forces with Children Of The Night - a private, non-profit orginaization that is dedicated to assisting children between the ages of 11 - 17 who are forced to prostitute on the streets for food to eat and a place to sleep. 10% of the hardcover sales, and $1 from every digital sale is donated to Children of the Night. This is a cause I'm positive we can all get behind. Check them out at www.childrenofthenight.org

You can grab this novel at a ton of places, and honestly - I suggest you do. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and am hard pressed to think of another book that affected me as much at this one did, in the past year.

Check out Knucle Supper on their Official website, on Facebook, Twitter, and grab the book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

PBH.

Red Sky by Nate Southard

Nate Southard's first full length effort feels like the work of a veteran horror writer, beginning with a solid punch to the gut - leaving the reader with the taste of blood in his mouth. Southard's writing will hurt you on many levels, and after reading Red Sky, I'm convinced that this is his goal.

When a bank job goes horrifically wrong, career criminal Danny Black leads his crew from El Paso into the deserts of New Mexico in a desperate bid for escape. With a psychopath and a hostage keeping a gutshot redneck company in the back seat, Denny soon finds himself with no choice but to hole up in an abandoned factory, the former home of Red Sky Manufacturing.

Surrounded by nothing and no one, Danny thinks he may have finally found some breathing room, a chance to think and to plan. Danny and his crew aren't the only living things in Red Sky, though. Something waits in the abandoned factory's shadows, something horrible and violent. Something hungry.

And when the sun drops, it will feast.

20 pages into this novel is all you will need to become a hardcore fan of Southard's style. The story is completely engrossing, the writing is absolutely perfect in it's combination of terrifying description and black humor, and the overwhelming and consistant sense of dread sends chills up your spine, riviting your eyes to the page throughout the entire novel. I would be hard pressed to come up with a single thing wrong with this book, it's that goddamned good.

Southard's characters are instantly likeable at the same time as being completely despicable. His ability to craft dialogue is impeccable. The characters in Red Sky actually say very little, but what dialogue Southard has chosen to include is obviously the best of the best. Known to be someone who writes and rewrites until the piece is as perfect as it can be, it's not hard to say that Southard has obviously worked his ass off, presenting the reading public with an incredibly awesome first novel. If this is any indication of what we can expect in the future, I'm locked in for life.

Red Sky also features 4 short stories that are absolutely compelling - sometimes funny - butmostly horrific. Senorita is a short about how far a man will go for the love of a young girl, reaching heights of brutality not often seen written this well; First Day is an awesome look at an employee's first day at a very special workplace; Inside The Box is a painful look at human trafficking that has a wicked surprise twist at the end; and The House On Toledo Street is a good ole boys tale revolving around the classic haunted house dare. Southard's take on all four tales is unique, brutal, and unquestionably genius. A great addition to this amazing book.

Fast, gritty, gruesome, and as hard-fucking-core as possible, Red Sky is definitely a novel worth it's weight - and then some. You can grab a limited edition copy from Thunderstorm books (only 110 copies are being printed) here, but you're going to have to move fast. At only $60 a pop, they're selling out wicked quick.

For more information on upcoming stories and books - visit Southard's website, and make sure you follow him on Twitter and/or Facebook.

PBH.

Tales From The Crypt #9 by Papercutz

For someone who grew up with horror themed comics and trading cards as a kid, I was both wickedly excited and incredibly nostalgic when I received the 9th installment of Papercutz' Tales From The Crypt series. I'd read the 8th volume, which was the first in the series to introduce Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid - an instant favorite - and am thrilled to tell you all about the newest issue.

Here's a little run down before I start gushing all over the place.

In the three stories, the original Crypt-Keeper offers his twisted take on all the countless manifestations of the Wizard of Oz, including the long-running Broadway musical in Wickeder, a chilling tale about an off-shore oil rig disaster entitled Kill, Baby, Kill! and to the delight of countless fans, the much requested return of The Stinky Dead Kid, Glugg and his little dog in Dead Dog Dies!

I LOVE this series. I'm going to go further out there and tell you that I love everything that Papercutz is doing, but the parody stuff is by far my favorite. The stories are fast paced and fun, the characters are addictive, and the dialogue is hilarious. It's all in the vein of the old school, tongue-in-cheek, horror mags/comics that we all loved.

As mentioned before, this volume features the return of The Stinky Dead Kid. A favorite among fans, TSDK is a great parody of the YA hit Diary of a Wimpy Kid - but geared towards those kids (young and old) who have an affinity for something darker, and potentially more insidious. Papercutz pulls no punches when getting to the jokes either, making them the best in the business at what they do.

It would be a sin not to talk about the art involved in this publication. The first story - Dead Dog Dies - features some of the best ink I'm seen this side of anything. The style is both old school, but with a new school flair. It's heavy on the black lines, rich with shadow and texture, and amazingly eye catching. The dedication to detail in very appreciated, in that you actually pick up something new every time you glance at the panels. The rest of the book gives beautiful examples of how perfect the Old School (Kill, Baby, Kill) and the Newer School (Wickeder) comic styles are - when put together in one volume.

This graphic novel, while short (clocking in at 64 pages), is a fun read designed for fans of both artistic styles, and anyone looking for a quick jolt to satify an itch.

I urge you to check out Papercuts at their website. You can pick up their comics, graphic novels, and other fun stuff directly from them, at almost any bookseller (especially B&N), and online at Amazon.com.

And keep an eye out for more parodies, including: Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring, Dielight (A parody of Twilight that had me in stitches - TFTC #8) and more.

PBH.

The Ash Angels by Ian Rogers

This review is looooong overdue.

I have to say, 2010 has been pretty good for publications, but as a year...it's sucked something fierce. Thankfully, Ian Rogers has come swooping down on great big angel wings to fix everything with this incredible little chap book.

Just when I thought that Rogers had reached perfection, he comes slamming out of the gates with The Ash Angels - a brand new story featuring the hilarious, sarcastic, and incredible anti-hero Felix Renn. To say that Rogers is poised to do something great would be an understatement (have I said that before?). He's already proven himself once - with Temporary Monsters, and now he's just reminding you who's boss.

It’s a cold winter’s night and private investigator Felix Renn is still haunted by his experience in the Black Lands - that dark dimension populated by dangerous supernatural entities. After discovering a strange mark on the snow-covered ground, Felix finds himself thrust into a deadly race against time to protect the city from a paranormal plague that preys on all the dark secrets of the human soul. But what is Felix to do when the next victim is himself?

This chapbook exceeded my expectations in all respects. It'd been a long hard year waiting for the follow up the Temporary Monsters, but every little bit has been worth it. Rogers has taken his incredible main character - Felix Renn - and expanded the story, bringing a more emotional and descriptively dark side of his writing style out for all to see. The pace is fast, the writing tight, but most important of all (to me) - this piece is pitch black in humor and style.

Rogers' descriptions call forth a sort of dark, gothic feel - making the streets of Toronto feel a little more dangerous, and a little more capable of producing the creatures that Renn has to face on a regular basis. Like I said before, this story bleeds raw emotion that really lives on the page and infects the reader. I dare you not to be completely enthralled by the images and the power of the story. It'd be an impossible task, to resist.

As with Temporary Monsters, Rogers has blown the doors off with a wicked and incredible opening line. It seems that strong openings are Rogers' forte, but the words that follow are just as strong, and just as potent as the rest. There isn't a single thing wrong with this one but for the fact that it's entirely too short for the potential it has. To see a full length Renn novel would be incredible. I really can't wait.

As usual, you can catch of Rogers on Twitter and on his own personal website. For all of your Felix Renn needs, visit The Black Lands.

PBH.

The Last Straw by Gord Rollo

Posting a review of the same book twice isn't something I ever plan to do, but I feel that this case kind of warrants it. Well, in a way. This isn't actually a review of Valley Of The Scarecrow. No, it's actually a review of the short story that is included in the A-Z lettered, leather bound, hardcover edition that is available at Dark Regions Press.

And don't you worry, I'll keep it short.

The Last Straw is one of the most intense, emotional, and beautifully written pieces of fiction that I have read in a very long time. The story ties directly into the history of Valley Of The Scarecrow, giving the reader a bit more information as to what happened all those years ago, when Angus and some of the other citizens decided it was time to put an end to the Reverend's reign of terror in the little community of Miller's Grove.

I cannot stress enough how incredible this story is. The set up is fantastic - bringing absolute clarity to some of the questions one might have about the story it precludes. Not only that, but the character of Angus is fleshed out in a more satisfying and 'fatherly' way. The Reverend - pre-monster - is also shown to be almost more terrifying than he is in VOTS, eliciting more emotional terror than I've previously encountered from a short story, in a while.

This story alone, is worth paying the extra cash for the Dark Regions edition of Valley Of The Scarecrow.

You can grab it here in both A-Z Lettered, leather bound hardcover (for $99) or in a signed, limited hardcover edition(for $50) - only from Dark Regions Press. A reminder: The Last Straw is only available in the A-Z Lettered edition.

PBH.