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Book List: Horror Novellas You Don’t Have To Put Down

I’m a pretty fast reader, but sometimes a full length novel is just too long. It’s so hard for me to stop once I start, even if I know I need to! I’ve had to swear off certain authors or series because the books were so long, and compelling, that they consumed entire days of my life (I will never forgive George R.R. Martin for the loss of two weeks of my life to a series where he still hasn’t written the conclusion SIX YEARS LATER) If you aren’t a fast reader, then long novels can be intimidating. That’s what makes novellas great. If you’re a fast reader, you can speed right through them and go back to truly enjoy them again at your leisure. They’re just about perfect for travel– small enough to pack away and long enough to keep you engaged on your flight or train, without taking over your entire vacation. The novella length is perfect for a certain kind of horror story, too– it has to move fast and the words have to be carefully chosen in order to have maximum impact in a compact size. I asked for some recommendations from the people following Monster Librarian’s Facebook page,and checked with a few other horror lovers, and a number of them mentioned the same titles.  Here’s a short list of 14 novellas recommended by horror lovers, that will be perfect for your summer reading, if you haven’t picked them up already. And if any of them pique your interest, feel free to click on the book’s image. It will take you straight to Amazon, and since we are an Amazon affiliate, you’ll be helping us out, too. As always, not every book is appropriate for every reader, and while we’ve reviewed some of these, you read at your own risk.

If you feel that the list could use some additions, feel free to contribute your suggestions below!

 Cabal by Clive Barker

  The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

 A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (reviewed here)

 Final Girls by Mira Grant

  Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant

 Strange Weather by Joe Hill (technically this is a collection of four novellas) reviewed here

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

 Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan

  The Mist by Stephen King

 The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle

 The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft

 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson  (reviewed here– you’ll have to scroll down)

 The Murders of Molly Southborne by Tade Thompson (a sequel, The Survival of Molly Southborne, comes out in July)

Posted on May 20, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Horror Collection, Black Edition by Kevin Kennedy


The Horror Collection: Black Edition edited by Becky Narron and Kevin J. Kennedy

KJK Publishing, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1798000991

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

The Horror Collection: Black Edition is an anthology of horror short stories.

“The Lake is Life”, by Richard Chizmar describes a troubled, teenage girl whose parents are facing divorce. She seeks emotional refuge visiting her grandmother at a tranquil lake.  There is a bloody massacre, and the keys to who and why are in the girl’s past. Unfortunately, the author never clearly explains her past.

“Pie Bingo: Last Man Standing”, by Veronica Smith describes a dystopian future with overcrowded jails.  The authorities need to winnow the jail population. Prisoners can opt to play bingo for pies, conjugal visits and freedom. However, if they don’t win, they won’t like the consolation prizes. The story is memorable because of the gruesome, sadistic details of the contest.

“Goblin Financial”, by Lee McGeorge is a lesson about the consequences of bad debts. A woman reneges on a loan she should have used for her education, causing her creditors emotional pain. She runs, but they have a hideous debt collector, and a horrific way of making themselves whole.

Readers familiar with the concept of informed consent in human experiments will cringe at “The Switch”, by Mark Lukens.  A financially desperate man agrees to be locked alone in a room for pay and told he must not flip a switch on the wall. The purpose, benefits, alternative choices and risks are not explained to him. Readers can guess what happens; it’s not really an experiment, because the researchers know the outcome.

“Those Who Watch from on High”, by Eric Guignard is an interesting account of emotional and psychological stresses on a drone pilot. Bored, isolated and suffering from disrupted sleep/wake cycles, an Air Force lieutenant in the Nevada desert struggles with reality. Is he looking down at a terrorist’s young son in the Afghan desert with a drone, or is he watching the terrorist’s hut from the desert floor? When he gets the order to fire on the hut, will he obey? If he does, what will he do the next day?

“The Ghost of Agnes Gallow”, by James Byers is an impressive poem about a witch whose curse stalks a family over generations on Halloween Eve.  Reciting his poem of ten stanzas of rhyming couplets out loud adds to the enjoyment.

Kevin Kennedy warns that  “A Tarantino Oz”contains strong doses of sex, violence and profanity. Readers who dislike Quentin Tarantino’s movies and misogyny should skip this story. Kennedy says all fairy tales were originally horror stories. In this tale, characters of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz meet for an orgy and murderous rampage.

In “Smolder”, Michael Arnzen uses the well-known difficulty of stopping smoking and the Surgeon General’s health warning to draw readers into his story. Who knew that there is something magical about each word of  “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoklng Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy”?  A concerned husband tries to help his pregnant wife kick the habit. He finds a hidden pack of cigarettes, but has no idea that calamity strikes smokers when words of the warning are destroyed.

 

Contains: Gore, graphic sex and profanity

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on May 16, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage.

St. Martin’s Press, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1250170750

Available: Hardcover, paperback, mass market paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Stage enters the collection of novels about creepy kids with a solid entry that is tough to categorize. Some might call it horror, others a thriller, but many would consider it to be a family drama– all depending on what the reader discerns is the true dilemma facing the family between the covers of this engrossing book.

While it may be compared to The Bad Seed and The Omen, Baby Teeth doesn’t attempt to mimic either story. It is content to narrate its own tale, that gradually and organically grows from something trite and familiar, into a final product that will either have readers scratching their heads, or shaking them with disbelief. Both could be a good thing– or utterly frustrating.

The Jensens are a normal family, at least until little Hanna comes along. Suzette and Alex have no idea what’s in store for them when this little seven-year-old unleashes her terror on them– well, just on Suzette. Hanna worships her daddy and shows him only the sunshine in her damaged soul. She saves the darkness for mommy.

The alternating point of view between Hanna and Suzette might recall shades of Gone Girl, but the story is not as complex. It is, however, almost as twisted. Stage constructs a story that takes the reader on a mind-bending journey that flits between reality and something that might be just a little into the realm of horror. Is little Hanna possessed by the spirit of a witch who was burned at the stake in the 17th century? Is she pure evil? Or is she something different?

When the Jensens’ home situation dissolves into pure hell, Hanna targets her mother, but in a subtle manner, choosing to remain mute, except for in a special instance. Suzette and Alex send her off to a special school, only to have her return soon afterwards, for reasons that remain mysterious.

Readers who are seeking pat answers and conclusions that will cross every T and dot every I might find some issue with Baby Teeth in its construction, yet that’s also what makes the novel work so well. While it has more in common with Gone Girl and domestic suspense than horror or supernatural stories, that isn’t a bad thing. Stage’s writing renders the plot lean, and the characters strong. He takes chances with styles and pulls off more hits than misses. This novel breathes new life into a sub-genre that has long needed a book to spin a new angle. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: Baby Teeth is a nominee on the final ballot of the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievment in a First Novel.

Posted on May 10, 2019 by , Reply
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