The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2018 (William Morrow ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 28, 2018
• This book seems to be polarizing a lot of readers. Or at least the Amazon reviews which seem to mostly love the book or hate it. I don't know why. Personally, I would rank it as awesome! A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS was just a tad better in my opinion but they are photo-finish close in that ranking. The story: seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin. One afternoon four strangers arrive carrying menacing weapons and needing their help to save the world. The story the strangers tell is crazy; their actions are even crazier. Or are they sane behavior from people who have no choice. Suddenly Eric, Andrew, and Wen must make some difficult choices in order to survive. I found the story amazing. It was scary and terrifying but in part because it was so thought provoking. What would I have done if I was in their place? Would I have made the hard choice earlier? And if so, when? Because Tremblay made the characters so real, it made everything have more impact. The hardships and pain yanked hard on my heart. I felt for both the family and the strangers. One of the other things that Tremblay does with his novels (or at least the three I've read so far) is end them all with a touch of mystery. Was there really something supernatural that occurred or not? In this case, strangers claim the family needs to help save the world. So by the story's end, the world either has to be saved or be destroyed. But if the strangers are crazy, was the world really saved? Or were the claims deluded ravings from a madman? Unless the book ended with "The world then blew up.", you can never be sure. And that's what makes the story even better, that element of faith. Eric, Andrew, and Wen must have faith that the story is real, even if the messengers are crazy or demented. And as readers, we must decide who we want to believe. Taking Tremblay's story at face value is easy; seeing possibly demented motives makes it scarier. These are the type of books that will leave me pondering for days afterwards. And that is why I loved it.

The Cage by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published 2010 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 750 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on October 14, 2014
• THE CAGE is a tense story that covers a very stressful situation. Keene infuses the story with good characters and a naturalness that enables the readers to be trapped along with the characters. The story follows the employees of Big Bill's Home Electronics as they are taken hostage. The bad guy walked in right at closing time and at gunpoint forced the eight employees into the back storeroom. Proclaiming that he only needs six of them, he then locks them in a security cage so that he can do Something up front. With regards to the action that occurs in the story, there is not a ton more than my summary above. But, as I also mentioned the story stays tense and stressful the whole way through. I felt for these characters as they faced their challenges and mystery. However, at the same time, it was easy to feel swindled by the book. At 101 pages, it is a significant size that you expect a full story. The ending though makes it abundantly clear that there is a lot more story to be told. A lot! This is one chapter in Keene's Labyrinth: a promised multi-volume epic, the story behind how all of his books tie together into one multiverse. THE CAGE could viewed as a prologue into the epic. Or maybe it would be better to consider it as an extra scene that enriches the total story, sort of like the post-credit scene in many Marvel movies. No matter how you look at it though, fans will consider this a significant puzzle piece of the Labyrinth. New readers should go to THE RISING so that they may be properly indoctrinated and become a Keene fan.

California Bear by Duane Swierczynski

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2024 (Mulholland Books audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on September 2, 2025
• unreviewed

Cameron's Closet by Gary Brandner

• Purchase it here
• Published February 1987 (Fawcett Gold Medal paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 1, 1990
• unreviewed

Camp Pleasant by Richard Matheson

• Purchase it here
• Published 2001 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 1,000 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on December 31, 2002
• While the copyright on this book is 2001, the story itself seems to be very dated. It read better if I thought of it taking place in the '50s or '60s. Keeping that in mind, the book is pretty enjoyable and a fun read but not quite up to the expectations that I had before reading it. Matt is a young new camp councilor at Camp Pleasant; he quickly finds out that the boss of the camp is a tyrant who enjoys tormenting others. Matt's summer becomes fraught with havoc and problems as he tries to connect with Tony, a hard-luck boy who is at camp on the equivalent of charity. While I found the story rich with real characters, it also suffered due to the dating of the piece. Characters were too naive. Fairly common events for now are almost unspeakable in the book. Yes, they were symptoms of the time period but they also distracted me from the story by reminding me "it happened" a while ago. Overall it's a minor point to the story and one that can be overlooked while enjoying the rest of the book.

Canary by Duane Swierczynski

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2015 (Hachette Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on February 5, 2022
• unreviewed

Captains Outrageous by Joe R. Lansdale

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• Published January 2003 (Mysterious Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 11, 2003
• It's been a little since the last Hap Collins and Leonard Pine book they are still a twosome that can get into the worst trouble by doing the simplest things. Fortunately we get to enjoy the troubles. And like all the previous stories of these trouble-finders, this one is outrageous, fun and not to be missed. The story picks up shortly after RUMBLE TUMBLE where Hap and Leonard rescued the daughter of Hap's girlfriend. This time the adventure grows out of Hap rescuing a girl who is being attacked. From there our luckless heroes go on a cruise and as only they can, end up in deep trouble while in Mexico. Lansdale continues to mature all of his characters and show that life for them does not stay stagnant despite their problems. Weirdness is discovered, lives are changed, and characters grow. In the end, we readers are stuck in a quandary. We hope for the happy ending that the characters deserve but at the same time we hope that Lansdale will continue giving us more adventures of Hap and Leonard.

Carioca Fletch by Gregory McDonald

• Purchase it here
• Published 1984 (Grand Central Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 31, 1987
• unreviewed

Carmilla / The Evil Guest by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2008 (Full Moon Press hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 350 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on December 10, 2013
• A couple years back I purchased this book as part of a grab bag, probably an "Other Publishers Grab Bag" from Cemetery Dance Publications but I don't really remember. I was glad for the book's Foreward which gave some background on the story because I had never heard of it before. I was surprised to find out that "Carmilla" was a vampire story that predated DRACULA by roughly 25 years! It was also supposed to be in part the inspiration for Stoker to write DRACULA! With this fresh news, I was excited to read the story. The story follows a young woman who lives with her father and two governesses in a castle in Styria. Events really begin when they receive another young woman, Carmilla, as a guest. Carmilla has her own eccentricities and they lead directly into keeping the story interesting and very easy to grasp. There are even some steamy-for-the-times scenes where Carmilla is draining her victim. All told, much better than my initial expectations when starting the book. Very enjoyable.
  The other half of the book is "The Evil Guest." Unfortunately I didn't find this story half as good as "Carmilla." Both stories are a bit dated but considering they were written well over 100 years ago, understandable. While this was easy to get beyond in "Carmilla", that was not the case with "The Evil Guest." The story and style became frustrating to me. It also didn't help that it dragged on. The story could have easily been condensed and not lost anything. Maybe the mood would have been lessened a bit but I would have gladly sacrificed that to reach the ending sooner. Besides I kept losing the story's mood when I was bored with the nothing that was happening. It would have also helped with a better revelation at the end of the story. With the story length, I was hoping for a big reveal. Something worth all the drudge of reading. Instead the ending was more along the lines of "That's it?"
  There was one final component to the book: a short piece titled "Account of a 'Real Life' Vampire: Arnold Paul or Arnod Paole" by Johannes Fluckinger. This wasn't really a story so much as a real life account of an Austrian soldier documenting the state of some bodies in a small village. It is more of note since it was a case where the Austrians were confirming the presence of vampires. This is not a story but a real report. The present day explanation is described as a lack of understanding on how a body decomposes but it is an interesting and very brief read. Reading the Wikipedia page on Arnold Paole will give a nice summation of this account.

Carrie by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published April 1975 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 1, 1980
• unreviewed

Carrion by Gary Brandner

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1986 (Fawcett Gold Medal paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 1, 1989
• unreviewed

A Case of Need by Michael Crichton

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• Published July 1969 (Signet Book paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 05, 2004
• Despite this book being slightly dated, I really enjoyed it. The story is about a doctor who starts out trying to help a fellow doctor who was arrested for performing illegal abortions (the book is based before Roe v. Wade) and who ends up solving a mystery. I liked how we followed the doctor around and he kept trying the only things that he knew to try. Sometimes he got lucky and was successful. Other times nothing. Either way though it was extremely realistic as to the actions. Plus to add to the realism, Crichton kept giving us footnotes and even appendixes on various medical terms and practices. It reminded me of the level of technical depth that Tom Clancy gives in his novels. It also gives a pretty good insight into how doctor's think and thus makes the characters even more real. This might be one of Crichton's first books but it still reads quite well years later.

Casket For Sale (Only Used Once) by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2005 (Mundania Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 23, 2008
• unreviewed

Castaways by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2011 (Deadite Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 14, 2012
• From the start, this book is very much an homage to Richard Laymon. The style, plot, and actions all follow what you would find in a Laymon novel. Keene uses the Afterword to explain some of the history behind the idea moving from short story to novel; you can read those details yourself in the book. I will state that as a fan of both Laymon and Keene, I loved the book! The story follows a reality show cast as they proceed through their daily challenges. Not realizing of course that their challenges are about to get more serious and involve a lot more reality. The show, naturally called Castaways, is a close copy of Survivor where contestants are put on a deserted island and then vote someone off every couple of days. The problem ends up being that the island is not that deserted. A tribe of devolved, more-animal-than-human creatures are already on the island and they view the contestants as food or procreation hosts. The action all took place in a 24-hour period which helped me to speed through the reading of the book. Things kept happening and I didn't want to put the book down. Maybe some of the minor characters weren't flushed out as much as they could be but they matched the same stereotypes that you would see in a typical reality show. In fact, one of the characters in the book even points that out and compares each character to their stereotype. You can't really get too much more specific about how the characters are supposed to act than that. A very fun read and one that should not be missed by horror fans.

The Castle of Los Angeles by Lisa Morton

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2012 (Cemetery Dance Publications ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on October 18, 2025
• unreviewed

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2001 (Back Bay Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 1, 2022
• unreviewed

Cell by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2006 (Scribner hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on May 09, 2006
• It seems like even Stephen King can't avoid the zombie trend. Rather than tying them into the appearance of a comet or whatever from the George Romero school of zombies, King ties them into a signal sent from cell phones. The cell phone connection makes the novel a decent commentary about technology and technophobes and becomes a direct comparison to Romero's consumerism in "Dawn of the Dead." And since a signal emitting from cell phones to create the zombies/monsters is more a sign of intelligence than a random comet, the stories has a slightly more sinister source. This sinister source is never probed too deeply though; instead King focuses on the story to be told and leaves that aspect a mystery. The story focuses on Clayton Riddell who survives The Pulse (as the zombie-creating cell phone signal becomes named) and who travels across states to his son. Oh yeah, and to his estranged wife also. While some look at the story as another end-of-the-world story, akin to THE STAND, I see the story as a mirror image of Brian Keene's THE RISING. The story has the same premise (dad makes it across states to rescue son from newly formed zombies). Similar events even happen to the protagonists in each story. However, King's story is a cleaner and slightly safer world than the gritty, hard-edged world in THE RISING. Is this bad? Not at all. It means that if you like things with an intensity and gruesome streak in them, you should read THE RISING. If not, stick with King's novel instead.

The Cellar by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published 1980 (Headline Book Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 05, 2004
• Despite it being published a while ago, this is another top notch book by Laymon. I'm not positive but I think that this is the first of his Beast House novels. Here we get the introduction to the house and the murders that were committed there. And of course, a reveal of the beast that committed these murders. We have the usual strong characters, the usual intensely exciting story and the usual no-holds barred story telling. The only negative, and it's the same negative with all his books, is that it is over way too quickly. As usual, I'll continue to buy all his novels that get reprinted here in the states.

Cemetery Dance Magazine

• Find it here
• Published bi-monthly by Cemetery Dance Publications
• If you don't know who Cemetery Dance is or if you haven't read any of their magazines, you need to fix that ASAP. They are a foundation of the horror market with both an irregularly published magazine and a publication company that puts out a good number of books a year, usually with a limited print run and signed. I don't remember if they were my gateway into the horror limited book market or not but they definitely feed my habit on a regular basis. I highly recommend buying books from them. You won't be disappointed.

  "The Riders" by Bentley Little - Published in Cemetery Dance #36
  A new prejudice learns from the ways of an old one

  "Catcall" by Steve Vernon - Published in Cemetery Dance #36
  A good ghost story about killing and protecting

  "It's In The Bag" by Thomas F. Monteleone - Published in Cemetery Dance #36
  A normal guy waiting for a plane reacts to an bizarre and deadly situation

  "The Panic Switch" by Jay Bonansinga - Published in Cemetery Dance #39
  A bounty hunter is asked to find a demon that possessed a young boy

  "Badgetree" by Geoff Cooper - Published in Cemetery Dance #39
  A man gives the history of three trees on his land

  "Solitaire" by Kathryn Ptacek - Published in Cemetery Dance #40
  A woman discovers that her husband is cheating, dies and then gets revenge.

  "The Loneliest Night of the Week" by Ed Gorman - Published in Cemetery Dance #43
  Not exactly horror but still a story about a faulty marriage that will chill you.

  "Clarissa" by Hugh B. Cave - Published in Cemetery Dance #43
  An unborn baby helps to find a serial killer.

  "For Sylvia" by David Niall Wilson - Published in Cemetery Dance #46
  Although it could have been proofread a little better, at one point Sylvia is called Shirley sparking confusion on my side, this was a story that was doing great and creeping me out until the end when it wimped out.

  "Bad Weather" by Dominick Cancilla - Published in Cemetery Dance #50
  A quick but gripping story about a man cheating on his wife with his sister-in-law.

  "A Better Place" by Ray Garton - Published in Cemetery Dance #50
  A story about a man with inoperable brain cancer, a desire to do good and a gun.

  "Just Out of Reach" by Gary A. Braunbeck - Published in Cemetery Dance #50
  A man selling his house gets some interesting pictures from the appraiser.

  "Outrage" by Stephen Laws - Published in Cemetery Dance #51
  Easily one of the most intense, painful and scary stories that I've ever read. Better not to say anything and have you read the story without me giving anything away.

The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2019 (Audible Studios audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on April 22, 2024
• unreviewed

The Chancellor Manuscript by Robert Ludlum

• Purchase it here
• Published February 1978 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 28, 1981
• unreviewed

Changing of Faces by Tim Lebbon

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2004 (PS Publishing paperback signed and numbered edition)
• Finished reading it on August 05, 2009
• At only 98 pages, this book qualifies more as a novella than a full length novel. While the book is light in pages, it is not light in story. Jack is a 12-year-old who is trying to survive with his father and a small group of others. While the group has survived the weeks of being attacked by the living dead, they are now facing a new fear of giant, hungry animals. While it sounds a little weird (and it is a bit), it flows with the story. No real explanation is provided as to why it happens; we just get to read about the effects. While it was enjoyable, the story itself was a tad predictable. Not everything but when an action would occur, I was able to guess the next big step that would follow. And then due to its short length, we don't get to spend enough time with the characters to become that much vested in their lives. The book was an enjoyable read but it left me wanting more. Fortunately I have other full length novels by Lebbon that I can turn to and read.

A Chapbook for Burnt-out Priests, Rabbis, and Ministers by Ray Bradbury

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2001 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on June 05, 2010
• Despite the title, I wasn't too sure of what I would find inside this book. I was thinking various short stories focusing on priests, rabbis and ministers on other planets. Something very science fiction based but also including religions. I was wrong. It was exactly what the title says: a collection of poems, verse, essays, story fragments and more meant to give hope and re-energize religious personnel who are burnt out. Religion generally plays a very small part in my life so I was definitely not part of the target audience. Maybe because of that, I did not enjoy the book. As I started reading through the book, I was hoping for some fables with a moral ending. Similar to Aesop's Fables but by Bradbury instead. Something more interesting than the rambling that it appeared to be. Here too I was met with disappointment. There were a few writing segments that almost reached an interesting point but even these were too closely aligned with a priest's homily for me to stay interested. I'm not sure if the book hits the mark for its target audience but it definitely did not with me. The only good thing for me was that the book was part of a grab bag that had other good items. I'm looking at it as a freebie I didn't like within a bag of stuff I did.

Chariot by Charles L. Grant

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2000 (Tor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 03, 2001
• This is book three of Grant's Millennium Quartet; the other two were SYMPHONY and IN THE MOOD. And like book two, I didn't really enjoy this book all that much. It wasn't bad but there really wasn't anything in it to really call out and make it good. This time the story follows Trey, a gambler living near Las Vegas who is able to tap in to the ability to talk with machines, rocks, things; Trey then uses this ability to win at the slot machines. Of course, he has a troublesome past and must face horseman number three: Plague. The problem was that there wasn't too much more to the story than that. I felt that it moved too slow, not enough happened and the most interesting thing was a mysterious couple that was never really explained, leaving me with a sense of incompleteness. Now this one did set a lot of things up for the final book so all my questions might be answered there, and from the set up it appears pretty promising. We'll just have to wait and see.

Charlie the Choo-Choo by Beryl Evans (a.k.a. Stephen King)

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2016 (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on August 5, 2017
• Normally I wouldn't review a children's book. Nothing against them but it doesn't seem quite right due to me not being the "true" target audience, the speed the books can be read, the smaller attention span of their target audience, and the lack of character and story development. Writing a children's book is definitely different than writing a horror novel; reviewing them in the same manner isn't really fair. Since I have children, I obviously have read more than a handful but let's stick to the hard truth: the reason that I'm reviewing this book is because it was written by Stephen King. The story involves Charlie the Choo-Choo from the Dark Tower series and tells a little about his history. As a children's book, the book works. It follows the traditional story flow and is not scary or spooky. If you read the text only, then the story is absolutely appropriate for children. It's when paired with the pictures by Ned Dameron that the story gets creepy. Charlie the Choo-Choo looks just off enough to be creepy. The coloring is also not vibrant nor happy; it adds to the creepy factor. And then there is the more subtle items like the children off the train are happy and smiling but the children on the train are crying and sad. Most kids should like the book but I don't see it becoming one of their favorites. (Neither my 10 year old nor my 4 year old were taken by the book, pun not intended.) Fans of the Dark Tower series will enjoy it but keep in mind that at 24 pages of a children's book, it's not filling in any gaps in the mythos. Instead it's providing a small splash of color to one of the characters.

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2021 (Simon & Schuster Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on August 6, 2022
• unreviewed

Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2016 (Sinister Grin Press ebook edition))
• Finished reading it on February 12, 2020
• Over the years, I've built my To Be Read list into a pretty large list. Right now, it's at 555 unread books and it keeps growing. As such, I've been trying to shrink my list lately by, in part, not finding new authors to follow. Unfortunately, Janz is not helping me here. I keep enjoying his books and wanting more. CHILDREN OF THE DARK continues his streak of solidly entertaining books. Will Burgess has some of the usual problems of a teenage boy: bullies, a crush he hasn't pursued, and doing well on his baseball team. But then he also has a unique set of problems: a dad he's never seen, a mother with drug problems, and an escaped serial killer loose in his town. Plus, there's something else loose. Something more monstrous and dangerous. Will finds himself trapped between the serial killer and the monsters with only a few people willing to help him. One of the great things about the book was how much Janz got across the feel of being a teenager. The mindset and view of the world was 100% right in my mind. I very much felt like I was young again and experiencing the same feelings. In fact, right in the middle of one of those scenes where I was sucked into the drama of being a teenager, the abduction occurred. It was a total shock to me and gave me chills. The rest of the book wasn't as shocking, but it was still engaging. There were a few characters (the local police) who were a bit cliche but not overly so; the character also developed by the end of the story, so the change was a welcome event. There was also one plot element that was very easy to predict; I'm not going to say what but if you read the book, you'll probably figure it out too. None of that detracted me from my enjoyment of the story. The only unfortunate part is that I must admit that I am addicted: Janz is now a new favorite author to follow.

Chills by Mary SanGiovanni

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2017 (Crossroad Press audiobook edition))
• Finished reading it on July 23, 2020
• I suppose I should start this review by confessing that I'm not a huge fan of cosmic horror. So why then did I go ahead and read a cosmic horror novel? I think two reasons. First, I had recently read Stephen King's short story "N." and liked it. I knew this would be different, but I was feeling lucky. Second, I like SanGiovanni's writing. I'm not always a fan of the horror she presents but her writing and development and storytelling are all good. I want to like her more but just cannot quite get pulled into the story as much as I want or hope. In CHILLS, the town of Colby, Connecticut is hit be a freak snowstorm in May. Schools and businesses are closing due to the storm but Detective Jack Glazier has a murder that needs to be investigated. A murder with ritualistic aspects. This means bringing in Kathy Ryan, a paranormal detective/investigator. In short order, the snowstorm is revealed to have monsters hiding within the snow flurries. Kathy, Jack, and the rest of Jack's team amazingly take it in stride as they hunt to determine the cause before things get worse. This book is the first of at least four Kathy Ryan books. I'm not sure if she has appeared elsewhere in SanGiovanni's mythos but enough history was revealed about the character that she could have. There were numerous references to previous cases and monsters that she faced down. More than enough to establish her as a well-developed character. The four main characters are all well-developed. The problem for me was that no one else in the book seemed to be. Well, I will add Kathy Ryan's brother but that's it. As the creatures went around town killing people, there was no real scare for me. The victims were introduced with the purpose of being killed. The main characters were too well-developed to be killed. The suspense of who lives and who dies was missing. I did enjoy the magical elements mixed into a cosmic horror story. It was a nice way of adding some control into a situation where unknown horrors released through dimensional portals generally means no controls. While I enjoyed the story, I don't think I'm going to be hunting down the next few books about Kathy Ryan any time soon. As I mentioned above, I'm not a huge cosmic horror fan. I keep trying it to see if I can find one I like or if my tastes have changed. Instead, I find that the novel was a good book, well-written, just not really for me. I know that I'll try again at some point but until then, I'll stick with other types of horror.

The Chinese Beetle by Brian Keene

• No longer available
• Published June 2016 (Thunderstorm Books chapbook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 15, 2016
• Having just devoured THE LOST LEVEL, I was lucky and glad to have another adventure of Aaron Pace queued up to be read. The only sad thing was that the story was chapbook length and not novel length. More of an apertif rather than a whole meal. Or if you can wait long enough, an appetizer for the pending sequel of the novel. For those unin the know, Aaron Pace has become stuck in a different dimension. In the before, he figured out how to open doors to different worlds and alternate realities. Then one day while exploring, he got stuck on the Lost Level: quoting the story "a place where the flotsam and jetsam of space and time wash up from across the shores of the multiverse." In this now of the adventure, Aaron and Kasheena, his mate, are on a hunting trip when they encounter a metal monster. I won't spoil the story but I will say that hilarity does not ensue. Due to the short length of a chapbook, you can't get the complex development of a character arc that you will in a novel; however, I still think there is plenty here with which to identify and to connect. And just like in THE LOST LEVEL, Keene mixes in some real world pop culture that is a bit obscure but still real. And here I mean when Keene is referencing The Black Lagoon Bugle which you can also read about in David J. Schow's chapbook WATER MUSIC. I hope that Keene stays energized and thrilled or just plain continues to enjoy writing about Aaron Pace because I look forward to the next tale from the Lost Level.

Choice Of Evil by Andrew Vachss

• Purchase it here
• Published 1999 (hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on May 27, 2001
• Book 11 of the Burke novels
  Yet one more novel of Burke's life that keeps us turning pages and thrilled. While Andrew Vachss continues to put out excellent book after excellent book, he seems to have begun a trend. This trend is that within the novel itself there is another second story that is told completely through another medium. I don't remember the other book that did this but in this one the story is told by a serial kidnapper/killer who sends the "chapters" via e-mail. It is kind of distracting from the entire novel because most of the activity ends up taking place in the internal story and not within Burke's world. In fact Burke just seems there to tie up the loose ends from the story. Now the story is still thrilling and in fact everything leading up to the beginning of the story is the usual hardcore crime noir material. And I would still highly recommend this because even on a bad day, Vachss is still better than 98% of the stuff out there. But I would like it if the story within a story stuff stopped.

A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2004 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 9, 2009
• All the books that I've read so far of Piccirilli are pretty straight forward with regards to the story and the action that takes place. Events unfold directly and quickly. Until now. With A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN, Piccirilli follows a style very similar to Tim Lebbon: there's more symbolism, the sequence of events aren't always obvious and things are a tad surreal. None of that is bad though. Piccirilli presents it all in a method that is very much his own and makes it fun to enjoy. Besides, Piccirilli's Southern Gothic is a long way from Lebbon's UK-based novels. Thomas and his conjoined triplet brothers who share a single brain live in a house in the swamp-infested county of Kingdom Come. When a Northern film student comes down to make a documentary of his brothers, Thomas finds himself becoming the focus of several granny witches as a wide range of characters make Thomas's life more and more interesting. I partly want to mention several of the characters but am finding a brief description of them too difficult and not fair to who they are. Some you'll like, others you'll feel sorry for and others will confuse you. The discovery of who they are and the choices they make are what makes this novel great. Piccirilli's writing here is different from his other work such as THE COLD SPOT and HEADSTONE CITY but it is still highly recommended.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2002 (Anchor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 15, 2003
• The easiest and quickest way to describe CHOKE is using a common SAT-type statement. Violence is to FIGHT CLUB as sex is to CHOKE. A lot of similarities can be made between the two books but I didn't really see any of them until I finished it. At first I was just following Victor Mancini as he went through his world of sex addiction, a dying and demented mother, and a job of recreating colonial times for 4th graders. Most of the time my thoughts were how surreal this world was, how strange and whacked out his mother was even when she was healthy, and how demented even Victor himself was. But then meaning is found for his actions. And he's not just doing these things for no reason but in order to feel needed. And his mother is not that crazy because she is trying to show him that he can create his own world and not be forced to accept what others define. And other characters who have been defined are changed and new definitions must be formed. So instead of not knowing where the story is going or even how it will end, the events and characters suddenly take on new depth as a whole new deeper layer is revealed. And we the readers are left thinking how smart the mother was, how what Victor was doing was different but normal. And how brilliant Palahniuk is for being able to turn out another de-constructive world that is engrossing.

The Chosen by Edward Lee

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2010 (Hard Gore Press hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 300 copies Collectors Edition)
• Finished reading it on June 1, 2024
• My timing for reading this book was accidentally awkward and funny. I was traveling with my mother and she saw the title of the book. She asked about it, thinking it was going to be something from the TV series about the life of Jesus Christ. It was still early in the book so the story was still being built up, but knowing Edward Lee, I answered my mother with "Actually kind of the opposite. Nothing much has happened yet but I'm sure there will be demons, sex, violent deaths and maybe cannibalism." Luckily, she knows my reading habit and answered with "Oh" and went back to her own book. As for the book itself, it lives up to expectations. Not the most graphic book by Lee but by no means is it calm. It took a little to build up but not in a bad way. More in a "wow, this final act is going to happen fast!" kind of way.

Christine by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1983 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 1, 1986
• unreviewed

City Infernal by Edward Lee

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2002 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 21, 2003
• As the first novel by Lee that I read, I will have to say that he does just as good as all of his short stories. It's something to very much enjoy and seek out. I know that I will be seeking out some of this other books. This one involves Cassie, a goth teenager from DC with a twin sister who committed suicide. In their escape from DC and the tragedy there, Cassie and her father unknowingly move to a house on a Deadpass, a place where the dead can pass between the real world and Hell. Cassie discovers this out at the same time that she realizes that she has unknown powers that allow her to travel to Hell. Wanting forgiveness and understanding from her sister, Cassie joins up with three souls trapped in Hell and visits the city of Hell, an city that evolved at the same speed as humans in the real world. Now that might sound like a lot of co-incidence and maybe too much to take but it really doesn't come across quite that bad in the novel. It all flows and makes sense. But if you are afraid of being overwhelmed, then there is another reason to not read this book: it supplies horror on top of horror, enough to be quite graphic. Considering that they are visiting Hell and all of its methods of tortures, it only makes sense. The only thing that I didn't really like about this book is all the deus ex machina. There were too many incidents of a power or ability being presented just as it was needed. I understand that Lee was setting up many of the rules as to how Hell operates but it came across as too convenient. The real story though is Cassie's growth from an ignored teen through depression and then into acceptance of who she can be. And that is done brilliantly.

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2016 (Random House Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on December 9, 2025
• Book #3 of The Passage Trilogy
  unreviewed

City of Sixes, The by Edward Lee

• Published 2008 (Necro Publications chapbook signed, numbered and limited to 250 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on March 5, 2015
• I received this chapbook as a freebie from Necro Publications to accompany my purchase of GHOULS, also by Edward Lee. At fifteen pages, it is not long enough to go into as detailed of a story as compared to Lee's other stories about Mephistopolis. Instead the story focuses on the arrival of Slydes to the city of Hell. While overwhelmed he is met shortly after arriving by Andeen, his Orientation Directress. Slydes remains overwhelmed as any new entrant would be even during her descriptions of the atrocities he views. But what truly makes the story enjoyable is when Andeen flirts with the fourth wall, comparing their importance in the grand scheme of things as nothing more than a prologue in a novel. That instantly elevated the enjoyment of an already good story. And to take it to the next level, this is actually the prologue to the novella THE SENARY which can be found in the collection INFERNALLY YOURS.

City of the Dead by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2005 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 09, 2006
• You would hardly think that Keene would be able to outdo himself from THE RISING but he did. This book is more gruesome, more gripping and more action packed than his previous book. This novel starts off exactly where THE RISING ended, so much so that it changes the ending but more on that in a minute. Jim Thurmond is able to get to and rescue his son Danny from the zombies that have taken over the world. They're really demon spirits from Siqqusim who have escaped the Void and are reanimating dead bodies in order to blasphemy God's creations and thus annoy Him but now I'm being technical. Anyway, Jim, Frankie and Martin rescue Danny and continue their journey across New England in an attempt to avoid the zombies. It doesn't take long though before they are rescued from a zombie attack and brought to New York City, a city of millions of dead with one safe building. The characters in this sequel are much less developed and it definitely helps to have read THE RISING before starting CITY OF THE DEAD. Together they are sort of like the movies Alien and Aliens. The first one establishes the characters, shows you the monster and creates the rules that must be followed. The second one takes those items, mixes in a healthy dose of non-stop action and delivers a kick ass story. The whole second half of the book is part of the grand finale; it's that long. Getting back to the earlier aspect of CITY OF THE DEAD changing the ending of THE RISING. The first part leaves you with the clear idea that Jim founded his son dead or zombified and forced to kill him. Obviously since I mentioned that Danny was rescued, that did not happen. I went back and checked and Keene did not break with the actual ending he had written; maybe the spirit of what he wrote but that also assumes a cynical view on the part of the readers and not a positive, hopeful one. I would have given him some minus points for that but the ending of CITY OF THE DEAD is so powerful and depressing yet hopeful that he earns back anything I would have taken. And this ending is spelled out rather than left to the reader's imagination.

The Cleanup by Sean Doolittle

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2006 (Dell Book paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 13, 2011
• Doolittle has written another awesome novel that is full of rich characters and complicated events out of simple situations. He is really good at capturing the chaos that can arise out of a small start. In this case Officer Matthew Worth is finishing up a divorce and working probationary duty at a local supermarket. Worth's flirtations with Gwen, the checkout clerk at the supermarket, complicate his life when she turns to him for help with her dead boyfriend. Like a lie that must be defended with another lie, Worth's decisions on how to help lead him into first bad and then worse situations. When things finally come to a boil, Worth finally makes some good but painful decisions. Doolittle has brought us a suspenseful novel about decisions and consequences as portrayed by someone who knows better but who forgets to act better. That was one of the things that I both liked and disliked. Worth made decisions that were questionable, to say the least, and which made me wonder. But then Worth would even admit to himself that he didn't know why he did things which made him more human in my eyes. Who among us has not made some decision that we look back at and wonder why we were so stupid? I just hope that for all of us that it did not involve a dead body. In case I was not obvious enough, highly recommended.

Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2008 (Delirium Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 25, 2010
• I've been slowing adding Gonzalez to my must read list and this book has cemented him there. Not so much because this was a deep or super scary book but because it was pure fun and nostalgia done right: entertaining, engaging and not too cheesy. CLICKERS follows Rick Sychek, a horror author who moves to Phillipsport, Maine for some peace and quiet before he starts his next novel; a move the reader just knows is not going to end well. After some time to get to know our characters, the town quickly becomes overrun by giant crab-like creatures that have monstrous razor claws and an acidic stinger to liquefy their prey before eating it. After miscellaneous deaths and fighting off the monsters, the townsfolk realize the "clickers" are really running away from another even more horrible creature called "the dark ones." Yes, the story sounds like an updated version of numerous creature feature movies but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of reading it. The gore and thrills and deaths you expect are all there, but so are characters real enough to care about what happens to them. We do get a chance to learn about the characters and feel their pain. It's even made worse when they realize the clickers are simply running from a worse creature and the deaths aren't personal. It's one story that you will definitely enjoy reading. When you finish and want more, there are two sequels you can hunt down to continue the adventures.

Clickers II: The Next Wave by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published 2007 (Delirium Books hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 500 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on April 3, 2013
• Like all good grade B movies, the original CLICKERS novel gets a sequel in the form of CLICKERS II: THE NEXT WAVE. Unlike most sequels though, the story here is just as good as the first one. It is about ten years after the events in the first book. The government has tried covering up the event at Phillipsport. The truth has been left to conspiracy theorist as all the survivors from that day have been killed or are permanently in hiding. With a familiar catalyst, a hurricane strikes the East Coast and brings with it clickers that are bigger, stronger and more vicious than what was seen before. Mixed in with some new characters such as a religiously fanatic President and marine biologist at the right spot are some familiar characters from the first book. And as before, the characters are really the driving force behind the book. There are the typical victims who are going to die but then the others are the ones that keep you cheering to survive or even booing to die. No matter what way you look at it, the book is pure fun and will be enjoyed! In the time between me finishing the first book and me getting to this book, Gonzalez and Keene have added a fourth book in the series, so I still have two more sequels to read. Yay!

Clickers III: Dagon Rising by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2010 (Delirium Books hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 300 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on August 14, 2013
• I love that the Clickers series is continuing. It's a fun, nostalgic trip while also being a modern story so it doesn't feel old. I also love that Keene is making the story part of his mythos, guaranteeing that we will see some of the same characters again. When last we left the clickers, the United States had overthrown the President in order to have the armed forces come together and push back the Dark Ones' attack. Subsequently we find out that raids were made and many clickers and Dark Ones were killed afterwards. And while we also find out that a military-centric government doesn't seem to work as well with no clickers attacking, it is almost immaterial to the heart of this book. The action focuses on Tony Genova and the attempt by the Dark Ones to release Dagon from his watery world. The clicker attacks are limited to a single island which has a gateway to their god's world. Once released, Dagon will flood the Earth and destroy mankind. Trying to stop that is the ultimate in conspiracy theory and Men in Black agencies, the Black Lodge. They need to recruit Tony Genova to come to the island and stop disaster. Fortunately, Tony's love connection Dr. Jennifer Wasco is on the island and in need of being rescued. The theme of this book has changed from the previous two Clicker novels in that it is more than simply survive and stop a violent attack from the clickers and Dark Ones. But in reality, the style had to change. Repeating the same violence again and again, even while escalating it, runs the risk of being formulaic and boring. Now the story has ultra-secret government agencies, psychic powers, old gods and ancient prophecies thrown into the mix. While taking things to the next level, I thought it fit. But I could also understand if someone wanted a bit more reality to their story. Which is kind of funny when talking about giant lobster-scorpions with poisonous stingers but I digress. I thought the story worked and found it extremely enjoyable. New fans should go back to CLICKERS and start there but current fans should enjoy it immediately.

Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol. 1 by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published June 1986 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 15, 1989
• unreviewed

Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol. 2 by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1986 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 1, 1989
• unreviewed

Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol. 3 by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published October 1986 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 15, 1989
• unreviewed

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2020 (HarperTeen ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on January 4, 2021
• This is Cesare's first young-adult novel but to be honest, I'm not exactly sure why it is considered a young-adult novel. My wife and I discussed the topic for a while. She says that CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD qualifies since the story focuses on teenagers as the protagonist; the quantity of death, mayhem, and violence don't have an impact. My thought was that to qualify, a book should reduce the amount of violence compared to a "regular" adult book in addition to the story centering on a teenager. We both agreed that the lack of sex scenes helps make it YA. I suppose it doesn't really matter so long as the story is good; young-adult becomes one more label to apply. The good thing here is that Cesare has succeeded again in writing an exciting and entertaining story. Quinn Maybrook has moved with her dad to the small town of Kettle Springs. They are hoping to leave behind the trauma of their old lives and restart. Quinn quickly gets pulled into the drama of the small town; the conflict between the adults who want the small town life and the kids who want to welcome the world. Mix in a killer clown and the story is now complete. Without giving anything away, the identity of the killer clown isn't really kept a secret for long, but then, this book isn't a murder mystery. It's a horror book. And like any good horror book, the theme reaches beyond the deaths that occur. In this case, the theme is the clash between young and old. The stress that each gives to the other. About living in the past and wanting things to stay that way forever or moving forward in the world and accepting the changes that occur. Quinn has to deal with this via the move from her old life and the death of her mother into a new life in a small town. It's her father's way of forcing both of them to move forward. People in Kettle Springs though yearn for the good, old days when the town flourished and thrived. It's easier for those adults to blame cell phones and streaming than to accept the changes. And who embraces cell phones and new technology? Teenagers. Thus, the target of blame. Going back to my original question, I suppose this is what helps make it a YA novel. Not only does it focus on teenagers but it is about them getting picked on by the adults, about facing down the adults, about defeating old age.

ClownFellas: Tales of the Bozo Family by Carlton Mellick III

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2015 (Hydra ebook edition, Advanced Reading Copy)
• Finished reading it on July 23, 2015
• I've seen and been interested in several books by Carlton Mellick III. I even have two of his books on my To Get list: APESHIT and ZOMBIES AND SHIT. However, I hadn't previously read any of his books. So when I was given the chance to review an Advanced Reading Copy of one of his books, I jumped at it. And I am very glad that I did. CLOWNFELLAS is an excellent book! And even better, it was more like six books in one. The book is broken down into six different, standalone but also connected sections; each section focuses on a specific person or clown. Each person is connected to the Bozo family: a criminal family that is controlling part of New York City. However, rather than an Italian or Russian mafia where the common factor is nationality, in this case the family is made up of clowns. These clowns have more in common with the clown from IT than they do with the Ringling Bros. Circus. When injected into a person, a new drug called Happy Juice would transform the person into a full-fledged clown. Changing hair color, skin color and other aspects. But 10% of the time the person's mind and body would become malformed and distorted, making the person a Sideshow Freak. That is the setting for the six stories. Other than that, the stories are pretty normal stories involving a mafia family. After being blackmailed an outsider gets pulled into the family for his own protection. A Capo who creates more problems than he solves gets away with murder because he's the boss's son. Associates are framed. An assassin goes on a rampage. But the wonderful thing with all the stories is that we really care about what happens to each person. The bizarre aspect of clowns being a mafia family is just the setting. It is the characters in the story that makes the book great. We care about Pinky Smiles being framed and want him to discover who and why. We want Bingo Ballbreaker to get Melinda back. And even though Uncle Jojo gets what he deserves, we still feel sorry for him. It's kind of similar to a good science fiction story in that the rules of the story get defined as the book progresses but in reality it is the characters and their personal growth that drives our interest. I am very much looking forward to reading my next Carlton Mellick III book.

Cold Blue Midnight by Ed Gorman

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1998 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 29, 2001
• This was definitely a thrill ride of a novel. And one that I greatly enjoyed, even more so considering that most of the books I've been reading lately have been slow and tedious. The novel follows Jill Coffey, a photographer and ex-wife to Peter Tapley who was a rich millionaire that liked murdering women. Jill's life take the proverbial turn for the worse when Peter Tapley's mother tries to get revenge on Jill because it was Jill's fault that Peter became a murderer. Yes, the logic there is twisted but then so is the mother. And for that matter, so are many of the characters. Gorman does a superb job of showing us just how twisted most of the characters are; they are very much alive and able to be pictured in your mind. The only negative that I found with the novel was that one of the detectives was allowed to investigate a case in which he had a personal involvement. Having worked at a police department before and from countless tv shows and movies, I know that this would definitely not happen. A minor point though that does not take away from the novel. Definitely one that I would recommend.

Cold Fire by Dean R. Koontz

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1991 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 31, 1994
• unreviewed

Cold In July by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• Published July 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 14, 1999
• While this is a pretty thin novel, it still packs a hell of a punch in addition to a lot of surprises. It starts off with a simple premise of a Richard Dane shooting and killing a burglar who breaks in to his home. But then it keeps adding one more step after step, until the whole thing cumulates in to an ending very unlike what you would expect. And rather than seeming weird or totally outrageous, the entire story is quite plausible. I found myself identifying with the Dane throughout most of the story and realizing that I probably would be making the same decisions. Kind of scary considering everything that happens in it. Don't pass this up; it may be a quick read but it is quite thrilling.

The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2008 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 28, 2008
• Before this book Piccirilli was still on my "heard a lot of good but not sure I'll follow him quite yet" list. Now though, he's on my must follow list of authors. This story is intense, hard hitting and not something to be missed. Orphaned at a young age, Chase is raised by his grandfather Jonah to be a getaway driver and live a life of crime. Chase has no problem with this until one day when Jonah kills someone in their crew. Chase then goes solo and lives his own life until one day when he needs his grandfather's abilities. The story involves the search for how a person fits into life, love, revenge, facing the past and then to make it fun, cops and robbers. The book is next to impossible to put down; you just want to keep reading and reading. All the characters are engaging and very easy to picture. And while the plot is a bit predictable, all of the elements that are built around it are not. Trust me and pick this book up and read it. You won't be sorry.

The Coldest Mile by Tom Piccirilli

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2009 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 6, 2014
• This is Piccirilli's second book involving Chase, a thief and getaway driver. The first THE COLD SPOT was awesome! A hard to put down novel that sucked you in. Fortunately THE COLDEST MILE is equally strong. The action picks up shortly after the end of THE COLD SPOT. Chase is recovering from his injuries and still dealing with the emotional aspects of what happened. However, he also has a goal, a goal reinforced by the ghosts of his loved ones who have died. The goal: to rescue his grandfather's daughter, Kylie, from being raised in a life of crime by his amoral grandfather. To finance that goal, Chase has a score in mind of robbing a weakening and dysfunctional crime family. Once he scores the money, then he'll hunt his criminal grandfather and rescue Kylie. The book is moody, brutal and addictive! The action is equally intense as the previous book but at the same time it almost seems subdued. Chase is dealing with issues and problems that take up most of his attention. So the action becomes almost secondary to a lot of what is happening to him. But this also means that Chase is not thinking about what he is doing and making mistakes. It is these mistakes and the brutal bursts of action combined with Chase's emotional turmoil that suck us in. We can't turn away from watching someone hurt and try to do something about it. And having the whole book be retro-pulp noir set in today makes it even more enthralling. A fact that even Chase acknowledges when he notes his "throwback mentality" for using the term strongarm. This time the story is about love and moving on and having to continue to face life. A fact that slaps us across the face at the end of the book. There were revelations made at the end that totally flipped the story and left me aching for more. There is obviously more story beyond this book. Most likely one more novel to complete the trilogy. According to Wikipedia, it is tentatively titled THE COLD AND THE DEAD with no release date planned. I hope that Piccirilli doesn't forget about writing it because I know that I will snag it up in an instant.

Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2002 (HarperTorch paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 25, 2003
• This book left me disappointed in two different ways. The first was that there was not quite enough expose in the story. I remember when it was just being released and announced there was a buzz that the book was going to cause an upheaval in Hollywood because of the way some people were portrayed. Plus one interview had Barker mentioning that he had to specifically remove someone's name to avoid a lawsuit. Well, what was included in the book was hardly worth mentioning; sure, it could have been taken the wrong way but it was a case of the buzz being more news worthy than the real story was. The second thing that disappointed me and is more integral to the story was that I was under-impressed by the book. The book wasn't bad nor uninteresting. It just didn't hold my attention as much as I hoped. It was good just not riveting. The story probably could have ended 100 or so pages before it did, if you read the book, you know where I mean. And then there's the whole section on the death of the dog which was more touching than most of the rest of the book. While I understand that it was probably very cathartic for Barker to write, it didn't seem to fit into the overall story that well. None of this is big enough to avoid the book but just stuff to keep in mind so your hopes don't get raised too much.

The Collection by Bentley Little

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2002 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 14, 2003
• As the title proudly proclaims, this book is a collection of short stories by Bentley Little, in this case 32 short stories. Considering that these stories are squished into 449 pages, it guarantees that no one story is going to be that long. In fact, at times it was like reading the short stories by Andrew Vachss: wham, bam, done, next. Ah, but were any of the stories good and/or worthwhile? Amazingly I found almost all the stories were really good. I'm not trying to put down Little by saying "amazingly"; it's just that normally in a collection like this I would expect to find 10-15% really good, 50-60% of decent and the rest would be stinkers. This is practically a best of collection because I found 90% of the stories to be really good and the rest to be decent. No stinkers at all! The only thing I found wrong with the book was a printing issue. Rather than the title of the book, the pages should have had the title of the short story. It makes it much easier to flip around and find the stories again. If you like short stories, this is the book to get! And if you like Little, this is a must have! Unfortunately my wife who does like Little hates short stories and will be missing out. Below are some exceptional favorites.

  "Estoppel" - A man discovers the power of speech

  "The Washingtonians" - A fun look at a secret government society who must keep George Washington's secret

  "Bob" - Brandon finds himself taking an unexpected job

  "Confessions of a Corporate Man" - Moving up the corporate ladder is more difficult and deadly than you thought

  "Maya's Mother" - A noir detective story about a mother's revenge

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2005 (Hard Case paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 27, 2005
• This is King's first book written since his announced retirement. I will admit that when I first heard him announce his retirement, I scoffed. As if someone who was so prolific a writer would be able to turn off the flow of ideas and stop writing. And when I heard the announcement for this book, it just proved my point. Since then though I've read an article that talked about his retirement being more along the lines of not committing to any books and being able to essentially write at leisure instead of to a deadline. When I heard that, retirement made more sense and was something more palatable with my image of King. That said, how's this first leisure book? It's not his best work but it is an incredibly quick read. While a mystery novel, it's more about the characters, their investigation and how their student reacts to the lesson being taught. In other words, the final solution is not present. The two reporters relating the story even mention this at the beginning as they discuss their unsolved mystery. Of course, I was thinking that their reporter-in-training would somehow solve it. Instead about half way through, I realized that the book was too small and the story happening too fast for anything to be solved except in some sort of unbelievable duex es machina that would ring completely false. Did this make the ending of the novel and the unsolved puzzle any easier? No, but as the characters point out, life itself doesn't have clean endings most of the time. Besides the true ending of the novel is there; it's in the final decision that the young reporter makes.

Come Out Tonight by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published 1999 (Headline Book Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 19, 2006
• And once again we get an excellent novel by Laymon. This one involves a young girl who starts to worry after her boyfriend who went out for some condoms hasn't returned in over 30 minutes. Being the start of a horror novel, you know nothing good has happened to him. Being the start of a Laymon novel, you know that its going to involve some weirdo with a bent perspective on life who will have his way with her sexually and then the strangeness will really start. This time around it's a much more straight forward "left for dead but still alive and coming back for revenge before he hurts her family" type of thing. In the end it turns out to be an excellent read and a very enjoyable book for all of us.

Comes the Blind Fury by John Saul

• Purchase it here
• Published June 1980 (Dell paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 1, 1983
• unreviewed

The Complex by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published 2015 (Thunderstorm Books signed, numbered, and limited to 260 copies hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on July 3, 2017
• unreviewed

Complicity by Iain Banks

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2002 (Scribner Paperback Fiction paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 24, 2008
• Banks has written another excellent novel; the story is incredibly strong and at times pretty dark. In this case, Cameron Colley is a journalist trying to break a big story that he has been working on for a while. His leads take him on a slow path to what could be a juicy story. Meanwhile a serial killer is killing people in a poetic method best suited for the way they lived their lives. The two threads entwine as all the evidence from the killings point to Cameron who also begins to wonder if he might have been involved. While not quite as eccentric and darkly off-beat as THE WASP FACTORY, the story is definitely intense and enthralling. There is a lot happening at times and it's easy to be led to believe one thing while something else occurs. Banks does a master job at mixing the elements and keeping you engaged. With this book being the quality it is, I'm now adding Banks to my list of authors to follow. Time to go buy all his books that I missed and catch up on some good reading.

The Con Season by Adam Cesare

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2016 (Black T-Shirt Books ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on August 2, 2020
• This book ends up being both retro and modern at the same time. The setting and deaths are pure 80s but the setup and situation is very much something that one could expect today. Clarissa Lee is a B-level celebrity who gained her fame from being a horror movie starlet. She's now broke thanks to her manager mis-managing her funds. As a quick fix, she accepts an invitation for an immersive horror convention that is light on details but pays her well enough and half in advance. Clarissa and other B-level celebrities quickly find things are too real and that they must fight if they want to survive. Cesare gets across nicely the drive of B-level celebrities who continue to make their living off being known by fans but not quite able to continue being booked in enough movies or TV shows. How an immersive convention that pays well would be a draw. Then once the characters are in the middle of it, he continues getting across the reality of today's world wanting more and not knowing when to stop. The celebrities don't realize that the deaths are real, believing instead it is staged as part of the convention. I found the book to be very enjoyable. Cesare continues to do a great job with his books. All of them so far, including and maybe especially THE CON SEASON, have been very easy to picture as a movie playing inside my head.

Confess, Fletch by Gregory McDonald

• Purchase it here
• Published November 1976 (Avon Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 1, 1980
• unreviewed

Congo by Michael Crichton

• Purchase it here
• Published 1980 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 20, 1997
• I had seen the movie before I read the book and the two are extremely different. The movie was passable but barely; the book is very enjoyable and well done. There are a lot of similarities (obviously) but there is much more evidence that the book was well researched and thought through. There also is no corny super laser attack on the apes at the end. I admit that in the book it was a little more of a let down but it was also more realistic. The story is also told in such a manner and with enough references to other tomes that it appears to be a real event. Meaning that Crichton is just putting on paper what happened in a real expedition back in 1980. Maybe it really is based on an actual event; I don't know. But there is a large bibliography in the book for me to use and look up and find out the truth.

The Conqueror Worms by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2006 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 23, 2007
• This is the perfect book to read during the winter when the weather is dreary and rainy. It gives an extra sense of potential or power to the events in the book. The story starts off kind of simple: for some reason it starts raining everywhere at once and has been doing so for over forty days. Most of civilization as we know it has been destroyed under floods as the water level across the globe has risen. Then it gets a little crazier as giant worms, sirens and a giant squid/kraken creature appear along with people who worship them. Up until the monsters started appearing, I was thinking of it as sort of a mother nature gets revenge or global warming beware type of novel. Once the monsters arrived, it become more of a Lovecraft story; one of the characters even pointed this out. As I've pointed out before, I'm not crazy about Lovecraft but all told I still really liked the book; it was almost two novellas combined into one as two different sets of characters tell their own story before combining together into a single adventure. I would like to see more of the world, especially from earlier in their reality. We join in somewhere around day thirty or so. It would be great to see things in the first seven days or so. Fortunately Keene has a collection coming out to cover exactly this. Due out in July 2008 from Delirium Books, EARTHWORM GODS: SELECTED SCENES FROM THE END OF THE EARTH is a collection of short stories based in the same world. It is also one more book that will be on my "to buy" list.

Conscience by John Skipp

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2004 (Friendly Firewalk Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 2, 2008
• unreviewed

Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2000 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 13, 2003
• This novel sort of fits into two places. First, it's a Repairman Jack novel and second, it seamlessly into the Adversary Cycle while also standing on its own. In case you didn't know, Repairman Jack is sort of a fix-it man for those difficult problem requiring a law breaking solution. For example, if your sister is getting beaten by her husband on a regular basis, then you hire Repairman Jack to put the guy in the hospital so your sister can escape and get help. His main case in this book is to find a missing wife. As the investigation begins, Jack attends a convention that was to star the missing wife as a keynote speaker. The catch? The convention is SESOUP, the Society for the Exposure of Secret Organizations and Unacknowledged Phenomena. Pure X-Files stuff. The Lone Gunmen would feel right at home. Strange things start happening like packages materializing out of thin air in Jack's hotel room and the strangeness takes a big twist. The story is actually a very nice weaving of key elements from the beginning of the Adversary Cycle (the villain is the same and key creatures are brought back again) and it also serves as a premonition of events to come from the end. A nice fit into the established continuity without breaking or stretching to disbelief any rules. If you are a fan of Wilson's previous works or a conspiracy buff (minor or major), then you should give the book a try. You'll highly enjoy it.

The Corporation by J. F. Gonzalez

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2012 (Midnight Library ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 31, 2014
• While I was reading THE CORPORATION, I kept thinking of Bentley Little. This novel is very much in the same vein as Little's books. In fact, I would call it a quasi-blend of THE ASSOCIATION and THE STORE. Gonzalez's novel has that same feel and same dread running through its heart; the mood is paranoia and hopelessness. With all the problems in the recent economy and employees feeling stuck or semi-stuck in jobs they should be "lucky to have", the book can also be considered timely. (Or at least timely when it was published as opposed to when I read it.) The story follows Michelle Dowling as she finds a dream job at Corporate Financial Consultants: excellent pay, generous benefits and the ability to start planning her future with her fiancé. However, she starts to realize that her new company has its fingers in its employee's personal lives a bit more than normal. And that their control over employees is expanding. Michelle quickly finds herself fighting to maintain her privacy while not knowing who to trust. While Gonzalez did his regular awesome job with his characters and making them come alive, I found elements of the plot a bit much. The degree of control that Corporate Financial Consultants exhibits over other companies and governments, local and international, was a tad much to believe. While reading it I kept fluctuating between "Oh, come on!" and "Oh, crap!" And of course since the corporation's reach was a bit unbelievable, it meant the climax to the book had to be a bit unbelievable also. It made sense and followed logically and was consistent with everything that Gonzalez wrote, but it was a little convenient despite being so difficult to achieve. All told, this is a solid book and will be enjoyed. I would recommend though that after reading this book, read Bentley Little's THE ASSOCIATION. That will build upon your fears and freak you out completely!

A Coven of Vampires by Brian Lumley

• Purchase it here
• Published 2008 (Far Territories paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 15, 2010
• unreviewed

Cover by Jack Ketchum

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2009 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 15, 2011
• One common factor to all of the Ketchum books that I've read is that they are intense. Some of them dealt with sensitive topics and were almost too intense to read. Some of them have intense situations that grip you for a long time. And then some have intense characters which can be extremely real. With regards to COVER, it is the characters, specifically Vietnam veteran Lee Moravian. Since returning to the states, Lee has had problems adjusting to society. So many problems that he has separated himself from it and lives in the forest on some local mountains, growing marijuana for his few necessary supplies. After a few years of this existence, his wife leaves him. Lee might have been fine except for an unlucky group of campers who stumble upon his plants and disturb Lee's sanctuary. Still dealing with the flashbacks and remnants of war, Lee wages war against his new "enemies." Unfortunately for me, the novel wasn't quite as good as many of Ketchum's other novels. While the character Lee was great and very real, the other characters weren't quite interesting enough. I'm not sure if they were unrealistic or annoying or both but there was something that stopped me from connecting to them. And the one that I did like the most was the first one to die. The book is more mainstream than other Ketchum books so people might find that appealing. Personally I would recommend RED as an excellent starting point for Ketchum; that's his story that hooked me for good.

Cows by Matthew Stokoe

• Purchase it here
• Published 1997 (Akashic Books hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 65 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on January 15, 2017
• Wow. I knew how violent, bloody, gritty and possibly gross this book was supposed to be but little did I realize it was true. This book is extreme and not for everyone, probably not even for most people. There were multiple times when I had to pause in my reading to catch my breathe. Or where I cringed in sympathetic pain. Or where I had to simply absorb what I had read before I tried feeding my brain more images and more pain. However, unlike many torture porn horror movies, there was a true story here. Steven is twenty-five years old and living with his mom; it might be better to call it cohabitation since each of them despise the other. We the readers quickly find out the extremes with which the mother torments her son; after a lifetime of this, Steven is left nearly powerless. Afraid of the world, Steven starts his first day at a new job: working at a meat grinding plant. Cripps, the plant foreman, assigns Steven to the grinder while loudly ridiculing everyone for being too weak to slaughter cows for eight-hours until it "sings to you of things beyond yourself." And then there is Lucy, Steven's semi-girlfriend who is obsessed with finding the black tumors and pus that are hidden in every living being. These pieces all tie together in a sexual, violent, disgusting, bloody fashion that makes for a engrossing read. Not engrossing because of the shock but because the story is right below the surface of all the atrocities. That story is about alienation and trying to fit in to society. Steven understands from TV what life should be, or could be, but he can't reconcile it with his reality. While he removes the roadblocks in his life and muscles the pieces of what should be a perfect life into place, he can't get anything to stay. Not until he rejects that life, or that life rejects him depending on the point of view, and instead accepts something completely different. From that perspective, it is easy to relate to Steven's loneliness. Relating to his life is something I hope no one ever has to do. If you can stomach reading about most perversities that you can think of, then I would highly recommend COWS. But don't push it. I would hate for you to focus only on the the extreme aspects and miss the great story.

Crawlers by John Shirley

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2003 (Ballantine Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 17, 2005
• I really liked this novel. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers mixed with high technology and a healthy dose of end of world. The remaining element is an ensemble cast which leaves you never quite sure who is going to live and who is going to die, which is exactly the way I like it. The story itself is about a government experiment involving nanotechnology, self-replicating robots and intelligent systems. The obvious happens and the experiment escapes to infect a small town. What develops from there is a story that includes several insights on humans being taken over by technology. Sometimes Shirley is more than a little obvious about it, using a hammer to nail home the point. But he is much better when he's subtle: you're reading along, enjoying the action when suddenly you realize that there is an underlying theme being carried through the scene. While widely recognized for his novel DEMONS, this one is more interesting and fun to follow, and thus more entertaining.

Created By by Richard Christian Matheson

• Purchase it here
• Published October 1993 (hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on February 25, 2001
• Matheson does a superb job of pulling readers in to the world of Alan White, a writer in Hollywood who comes up with a huge money making series. The story invokes the world of screenplays and TV series with each chapter name: "character motivation", "backstory", "flashback". Plus the entire story is hard hitting and a fast read. Very enjoyable! The plot almost mimics Stephen King's THE DARK HALF but varies enough so that they are not the same. Sort of like zombie stories must have zombies but aren't the same. Additionally the final result is nothing at all like King's story. Now there were a few parts that stretched the imagination, mostly the amount of stuff that was allowed on network TV. Granted more and more has gotten by the FCC and the censors but they still wouldn't have allowed as much as what is done here. A minor point maybe but still something to acknowledge. Overall everything was excellent and this is not a book to miss!

Creed by James Herbert

• Published 1991 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 23, 1998
• An excellent novel. Very fast paced and edge of the seat throughout the entire thing. It centers around a cynical paparazzo named Joe Creed who accidentally takes a picture of a demon. Creed is then slowly pulled often kicking and screaming into this netherworld for unknown reasons, at least unknown until the end. The characters are extremely interesting and very visible as real people and not two dimensional players in a script. Some elements are predictable but not with the same twist as what you really though. Also the plot and the action keeps varying between the real and the unreal, so as a reader you are not entirely sure of what to believe. But you do know that whatever is happening is some pretty scary stuff and something that you are glad to not be an active member of. A definite recommendation if you want to be scared!

Creekers by Edward Lee

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2008 (Necro Publications paperback signed edition)
• Finished reading it on June 30, 2012
• CREEKERS is one of Lee's novels that is closer in theme to THE BIGHEAD and THE HOUSE than to SLITHER. While there are some demons and a small tie-in to CITY INFERNAL, most of the story has a gritty, intensity of hard-boiled detective mixed with backwoods rednecks. And of course, sex, violence and perversities. Philip Straker is a big-city detective who ends up framed for shooting a kid and then ousted from the department. Having nowhere else to go, he moves back home to the small Podunk town of Crick City. There he is offered to work on the police force for Chief Lawrence Mullins, the father figure who practically raised him. Chief Mullins wants Straker to find and end the PCP problem that is occurring in town. A problem that Mullins suspect is being run by Cody Natter. The catch? Not only is Cody Natter the leader of a group of inbred hill people with numerous deformities including red eyes, but Natter also runs the town's strip club and is married to Straker's ex-fiance. The story has a lot happening in it and is very involving. As in real life, many of the characters are both good and bad and hard to narrow down as to whether you should be liking them or not. Of course, some are pure scum and while they add considerably to the sex and violence, you also hope that they get their comeuppance. About the only thing that I wasn't too sure about was the ending which took a turn from the rest of the novel. It wasn't off and ridiculous but at the same time it wasn't what I was expecting. If you are a fan of hardcore and intense horror, then you should enjoy the book. It's one of Lee's better novels. If you aren't sure though, try one of Lee's more mainstream books. I would hate for you to get scared off and miss out on a wonderful author.

Creepers by David Morrell

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2006 (CDS Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 02, 2008
• I absolutely love Morrell's short stories. I find them quickly gripping and enthralling and can't put them down. His novels are generally good but not quite as engrossing. The novel CREEPERS does not fit that mold. I found it extremely compelling from the very start. The term creepers refers to people who enter abandoned buildings and explore the past by looking at what was left behind. They consider themselves urban explorers. In this novel, five characters explore an abandoned hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The feel and mystery of an empty building with many stories still inside of it is conveyed. Before long the five of them run into big trouble, more trouble than they expected from a decrepit hotel. And then as they finally start to get a handle on one set of problems, another set of new problems appear. While all the characters filled out their roles nicely and were enjoyable to follow, there were a few points where the story seemed a bit choppy. It later was explained as the characters' motivations were revealed but it almost came across and too convenient. Almost. This was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend. I know that I'm looking forward to reading the sequel: SCAVENGER.

Crimson Orgy by Austin Williams

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2008 (Borderlands Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 20, 2017
• I enjoyed CRIMSON ORGY. It was a bit of a slow burn to start but it kept me interested and engaged until the very end. The slow burn could probably also be attributed to setting the scene and mood; the book is based in 1965. The book starts by discussing Crimson Orgy, a cult classic film based largely on the cursed production and possible snuff film aspect. The film was never truly released but had a couple different cuts leaked out to the public. Events then time shift to 1965 and focus on Shel Meyer and Gene Hoffman, the founders of Stupendous Pictures, known primarily for making nudie exploitative pictures during the early 60s. Then they see Blood Feast and realize that blood and gore can make them more money. So they start making Crimson Orgy in the small town of Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The cast and crew for their movie is pretty small but the difficulties experienced are many. And as things build to the end, the readers are wondering who will die, how they will die and who is present when it happens. As I alluded earlier, the plot is a bit slow but it also gives the reader time to know the characters. Each character is developed nicely and fully. I was easily able to create a mental picture of them. Additionally the details of the movie making rang true with the various movie biographies and low budget films that I have watched over the years. These elements helped make the setting real. The story will probably disappoint readers expecting more horror or gore; overall, the gore factor was pretty minimal. I still consider the book a solid read and would recommend it. However, I would also set expectations appropriately.

Crisscross by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2006 (Tor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 16, 2007
• I've been hoping for events to move closer to NIGHTWORLD and they are quickly getting there. Judging from Gia's pregnancy each book is roughly six to eight weeks later. And based on the prediction in either this book or last, we're only a year away. So another six books and we should be moving past the confrontation. All of this makes me want to read NIGHTWORLD once more and see again what will occur. For those of you new to Repairman Jack (chances are you are not if you are reading this), this is probably very confusing. I kind of wonder at times how the books read to newbies. The events in each are probably easy to pick up but there is also tons of back history from the numerous and previous Repairman Jack books which the newbies are missing out on. Plus the whole foreshadowing from the Adversary Cycle. The events were definitely a lot more prevalent in this book as Herta (the latest woman with a dog) acts directly by hiring Jack to find someone within the Dormentalist church. Usually the women with a dog (there has been five of them so far) acts indirectly and doesn't give out much information other than a teaser. GATEWAYS was the first where this trend was broken. Events and craziness proceed at their usual pace for Jack and he ends up fixing things in his usual manner. The real exciting stuff though is how much closer all the Otherness is becoming.

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2007 (William Morrow hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on July 12, 2009
• This is an excellent novel. It pulled me in from the very beginning and kept me entertained the whole time. Every thing about it was done very well. Solid characters that you can picture. Interesting events to keep the story rolling. A conclusion that made sense. And it kept an off-beat sense of humor going through the entire book. Michael McGill is a private detective. But not just a normal private detective. He is a shit magnet. He has one weird thing after another happen to him. This can be seen within the first five pages where he wakes up naked in his office after spending the night there and has moments to get dressed before being hired by the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. And things get stranger and stranger from that point on. Things like ostrich love orgies and salt water injections and other borderline gross things. I found the book pure fun to read and very much enjoyed it. About the only thing I would hold against it was that some of the middle went from one location with weird events to another location with weird events to another. Kind of like in a chase movie where the person keeps going from one point to another to flesh out the movie. This almost seemed like the case in CROOKED LITTLE VEIN. I didn't notice it though until afterwards so I guess it almost doesn't count. I already collect several of Ellis' comics. I now look forward to more of his books.

Crucified Dreams edited by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• 19 short stories by such authors as Harlan Ellison, Lewis Shiner, Tom Piccirilli
• Published February 2011 (Tachyon Publications paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 23, 2025
• This collection ended up being difficult for me to get through. It took me a lot longer than it should have. I dreaded each time that I picked it up. I just was not enjoying it. Even my favorites Tom Piccirilli couldn't quite do it for me. If this was a novel, I would have marked it as Did Not Finish but I always feel bad doing that to a short story collection. The authors at the end of the book can't help the quality of the stories at the front, so I try to always finish a short story collection. Now weirdly, I did mark six of the stories as favorites and would recommend them. I say weirdly because finding more than five enjoyable stories generally means I find the book good. All told, I guess that mean that despite me dragging my feet with the book, I still found enough to enjoy.

  "The Mojave Two-Step" by Norman Partridge - An ice cream truck escapade in the middle of the desert.

  "Front Man" by David Morrell - An aging screenwriter tries to stay on top.

  "Interrogation B" by Charlie Huston - Police questioning occurs during a poker game.

  "Love in Vain" by Lewis Shiner - A killer is questioned.

  "Quitters, Inc." by Stephen King - A man is encouraged to quit smoking via extraordinary means.

  "The Pit" by Joe R. Lansdale - Two fighters become best friends before a match.

Crypt Orchids by David J. Schow

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2004 (Babbage Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 17, 2009
• unreviewed

Cujo by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1982 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 1, 1985
• unreviewed

Cuts by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2008 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 1, 2010
• I always enjoy reading a Laymon book. You know that he is going to deliver a well written book involving violence and sex. You also know that the characters are going to be real. Often times a Laymon book is the perfect solution between short story collections. CUTS is a reprint of the same novel from a decade ago. The story though is mostly set in 1975. While no bell bottoms were mentioned, it does have the feel of being set in the 70s: more smoking than usual, pregnant women drinking alcohol, overly friendly neighbors. Things where nowadays, you know that no one is opening that door regardless of the character being in a horror novel or not. Anyway, the story is split into two pieces. One follows Janet Arthur as she dumps her boyfriend for wanting her to abort their unborn child. There are a plethora of characters who are introduced and who then quickly demonstrate their personal flaws. You can see the characters circling each other as if at a fight; you know that a blowup is going to occur. And then there is the second piece: Albert Prince. Albert goes on a killing spree and makes his way from Illinois to Los Angeles, killing and raping women on the way. Any character introduced in Albert's story is almost definitely fodder for his killing. The two stories meet up as you know that they are going to but not with as much of an impact as I expected. I thought Albert would have had a bigger impact on some of the guys from Janet's story. I very easily could have seen another one to two hundred pages added on to the book. The additional pages would have formed a smoother merger between the stories than what we had. They did seem a tad squished together. The book is similar to the movie "From Dusk til Dawn": two halves that could probably have done well by themselves but which were put together. Either way though, it's a good book.

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published April 1985 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 31, 1988
• unreviewed

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

Last modified on February 20, 2021