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Book Review: The Apocalypse Strain by Jason Parent

cover art for The Apocalypse Strain by Jason Parent

The Apocalypse Strain by Jason Parent

Flame Tree Press, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1787583535

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

 

Back in 2014, French scientists made an ancient virus found in Siberian permafrost infectious again after 30,000 years. This real-life event raised the possibility that diseases we thought were long gone might reappear. Add to that a post-pandemic world in which it seems as though science fiction has become real life, yet again, and we have to wonder what the future will hold. Our collective literary imagination will now need to take us to a new level of horror fiction contagion. Who better to infect us than Jason Parent in The Apocalypse Strain?

 

In this exciting and shockingly plausible book, a group of international scientists are under attack at a remote site that will self-destruct in case of an accident. Their human bodies are invaded, consumed, and incorporated into living, moving blobs of squirmy flesh when their research process goes terribly wrong. Within the facility, a woman with MS mysteriously becomes mobile, infected plants grow with abandon, a man marked with a black cross on his forehead seems bent on terrorism, many people die violently, and it becomes very difficult to tell who or what can be trusted. Everyone is focused on containing and exterminating the hybrid monsters, but will some humans escape only to spread doom outside the lab?

 

The action is nonstop in The Apocalypse Strain. With relentless intensity, Parent’s fantastic descriptions of the ever-morphing threat and the horrible deaths suffered by the victims are disgustingly graphic and amazing in their variety. As for the characters, they are not just stereotypes of people in their profession. We get to know the personal histories of some who are lured to destruction by actual, whispering voices from their past. Others are revealed by their fleeting thoughts or visceral reactions to their coworkers, details that are startlingly normal in contrast to the terrible circumstances in which they are trapped.

 

As the apocalypse seems imminent, we realize that this tale is not really the end of anything. If you like speculating about where science can take us and how science can potentially end us, The Apocalypse Strain will give you plenty to ponder. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on April 3, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror

cover art for Not All Monsters edited by Sara Tantlinger

Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror edited by Sara Tantlinger

Rooster Republic Press, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781946335319

Available: Paperback (  Bookshop.org )

 

Not All Monsters, a new anthology of horror fiction edited by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Sara Tantlinger, contains twenty-one tales of terror and darkness by women authors. Tantlinger had the privilege and challenge of scouring hundreds of entries for the anthology.  Her introduction provides an overview of why she decided to embark on this project, and it is well worth the read.

I loved all the stories in this anthology, although some tales stood out more than others. In “Portrait of a Girl in Red and Yellow” by Joanna Roye, set in the Victorian era, the narrator discovers a hereditary skin condition that turns out to reveal a family secret has been passed on to her. “The Miraculous Ones” by G.G. Silverman tells the story of conjoined twins developing their own personalities and the deep desire to live different lives. In “Black Feathered Phlogiston” by K. P. Kulski, sisters tend to a flock of harpies that live in their attic. As their bodies grow, so do their appetites, and the new woman in their father’s life knows more about the creatures than the girls think she does.  “Leather”, a particularly delicious tale by S. M. Ketcham, reveals what can happen to an incel when he takes things too far. “Pretty Little Vampires” by Sam Fleming tells a dark tale about a woman who wants to attract fairies to her dwelling, but gets more than she bargains for. Joanna Koch’s “The Revenge of Madeline Usher” is wonderful, and keeps with the tone of Poe’s original “The Fall of the House of Usher.” This reimagining of the story of the Usher twins told from the perspective of Madeline gives the original story more grotesque content, a deeper story about what goes on in the House of Usher, and what happens, or could happen, when the house finally falls. Could Madeline finally be free of the house and her brother? It is a brilliant short story.

I would recommend this volume to libraries or individuals who want to expand their collections of women-led horror projects. This is a great book, and I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. Each story has its own unique feel. I look forward to reading more by the contributors! Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Editor’s note: Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology of Women in Horror is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in an Anthology. 

Posted on April 3, 2021 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli, art by Stefano Cardoselli

cover art for Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli

Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) by Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli, art by Stefano Cardoselli

Independent Legions Publishing, 2020

ISBN-13: 9788831959827

Available: Paperback  ( Bookshop.org )

 

Dr. Jamaica Foxy, a brilliant scientist, creates Franky, an eight-foot tall gentle giant. Dr. Foxy teaches Franky life lessons, essentially raising him. Franky even calls her Mom. He loves his mother, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and watching baseball games. Apart from his mother, Franky has only one friend in the world: thirteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Set in the summer of 1977 in Brooklyn, New York, the Son of Sam killings keep people off the streets… most people, anyway. One morning, Dr. Foxy’s path crosses that of some white supremacists wandering the streets looking to start a fight. When Dr. Foxy doesn’t return home after hours of waiting, Franky searches for her himself. What he discovers enrages him, turning him into a force of vengeance.

 

I love seeing what authors can do with the Frankenstein story. While this isn’t the first one where the authors have used Black Lives Matter as a focus, it is one that has a unique take on the monster tale. Dr. Foxy is a Black woman striving to improve her community through her science, teaching and raising Franky to be a caring, thoughtful individual. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous time in history, the authors call out the racial injustice faced by Black Americans today. The authors created a powerful story in Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein). The artwork is stark in its presentation, black and white art using negative space effectively. I would put Cardoselli alongside Mike Mignola and Frank Miller in its presentation.

 

Linda D. Addison provides a short but powerful introduction to this incredible graphic novel.  Recommended.

 

Contains: depictions of white supremacists, gore (in silhouette), violence against Black community, violence against women

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Editor’s note: Her Life Matters: (Or Brooklyn Frankenstein) is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel. 

Posted on March 31, 2021 by , Reply
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