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Short Fiction Review: “Mutter” by Jess Landry

“Mutter” by Jess Landry (in Fantastic Tales of Terror: History’s Dark Secrets edited by Eugene Johnson)

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1644679685

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

“Mutter” is the hands-down favorite of most reviewers in this star-filled anthology. They are dead on with this opinion, as the story is written with a fine style that draws attention to it from the first paragraph. In this Crystal Lake collection, authors retold major events in history, usually with a supernatural element, or at least a strong sense of horror. Many evoke the best of The Twilight Zone series, with takes on societal and historical notions that should be dealt with, yet are often swept under the rug. Landry does something special with her pair of characters, who board the Hindenburg, and ultimately have a role in how the zeppelin crashes on that fateful day. The characters make the horrific gears go, and her execution here is perfect. Hopefully, readers will be seeing a lot more of Landry’s work in the near future.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: “Mutter” is a nominee on the final ballot of the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. Typically Monster Librarian does not review anything shorter than novella-length, but we are making an exception for the Stoker Awards.

 

Posted on May 4, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner


Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner

Nightscape Press, 2018

ISBN: 9781938644252

Available: Kindle, Paperback

Dark and Distant Voices is a Stoker-nominated collection from Tim Waggoner. This collection presents 19 blood-curdling tales of creepiness, which will haunt your dreams. The motif which pushes the stories along is the idea that there exist dark voices you can’t quite figure out where they’re speaking from, telling you bone chilling truths.

Standout stories include “Blood and Bone”, which gives us a particularly great monster tale;  “Doozer Is a Happy Cancer”, a trippy story which concerns a homeless man who lives in a tent city with a population that keeps shrinking for some terrible, dark reason; and “Sky-Watching”, which blends events from the writer’s life with a dark and grim tale that brings us some really dark and blood-curdling horror.

Dark and Distant Voices will keep you awake at night, as you wonder if any of these monsters Waggoner tells us about lie in wait for you. Recommended for adults. It’s far too grim, violent, and terrifying for any child.

 

Reviewed by Ben Franz

 

Editor’s note: Dark and Distant Voices is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. 

Posted on May 3, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Broken River Books, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1940885490

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Some books are difficult to review. Others are very difficult, even impossible to truly convey.  Coyote Songs is a brutal beauty of a novel, a blistering read that is fascinating, and incredibly raw. Gabino Iglesias takes on one of the most controversial topics in America today– the border and immigration– viewed through the eyes of individual Latinos.

Pedrito, The Mother, The Coyote, Jamie, Alma and La Bruja– these are the voices of Coyote Songs. Each has a story to tell about the terrors of life today as a Latinx who seeks peace, safety, and acceptance here in the United States. Each speaks of his or her horrors in a manner that chills the reader. Many of the stories within are short, so I won’t summarize them in this review. However, here are a few tidbits, to intrigue the reader to pick up this book.

Pedrito is a young boy fishing with his father before tragedy strikes in the form of brutal violence and racism. The event will shape his being in a manner that readers view on the news daily. The Coyote ferries young souls across the border in the hope for a better life–  but the manner in which this is accomplished will leave a scar on the reader’s soul. The other characters express emotions varying from despair to hope to terror as they maneuver through the current environment of ICE, Border Patrol, and the current American administration, forcing a lens to focus on the ordeals of the innocent souls who are attempting to simply live in America.

Gabino Iglesias tackles important issues here, that are crucial to the fabric of our nation, and reveals the gritty underbelly that many people prefer to ignore. His writing is pure. His prose is sharper than a rusted strand of barbed wire, unadorned by the language that would obscure the raw poetry underneath. These tales need to be read. This is fiction that reveals an ugly reality that we all should be aware of.  Highly recommended reading, but have a drink ready for afterwards.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: Coyote Songs is a nominee on the final ballot of the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards in the category of  Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. 

 

 

Posted on May 1, 2019 by , Reply
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