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Book Review: Howl-O-Ween by Gary L. Holleman

Editor’s note: In the past, Monster Librarian participated in seasonal collaborative review projects with other horror fiction review sites, such as Hellnotes, Horror World, Dread Central, Horror Fiction Review, Horror Web, and DarkScribe. Each site reviewed books related to the season and then linked to the other sites’ reviews. In my (very slow) cleanup of the site, I saw that most of the links for our collaborative Halloween projects in 2007 and 2008 no longer exist, but our own still work, of course. Most of the reviews are also located elsewhere on the site, but I’m sharing one of them here today as, due to the number of links that don’t work on those pages, I plan to take them down shortly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howl-O-Ween by Gary L. Holleman

Leisure Books, 1996

ISBN: 0843940832

Available: Used

Cyrus, a bodyguard-for-hire, takes a job protecting Kyna, a diamond runner, who is being pursued by a voodoo shaman trying to retrieve a powerful mystical necklace the diamond runner unknowingly has in her possession.  In order to get the necklace back before Halloween, the shaman leaves a bloody body count behind him, using a variety of creatures.    In one of the attacks, Cyrus inadvertently gets bitten by a supernatural wolf,  and becomes a werewolf. A minor flaw in the book is that the author includes several sex scenes that do not seem to further the plot, and slow down the pacing. Additionally, the ending is a little confusing. More disappointing than either of these is that, with a title like Howl-o-ween, and a cover sporting an evil-looking skull rising out of a pumpkin, readers will expect Halloween to play more of a central role in the story when in fact the relationship to the holiday is pretty weak.  Despite the unimpressive role of the holiday, distracting sex passages, and confusing ending, Howl-o-ween is worth a look. Holleman does a fine job with the werewolf and other little beasties, giving readers an entertaining little monster mash.   Ultimately, those looking for a action filled werewolf tale will probably enjoy the title, but there are stronger titles for Halloween themed horror.

Contains: Gore, sex, torture, violence

Reviewed by Dylan Kowalewski

Book Review: Halloween Carnival, Volume 4 edited by Brian James Freeman

Halloween Carnival: Volume 4 edited by Brian James Freeman

Hydra, 2017

ISBN-13: 9780399182068

Available: Kindle ebook

 

This is the fourth installment in the Halloween Carnival five-part series, and the stories just keep getting better.

In “The Mannequin Challenge” by Kealan Patrick Burke, Theo fights his social anxiety and accepts an invitation for an office Halloween party. The only problem is when he finally arrives in the office, things aren’t what they seem.

Ray Garton’s addition to this collection, “Across the Tracks,” tells the story of Kenny, JayJay, and Sam, three boys who are targets for the school bullies. Halloween night promises a showdown, but the boys aren’t ready for what happens the next day. I did not see the ending with this one.

Bev Vincent’s “The Halloween Tree” tells the tale of the creepy tree that just feels…wrong. But, if the boys want to get the good candy, they have to make it passed its grasping branches. They’ve managed it every year just fine. This year should be no different. This one is probably my favorite out of the book. It’s clearly set in the late 1960s, as Luke makes his Planet of the Apes Halloween mask out of Plasticine and, despite claiming to have never seen the film, uses magazines and other available items for reference material to craft his own mask. The friendship the boys have is also written so well, and the end is beautiful in its message of solidarity.

“Pumpkin Eater” by C.A. Suleiman introduces us to Peter who loves Halloween, and his wife Marlene who does not. This Halloween, however, is the perfect time to correct some of the marital problems they have been facing for some time.

In Paul Melniczek’s “When the Leaves Fall,” Haverville has a secret, and its name is Graver’s farm. Chris and Kyle decide to discover the truth one Halloween night. What they find changes the lives of the two boys forever. This story had a sort of Salem’s Lot feel to it, with a dash of the madness of Lovecraft thrown in, which I love. “When the Leaves Fall” is the longest story in the collection, but it’s a fast read. The tension is effective throughout, and the reader becomes invested in the characters from the first page.

If you appreciate a good dose of nostalgia in your horror, this volume is for you. If you are looking for stories that make you think back to and ponder your past Halloween nights, this is also for you.

Contains: bullying

Recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Book Review: Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 edited by Brian James Freeman

Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 edited by Brian James Freeman

Random House Publishing Group – Hydra, 2017

ISBN-13: 9780399182051

Available: Kindle ebook

Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 is another installment to Freeman’s anthology collection  with five more tales of horror associated with my favorite holiday.

In Kelley Armstrong’s “The Lost Way,” we enter the town of Franklin, where children have a habit of losing their way every Halloween. Dale is determined to find out why his schoolmates keep disappearing. This Halloween, he follows his stepbrother into the forest, where he is forbidden to venture, and finds the reason. The problem is, he finds out the truth much later than he anticipates, and certainly not how he remembers it.

Kate Maruyama’s “La Calavera” focuses on Trish, who is mourning and struggling with the untimely death of her best friend and roommate, Jasmine. They always did everything together: the Día de los Muertos Festival at the Hollywood Cemetery used to be one of their shared rituals. Things changed when Hector came along. The time has come that Trish make her pilgrimage with an unexpected guest, to let her go, and to pay penance.

“The Devil’s Due”, by Michael McBride, takes place in the idyllic town of Pine Springs, Colorado, a thriving small community that has been prosperous for generations. All of this good fortune has not come without a cost, however: the townspeople have practiced special traditions, and, for these, the town goes on. When Thom refuses to take part, the townspeople become angry and demand the ritual continue.

Anne discusses the disturbing events of a picnic she enjoyed with her spouse, Evan, in Taylor Grant’s “A Thousand Rooms of Darkness.” Anne has been diagnosed with samhainophobia, a fear of Halloween, and phasmophobia, a fear of ghosts. She finally builds up the courage to tell Evan after experiencing an episode during a picnic, after she talks with the therapist she’s been avoiding for months. In the weeks leading to Halloween, when things for Anne get particularly bad, she receives a phone call that her therapist has died. Her paranoia increases as she worries about harm coming to Evan. Then there is the matter of the demon she hears as it gets closer to Samhain.

In “The Last Night of October”, by Greg Chapman, we meet Gerald, wheelchair bound and suffering from emphysema. Every Halloween, Gerald  waits for the boy in the Frankenstein monster’s mask to come knocking at his front door. This year, it is different. There is his nurse, Kelli, who waits with him, and hears Gerald’s tale of woe. Will they both be able to face the child and remain sane…or alive?

Something unique about this particular anthology is the theme of lies: lies people tell themselves to avoid the truth, lies about relationships, lies that a community propagates to its own end, lies about fear and sanity, and lies people tell so they can sleep at night. While there isn’t anything too graphic in this volume, I would recommend it for adults and teenagers who can handle their horror. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker