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Book Review: Last Train From Perdition by Robert McCammon

Last Train From Perdition by Robert McCammon

Subterranean Press, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-59606-738-7

Availability: Paperback, Kindle edition.

 

Whether it is straight-up horror, historical thriller, coming-of-age story, or tale of suspense, readers know what to expect from a Robert McCammon novel—a great story. McCammon hits the target here in Last Train From Perdition, the follow-up to the entertaining I Travel By Night.

 

The opening recaps the story of vampire Trevor Lawson and his human sidekick Ann Remington, bounty hunters seeking vengeance  LaRouge, the vampire who turned Lawson into a creature of the night, and took Ann’s father and sister, is still lurking in the shadows, awaiting her chance to kill her protegé if he refuses to join her clan.

 

Lawson is summoned from New Orleans to Omaha to retrieve a wealthy businessman’s rogue son. The son joined up with a gang hell-bent on wreaking havoc in the Wild West of 1886, but now he wants out—a wish that can’t be accomplished without serious help. Lawson and Remington, forever dealing with the Dark Society, the band of creatures who reign in the night, know no job is simple. When a shootout in the saloon goes awry, Lawson needs help to save a young woman’s life.  The pair of hunters jump the titular train, headed for Helena, Montana, along with those they’re responsible for, and ride off into a winter storm. What they find may end all of them.

 

This is a tight, slam-bang read that readers can knock out in a night or two. McCammon writes in a no-nonsense manner that still manages to leap off the pages with crackling dialogue, action, and description. Hopefully, Lawson and Remington will be back for another tale, as the author has a created a worthy hero to continue the series. Highly recommended

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on September 29, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Stranded by Bracken MacLeod


Stranded by Bracken MacLeod
Tor Books, 2016
ISBN-10: 0765382431
ISBN-13: 978-0765382436
Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition.

Stranded is the kind of book that generates plenty of hype and high expectations, and it delivers on all that’s promised, and more. It’s a genre-hopping blockbuster that draws immediate, apt, comparisons to The Terror, The Thing, and even The Twilight Zone: a tour-de-force of claustrophobic thrills that places the book in the same field as Simmons, Koontz, and Golden.

 
The ship Arctic Promise contains a motley crew of characters, drawn in vivid strokes. Noah, the main character, is on what he hopes to be his last mission, before heading home to his daughter. The captain of the Promise is also Noah’s father-in-law, and blames Noah for the death of his own daughter, Noah’s wife. The captain has no reservations about his thoughts of his son-in-law departing this world as soon as possible.
 

En route to a rig, the ship runs into a dense fog, and is soon stuck in ice.  The ice quickly surrounds them, trapping them, and sentencing them to a frozen death if they cannot find a way out.  One by one, the ship’s crew falls ill with a mysterious illness. Problems are further compounded by the loss of all communications with the outside world.  Finally, Noah and a team leave the ship, and head to a strange structure barely visible in the distance. What they discover there might have them wishing the weather had already killed them.

 
To deliver further details would only ruin the many surprises and twists that hide within the pages. Each time the story seems to settle in, the author wrenches readers into a deeper, darker world that is nothing like what is expected, but results in a plot that is nearly impossible to steer away from.

 
Bracken MacLeod has written a novel that undoubtedly will garner him a wide base of readers. Part thriller, part horror, part sci-fi, and all great story, Stranded is destined to be on the year’s “best of” lists and will likely become a film (it ought to be). The writing is strong, and the characters rich in depth, especially once they reach their destination.  This tale will stick with those who are brave enough to fall into the chilled, claustrophobic, world MacLeod has transported them to, leaving a sense of never having left the strange frozen world, just like the best of Rod Serling’s tales.

 
Recommended as one of 2016’s most thrilling reads.
 
Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on September 28, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Family Man by Tim Lebbon (writing as T.J. Lebbon)

The Family Man by Tim Lebbon (writing as T.J. Lebbon)

HarperCollins, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0008122911

Available: Used paperback, audio download.
Note: Also available in the UK as new paperback, Kindle edition, and audio download.

 

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt’s words pull the pin on this explosive, rapid fire thriller by a master of horror and thrillers. The Family Man begs to be read in a single sitting, yet readers will wish to take their time with the fine writing and fascinating characters.

Last year, Lebbon, well known for his superb horror novels (which includeThe Nature of Balance, The Silence, and Face) decided to dive into the waters of the thriller genre with The Hunt (reviewed here) and emerged with a winner that combined the best of both genres. His newest offering, The Family Man, has an even tighter story that pits friends Dom and Andy against a ruthless gang– and each other. Bland Dom accepts Andy’s challenge to step up the excitement in their lives by robbing the local post office– no weapons, no one hurt, quick and easy– the thrill of a lifetime.

It doesn’t turn out to be that simple. After Dom and Andy get away with a sweet score, a second set of robbers arrives, and exacts a gore-filled revenge on the postmaster and her granddaughter. The friends’ plan to return to their staid lives quickly unravels, and Dom’s family is targeted and forced to run, as they begin to realize there is much more to fear from the evil gang.

Rose and Holt, key figures from Lebbon’s previous novel, The Hunt, return in this story, each with a stake in stopping the villains. It will be tough to slow down the reading, as the style is gripping and deceptively simple, yet filled with finely tuned nuance and subtext. Prepare to lose several hours to a thrillingly wild ride. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on September 19, 2016 by , Reply
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