Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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• Published January 2006 (Warner Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 28, 2007
• I was given this book as a freebie for attending the World Horror Con in San Francisco in 2006. Not having read any of Preston's or Child's book plus knowing that this was the second book in a trilogy had me kind of nervous about reading it. I wasn't sure that I would like it or be able to pick it up in the middle of a story. I'm happy to say though that I was very pleased! The story picked up at a natural spot and I didn't feel like I was missing too much. There were numerous references to previous adventures between the two main characters: Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta. However it seemed like these could have been adventures across multiple books and not just the first of this trilogy. A quick check and it looks like we've seen them before in Relic, The Cabinet of Curiosities and most recently Brimstone. As for this adventure, I really liked it. There story made a lot of sense. There were numerous characters to flush it out and I was never confused as to who was who which is tricky with a large cast of characters. There was enough mystery and suspense to more than keep me interested in both what happens and in who will live. The ending, while closing up all loose connections, also left the door open on a couple new ones. I haven't bought it yet but I will more than likely pick up the third book in the trilogy to see what happens. And that is always the ultimate endorsement.

Dark Destiny: Proprietors of Fate edited by Edward E. Kramer

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• 20 short stories by such authors as Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy A. Collins, Basil Copper, Charles L. Grant and Rex Miller
• Published 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 14, 1999
• The concept behind this collection is pretty cool. Humanity has been living with vampires, werewolves, mages and wraiths from the dawn of time. Now learn how major historical events have been shaped and formed by these creatures. So you find out that a vampire's plotting is really behind the death of Abraham Lincoln or how Archduke Ferdinand whose death sparked WWI comes back to try to gain revenge. Like I said, cool concept. Unfortunately it gets lost a bit on me because I am anything but a history buff. So when the stories started getting a little much in depth on all these historical characters, I started losing interest and getting bored. I give everyone credit for trying because phrases like "stowaways on Columbus's voyage to the Americas were vampires" spark tons of great images in my mind. But I didn't find most of the stories done well enough to my liking. All is not lost though, you will find my favorites below.

  "The Sign of the Asp" by Nancy A. Collins - Cleopatra finds her strength from a vampire.

  "Beloved Disciple" by S.P. Somtow - One of Jesus's disciples is really a vampire

  "Death of a Demi-God" by Basil Cooper - A detective dreams of vampires

  "Mussolini and the Axeman's Jazz" by Poppy Z. Brite - The real reason that jazz is rich down in New Orleans

  "The Skeptic" by Robert Weinberg - The real reason behind the Bermuda Triangle

The Dark Fantastic by Ed Gorman

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• Published January 2001 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 8, 2001
• This is an extremely powerful and moving collection of short stories by Ed Gorman. Almost every single story incredibly well written and developed. If you ever have any doubts about Gorman or his writing, then just read this collection and your doubts will be left behind. As Bentley Little points out in his introduction, there is no theme for the collection but is instead a recurring motif: "beautiful young women who offer redemption to lost souls; emotionally barren middle-aged men bereft of their families." And as you read the stories, you will find those ideas repeating often. Gorman does a great job in making you feel for each character and experience the same sorrow that they are. Whatever you do, do not miss this collection. And while I found it near impossible to just copy the table of contents for my favorite stories, I did narrow my choices to the following.

  "Yesterday's Dreams" - A retired cop helps someone in the neighborhood

  "Dark Muse" - A lounge singer comes in to some talent

  "Junior" - A son and his mother live high on the hog due to his father

  "To Fit The Crime" - Fate can not be avoided

  "Survival" - A futuristic story about doing what's best for society versus being humane

Dark Hollow by Brian Keene

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• Published January 2008 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 2, 2010
• It is no wonder to me that Keene continues to be one of my favorite authors. His books always prove to be entertaining and thrilling. Dark Hollow is yet another solid book by him that proves enjoyable. Adam Senft is an author living in a small Pennsylvania town with his wife Tara and dog Big Steve. One morning while on a walk with Big Steve, Adam sees his sexy neighbor having sex with a statue, a statue that comes to life and sees them. Adam wants to write it off as a wild imagination on his part but as the women in town start disappearing, he puts the pieces together and realizes it was true. The satyr is now alive and trying to mate with all the women in town. Adam gathers his neighbors and goes to stop the evil. While the story is pretty straight forward with no plot twists, it does not read as boring at all. Instead it is a straight forward story that keeps you interested from page one. It is also populated with characters that are extremely real. It is easy to imagine each person and see how they are. Plus Keene pulls in legends and superstitions from his character growing up in the area. And then he beautifully twists and modernizes it to make the magic real and current. It becomes something that is at first outside the character's ability to deal and becomes something where the rules are changed and new. You won't be disappointed when you read this book.

Dark Love edited by Nancy A. Collins, Edward E. Kramer, and Martin H. Greenberg

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• 22 short stories by such authors as Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Stuart Kaminsky
• Published August 1996 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 15, 1998
• I thought that this was going to be a collection similar to the Hot Blood series, something erotic and scary. In fact, this reaches much further than that and steps completely in to the scary side. Some are outright horror while others just insinuate themselves into your system and are that much scarier. Definitely a collection that is recommended highly. Some favorites are below.

  "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" by Stephen King - A marriage becomes extremely bitter. (Side note: this could have been written about my ex-girlfriend.)

  "The Psycho" by Michael O'Donoghue - A black, modern love story

  "Refrigerator Heaven" by David J. Schow - Mistaken identity leads to the discovery of God

  "The Maiden" by Richard Laymon - A monster turns into a victim

  "Waco" by George C. Chesbro - Another view of God and the problems at Waco, Texas

  "The End Of It All" by Ed Gorman - A man in love with another woman falls for her daughter

Dark Rivers of The Heart by Dean R. Koontz

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• Published November 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 11, 1998
• That's it! No more Koontz! I am not buying another of his books at all! I have had enough of his preaching over the course of his novels. He has become as bad as John Grisham! Ok, so he's not really as bad as Grisham; Koontz actually has an interesting story that is very preachy while Grisham has some preachings that are co-mingled with what appears to be a story. Ignoring for the moment how every 15-20 pages we the readers are subjected to another diatribe on how society has become worse and worse and all the evil that mankind is now doing to each other, ignoring that, the story is kind of interesting although another formula. A guy tries to track down a woman "who gives him hope" while being pursued and stalked by a federal agent who is not really a federal agent and who is insane. There is enough computer "trickery" to make those of us who work with computers for a living laugh. Untrained novices who in a little more than a year learn how to connect into and control satellites while out in the middle of the desert. If nothing else the story is imaginative, somewhat. Well, I still have one or maybe two more books by Koontz that I have bought but not yet read and then that will be it!

Dark Sister by Graham Joyce

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• Published June 2000 (Tor paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 11, 1998
• Maybe it's because this is one of Joyce's earlier books but I didn't find this novel by him quite as gripping as his others. But considering that Smoking Poppy, Indigo, and The Tooth Fairy are all extremely well written and strong in their story telling, being the weakest of the four is nothing to be ashamed about. The story follows Maggie, wife of Alex and mother of Amy and Sam, as she picks up an interest aside from being a housewife. The interest is herbal lore / witchcraft and is keyed off a diary found in their chimney. Without ruining why, the story takes a sudden twist about a third of the way through and has a new layer of depth added to it. The story runs its course and finishes in a satisfactory way but doesn't share the strength of completion that his other novels do. I would still recommend it but if you are a first time Joyce reader, start with Smoking Poppy instead. It's a much stronger story and one that will show the heights of what Joyce can reach.

The Dark Tower III: Waste Lands by Stephen King

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• Published January 1992 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 14, 1996
• This is a completely awesome series!! I've enjoyed each book and they keep getting better all the time. If you have not read the first two books in the series, (The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three) then do so. You won't be sorry. This is not normal Stephen King scary-type stuff. It is more of a mystic tale of the quest for the Dark Tower. King has based the series off of Robert Browning's narrative poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came." This novel continues the story of Roland, Eddie and Susannah as they start/continue on their quest. And amazingly enough, King does the near impossible by bringing back the character Jake who was killed off in the first novel. It is done in a totally believable and very satisfying way that seems natural and fated. It would be wrong if it had not happened. I don't want to give much away but our quartet is now solidly on the path which leads to the Dark Tower. I am very much looking forward to the next novel in the series!

The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

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• Published 1997 (Donald M. Grant hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 24, 1999
• When last we left our ka-tet of travelers, they were aboard Blaine (the pain) getting ready for the riddling. And what a riddling it is! The novel picks up at the same spot and continues their journey across Mid-World and right in to another novel by King. I won't spoil any surprise but it should be very obvious once it happens. At that point, it takes a big twist though because the bulk of this chapter of the Dark Tower series becomes a story of the past. A story of Roland and his first adventure as a gunslinger. And while the story does not have any immediate impact upon their journey, it definitely helps define Roland and his quest. And even taken completely alone, it is still quite a story. Then when story telling ends, the group ends up facing off against the same villain as from the other novel. There really isn't a defeat as much as a postponement. But it does make you yearn even more for the next chapter. This is an absolute must!! But don't start here, make the investment and start at book one. It's worth it ten times over!

The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

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• Published 2003 (Donald M. Grant hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 26, 2004
• Our adventure continues once again for our four gunfighters. This time though most of the story occurs in real time and not in massive flashbacks. There are still massive flashbacks though; these come from a new character to the Dark Tower series but an old character from a previous Stephen King book. He once again ties another novel into the Dark Tower series and weaves a simple yet engrossing connectivity between them. And even though part of the mystery is very obvious, it's not a story that you even think about skipping. No spoiling of surprises because it will be obvious and it's better to experience the books rather than be told about them. I will whet your whistle though by saying that King is obviously throwing in the elements that will make up the final two novels. And like the ending of Waste Lands, you are left eagerly anticipating the next book.

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah by Stephen King

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• Published 2004 (Donald M. Grant hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 14, 2005
• Ah, finally. A Dark Tower book that goes from start to finish with no massive flashback or back story that needs filling in. Just good straight action from start to finish. And to top it off, about a third of the way through the book, I realized one of the steps that they were going to do. I won't say what so as to not spoil the surprise but it is a massive reality mix. I honestly thought that we were going to be teased through the whole book and the reality mix would be saved for the last book, sort of as the big sum up. But it wasn't! Instead of stretching it out further, King gave it to us much sooner. A very welcome surprise. Like many of you, I've been reading the Dark Tower books for years and while part of me is really looking forward to the next book and seeing how everything ties up and ends, part of me wishes it wouldn't. Part of me wishes that it would keep going and that Roland's adventure would never end. At the same time, I respect King for knowing when / that it has to end, that none of us want it to become the never ending sequel. That is where "Escape From LA", "Halloween 6" and other atrocious sequels lie.

The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower by Stephen King

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• Published 2004 (Donald M. Grant hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 13, 2005
• After all these years of waiting and often thinking that it would never come, the final book in the Dark Tower series is here. And it was a good one. It was actually pretty great. King breaks the fourth wall by involving himself in the story and doing so in a greater manner than last book. In Song of Susannah, King uses the character to essentially goose him along and help motivate him to complete the series. In The Dark Tower, they serve a bigger purpose of saving his life. The whole idea of his characters crossing boundaries makes you think that every story is its own universe and that these universes can cross. Subconsciously it is the same thing we always think; I for one always get geeked out whenever I realize that the novel I'm reading actually ties into the universe from another novel. It's more dots in a connect-the-dots picture. Something we hope will help to give us the bigger picture. The Dark Tower takes that idea to its limits, or at least a limit. As for the rest of the story, i.e. does Roland find the dark tower and what's inside? I did not see it coming but once it arrived, I was totally satisfied with the ending. It left me a little sad but in hindsight, it also completely fit with the story and a happy ending would have felt cheap. I'm probably not going to do so in the near future, but at some point I want to read the entire series back to back and relive another universe that is so close to ours.

The Darker Side edited by John Pelan

• Purchase it here
• 27 short stories by such authors as Poppy Z. Brite, Tim Lebbon, Simon Clark and Tom Piccirilli
• Published May 2002 (Roc paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 28, 2004
• I was pretty disappointed with this collection. It started off OK but then the stories seemed to get worse in the second half. A lot of them were kind of vague in exactly what was happening. Is it now and happening or is it a dream or is it a flashback? When the story seems to be purposely unclear on what is real or not, I kind of get frustrated with the story. Other stories started well but were too predictable and left me unsatisfied with their endings. There were a couple of good stories but not enough to really warrant a recommendation for the collection.

  "The Mannerly Man" by Mehitobel Wilson - Good manners affect this society worse than bad manners.

  "The Origin" by David B. Silva - An origin story of a murderer.

  "Ten Bucks Says You Won't" by Richard Laymon - Laymon proves to be just as good with a short story as he does with novels in this story about a dead teacher.

  "Unspeakable" by Lucy Taylor - Words prove to be an extremely powerful factor in this woman's life.

The Darkest Part of The Woods by Ramsey Campbell

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• Published October 2004 (Tor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 10, 2008
• One of the ways to tell a good book is by how quickly you read it, so how much you can not put it done. Along the same lines, if you can't wait to pick it up again, then it is striking the right chords with you and is something to recommend. Unfortunately The Darkest Part of The Woods failed both tests for me. After a week or so, I started dreading picking it up to read instead of looking forward to it. And then it took way longer than it usually does for me to finish the book; near the end I could no longer stand it and started skimming the pages just to find out what happened to the characters. I'm not sure exactly why I didn't like the book so much. While not overly interesting, the characters weren't that boring. Maybe it was a slow moving plot. I know one factor was definitely the British "polite speak" that is prevalent in many of Campbell's books. This is where the conversation goes something like this: "How are you doing?", "Are you sure you want to know?", "I wouldn't have spoken if I wasn't.", "Well, then I'm pleased.", "Should I know at what?", "That you are sure." Argh! Enough double speak and vagueness! It gets annoying. Granted I live in America and not the UK but on the several trips I've taken there and amongst my friends from the UK, no one ever speaks like that. Combined it was more than enough to keep me from being interested except for the surface level as to what was happening. The only really good part was when I finished and could move on to the next book in my list to read.

Darkness, Tell Us by Richard Laymon

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• Published March 2003 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 03, 2004
• And as should be expected, you can't go wrong with a Laymon novel. You are guaranteed some good scares, some great suspense, lots of richly developed characters, thrills, sex and inevitably some weird and freaky events. In Darkness, Tell Us we follow a group of six college kids who get promises of a fortune. The catch? The promise comes from a spirit via a Ouija board. This doesn't stop the kids though as they proceed into the mountains to find their treasure and in the process exorcise some spirits. There really isn't a need to say anything more other than to not miss this book. Laymon has quickly become one of my favorite authors as I build up his section in my library.

The Day Before Midnight by Stephen Hunter

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• Published December 1993 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 04, 2000
• And yet one more thrilling novel by Stephen Hunter. Unlike some of his others, this one does not tie in with any other ones. At least not yet, but I doubt that it will. Why, you ask. Because Hunter does one of the things that I love the most: he will unpredictably kill off main characters. I won't tell you who or when but they are in there. Or rather the characters were in there. Ok, no more cheap jokes. The novel is about a radical military group who takes over a missile silo with the purpose of ending the cold war. As the strategy unfolds, it is easy to see how it all makes sense. Of course they still need to be stopped despite their stronger military position. And that is where the action unfolds, in the assault to take back the mountain. While not what I consider a "must read", don't skip it if you have the opportunity. Hunter's character development in this novel is not something to be skipped; they come alive very quickly.

Dead and Gone by Andrew Vachss

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• Published September 2001 (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 26, 2002
• Book 12 of the Burke novels
  For those of us who are regular readers of the books, there is some definite heart ache as Burke's family permanently loses a member. At the same time, Burke is nearly killed and left for dead. As he slowly recovers, his focus is to not reveal any information about himself and to be true to memory of the lost member. The investigation removes Burke from his familiar New York City element and puts him in Chicago briefly and then the West Coast. The story proceeds at Vachss' normal fast pace along with his wonderful ability to reveal so much about his characters while they simultaneously reveal so little. Like usual, we get a series of new characters introduced along with the usual suspects. This time though the plot ends up being weaved from threads laid down in other books. If you haven't read any other Burke novels, don't worry about the woven plot; it's explained well enough that you don't need to, though reading them will provide more depth to the story. It will also provide more depth to the death we experience. My only regret with the book is that it focuses on Burke to the exclusion of the rest of the family. Sure, the book, and the series, is about him but it's nice to read about the Prof and Mole and Mama and the rest. This time there is very little family and a whole bunch of Burke. The book is definitely still high on the recommend list though.

Dead In The Water by Nancy Holder

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• Published June 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 9, 1996
• Overall this was a good book. There were a lot of spooky moments and things to get scared about. However I didn't really like the amount of "unreality" sections. By that I mean the sections where you can't really tell what is going on. There are a couple of sections where people die but you do not know that they died until some pages later. The way that it is worded I could not quite tell if it was a dream or if it was happening. Unfortunately that kept throwing me out of becoming involved in the story. I look back and I enjoyed it but I think that I could have enjoyed the book even more.

Dead In The West by Joe R. Lansdale

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• Published May 1986 (Space And Time paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 18, 2002
• One of the big differences between older Lansdale novels and ones written now is their length. At 119 pages, Dead In The West barely gets out of the short story realm. Regardless of the length the story still packs a hell of a punch. Reverend Jebidiah Mercer is unlike most other preachers during the wild west; he drinks, carries a gun and actively wander the country enforcing God's will. This time he finds himself in the town of Mud Creek and just in time to help face down the living dead thanks to a curse from a local Indian. While the overall story might lack some of the character depth and introspective social commentaries mixed in with the dialogue that are found in most of Lansdale's later works, the story still puts enough emotion into the events that unfold to make you care about what happens. The caring is more about how everyone gets killed since it is pretty obvious that most of the characters are fodder for the zombies. But then this is acknowledged within the dedication and helps contribute to the charm of the book. If you like movies like Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street and other Grade B films, then you owe it to yourself to pick this up and read it.

Dead Sea by Brian Keene

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• Published August 2007 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 24, 2009
• In Dead Sea, Keene paints another bleak picture of the future. And similar to The Rising, it's zombies that help destroy the world. However, this reality is different in that these zombies don't think quite as much. They are closer to Romero's version of zombies. They chase, kill and eat, not necessarily in that order. The story follows Lamar Reed, a gay Black man from Baltimore who is trying to survive. As he ends up fleeing his home, he finds and rescues two children; together they rush to escape the burning city and undead zombies by leaving on a coast guard ship. The bleakness continues though as they discover that the zombie infection does not stop at the shore. In addition to the usual strong characters and gory horror, I really liked how the characters tried to deal with their situations. Were they heroes for rescuing some people and escaping? Or simply survivors, doing what they could and wanting some companionship? This and other topics were discussed by them. It made the book seem more real. Well, as real as a zombie book could be. Overall, a very solid and entertaining read. Maybe not quite as great as The Rising but no way should this one be missed.

The Death Artist by Dennis Etchison

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• Published February 2002 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 30, 2004
• I didn't really have high hopes when I first started this collection of short stories. I know Etchison's work and enjoy it so I was looking forward to a good book but he's also had some misses. Overall, I expected just above average. Instead I got mostly terrible. Most of the stories just kind of rambled and seemed to have no point. They would proceed along and then end. Or they would be all symbols and no story. I even recently saw a new book which has other author's favorite short stories and Richard Matheson listed "The Dog Park", included in this collection, as one of his favorites. I went back, reread it and still didn't enjoy it. There was only one story that I did like: "Call Home". The story is about a lost little girl who needs some help and it definitely gave me a welcome chill.

Death Instinct by Bentley Little

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• Published December 2006 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 12, 2008
• This novel does not read like a Bentley Little book. Considering that it was one of his earlier novels and was also released under his pen name of Phillip Emmons, it kind of makes sense that it reads differently. While the horror and supernatural is not there, the suspense and well developed characters are. The story involves Cathy Riley, a young woman living in Phoenix, Arizona, who lives a quiet and reclusive life with her father who is more than a little mentally abusive to her. As she deals with her life, a series of grisly murders start taking place in her neighborhood. These deaths awaken some memories for her and she finds that her life is not as secure as she thinks. When I started reading the novel, it seemed a bit choppy and disconnected. After a few chapters though, things started flowing pretty smoothly. And by the time I approached the end, I didn't want to put the book down. It could have very easily slipped into tired clichés but instead there were enough small new directions and twists to keep things different. Don't be put off by this being an early work of Little; you should still get it and read it.

Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison

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• Published originally in 1975
• Finished reading it on March 16, 1996
• Judging from the almost month that it took me to finish this book, I wasn't too crazy about it. Some of the stories were really enjoyable and made me think. But many of the stories came across as overbearing and extremely long winded. I know that that is Ellison's style (sort of) but it wasn't necessarily good all of the time. I think some of the stories could have been made more concise and thus more enjoyable to be read. I've listed below some of the short stories that I think worked well.

  "Along The Scenic Route" - Sort of Death Race 2000, but closer to what you've always wanted to do while driving down the highway.

  "Basilisk" - A war veteran returns after suffering heavy losses in the war to find a town ready to make him suffer more.

  "The Face of Helene Bournouw" - A super-model extraordinaire is more than she seems and uses that power willingly.

  "Ernest and the Machine God" - This started strong but ended on a weak note. Still it is one of the better stories.

  "The Deathbird" - A different view of how evil the snake is.

Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy

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• Published 1994 (hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 24, 1998
• This is another chapter in the life of Jack Ryan and quite an entertaining one also. The story involves first an economic war against Japan and then a military war. And all of it stemming quite naturally from a few mistakes and oversights. The story is fun to read and very enjoyable. Clancy didn't seem to go into as many details as he usually does when describing military weapons and vehicles. It's nice the way that Clancy keeps using the same characters between stories so that you can get to know them better. Plus they are familiar aspects that readers keep wanting to know about. Personally I find the ending a bit unrealistic and quite a stretch but it seems like it could happen. The entire story especially the ending left the world in quite a state of turmoil, so if there is another story in the Jack Ryan universe Clancy is going to have a lot of work to keep everything realistic still.

Deep As The Marrow by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published March 1998 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 11, 2000
• An extremely well thought out novel that grips you the entire length. In a nutshell, the President starts the process to legalize drugs so a drug cartel decides to have him killed by using his personal physician. The physician is "motivated" by the kidnapping of his daughter. And while it seems that the events culminate about half way through and that it should end soon, it doesn't. A lot more is included and all of it flows naturally. In fact, all of the characters also are easy to picture and totally believable. A very good read.

Demon Night by J. Michael Straczynski

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• Published 1988 (hardback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 18, 2001
• I had high hopes for this book considering that it was written by the same guy who did the Babylon 5 series and the comics series Rising Stars and Midnight Nation, all of which I liked. And while my high hopes weren't realized, they also weren't disappointed. Overall the book is really solid, the plot exciting and the characters enjoyable and real. The story itself is about a man named Eric Matthews who his whole life has had bad luck following him and weird things happening, things like rooms being thrown around, stuff flying through the air. And now, in attempt to figure things out, he heads back to the small town where he was raised. Keeping with the bad luck, at the same time an evil force is accidentally let loose within the town. Looking back on it the book has all the elements that I like: the supernatural, small town, weird things, demons. But for some reason I couldn't quite get in to the story and characters. I was too detached while reading the story; there wasn't the "sucked in" feeling that I love when reading a really good book. Maybe it's because this was one of Straczynski's earlier works, the first that I know of. Maybe he hadn't refined his writing enough. Whatever the reason is, I still found the book enjoyable. But if you really want to read some of Straczynski at his best, search out his comic series Rising Stars.

Demons by John Shirley

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• Published April 2003 (Ballantine paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 24, 2004
• Rather than being just one book, this is really two books in one. Both stories are connected and really can't stand without the other but it is two books. When I started reading them I had some high hopes that this was going to be a kick ass, great book(s). I mean, how can you go wrong when demons have literally taken over the world? That just screams awesome. Unfortunately I wasn't quite as impressed with the actual stories as I hoped. Book 1 started well and Book 2 ended well but everything in between kind of dragged. I ended up being bored and losing interest in what was happening. I'm not exactly sure why though. It might have been a lack of action that was occurring. Whatever it was, I just didn't find it that interesting. I really like most of Shirley's fiction; this book just didn't quite do it for me.

Desolation by Tim Lebbon

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• Published March 2005 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 26, 2007
• While a fan of Tim Lebbon, I can't really say that I was a fan of this book. It was a bit too weird, too slow and, well, boring. Cain is starting a new life. He's been released from a hospital after intense therapy due to his father spending Cain's entire life performing grueling psychological torture and experiments. Cain is hoping for a quiet new life where he can adjust to the world. Unfortunately the apartment building he is in is occupied by some extreme weirdos who all have ties back to Cain's father. Instead, he must directly face what was done to him. Interesting premise and possible good novel. Part of the problem though was Cain, and all the other characters, weren't really likable. I couldn't connect with them. More often I wanted to yell at Cain to just get outside or make a decision. I suppose Cain's hesitation and the novel's slow pacing (another problem) are meant to illustrate the psychological problems with which Cain is having to deal. For me though, they made the novel a pain to get through and complete. Things picked up at points but most of the time they were disappointing.

Desperation by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1997 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 21, 1999
• Some people have said that Stephen King's best material is behind him and that most of what he puts out is schlock. To this I say, "Bunk!" Desperation is an excellent example of the amount of development that he gives his characters, of the amount of story packed in to a single novel and of the way he can still pull you in to his story. This time a series of travelers are apprehended near a small Vegas town called Desperation; the apprehender is one of the nastiest cops that you ever want to avoid. And things only get worse once he starts hemorrhaging blood. Like most of King's novels, the story revolves around a small band of people who are fighting to destroy evil, or at least to delay it for some more years. And also like most of his novels, you never know who is going to live and who is going to die. I think that it is this uncertainty which keeps pulling me back time and again. Well that and the pure fright that I can get when reading his stuff. Now excuse me as I run off to pick up the other half of this story in Regulators.

El Dia de los Muertos by Brian A. Hopkins

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2002 (Earthling Publications signed numbered hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on November 10, 2007
• At a little more than 100 pages, this book is more of a novella. No matter its size though, it carries a wonderful story. Being vague in order to avoid any spoilers because they a large part of this story is the discovery, Ricky Bennington is an archeologist in Mexico who suffers a tragedy and then comes up with a unique solution to get past it. The story is dripping with the history of Mexico; I found myself fully encompassed by the world and feeling like I was there. Both the wonder of the Mexican environment and the story are slowly and lovingly revealed. That is a large part of why I don't want to give too much of the story away. Hopkins completed tons of research for the story and it shows. I did get lost a little bit with all the names and locations that were mentioned but it was also something that was easy to get past. The names and locations were absolutely needed though to provide the mood. I highly recommend this book. It will be one that you find extremely difficult to put down until you've finished.

Dirt by Sean Doolittle

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2005 (Uglytown paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 20, 2006
• While I wasn't overly impressed with the first novel by Doolittle that I read (Burn), Dirt made up for it. It has wonderful characters, a funny and quirky story and a true sense in you never know what is going to happen. While attending a friend's funeral, Quince Bishop is pulled into a mystery in which he doesn't really want to be included. Being a good guy though, he helps his ex-girlfriend (a newspaper reporter with hopes of bigger stories) get in on the events as they unfold. And watching them unfold is the fun part. I didn't have any of the problems that I did with his last novel where I kept losing track of who was who. In case I did though, Dirt has a handy reference guide at the beginning which tells who the characters are and gives a quick one liner on each. It sounds kind of tacky but it adds to the spirit of the book and makes it more enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the next book by Doolittle and hoping for more of the same.

Dirty White Boys by Stephen Hunter

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 30, 1997
• This is an awesome, kick-ass book! From the very first sentence this book portrays itself as a hard-core and extreme story of three convicts who escape from jail and it continues all the way through to the very end. Nothing is held back, ever. The convicts are reminiscent of a demented Lenny and George from "Of Mice And Men." The third member of the escape party is an mild-mannered artist who finds himself dragged along and being changed little by little. The three of them are chased by an equally intense trooper who doesn't want to be that way but coincidences pull him in again and again. If you love intense and exhilarating crime novels that can blow away Mike Hammer any day of the week, then this is a book for you. By the way, I was turned on to this book by a recommendation from the comic book "Preacher" so I think that it is only equally fair that I recommend "Preacher." If you like this novel, try the comic, it is of the exact same caliber!

Disclosure by Michael Crichton

• Purchase it here
• Published October 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 26, 1998
• Yet another example of a book that is better than the movie. The novel is more involving and realistic than the movie was. It is also more interesting since the characters get built up more and are given a background. Plus the changes are enough from the movie to make you say, "Ok, I can believe this rather than that crap peddled in the film." Overall it was entertaining. Not as strong a book as Jurassic Park, but still good.

Dispatch by Bentley Little

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2005 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 18, 2006
• Little continues writing excellent books that are a thrill to read. In yet another of his "one word title" books, our protagonist (Jason Hanford) finds that he has the ability to convince people of things via writing. He can write letters of complaint and get a feel meal. He writes a letter to the editorial section of a newspaper and sways the public's opinion. He then gets an offer to write letters for a living. This novel follows in the same tradition of many other Little novels in that a mysterious corporate organization is involved with something that could be innocent and normal. Theoretically I should become bored with the formula and stop reading his books, after all that is what turned me off to Koontz. However I'm not bored with Little's books. I thoroughly enjoy reading them. And I look forward to his next.

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1993 (paperback version)
• Finished reading it on April 2, 1996
• Very quick reading! I finished this in just four days and considering my busy schedule that it pretty amazing. I enjoyed this book. It wasn't very scary or gory, except for maybe in one or two scenes, but it was still done well. It was very easy to see the characters and to become part of their lives. And then following what happened and what was done becomes natural. The curiosity just sneaks up on you and you find yourself continuing to read and read and read. This novel is sort of a companion novel to Gerald's Game and sort of not. They both occur in the same "reality" and Dolores finds herself thinking of the main character in Gerald's Game even though she does not know who she is. I always like novels that tie together like that. It expands on a "reality" that is familiar to the reader and also lends more depth to it. Plus it sort of feels like an in-joke for readers who are familiar with both novels.

Door To December by Dean R. Koontz

• Purchase it here
• Published June 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 23, 1998
• Since Koontz originally wrote this in 1985, it has a lot of the feel of his older novels. In fact I thought for sure that it would become one of his formula novels, i.e. woman who appears weak but is stronger than she thinks and with the aid of handsome ex-military trained guy overcome impossible odds to defeat evil bad guy. Mix in little kid and/or a dog and you're set. However it is only the beginning that feels like that. The rest of the novel turns and varies enough to be enjoyable and likable, especially for occult lovers. The only other negative is that Koontz tends to get preachy at times and displays all the subtlety of Richard Simmons during a workout. Pulling myself through those sections was hellish!

The Doorkeepers by Graham Masteron

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2003 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 27, 2006
• Masterton is one of those British authors that doesn't get published in America quite as much as he should. Yes, we do get to see his novels from time to time but considering the volume of material that he has produced and the quality of his work, he takes up an amazingly small amount of space on my book shelves. I'm going to have to make it a point to include another novel or two of his in my next Amazon order. Anyway, The Doorkeepers is yet another excellent novel by Masterton. The story focuses on Josh Winward as he goes to London and tries get some resolution to his sister's death. The problem is that his sister has been living at an address that is 60 years old and working at a factory that doesn't exist. As Josh gets pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery, he discovers that there is more to this world and to any other for that matter. About two-thirds of the way through, I started thinking that this would be a great novel to continue and have Josh Winward continue to explore. However, five minutes later those thoughts were dashed as the necessary end to the creatures guarding the doors was spelled out. Unfortunately that was also the point where it became predictable and much of the surprise in the ending was removed. Masterton played fair and it wasn't anything that didn't fit the rules of his novel but I wish that the ending didn't become telegraphed as of that point.

Double Edge by Dennis Etchison

• Purchase it here
• Published January 1997 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 1, 1999
• This book left me with a lot of mixed feelings. Not the type where the book made me think about stuff; more like I didn't like the book, then I did, then I didn't, then I was confused, then it ended leaving me scared. At times it was heavily slanted with a feminist point of view, so much so that it was difficult to relate to. Characters were introduced and then killed too fast to start caring about them. The main couple in the story although married, didn't act like it at all. Then when they were talking or thinking about the other it always seemed forced and strained. Maybe I felt this because there was almost no interaction between the husband and wife. Things that I did like were that the reader wasn't hand held through the course of the story. At times Jenny Marlow wasn't aware of what exactly was happening and neither was the reader, not until you find out later. The ending was extremely scary and enough to give you the shivers. I just wish that I had felt like that throughout more of the novel.

Down Here by Andrew Vachss

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2005 (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 01, 2006
• Book 15 of the Burke novels
  One of the hard things to do when commenting on Vachss' latest Burke novel is to feel like I'm not repeating myself. Vachss is consistently a strong writer. The novels are consistently gripping and enthralling. Every time I find myself staying up late so that I can finish the book. Vachss doesn't use chapters, so it makes it that much harder since I always think "Just until the next break." which is a page or two away. Then when I reach it I think "Next break. I'll stop for the evening then." Repeat that cycle until I literally can't stay awake anymore. It's also hard to not repeat myself because it feels like the novels are all on big story and not individual books. They are more like the chapters in this thousands plus page story that is still going. I would imagine this makes it kind of difficult for a new reader to come aboard. The good thing though is that due to the intense stories and Vachss writing style, the novels are really fast reads. You can catch up pretty fast.

Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite

• Purchase it here
• Published October 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 19, 2000
• Poppy Brite has written another wonderfully complex, enthralling and scary novel. And it's called Drawing Blood! It's characters and settings are rich and lively; I found myself caring for them more than I thought. A couple of times I was near tears because of the pain the characters were going through, and this was before I realized that I cared for them. And then I also found myself getting pretty scared at the ending. The story is about Trevor McGee, a sole survivor of a murder-suicide by his father. It is also about Zachary Bosch, a computer hacker from New Orleans. Together these two find out more about their past by facing it in the form of a haunted house. The details are many and are beautifully weaved together in this intense and loving story. Yes, that's right, in addition to be pretty damn scary the novel is also very erotic and loving. I look forward to reading the next book by Brite.

Dreadful Tales by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published originally in 2000 (Headline Book Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 17, 2006
• I was a little disappointed by this collection. It wasn't the quality of the stories. All of the stories found here were top quality. Gripping and exciting. Unique and memorable characters. Personally I believe that Laymon is better at the novel than the short story. These tend to read too fast and don't involve as much as I would hope. There's not as much character development or changes as found in his novels; obviously length has a huge factor here. The thrills are good, just short. What I was disappointed with was that I had read many of these same stories before. It must have been from Madman Stan and Other Stories since that's the only other short story collection I think Laymon did. It's always more enjoyable though to experience new fun and exciting stories than old fun and exciting stories. Don't let the select few favorites listed below fool you into thinking there wasn't much good in it; you'll find almost every story is great! It's picking out your favorites that will become hard.

  "Barney's Bigfoot Museum" - A man discovers proof of Bigfoot

  "Oscar's Audition" - A chance meeting in an alley leads to bad news for one person

  "The Direct Approach" - A pretty clever story that seems dangerous up into the point where it proves that it is

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2001 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 03, 2003
• Stephen King is one of the few people who can write an 800 page novel and make it so enjoyable. An even harder task to do when you consider that somewhere around 200-300 pages, I reached a point where I didn't know what else King could do to stretch the story out. But he did. And he made it good. The story follows four childhood friends that get together in a remote section of Maine for their annual hunting trip. The problems start when they are visited by another hunter who has been infected with a space spore from a UFO that crashed nearby. The infected hunter's condition quickly deteriorates and triggers the bulk of the story for the second half: a chase of the now infected friend before he can pollute a local water supply thereby infecting millions. Throw in some alien-enhanced telepathy, a childhood event that also linked the four friends with telepathy and some gruesome aliens and you've got a typical Stephen King book. However this time most of the action and suspense is psychological in nature. There aren't that many "action sequences" where a lot happens; instead most of the interesting action takes place in mental conversations between the telepathy linked people, especially with the link to the alien. And then there is an interesting twist thrown in at the end, a twist that had clues dropped in across the whole novel. Like all of King's novels, I highly recommend this one. Don't be put off by the size; it is worth it. And don't wimp out by seeing the upcoming movie and skipping the book. Do both!

Dreamside by Graham Joyce

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2001 (TOR Book paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 21, 2005
• The first half of this book is similar to Indigo. Both involve people who are trying to expand their mind or consciousness by doing some sort of experiment. In Indigo it had to do with visibility and seeing. In Dreamside it had to do with your dreams and controlling them. And in both, the methods given to reach the state of heightened awareness seem really probable for success. Dreamside focuses on four college students who work on the power of lucid dreaming, the ability to control and be aware of your dreams while dreaming. This talent and their growth in using it is told in a flashback as something dangerous and unknown starts to play havoc with their lives in the present. In that regards the story follows the typical "something evil happens when younger and comes back to revisit when adults" theme. I'm not too sure why but halfway through the book, I lost my momentum to finish it. The story seemed fine and interesting all the way through and the ending wasn't totally predictable but I wasn't able to finish the book as quickly as I started it. Despite that I would probably recommend this more than some of his later works since this book has more supernatural or weird things happening than his later and more literary material.

Drive-In: A Double Feature Omnibus by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• Published 1997 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 1, 1999
• This is actually a single volume of two novellas: The Drive-In and The Drive-In 2. Naturally enough the second story is a sequel to the first. And I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed both of them; don't miss them if you are a horror fan of any sort, or a movie fan for that matter. They are a grisly, realistic and often funny view of a what happens to two men one night at the drive-in. Ok, the basics of the first story is four young men go to the horror-fest at the local drive-in and half way through the second movie a big comet/meteor swoops down and surrounds them by a big emptiness. So they are all trapped there; that's it. The rest of the story is how the people trapped inside deal with the events and it is not pretty at times. The second story picks up from the end of the first where the blackness is now gone but the world outside the drive-in is not the same. Lansdale definitely has a love of B-movies and it shows throughout the stories. But rather than being the mindless schlock that many of those movies are, these stories have a meaning and even a commentary on life. Sometimes it is not nice, but I think that it is realistic none the less.

Duel by Richard Matheson

• Purchase it here
• 18 short stories, all by Richard Matheson
• Published January 2003 (Tor paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 07, 2003
• And once again Tor releases another collection of short stories by Matheson. The title piece this time is "Duel", Steven Spielberg's first movie that he directed. So this was a collection that I was looking forward to reading. While I generally enjoy Matheson's books and stories, I can't say that I enjoyed this one that much. The material wasn't really sub-par; I just didn't find it that interesting. Other than the title story, almost all of the stories were more aligned with Science Fiction than Horror. Not that there is anything wrong with Science Fiction but I just felt that the collection was not marketed correctly, especially since the sub-title on the book was "Terror Stories by Richard Matheson". I only that there were a couple of stories that qualified as terror; the rest were predictable or just uninteresting. Nicely written but just not engaging. If you're looking to be scared, read the couple of stories below while in the library or better yet pick up Matheson's I Am Legend.

  "Duel" - Slightly dated with regards to the speeds being driven but just add 40mph to them and it's still very appropriate

  "Little Girl Lost" - This story inspired an episode of the Twilight Zone and is a fun read

  "The Test" - I've read this one before and it scares me and pulls up a lot of emotion each time

Duma Key by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2008 (Scribner hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on January 17, 2010
• All those people who were writing and saying that King had lost it and stopped being good should now find something else to focus on. Duma Key reads very much like older Stephen King books but also is crisp and solid as only an author of decades can do. It feels like his older stories while also being new. While I never thought he lost it, this book does step it up a notch or three. The story follows Edgar Freemantle, a former builder and contractor. Edgar was at work when a crane accidentally ran him over; it was close enough to take his arm and damage him but Edgar lived. However, his life was changed. He ends up living in Duma Key, one of the keys off Florida, and painting. However, his paintings have a message to tell him. A message of past evils. A message that will change his life again. Ok, enough with the summary and back-cover verbiage. The story involves just the type of spookiness I love: small things occurring which you can't explain, images of the future that may or may not occur, general weirdness which creates an uneasy atmosphere. It's nowhere as heavy as the dread from The Shining but you can feel it building up. And the grand climax fits perfectly with everything that had been happening. Look, it's Stephen King. Chances are you've read something by him before and/or you've already made up your opinion on him. So go out there and pick up the book (like you know you want to) and read it.

Dweller by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2010 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 13, 2010
• Before I start this review, I have a confession to make about the movie "King Kong." I cry at the ending. I did when I was a little boy with the original and then again when I was older and saw the remake with Jeff Bridges. (Any crying during the Peter Jackson remake was more due to how poor the film was than anything else.) Here was a creature that was living a happy life who finally thought he found love only to be kidnapped to a foreign country and then killed while defending his love. How that could not stir tears in anyone, I don't know. Jumping forward to the book Dweller, it will evoke a lot of the same feelings. Toby is a misfit teenager who through a series of events makes friends with a big-toothed, massive-clawed creature in the woods. They keep this friendship for decades and through many life changes. Like many friendships, it's not always easy but the friendship does persevere. All the way to the end of the book. Yes, the idea might seem a little crazy that someone could make friends with such a creature but so is a gigantic ape falling in love with a blonde human sacrifice. If you just go with it, you'll find that the book is well worth it and extremely entertaining. It will pull you in very quickly and you won't want to stop reading. This was one of those books I could barely put down and which I stayed up late reading. As always, I look forward to more books by Strand.

Dydeetown World by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published July 1989 (Baen Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 26, 2004
• This is actually a collection of three related stories. They are based on an Earth from Steven Spruill's Paradox Planet, but don't worry if you haven't read it. I didn't either and I understood everything that was going on. The stories are all fast reading and focus around Private Eye Sigmund Dreyer. First he gets a clone of Jean Harlow as his client as she is looking for her lost love. The second story is a search for a missing child. And the third involves answering the remaining mysteries left over from the first two stories. All in all, not some of Wilson's best work. The characters are a bit cliche and predictable; luckily the events in the story aren't so we keep interest there. Plus the book is such fast reading that you end up whipping through it in nothing flat, enjoying it the whole time. It's only afterwards that you think, "Ok, yeah, I should have seen that coming." A fun read but not something that you should consider a must read. And considering that this is early Wilson and not easily found, it's not something you're likely to find unless you are looking for it.

Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.

Last modified on June 24, 2010