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The problem with reviewing other writer’s novels is really two-fold: one, it’s difficult to like another writer’s work without comparing it to yours; and two, if it’s better than your last novel, the problem about what to write becomes like the six-hundred-pound gorilla in the room: It’s there, but no one wants to say anything about it.

When I started reviewing books for this site, I never really thought about any of that. Hey, I’m like the next horror writer wanna-be: I love to read, get some good ideas from aspects of the better stuff; and I’m transported away (which is the purpose of my reading in the first place). I never anticipated the obvious, which is something that has plagued me my entire adult life.

Flip the coin for a second and I’m just a reader and not really a writer in the first place, being a much more accomplished reader by anyone’s standards. So as an avid lover of horror I can step outside of the delusion that I have to compare another writer’s work to mine, and just enjoy the sheer pleasure of an original story.

Blood Born by Matthew Warner is exactly that kind of novel. The story revolves around the impregnation of several women through brutal rapes by something sinister. The cover is intriguing and well drawn and pulls the reader in, but the story goes well beyond the beguiling cover. To unlock the story more than the tease I’ve given here is to be unfair to the highly entertaining plots and subplots one finds immersed in this one. The ending is original and clever, and left me clearly wanting more. In a nutshell: original idea, good characters, strong ending, frenzied pace. Works for me.

A small note of caution: some of the graphic nature of this novel left me a little uneasy (the rape scene was brutal for instance), but like a train wreck I couldn’t look away or stop reading, so I have to give Mr. Warner his credit. He succeeded in making this book hard to forget. Blood Born is as good as the name implies

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Today’s horror writers are faced with a dilemma from the moment they start typing. The world is fast paced and internet-quick, and a story takes some time to tell. The average reader’s attention span is in the low ten seconds area and the editor or publisher that the writer is trying to reach before the general public has thirty other manuscripts to read before he gets to ours.

So now the writer’s group I belong to tells me all novels should be about 80,000 words or less. I have always preferred taking my time, whether I’m trying to romance a femme-female or tell a story. It just works better for me.

With that concept in mind, I approach each new novel that I read with the understanding that not everyone is like me and the trend today is to tell the story quick, get to the blood-letting by page two or paragraph three and have someone die quickly to keep the reader’s interest. I get it.

Jim Gavin’s Arena of the Wolf is a werewolf story of a different slant, albeit told in the vein of the quicker the better. It’s a relatively short novella-length story centered around a truck-driving werewolf who becomes part of a traveling rodeo show where he gets more money for staging the deaths of the riders he has to carry. The more he makes the crowd love the carnage the better for his pocket. Until he gets fed up with the whole show and his boss and turns the tables on everyone involved.

I have always liked werewolf stories and liked the different slant this one had with the rodeo scenes being well played out. The only trouble I had was that the first third of the book is told in first person and the remainder of the book is told in third person. Although it is explained, it made the shift hard for me to follow and the voice of the storyteller a little bit odd. I had to reread some parts a couple of times to get the feel.

All in all, if you want a quick story with good action and a new slant, check this one out.

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Without a doubt Gina Ranalli is a talented author. She has a very impressive list of published novels and writes with a hit-you-in-the-face style that puts the reader in the room with the action. I liked her style from the first page of this book.

Dark Surge is built with a rich cast of characters and an intriguing plot. The story centers upon the infestation of a family by a horde of ever growing and out of control (as if any horde is in control) flies. I didn’t just ruin the plot as the cover is one really big nasty fly, so the reader does have an idea of what’s going to happen before he opens the book.

The story builds itself to a nice crescendo with all the characters deep in the horde and up to their necks (literally) in flies. The ending left me wanting more (which is always a good thing) and I thought the story stopped way too quickly. Just as it was getting good and disgusting (those are not oxymorons), the novel ended, much to my chagrin. It could very easily be my expectations, but the story led me there.

If you’re looking for a quick down and dirty story with a couple of strong sex scenes and some decent horror, this one's for you.

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As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by vampires. If the title had anything to do with a vampire or Count Dracula, I would buy it, using what little allowance I had to further my knowledge on the depths of their darkness.

So sometime around 1972, I purchased the novel by Carter Brown called “So What Killed the Vampire?” I was about 12 years old at the time and the picture on the front cover was racy and gave me an instant rush. What could be better than vampires and hot women?

Carter Brown, whose real name was Alan Geoffrey Yates, was an Australian-British author born in 1923. He wrote under several pen names and produced well over 300 different novels during his career with several having elements of horror as a backdrop.

In 1966, he produced this one and I didn’t have anything new on the shelves the other day, so I picked this up and dusted the jacket cover off before rereading it in about 2 hours, cover to cover.

The novels were relatively short and light-hearted, but always had sexy characters and a fast pace to go with a very witty dialogue and a hero that always got the girls. In this one the hero is investigating the murder of an actor who plays the part of a vampire in a low budget movie. The novel is set in an old castle complete with secret passageways and hidden rooms, and even has a curse on it

Unfortunately, the horror pretty much dies at that point as the novel is not designed to scare the wits out of the reader, but rather to make for an entertainingly light read for an adult male. The sex is good, the descriptions are clear, but the formula is predictable.

To my 12 years old eyes, it was a mixed blessing as it introduced me to the world of James Bond-type heroes who get all the women and live to write about it, but there weren’t any real vampires anywhere to be found (to a twelve year old, the phrase “real vampires” is not an oxymoron).

To the reader in the same situation as I was the other day, yearning for a good vampire yarn, I wouldn’t recommend this to curb your appetite. To someone looking for a quick and sexy detective story, however, this is perfect for you, as are many other Carter Brown novels.

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Starring Lance Henriksen

Directed by Stuart Gordon

1991

I love a vintage nightmare. It’s late at night, the kids are in bed, and I’m staring at an otherwise completely inane act of self-degradation on one of those tiresome reality shows that have nothing to do with reality. Quietly, without any prodding, I leave the staged reality and climb into the foxhole comfort of an old horror movie. It offers me space and a familiar feeling that Hollywood can still produce something of merit.


So it was the other night when I flipped through my old DVDs and came out with a movie that still had the wrapper on it, The Pit and the Pendulum. The film was directed by Stuart Gordon who did the Re-Animator movies, which have always had a curiously strong hold on me. The movie cover looked solid, I’ve always liked Lance Henriksen, and it was from a story by Edgar Allen Poe I had read many times in my youth. (Which was probably why I bought the DVD in the first place, but never got around to opening it. I have several of those, as I’m sure everyone else does. Impulse buys to the extreme.)

This is a rather “loose” interpretation of the classic as Gordon uses a fair amount of literary license in an effort to spice up the screenplay and keep the interest of the audience. The story revolves around the central character played by Henriksen, who is called the “Grand Inquisitor” and goes about his business of cleansing the town locals of all witches with a devilish delight. He is callous and narrow-minded (but I guess to actually do that job you would need to be both as otherwise the facts would get in the way), and a zealous cleanser. He comes equipped with a standard collection of intimidated assistants that appear throughout the film, including Jeffrey Combs from the Re-Animator series playing a sort of dark ages paralegal who recites the “truth” when things go off course. The torture gores to such extremes that the Vatican sends a Cardinal to stop the cleansing, which isn’t really in the Grand Inquisitor’s plans.

All goes as well as torture can be expected to go, until the Grand Inquisitor stumbles upon a fair maiden (whom we get to see completely nude many times much to my sheer delight) and falls in love, which complicates things immensely. The Inquisitor determines her to be a witch and in need of his personal cleansing, which goes against his vows, and the conflict is now in high gear.

Henriksen plays the part well and overall the movie is good. The bloody scenes are enthusiastic, the horror respectable, and the pain delivered above grade B. The ending left me shaking my head at the chain reaction of events needed to produce this in the dark ages of the Inquisitions, but other than that, I love a vintage nightmare.

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Stay tuned for all new reviews from Lee Jordan!