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Book Review: Suck-U-Bus (New Adult Occult) by S.C. Mendes and Nikki Noir

cover art for Suck-U-Bus by S.C. Mendes and Nikki Noir

Suck-U-Bus (New Adult Occult) by S.C. Mendes and Nikki Noir

Blood Bound Books, 2023

ISBN: 9781940250588

Available::Paperback, KIndle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

 

This dark and crazy heavy metal horror is the first book co-written by two very good authors, S.C. Mendes and Nikki “Spleaze Queen” Noir.  The plot line is excellent:  a nice tweaking of the classic “we sold our souls for rock n’ roll’  trope.  How does it fare?  Well…make no mistake, it’s good, it just never feels like the overdrive gear kicks in and blows you away, which is what both authors do.

 

The band Suck-U-Bus (succubus), led by three women called the Mothers, promote their legend online and at shows.  After each show, three lucky winners get a meet-and -greet on the tour bus…with a demon, and they must have, um, carnal relations with it.  That’s the price for the band’s success.  The demon makes them famous, but needs to indulge in his devilish desires after each show.  Lisa Hummer and her brother Danny go to the show, and Danny gets chosen. Next thing, he is following the band everywhere, but NOT doing well.  Alarmed, Lisa goes after him, learning as she goes about the misfortunes of prior backstage winners.  In the process, she gets pulled into the dark legend-or-reality-that is Suck-U-Bus.

 

Those are the basics.  As far as writing, the two authors work well together.  It’s a good blend of the darkness Mendes usually brings to his writing, with the over-the-top insanity of Noir..  The pacing is decent, the story just never quite explodes all over the pages.  There is some real cleverness to it, though.  Lisa’s doubts about the reality of what is happening demonstrate this: is all the demon stuff true, or is this one of the best metal hoaxes ever, a gimmick to get money by using fake exorcisms and possessions? It’s over too soon, but the book does put together a nice final section and a banger of an ending: the final demon confrontation felt like classic Nikki Noir all the way.

 

Bottom line: it’s a decent collaboration, but I suspect the authors can pull a better one out of their trick bag. Let’s hope they do another.  Fun error: the song in the book should have been ‘Necropedophile,’ not ‘Necropedilia.’   Like the authors, I also happen to be quite familiar with the Cannibal Corpse discography.  Recommended. (The book. Well, the music too!)

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on January 24, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

cover art for The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Del Rey, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593355336

Available:: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy: Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

 

This reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau takes place on the Yucután peninsula in 1871 against the backdrop of the Yucután Caste War. A hacendero, Joseph Lizdale, hires the adventurer Montgomery Langdon, a functional alcoholic with a special set of skills that include hunting, taxidermy, and working with dangerous animals, as mayordomo for the isolated estate occupied by Doctor Moreau, who is researching creating human/animal hybrids as replacements for rebellious Mayan workers, his daughter Carlota, and the more successful hybrids.

 

Six years later, Montgomery is content in the company of the Moreaus and their hybrids and Carlota has grown into a young woman. Lizdale’s funding is drying up, and the doctor’s research is stalled. Eduardo and Isidro Lizdale arrive without the elder Lizdale’s knowledge demanding men to help chase down Mayan rebels. Carlota defuses the confrontation by inviting them in. She and Eduardo fall in love and he asks her to marry him. Change, and revelations, are coming.

 

The point of view alternates between Carlota and Montgomery. I really liked Montgomery’s voice and enjoyed his character. Carlota frequently grated on me probably due to her naivete and meekness, but she was kind and loyal. Watching their relationship develop was interesting- he was a more thoughtful man than he often appeared.

 

The monstrousness of Moreau and his work is evident to the reader early on but it’s only as Carlota realizes it that we really see it. The monstrousness of the hacenderos, even one as handsome as Eduardo, is easily revealed. The hybrids, who appear to be monsters to the humans, are less monstrous than their creator and those who wish to exploit them.

 

This is a fast, engaging, easy read. You don’t have to be familiar with the source material, but it did enhance my reading experience.

 

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on January 24, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Earworm by Aaron Thomas Milstead

cover art for Earworm by Aaron Thomas Milstead

Earworm by Aaron Thomas Milstead

Blood Bound Publishing, 2019

ISBN: 9788397672245

Available: Paperback, KIndle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

An earworm is loosely defined as “an annoying pop song you hate and loathe, but somehow the damn thing gets stuck in your head and keeps boinging around.” Example: Taylor Swift’s entire catalogue.  (I make no apologies to Swift fans)  In Earworm, it’s a bit more: it is an actual annoying voice that talks and responds to you (or is it?).  Protagonist Ripley McCain had better listen, since he might need to help save the human race, as well as himself.

 

Earworm is a good horror/thriller read, with some surprising emotional depth: there are a few spots where readers might start sniffling and reach for a tissue.  Ripley is an excellent lead character: it’s impossible not to like him, due to his struggles.  He does everything he can to win back his wife, overcoming the bottle…and finds out he has six months to live.  Fate intervenes in the form of the earworm.  Important: it’s a symbiote, not a parasite.  For readers that flunked Biology 101, that means each creature feeds off the other, to the mutual benefit of both.  These aren’t Star Trek 2’s brainworms.  However, Ripley’s earworm does have a task for him: protecting the worm from certain other worms that want to destroy it, and destroy all people as well.

 

The story is a nice split between Ripley’s actions to stop the evil earworms of the world, and the dialogue with his own worm.  Their conversations are always entertaining. The worm is certainly not a formal voice of wisdom, it’s more like his new best friend, for a guy that desperately needs friends.  The emotional part comes from Ripley’s scenes with his wife and daughter as they try to settle things, and some of the dialogue with the earworm.  These parts are very well done, and raise the story above the standard horror novel.  It helps to get readers invested in Ripley’s character, and they will cheer him on till the end.

 

That being said, there’s plenty of action along the way: walking corpses, tentacles blasting out of people, and possessed chickens.  The supporting cast helps move the action along and provides a nice contrast, the doctor who knows the secret of the earworms stands out, and Ripley’s drunken sort-of friend who is along for the ride helps the story also.

 

The only drawback is that there are too many analogies to pop culture. They are useful tools in moderation, but detract from what is good writing, and they should have been whittled down to a manageable number.

 

The bottom line? Earworm is worth the read. It’s entertaining and unusual enough that most people will enjoy it.  Bonus: you get an interesting discussion on how on Gilligan’s Island, the characters can’t escape because they are actually in hell.  Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on January 21, 2024 by , Reply
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