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Book Review: The Festering Ones by S.H. Cooper

The Festering Ones by S. H. Cooper

Independently published

ISBN-13: 978-1693388583

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

The Festering Ones by S. H. Cooper is a horror novella featuring an avenging heroine, straightforward action, and plenty of gore. In this story, parallel realities exist alongside, but mostly separate from ours. One of them, however, is inhabited by hideous monsters that can invade our world by dreams, illusions and possession of our bodies. Human cults strive to open doorways for the monsters, who will destroy all normal life if they gain control.

On a hunting trip in Pennsylvania, a young girl, Faith, sees her father ambushed and killed by a spider-armed, Woken Daughter of the monster Gorrorum, but no one believes her story. Years later, she discovers more disappearances in the mountain town, and uncovers a local cult. On the trail of another cult in Florida, she teams up with Janice, who is seeking her kidnapped boy, and Sasha, who is searching for her missing sister. The women fight factotums of a rival monster. Faith and Sasha return to the mountain to avenge their loved ones, but they meet more than the Woken Daughters in the tunnels and cavern of the mountain.

Cooper’s writing is simple and direct. The plot is straightforward. Although her characters are not complex, the female heroines are determined and strong.

 

Contains: violence, gore

 

Robert D. Yee

Posted on October 29, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories edited by Lewis Williams

The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories edited by Lewis Williams

Corona Books, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-9996579-4-9

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

It seems that every horror collection published always has an introduction detailing how the publisher worked very hard to put only the greatest stories into print.  Sometimes it’s true, and sometimes it’s just lip service.  Corona Books boasts that they selected only the “best of the best” from over 800 submissions.   Thankfully, in this case it’s not an idle boast.  The stories tend towards the short side, but the quality is extremely high.  All the stories are good: there isn’t a bad, or even just fair, story in the lot.  If this collection isn’t nominated for a Stoker award in the “Anthologies” category this year, then the whole nominating process should be called into question.

 

Many of these stories clock in at only fifteen pages, and some at ten or less.  However, there’s a lot of good, concise writing packed in to that short space.  There are a few with some blood and gore, but it’s minimal.  The publishers realized that mental torture and anguish is just as effective, if not more so, then the standard hack and splatter model that is in vogue right now.  Physical pain is only temporary, but mental agony can go on for a long, long time.  In some of these stories, it lasts forever.  Seeing the fate that some of the characters in these stories are condemned to makes for a truly unsettling read.  Sue Bentley’s “Old Gods”  is a prime example.  Treasure hunter/thief Edward Cranby gets way more then he bargained for when hunting for riches in the jungles, and the true torture is that his punishment will NEVER be lightened, or end… ever.  John Haas’s “The Debt” has a less prolonged fate, and a bit more physical punishment, but it’s just as effective.  Drawing on Shylock’s  “a pound of flesh”  in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, the interactions between a mad doctor and the man who caused his family untold misery are truly horrifying: this  may be the best story in the book.

 

The two above stories are the best in the anthology, but the others are also extremely effective. There is no one unifying thread in this collection, other than the high quality.  The lack of a common theme makes the book that much stronger, as the ideas are quite diverse.  Molly Thynes’s  “Worse Things” takes aim at a favorite target—politicians– and shows the wretched lengths that some will go to in order to remain in power. It’s a lot more frightening than anything a real politician has been responsible for.  “The Barber”, by A.P. Sessler, is the only story written in the rarely used second person point of view.  It’s difficult to write in the second person, but Sessler uses it well in this cross between Sweeney Todd and Face/Off.  Viktoria Faust’s “Roxy” and Richard A. Shury’s “Gamer” both take a look at the warped future that may await humankind when it comes to organ donations and virtual reality, respectively. Jeremy Megargee’s “Scythe” details the fear of being old and waiting to die…when you can literally see the end coming for you.  The story ideas come from everywhere, and every one is extremely well written and effective.  This review only covers a few of the stories: there are plenty more in the book for the reader to devour.

 

This is the finest short story collection to come out in a long time, and it’s worth the price ten times over.  If short horror stories that make you squirm and keep you awake at night are your thing, you need this book on your shelf.  Highly recommended.

 

Contains: mild violence.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on October 23, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

Tor.com, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1250225689

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Elendhaven is a decaying city on the edge of the far north, rife with poverty, crime, violence, and despair, surrounded with dark waters poisoned with magic. It is here that, abandoned and nameless, Johann acquired his name and vocation as a criminal and murderer, and learned he was invulnerable– not quite human. Tall, skeletal, and pale, Johann somehow escapes the notice of the people around him– until it’s too late. Johann has been stalking fussy, nonthreatening Florian Leickenbloom, the last member of one of the great houses of Elendhaven, after his family all died from a mysterious plague. He suspects Florian is a sorcerer, and convinces Florian to hire him. On the pretense of bringing Elendhaven prosperity once again, Florian has been undermining any chances developers and businessmen offer to the city in an attempt to destroy what is left of the city. Johann is the Monster of Elendhaven, but while Florian, with his devious plans and black sorcery, may not look the part, he is equally monstrous.

Imagine the worst, most impoverished parts of Dickens’ London, populated with vengeful mages with black sorcery, and deathless, monstrous killers from myth, and pour a dark wash over it all, and you will have a pretty good picture of Elendhaven. Imagine a monster, in thrall to a sorcerer, seeking agency to pursue its desires, but thwarted again and again in the face of Florian’s need for vengeance for his sister. Johann has flashes of humor and empathy that provide occasional light moments, and there are a few moments of sadness and regret on Florian’s part. But none of it, nor the twisted love and desire that underlie the story redeem either character.

Giesbrecht’s worldbuilding is  vivid and fascinating, and I would love to see further exploration of it either in additional novellas or a longer book. My hat is off to her for creating a powerfully descriptive, memorable and fascinating story around two completely irredemable characters who somehow manage to connect with both each other and the reader. It’s a book the reader won’t soon forget.

Posted on October 16, 2019 by , Reply
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