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Book Review: The Court of Pe’kar (Lost Carcosa #4) by Joseph Sale

Cover art for The Court of Pe'Kar by Joseph Sale

The Court of Pe’kar, by Joseph Sale

Blood Bound Books, 2024

ISBN: 9781940250687

Available: Paperback, ebook edition

 

 

The Court of Pe’kar is the penultimate story in Joseph Sale’s riveting Carcosa series, and it does an outstanding job setting the stage for the final volume, while being an excellent addition to the series based on its own merits.  

 

This fourth volume has more of the feel of the first two in the series: quick pacing, tangible enemies, and good head-crushing, stomach-tearing battles.  The third volume, while good, took the series in a more cerebral, introspective direction, where the adversaries were contained within the characters themselves.  With The Court Of Pe’kar, it’s back to the prior approach, as Alan Chambers, Queen Cassilda, and their companions, complete the journey to the City of Demons to face off with Pe’kar the Demon King, and Cassilda’s traitorous sister Cali. 

 

While most of the chapters focus on the protagonists, some of the earlier chapters feature Cali.  The author makes the most out of these chapters, using them to sow doubt about Cali’s final intentions toward Pe’kar, when it appeared that she was previously in league with him.  The story takes a somewhat similar turn with Pe’kar, as his intentions towards Alan and his party, as conveyed by his minions, are not at all what the group expects.  That’s what the narrative does best in this volume.  The actions of some of the characters cause some of the others to view their own intentions with a level of dubiousness, making for an exciting, yet unpredictable story.  It’s best exemplified by a meeting between Cassilda and Cali towards the end, which may be the best part of the book.  Alan’s group may have been united in their quest to eliminate Cali, but as she and others become unpredictable and show other facets of themselves previously hidden, the heroes have to question if the desired result would benefit the land of Carcosa, or themselves.  In all fairness, although Alan Chambers was the driving force behind the series in the beginning, it’s a bit more about Cassilda and Cali, and their relationship as sisters and mortal enemies, which is now the focus.  Of course, that may very well change in the final volume, as the author has proven adept at surprising readers.  

 

Worth noting also, the final battle in this book is a thrilling collage of bloodshed: it’s almost as good as the epic battle that closed out volume two.  

 

While it’s kind of sad when you can see the journey start to end as the series nears its conclusion, it’s been a hell of a ride getting there, and still is.  We probably won’t see another fantasy series this good anytime soon. Most definitely recommended!

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on April 21, 2026 by , Reply

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

Cover art for Grey Dog by Elliot Gish

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

ECW Press, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1770417328

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

In 1901 Canada,  Ada Byrd, fleeing from a sex scandal and escaping from under her father’s thumb, takes up a position as a school teacher in the small town of Lowry Bridge. Things go well at the beginning: she is welcomed by the families, and makes new friends, such as Agatha, the minister’s wife. Ada goes to church, helps organize picnics and plays, and freely dances at one of the town’s festivities. She follows the town’s rules and their suspicions of the wild child, Muriel, and the spinster, Mrs. Kinsley, who the town considers a witch.

 

The civilized life she leads is in contrast to the dark woods surrounding the town. To get from the schoolhouse to the home she shares with her host family, the Griers, she must pass eerie woods that seem to be watching her every move. Time goes on, and the ordered and civilized life she leads starts to fade, as her past life comes back to haunt her and the town starts to reveal its secrets. Ada slowly breaks away from the rigid conventions of the town, and feels drawn to the wildness of the woods. She starts spending more time with town outcasts, Muriel and Mrs. Kinsley, and rejects Agatha and Mrs. Grier, the more accepted members of society.

 

Ada writes in her journal that there are many ways to be a good man, but only one way to be a good woman. The pressure of women being forced into specific gender roles breaks Ada, and you see her slow descent into madness as she breaks the bonds of civility. She’s not just refusing to shave her legs or wearing white after Labor Day. The book is a slow burn but at the end, it revs up like The Shining. It goes from psychological and paranormal horror to a slasher.

 

Even though it has feminist themes, Ada herself is somewhat self-hating of women and seems to take her trauma out on the women in the book rather than the men who hurt her. Grey Dog is well-written, and Ada’s descent is reminiscent of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This novel had so many themes, such as trauma, sapphic love, rape, birth, death, gender roles, and yearning that it is a haunting read that will have you thinking about it and running online to find out what others thought of it. I recommend it, though the ending might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

 

Reviewed by Lucy Nguyen

 

Posted on April 4, 2026 by , Reply

Book Review: Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 through 2001 by Kent Byron Armstrong

Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 Through 2001

Editor’s note: We debated whether to publish this review. However, reviewer Lizzy Walker is an academic librarian, subject expert on the horror genre, and co-creator of a digital horror movie film index, all of which gives her a unique perspective and makes her an authority on a title like this. 

 

Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 through 2001 by Kent Byron Armstrong

McFarland, 2009

ISBN-13: 9790786442317

Available: Paperback

 

 

This is a slasher filmography, complete with defined criteria, major cast and crew credits, a complete synopsis of each movie, and, at times, a short critique or film facts for each listing presented. To open the book, the author provides his criteria of what a slasher is, the history of the subgenre, and discusses the prototypical slasher film. The bulk of the text presents the slasher films, followed by appendices that include directors, actors and actresses, writers, and composers, as well as a comprehensive index.

 

There is no denying this book presents some valuable information, and includes a good number of slasher films. However, there are elements that need to be addressed that could have improved the text. Based on the summary from the publisher, the book boasts over 250 slasher films being showcased in this book. However, the final tally I counted was 175. Unless Armstrong is counting films mentioned throughout the book that are not slashers and merely included as film facts, there is a discrepancy between the actual content and what is advertised. The synopses were far too bogged down in details. Rather than providing a full synopsis of each film, the author would have served his readers better by providing a shorter synopsis with as few spoilers as possible, followed by an actual critique. While it is true that the films included are not new, they will be new to someone.

 

Something I noticed is that, while the author has no problem describing kills, he shies away from straight up stating that a couple has sex. If a couple is or has engaged in sexual activity, just say so. Also, the terms ‘female’ and ‘male’ are incredibly overused. Also, as the book is presented as an international bibliography, perhaps including the country of origin for each movie would be helpful for the reader.

 

The text overall could have been improved with another round of editing. A few factual errors slipped into the text, too. On page 143, a sewing needle is referenced as a weapon when it is a knitting needle. As the copy Monster Librarian received is a 2009 reprint of a 2003 text, there could have been time and effort devoted to an improved second edition instead.

Not recommended. 

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on April 4, 2026 by , Reply
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