The Earth Strikes Back edited by Richard T. Chizmar
- Purchase it here
- Published January 1996 (White Wolf Publishing paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on May 27, 2009
- There are not too many horror anthologies that I read which leave me wanting to do more for the world and to make it a better place. This one did though. The stories were focused on ecological disasters, both man-made and originating from nature. With a title of The Earth Strikes Back, I was hoping for more stories nature was getting back at humanity. Most of them instead were about humanity's pollution and chemicals coming back in the form of cancer and death. The stories were mostly good, but at the same time there was not that many which left me scared. Well, maybe scared for the environment and the damage we humans were doing but nothing much in the way of leaving me spooked and frightened while reading the story. The following though were ones that touched me and made me think.
"My Copsa Micas" by Dan Simmons - This is seventeen small sections which could be fictional but were written as if they are autobiographical. Fiction or reality, they still strike a chord.
"The Forest is Crying" by Charles De Lint - This is the story that touched me the most and made me most want to improve my relationship with nature.
"Ground Water" by James Kisner - A fun story about a man trying to get for his water problems.
"Torrent" by Mark Rainey - Aside from Simmons' contribution, I felt this story was the best fit for the collection.
Elrod McBugle on the Loose by Jeff Strand
- Purchase it here
- Published March 2007 (Hard Shell Word Factory paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on August 30, 2008
- Being an adult male with no children, this is not usually the type of book that I would pick up to read. However, having both an obsessive and addictive personality results in me getting most books by certain authors. Jeff Strand is one of those authors. While different from some of this other books like Single White Psychopath Seeks Same, there are also degrees where they aren't that different. Both have characters that are well meaning but who also find themselves in difficult positions. These characters have funny events occur which I would not want happening to me. And these characters have a good set of friends and family to help see them through the situation. The difference is the degree of danger involved. Elrod McBugle is a junior high student dealing with the trials and tribulations that normally involves. You can think Dennis the Menace mixed with Ferris Bueller. Obviously this mean much less death, dismemberment and violence found in Strand's more adult books. McBugle is still a very likable character experiencing interesting events. If you are already a fan of Strand, read this because you will like it. And if this is your introduction to Strand, wait a few years until you can buy Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) from your local bookstore without the clerk giving you a hard time.
Embraces: Dark Erotica edited by Paula Guran
- Purchase it here
- Published October 2000 (Venus or Vixen Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on April 17, 2006
- Not yet reviewed
Endless Night by Richard Laymon
- Purchase it here
- Published July 2004 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 02, 2005
- I've said it before and will probably say it again: Laymon is a master at making an unbelievable event something believable, and more importantly an awesome read. In this case, Jody is sleeping over at her friend's house when a group of killers break in and kill everyone but Jody and her friend's little brother. And that's only to get things rolling. Luckily Laymon doesn't take it too far as he has in some other novels. Instead the story develops and moves naturally with no more crazy events. No second equally weird plot to connect up with the primary story line. As would be expected, the dialogue and characters are dead on with what you would expect. This is one of his more entertaining books and as such you'll probably be like me and stay up late devouring it as fast as you can.
The Enemy by Lee Child
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2005 (Dell paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 22, 2008
- This isn't a book that is normally on my list of books to read. However, when you're at the airport about to start a week long business trip and you've left your latest book at home on the night stand, you find what you can. Now here's the kind of funny part to go along with that. While I couldn't find any books that were on my first choice list[1], I saw The Enemy by Lee Child and thought here's a book by somebody on my second choice list. However, I confused myself. I was thinking of Lincoln Child, co-author with Douglas Preston on numerous books and a solo author of another set of numerous books. So there I am looking for The Wheel of Darkness or some other Pendergast novel, not finding it and choosing what I thought was a novel by the same author. By the time I realized my mistake, I was on the plane and already committed. Fortunately despite my confusion, I wasn't disappointed. The book was solidly written and engaging. Considering that this was the eighth book in the Jack Reacher series, I didn't feel lost or left out from whatever action had occurred previously. There were elements which felt like they were part of a bigger picture than just this single book but they did not detract from the story. What I found more distracting was the first person point of view story telling that would have the occasional chapter end with a degree of foreboding. "If I had only known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have ..." Those statements didn't quite flow with the story process. Overall though I ended up very much enjoying the book. I don't plan on hunting down other books by Lee Child (I already have more authors to follow than I can keep current with) but I won't be quite so annoyed if I happen to forget my current book at home again.
[1] My first choice list of authors includes those authors where I buy almost everything they write. As soon as I discover they have a new book out, it gets put on my "To Buy" list. This list includes Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, Peter Straub, Andrew Vachss and many others. Look through my author list to find more. My second choice list of authors are those that I enjoy and want to read but that I'm not quite as obsessive about. I'll happily buy their books but I'll look for people on the first choice list first. This list includes Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Ed Gorman, Graham Masterton, Timothy Zahn and others. I probably have a third choice list which would be those authors that I normally wouldn't buy but when in a spot where I have to pick a book and none of my first choice or second choice are available, that I pick these people. This list would include Michael Crichton and now Lee Child. Not sure who else is on this list.
An Enemy of the State by F. Paul Wilson
- Purchase it here
- Published February 1984 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 2, 2009
- Generally I'm not a huge fan of SciFi novels. Movies, definitely. Novels, some but not a ton. Usually the novels are when I'm following a specific author. This was the case here. While I love most of the books by F. Paul Wilson, An Enemy of the State will not be on that love list. It was an enjoyable book but it was a tad too formulaic. Metep VII rules the Outworld Imperium from his seat of power on the planet Throne. Unfortunately his rule has been too ironhanded and citizens are about to revolt. In walks Peter LaNague, a master revolutionary who has it all planned out as to how to change the Universe with a minimum amount of blood spilled. Can he do it? Or will someone on either side create more problems than LaNague can handle? Yes, that copy reads like a bad SciFi channel movie. However since this was one of the first, if not the first, book that Wilson had published, he should not be punished for it. Instead you should look at how much he has grown as a writer. You should realize that the early stuff he was creating before is now matured into significantly better material. When it comes down to it though, An Enemy of the State wasn't that bad. I've read worse, and unfortunately probably will again. It is nice though to get a feel for where Wilson was then and where he is now. It makes his current stuff that much better. And speaking of which, I'm going to catch up some more on my reading and start Harbingers.
Everville by Clive Barker
- Purchase it here
- Finished reading it on January 12, 1997
- This is an excellent book! A very nice continuation from The Great and Secret Show but a novel that stands by itself. Of course if you have read the previous novel then you are that much more aware of the background belonging to the characters. They have that much more depth to them; Barker adds facets to them that you were previously unaware of. Plus for all you fans of "Lord of Illusions," Harry D'Amour plays a large part in the story. I won't give away the story but the search for control of the Art is on again and this time there are only the survivors from the last novel, Harry D'Amour, a few locals who make it over to Quiddity and some ghosts. A varied mix but then Clive Barker is great at bringing strange characters together and making them live for everyone's enjoyment. Don't pass up this novel; you'll regret missing out on another view of the dream world.
Everybody Pays by Andrew Vachss
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1999 (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on March 30, 2001
- This is actually a collection of thirty-seven short stories and one novella whose title is the source for this collection, "Everybody Pays." I know what you are thinking, "Thirty-seven stories in one collection? That must be a fat book." Actually it's not. Vachss keeps his short stories in the three to twelve page range so you actually can rip through them pretty fast. "But what kind of impact can a three page story have?" you counter. Tons! Think of it as each story contains pure intensity and grit with no fluff. They are boiled down to such hard hitting tales that you seriously can't read too many at once; it just becomes too much. My favorite thing about this collection though was the four Cross short stories and the Cross novella. Cross is one of Vachss recurring characters, similar to Burke who is the main recurring character in the bulk of his novels. However Cross is colder and more hardcore than Burke. The novella focuses on Cross being backed in to a corner in order to rescue a prisoner in a third world country. And as the title for the story suggests, Cross wants to make everybody pay. Overall, this is not a collection to miss for any Vachss or any hard-boiled crime fan to miss. And if think you might like Vachss and want to give him a try, this is also the book to do that. If you like it, then pick up the rest of his books. If you hate it, well, then go back to your mainstream best sellers and leave us be.
Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King
- Purchase it here
- Published January 2003 (Pocket Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 12, 2003
- As the title very obviously states, this is a collection of 14 of King's short stories. If you're like me, then the chances are that you'll have read about half of these stories already. And if you continue to be like me, then you'll enjoy most of them just as much the second time as you did the first. "Autopsy Room Four" and "The Road Virus Heads North" both are remembered fondly. I realized halfway through that "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" was another one that I had read previously. "The Little Sisters of Eluria," or continued adventures of Roland the gunslinger, was actually better than what I remember it being. It was also a good mini-prep for Dark Tower V which I just purchased and am very much looking forward to reading. "In the Deathroom" was another fun story that quickly grabs you and forces you to enjoy yourself. But for any fan of King, you're probably going to read these stories anyway and find all this out for yourself. So stopping reading this and pick the book up already.
Excitable Boys edited by Kelly Laymon
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2002 (Freak Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on December 31, 2006
- One of the annual traditions of the World Horror Convention is Gross-Out Contest. This is held at midnight on the final night of the convention and involves authors reading their "nastiest, grossest, goriest, sickest, most vile piece of fiction." Each person has five minutes to read their story. The only real rules is that the story must contain a plot, must gross people out and can't be longer than five minutes. Though the one year I attended, a few authors were allowed to go over the time limit so long as the audience voted their approval. This collection is some of those gross-out stories plus a few originals from a few usual gross-out contestants. The stories definitely have their sick moments and scenes that will make sensitive stomaches release their contents. However the ones that were also targeted for those five minutes are also a bit light on plot. Considering their planned brevity, it makes sense but it does make them stand out when compared to the longer enclosed fiction. For the best effect when reading these eight stories, picture the author standing on stage and reading it out loud. I know my first-hand experience at the San Francisco World Horror Con had me laughing so hard and so grossed out. My favorites from the book are here.
"The McCrath Model SS40-C, Series S" by Edward Lee - A doctor helps a mobster get his revenge for an insult of his manhood.
"Full of It" by Brian Keene - An agent trying to take down a group of degenerates gets caught.
Exorcising Angels by Simon Clark and Tim Lebbon
- Purchase it here
- Published October 2003 (Earthlings Publications signed numbered limited edition)
- Finished reading it on November 15, 2008
- This book is an homage to Arthur Machen's "The Bowmen" written in 1915. I had never heard of Machen or his story previously so it was all new to me. Machen's story is about some ghosts or angels coming down as English archers during WWI and killing the advancing German army. More interestingly though was that the story was taken as true by many readers. Several soldiers also came forward and said they saw it happen. I was able to find Machen's story on the Internet (extremely short) and will have to say that I enjoyed Lebbon's and Clark's novella homage much more. It very much follows the same idea as Machen's story while at the same time being able to stand on its own. At novella length, it's longer than Machen's but still a quick read. Clark and Lebbon also contributed their own short story for the book. Clark's "A Bridge to Everywhere" is a little too close in keeping with the same style and feel; it was enjoyable but felt like more of the same. Lebbon's "Skins" definitely branches off in a different direction and to me was the best thing in the book.
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite
- Purchase it here
- Published 1997 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 11, 2000
- Wow! This is an extremely intense story that holds back on nothing. If there is at least one scene in this novel that does not get your stomach turning or make you afraid, then there is something wrong with you. The story is about Andrew Compton, a serial killer who escapes from London and makes his way to New Orleans to find his soul-mate. Simultaneously there is a disheartened playboy in New Orleans who is pushing Compton's art past anything that he might have thought of. The result is a masterpiece of a novel. Characters are developed and each have their own rhythm. Settings and actions are told with an eye to detail. With that said, this novel should definitely be considered on the graphic side. If scenes ripe with gore, sex and violence are not your thing, then this is one book to skip. However if those are your thing, then do not miss this novel. It has all of those in plenitude and done in a very literary way.
Eyes Of A Child by Richard North Patterson
- Purchase it here
- Published January 1995 (hardback version)
- Finished reading it on April 30, 1997
- I enjoyed this book. It starts off as a murder mystery and I was wondering who killed Ricardo Arias. Then after a couple hundred pages, I started wondering how the hell it was going to last 600 pages; I thought that I had it figured out and that it should be ending soon. But it kept going, urging me along the entire time. Then another couple hundred pages in and I kept thinking of one of my favorite TV shows: Law and Order. The story was roughly following the same outline: characterization, the law investigates, the order prosecutes, you deal with the results. All the while I was drawn into these characters lives and wishing that things would work out, that the worst would not happen. All while trying to figure out who was really the killer, or was the obvious evidence really the truth. If you like mysteries and seeing the justice system at work, then give this a try. I don't think that you'll be disappointed.
Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.