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Book Review: The Moore House by Tony Tremblay

The Moore House by Tony Tremblay

Twisted Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1949140996

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

 

The haunted house tale is a tough one to take on as a writer. Not much can measure up to Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson, although Mark C. Danielewski’s House of Leaves  had an original spin. In The Moore House, Tony Tremblay accomplishes the task of breathing new life into the trope, by doing what so many others fail to do: create memorable characters that rise above the expected to become something special.

Tremblay’s characters include three nuns and a priest, all of whom have taints on their persons that color them in multiple dimensions. The nuns have all been excommunicated and the priest battles his own demons. The four have been tasked with working in a paranormal investigative group that’s part of the Catholic Church as they hope to reconcile their sins.

The four have been assigned to check out The Moore House, a structure with a murderous past. The town of Goffstown, New Hampshire has been plagued by strange occurrences around this dwelling. They are instructed not to go inside, as their empath skills can be easily employed outside the walls, but the house has other plans.

What ensues is different than most haunted house novels. Like Hill House, the Moore House becomes a central character. To explain how would spoil the fun but the comparisons to The Exorcist are not far off here. The stories are not similar, but the ingredients will resonate with those fans of the great novels that preceded this one.

The bottom line is that The Moore House actually does terrify. Tremblay’s writing is unobtrusive and lean, allowing the characters and plot to breathe, move, and lull the reader into a sense of comfort, before crushing it. Recommended reading and well-deserving of its place on the final ballot for this year’s Stoker Awards.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Editor’s note: The Moore House is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category Superior Achievement in a First Novel. 

Posted on May 1, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Freaky Franky by William Blackwell

Telemachus Press, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-945330-94-0

Available: Paperback, eBook

 

Freaky Franky by is a gory, yet moralistic, tale about the increasingly popular, cult religion of Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte’s origins include elements of pre-Columbian  gods, European symbols of death and plague, and Catholicism.  It is said to have tens of millions of devotees in Latin America, especially Mexico and the American Southwest, among the disadvantaged, poor and downtrodden.  In Mexico, Santa Muerte is said to be popular among members of rival drug cartels.  The Roman Catholic Church and several Protestant denominations condemn its practice.

 

The Lady’s symbol is a female skeleton dressed in a robe, which usually carries a globe and scythe.  Devotees light candles and give offerings of tobacco smoke, alcohol, money and food.  The Lady grants wishes for love, wealth, health and protection.  However, she also grants wishes for vengeance and power over others.

 

Freaky Franky begins with seemingly unrelated horrific murders in Mexico and Prince Edward Island (PEI).  Equally gory murders and a violent sexual assault follow in the Dominican Republic.  Soon it is clear that the common thread is that worshipers of Santa Muerte are to blame.  In particular, Franklin, an expat who fled from a tragic childhood in Prince Edward Island, is responsible for much of the mayhem in a Dominican resort town.

 

However, in this story the Lady grants wholesome wishes as well.  A Mexican doctor in PEI uses Santa Muerte to cure Franklin’s nephew.  Anita, Franklin’s estranged sister, travels to the Dominican Republic to reconnect with him.  She prays to the Lady to help a young vacationing couple and turn Franklin away from doing evil.  Devotees can use Santa Muerte for good or for evil.  However, the novel makes it clear that those who use it for evil will be severely punished in their mortal life and in their afterlife.  Franklin struggles between these choices.  Can he be saved?

 

The plot is initially confusing until the common thread of Santa Muerte becomes clear after the first few chapters.  Thereafter, it moves along well.  The characters are mostly one-dimensional.  However, Franklin and Helen, Anita’s bullied friend, are interesting when they waver between using the Lady for evil and good.

 

Contains: graphic sex, sexual assault, violence and gore.

 

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee

Posted on April 18, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Clive Barker’s Next Testament by Mark Alan Miller

Next Testament

Clive Barker’s Next Testament by Mark Alan Miller
Based on the BOOM! Studios graphic novels by Mark Alan Miller and Clive Barker
Earthling Publications, 2017
ISBN-13: Not Available
Available: Limited, Deluxe, and Lettered versions (direct order from Earthling Publications here)

Is there truly a God? If there is, what is he like?  Why would he put up with the hell on earth for the past millennia, and what would he think of what humanity has become? Clive Barker and Mark Miller have posited these questions in The Next Testament, and answer them in a fascinating tale.

Clive Barker’s Next Testament is a novelization of  BOOM! Studio’s graphic novel series of the same name. While Miller has written the actual novel, Barker’s touch is everywhere here: he drew the artwork both for the cover and interior, which is typically disturbing and splendid. With an introduction by the iconic F. Paul Wilson, readers are in for a special experience.

The story itself is horrific and bombastic, bleeding weird imagination all over the place. In the scorching desolation of the desert, billionaire Julian Desmond is driven to uncover a truth that has eluded humanity for ages, something he doesn’t quite understand himself.  Desmond digs up a strange structure in the middle of nowhere, falling into a darkness that feels like nothing he’s ever imagined. There he meets Wick, a man covered in myriad colors, but not in tattoos; a true illustrated man. Wick claims that he is God, the one true being who sculpted the world, and that he needs to witness what has happened to his creation.

Readers may wonder why he needed to be released from this structure and who locked him up… but not for long.  When Wick is introduced to the modern world, he is enraged, and his actions are those of an Old Testament deity. Julian’s son Tristan and Tristan’s fiance Elspeth may be the only ones with a chance of stopping this destructive god.

Miller and Barker’s creation is brutal, in the fashion of Barker’s classics, such as Books of Blood and Hellraiser. The Next Testament is bloody, unflinching, and unhinged in its free-flowing swath of “hell-on-earth”. This is classic hardcore horror with a philosophic bend to it that will draw Barker’s faithful, but introduce many more to the talents of Miller. The Next Testament is a welcome, and recommended, return to the horror that readers have been craving.

Contains: graphic gore, extreme violence

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on May 26, 2017 by , 1 comment
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