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Book Review: Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark

Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark

Lazy Fascist Press, 2014

ISBN-13: 9781621051572

Availability: paperback

Alan M. Clark is best known for his beautiful, award winning covers and illustrations that have graced bestselling works from authors such as Stephen King and Cody Goodfellow. His art is amazing, but many forget that he was also nominated for a Bram Stoker award for co-writing Siren Promised with Jeremy Robert Johnson. Alan, along with his artist’s eye for detail has also written historical horror.

This book is the second in a groundbreaking series that explores the Jack the Ripper legend, from an angle never before seen, in over a century of non-fiction and fiction inspired by the serial killer. Each book in the series follows the life of one of the killer’s victims. This second book follows the life and demise of Elizabeth Stride, the fourth victim.

While this novel could be considered horror, the historical elements are what make it so interesting. I admit, I knew very little about Elizabeth Stride before reading this book. Anyone looking for a cover-to-cover horror experience needs to look elsewhere. However, you can’t escape the main character’s fate as you go through her life, and tension builds because the reader knows how she will meet her gruesome end.

Clark includes a few key illustrations, but the real strength comes from his attention to detail, and the humanizing of Elizabeth Stride, which builds sympathy for a doomed character. This book is a must for people with an interest in the Ripper and I hope that libraries will carry it. Recommended

Contains: gore, adult situations.

Reviewed by David Agranoff

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Kirsten, Reply

Book Review: Gideon by Alex Gordon

Gideon by Alex Gordon
Harper Voyager, 2015
Available: Trade paperback, Kindle edition
ISBN-13: 978-0061687372

Gideon is a supernatural thriller that roots itself in the Midwest. When Lauren Reardon’s father dies, she discovers that something dark is hidden in his past: and his past connects her to the small town of Gideon, Illinois. Gideon is a secretive, isolated town, with a history that involves terrible secrets, witchcraft, and murder.

Gordon is a talented writer and did a nice job of creating a creepy atmosphere. The problem with the novel is its structure. The book gets off to a slow start, with the first seven chapters devoted to creating a historical backdrop (part one is set in 1836, and part two is set in 1841) for the events of the novel. That is a lot of story before we even meet Lauren. Gordon clearly did a lot of research in the process of writing the book, as the period feels accurate in its details, but I felt that connecting to Lauren as a character was more difficult, since she wasn’t introduced earlier in the text.

Once Lauren’s part of the story gets moving, the novel gets more interesting, but due to the slow pacing, her best writing happened too far into the text to really hook me. Gordon shows obvious passion on each page of her book, though, and the concept she uses is original enough that I think this book will hook other readers, and should get a chance in libraries.

Reviewed by David Agranoff

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Kirsten, Reply

Book Review: Absalom’s Wake, Part Six: The Eye of Tangarora by Nancy A. Collins

Absalom’s Wake, Part Six: The Eye Of Tangaroa by Nancy A. Collins

Biting Dog Publications, 2014

ASIN: B00I3L72UE

Available: eBook(Kindle, Nook, Smashwords)

Absalom’s Wake, Part Six: The Eye of Tangaroa completes the tale of Jonah Padgett, and the ship known as Absalom. The story picks up with Koro escaping into the sea, leaving his friend, Jonah, facing the angry looks of his shipmates. “The man’s a wizard!” declares the crew, preparing to throw Jonah to the sharks. Jonah is saved by the mercy of Captain Godward, who puts him into the small dinghy normally used to taxi about when in harbor, now towed behind the Absalom. Rations are thin, to say the least. The crew sets about the business of hunting King Jim’s harem. Jonah can only watch as the first kills are brought in. King Jim’s response is fast and deadly. The Absalom and all hands, save one, Jonah, go to Davy Jones‘ locker. King Jim, better known as Tangaroa, Lord of the Ocean, has avenged his brides. Jonah is all alone on the open sea. His supplies dwindling, he must struggle to survive. All is lost, except for one hint of hope; Koro!

Part six is a fine ending to the series and I enjoyed reading all of it. The tone continued in this part and flowed well. The multiple plot lines came together efficiently and with good result to make for a great ending. The characters voices continued to keep me engaged. The tension built as each conflict point emerged and was resolved. The ending itself was really good. My only criticism is the large number of typographical errors in this part: these really disrupted the story. I found multiple cases of either repeated words or tenses and just outright missing words that made me guess what the author was trying to say. I cannot overlook errors of this sort, and it is an unfortunate flaw in the conclusion of what is otherwise a great story. While The Eye of Tangarora is not up to the standards of the previous parts of the story, the series overall I would give a “Recommended” Rating. Previous works by this author I have read are: Absalom’s Wake, Part One: Gone A’ Whaling; Absalom’s Wake, Part Two: Blood on the Beach; Absalom’s Wake, Part Three: The Whale Rider; Absalom’s Wake, Part Four: Terror Comes Aboard; Absalom’s Wake, Part Five: Ocean Born.

Reviewed by Aaron Fletcher

Note: Absalom’s Wake is a six-part ebook serial. Check out these reviews of earlier parts of the story!

Absalom’s Wake, Part One: A Serial Adventure of Terror on the High Seas

Absalom’s Wake, Part Two: Terror on the Beach

Absalom’s Wake, Part Three: The Whale Rider

Absalom’s Wake, Part Four: Terror Comes Aboard

Absalom’s Wake, Part Five: Ocean Born

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Kirsten, Reply