Ingheist

There are times when I see book recommendations on my Twitter feed and I think "Ok, sounds interesting, I'll go check it out." That's what happened with this book.

The problem with taking suggestions when it comes to books is for every little gem, you wind up with what I just read- something between "What did I just read?!" and "I paid money for this?!"

The story follows Simon Heath, a disgraced police officer, who manages to find a new job working for the police department in Fallow's Down. The town is regarded as a really strange place to live as incidents happen there on a regular basis.

As Simon becomes involved with the town, strange happenings occur in his life outside Fallow's Down. He loses his friend, his dog and starts to think his sanity is going too.

When Simon figures out what's really going on, the shit has truly hit the fan and he loses his girl. But that's pretty much short lived as we learn in the end.

Basically, it felt like there was something missing in the story. The pacing felt strange with the plot wrapping up in a neat little bow. Seeing "The End" pretty much left me with a feeling of

Zombie Command

Here we have an anthology from the mind of Derek Ailes. Let's crack it open! (the book, not the author's head. ew)

Zombie Command- In space, no one can hear you make your last stand......or go nomnomnom.......

Gargoyle's Curse- Want to become an unstoppable killing machine and carry out the massacre of a small town? Have some sparkly dust!

The Candy Factory- I have a feeling Michael Myers ate the bears.

The Hookup- If it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. Especially when the internet is involved.

Stuffed With Beans- The darker side of collectibles.

This Is Heavy Metal- Even science has found a dark use for music!

Brave Zombie World- What happens when you create Utopia? An opening for Murphy's Law to go nom.

Cachildrun- You know all those warnings about introducing foreign fauna?

It's a Sugar Thing- You wouldn't think one thing would lead to another, but inspiration is found in all sorts of places.

The Night Crew- There's always that one person you work with that you need to watch out for......

Shark Transporter- All I can say for sure is SyFy probably just found their new franchise.....

Zombie Twister- Not only a really awesome idea, but the perfect reason not to go to Kansas.

Chelsea Avenue

Armand Rosamilia steps away from zombies to bring us another piece of horror, all surrounding a spot on Chelsea Avenue.

1987- A god attempts his ascension, but fails. In the wake of his failure, the destruction is clear and Murphy's Law loses. Literally-the music club Murphy's Law and the neighboring strip club are destroyed.

1988- The owner's son, Manny, survived the fire that night and is moving on with his life. He's done with school and getting ready to join the police force. The area where the club had been is still vacant, but death is found here.

1989- More death is found on Chelsea Avenue. Manny is on patrol with a partner he could care less about.

1990- Hope you weren't planning to listen to that band.

1991- Some people meet up like it was a dream. Manny meets a girl thanks to his partner's lameness.

1992- Oh Mike, you weren't supposed to be a dirty cop. You weren't supposed to be a cop at all.

1993- While Manny is away, a few people get together in the cursed area.

1994- Hey dude, there's a tree there.

1995- I'm sorry, but this something I have to do. Your number will come up eventually.

1996- The daughter pays the price for the mother.

1997- I don't work for you anymore. Please take your car and get out of here. Manny, please accept this bullet because your life isn't messed up enough at this point.

1998- Tammy learns while you can never go home again, it hurts when you don't have anywhere else to go. Oh and murder.

1999- Manny is getting beaten by life.....literally.....and more murder.

2000- Old friends meet up by coincidence. Old friends meet death by bizarre compulsion.

2001- Manny has now hit rock bottom and has decided getting out of town is the way to fix it. Tammy is still trying to find her place. Murder-o-rama!

2002- Traveling hasn't brought Manny the peace he was hoping for and murder.

2003- Manny is starting to realize what's going on and what needs to happen. He pieces together that  he needs Tammy. He goes to Tammy, but she's suffering from her own losses. Once Manny explains it all, her daughter adds the final piece and it's time to stand up and fight back after all these years.

They take the fight back to the cursed area and everything that needs to happen falls into place. One is left standing with their life ahead of them and the wonderment of where it will go.

This story was amazeballs!! As soon as you pick up the book, it's so hard to put it down because you want to know what happens to everyone who survived from the initial fire in 1987. You keep hoping that someone will break free and stop the horror, but you realize that it had to happen the way it happened.

A definite must read!

Twisted Magic

Claire C. Riley's new series centers around Sarah, a good witch born into a bad witch family.

When we meet Sarah, she's arrived home to mourn the loss of her grandmother. She wasn't there when her grandmother passed because she had been banished. Sarah never quite embraced the dark the same way the rest of her family did, but her strength also makes her a target.

Sarah is staying at her grandmother's cottage under the watch of her mother's ravens. A quick protection keeps the ravens from attacking, but doesn't stop them from camping and leering (or whatever ravens do while they sit on tree branches).

While Sarah starts to have fond memories in her grandmother's home and how warm the woman had been, she suddenly notices she's not alone in the house. There's a spirit here named Peter.

Peter knows all about Sarah, but she doesn't recall him and he knows why- the depths Sarah's grandmother went to stop the world as they knew it from coming to an end.

Sarah struggles to remember everything and once her grandmother is laid to rest, everything hidden becomes known and Sarah knows what she has to do. Peter knows the price. They don't care.

And we leave Raven's Cove......for now........

The Little Book of Horrors

The first time I read anything by Lacey Lane, it was her short about psychotic pumpkins with a penchant for murder and mayhem. I loved the story and the writing style and also loved how it gave a delicious scare- just enough scare without going slasher bait.

Then Lacey began tweeting about the follow up she was working on- The Little Book of Horrors. When I heard the title, I got the song "Little Shop of Horrors" stuck in my head, but that's mostly just how my mind works and how catchy the title sounded. Enclosed within is three tiny terrors designed to delight, so let's begin!

Karma's A Psychopath- What happens when a complete and total dick adopts a tiny marmoset? Bad fashion and exploitation. Scotty is purchased by Stefan to be nothing more than a money making tourist trap. This keeps up until Scotty has had enough and expresses his frustration. Through this, Stefan meets Karma.......in one more ways than one..............

Bloodlust- What happens when your dance class has another side to it? Anastasia and Tatiana take up pole dancing as a means to get a good workout. Anastasia really takes to the classes and the instructor, who grants her a reward. Tatiana, on the other hand, doesn't quite make it that far.

The Monster Within- What happens when you try to find easy street? Rhoda is an aspiring writer who decides that there's not enough hours in the day to work a job and write, so the obvious thing is bag a rich one and off them. Just when it looks like the plan might actually work, Rhoda learns that shiny packages aren't always the best.

Enjoy these tiny tasty treats responsibly!

Paying the Ferryman

Paying the Ferryman is a collection of stories where the authors to bring us their take on what the afterlife might look like. The forward written by Hal Bodner is really entertaining because through his fascination with the macabre and being expelled from school, he explains how his views changed over the years and invites the reader to jump in and enjoy the tales of pushing daisies crafted by these authors. Please climb in and see where the river takes us!

Death Blossoms- Brian W Taylor starts our trip with a story about limbo. Styx likes to play games with those who cannot pay Charon for passage and the encounter Armando has is no different. He, along with other recently deceased people, are told if they can make their way to a coin, something good awaits them. Human nature at its finest ensues, but Armando proves that while we all make mistakes, basic human decency is not totally gone. Although you really shouldn't stop to smell those flowers.

Thirty Days In Hell- Rick Scabrous asks to to consider for a moment that Hell is real and is a giant game show that you have to survive. Damion chronicles his journey through this game and once he gets his reward, he does something a little unexpected. Just how did he pull that off?

Side B- Silas Green shows death has a sense of humor about technology. Aaron tries to remember what happened that night. What happened to Lora. All via cassette tape. For all eternity.

Afloat- D.S. Ullery introduces us to Steven. Steven is revealed to be an alcoholic jackass who's been beating his family. Imagine his surprise when he wakes up not understanding what's going on around him and learns he's died. Imagine his surprise when he learns just how much of a bitch karma really can be.

Malefactor- Melodie Romeo's serial killer, Mick, decides he doesn't want to be dead. He wants to live on and keep killing. Satan isn't happy about this and sends minions out to collect Mick, who decides screw that and finds a new body. Bad idea.

There Will Always Be Hell To Pay- Diane Arrelle gives us Hilda, a miserable wretched excuse for a person. Good thing she's just doing what she's paid to do while climbing the corporate ladder.

Purgatory- Bryan Best's wanderer in the Void is doing their best to survive in the afterlife the best way they know how- meeting interesting characters and their ulterior motives. Run!

Pandemonium- Tanya Nehmelman's is trapped in a loop involving a car, a blond kid, weird people on porches and spiders. Wait.....what was that noise?

Seven Minutes- Mariesa Inez guides us through the last moments of Gretta, who is seeing herself in a way she doesn't understand. When the realization sets in, she has only seconds to get out what she needs to say.....and it's certainly nothing about that darn cat.

I Am Human- Rachel Hogan lets us meet Grady Harman, who straight up tells us he's human. However, he soon learns otherwise, but does not embrace what he learns. Regardless of what his future is supposed to hold, he is Grady Harman and he is human.

The Memory Remains- S.H. Roddey's Sarah is stuck in a bad day. She loses control of her car during a storm and goes into the ditch. Luckily there are people kind enough to take her into town......

Maze Walker- Jenner Michaud is pursued by Them. They like to remind about the evil that is done daily. They won't let anyone forget. You keep going, but can never get away.

Eden In Spring-Scott McCloskey shows a garden, but it's not the type of garden that Derric ever thought he would be a part of, he believed, he thought he would be saved. Derric will be waiting the longest for what he's done. Everyone else has disappeared.

Eternity- Heidi Lane presents her version of the afterlife via Rowan, an addict who has recently overdosed. The reaper tells him to pick a tunnel to see what his version of hell will be. His version involves clowns with an uncanny ability involving balloon art.

Black Tooth Grin- Armand Rosamilia spins a ghost tale about Gilmartin, a musician with killer taste in music. Gimartin becomes aware of what he's become and what he needs to do to make it back on the stage, but first, learn about what Dimebag taught him.

Above The Pay Grade- Brian Fatah Steele talks about those who guide us to where we need to go, so long as we don't give into the despair of those who surrendered themselves. If you can keep your hope and heart, then you can make it, but reminding those of their own situations might be above someone's pay grade.

The Boatman- Eric I. Dean has a conversation with Sharon.....er.....Charon while riding in the boat. They discuss many topics- Charon's career, what happens to the various people who try to cross without Charon's help and other topics. By the end, what needs to happen becomes clear and the life of the boatman continues.

Repetition- Herika R. Raymer wants us to consider that when it's time that we don't necessarily learn anything new. We have what we learned in the existence that we completed, but we reset so we can continue to learn and the madness it can create.

Two Coins- Lee Pletzers has limbo taking place in a desert where Charon has minions and they're really a bunch of assholes. All Dion wanted to do is survive in limbo, but the minions couldn't leave well enough alone. Hope it was worth it!

The Mai'Tas Prophecy- Jerry E. Benns wraps up our journey with the idea there are creatures hunt the things that go bump in the night and those creatures have a chosen one to protect them. Instead, we get Michael, a run of the mill garden variety asshole.

And with that, our journey has come to an end. Did you pay? Oh my.......

Zombies and Chainsaws (The Dead Rise Book 1)

This book popped up as something to check out while I waited for an anthology to be released in e-reader format. The premise sounded interesting: 4 guys from small town in Iowa venture to a small town in Missouri and encounter the walking dead.

Blogger's Note: Had to Google the city in Iowa and I'll be honest- I damn near kicked myself when I realized how close it is to where I call home in Iowa. The city in Missouri I already knew because I grew up a couple hours away from it.

The story starts off in Adel, IA and most of the action takes place Sedalia, MO. For the map impaired- Adel is roughly 30 minutes away from Des Moines, IA and Sedalia is roughly 90 minutes away from Kansas City, MO. Consult Google Maps if you're not certain where Iowa and Missouri are located. But moving along......

Meet Jude. Jude is a widower scraping by with a tree removal service and raising his 4 year old son with the help of his sister-in-law. Via his former employer (cheapskate with his ex-wife working for him), he gets offered a job to travel with his crew to Missouri to help clear out trees after a massive storm. After a little haggling (thanks to the ex-wife cluing him in to the cheapskate's bottom line for this contract), Jude and his crew are on their way.

At the same time, we're introduced to Phelps. He's the president of a chemical company in Sedalia and after a late night phone call, he shows how much he lacks in ethics. He brings in a couple of lower ranking individuals to get rid of some waste from his company before he's visited by the government and told how his company will need to get up to par with EPA standards, something he says will bankrupt him.

The lower ranking individuals come up with the bright idea to take the chemical leftovers to the cemetery in town because "it's only visited twice a year," (they obviously don't know how death works) and would be the easiest place to dump the stuff without anyone noticing.

We never get to learn what's in the chemical compound, but the dead sure seem to like it because soon they're sprouting up faster than most weeds and they're on a mission- find living things and make them dead things.

Cut back to Jude and his crew. They're in a bar celebrating a job well done and how they'll be getting back on the road home the next day. Attempts are made to enjoy the local "culture," but in a couple of cases, it falls short (but lingering memories and general personality faults are the blame here).

Through various incidents, what happened out in the cemetery spills into town and it's obvious that a couple things need to happen- they need to get out of town and the government needs to be made aware of this. Jude notifies the CDC and the crew work on the getting out of town part. Getting out of town with zombies milling about doesn't prove to be a simple task, compounded when it starts to rain and complicates the situation further (don't drink the kool-aid!)

The CDC arrives, but not in a smooth fashion (not their fault. you witness the same thing and see how calm you'd be!) and we're off to the races to find out the source of this mishap and just how far this is going to go (remember how evaporation works? remember what happens when evaporation happens? and that's how the world ends.)

After a little legwork and a few casualties, they bring the town's zombie problem to Phelps and start working on getting out of town. While successful, they know the storm brewing and set out to notify others.

And this is where we leave this version of the impending zombie apocalypse. Should be interesting to see where the story goes- Does Jude make it home? Does the world take the news seriously? Does the chainsaw wind up with a clever nickname?

Guess we wait to find out! See you next time! 

Ill-considered Expeditions (Short Sharp Shocks Volume III)

Welcome to the third installment in an anthology series that according to the forward has one loyal fan (seriously, that line left me giggling). Neil Baker gives us a little insight on the workings of this series and the theme of "Imagine Murphy's Law finding you, dragging you into an alley and kicking you until you give in.......then keeps on kicking you because it's fun."

Incident at the Plateau of Tsang- Josh Reynolds kicks things off by showing us the wrong way to lead an expedition through an area that you're not native too. Moral of the story- don't be a self-righteous pompous little bastard because the outcome is a little rippy.

The Root- Jess Landry also teaches us the lesson of not being a self-righteous greedy bastard. You commit murder and sacrifice before you succumb to the one thing you had taunted others with.

The Strange Affair of Bunny Fosdyke- Steve Foreman tells about an expedition to survey a volcano and what happens with the locals. It all seems friendly until you remember your traditions are not their traditions.

Ice Vermin- James Dorr's journal entry about an expedition to map the unknown. The journal reveals the unknown would rather remain unknown, except for the warmth. It welcomes the warmth.

The Secret of Bumare Moto- R. Allen Leider and CJ Henderson remind us about the unintentional consequences of what happens when society tries to move forward and forgets about what's behind them.

The Dig- Stuart Conover's story boils down to this: for the grace of the drums go the horn into the murky depths of mystery from which they emerged and can return. Now, get the #$@% out of my head.

Ghosts of the Spires- Patrick Loveland shows us what happens when you don't learn from the past and push things further than they should be pushed. It's awake now.

The Wood- Franklin Marsh introduces us to a group of friends out for a hike in the woods. A few wrong words split the group up and it becomes disastrous for part of the group. Scarecrow.

Captain Baxter's Journal- Stanley B. Webb's Captain Baxter sets out on a journey to provide supplies to a scientist. Upon arrival, he believes the whole thing mad and "rectifies" the situation.

The Pulsar and The Planet- Ahmed A. Khan has an expedition investigating the landscape of a pulsar, which starts off well enough, but when the ship becomes disabled, survival kicks in. Will it be enough to notice the SOS?

The Room at the Top of the House-  Paul M. Feeny gives us wrong place, wrong time. There's revenge afoot, but innocents are brought into it through no fault of their own.

Hell Island- Matthew Baron's group are on a mission to chart an island near Japan that no one has ever returned from. Their findings of the island fair no better than previous jaunts, but they're returning from the island with something besides bad memories.

Jonathan Stone's Swansong- Gerry Griffiths's Amazon adventure is supposed to be some interesting sites and fun stories to tell back at university. Arrogance can cost you dearly, but at least you won't have survivor's guilt.

In the Chillest Land- Pete Mesling wanted a solo expedition and wound up with one. His explorer starts to feel terrible about how things came to be this way, but they snap out of it in the hopes that someone back home will forgive them.

Povo de Ossos- Nicholas Nacario talks about a native encounter gone awry. Insanity is the journey you know.

The White Goddess- DJ Tyrer wraps up this journey into ill fated territory with the search for the queen of immortality. There's a reason they're called legends, gentlemen.


And thus our journey comes to an end. Happily ever after doesn't always happen and these authors really hammered that home. Can't handle it? Go find a fairy tale. Cheers!

Cutting the Bloodline

Welcome to the future in England as presented by Angela Trevena.

In an effort to stamp out violent crime, a program was devised to determine on a genetic level if someone is a criminal. If the child is born, it's taken from it's family and sent to live elsewhere. In most cases, the baby is terminated and it has led to a population crisis.

These are the items that Kenton Hicks are researching for his novel about "The Abandoned Generation," children who were born as "defective." Kenton believes there's more to the story than what is being told and wouldn't you know it- there is and there are people who aren't too keen on him writing about it.

On the flip side of things, there are people who want Kenton to write his story, but they want to use it to watch the world burn instead of affecting real change.

The story is about Kenton's journey in writing his book- the people he works with, the people he meets with and interludes with Kenton's family.

Everything shapes up just as you'd expect, but there is some sadness in everyone achieving their goals.

There's a reason why Utopia is fiction folks.

Music of the Gods

As the story begins, Richard Schiver introduces us to Donald and Susan. Donald has the idea to get away for a weekend as a way to work on saving their marriage. Susan believes Donald has lost it because she thinks the marriage was over the moment they said "I do."

Just as Donald admits that they're lost and he's uncertain how to get back on track, a random truck come by and runs them off the road. After a moment to collect themselves, Donald gets out of the car (much to the amusement of Susan) and tries to call for help.

Donald is unable to get a signal, but notices a sign for White Hall, indicating it's only a mile away. Donald persuades Susan to head to White Hall, regardless of her concern about her footwear. When they get close to White Hall, they notice there really isn't any noise- no sounds of nature.

While not much is going on in town, Donald spots a phone booth and Susan starts to hear music. Donald tries to phone for help while Susan tries to find the source of the beautiful music. The phone call doesn't go well, so Donald joins Susan on her quest to find the beautiful music, even if he's not able to hear it.

When they reach a forest line, Donald starts to realize something isn't right. He starts calling out to Susan to make her stop, but she never stops moving.

Soon Donald comes to realize that everything he saw may not be what he actually saw and this is where we leave him.


It's short, sweet and sad. Definitely worth the download!

Let's make a story

So Lacey Lane (@LaceyLaneAuthor) says on Twitter this morning:

Let's make a story. I was walking through the woods ...

and this sounded like fun, so here goes!

I was walking through the woods enjoying a peaceful day when I noticed a squirrel crawling out of an empty coffee cup. Remembering the meme of "Squirrels + Coffee Dear God Help Us," (because random stuff like that happens a lot. I spend way too much time on Google Image search) I decided to choose another path to walk.

As I strolled along listening to the birds sing and enjoying some nice sunshine, suddenly there was a cloudburst and I got drenched ($#@*& Midwest summers). As I tried to get as much water as possible off myself, I noticed I wasn't the only one annoyed by the sudden rain. A couple of rabbits were shaking themselves off and doing a cute face cleaning move with their paws.

The rest of my walk was pretty uneventful and by the time I left the woods, I felt refreshed and ready to start my day.......by hitting the local coffee shop for a hazelnut mocha. What? I was clearly inspired by the possibly caffeinated squirrel in the woods!

Hmm.....you know, I think I should just keep my day job......

Commute: Short Bursts of Terror Volume I

The whole premise to this anthology is the writers had to write the stories during their commute and they had to submit the first draft. This is a very interesting concept because you have to wonder how the writers managed to pull off being so creative with so much going on around them.

The Ten Hour Project- Our ride begins with Julia Benally's tale of a writing project. The teacher gives the outline and the subject, but when she reads the outcome of the project, it's not what she expected. She's horrified by what she reads and thinks the student lied. Too bad she learns the hard way they weren't lying.

A Man Walks Into A Bar...- Randy D. Rubin finds a fun way to run a joke into the ground.

Breaking The Circle- D.L. Smith-Lee presents a centuries old war between two ancient factions. Two friends are caught up in the mess that another person started and sadly, the friendship does not survive. Just know that if you cause a mess, you go from one trap to another.

Catacombs- Layla Cummins presents someone out for a stroll to forget. They're being followed. Something in the shadows has found them.

Merge- Brian Ennis shows us multiple time threads and parallel occurrences all converging at 0:11 with 23 miles to Peterborough.

The Temptation of Eve- Helen Mihajlovic present a take on what happened to Eve in Paradise. Heaven was seen before the true Hell began.

The Midnight Ride- The ride comes to an end with a story by Stuart Conover. It's Halloween night and Ryan is on a train home. While he agonizes over what the woman he loves is doing, he doesn't realize he's met Death.

With Death's scythe, our ride comes to an end and we must return to the hustle and bustle outside the train.

Beneath Blood and Bone

Welcome back to the zombie apocalypse already in progress!

Madeline Sheehan and Claire C. Riley pick things up from the perspective of Eagle. You met him in "Thicker Than Blood," he was the devil.

Anyway......

The story picks up with Eagle dealing with the aftermath of letting Evelyn and her crew leave Purgatory (the little slice of heaven it is). He's told the public face of Purgatory isn't happy with what he's done and his cotton candy trollop isn't thrilled either.

Soon we meet Autumn. She's been surviving in the only way she knows how- avoiding everything. She's caught outside the gate while foraging for food and gets dragged to Eagle. The cotton candy trollop has decided he gets to sort the nooblets.

Initial suggestions go awry, and Eagle meets back up with Autumn while she's trying to get the heck out of Dodge. In her own way, she knows what was planned for her and she really wants no part of it. Something clicks and Eagle decides to take her home and keep Autumn.

It takes a little time and a few mishaps, but Autumn gets a grip and starts to figure out some form of normal in Purgatory and that really doesn't sit well with the cotton candy trollop. She's got it figured out that she'll be replaced and no one really has time for that nonsense.

While fighting the reoccurring demons that led Eagle and his friend to create Purgatory, Eagle begins to realize what Autumn means to him and vice versa. Soon it becomes evident that with these feelings, they're not going to be safe for much longer in Purgatory.

Gut instincts prove true and while some obstacles stand in their way, Eagle and Autumn manage to free themselves from Purgatory and set off on their own, in search of their own form of happy. Good luck!

Loved the first book, devoured the second book and will likely now start stalking the Kindle page on Amazon waiting for book 3 to go on pre-order. The world these ladies created, while bleak like most things post apocalyptic, is still rich and makes you want to be there. Awesome. Simply awesome.

Thicker Than Blood

Welcome to the end of the world as presented by Madeline Sheehan and Claire C. Riley. They very clearly explain that we saw the end coming and did nothing about it, which let's face it, is completely correct. For every person who claims they're ready to go when the shit hits the fan, by the time they're really ready, it'll be too late.

Meet Leisel and Evelyn. They're the best of friends making things work in the new world. They live in a community of survivors who seem to continue on living while the undead roam around them. They're married, they have jobs and golly gosh doesn't that seem great?

Wrong.

When we meet Leisel, she's dealing with the ramifications of her most recent actions- killing her husband. No, he wasn't infected, he was just a wife beater and she had reached her limits. Normally, it would be considered self-defense, but not any more. Not only is it just outright death, but Leisel's husband was the leader of this community. Knowing what's going to happen, Leisel gives up and allows herself to be arrested.

When we meet Evelyn, she's getting it on with someone who isn't her husband because she finds her husband to be repulsive and someone she never wanted in the first place. Evelyn's fun is broken up by someone in the community telling her what Leisel has done. Evelyn tries to help her friend, but it falls on fat deaf ears.

Luckily, there are others on their side and now the only option is to escape from the community before Leisel's execution in the morning. This isn't fairy world you know.

The group of four becomes a group of three with Leisel and Evelyn learning life on the outside isn't much better than life had been on the inside. Life happens and soon Leisel is becoming more than what she had been before and Evelyn learns her friend may not always need a protector.

After a mishap and an encounter with a broken yet decent person, the group finds themselves in a place called Purgatory. It's pretty much what you'd expect, but it works just as well as any community. Everyone finds a "place" and they try to make things work until they can get what they need to continue on. They grasp pretty quickly that Purgatory lives up to its name and they won't be safe for long.

It takes some time, but a deal with the devil sealed in blood allows them to escape Purgatory. Soon it's just Leisel and Evelyn and their memories of the before times.

And then it's just one.



I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds!

Godhead

Imagine, if you will, a world where the gods of Olympus are real. They went to war, they lost the war and the survivors came to live among us.

Now imagine the lineage of those survivors and what hunts them.

This is the world that Ken Mooney presents to us in the book Godhead, the first novel in The Last Olympiad series.

In this telling of the Greek myths, demons have laid siege to Mt. Olympus, Zeus has been killed and the land is in ruin. Other gods have been killed in the ensuing battles with these demons and what set in motion the ruin of Olympus falls on one of their own- Aphrodite (guess this really means love is a bitch).

The story picks up many many years later with the descendants of those who survived the slaughter and sealing of Olympus working to keep Aphrodite from getting what she wants and that's where The Circle comes in. They're a group made of up of the surviving lines- the gods who made it out of Olympus and managed to blend in with mortal society. Their purpose is to ensure Kaos remains right where it is and Aphrodite does not carry out the full weight of her revenge. Her revenge against the gods that never truly accepted her and whose leader sent her beloved husband into a war he never should have been a part in.

While we're spared recruitment and training montages, there is still betrayal to be had. We get to see the extent a person is willing to go for their own selfish means. All it really takes is one wish of selfishness seen through the eyes of righteousness.

As this chapter closes, one wish is granted, one wish is denied and a whole lot of hell has broken loose.


I was a little skeptical on the premise of the book, but the way everything was presented was really well written. In mythology, Aphrodite was a bit of a wild card when it came to her origins and she really wasn't the most stable (but then again most of the Greek gods were a little off in their own ways), so it's easy to see her losing it and causing mayhem on an epic scale.

Can't wait to see how this story continues and book 2 is already out, so happy reading ahead!

The Secret Life of H.P. Lovecraft

Based on a tweet, I found this book was trying to be funded over at Indiegogo. I checked it out and the premise sounded interesting enough, so I added my 2 cents (not literally, but you get the idea) and waited for the funding period to end.

I received the book in the mail today and sat down to read it.

Well........

The book is more like a novella. It insinuates another side of H.P. Lovecraft- one where he was living the very things he wrote about. Where he was surrounded by so much death that it left him a hollow shell of himself. It's written from the POV of Lovecraft himself- how he keeps getting mysterious letters that lead him to different people in different locations with different outcomes.

It reads like a season of the Twilight Zone.

I'm not sorry that I decided to support the author's effort to get their words out there, but I think there is so much more that could have been done with it. It just felt lacking and I have no real emotions about reading it.

Creeping Death

Armand Rosamilia puts together a collection of tiny stories to give tiny glimpses into the horror the mind is capable of producing.

Dead Grass- Susan is alone with her mother. Everything is dying around them. It's all because of Justin. He says he has it under control. He wants to cure her. They're all alone now.

Creeping Death- Remember all those things your mom said would happen if you went listened to heavy metal music? Enjoy the artist's rendition found here!

God's Will- They say there are signs all around us put there to be a divine message to guide us, but what if they guided us to kill? And what if they guided us to our replacements?

Obsessed With a Song- Have you ever loved a song so much that you center your entire world around it? Commit murder for it?

Last Cigarette- Meet Daniel and Samantha, a couple having a nice conversation in their home. Then the dinner guest arrives. Welcome to the end of the world as they know it.

Rarest of the Rare- What would you do if you were given the rarest of the rare to read? Would you skip ahead? Read the ending before you should?

Tears of Blood- A happy story about getting rid of sparkly things.

Necromance: Bad Omen- The NSFW adventures of a necro bounty hunter.

Undead On Arrival- Working in a hospital can be pretty stressful, but when there are zombies involved, it's a whole new level of stress. Can the undead exact revenge on living?

'Til Death Do Us (Body) Part- A twist on what happens when you don't take your vows seriously. How long would it take you to listen?

Anger Issues- If you have trouble controlling your temper, then the zombpocalypse is just for you!

Three In the Morning- Sometimes you learn you're observing the wrong things at the wrong times, even early in the morning.

Armed and Dangerous-  In summation: Trophy wife puppet master

Whipporwil Valley Road- There are things that haunt us from our youth, some more literal than others. There are sacrifices that need to be made in order to move forward.

First Settlement- The zombie apocalypse started in Virginia and toddlers were the root cause. Google it!

Annie Morgan- Annie is just your average girl trying to make her way in a zombie filled world. She's managed to avoid any real killing, but nothing lasts forever.

Stories don't need to be very long to scare you. Fear of the unknown comes in all sizes. Once you are pointed in the right direction, your mind will fill in the blanks.........what was that bump in the night?

The Dead Walk

So here we have a collection of zombie stories, a veritable zombie-o-rama if you will!

The Walking Man- Our collection kicks off with a story from Guy Burtenshaw. He tells us about a man surviving in the wake of the zombie apocalypse. During his routine trip to a nearby liquor store, he encounters the wrong type of survivor, but manages to escape and be rescued by a group living in a mall. There he learns that some of the undead have been continuing what they did when they were still alive. What follows is very unexpected.

Spiders in from the Garden- Jason R. Davis tells us about George. He's a simple man who's lived a simple life and is enjoying his retirement. Until his gardening is interrupted by the undead. His wife finds him at the back door trying to get in. She lets him in and seals his fate. The cause of the undead? Well there's just no newspaper big enough.....

Afterlife Death- Jeremy Thompson gives a cautionary tale of science going a little too far. Sign your body over to science and you run the chance of coming back in a way you never expected. Don't let it get you down though. If you can survive long enough, people don't want to touch you, but I hear the buffet is amazing.

Plague Ferry- Matthew Pedersen presents zombies in space! One of the last sane people left in the ship realizes what the plague victims are doing to the other people on the ship. The captain won't listen and when the sane person's ray of sunshine goes away, so does his sanity. And that's what you get for not listening to reason.

They Walk the Night- Kevin A. Harris introduces us to Seymour, an anthropologist, visiting Haiti to learn about creatures called zombie. Seymour talks to locals, reads some local books on the subject and encounters a zombie. Then the dreams start. Seymour even thinks he encounters a zombie. Then one night it all becomes clear before it goes dark. A man, a plan, a zombie, Haiti!

Thirty Seconds- Eugene Gramelis talks about what it would be like to bring someone back from the dead, if only for a little bit. That's what Bob and Malcom have done. The effects only last for about 30 seconds, but sometimes that's just enough time to learn of betrayal. It was never a life for a life, it was just revenge. Time for you to go home to your wife. She "needs" you.

Requiem for the Living- Timothy A. Wiseman kicks things off with a man devouring his wife. Now before you just go ick, there are a few things to consider. The man had been traveling and came home to his family. He knew he didn't feel right, but he kept going along with the daily grind until it was clear something was wrong and he was admitted to the hospital. He makes a recovery, but just not in the way that was expected.

A Flash of Light- Stuart Conover's Justin has just woken up in a hospital after being sick. Justin thinks this is a fine thing but soon starts to realize that everything might not be ok. His roommate keeps groaning, but no one has really come to check on them. After a slightly comedic thump to the floor, Justin checks on his roommate. Before everything comes to a head, Justin realizes he may not be fully in control of himself. Bright light bang!

Zombi 6: Salvation- James Park pens an open letter from a survivor to the rest of what remains of humanity.The undead are winning and so now is as good a time as any to reflect on some observations about the undead and their habits, the world at large's situation and some of the more mundane things about survival. Salvation will come from Charlene.

Survivalism- Amy Braun's survivor is a running for their lives while strapped into a straitjacket. It's not what you think. They're just really intense. When it really comes down to it, no matter how much you prepare and get ready, there's always some variable you can't prepare for and you might as well go out swinging.

Six- Daniel DeLong's story finds two survivors in a basement while the undead are trying to get in. It takes a little time, but they focus and find they may have a chance at salvation. We leave them as their attempt is under way, but you can't help but feel a little hope for them.

The Season- Brendan Wilhelm talks about a community where the dead come back to life once a year to roam their town. Sometimes they're let in, sometimes they're blocked. Sometimes they're the love of your life and you're truly good and ready to spend eternity with them.

The Le Ka Massacre- Joseph Rubas talks about an incident during the Vietnam War. The unit was supposed to go check out a disturbance in a village, but they weren't expecting what they found. They didn't expect the outcome that followed. It was their own. It was their own!

Zen and the Art of Bicycle Delivery- Michael Seese presents a fun twist on zombies. Our delivery person talks about the before and after and what led them to their present lot in life. Hurry with that delivery, but hold the anchovies!

Virulent- Eric Morgner ends this anthology with a cliffhanger entry about a group of survivors trying to escape and find a brighter future. What a cruel way to end things.

Zombie Tea Party

Zombie Tea Party sounds like it should be a retelling of Alice in Wonderland with zombies (oooo, would the caterpillar be smoking brains?), but instead we're treated to a collection of zombie stories by Armand Rosamilia!

Zelebrity Money- The things you'll do for money, even when zombies are about, will inevitably lead you to screw over family when they don't see things in the same way you do.

Zombies, Dogs and Old Bones- We join the start of the zombie apocalypse already in progress. Safety should be of the utmost concern, but it can also lead to some strange strange places. Welcome home!

First Settlement- A theory on what lead to the demise of the Lost Colony in Virginia. That's right- Toddlers.

Manhattan Is A @#$%^&* Island- Survival works when you have a shred of hope to hang onto. Like finding your brothers......just not like that. Never like that. Bang.

Southern Barbeque- Delusions of family gatherings while zombies are "attending" church.

Trail of the Undead- Hillbillies! Hiking! Lack of neighborly concern! Hillbilly zombies!

Swim Out Past The Breakers- Further proof there are all sorts of idiots when stuff starts going down. Zombie surfers. Cowabrainga dude!

Blind In Texas- When you find yourself injured and a liability, folks are going to get what they can out of you and no amount of praying or bargaining is going to fix that.

Caution, Smoke Ahead- The strength of a mother's love will make her do anything for a child. Unless mother's intuition gets jammed by zombies.

This Is The End- We won! We won! Come join us! Come survive! Headshot. It's the principle of the thing you know.

Sanctuary- If you're going to face the end of the world with someone, make sure that you can really stand that person and anyone they bring with them.

The tea party winds up with a note from the author explaining how he got into the world of zombies, as well as an extended peek into the life of everyone's favorite Zombie Killer- Darlene Bobich.

Until next time, toodles!

Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Parts IV-VI

The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.

After much contemplation, I decided to do Dying Days 3 through 5 in one go because there is so much that happens.

Picking up after Dying Days 2, we meet a zombie who has started to move into the next stage. That's right, they're not dying off, they're evolving. They're starting to realize there's more to life (puns!) than shambling around going "braaaains"

Going back to Darlene's group, they're dealing with the aftermath of what happened in St. Augustine. There's only so much that can be done in order to make themselves safe from the impending zombie hoard, but they also have to deal with some of the survivors not dealing or dealing in the extreme. With Darlene and John doing the romantic tension tango.

Back to the evolving zombie, he finds people. He decides to hell with people.

Cutting back to Darlene, she and another survivor take on the zombie house and win. Evolving zombie continues to win in his mission of to hell with people.

The group continues to survive, the evolving zombie branches out from murder into arson and the tango comes to an end.

Evolved zombie finds his way to Darlene's camp and manages to commit more murder and arson....until Darlene introduces herself.....

Soon we meet another evolved zombie, but he's slightly craftier. He is the Lich King.

 Zombie men with machine guns (bonus points if you get it!)

Time has moved on, Darlene is pregnant, the undead are still evolving, they want Darlene's baby and the Lich King is creating civilization (running on the Feed Me Seymour platform).

The arson incident from the last story has Darlene and company wandering around and eventually trapped by zombies in an apartment. Rescue comes at the hand of someone Darlene thought she escaped, but they have enough sense to back off and leave Darlene to her devices.

Back in Lich Land, the basics of government is being laid out (breeders have to stick with breeders, everyone else can go ahead and hump the couch) and naturally there are ass hats about. But the rules are simple- don't touch what isn't yours, go forth and prosper, have faith and kill Darlene Bobich.

Speaking of Darlene, she's trying to stay one step ahead of everything. In the midst of everything, she gives birth to the baby the Lich Lord has deemed as the anti-christ, but he wants it just the same. However, everyone wants the baby, but shortly after birth someone from the old camp takes the baby to keep it safe.

In the aftermath of giving birth, getting revenge and losing her child, a giant insult is handed to Darlene when she's carted off to see the Lich Lord.

But the Lich Lord is busy, off wandering around and gathering the lost. Some to be made into food, the others to possibly live in his new society. Want in? Great! Don't want in? Zombie nom!

The Lich Lord is trying to find the solution, but doesn't quite know the problem. John is doing what he can to get to Darlene. Darlene is doing what she can to get her freedom. Everyone inside the new colony are doing what they can to survive. Murder, mayhem, apple pie! Be careful when opening doors though. Always be careful when you open the door.

What does it all come down to? Society is working in it's own way. Evolving zombies are making things interesting for everyone, but human nature is rearing it's ugly head in so many many ways.

Poor Darlene. On the road again. No touchy. For the love of all that is holy, no touchy!

The Revenge of the Pumpkins

Lacey Lane provides us with a little nugget of horror about a wholesome activity gone horribly wrong.

It's Halloween and the Smith family is enjoying their usual tradition of carving jack o lanterns. Everyone happily makes their pumpkins, lights them and sets them out on the porch for everyone to enjoy.

And then the whimsical nature of a child's imagination comes to life. Within the hour, murder and arson.

A fun scary read perfect for sharing at your next scary story gathering!

Scared Silly

Scared Silly is a collection of short stories from Frank J. Elder that live up to the name- they're scary, but they're also very silly. Horror comedy is truly a lovely thing.

Old Scrote- Zombies can be a very scary thing, but up the horror a bit by having a zombified clown running around. Meet Old Scrote (or Dildo Baggins, depending on who you ask), your walking dick munching nightmare.

Splat- When you're on a deserted road zipping along, you're liable to hit something (get it? no? then google onomatopoeia). The horror in this case does not involve summoning an insurance agent, but you almost wish it did.

GROSSeries- Imagine the zombie apocalypse starting. Now, substitute the zombies with foodstuffs. It might not sound scary, but have you seen some of the stuff that's come into existence lately that's called food?

Death Gets A Life- Imagine for a second that Death took up residence in Florida and managed to finagle a day off. That's right- How Death Got His Groove Back or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Watch Out for Cruise Ships.

Wolfberries- No, not Captain Crunch's take on Fruit Brute (bonus points if you get the reference!). More like organic fruit gone wild. Awooo!


This collection of short stories was some great fun to read. The only real question I was left with at the end of the collection was "Did the artist who made the cover see Killer Klowns from Outer Space?"

Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part III

The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.

Dying Days 2 finds Darlene and the other survivors she lives with facing down a giant horde of the undead, but the bigger concern is the possibility that it might rain.

In the long run, the rain proves to be a minor issue as the undead have found a way to breach the defenses and work to reach Darlene and her friends. This is when we learn just how much the zombies in this universe differ from all the others- they're evolving.

After the fight, the people Darlene dissuaded make an appearance, floating by their camp. It upsets Darlene, but once she's past it, it's time to alert the nearest settlement on the approaching trouble.

Life inside the settlement is about as expected- some people have slipped into living the new normal, some haven't given up their prior lives and some are surviving as best they can. The warning comes, but in the end means nothing.

Going back to Darlene, she has decided to shut some people up and returns to the shelter she took over in Dying Days. In a classic bad idea move, Darlene attempts to clear the house near her old shelter to see if there is anything of value.

We leave Darlene this time with the settlement under attack, but she's made it there, brought some help and won't be going down without a fight.

Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part II

The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.

We pick things with Darlene in Dying Days, although we open on Darlene's usual bad luck with the surviving members of the human race. As we've grown accustom to seeing, Darlene ditches her bad luck and is soon back on her trek to find survivors in Florida.

Darlene manages to find shelter, stages a mini coup and takes over. She also finds a house nearby, but it's not a good idea. Yet. Darlene does manage to settle into a routine for a little while and finds herself missing the days when the zombies were just something on TV and not the current nightmare she's being subjected to.

In the midst of being normal, Darlene hears a plane and decides to abandon her shelter for the chance of being around normal people. She loses sight of the plane, finds some zombie friends and loses consciousness.

When she comes to, she finds herself in a bed. After some initial confusion, she learns that she is in a human settlement, currently zombie free. They're surviving better than others using stilt homes for shelter and making supply trades with a neighboring safe haven. Darlene decides it's better than the alternative and elects to stay. This time she decides to try living with other people, rather than staging a mini coup.

In getting to know the others, Darlene learns there are areas around the country that are fighting back against the undead and are winning, but this is all based on the information they receive from the settlement they trade with.

Time passes and Darlene is learning other ways to kill zombies and survive with the living, meeting plenty of interesting characters along the way.

Soon some people from the past appear and that's where we leave Darlene for now.

Dying Days: Darlene Bobich Part I

The Dying Days universe has quite an expanse to it, so I'm going to focus on the story line that follows Darlene Bobich.

The beginning of Darlene's journey begins in Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer. When we meet her, she's living in Maine and she's been forced to kill her father, who had gone zombie. Sadly, she had to do the deed with the gun that her father had given her and taught her to shoot with.

Once Darlene comes to realize the world has gone to hell in a handbasket, where she lives is too far gone and she sets out to escape the town she had been living in. The neighbors prove to be no help, but only because "NOM!" has set in.

Darlene finds herself at the local mall in search of a quieter weapon, news and other supplies. She does meet with some former co-workers and manages to get a small piece of normal until zombies appear.

After a couple more duds at a stadium and a store where the employee is set on committing arson, Darlene finds herself in Buffalo, NY freezing her butt off. Soon she has more to worry about when she comes across some not so nice people set on making her stay. It takes some time, but Darlene manages to dissuade them of the notion of keeping her around and she's back on the road again.

Soon Darlene has a road companion, but it's short lived and she's stranded in Connecticut. After a side adventure with some school children, we find Darlene in a group of survivors pulling guard duty in a convoy. This too becomes short lived and Darlene is left fending for herself in a library. She does have a companion while at the library, but an accident one night finds Darlene back on the road again.

The book closes with Darlene still on the road, headed to The Sunshine State.

Audiobooks

Ok, so I'm pretty new to the audio book thing.

I downloaded the Audible app and have listened to a few books on it, namely
State of Horror: Illinois (oh you know that was on the list)
The Ables (awesomeness upon awesomeness with a sprinkle of awesome)
The Nerdist Way (I'm still convinced that the author consumed a ton of red bull while reading the book).

So why audio books? Well it's a nice portable way to get a book fix in at work, in the car, being dragged all over the neighborhood by your pet and so on.

The only drawback I've found is if the person reading doesn't have a good pace, it gets annoying.

So I'm enjoying it so far and will see where my reading adventures take me.

Three Die Block Three Die Brawl 2015