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Book Review: Double Barrel Horror, Volume 2 edited by Matthew Weber

‘Double Barrel Horror Volume 2

Double Barrel Horror Volume 2 edited by Matthew Weber

Pint Bottle Press, 2017

ISBN: See individual reviews for individual ISBN numbers

Available: Kindle edition

 

Double-Barrel Horror Volume 2 is a series of stand-alone short ebooks, published separately but marketed as a collection. each with two stories by a specific author, which will eventually be collected as a paperback. In the meantime, each ebook is available separately on Kindle.

At the beginning of each of these short ebooks, there is a well-placed warning for readers preparing to go through these tales of terror: “Double-Barrel Horror is a series of fictional horror stories. They are likely to include death, graphic violence, profanity, blasphemy, sexual content and other themes and images that commonly disturb. If you can’t deal with these themes in your fiction, then you should avoid this book.” It would be wise for a potential reader to take this to heart before opening any of these tomes. I have included some warnings with my brief reviews. You’ve been warned…

 

 

“Punk Rock Horror”/”Holes” by Chad Lutzke

ISBN: 9781945005800

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Punk Rock Re-Animator,” a young man is dragged to his first punk show by his friend, Mike, who promises that it will be the experience of a lifetime. Once he’s in the venue, he starts people-watching. For a little while, it’s nothing out of the ordinary—just a crowd of people wanting a good time. Then he spies the man he calls The Professor. The latter is watching the crowd intently. The evening really picks up after The Professor pulls out the syringe with the glowing green fluid, and injects two people who will never be the same again. Warning: this one gets gory.

“Holes” presents another interesting tale of observation.  Manny Steven is a very bad kid. His neighborhood antics have worn down the people in the neighborhood, children and adults alike. The narrator is no different. He’s alone in the world after the death of his dog, Quincy, for which Manny is responsible. The narrator spends some of his days with a pair of binoculars at his window. He vows never to look inside the privacy of others windows, he strictly relegates his viewing to the street. All is going well until he breaks this promise and his eyes wander over to the Stevens’ apartment where he sees a most disturbing sight. It looks like someone has figured out the best revenge to take on young Manny, and one by one the neighbors are joining in. Warning: torture

 

 

“There Will Be Angels…”/”Marlene the Magnificent” by John Boden

ISBN: 9781945005800

Available: Kindle edition

 

“There Will Be Angels” is the story of a young boy, chained, locked, and alone in a room with nothing but a few tins left of cat food and his angels. Something has happened to his captor. The passage of time is not clear, and he is delirious from hunger and thirst. But his angels watch over him from their permanent places on the ceiling and the walls, and he has faith that his angels that will save him. Warning: child abuse

“Marlene the Magnificent” is…interesting. Marlene is a very popular act for children’s parties, and Timothy Brushett’s parents were able to book the unusual act, sparing no expense. I’m not sure that I would assign the word “magnificent” to Marlene, but she certainly wows the crowd. Warning: a lot of weird sexual content

 

 

“Black Rock Boys”/ “The Perfect Figure Eight” by Simon Dewar

ISBN: 9781945005855

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Black Rock Boys,” three teenage boys are out in the woods late at night when the school bully, Richie, shows up with an armed friend. What happens when the narrator runs to the black rock covered in runes asking for help? Only he knows, but the next thing he remembers is waking up in the safety of his home. When he shows up to school, he’s different, changed somehow. This story was very Lovecraftian in tone and is a truly great read.  Warning: bullying

“The Perfect Figure Eight” is another tale set around the high school years. Pete loves racing movies, his bike, and his dog. And a girl named Katie. New neighbors move in next door, and Pete finds the new girl, Jessica, is less than polite when they meet. One afternoon, Pete goes to the movie store for another rental of his favourite film and finds himself recommending a title to Katie and her friend. He’s elated as he rides home, and decides to take the most dangerous path, speeds down the hill toward a jump, and eats it…hard. It leaves scarring that becomes the target of Jessica’s bullying. It all comes to a head when he finds Jessica tormenting his beloved dog. They make a deal. Jessica will leave the dog alone so long as he takes the same ride again. He makes one small modification to the plan. Warning: bullying, violence against animals

 

“Shellfish”/”Exile” by Karen Runge

ISBN: 9781945005862

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Shellfish,” the narrator just wanted to remember the seaside trip she took as a child by herself, but when her lover Tom suggests they go together, she says yes anyway. She’s angry. When they arrive at the hotel, the receptionist remembers her and reminds her of the name David. David, who followed her everywhere when she and her family vacationed there so long ago, who annoyed her as much as Tom is annoying her now. Slowly, memories come back, and her anger and annoyance grow. Warning: brief mention of sex

“Exile”: This is told in second-person which actually works well for this story. It focuses on Elise, who is told she needs to take a vacation. She wants to get away from the day to day noise, to be utterly alone. However, when she succeeds in this endeavor by staying in a secluded house, even the sounds of nature encroach on her surroundings. When she tries to take care of the yard on her own, something terrible happens. But, she just wants to be alone…Warning: a lot of blood, sexual content

 

 


“Roadkill”/”The Getaway” by Patrick Freivald

ISBN: 9781945005831

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Roadkill,” Jim is driving Gina to work when they see something in the middle of the road. They can’t believe what they see emerging from the animal splayed out in the road. After calling 911 to report it, they both get out to take a look at the thing in the road. Could that really be a child climbing out of the mass in the road? Warning: sexual content, gore

“The Getaway” is the story of a robbery and carjacking gone terribly wrong. After the shooting of their friend Jimmy, Alan and Bud drag an old man out of his own vehicle. As they are driving, they hear knocking coming from the trunk. Jimmy dies in the car, and the remaining failed robbers pull over to dump the body. The knocking gets frantic so they open the trunk to find a bound woman screaming to be taken back to her captor. Warning: gore, gore, and more gore

 

 

“Blinky”/”The Midnight Show” by M.B. Vujacic

ISBN: 9781945005824

Available: Kindle edition

 

“Blinky” is the last person you want to be with on the road, especially if you are a foul-mouthed whippersnapper. Emily’s brother Rod is complaining about the old man behind them who won’t back off his bumper. At the red light, the old man gets out of his vehicle and approaches Rod and Emily, loudly and rudely complaining about Rod leaving his blinker on. After a heating exchange, the old man, who Rod nicknamed Blinky, shoots Rod in the head. Emily takes off, with Blinky and his gun close behind. He kills anyone who gets in the way of his elusive target. What follows is, put simply, is a bloodbath. Warning: gun violence, blood

“The Midnight Show” has a very Lovecraftian feel to it. A traveling circus comes into town, and it’s less than stellar. Will hates it, but Clyde is distracted by a girl named Sombra, the daughter of one of the clowns. She invites them to The Midnight Show, which is guaranteed to be much better than anything the regular show has to offer. Warning: sexual content, blood, eldritch horror

Each of these authors present tales of terror that, while short, sit with the reader for a long time after finishing them. Weber selected some great authors for Double-Barrel Horror Volume 2. It’s clear he has an eye for horror. Recommended for those with ironclad stomachs.

 

Contains: See individual reviews for specific content warnings.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on August 3, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Twice Upon An Apocalypse: Lovecraftian Fairy Tales edited by Rachel Kenley and Scott T. Goudsward

Twice Upon an Apocalypse edited by Rachel Kenley and Scott T. Goudsward

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2017

ISBN: 9781640074750

Available: ebook

Kenley and Goudsward hit an untapped vein with this collection of fairy tales with Lovecraftian themes. Between the pages of this book are twenty-one stories of morality mixed with the twisted gods and entities we have come to know through Lovecraftian fiction. Each story has its own flavor and maddening end. Revamped tales are culled from Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault, Joseph Jacobs, Robert Browning, L. Frank Baum, and Washington Irving. While all of these stories have merit, a few stood out more than others.

The cats start disappearing from the sleepy town of Providence in “The Pied Piper of Providence” by William Meikle. The rural dwellers talk about strange creatures roaming the outskirts, but of course the city folk pay no heed; certain it is simply superstition that makes them talk. Then the rats come and all hell breaks loose. An old man, dressed in almost ridiculous attire and armed with two wooden flutes, appears in the town. He introduces himself as Rattenfänger von Hameln and he is their only salvation. What happens when the councilmen bilk the old man of his payment, and who does he take for compensation instead? David Bernard’s “Little Maiden of the Sea” tells the story of the little Deep One who wants so badly to dwell among the air-breathers. When she meets old man Whateley, she agrees to his strange terms and accepts his offer. He calls her Lavinia, and she bears him two sons that will change the fate of humanity. In “The King on the Golden Mountain” by Morgan Sylvia, a man who lost his wealth makes a pact with a strange man that he would be restored to his former glory, provided that in twelve years he sacrifice the first living thing he sees upon his return to his home. Unfortunately for the man, it is his own son who greets him as he arrives back to his humble abode. The twelve years elapse, and the son is taken back to the obelisk where the strange man is waiting. In a strange turn of events, the son, due to his only half human blood, is teleported to a new world and makes a family for himself with his new fork tongued bride. What transpires for the father and son leads to total destruction, new life, and a tragic return home.  “Once Upon a Dream” by Matthew Baugh twists the tale of the unfortunate Sleeping Beauty from the form of a girl to that of the newly birthed Cthulhu. Hastur, taking umbrage at not being invited to the great Cthulhu’s feast, curses little Cthulhu and it comes to pass. Millennia pass as little Cthulhu slumbers until the day the one man in the entire world can wake her.

My favourite story in this collection is based on Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  At the center of “The Legend of Creepy Hollow” by Don D’Ammassa, are Arthur Abrams, assistant professor of physics at Miskatonic University, and Martin Ichabod, of the Ichabod Crane Company and wealthy man about town. They meet at a social gathering meant to raise funds to expand the university’s library (a noble venture if I do say so myself). Arthur relies on empirical evidence rather than the unknown while Martin is very much a student of the occult and supernatural.  Katrina Bergen, a mathematics graduate student, enters the story, and Arthur falls in love with her immediately. Externally, she carries reference and subject related materials, but she secretly reads romance novels and watches romantic comedies in the privacy of her apartment. Alas, he finds her talking to the dashing Martin at an event celebrating the library’s newly acquired funding for the expansion. The rivalry between the two men grows with every meeting, the verbal spats about the known world versus the unknown world increase. Martin eventually invites Arthur to dinner and a demonstration that leaves the world changed forever.

Other stories include “The Three Billy Goats Sothoth” by Peter N. Dudar; “In the Shade of the Juniper Tree” by J.P. Hutsell; “The Horror at Hatchet Point” by Zach Shephard; “Follow the Yellow Glyph Road” by Scott S. Goudsward; “Gumdrop Apocalypse” by Pete Rawlik; “The Ice Queen” by Mae Empson; “Cinderella and Her Outer Godfather” by C.T Phipps; “Curiosity” by Winifred Burniston; and “Sweet Dreams in the Witch-house” by Sean Logan.

Every story in this collection is a gem. If you like dark reimaginings of fairy tales, you should check this one out. I was apprehensive about pairing Lovecraftian themes with fairy stories, but it worked rather well. Highly recommended.

Contains: some blood and gore, racial epithets in “In the Shade of the Juniper Tree”

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on July 10, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Dark Tales from Elder Regions: New York edited by Jessica Burke and Anthony Burdge

 

Dark Tales from Elder Regions: New York edited by Jessica Burke and Anthony Burdge
Myth Ink Books, 2016

ISBN: 9781500774844

Available: Kindle ebook, print

Burke and Burdge have curated a great selection of stories in this anthology. It contains nineteen urban horror stories set in New York City that take place in a variety of time periods. They explore the dark side of humanity and the supernatural, all framed in the five boroughs of this fascinating city.

As with all anthologies, there are some stories that stand out more than others. “Beautiful Dreams” by D. J. Tyrer and “The Professor’s NY Adventure” by Gordon Linzner take place in the distant past. In the first story, an attorney by the name of Chambers meets with a jailed criminal named Breton, on behalf of a client, to retrieve a stolen item. After getting the information he needs, Chambers finds himself in the Bowery. Posing as a doctor, Chambers gains entrance to the rooms of the man about whom Breton gave information to Chambers. He finds the man reading in bed, so distracted by what he is studying he doesn’t notice Chambers entering his apartment. It is in this man’s hand that Chambers finds the item for which he has been searching: L’Histoire d’Ys et Carcosa. “The Professor’s NY Adventure” is the tragic story of a Professor V, a famous vampire hunter, stalking his lifelong nemesis. In doing so, he accidentally causes on of the greatest tragedies in the history of the city. The vampire finds Professor V and poses the question as to who is the real monster.

Some stories have a very unique feel. “The Sixth Borough” by Gregory Norris is a frustrating story of a man who despises the city and is being pushed to the edge by his deceptive roommates who he discovers have been bleeding his bank account dry. He hears of the mythical sixth Borough, Bella Vista, where creatives and artists are welcomed. The story is very claustrophobic, told as the main character’s world is closing in around him as he tries to find this creative solace. Andrea Jane’s “Retro Viral” follows a group of partiers who hold a rave in an abandoned medical facility. The past and present merge as they relive experiences of some of the former patients. In between the scenes at the facility are conversations about a disease that should have been long dead, inflicting the party-goers. We all know someone who has horror stories of awful in-laws, but “The Vintner of Little Neck” by Chris Tithill takes it to a new level. The narrator’s brother-in-law, Dakota, and his family, comes to visit a few times a year, and he is a taxing person to deal with. How the narrator deals with his problem, and others, is quick and painless…for him.

“The Mad Monk of St. Augustine’s” opens in 1968 with the arrest of a monk who has been found to have murdered brother monks, and used their hearts in Satanic worship rituals. After being locked in a subterranean cell, he was found with his wrists chewed to ribbons, dead. Jump to 1986. A group of high school friends decide to kill their boredom with a nighttime trip to St. Augustine’s Monastery, which was abandoned in 1969 for “financial reasons.” After they laugh off the story of the haunted monastery, they are all met by something, just not what they expected. I have to admit this one held my interest more than others. I’m a sucker for a good mad monk tale. Ann Radcliffe’s The Italian and Matthew Lewis’ The Monk hold special places on my bookshelves.

There are also some humorous stories found in this anthology. “Now Departing” follows Melissa, a bookish introvert whose time has come as Death comes to take her. Melissa is not having any of it, and attempts to argue her way out of her final journey. “The None Percent” is a disturbing but funny story about a corporate businessman who discovers he’s dead. He ends up with other dead suits, a member of the elite None Percent bent on causing havoc in the business world for the living.

I haven’t even included all of the stories in this review. It was hard to select the ones I discussed because there are so many good stories in this anthology. Admittedly some of them start as a slow burn, but the reader is definitely rewarded in the end with little things staying with them for a long time after putting the book down. They all have a certain Lovecraftian feel, and each have something that lingers. Unfortunately the copy I had was released without the artwork by Luke Spooner, but having seen the cover art and some of his portfolio, you can be sure of quality work for this book. Highly recommended.

Contains: very little gore, but more psychological terror than anything else

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 11, 2016 by , 3 comments
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