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Book Review: EVIL by Wol-vriey

EVIL,  by Wol-vriey

Burning Bulb Publishing, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-9977-7304-0

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Wol-vriey’s latest, EVIL, reads like a pastiche of 80’s horror films and 70’s creature features: all the elements are there.  Creepy farmhouse in the middle of nowhere?  Check.  Protagonists who do dumb things?  Check.  Freaky monsters from Hell?  Check.  Drinking, drugs, graphic violence and graphic, needless sex?  Check, check, check, and check.   It’s not to say that combining tried and true elements like the above is a bad thing– it can still be fun.  This story is entertaining, but it does feel a little predictable at times.  It’s a decent effort from a splatter-specialist author that his fans will probably enjoy; it just isn’t quite up to the level of his best works.

Ronan Higgins is the classic “farmer in the middle of nowhere”, which, in this case, is western Massachusetts.  When his 19-year-old daughter dies in a farming accident, Fate intervenes in the form of a tall man who appears from nowhere, known as the Bargainer. Ronan cuts a deal with him to get his daughter back, but Ronan’s end of it involves planting special seeds the Bargainer gives him, which need to grow in human flesh.  Lots and lots, of torn up, bloody human flesh.  Ronan conveniently has a large outdoor birthday party planned for his 29-year-old niece Sylvia the next weekend, so there’s your victim supply.  You can guess the rest; it’s a late night drink, drug and sex party, and most of the people are quickly disposed of in messy fashion, either by Ronan or the demons from Hell that show up.   The rest of the story concerns those plucky few survivors who endeavor to avoid becoming exotic fertilizer for the Bargainer and Ronan’s seeds.

This is a nice, simple story with some creative ideas, and enough blood and entrails to keep the gorehounds happy.  There are axes, chainsaws, and someone getting nailed to a pallet while still alive, plus demons burning people to death– enough to satisfy the hardcore readers.  The story moves at a quick pace;  it just feels a bit light and predictable in places.  The demons in the story add a new dimension to the narrative, but they get very minimal page time, and little is given to explaining the Bargainer or his minions.  The characters behave in foolish ways, like they do in any 80’s cinema splatfest, so you can usually predict what’s going to happen to them, which takes away from some of the fun.  The end does toss in a little twist, but overall, the reader will be able to guess what will happen a few pages in advance.  It’s still fun, but the predictability does flatten out the excitement somewhat.

If you liked Wol-vriey’s writing before, EVIL probably won’t change your opinion.  It’s entertaining, but you might feel like it was a good idea that could have been a bit better.  If you haven’t read him before, you might want to start with one of his other books.

 

Contains: graphic violence, graphic sex, drug use, rape.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on June 29, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

Thomas & Moore, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1542042116

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

I will preface this by saying that although this was sent to us for review, it is not a horror novel, but if you enjoy a suspenseful thrill ride, this is a great choice, so read on to see if it’s for you.

Alex Traynor, a war photographer with a strong case of PTSD and a past of drug addiction, comes home one night to discover a note from his fiancee, Emily Teare, that she is leaving him, and not to look for her. Sheryn Sterling is a cop obsessed with finding evidence to tie Alex to what she believes is the murder of Cori Stanton, who either jumped or fell from the roof of Alex’s apartment building. Alex, in a drug-induced stupor at the time, claims not to remember the events of that night, but Sheryn is certain that Emily, who saw what happened, was lying to protect him. When one of Emily’s coworkers calls to report her as missing, Sheryn is certain that Alex has finally decided to get rid of the only witness to Cori’s murder.

The story is written from multiple points of view: Alex’s, Emily’s, the building superintendent’s, and Sheryn’s. Alex’s memories and perceptions are unreliable, due to his previous history with drugs and his PTSD blackouts (and it also becomes clear that Emily was hiding things from him); the building superintendent is hiding something from the police; Sheryn’s background and investment in taking Alex down color her view of events; and Emily’s disorientation and isolation makes it impossible to figure out where she is or what’s actually happening, and why.  Her scenes, though brief, are chilling.

So much of the story is buried or left to guesswork that there is room for a lot more development here. Sheryn has a family, adding dimension and balance to her character, and there’s a lot there to work with as the reader encounters her interactions with both her past and current partners and her own self-reflection. Alex and Emily are grappling with issues that are currently relevant to today’s world, such as PTSD, war, the refugee crisis in the Middle East, the opiate issue in this country, and the true meaning of family. It does bother me that the ending is so pat. Real life is not a puzzle that can be resolved so easily. This is really a police procedural and thriller, not horror, but it’s definitely an easy read, and a compelling one.  At 350 pages, the plot moves along quickly, but I think it’s at the expense of deeper character development. What the reader values more is, of course, up to individual taste. I do hope this is the first in a series and that we get to see Sheryn’s character developed further, but for readers who enjoy police procedurals, One Small Sacrifice is a great way to spend a lazy summer day.  Recommended.

Contains: violence

 

Posted on June 27, 2019 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
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