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Ebook Bundles on Weird and Lovecraftian Fiction

 

Cthuhlu_Creature

I wish I’d seen this days ago! I just love ebook bundles, and I apparently missed that Dark Regions Press has released a Cthulu Mythos ebook bundle with some GREAT books, including Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi’s two-volume set on Lovecraft, a complete collection of Lovecraft’s fiction and poetry (yikes), and recently released collection Dreams from the Witch House (and I promise I will get our review of that up ASAP), for only $15. Go look for yourself. You do have to do a direct download from Dark Regions Press, but if you want to carry substanial amounts of Lovecraft’s work and Lovecraftian fiction easily, their DRM-free ebooks make that possible. I don’t know how long Dark Regions plans to make this available, so if you are interested, jump on it.

Also, StoryBundle currently has an ebook bundle of weird fiction. If you aren’t familiar with StoryBundle, they choose books on a theme, bundle them together, and make the bundle available for a short time. You pay what you want for the collection and decide how much should go to the author, the company, or a charity. If you pay at least $14, you get bonus books. Through StoryBundle and HumbleBundle, I have discovered authors I had never tried before. It’s a really cool way to try out new things and also get favorites you’ve been wanting to get around to.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Posted on March 19, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: You Shall Never Know Security by J.R. Hamantaschen

You Shall Never Know Security by J.R. Hamantaschen

West Pigeon Press, 2011

Available:  New Paperback, Kindle edition

ISBN-13: 9781466239920

 

You Shall Never Know Security is a collection of stories that can appropriately be described as dark, weird fiction. All of the stories draw some emotional reaction from the reader. They challenge the conventional definition of horror while using the very real feelings of human sorrow, fear, and guilt to build an expectation that always delivers something.

One of my favorite stories is “A Parasite Inside Your Brain”, about a woman who struggles with depression and a spider that has settled itself in her ear, lifting her mood. Which is the real parasite feeding off of her—the spider or the depression? “College” is about a student taking part in a psychology experiment that deals with morality and moral thinking; is it really just an experiment? “There’s Always Something In the Misfortune of Our Friends That Doesn’t Displease Us” describes the experience of an entity inhabiting a man who thrives on human conflict and witnessing awkward situations; it is a commentary on humanity and our fascination with bad news when it happens to others. The novella “There Must Be Lights Burning Brighter, Somewhere” starts with a senseless attack on a bar by an alien creature, and explores the feelings of survivor’s guilt in the aftermath.

Hamantaschen’s stories are beautifully written and quite brilliant in making the reader feel uncomfortable, sympathetic, and horrified all at the same time. There isn’t a bad story in the bunch. I thoroughly enjoyed You Shall Never Know Security and its play on human weakness and emotions. Highly recommended.

Contains: adult situations and graphic violence

Reviewed by Colleen Wanglund

 

Posted on March 18, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Voices of the Damned by Barbie Wilde

Voices of the Damned by Barbie Wilde
Short,Scary Tales Publications, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1909640351
Available: Hardcover (new and used), Kindle edition
Inside these covers are eleven slices of hell from the mind of a new visionary of horror. Barbie Wilde appears to have vacationed in Dante’s creation and taken terror a couple of steps further.

Voices of the Damned, Wilde’s first collection of short stories, picks up where The Venus Complex, the author’s excellent debut crime novel, left off.   First off, this is a gorgeous book. The cover art, by none other than Clive Barker, sets the tone for a book written by a Cenobite herself.  Introducing each story is an exquisitely disturbing full-size image by artists including Barker, Nick Percival, Steve McGinnis, Danele Serra, Eric Gross, Tara Bush, Vincent Sammy, and Ben Baldwin.

The collection kicks off with “Sister Cilice,” the tale of how a nun falls from grace, first seen in Hellbound Hearts, the tribute anthology based on Barker’s “Hellraiser” world. Wilde continues the story with “The Cicilium Pandoric” and “The Cicilium Rebellion”, creating a full trilogy that explores the existence of the Cenobite she portrayed in Hellraiser II. Other highlights in this collection include “Zulu Zombies” and “American Mutant”. These epitomize Wilde’s style and vision.

A Barbie Wilde story can be filled with as much eroticism as it is with horror, and this collection shows her skill at interweaving them. Her writing exhibits unbridled brutality and fresh honesty in characterizations, never shying away from the grotesque or weird.  Inhibitions are nowhere to be found here, which is a very good thing. This writer becomes darker and bolder by the story. One can only wonder where her imagination will head next. It will likely be a nightmare many will embrace for years to come. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Dave Simms
Posted on November 30, 2015 by , Reply
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