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Book Review: Eldritch Tides by Jessica Burke and Anthony Burdge, story concept by Jason McKittrick, illustrated by Brandon Zimmerman and Jason McKittrick

Eldritch Tides by Jessica Burke and Anthony Burdge, story concept by Jason McKittrick, illustrated by Brandon Zimmmerman and Jason McKittrick

Myth Ink Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1087860534

Available: Paperback

 

It’s 2005, and a massive snowstorm hitting Toms River, New Jersey has Jeremiah Allen and his friend MJ experiencing cabin fever, arguing over who is the better dungeon master, eating junk food, and discussing Jeremiah’s obsession with his lineage. Donna and Marvin, Jeremiah’s foster parents, are not all that they seem…

Fast forward to October 29th, 2012. Superstorm Sandy is threatening Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Jeremiah, now a fledgling cultist, finds an artifact that was unearthed the storm. He follows the path this mysterious Elder Tablet outlines for him, following the tentacled fish icons that will take him down the same path his ancestors followed. Dark magick awaits him, if he can only get it right. Jeremiah attempts to use the tablet to awaken… something. But it all goes wrong.

It is now the summer of 2019. Temperatures are unbearably hot and thunderstorms are in the forecast. Dr. Gilbert Halsey at the Toms River Psychiatric Unit has completed his evaluation of Jeremiah, who initially came in with no identification. The good doctor is met with the unexplainable; Jeremiah claims he is changing. After Jeremiah has what appears to be a series of seizures, Dr. Halsey is able to ascertain just to what degree Jeremiah’s body is… developing. Dr. Halsey contacts an old friend from Miskatonic University, and expert in strange happenings.  Dr. Nora Danforth, with her assistant, Jeremiah’s old friend MJ, agrees to travel to Toms River to investigate the Elder Tablet, assess damage caused by a Shoggoth sowing death behind it, and interview Jeremiah for more information. However, when she and MJ get to the asylum, she is met with disappointing news—her childhood friend has escaped the institution. Dr. Danforth and MJ are on their own. Will they be able to reverse the course that Jeremiah started?

I enjoyed the structure of the book. The story is told through news reports, first or third person perspective vignettes, weather advisory bulletins, and journal entries. They merged well, and moved the story forward in an interesting way. The sections involving the Scout Troop, especially those regarding one of the members named Charlie, culminate in a startling revelation. I also liked that none of the characters were perfect—each had a distinct personality and flaws. Also, as a librarian who works closely with my library’s Special Collections unit, I’m curious about the curator’s dedication to the job at Miskatonic University. The Elder Tablet came from Miskatonic University’s Special Collections, and had been stolen several times prior. I would think that there would be stronger stipulations on accessing it. That is, provided that the item itself isn’t manipulating time and space?

I think the only criticism I have is that the text could have gone through one more edit. There were a few typos and some inconsistent punctuation. Regardless, the story was solid. It is suitable for adult as well as YA readers. Those interested in Lovecraftian works should definitely pick up Eldritch Tides. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on March 28, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: The Worst Is Yet To Come by S.P. Miskowski

The Worst Is Yet To Come by S.P. Miskowski.

Journalstone/Trepidatio Publishing, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1947654464

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Small town horror. A coming of age novel. The good girl/bad girl conflict. Readers have read it all before, right? Not so. S.P. Miskowski turns the tropes on their heads in this wrenching novel.

The little town of Skillute, Washington, might remind horror fans of other odd little towns, ones drawn by Shirley Jackson and Charles Grant, although King’s Derry might come to mind a bit as well. In The Worst Is Yet To Come Miskowski returns to the setting of her Skillute Cycle (comprised of Knock, Knock; Delphine Dodd; Astoria; and In the Light).The Davis family has moved there to get away from the big city. It’s definitely not Seattle, and one might think it has left reality. The focus is thrust squarely on middle school daughter Tasha, who must find a way to fit in, and let’s face it, there aren’t much bigger circles of hell than middle school social lives. The friend she discovers is the badass Briar Kenny, who lives on the “wrong side” of town, in a trailer park with her mom and sleazebag boyfriend. Through a series of brutal events, the two girls find themsevles bound together, much more tightly than either would have expected. To say more about the plot would ruin much of the suspense, but the twists and turns emerging between the pages are well worth the journey.

There is a dark force in Skillute that begs to be heard and felt, that is far more original than in most horror novels. Miskowski brings it to life in a manner that echoes the past work of Jackson and Grant, but carves out  her own style here that, while quiet, cuts like razor wire, wounding deep, before the readers, or characters, know they’ve been affected.

What makes this novel burn is the construction of the characters. Each of them relates to some piece of the reader: some of it in light, but much of it in shadow. Miskowski knows how to touch upon the darkest parts of humanity. Bullying and abuse are handled skillfully here, affecting more than the typical horror elements.

The surprises here are Tasha’s mother, Kim, and Briar’s relationship with Tasha’s family. Kim’s demons are real, unfolding and dug out with ragged nails until a scar is born (pun intended). Many of the characters have unlikable traits that conflict with their core beings, eliciting a beautiful dissonance that drives the impact of The Worst Is Yet To Come much deeper than most recent novels. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on June 26, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Ouija by Elysia Dobbins


Ouija by Elysia Dobbins

Newman Springs Publishing, 2019

ISBN 978-1-64096-675-8 (paperback); ISBN-978-64096-676-5 (digital)

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Ouija by Elysia Dobbins takes place somewhere on earth and sometime in the future. Humans and non-humans have paranormal powers and gather at a gala convention showcasing vendors of magic and classes on the supernatural. Jesse Monroe, a pretty young witch, befriends Nako, a winged seraph cat, and Louis Lygtbut, a humanoid doctor with a scaly torso from another planet. The leering owner of the enormous casino hotel where the convention is being held, invites them to a demonstration of a new virtual Ouija game, unbeknownst to the knowledge that Charlie, a malevolent spirit, has hacked into the software. The casino hotel was built on the ruins of a mental hospital, where patients were tortured, a meat-packing plant where humans were butchered, and a church. Ages ago, a cataclysmic battle was fought between forces of good and evil at the site.

When the program is activated, Charlie materializes and opens a gate to the spirit world. Crazed ghosts of patients, nurses, butchers and monsters come through. Charlie seizes control of the service and security robots. They begin massacring the guests. Jesse and her friends seek refuge in the hidden, astral remnant of the church. Aegis, the powerful, winged angel, who failed to save the church and its priestess ages ago, guards the remnant. Can Jesse and her friends save themselves and win the new battle?

Young adult readers will appreciate the short, 126-page novel. The plot moves along quickly and many new and familiar characters, vampires, ghost dogs and spirit hounds make appearances. The novel has a lot of action, but not too much gore.  Fair warning: the publisher probably used a digital editing program, as there are frequent grammatically incorrect, but not misspelled words, that interrupt the reader’s flow. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on June 22, 2019 by , Reply
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